Well It's Official

That sad, pathetic display of what they tried to pass off as football marked an end to my 2011 NFL viewing  season.  Call me a sore loser if you will but with all the injuries that have plagued the Steelers this season, it's a wonder how they even made it to a wild card game in the first place.  Big Ben had no business playing any of the last three weeks.  We lost Mendenhall with a blown ACL.  Clark is out with sickle cell-like symptoms because of the thin air in Denver.  Troy has been hurt off and on most of the season, the O-line has been banged up since 2006.  I could go on, and on.

I would like to congratulate the Denver Broncos defense in their decisive victory over the Steelers this afternoon.  I know what you are thinking?  But DFG???  The Denver offense was who put the beating on Pittsburgh.  True.  However no team lead by Tim Tebow will I ever give credit to as long as I live (I don't think that is correct grammar either but what are you, the Grammar Police?).  I am not a fan, never was a fan, and never will be a fan.  Despite his obvious ease at picking apart the battered and bruised backup Steelers D on 20+ yard passes today, I will still borrow a line from Dennis Green and say, he was who I thought he was.  One game will not change that opinion.  Anyone who watched the game saw that anymore than a 3 man pass rush and he crumpled like a piece of paper.  His success only came after both Brett Keisel and Big Snack went down with injuries and never came back into the game.  With no pass rush, he was able to bide time and make the decisions that his slow functioning brain could make.  On one play alone, I counted 8 seconds before a defender was able to get into the backfield.  That's unacceptable for the overall #1 defense and is the reason the game ended like it did.  There, I said it...sour grapes.

But seriously, I don't like hype machines.  I don't like them in any sport or in any aspect of life.  All they do is get people's hopes up for good things and then it makes it 1000x's worse when they inevitably backfire.  Yes I said inevitably because that's what happens.  I'm not saying Tebow will be a bust (although one can hold onto hope) but he can't consistently play cardiac level ball and survive.  He just can't.  If he can pull the same crap on New England next week, I may change my mind a bit but I'll believe it when I see it.  Speaking of believing what you see, what was that thing on his lip?  Is that the syphilis flair up they have been talking about?  Or maybe that herpes he thought he got treated?  I don't know but it looked nasty.

So getting back to my original point, the season is over for me.  If I watch another football game so be it but I will not be making a concerted effort to, not even the Super Bowl.  Most of the teams left, I have no desire to see continue any further so I will now devote 100% of my attention to my favorite sport, women's beach volleyball...I mean hockey, yeah that's it.  Hockey!!    

I can't believe we lost to this.

Opposite Day

I forgot to mention in my last post that it was opposite day and the score prediction was reversed.


Pathetic!!!

Wildcard Sunday - - Foreshadowing The Destruction of Tebow (wishful thinking...?)

Before I get into some big, overblown, drawn out explanation of how the Steelers can beat the Broncos later today, let me just say this...The Steeler's D has two jobs today...stopping the run and preventing the "big" play. All week, the analysts and reporters have all been talking about how Denver is going to start slinging the ball and if they are going to win, Tebow will have to come out throwing.  While this is probably true, lets' face facts here.  The "chosen one" has completed 41% of his passes in the last three games and has 1 TD to 4 INTs.  So I don't expect them to be gun-slinging like former Bronco legend John Elway says they will. 

Instead, Denver is going to run the ball.  They have the top ranked running game in the league and the Steelers have shown time and time again that this year has been an "off" year for their normally #1 ranked run defense. The key is going to be for the front line to not allow anything through.  Too often this year, the Steelers D has looked more like a piece of Swiss cheese rather than the Steel Curtain.  The front guys have missed their marks which have opened up holes into the linebackers.  Unfortunately, the backs have just missed their assignments all too often.  The Steelers secondary can't be relied on to stifle the running game by themselves and 90% of the time, at that point it is too late.   

With all that being said, the potential problem is the Steelers offense.  While the defense should be able to hold their own versus a one dimensional Denver offense, the offensive line will have to come up big trying to protect Big Ben and his bum ankle.  Expect to see a ton of multiple tight end schemes to give Ben a little more time by holding off the outside rushers.  The second issue is the running attack.  Denver is beatable on the ground but Pittsburgh is without Mendenhall and will instead go with Isaac Redman and his former practice squad teammate John Clay.  Both of these guys can pound the ball but don't offer much in the way of finesse running. 

Since I don't think Denver can put up a ton of points, if the Steelers come out of the gate and get up early by a couple scores, the game could be over.  Stopping the running game and forcing Tebow into throwing situations or flushing him out of the pocket early could lead to some turnovers.  My prediction:  The Steelers come out throwing, score a couple of nice, long, time consuming drives to go up 14-0 and then break out the running game to wear down the Broncos D.  As long as Ben can keep the ball out of the other team's hands and if Troy can pull out a couple of big plays, this will be a good victory en route to New England.





Final score:  Pittsburgh 31, Denver 13

Had A Bad Day #4.5

I think I want to change my vote for bad day number 4 to yesterday.  Here is why...

1.  The Pens lose to Ottawa in triple overtime.  TRIPLE OVERTIME!!!!  That's like losing two games at the same time.  I don't know how you bounce back from that considering we now have to play in Ottawa with all the momentum swinging in their direction.  Plus with Philly beating the hapless Devils, the underdogs have suddenly become the favorites.  Good Grief!!  Second liners are going to have to step this thing up.  We can't rely on Crosby and Malkin to save the day.  Fleury sure isn't.

2.  The Pirates lose to the Brewers.  First I'd like to say that I am not a Brewers fan, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be.  For that reason alone, when the Pirates lose to the Brewers it makes me annoyed.  So rather than actually show up to the game yesterday, they took the day off and allowed 20 runs to be scored.  20 FREAKIN' RUNS.  We have had many, many, MANY bad years with Pirates baseball.  But in 124 years of existence on this earth, the Bucs have never lost by that large of a margin.  8-0?  Yeah, I've seen that.  Like the FREAKIN' DAY BEFORE against the Brewers.  But 20-0?  McCutchen was throwing batting practice.  No wonder his ERA is over 14.  The Brewers outscored the Bucs in three games 36-1.

So for the second year in a row, the Pirates make history and not in a good way.

3.  In day 1 of the draft, the Steelers didn't trade Big Ben and ended up with a impact player at center that they wanted in last years draft.  Wait, you say?  You have a potential franchise center and got to keep your troubled, yet arguably top 5 quarterback in the league?  How can that be a bad day?  Well, it is.  Tim Tebow was picked in the first round and now I am out $50 because of a stupid bet that I thought I was guaranteed to win against another blogger/Florida Gators fan/closet homo...sapien.  I'm sorry Denver but I don't care what happens down the road with his career.   Even if he is the second coming of John Elway, so be it.  I still won't apologize.  You wasted that pick.  He is over-rated, over-hyped, and over-exposed.  There I said it.  Call me old fashioned but I'd rather have an alleged, and never convicted or charged with anything, sex offender that can throw and make plays as my quarterback than this guy.  Or take your pick...a dog abuser, alcoholic, possible steroid abuser, cocaine addict, reformed felon.  I'm just saying.  Anything would have been better.

I don't really understand where all this pent up anger toward Tebow comes from.  Oh, wait.  Yes I do.  I THINK HE IS A PHONY!  Of course I have no proof of this and I hope he proves me wrong but I stand by my opinions.  Four years is all I give him before he crashes and burns.  I think that is being generous.