It Was A Great Sunday Of NFL Football Games-Maybe The Best In Its History

The Browns are fading fast in the brutal, hotly contended AFC North. In a division where the Brown legacy is written all over it, the Cleveland Browns seem to be comfortable at the bottom year after year. Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns sister team, is riding high on two rookies, and the former Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, are sitting on top. Going into the final stretch of the season there is alot of football left to play between these teams, but after beating the Steelers it appears Baltimore is emerging as the favorite, for now at least. Stay tuned, that could change in a blink of an eye. Sunday's lineup produced a boat load of down to wire thrills.

Baltimore had been leading through most of the game until Mike Wallace came across the field to snag a Ben Roethlisberger pass that was meant for Antonio Brown in the end zone. It surprised Roethlisberger and stole a moment of glory from Brown. You take'em anyway you can get'em. The touchdown put the Steelers up 20-16 with alittle under 5 minutes left. The ball exchanged hands once more and then with 2:17 left on the clock it was Baltimore's possession.

Unflappable Joe Flacco faced the daunting task of taking it down field from his own 8 yard line. He was up to the challenge. The fans of Pittsburgh cringed and watched helplessly as the Ravens marched up the green methodically, but time was favoring the Steelers. Flacco, from Pittsburghs 37, went for it all. Torey Smith was streaking into the end zone wide open. The crowd gasped as the pass was right on target, but Smith had the familiar case of butter fingers, and the crowd cheered in relief.

Flacco's receivers would let him down a second time in the end zone when David Reed dropped a perfectly delivered pass. Flacco shook off the disappointment. He had to. There were only seconds left between him and defeat. The next play Flacco took the snap and set himself, the opportunity presented itself a third time and it was Smith in the right side of the end zone. Did Flacco on seeing Smith, for a brief moment in his mind, hesitate to throw the ball to a receiver who had previously let him down? We will never know. If he did, it went unoticed as the ball landed into the arms of a sliding Smith. Redemption is sweet. Victory is sweet. Baltimore defeated the Steelers for a second time 23-20.

Green Bay and San Diego traded scores throughout three quarters. When the Packers thought they delivered the final blow, San Diego would come storming back. Green Bay scored two touchdowns in the fourth and were comfortably in the lead at 45-24. Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson hooked up for two quick scores and the Chargers were suddenly back in the game at 45-38. With 1:05 left, the ball was back in the hands of Rivers at his own 31. A San Diego score would possibly throw the game into an overtime shootout. A pass to Antonio Gates put it at the 50 yard line. Now the end zone was in view and within Rivers reach, but a familiar Rivers nemesis reared its ugly head, the dreaded interception. A pass in the direction of Jackson fell short and it was over.

St Louis and Arizona, two teams with identical losing records faced off in Arizona. The two teams traded field goals for three quarters with the Rams in the lead 9-6. The world proceeded to fall apart for Skelton and the Cardinals. It began to rain safety's, two to be exact. St Louis was now winning 13-6. Arizona would finally tie the game in the fourth on a Skelton pass to Larry Fitzgerald. It wasn't over even though there was 51 seconds left on the clock for the Rams to do something. In football time, 51 seconds is alot, especially when you only need a field goal to win.

St Louis got that chance. From Arizona's 42, the ball left Josh Brown's foot, but we will never know if it would have been good because it was blocked. End of quarter. Now comes OT. It didn't last long, one possession to be exact. Patrick Peterson took a Donnie Jones punt 99 yards for a touchdown, Arizona 19-13 over St Louis. The sad thing about it, Jones had an opportunity to easily stop Peterson, but muffed it.

New England and NY Giants game ended with the Patriots being totally stunned. The NY Jets and Buffalo Bills traded blows with the Jets getting the better of the Bills. It was an exciting day of NFL football, maybe one of the best in its history. The Bears and Eagles are next on Monday Night Football. Will it continue?

