NFL 2010

[skeptik]

Since Clark and Harrison are possibly the two worst offenders for illegal hits in the NFL, it's definitely possible there's something of a bias. But I can't feel any sympathy when there are guys who so blatantly try to injure opponents on that team. Karma, etc. How do you think the opponents of Pittsburgh have felt the past few years while those guys were spearing everyone? And they still won the game. In addition, I'm not sure the calls can be chalked up to much more than a home-team bias, which is seen everywhere every week, and bad luck/missed calls. Conspiracy is a stretch. At least this week. Anyone can have a tough week. I don't watch every Steelers game. I thought the Ravens should have tried the kick though. I know Flacco has a good record, but I think if you put him on St. Louis or Seattle or Oakland or Detroit he wouldn't impress anyone at all.

Ryan Clark has never been fined, so perhaps you should educate yourself beforehand. He had hits two+ years ago that would be illegal now, but I'm confident you can understand why that is irrelevant. The only personal foul called on Clark so far this year was an embarrassing call. He was called for a helmet to helmet hit on what was a shoulder to side contact. He was obviously flagged because the hit seemed to be pretty hard. There was no fine. And NFL officials have in the past apologized for flagging Clark when they shouldn't have.

The Steelers don't try to injure opponents, if you're referencing James Harrison's comments in which he distinguished between hurting an opponent and injuring an opponent. He said he never wants to injure an opponent, but he's trying to hurt him, by which he means effectively bruising an opponent and breaking his will. He doesn't want to give anybody a concussion or a broken leg or crack somebody's ribs, which seems to be what you're insinuating here. I'm sure you're intelligent enough to realize that referencing something like "karma" here is dumb as well.

As far as the calls go, I made it pretty clear that I don't care why the calls were missed, but they need to stop being missed. It is a bias regardless of whether or not it's intentional. You can't do this:

And you sure as fuck can NOT do this:

Can you seriously imagine Tom Brady being punched in the face like that or Tony Gonzalez taking a blow to the head like that and there being no flag? The referees are instructed to err on the side of safety. Does this mean that they have their flags in a holster when the Steelers play defense, but relax when Ben has the ball? It's becoming more and more difficult every week to justify not believing that. Even Terrell Suggs said he thinks the Steelers are being targeted. I think most people around here will probably remember that I'm the last person here to criticize officiating and give them the benefit of the doubt, but the changes in enforcement this season has led to a very sloppy transition, and it's gotten ugly.

And "those guys were spearing everyone"? I don't recall Asante Samuel or Rodney Harrison ever playing for the Steelers. The Steelers' reputation of being a dirty team is such a fucking crock of shit. Playing dirty is doing things deliberately. Even if somebody like James from time to time hits a quarterback the wrong way, it's not a deliberate, flagrant violation, but accidental.

Although, Krow, I do have to kind of agree with his comment on Flacco. He certainly does have a team around him. He's the only quarterback in NFL history to have 3 different receivers with 600 or more career catches at his disposal. Meanwhile, Ray Rice is one of the elite pass catching running backs in the league, and Todd Heap is a premiere tight end. The Ravens are also by far one of the healthier teams in the league this year. I do feel that Flacco sometimes gets more credit than he deserves.

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

Ravens played not to lose last night. Good defensive game tho.

and the Chargers are done.

 

[skeptik]

All right, now on to the game...

This was almost a prototypical Ravens-Steelers game, with the only exception being the excessively sloppy play. To begin with, Roethlisberger took a long time to get acclimated into the game. With the broken bone in his foot, he was off balance on a lot of throws and sailed a few balls that were relatively easy. I'm sure the broken nose didn't help either, which happened on the Steelers' third play of the game. On a play that should have been flagged and for which Haloti Ngata deserves a fine. Rashard Mendenhall did not have his best game, and this is taking into account the overall poor play of the offensive line. He showed hesitation a few times and missed some holes. The Ravens were superb in stopping the short yardage running game, however, winning the line of scrimmage battle more times than not. The only lineman able to handle Ngata one on one with any kind of success was Maurkice Pouncey, and that didn't happen too often. There were also muliple drops, most importantly one by Hines Ward that him him in the hands on third down that would have given the Steelers a first down around the Ravens' 35 late in the first half. Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, and Rashard Mendenhall also dropped catchable balls, though the one to Sanders would have been a nice individual effort.

