Why Was Bruce Arians Not Fired? Ben Roethlisberger.

It started yesterday on ESPN 1250. The report was that Bruce Arians has been fired—according to the host, Ken Laird. 

Laird basically said, on the radio, “This is not something that I am reporting based on any information from a source I don’t totally trust. I would not risk my reputation reporting this if I did not believe that it was entirely true.” (not an exact quote.)

Laird was SO sure of it, it was like the man had told him himself. Maybe he did.

Jim Wexell of SteelCityInsider.com reports, via Twitter, that Arians leaked word of an impending pink slip to Laird.

So, let me get this straight. Arians thought he was getting fired, and he didn’t?

Can someone PLEASE tell me, who is running the show in Pittsburgh?

Save the headaches looking into it. Regardless of any speculation anyone may hear, I am going to tell you right now who is in charge of the Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger.

Here is why.

Kevin Colbert? Let’s be honest, Colbert is the paper pusher. I will give Colbert FULL CREDIT for his drafting ability.

He does a wonderful job at keeping the players the Steelers need to have, and letting go of the ones that are on the down slide of their career, but he is not making the decisions.

Remember when Roethlisberger wanted a tall receiver?  Second round of the next draft, Limas Sweed. Coincidence?

Mike Tomlin? Hand picked by Ben Roethlisberger. Don’t believe me?

Originally, there is not one person that thought Ken Whisenhunt was not going to be the coach of the Steelers. Why didn’t he get the job? Remember, he was at odds with Big Ben, and if Ben didn’t want him, he was not going to be there.

Then it was going to Russ Grimm. There were reports that Grimm had already agreed to a contract. Grimm, a run-first offensive lineman, and now offensive line coach, was not going to put the ball in Bens hand and throw as often as we do now.

Oh, but Tomlin had to be interviewed for the Rooney Rule? Wrong. The Steelers had already interviewed Ron Rivera, the defensive coordinator of the Bears.

Ben went to the Rooney family and said that they needed a young coach, one that would transform this Steelers team into a pass-first team. Bring in a defensive coach, and promote his boy to offensive coordinator.

Don’t think that is why Arians was kept? I can hear the conversations when Ken Whisenhunt was OC.

“Ben, If I was the offensive coordinator, we would throw the ball on every play.”

Still don’t believe me? What about this…

Remember the concussion issue? Ben was medically cleared the day before the Ravens game to play. When he complained about the head aches, the doctor WOULD NOT CLEAR HIM TO PLAY!

That means that HE IS NOT PERMITTED TO EVEN DRESS!

Why did Ben dress for the Ravens game? Does Ben tell the Doctors what to do as well?

Ben has built this team to what it is, but you know what, I am 100-percent OK with it.

Here is how it happened. After taking the Steelers to the AFC Championship in his rookie season, Ben promised that he would take the Steelers to, and win, the Super Bowl. He delivered.

The first Super Bowl for the Steelers in ALMOST 30 years. A town like Pittsburgh NEEDED another Super Bowl. Steeler Nation, the most loyal fan base in the world (FOR ANY SPORT) deserved to once again say their team was the best. Ben PROMISED he would do it, AND DID!

The Rooney family knows what they have. They are who they are, and they do what they do. They have never changed it for anyone.

The Steelers are a run-first, smash mouth football team. Always have been.

NOT ANY MORE!!!

Right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers have what they have not had since Terry Bradshaw. A TRUE Franchise QB. One of the best to ever play for the Steelers. Roethlisberger has already set most of the Steelers QB records, and the ones he has not yet, he will.

After winning the Super Bowl, Ben was on Pardon the Interruption. Michael Wilbon asked Ben what his goal was in the NFL. Ben said he wanted to win three more Super Bowls.

He wants to have five—one more than Terry Bradshaw.The only record Steelers fans thought would never be broken, and Ben said he wants it. Are you going to bet against him?

Ben decided that Arians needs to stay, and the Rooney Family listened. Kevin Colbert could not change it. Mike Tomlin could not change it. It is what it is. Ben Roethlisberger is the man in charge of the Steelers, like it or not.

