Evil Chase K

:lmao:I love getting a glimpse into the psyches of desperate Ravens fans. Seriously though, Baltimore tried getting tougher to compete with the Steelers, while the Steelers got faster and more explosive. I think that's where I'd go if I was Baltimore. Boldin is nice, without Fitzgerald on the other side he's merely a nice piece. Another QB wouldn't hurt either. ------ As far as the Steelers go I really only see three major needs this off-season. 1.) Cornerback Only a desperate need if Ike Taylor walks in Free Agency. But if I guy like Brandon Harris is there at 1.31 he has to be the pick. 2.) Guard Chris Kemoeatu has to go. Ramon Foster can be a good guard in the league with a few more years of work. Max Starks is a proven starting LT in the league. Pouncey is going to be great for years to come. Right Tackle is a position that the Steelers need to upgrade if Flozell Adams doesn't come back, but it isn't as easy for the Steelers to upgrade RT as it is LG. 3.) Defensive Line Depth Aaron Smith was the best 34 DE in the NFL from the moment he became a starter. But with his inability to stay healthy it makes more sense to let Ziggy Hood be the starter and let AA be a wave player where he can contribute on 15-20 snaps or so a game. 4.) Linebacker If Woodley leaves (which I don't see happening) then the Steelers have to go out and find a legitimate pass rusher to replace him. If Woodley returns, the Steelers still need to find an OLB to replace Harrison when he retires in 2013. If that player is Jason Worilds, great. If not, they better find him soon. Inside linebacker is a mess. Lawrence Timmons is solid, but you don't know when the wheels will fall off James Farrior. Behind them you have a decent Larry Foote and awful Keyaron Fox who should've been cut immediately after SBXLV ended.

You are the king of saying stupid Anything-related things. So you really have no write to talk. And yes, that's exactly what it means. 18 games is good for the owners, it is bad for the players and fans of competitive football. Yep. All it's going to take is for a star player like Manning or Brady to get hurt late in the season during a playoff run or miss an entire 18-game season before people begin to bitch and moan about it and force the NFL to change the rules even more to prevent injury. This is a great idea. What people forget when they clamor for 18 games is that not every team can sell out 8 home games let alone 9. At least if you add extra playoff games you're pretty much guaranteeing they will involve teams who will not only sell out their stadiums but will be teams people want to watch on tv. No one wants to watch Cardinals/Browns in Week 17 let alone in Week 19.

I don't think Mike Shanahan benching McNabb for Grossman is an indictment on McNabb's abilities. While neither QB has been "clutch" in their career, I'd take my chances with McNabb before I'd consider putting my season in the hands of Carson Palmer.

WHY? Money isn't everything. The owners will not give in on healthcare and insurance issues. Right now, an NFL player has to play 3 seasons of football in order to receive 5 years of insurance after their career ends. The NFL has yet to be willing to compromise and drop that number so players would have to play an additional six games just to get health insurance for 5 years. The owners and by extension Roger Goodell have proven that they do not give a fuck about player safety. The whole hard hits crackdown was a PR move. If the NFL truly cared they would take 18-games off the table or at least concede something toward giving the players better healthcare after they retire from the NFL. I am hoping that the 18-games idea is just a bargaining chip by the owners to be pulled as a concession for the players giving in to something the owners really want. If you don't think bigger bodies running faster and with more velocity than ever before doesn't cause more concussions then you're naive. I'm not saying I know for sure that more concussions are happening, but it just makes sense to me that as the players in the league get bigger, stronger, and faster hits are going to be harder and harder and will likely lead to more concussion. If you're a fan of the game you'd want 16 games. Why would you want 18 games of watered down football? With 18 games you'll either see more injuries to top players and (with the expanded rosters the owners would have to agree to in order to keep more players on the team for depth reasons) games being played with guys you've never heard of who in years past would've been XFL or UFL players, or you'll see an NFL so concerned with injuries that physical football is all but legislated out of the game in favor of Arena Football League-esque track meets where teams win games 60-54. 18 games is going to be horrible for the players and the fans. But hey the owners and the league make more money so we should all be cool with that right?