The Steelers were already playing with injuries, including to their second tight end Matt Spaeth, so when Miller went down, their H-back/FB/tight end David Johnson had to spread wide in the passing game, which was quite frankly scary. Yet he got the job done and caught 3 balls, even if at one point he ran into Hines Ward when their routes crossed. I can't imagine Miller playing next week. It's crucial for Spaeth to get back on the field next week now, for a reason I'd rather not think about. Their punter, Daniel Sepulveda, is also done for the year. They now need to pick up a journeyman free agent punter. That should be fun. Flozell Adams also suffered a high ankle sprain and will almost assuredly miss at least a week or two. Assuming he misses time, this will be the6th or 7th different starting lineup they've put on the field this season. The only lineman now to start every game will be Maurkice Pouncey, and even he has missed significant time in two games.

It seems like both Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown have passed Antwaan Randle El now on the depth chart, at least when Brown is active. Randle El is now reduced to calling fair catches on punts deep near the goal line. Both young receivers cashed in on opportunities to make significant plays on a day in which Hines Ward and Heath Miller combined for two catches for under 30 yards. Mike Wallace had 5 receptions for 76 yards. He's starting to look more and more like Santonio Holmes in the short passing game. His further development will be crucial to the Steelers' success. Three of their top 4 receivers are in their first or second years, so they are very much in a somewhat developmental period.

Defensively, James Farrior had an excellent game, basically nullifying Ray Rice in the passing game, although Lawrence Timmons was also on that assignment. Both James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley played disruptive football despite neither recording a sack (though Farrior, Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu, and Ziggy Hood did). Both played a much more significant game than the stat sheet would suggest. They were integral in containing the pocket, and Harrison especially was a regular in coverage and doing an admirable job. The Ravens had two very deep passes, one of which was on Troy Polamalu for freelancing a blitz and leaving Ryan Clark one on one with Anquan Boldin. The second big play to Donte Stallworth was on Bryant McFadden, who had a...frustrating game. Ike Taylor, on the other side of the field, had another high quality showing. I believe he is pro bowl worthy this year, but he doesn't have the interception numbers (with two).

The defensive line was bolstered by the long awaited return of Brett Keisel to the starting lineup, who played rejuvenated football in an unglamorous position. He had a key batted ball late in the game on the Ravens' last drive, and consistently occupied blockers to make the linebackers' day easier. Ziggy Hood has gotten much better during the course of the year, and he finally got his first sack of the season, second of his career. Both of them are on Flacco. The second year player is a key cog in this machine if for some unfortunate turn of events the Steelers never get Aaron Smith back this season. It has been a long term projection that he might return in week 16, but if injuries continue to mount, they may be forced to put him on IR. If they only have one tight end this week, they may have to...

And finally comes the officiating. Aside from Roethlisberger being punched in the face and Heath Miller having his head bent backward, the referees also missed two other blatant calls, one a hold on Woodley on Flacco's 14 yard scramble that led to the Ravens' field goal, the other Suggs' personal foul on Roethlisberger for grabbing his helmet on first and goal, although they still scored a touchdown two plays later. But three of these four blown calls are a direct slap in the face to the newly implemented emphasis on player safety. Two contacts to a quarterback's helmet and a crushing helmet/shoulder/forearm/whatever to helmet hit on a defenseless receiver. the two that I'd previously referenced are textbook violations of the rules, the kinds of plays that the NFL would put on videos sent to all NFL teams to instruct them on what NOT to do. That these calls were not made is a horrible indictment on either the NFL's ability to officiate games or something even worse.

 

[muzmaze]

Looking forward to Pats v Jets. Pats usually don't disappoint in primetime games..atleast as far as entertainment value goes.

Recent Steelers / Ravens matchups have unfortunately become sloppy and not entertaining as a whole imo.