 

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Patriots and Bengals Playing to Win? Brady and Ocho Say They Are!

Most of the talk this week was about how the Bengals and Patriots would both fold the tents, and allow the Jets and Texans to have an easy game this week. According to Tom Brady, that just is not going to happen.

In a report from profootballtalk.com, Tom Brady was asked by his Dad is he would be playing the game, Tom did not know. Not wanting to let his Dad down, Brady asked Coach Belichick, and actually got an answer.

Yes !

“You’ll play, don’t worry about that,” Belichick told Brady. “You’ll be playing.”

Now, I know that some of us would be a little skeptical about a statement like that, I mean, look at how the Colts sent an engraved invitation to the Jets for the playoffs. But not the Patriots.

“Close game, blowout, we get behind, I’m expecting to play the whole game,” Brady said.  “I wouldn’t see why we wouldn’t.”

This comes as great news to the teams that are fighting for those final playoff spots in the AFC. Steelers, Broncos, and Ravens fans are all breathing a sigh of relief.

The number three seed in the AFC Playoff race has not yet been decided, as the Bengals and Patriots are both 10-5, and if either loses, while the other team wins, they will have the three seed.

Some people, LaMarr Woodley included has speculated the both the Patriots and Bengals would rest their starters to try and keep the Steelers from the post season. Maybe Belichick wanted to prove that the Patriots are more manly than the Colts.

Or maybe they just don’t like to lose.

Either way, if the Patriots can take care of the Texans, then the path to the playoffs for the Steelers just got a little easier.

Is Cincinnati planning to take out the Jets?

When the Indianapolis Colts decided that their starters getting a months rest was more important than an undefeated season, the Jets were handed control of their own destiny in the playoffs.

Yes, they have the option to sit who they like, when they like, but every time they do this, they end up with an early playoff exit.

Is Cincinnati going to be sitting their starters? Maybe not.

Chad Ochocinco stated that he is going to “escape Revis Island “. Ocho has stated that he is going to do what no other wide out in the NFL could do this season.

For that to happen, Ochocinco is going to have to play the whole game, and is going to have Carson Palmer throwing him the ball.

Maybe Chad was not supposed to say anything, but Ochocinco did, and it could mean that the Bengals are actually going to be playing their starters against the Jets.

If the Bengals and Patriots take out the Jets and Texans, respectfully, then with a win at Miami, Pittsburgh will be back in the playoffs to defend their title.

Either way, Sunday just got a LOT more interesting!

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Imagine, If You Will, If There Was No Free Agency in the NFL

One of my favorite writers here on Bleacher, Brian Carson, wrote an article about the Steelers All-Decade team.
It made me wonder, what would the Steelers look like, if there was no Free Agency in the NFL?

As most of you know, I am not someone that is real big on writing Slide Shows, and I have only done a couple of them.

If there is anyone that I forgot please add it to the comments, and I will add them to the slide show.

Begin Slideshow

Which AFC Wild Card Team Could Do the Most Damage?

Since the conclusion of Sunday’s Week 16 games, we have all been beaten to death with the playoff scenarios. The rumors, speculation, and innuendos are enough to choke a horse. If you want to know what the NFL says about it, check it out here.

But the question lies, which of the possible teams to make the playoffs can do the most damage if they get in? Here are the five possibilities ranked from worst to first.

 

5. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos started the season on fire, winning their first six games. Since then, they have gone 2-6. They are great when playing ahead or in an even game, but when they have to come from behind (Sunday’s game against the Eagles excluded), they tend to fall apart.

Their defense started out amazing, but is the main reason the team has suffered down the stretch. The offense does not have enough playmakers, so they would probably be a first round exit.

 

4. New York Jets

A late Christmas present by the Indianapolis Colts is the only reason the Jets are even alive right now. Instead of having a battle against a team in Week 17, Cincinnati will already know if they have a chance for the third seed before the game even starts.