That still doesn't account for all the "analysts" arguing the exact opposite. Could not disagree more.

People were ready to anoint Ben one of the "all time greats" had he won today. That's all they've been talking about for the last 2 weeks on national sports talk television and radio. Some douchecanoe named Jason Smith of ESPN radio was actually arguing that if Ben had won his career would have been BETTER than Brady's to date because Ben is younger. Apparently it didn't matter to him that Brady has 2 Super Bowl and (now) 2 regular season MVP awards and Ben might have played the worst SB ever and had maybe 2 votes for MVP in his career. Really? What people were these? Everyone I heard was acting like having a Top 10 scoring defense somehow diminishes a QB's accomplishments. Were you living in a cave the past 2 weeks? Did you turn on ESPN or NFL Network on at all? You mean the NFL Network that had Marshall Faulk claiming Ben had 1.5 rings? That had Rod Woodson saying he wouldn't be a Top 5 QB no matter what? I could go on and on and on. Nope, sorry. Didn't see it. People were ready to anoint Ben one of the "all time greats" had he won today. That's all they've been talking about for the last 2 weeks on national sports talk television and radio. Some douchecanoe named Jason Smith of ESPN radio was actually arguing that if Ben had won his career would have been BETTER than Brady's to date because Ben is younger. Apparently it didn't matter to him that Brady has 2 Super Bowl and (now) 2 regular season MVP awards and Ben might have played the worst SB ever and had maybe 2 votes for MVP in his career. Really? What people were these? Everyone I heard was acting like having a Top 10 scoring defense somehow diminishes a QB's accomplishments. You're fucking kidding right ? YOU WERE ONE OF THEM SLOGGING BEN'S NUTSACK I thought I didn't count because I was just a homer.

People were ready to anoint Ben one of the "all time greats" had he won today. That's all they've been talking about for the last 2 weeks on national sports talk television and radio. Some douchecanoe named Jason Smith of ESPN radio was actually arguing that if Ben had won his career would have been BETTER than Brady's to date because Ben is younger. Apparently it didn't matter to him that Brady has 2 Super Bowl and (now) 2 regular season MVP awards and Ben might have played the worst SB ever and had maybe 2 votes for MVP in his career. Really? What people were these? Everyone I heard was acting like having a Top 10 scoring defense somehow diminishes a QB's accomplishments.

You're a Raiders fan. /win His qb hasn't been accused of rape… twice /better win The Raiders don't have a QB. /best win

You're a Raiders fan. /win

Well that was disappointing. Green Bay's defense completely won them that game. Steelers offense moved the ball well but the Packers forcing three turnovers was the key. Every player on the Green Bay roster outplayed their counterpart on the Pittsburgh side. Except for Rodgers. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL just kidding. Ben did not play great. I don't blame him for either of the two picks (one his arm was hit, the other was a great play by the Packers DB). But he missed open receivers and he never looked completely comfortable. I'm happy for Mike McCarthy. The Steelers will be back. They'll win another one. This was just Green Bay's year. They earned, so good for them. EDIT: I'm also pretty sure Ben played most of that game with a torn ligament in his knee. After he tweaked his knee it seemed like he couldn't plant and he started throwing high from there on out.

Nevermind.