Sorry, no sympathy for the Colts and all thier injuries. Jesus Christ, its not like they are the only team that has injuries. Peyton is definitely suffering from no running game but still has some decent receivers available. Bottom line, poor decisions and way to many INT.s

 

[skeptik]

Update:

Jameel McClain fined $40,000, Haloti Ngata fined $15,000. It'd be nice to actually get the flags on the field, but at least having them acknowledged is a start.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

hahahahahaha fuck you Josh Mcdaniels

 

[Alteredmindeath]

Ravens were murdering the Steelers....literally beating the physical crap out of them. Ravens should of won that game, but they fucking blew it.

 

[Alteredmindeath]

Patriots just scored on the JETS.

 

[King Richard]

Dirty Sanchez is doing his best impression of Peyton Manning right now. This pleases me.

 

[Alteredmindeath]

WoW Patriots just demolished the JETS 45-3.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

Sanchez just isnt that good
Not looking forward to seeing the Bears playing the Pats

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

Now that we're in December we can look at each conference.

NFC AFC
Falcons 10-2 Patriots 10-2
Bears 9-3 Steelers 9-3
Saints 9-3 Jets 9-3
Eagles 8-4 Ravens 8-4
Packers 8-4 Chiefs 8-4
Giants 8-4 Jaguars 7-5
Buccs 7-5 Colts 6-6
Rams 6-6 Chargers 6-6

Like I said, there is no superiority.

and just to rub it in I might make a case for the NFC

 

[muzmaze]

Dirty Sanchez is doing his best impression of Peyton Manning right now. This pleases me.

No no not so much. Unlike Peyton, that Dirty Little Taco shows no sign of any brilliance as a QB while he is in the process of having a horrible 3 int game. For every bad throw Peyton makes he makes about 5 amazing throws. Nor does Sanchez have as many annoying commercials as Peyton

Sanchez just isnt that good
Not looking forward to seeing the Bears playing the Pats

I see this as a tough one for the Pats especially going into Chicago...and maybe a little letdown after beating the Jets? Though, I really don't see how anyone stops this Pats offense right now. However the Bears have always scared me defensively. If the Pats own defense shows up and steps up...keeps bending but not breaking...then they are pretty tough to beat.

 

[King Richard]

Welp, Bob Sanders was placed on injured reserve. His career with the Colts is probably over now. sigh

 

[Mort Divine]

I don't know how you can say that Sanchez shows no flashes of brilliance as a QB. Aside from the Patriots game he's been good to great all year. The only criticism of him this year really has been his accuracy and completion percentage, and the CP can be partially blamed on him making the (somethings good, sometimes bad) decision to throw the ball away instead of making a risky throw.

He's certainly no worse than Josh Freeman who I think people would say shows great promise every week. Only reason people are riding Sanchez so hard is because of how high he was picked.

 

[AchrisK]

Matt Cassel will most likely be out this week against the Chargers. The Chargers better win this one. I have all but given up on them getting to the post-season this year.

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

I don't know how you can say that Sanchez shows no flashes of brilliance as a QB. Aside from the Patriots game he's been good to great all year. The only criticism of him this year really has been his accuracy and completion percentage, and the CP can be partially blamed on him making the (somethings good, sometimes bad) decision to throw the ball away instead of making a risky throw.

He's certainly no worse than Josh Freeman who I think people would say shows great promise every week. Only reason people are riding Sanchez so hard is because of how high he was picked.

As someone who watches every Jet game I can tell you that Sanchez has improved his timing and accuracy dramatically. He has also improved in the pocket.

The one thing I do see in his game is that he tends to panic when the team is down and he tries to do too much. He's much better under a controlled gameplan that supports a lead and a running game, but who isn't?

He's never going to be a game changer, but he's a really good 'balanced system QB' much like Matt Cassel. As he gets older he will be an excellent manager of his offense.

 

[King Richard]

Matt Cassel is horrible. The Chiefs need a better QB if they want to win some Stuper Bowels.

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

Matt Cassel is not horrible. He's a balanced QB.
60% completion percentage
2500 yards
23 tds 4 ints
98 qb rating

He is nothing great but he's consistent and reliable.

You need to step outside of your Peyton bubble and watch more football.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

Cassel isnt anything special. But he has a real good running game and defense.