If they don’t, then the Bengals will be sitting players like the Colts did.

With a rookie coach and quarterback, this is another one-and-done team, regardless of who they play.

 

3. Houston Texans

The Texans are playing the best football in franchise history. They have already assured themselves that they will have their best record ever, and they are looking like they could cause some waves in the playoffs.

Andre Johnson is solidifying himself as the second best receiver in the NFL (Larry Fitzgerald already has a lock on number one). The biggest knock on this team is playoff experience, which they have none, and that will matter once the playoffs start.

 

2. Baltimore Ravens

One of the biggest Jekyll/Hyde teams in the NFL. This team can be amazing one Sunday, and horrible the next. They have a defense that is still solid enough to keep teams out of the end zone, and an offense that can put points on the board.

If the Ravens make it to the playoffs, they will be able to push any of the top four seeds to the brink, and even cause some upsets. Baltimore could end up playing in the AFC Championship again, like they did as a wild card team last year.

 

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

Call me a homer if you like, but the Steelers have what it takes to make a run at the Super Bowl. Some people will point to the fact that the Steelers have lost to the Browns, Raiders, and Chiefs. While that may be so, they have also defeated the Vikings, Chargers, Packers, and Ravens.

When the Steelers are at full strength (Troy Polamalu in the lineup)—which they will be if they make it to the playoffs—they can beat anyone.

Add to that the playoff experience this team has, if the Steelers make it to the playoffs, teams should be scared. This team could make a Super Bowl run from the six seed. They have done it before.

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NFL Playoff Scenarios: AFC Picture For Seeds No. 3 Though 6

Last week at this time, there were eight teams fighting for the two AFC wild-card positions. Two teams at 8-6, four teams at 7-7. Now, there are five teams remaining.

Sunday’s games will determine seeds 3-6.

Seed 3 – New England Patriots or Cincinnati Bengals

Seed 4 – New England Patriots or Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals and Patriots have already won their divisions, and are guaranteed a home game in the AFC Playoffs. Both teams are 10-4, so if one wins, and the other loses, the winner will be the three seed, and the loser will be the four.

If BOTH teams win, or lose, the following is the tiebreaker procedure according to NFL.com.

1 – Head-to-head, if applicable.

No head to head game. N/A

2 – Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.

If both teams win or both teams lose, then they would have an identical conference record. N/A

3 – Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.

Common opponents

Ravens / Texans / Jets / Broncos

The Bengals are currently 2-2, with one game to play against the Jets.

The Patriots are currently 2-2, with one game to play against the Texans.

Meaning that if both teams win, or both teams lose, their records will be identical in this category as well. N/A

Strength of victory.  This is defined by ASK.com as the combined records of the opponents in each of the team’s wins.

Bengals – 68 wins, .403

Patriots – 73 wins, .433

Considering the Jets and Texans have the same record, regardless of both teams winning or losing, this number would not change. By virtue of the third tiebreaker, the Patriots hold the tiebreaker over the Bengals, and if both teams have the same outcome, the Pats would get the No. 3 seed.

For those of you that do not believe there is a difference between being the three or four seed, if both advance past the wild-card round, the difference is playing against the No. 1 seed, or the No. 2 seed.

Add to that, if both the three and four seed defeat the top two seeds, then the AFC Championship will be played at the three seed.

According to NFL.com, this is the tiebreak scenario for the AFC.

Seeds five and six are a LOT more confusing.

There are five teams that are still battling for the final two spots.

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Pittsburgh Steelers

Houston Texans

New York Jets

I am not going to even begin to get into the tie breakers between these five teams. Suffice it to say, two will advance, three will go home. Here is the interesting part.

Sunday’s games.

New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans

Cincinnati Bengals vs. New York Jets

The two teams that are guaranteed to make the playoffs, will both be playing two teams that are trying to earn the w ild-card spots. Currently, the Patriots/Texans game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., while the Bengals/Jets game is set for Sunday Night Football.

One of the most confusing areas in the NFL is the debate over who will go to the playoffs, and who will go home, provided all of the teams win.