Week 8 In The NFL Highlights Some Surprises And Follies

Denver got t-boned by Detroit. Pittsburgh stole the show from New England. Buffalo buffaloed Washington. Cincinnati clawed their way to victory over Seattle. Philadelphia soared over Dallas. Whoopsy San Diego made a late game mistake that cost them a victory. But, the shocker of all shockers was St Louis ramming New Orleans into the wall of shame.

The Rams going into their contest with the Saints were 0-6. The previous Sunday they were pummeled by inconsistent Dallas. Meanwhile. the Saints thoroughly embarrassed Manningless Indianapolis, scoring 62 points. So, what the heck happened to the Saints, who I would not have picked to lose in a million years against the Rams? The answer is quite obvious, Steve Jackson and a relentless defense. The Ram defense took Drew Brees out of his usual rhythm. While on the otherside of the ball, Jackson ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns. The rest of the NFL teams, take note.

Detroit rebounded in a big way. They needed to reaffirm their legitimacy. Sure, it was just Denver, but a win is a win. Matthew Stafford had a career day. He threw three touchdowns on a total of 267 yards with a rating of 130.8. Tim Whoop-tee-do Tebow didn't have a bad day, running for 63 yards and throwing for 172 yards and one touchdown. His one huge blunder was a pick that went for a hundred yards and a touchdown. Tebow runs out of necessity because he gets easily flustered and can't find the open man. Running quarterbacks just don't go to the Super Bowl.

Buffalo is one of the surprises of the year. They are staying on pace with New England. One of the reasons, Fred Jackson is having a great year. He didn't score a touchdown in this one, but he accumulated a total of 194 yards of offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdowns to Scott Chandler. Buffalo faces a tough, opportunistic Jet defense that raise havoc a a quarterback. Jackson will be their ticket to victory.

Their were alot of borderline penalty calls that went against the hard luck Chargers in the Monday Night Follies. It was raining yellow flags from the beginning to the end. Game altering official calls that took scores away from the Chargers. That been said, San Diego shot themselves in the foot on numerous occassions. They could only get the ball across the goal line once. All the other times they entered the red zone, penalties and mistakes forced them back. Kansas City didn't fair much better, but came away with the win on an overtime field goal. The Chargers are looking eerily like the Browns of old.

Pittsburgh handled the Brady Bunch quite nicely. New England fought right down to the final seconds of the game when their final possession ended up sailing in the wrong direction and out the back of the end zone, courtesy Polamalu, after a Brady fumble. The result was a safety. The offense can't advance the ball on a fumble, but there is nothing ruling against the ball going backwards 25 yards after being slapped. Roethlisberger and Company controlled the ball twice as long as the Brady Bunch. Ouch. Now Pittsburgh faces a gauntlet of AFC North teams in the back stretch. Though, I don't think they need to worry too much about the touchdownless Browns. Unless, the Browns coaching staff gets their heads out of their keisters about the wide receiver dilemma. And that's another story.

Superbowl XLV-Who Will Walk Away With The Trophy

All this week will be dedicated to building anticipation for the upcoming Superbowl. Everyone is weighing in on how they think things will play out when the Packers meet the Steelers in Dallas. We know what each player is capable of doing and how each team matches up in perspective categories. As I said in my previous article it is often the unforeseen occurrence that determines the fate of the game. This game will be no acception when it comes to this happenstance phenomenon.

The Steelers are a proven winner when it comes to the big game. They have six Superbowls to their credit. Their last appearance was in Superbowl XLIII where they won. For the Packers it has been a long dry spell. The Packers have three Superbowl trophies and their last visit was Superbowl XXXII where they lost.

It is a tough pick to make a decision on. Emotionally you have a favorite, but pragmatically things may be different. If you were to add up all their ratings from offense and defense, the Steelers win hands down 38 to Packers 52. The Steelers are tough on the run with a rating of one and the Packers are tough on the pass with a rating of five.