I have faith that Doug Legursky can handle shit. Does it hurt the Steelers? Of course. But as long as they can handle Raji they should be fine in the middle of the field. I'm more worried about having to keep a TE or RB in to chip on Matthews when he's lined up opposite Jonathan Scott than anything else. The Steelers have managed to get to the Super Bowl while overcoming major injuries all season. What's one more? You do realize that this post completely contradicts your tone about the O-Line and the force that Pouncy has been, that you've displayed earlier in the thread ... right ? Then again, it is coming from the guy that told me that the past means absolutely shit only to turn around and try to use 2008 to prove a point (Y) No it doesn't. Pouncey is by far the Steelers best o-lineman. But the guys they do have are fighters. Legursky is as well. He's going to give it his all. At this point where it hurts the team the most is o-line depth. If someone goes down the Steelers could be in trouble. Every time a player gets hurt the media and Steelers fans question his replacement. Mike Tomlin has done a great job with getting his backups to play like starters. Where it hurts the Steelers the most is blocking at the second-level. Legs is good in a phone booth, he can block his man and get stalemates. He isn't going to do what Pouncey does and block a guy out of the play and then get out in front of the play and block someone else.

I have faith that Doug Legursky can handle shit. Does it hurt the Steelers? Of course. But as long as they can handle Raji they should be fine in the middle of the field. I'm more worried about having to keep a TE or RB in to chip on Matthews when he's lined up opposite Jonathan Scott than anything else. The Steelers have managed to get to the Super Bowl while overcoming major injuries all season. What's one more?

http://www.thebig4festival.com/ Saturday April 23, Empire Polo Club -- Indio, California Anyone thinking about going? It was just announced today. Tickets go on sale on January 28. If I can find cheap airfare and lodging I will be purchasing pre-sale tickets tomorrow. Should be awesome.

You don't pressure Ben from the edge. You come up the middle at him. He eats up corner blitzes because no corner in the league is big enough to tackle him on the first try. In 2008, every game the Steelers lost was to 43 defenses. They are much, much, much, much better against 34 fronts. The Ravens offense couldn't score on the Steelers unless they had a short field. It was a fluke play where everyone on the Steelers quit that gave the Ravens a big lead. If you've been a Steelers fan for more than 15 minutes you'd know that that's how the Steelers do things. For some reason they always make things harder than they need to be. It's never easy with this team.

Wait, what ? Have you not paid attention to anyone but Pittsburgh at all in the playoffs ? There's this guy named Starks who has completely brought the Pack ground game to life. He's only leading the playoffs in rush yards. He and the Pack have done that against the #2 and #10 rush defenses in the NFL this year ... on the road. Green Bay has also run better than Pittsburgh in the playoffs, against top rushing defenses (yeah I know, only one game for Pitt). The Packers aren't one dimensional as it stands right now. While the Pack might be weak at MLB, doesn't the Pitt Line suck ? Seems like that'd be a wash yeah ? Even then, the interior line of the Pack certainly isn't a weakness for them and neither is their OLB play. So this crap O-Line is good now ? 1. No one runs on the Steelers. 2. The Steelers offensive line can run block. Their best offensive lineman is their center, and if he's not hurt he'll be able to get to the second level and eliminate the Packers MLBs. 3. The Packers don't match up well with the Steelers. I don't care what anyone says, the Bears match up against Pittsburgh better. The Steelers offensive line traditionally does extremely well against 34 fronts because they see it every day in practice. Especially this 34 defense. Dom Capers runs the 34 zone defense circa 1994. I'm not saying this is an easy win for the Steelers. Green Bay is good, really good. But the experience, intangibles, and match ups favor the Steelers. The Packers could easily win the game, that's for sure. If the Steelers don't play perfect any advantages they may have go out the window. Ike Taylor can't slip and fall when covering a deep route, if Doug Legursky plays center he can't screw up the snap, Mendenhall can't drop a pass that hits him in the hands. Those mistakes may not hurt against the Jets but against Green Bay it will kill you. I am concerned about this game, regardless of how well the Steelers match up against the Packers.

They are mirror images of each other except the Steelers can run on Green Bay. I can't see the Packers being able to run on the Steelers. The Packers run a more basic version of the Dick Lebeau defense that the Steelers offense sees in practice every week. The Packers front seven doesn't match up well with the Steelers offense because their weakness is at inside linebacker. The fact that the Packers offense is one-dimensional hurts as well. From two weeks out my biggest concerns are Rodgers and the Packers CBs. I think the Steelers have an advantage at nearly every position. But the Packers are really good. Both teams are going to have to play mistake free football. It's going to come down to who makes mistakes and maybe, if the last Steelers/Packers game is any indication, who has the ball last.