One of the speculations is, if the Ravens make the playoffs, and there is a tie between more than two teams, the Steelers will be eliminated. This is wrong.  As NFL.com says,

When the first Wild-Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild-Card, i.e., eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. In situations where three or more teams from the same division are involved in the procedure, the original seeding of the teams remains the same for subsequent applications of the tie breaker if the top-ranked team in that division qualifies for a Wild-Card berth.

This says, IF the Steelers and Ravens and any other teams have the same record, because of their better AFC North record, the Steelers would be eliminated from the five position. However, when it comes to the six seed, the Steelers are back into consideration, and the tiebreaker procedure would start over.

Meaning, if Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Denver are all 9-7, Baltimore would get the five seed because they would eliminate the Steelers by division, and eliminate the Broncos because of head to head. The number six seed would then be determined between Pittsburgh and Denver, and because of Pittsburgh defeating Denver earlier in the season, Pittsburgh would get the six seed.

At this point right now, here are the standings for the five remaining teams in the hunt for the AFC Wild Card race.

Here is the playoff scenario for each team.

Baltimore Ravens

Win and in as five seed.

New York Jets

Win and in as six seed, unless Baltimore loses, then five seed.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Win + Jets loss or tie and Texans loss or tie, or

Win + Ravens loss or tie + Jets or Texans loss or tie.

Denver Broncos

Win + Ravens loss or tie + Steelers loss or tie + Jets loss or tie or Texans loss or tie.

Houston Texans

Win + Two of the following teams must lose or tie, Baltimore/Denver/Jets

Here is the link to the NFL.com tiebreaking procedure.

 

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Ravens Vs. Steelers Game To Be a Shoot Out? Looking That Way

Three times during the 2008 NFL season, the Steelers and Ravens locked up for battle. The three matches were the normal, Steelers-Ravens games.

These were brutal, hard hitting affairs where players were often injured. A commentator said during the AFC Championship Game that these two teams were the hardest hitting teams in the NFL.

If that is what you are looking for this weekend, you better watch another game.

The Steelers and Ravens are both banged up on the defensive side of the ball. The two best safeties to probably play the game, Troy Polamalu for the Steelers (Out-Knee) and Ed Reed for the Ravens (Doubtful – Neck) will not be playing. This changes the complexity of both teams dramatically.

The Steelers are also without Aaron Smith, who anchors the defensive line. Though Ziggy Hood is coming along, and will one day be able to replace Smith, he is not there yet.

The Steelers defensive woes are not attributed to injury, but to the struggles of their offense.

Last year’s version of the Steelers were ranked number one overall, number one against the run, and number two against the pass. With the Steelers’ run oriented attack on offense, their defense was fresh and well rested.

With the Steelers converting to a pass-first offense this season, they are forcing the defense to be on the field more than they have been in the past. This is giving opposing offenses more opportunities, and they are taking advantage of them.

For the Ravens, Tavaris Gooden did not practice this week, so he is also not expected to play. The Ravens linebackers are not the area where they should be concerned. However, their secondary is one of the most depleted in the NFL right now. Lardarius Webb, Fabian Washington, Haruki Nakamura and Samari Rolle are all on Injured Reserve (Rolle is on the PUP list, but is still not able to play).

With Ed Reed unable to play, that makes FIVE defensive backs that will not be in the game for Baltimore. Most teams don’t carry many more than that when the season starts.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for over 500 yards against the Green Bay Packers last week, who also had been diminished by injury, but nowhere near as bad as the Ravens are.

Offensively, The Ravens seem to be following the path of the Steelers. With second year pro Joe Flacco, they already have their version of Big Ben Roethlisberger. Like Roethlisberger, Flacco has size, arm strength and mobility. 

Everyone will know this offseason if the Ravens are seriously converting to a pass-first team if they go out and improve their receivers through free agency and the draft. This is not to knock Derek Mason, who is a great receiver but is getting older and slowing down.

