Pro football
I was about to write about the Steelers not wanting this game bad enough, based on how the first half unfolded. I was more concerned with how injuries were going to affect the outcome of this game. Then I had to remind myself that this is the Steelers and the Ravens. This is not a football game. This is a street fight, an alley brawl, and it is not going to score any style points. This is all about who wants it more. At the end of the game, the Steelers wanted it more and went out and proved it.
Ben Roethlisberger went into the game with a specially fitted boot to go over his bad foot. Turns out that was the least of his problems. On the first series, taking a paw to the face, he got his nose bloody and battered. No flag, no penalty, and a minimal fine.
Later in the game, Heath Miller took a vicious shot that would have decapitated most men. He walked off the field under his own power, albeit with a concussion. A mere immortal among mortal men. Go figure. Most men would have been carted off the field for observation. Such is life in the NFL.
I am a firm believer that this league, under the direction of Roger Goodell, does not want to see the Steelers win seven Super Bowls. It’s bad the Hall of Fame doesn’t want to see any more Steelers get into its fabled building to honor the game’s greatest players. Now the league is desperate for anyone other than the Steelers to win its championship. How else to describe this double standard?
Yes, there are those who will scream that Mike Tomlin is not ranting and raving. However, his job as a coach is to prepare his team for the next opponent. More on that later. It’s better that Tomlin leaves the discussion and the disagreements to team owners Dan and Art Rooney. Something tells me Mr. Rooney is going to have a discussion with Mr. Goodell in the offseason.
Tomlin is keeping this team focused on the task at hand and has done a masterful job thus far. The enemy is the next opponent on the schedule. All running your mouth is going to get you is more fines from the league, and the Steelers have already paid plenty. Do you want to send a message? Win out, finish 13 – 3 and secure no worse than the number two seed in the playoffs, getting that first round bye. That’s the message you send.
Maybe the league thinks the Steelers are big boys and will take care of themselves. Yes, injuries are taking their toll, but those who are stepping in know the expectations, the standard, do not change, nor should they. This is a team of resilient men who have each others’ backs. They will fight and battle for one another. That is a strong antidote to anything that might get thrown their way.
As it stands, the Steelers scored when it mattered most. Yes, I would like to have had touchdowns where they got field goals Sunday night, but points are points. A play was made by Troy Polamalu when it needed to be made. Ben made a play that was all heart getting away from Terrell Suggs, attributing more to his gutsy, and gutty, performance all night, and Isaac Redman showed all heart taking a pass from Ben to get into the endzone for the go ahead and, as it turned out, winning touchdown. That is all that matters.
Getting the job done by any means necessary. That is Steeler football and reflective the region they represent. That’s why the Steelers are us and we are the Steelers. That’s what they did Sunday night. No, it wasn’t pretty, nor was it supposed to be. But the Steelers now sit at 9 – 3, have the division title in their sites, and have a three game home stand coming up before finishing up in Cleveland on January 2. Without putting the cart before the horse, the Steelers could run the table. The only game that might be a trip game is the New York Jets next week. But, that’s next week. We look at only this week.
The Cincinnati Bengals will be in town on Sunday and this is another Marvin Lewis homecoming. It’s too bad that he ended up in the cesspool that is Cincinnati because Marvin deserves better. For all of that perceived talent, the Bengals are terrible. So much for the Ochocinco/T.O. experiment. That proved to be a disaster. No Super Bowl this year.
I am a big believer that there is a signature game, good or bad, that determines the season. The Steelers game with the Ravens was that game. Now, the Steelers need to look at every game on the rest of their schedule as one more step to securing the division title and earning the bye that comes with finishing one or two in the conference. That is important for injuries to heal and to get back some players (Aaron Smith) who have been nursing nearly season ending injuries. So, step one is Cincinnati.
Carson Palmer has proven to be more of a flash in the pan than a franchise quarterback for the Bengals. So far, the only decent quarterback to have come out of Southern California is Mark Sanchez, but this is only his second year. Matt Leinart was cut by Arizona and Matt Cassel has been silent in Kansas City since the Chiefs’ hot start. Maybe all of those California pretty boys aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
If Marvin was anywhere else, he would be winning by now. He was looking for a head coaching position and it ended up being Cincinnati. Too bad it happened that way. This might end up being his last season there, through no fault of his own. But, that is the nature of the NFL.
This game is not going to be pretty. The Steelers need to use their home field to their advantage and establish themselves as a feared contender in the AFC. Everyone is looking at the Jets and Patriots as the biggest threat, but I feel either one can be taken, despite what happened in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. No one is unbeatable, and the Browns beat the Patriots soundly in Cleveland.
This is the last quarter of the regular season and Tomlin is going to prepare his team to get ready to host at least one playoff game, if not two. That is the mindset that must go into the final four weeks. Step one is Cincinnati and I don’t think this is going to be close. Despite all of the injuries, this could end up being a blowout. A mix of the running and the passing games, along with a steady dose of hard hitting defense will vanquish the Bengals and send them into submission.