Considering the Packers have been a predominantly passing offense with Rodgers at the helm, the Steelers will be preparing with emphasis on controlling him. The Packers can counter with the screen pass to Starks to keep the Steelers leery of putting the heat on Rodgers, which they will try frequently. The Steelers have more of a running threat with Mendenhall, so the Packers will be looking to shore up their run defense. There will be an opportunity here for the Steelers to utilize Heath Miller strategically to their advantage.

Well, here it is, my final thoughts and pick. It would be an easy choice if I were a Steeler fan. Alas, I am from Northeast Ohio and therefore a Browns fan. But one could counter and say the Steelers and the Browns are in the same AFC division. I am obviously stonewalling my decision.

I think the Packers passing attack will be to much for the Steelers to handle for the whole four quarters barring any unforeseen injury, like a concussion, to Rodgers. He just has to many choices when it comes to quality receivers and Polamalu is not omnipresent. The key for the Steelers will be how well they blitz Rodgers to offset that.

 

My cousin, who is a Steeler fan, will not like what's coming next. I am taking the Packers to win by a touchdown. Then again, the unforeseen occurrence will be suited up and we will have to wait to see whose colors it will be wearing on Sunday.

Steelers Versus Packers- Who Comes Out On Top

You can make all kinds of comparisons and evaluations when it comes to Steelers versus Packers, but as in any given game the unforeseen occurrence often determines its fate. Case in point, the famous Immaculate Reception by Franco Harris in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972. Harris snagged a deflected pass just before it hit the ground, and ran in for a touchdown that won the game.

You can execute a play perfectly on both sides of the ball, but often the ball has a mind of its own. I have seen fumbles bounce back into the hands of the person who fumbled it. Hail Marys get blocked by the defending team only to have it fall into the arms of the opposing team for a score. That being said, Pittsburgh and Green Bay execute plays better than most teams.

Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers are a good matchup for the upcoming Superbowl. Season statistics give Rodgers the edge, but only because Roethlisberger missed four games. By comparison, Rodgers is the more accurate passer and a greater threat if he gets past the line on the run, but Roethlisberger has the uncanny ability to slip out of potential sacks and adjust himself to find an open receiver. Rodgers chews up large chunks of realestate with each pass and utilizes the quick slant. Roethlisberger just frustrates a defense into making mistakes because a defense can't keep track of his receivers when he is on the loose.

Rodgers has a diverse receiving squad that can add yards to the initial reception. Greg Jennings, James Jones, and Donald Driver will prove to be handful for the Steeler secondary. The key for the Steeler defense will be to keep Rodgers from getting comfortable in the pocket and prevent him from getting outside. Mike Wallace for the Steelers is always a potential threat for the long ball and Hines Ward has a nose for the goal line. Tightend Heath Miller gives the Steeler offense versatility and Roethlisberger another option when he is on the loose.

The Steelers have an advantage in the running game with Rashard Mendenhall and the Packers defense has shown weakness in that area. The Steelers offense is going to come out firing to soften the secondary and then test the waters for the running game. James Starks for the Packers has shown promise as of late, but the Steelers are tops in defending against the run. The screen pass to Starks will be used frequently to keep the Steeler pass rush honest.

Each team's defense has their standouts. Clay Matthews, Charles Wodson, and Tramon Williams for the Packers. For the Steelers Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, and Lawrence Timmons. Both will do what they do best and that is blitz, blitz, and more blitz.

This is no surprise. The team that executes its plan will win, maybe. With all the bell ringing, pad smacking, helmet hitting contact that will be going on, the unforeseen occurrence may have something to say about the games final outcome. Just follow the bouncing ball.

Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers Are Going To Dallas

Aaron Rodgers came out firing off completions and before the smoke could settle Green Bay was up 14-0. The Bears stalled the onslaught before it got out of hand, but when Cutler went out with a knee injury, so did all hope for a Bear recovery. So you would have thought. The Bears proceeded to play shuffle the quarterbacks after two near picks by Todd Collins, who was quickly replaced by Caleb Hanie-Who. The Bears defense hung tough while Hanie seemed to breathe some life back into the offense, until a devastating interception close to their goal line ended up in the end zone for a Packer score and seemed to knock the wind out of the Bears, temporarily. Hanie came back with a quick score to make it 21-14. With a little over two minutes to play and one last shot to tie it up, the Bear offense moved down the field to within striking distance, but it was a pick by Shields that ended the Bears season and a bid for a spot in the Superbowl.

Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall ran for touchdowns during the first two quarters against the Jets. Pittsburgh's defense dominated and delivered a devastating blow when Ike Taylor sacked Mark Sanchez, forcing a fumble that William Gay ran 22 yards for another score. Shaun Suisham added a field goal and at the half time it was 24-3. The second half saw a resurgence by the Jets, only bcause the Steeler's defense, who was basking in a comfortable lead, backed off and soften their coverage giving the Jets some breathing room to move the ball, which they took advantage of. Mark Sanchez hooked up with Santonio Holmes for a 45 yard score. The Jets made it even more interesting when they sacked Roethlisberger in the end zone. Four minutes later Jerricho Cotchery caught a pass for a 4 yard touchdown and it was 24-19. The tide of the game seemed to be shifting in the Jets favor, but the Steelers executed a couple of first downs on their final possession and the clock ran out on the Jets. The Piper got his payment.

Both games were eerily similiar. Both winning teams jumped out to an early lead. The winning teams both scored all their offensive points in the first half. Both winning team's quarterbacks did not throw for a touchdown, but each ran for a touchdown. Both winning team's quarterbacks threw two interceptions. Both winning team's defense scored a touchdown. Both losing teams scored all their touchdowns in the second half. I'm sure their are other similarities, but these stood out the most. I picked both the Packers and the Steelers to win. It will be a good Superbowl XLV.

There is talk Jay Cutler's injury wasn't severe enough for him to remove himself from the game. True, everyone was surprised when they saw Todd collins come out onto the field and Cutler standing on the sideline with a supposed knee injury. I can only speak from experience. I suffered a knee injury in a game that turned out to be a severely sprained ACL. When the injury first occurred I got up and tried to walk it out, flexing my knee and bending it. At first it looked as if it was only temporary, but as time passed it got stiffer and stiffer, until I couldn't even walk on it. I had to sit the rest of the game out. Later I found out it was an injury to the ACL. It would have been stupid for Cutler to continue playing, jeapordizing himself and his team. It was the right call.

NFL Conference Championships-Who Will Go To The Big Show?

This Sunday it will be decided who will go to the "Big Show" February 6 at Cowboys Stadium. New England and Atlanta, both the top seeded teams, have been eliminated by Wild Card teams NY Jets and Green Bay Packers. What happened? The old adage, "Anything thing can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL", rings true. You have one shot and one shot only when it comes to the playoffs. Lose and you are out. The Patriots had all the advantages going in, but the Jets disrupted Brady and Company just enough to edge them out. The Packers, they outright annihilated the Falcons, but with the way Rodgers has been playing of late, you kind of expected it. The Steelers, they plain and simple know how to win playoff games. The Bears, they will be facing an old rival.

Steelers showed once again in their game with the Ravens there is no quit in them. They will just keep coming at you until you buckle under the pressure. Mark Sanchez better be on his toes this Sunday because the Steelers defense is going to be attacking at every opportunity. If Sanchez sits in the pocket for any length of time he is going to get stuffed and the potential for a game breaking turnover will increase. The Steelers defense is number one against the run. If they succeed at doing what they do best, they will be zeroing in on Sanchez. Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers can burn you at any given moment as was seen in this past Sunday's game. Wallace is Roethlisberger's deep threat, but new comers Brown and Sanders are now on his radar. Hines Ward, he will grin at you like Davy Crockett grinned at the bear and proceed to knock out your lights with a big play.