The Steelers face a similar issue with an aging Hines Ward, but with the Steelers having Santonio Holmes, and rookie Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh has the weapons to be the pass-first team.

This should be a great game, but it will not be the normal 17-14 game that these teams are used to.

Pittsburgh wins 35-27.

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NFL Re-Alignment: The Division the Teams SHOULD Be In

While my daughter is playing with the gifts Santa brought her, and my wife is getting ready for our son to visit from Florida by cooking and cleaning, I have a chance to sneak down to the Man Cave and write an article for everyone.

I recently wrote an article about how the Colts will not be the team of the decade, regardless of having a perfect season, and in the comments, the discussion of re-alignment came up.

The Colts play in the AFC South, even though the Dolphins, who is the team located farthest South, is in the East. The reason being is that the NFL, when they did the last re-alignment, chose to keep the rivalry aspect of the game as the most important.

In doing so, there became an unnecessary advantage to the Colts, who were put in a division with the expansion Houston Texans; one of the most recent expansion teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars; and a team that was in serious salary cap issues, the Tennessee Titans.

Some people believe that this is the reason the Colts have been able to win 10+ games every year, but that is not what this article is about.

As a Steelers fan, I live close enough to Cleveland, Baltimore, and Cincinnati that if I wanted to travel and go to an away game, I could do so with ease. That is not the case for a lot of teams.

Indianapolis, Dallas and Miami really would have to either fly, or make it a weekly road trip if they wanted to see an away game in their division. Add to that, teams out West, who constantly complain (justifiably so) that having to travel to the East, creates an unfair advantage for the home team, because of jet lag, as opposed to teams who fly West.

I am going to realign the divisions, so that all of the teams are as close as possible to their division rivals. Yes, some of the rivalries that the NFL currently has will suffer, but I will also, later in this article, explain how we can keep those rivalries alive.

South

Miami Dolphins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Atlanta Falcons

Jacksonville Jaguars

North

New England Patriots

Buffalo Bills

New York Jets

New York Giants

East

Pittsburgh Steelers

Philadelphia Eagles

Baltimore Ravens

Washington Redskins

Central

Tennessee Titans

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals

Mid-West

Green Bay Packers

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

Detroit Lions

South-West

New Orleans Saints

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Seattle Seahawks  (Let’s be honest, unless they relocate, no team is going to be close to them anyway)

North Central

Minnesota Vikings

Kansas City Chiefs

St. Louis Rams

Denver Broncos

West

Oakland Raiders

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals

Every team will still play their division foes twice each year, home/away. That would count for six games per year.

Each team would play one other division which would be four more games, bringing the total to 10 games.

Each team would play the team that finished in the same standings position from the previous year. If you finished first in your division, you would play the other division winners. That would bring the total to 16 games.

With the NFL adding two additional games, that would leave two games left. Each team would then play the teams from their old division one more time.

Indianapolis would be in a different division than any of the teams they would be in under this format. In those three extra games, they would play the Titans, Jaguars and Texans once every year.

For teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, that already play each other twice each year, being in the same division, they would be able to add another team to play, but they would still be playing the Browns and Bengals once each year. The Cowboys would still be able to play the Redskins, Eagles, and Giants once each year.

The new rivalries that would be created, would be as good as the old ones. Pittsburgh/Philadelphia would be a battle, as would Baltimore/Washington. Miami/Tampa Bay would be fun to watch, as the Jets/Giants would be. Cowboys/Texans, Colts/Bears, Chiefs/Rams, 49ers/Raiders, Chargers/Cardinals and that is just to name a few.

Playoffs

Currently, every year there are 12 playoff teams. Four teams get bye weeks, but recent history has shown that the bye week has done more harm than good. The bye week will be eliminated, and four additional teams will be added to the playoffs.

With 16 playoff teams, each division will send the division winner, and the next eight best records will go to the playoffs. Instead of being seated by division, the seeding will be based on record.