Final score – Steelers 34, Bengals 6
Week 14
Pick of the Week, Chicago over New England(Season, 6 - 7)
Upset Special, Minnesota over New York Giants (Season, 4 - 9)
Ben Roethlisberger went into the game with a specially fitted boot to go over his bad foot. Turns out that was the least of his problems. On the first series, taking a paw to the face, he got his nose bloody and battered. No flag, no penalty, and a minimal fine.
Later in the game, Heath Miller took a vicious shot that would have decapitated most men. He walked off the field under his own power, albeit with a concussion. A mere immortal among mortal men. Go figure. Most men would have been carted off the field for observation. Such is life in the NFL.
I am a firm believer that this league, under the direction of Roger Goodell, does not want to see the Steelers win seven Super Bowls. It’s bad the Hall of Fame doesn’t want to see any more Steelers get into its fabled building to honor the game’s greatest players. Now the league is desperate for anyone other than the Steelers to win its championship. How else to describe this double standard?
Yes, there are those who will scream that Mike Tomlin is not ranting and raving. However, his job as a coach is to prepare his team for the next opponent. More on that later. It’s better that Tomlin leaves the discussion and the disagreements to team owners Dan and Art Rooney. Something tells me Mr. Rooney is going to have a discussion with Mr. Goodell in the offseason.
Tomlin is keeping this team focused on the task at hand and has done a masterful job thus far. The enemy is the next opponent on the schedule. All running your mouth is going to get you is more fines from the league, and the Steelers have already paid plenty. Do you want to send a message? Win out, finish 13 – 3 and secure no worse than the number two seed in the playoffs, getting that first round bye. That’s the message you send.
Maybe the league thinks the Steelers are big boys and will take care of themselves. Yes, injuries are taking their toll, but those who are stepping in know the expectations, the standard, do not change, nor should they. This is a team of resilient men who have each others’ backs. They will fight and battle for one another. That is a strong antidote to anything that might get thrown their way.
As it stands, the Steelers scored when it mattered most. Yes, I would like to have had touchdowns where they got field goals Sunday night, but points are points. A play was made by Troy Polamalu when it needed to be made. Ben made a play that was all heart getting away from Terrell Suggs, attributing more to his gutsy, and gutty, performance all night, and Isaac Redman showed all heart taking a pass from Ben to get into the endzone for the go ahead and, as it turned out, winning touchdown. That is all that matters.
Getting the job done by any means necessary. That is Steeler football and reflective the region they represent. That’s why the Steelers are us and we are the Steelers. That’s what they did Sunday night. No, it wasn’t pretty, nor was it supposed to be. But the Steelers now sit at 9 – 3, have the division title in their sites, and have a three game home stand coming up before finishing up in Cleveland on January 2. Without putting the cart before the horse, the Steelers could run the table. The only game that might be a trip game is the New York Jets next week. But, that’s next week. We look at only this week.
The Cincinnati Bengals will be in town on Sunday and this is another Marvin Lewis homecoming. It’s too bad that he ended up in the cesspool that is Cincinnati because Marvin deserves better. For all of that perceived talent, the Bengals are terrible. So much for the Ochocinco/T.O. experiment. That proved to be a disaster. No Super Bowl this year.
I am a big believer that there is a signature game, good or bad, that determines the season. The Steelers game with the Ravens was that game. Now, the Steelers need to look at every game on the rest of their schedule as one more step to securing the division title and earning the bye that comes with finishing one or two in the conference. That is important for injuries to heal and to get back some players (Aaron Smith) who have been nursing nearly season ending injuries. So, step one is Cincinnati.
Carson Palmer has proven to be more of a flash in the pan than a franchise quarterback for the Bengals. So far, the only decent quarterback to have come out of Southern California is Mark Sanchez, but this is only his second year. Matt Leinart was cut by Arizona and Matt Cassel has been silent in Kansas City since the Chiefs’ hot start. Maybe all of those California pretty boys aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
If Marvin was anywhere else, he would be winning by now. He was looking for a head coaching position and it ended up being Cincinnati. Too bad it happened that way. This might end up being his last season there, through no fault of his own. But, that is the nature of the NFL.
This game is not going to be pretty. The Steelers need to use their home field to their advantage and establish themselves as a feared contender in the AFC. Everyone is looking at the Jets and Patriots as the biggest threat, but I feel either one can be taken, despite what happened in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. No one is unbeatable, and the Browns beat the Patriots soundly in Cleveland.
This is the last quarter of the regular season and Tomlin is going to prepare his team to get ready to host at least one playoff game, if not two. That is the mindset that must go into the final four weeks. Step one is Cincinnati and I don’t think this is going to be close. Despite all of the injuries, this could end up being a blowout. A mix of the running and the passing games, along with a steady dose of hard hitting defense will vanquish the Bengals and send them into submission.
Final score – Steelers 34, Bengals 6
Week 14
Pick of the Week, Chicago over New England(Season, 6 - 7)
Upset Special, Minnesota over New York Giants (Season, 4 - 9)
Comments