The Jets have an all around good defense and they are going to need it against Big Ben, who has an uncanny way of eluding sacks and leveraging his way out of tight situations. If the Steelers get anywhere close to the goal line, the Jets will have to contend with the straight ahead power of Mendenhall. I have already mentioned the Steelers will be attacking with an array of blitzes, so the Jets will need to keep Sanchez moving, looking for the quick dump off to the backs and releases to the wide receivers on quick slant patterns. Any kind of mistakes by the Jets will prove to be their undoing with an opportunistic Steeler team.

Aaron Rodgers appears unstoppable. He is passing with accuracy and running for touchdowns when the openings present themselves. He will be facing a tougher Bears defense in this one. It will be difficult for the Packers to establish a run game because the Bears are ranked number two against the run. The Packers will need to come out shooting in the beginning to throw the Bears into confusion and soften up their linebackers, then test the waters for the running game. The Packer defense will be putting pressure on Cutler to raddle him with hopes of forcing a mistake, but will have to be careful of the Bears superior running game.

Jay Cutler is coming off one of his best performances. Like Rodgers, he is passing and running well. Greg Olsen appears to be his main target along with Matt Forte. Cutler will be doing much the same as he did last week, screen passes and quick hits, but will have to watch out for Clay Matthews. Forte will need to play a huge part if the Bears are to succeed, especially in establishing a running attack to assist Cutler. The Bears defense is tough on the run, but unfortunately are weak in the one area they need toughness, the passing game. All I got to say is good luck with that Bears.

In conclusion, every week I have said the Jets have used up their nine lives and are living on borrowed time. Well, this week they will be paying the Piper. When it comes to making mistakes, I see the Jets and Bears as being more proned. It's looking like a Steelers-Packers Superbowl, but in the Bizzaro World of NFL it will be Jets-Bears.

 

Playoffs - Conference Championships

SUN, JAN 23 TIME (ET)

Green Bay 24 at Chicago 20 3:00 PM FOX

Soldier Field

NY Jets 21 at Pittsburgh 27 6:30 PM CBS

Heinz Field

Steelers Beat Ravens Again And Packers Were Near Flawless

All I got to say is, "Wow, what a football game." It was everything you expected out of a Steelers-Ravens game and more. It was a tale of two games. The first half looked as though Baltimore was going to run away with it. Baltimore's defense, Suggs in particular, brutalized Roethlisberger. It ended with the Ravens sporting a two touchdown lead. Then the second half started and from there it was all Pittsburgh in the third quarter, returning like for like on Flacco and capitalizing on Raven mistakes. They traded field goals and then it happened. A huge pass play put the Steelers in striking range and Mendenhall bullied his way for a touchdown and the lead. A personal foul gave the Ravens a ray of hope and the kick return went to mid-field. With a fourth down and the game on the line Houshmandzadeh couldn't put away a near perfect throw from Flacco. Both teams played their hearts out, but somebody had to lose and that somebody was Baltimore, again. Final tally was 31-24.

Ben Roethlisberger struggled, but got the job done in his usual fashion, hard-nose football. Roethlisberger accumulated 226 yards and two touchdowns. Rashard Mendenhall toughed out 46 yards on the ground and scored two hard fought touchdowns. Wallace and Ward saw very little in the way of big catches, but when it comes to Hines Ward you got to love the way he plays the game, full of enthusiam. He scored one touchdown. Brown and Sanders accounted for the bulk of reception yardage. Pittsburgh's defense kept the Steelers in the game and forced crucial game altering mistakes.