In the first round, it would be 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc, etc. Unlike the current playoff scenario, the playoffs will be bracketed, so in the second round, the winner of the 1 vs 16 game, will not play the weakest remaining team, but the team that is next in their bracket.

The Super Bowl will then be played between the final two teams remaining from the playoffs.

Change to the Super Bowl format

Currently, the Super Bowl is chosen two to three years prior to being played. Each city that hosts the Super Bowl makes tons of money, which is not fair to the cities that never get to host it.

I do not believe that it would be fair to have a home field advantage to the Super Bowl so there is a format that will change to make the playing field even. All 32 teams will be put into a hat, and each one will get picked out one at a time, and the order that they are picked out, will be the order in which the Super Bowl will be hosted by that city. This way, each of the NFL’s 32 teams will get to host the Super Bowl once every 32 years.

To those of you that say it is not a fair advantage for the cold weather teams to be playing in the Super Bowl in a cold climate, is it really fair for a team like the Packers who play most of their games in the cold, to have to travel to a dome to play the Colts, who play in one for over half of their games? Would it be fair to have to play the Dolphins in Miami, or the Saints in New Orleans?

This would level the playing field, and if a team made it to the Super Bowl in the year that they host it, at least the odds are against it. The way it currently is, there are less than 10 venues that host the Super Bowl, and the other 22 teams have a 0% chance of playing at home for the big game, as to the 10 teams that do host it, have a 10% chance. Do you really see that as fair?

In my opinion, this would make the NFL a lot more interesting. Not only that, with first place teams having to play the other seven first place teams, would bring a new level to the parody that the NFL prides itself on.

Well, what do you think Bleacher Creatures? Do you think this is a real possibility? Do you think it is a waste of time? Do you think this is a good idea?

Let me know what you think below.

And I would like to take this chance to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and may God bless you all and keep you safe!

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Indianapolis Colts the Team of the Decade? Not a Chance!

There is an article out about how the Indianapolis Colts will have a legitimate claim to the crown of “Team Of The Decade”, provided that they can continue their tear through the remainder of the NFL regular season, continue through the playoffs, and win the Super Bowl, come February.

I hate to break it to Colts fans, but that is just not going to happen.

First off, with two regular season games remaining, plus two more playoff games, plus the Super Bowl, that leaves the Colts five games away from even being considered for the team of the decade, even by Colts fans.

Not only that, the Colts have won more regular season games so far this decade, and have only won one Super Bowl. Normally, the Colts are knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. To talk about the Colts as being the team of the decade is putting the cart before the horse.

For argument’s sake, let’s say that the Colts do finish the regular season undefeated, power through the playoffs, and in doing so, down the Pittsburgh Steelers (one team with a legitimate claim to the TOTD debate), and the New England Patriots (the only other team to have a legitimate claim to the TOTD debate). Then in Super Bowl XLIV, the Colts smash the New Orleans Saints (No. 1 seed in the NFC).

This would give the Colts the only undefeated, 19-0 season ever in the history of the NFL. It would open a debate on, “Are they the greatest team to ever play?” but to include them in the TOTD conversation, you have to compare them to, as I said, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.

If the Colts go undefeated, they would have a legitimate claim to pass the Steelers, as they would have the same amount of Super Bowl victories, and they would have an undefeated Super Bowl championship. Steelers fans would have no complaint as to the title not belonging in Pittsburgh.

New England, on the other hand, would have something to say about it.

The Patriots are currently the TOTD titleholders, having won three Super Bowls in the early stages of the decade. Three times the Patriots ended the season, winning on the biggest stage in the sport. There is nothing else that a team can hope for, but to be the champs when all is said and done.

Colts fans, at this point, will say things like,

“We have won more games than any other team this decade,”

and

“We have had more 10-plus wins than any team in this decade,”

and

“Peyton Manning has won more MVPs than anyone in this decade.”

And they would have a valid argument. I will be the first person to say that the Indianapolis Colts are the best regular season team of this decade.

Peyton Manning is possibly the greatest player to ever lead a team. He puts in more work than probably any two people from any team. He makes the players around him better, and that is what an MVP is supposed to do.