Great game. I gained a TON of respect for the Jets in this one. Down big at the half, they never even considered quitting. Great effort. Tonight is a night I will never forget. Got to get on the field in the final two minutes of the game to experience the game from field level. That was a rush I won't forget. Since I know everyone is waiting for it, let me address Ben... Didn't play great, didn't have to. But he made some huge plays when he had to, including third-and-six to seal the game. As for the Super Bowl, I actually think the Packers are a better matchup for the Steelers. They don't match up well at all against the Steelers. It will be a very good game though as long as Rodgers plays well. But the Steelers won't take anything for granted. No matter which team wins Super Bowl XLV, they're going to have to earn it.

What have I not addressed? You can take any kind of sample you want. But like I said in the last post, there's no way a 36-year-old injury prone QB holds up an entire season with the Steelers' offensive line and does well enough to get them in the playoffs. No fucking way. Period. Again, that was THREE YEARS AGO. Since then Batch has aged 3 years (obviously) and suffered two season ending injuries. The guy cannot stay healthy. Even when he played for the Steelers before it was for a game or two at a time. He's never had to be a starter for weeks at a time. Which is good because the guy isn't good enough to be a starter in the league anymore. If the Steelers coaches thought Batch was good enough to win games in Ben's absence they wouldn't have been about to cut the guy prior to both Leftwich and Dixon getting injured.

Yes because I'm so delusional to think that the starting QB is better than the backups. HOLY SHIT I MUST BE HIGH! Keep trying.

When did the Steelers have the best running game in football anyway? They haven't been the best running team in football since Ben has been in the league. Did you just make that up? It's irrelevant because Batch is a different QB than he was the last time he played any meaningful snaps for the Steelers. The last time he played more than 1 game prior to this season was 2007. Since then he had two consecutive seasons where he was injured and then this year. A 36-year old injury prone QB is not going to lead the Steelers anywhere. Not with their offensive line. Not this year, not next year. Not ever. Sorry to burst your bubble. Yep, and I stand by that. I actually watch the Steelers play. The Steelers would be fine with Leftwich. They'd have to change their entire gameplan and they likely wouldn't be a very good playoff team with him in there, but they could win with him. Charlie Batch though? Nope. Sorry, not going to happen.

Right, but I figured I'd jump out ahead of it and post that before someone else did.

You do realize Faneca is no longer on the Steelers right? Hasn't been since the year following the Super Bowl. Faneca's strength definitely isn't pass protection. It was a pretty well known fact that he left a lot to be desired in that area. If they lose the second game to the Ravens, they don't win the division. If they don't win the division and get the bye, they may have lost in the Divisional Round because they desperately needed to get healthy. Also, Batch only played two games for them this season. His performance in past years is irrelevant to this year. He played well against Tampa Bay but they pretty much caught lightning in a bottle in that game and he was able to hit Mike Wallace deep. The next week, against a real defense, Batch and the Steelers offense was stagnant. Their running game and defense kept them in it, and it came down to the Steelers offense needing one first down to seal the game and Batch came up short. I have no reason to believe he somehow would've been better against the Ravens in Baltimore later in the season.

With the Steelers offensive line, Charlie Batch wouldn't even make it through the season. No Do you really want me to get into this again? I know no one else does. But I will if you want me to.

Ben was hurt for the Ravens game and wasn't very good. As far as Batch's performance against the Bucs goes, all he had to do was chuck it up to Mike Wallace. If you seriously think Batch is as good as or better than Ben and the team could win with him then you're an idiot. No shit. Oh noes! Please don't put me on ignore guy! ----- EDIT: If anyone wants to talk football, please do. I'm done with this shit.