Joe Flacco gave it his best shot. You can't fault him. A potential touchdown pass was dropped at the goal line and a pivotal game saver was muffed at the end that could have put the Ravens in a position to put the game into overtime. He didn't put up big numbers and dropped passes were of no help. Rice was relatively controlled running for only 32 yards with an equal amount of reception yardage. Rice did score one touchdown. Heap topped the receivers with 43 tards and a score. So why was the game so close? It was defense. The Ravens defense had 6 sacks plus 8 hits on Roethlisberger. They scored on one of the strangest looking plays. With the ball laying on the ground after Roethlisberger was hit, everyone was standing around in a fog, until Redding smartly went over, picked it up, and trotted in for the score.

Atlanta and Green Bay were trading touchdown for touchdown to start and then all hell broke loose on Atlanta. Atlanta was making a bid on the goal line when a Matt Ryan attempt fell slightly short of its mark in the end zone and was picked off. The ball was now in the hands of Rodgers who methodically moved down the field for a touchdown. Some plays later, again Ryan was picked off by Tramon Williams, this time returned 70 yards for a score. That was half time and that was it. Green Bay never looked back. Rodgers and Company flat out dominated. Atlanta's misery ended at a 48-21 drubbing.

What can you say? "It's a beautiful day in the Atlantahood, it's a beautiful day in the Atlantahood. Would you be my neighbor?" Mr Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were anything but neighborly with the Falcons. Rodgers put in one of his best performances. He only missed on 5 passes out of 36 attempts. That is one of the best ratios I have ever seen. He threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns adding another on the ground. Four of his receivers had over 75 yards each with Greg Jennings topping out the group at 101 yards. The Packers defense forced four turnovers. Tramon Williams once again shined with two picks, taking one to the house.
 
Atlanta's numbers, well we just won't go there. Matt Ryan and Company were undoubtedly releived to see this one finally come to an end. The empty stadium with four minutes left was an eerie reminder of what just happened. Oh, one highlight worth mentioning was Eric Weems record setting kick off return of 102 yards for a touchdown.

Steelers Steal the Show At Cleveland Browns Stadium-Obliterate Browns 41-9

When Roethlisberger hooked up with Mike Wallace for a 56 yard touchdown on their very first play on offense, it was all over. Did you expect it to end any differently? The Steelers just flat out annihilated the Browns. Before the pizza was done and you could pop the tab on another beer it was 31-3. If Roethlisberger would have played a full second half, the final score could have ended much worse than 41-9. By then a fair number of fans had long left the house, except for the yellow and black jerseys. The Steelers took the division and the No. 2 Seed position with a bye going into this week.

Colt McCoy had to feel like he was hit by a freight train. Sacked four times and picked off three times, it was his worse outing of his short season. He completed 20 passes out of 41 attempts for a total of 209 yards. McCoy did have more rushing yards than his partner Peyton Hillis, but that is nothing to brag on. Hillis could only eek out a total of 13 yards on 6 carries. Mike Bell accounted for another 14 yards on 5 carries. That's pretty much it with the offense, a total of 225 yards. Joshua cribbs was for the most part missing from the action. Certainly not the way Dawson wanted to make his exit seeing it was his last game as a Brown.

On the otherhand, the Steelers came out firing. The Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace tandem is a deadly combination going into the playoffs and their next opponents will have to reckon with it. Wallace accumulated 105 yards in receptions, a 56 yard catch for a touchdown was the highlight. Roethlisberger spread the wealth around to his receivers very effectively while he was on the field completing 15 passes for 280 yards. Rashard Mendenhall didn't have a major impact with 36 yards on 14 carries, but still accounted for two of the Steelers four touchdowns.

The Browns ended the season with alot of questions lingering. More than likely Man-Hougini will not return. The offense still lacks the ability to go vertical with a quick strike potential. The running game literally lost its steam. The missing-from-the-offense Joshua Cribbs remains a mystery. Who will be their next place kicker? Finally and not least of all, when will the Browns finally put it all together and set a winner on the field once again? Should I dare say it? The two words Brown's fans have pinned all their hopes on losing year after losing year? Okay, I will say it, "Next year." Let's enjoy the playoffs in the mean time.