But, here is where I show why the Colts cannot be considered the team of the decade.

 

Jan. 16, 2000

The Colts fall to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs, 19-16. The Colts were not only the higher seed, but had a first-round playoff bye week, meaning they were one of the two best teams in the AFC.

 

Jan. 4, 2003

The Colts won their division, but had to host a wild-card game, which they lost 41-0. Shut out at home, against a team that did not even win their division.

 

2004

After defeating the Broncos and Chiefs, the Colts lost, at home , to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

 

Jan. 16, 2005  

After defeating the Broncos, the Colts would lose the divisional game against the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in Indianapolis , 20-3

 

Jan. 15, 2006 

As the top seed in the AFC playoffs, the Colts would lose in the divisional round to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18, and the game was not as close as the score.

 

2007

The year of the Colts. They defeated the Chiefs, Ravens, and Patriots, all on the road, and defeated the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, for the first Super Bowl in Indianapolis history.

 

2008  

The Colts traveled to San Diego to play a Chargers team that only made the playoffs because they won their division, even though they were only 8-8. The Chargers won the OT coin toss, drove down the field, and ended the Colts season, once again during their first game, 23-17.

 

The Colts playoff record this decade is 7-6. With the four victories the Colts had en route to their Super Bowl, they are 3-6 during the rest of the playoffs this decade, with four of those losses coming in their first playoff game.

When you think of the teams of the decade to this point—’60s Packers, ’70s Steelers, ’80s 49ers, ’90s Cowboys—there is something they all have in common. When the playoffs came, they were the team that no one wanted to play.

Every time a team was eventually named the TOTD, they were so because they dominated in the playoffs. That is when teams go from being great to being super.

I am not going to say for one second that the ’00s Colts are not a great team, because they are possibly the greatest team to ever play. But, when it comes to being super, they just could not complete the task.

Sorry, Colts fans, regardless of your record, teams are not afraid to play you. New England, San Diego, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh all know that, come the playoffs, if they play you, they believe they can beat you.

That is the difference between being great and being super .

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Changes the Steelers Need to Make for the Ravens Game: HUMOR

I wrote an article a couple weeks ago that was in the humor category, but people seemed to think it was serious. Even though it was tagged as a humorous article, I took a lot of heat for it.

So, I am telling you all right now, this is a humor article. Nothing I am saying is serious, and if you cannot take what I am saying as a joke, then stop reading now, and go do something productive with the three minutes you would have spent reading this!

As the Steelers enter their Week 16 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, the injury report is growing. Troy Polamalu is not expected to play, but Hines Ward is going to play, regardless of what anyone says or does from here until Sunday (That part is actually true, as Ward said so on ESPN 1250 here in Pittsburgh).

Limas Sweed has been put on the Non-Football/Injury/Illness report. No one knows what the illness is, but I am breaking that story right here.

I caught up with Sweed as he was about to board a plane back to Texas, and while he choked back tears, he told me, “I just can’t stand to watch the defense melt down like this in the fourth quarter.”

Joey Galloway has been signed to add depth to the Steelers wide receiving corp. With Galloway doing so well in New England this year, Mike Tomlin decided to bring him in. What no one knows is that Galloway is not coming to take the place of Sweed—who would not have played anyway—but to take the place of Hines Ward.

Ward will be playing, but not on offense.

Ward, who many believe is one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, will be starting at safety for the injured Troy Polamalu. When asked if he would be able to convert to Safety, Ward said, “Could I possibly do worse than Tyrone Carter?”

When asked about how the Steelers will fair in the passing game without Ward, there were conflicting statements from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

Arians insisted that the Steelers would be focusing more on running the ball, as he promised to get both Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker more carries than they have had all season. He also promised that they would both carry the ball at least four times each.

Roethlisberger has other thoughts on the matter, saying, “Did Bruce really say that?” Before adding, “he can send in any plays he wants, I’ll just change them at the line like I always do. At least when we score.”

The Steelers’ special teams have been an area of concern, and long snapper, Greg Warren, has been placed on season-ending IR. The rumor the Steelers want everyone to believe is that last year’s long snapper, Jared Retkofsky, has been re-signed. They want people to believe this so much that they even added his name to the roster on Steelers.com.

Truth be told, James Harrison is going to be handling the long snapping duties Sunday. Everyone knows that Harrison’s best games come against his former team, the Ravens, so Tomlin is going to do everything in his power to get him on the field as much as possible.

As for the defensive concerns, with teams passing at will on the Steelers secondary, Dick LeBeau has stated that it is not going to happen this Sunday. LeBeau said in our telephone interview this afternoon, “The Ravens don’t throw the ball, so we really don’t have to worry about that,” and then added, “do they even have a receiver that is active this week?”

Overall, Tomlin has stated that this week’s game is going to be a heavyweight battle royal, where two of the hardest-hitting teams in the NFL will meet in a 15-round battle. Tomlin stated, “We feel that it is important to go for the knock out, because if this game goes the distance, anything can happen.”

ALL QUOTES IN THIS ARTICLE ARE FAKE AND MADE UP BY ME! NONE OF THE PEOPLE SAID ANYTHING THAT I SAID IN THIS ARTICLE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HINES WARDS COMMENT FROM ESPN 1250.

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Will Mike Holmgren Turn the Cleveland Browns’ Fortunes Around?

Mike Holmgren has officially been hired by the Cleveland Browns. Browns fans are, and should be, excited. For the first time since returning to the NFL, there is someone that actually understands the game running the franchise.

Holmgren has led two different teams to the Super Bowl. While with the Packers, Holmgren was 1-1 in the biggest game in football. In Seattle, he was 0-1.

Although the Browns have turned things around, at least a little, by winning two straight games, one against the hated Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns are slowly becoming the team that is not the joke of the NFL.

This is, by FAR, not going to be a cake walk for Holmgren. There are a lot of tough decisions that are going to have to be made.

Coaches

Right off the bat, Holmgren is either going to have to completely replace the coaching staff, or stick with the one in place. ESPN reports that because Holmgren is a former coach, he understands that you can not judge a coach on only one year leading the team. The question is, has Eric Mangini done enough to warrant keeping his job?

If you look at the moves that have been made by Mangini (Do not even TRY to blame roster moves on Kokinis), such as the QB shuffle, the trading of players that were leaders on the team (Winslow, Edwards), and the value he got in return for them.

The fining of $1000 for a bottle of water, bussing the rookies to a youth camp in New York, the many trades the Browns made in the draft last year, and the contract issues that are certain to come up with returner extraordinaire, Josh Cribbs.

Players

Then, the most important decision for the actual team is going to come into play. What is he going to do about the QB position? Is Quinn the man they are going to stay with, or will it be Anderson? What about drafting one? Is Holmgren going to be willing to take one in the top half of the first round?  If he does, what does he do with Quinn and Anderson?

Then, what is going to happen with Cribbs? There is no question that Cribbs is the MVP of the team. Will Holmgren be willing to break the bank for someone that is more of a returner than any other position? Sure, he has done great in the wildcat, but is that really all the attention you want to give your best player?

What then is going to happen with the offensive line? It seems that half of the Browns offensive line is already set, but the other side needs some major adjustments. Where the left side has played well all year, the right side needs a lot of work.

The defense played against the Steelers in Pro Bowl form, then against the Chiefs, they allowed over 30 points, which is not a good way to follow up a great performance.

Draft

Once April comes, some of the answers are going to be in place. We will know if Mangini is still going to be with the team, and we will PROBABLY have a good idea who the quarterback is going to be, or if Anderson or Quinn will even be on the roster come April.

Either way, Holmgren has some hard decisions that need to be made. Will Holmgren be able to right this ship? Will he be just another face of a franchise that has not had success since the inception of the Super Bowl 44 years ago?

Only time will tell, but Browns fans have a reason to be optimistic for the first time in a long time.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

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