Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 14 Power RankingsDecember 2, 2008
Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis
32. Detroit Lions 0-12 (32)
At least this is a team for the ages.
31. Cincinnati Bengals 1-10-1
Can’t tell the difference between their starting lineup and injured list these days.
30. Oakland Raiders 3-9 (26)
Hahahahahahahahaha
29. Seattle Seahawks 2-10 (28)
We keep hearing that Matt Hasselbeck is getting healthy. So what?
28. Kansas City Chiefs 2-10 (31)
Not sure we can call their last one a win, but at least they were present for the Raider loss.
27. St. Louis Rams 2-10 (30)
At this point, they’re counting the close losses as victories.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-8 (24)
This defense quit on Monday night.
25. San Diego Chargers 4-8 (22)
Fire him.
24. San Francisco 49ers…
Sunday Snide Remarks - Week 13 Late GamesDecember 1, 2008
Minnesota Vikings 34, Chicago Bears 14
- I never stick around to see who NBC puts on the horse trailer afterwards, but I can tell you who deserved to be on it Sunday night: Kevin Williams, Pat Williams and Jared Allen. This is what the Vikings are built on – dominance up front.
- Adrian Peterson’s output was better on paper than on turf Sunday night. Peterson ran hard for four quarters, but give the Bears defense a lot of credit for slowing him. If you take away his 59-yard run (which was simply a great individual play), Peterson had just 72 yards on 27 carries.
- I agree with Madden and Michaels when…
Week 13 Power RankingsNovember 25, 2008
32. Detroit Lions 0-11 (previous rank: 32)
Let’s go ahead and rank them 33rd simply for symbolic purposes.
31. Kansas City Chiefs 1-10 (previous rank: 28)
Not to call out one guy – and a good guy – but where has Tamba Hali been this year?
30. St. Louis Rams 2-9 (previous rank: 31)
If they could lose in practice, they probably would.
29. Cincinnati Bengals 1-9-1 (previous rank: 29)
Is there anyone out there who still thinks they shouldn’t dump Chad Johnson?
28. Seattle Seahawks 2-9 (previous rank: 27)
God bless the Seattle fans. The city is enduring perhaps the worst sports year in history, but Qwest Field was still rockin’ last Sunday.
27. San Francisco 49ers…
Week 12 Power RankingsNovember 18, 2008
32. Detroit Lions 0-10 (previous ranking: 32)
At least they’re forming one heck of a storyline for the Thanksgiving game.
31. St. Louis Rams 2-8 (previous ranking: 29)
The defense has tanked the season.
30. Oakland Raiders 2-8 (previous ranking: 31)
Al Davis’s legendary club is movin’ on up in the rankings.
29. Cincinnati Bengals 1-8-1 (previous ranking: 30)
So bad that even when they don’t lose, they still can’t find a way to win.
28. Kansas City Chiefs 1-9 (previous ranking: 28)
Chiefs fans probably don’t care, but this might all be worth it if they wind up finding a franchise quarterback in Tyler Thigpen.
27. Seattle Seahawks 2-8 (previous ranking: 27)
A classic case of a lost…
Sunday Snide Remarks - Week 11 Late GamesNovember 17, 2008
Dallas Cowboys 14, Washington Redskins 10
- Marion Barber gave one of the great running back performances in the NFL this season. He rushed for 66 of his 114 yards in the fourth quarter and touched the ball on Dallas’s final 11 plays to ice the game. It was a season-saving effort from a gutsy leader.
- Terrell Owens had five receptions for 38 yards in this game. The physicality of the Washington defensive backs got to him a bit, but more than that, there was a lack of continuity between Tony Romo and all of his wide receivers. It’s worth noting that Owens has now gone five straight games without topping the…
How to fix “Roughing the Passer”November 14, 2008
The din from complaining about the NFL’s enforcement of personal fouls for violent play has increased this season – most notably on roughing the passer. Fans are booing louder and longer. Television commentators, who, as a whole, normally praise the NFL at every opportunity, are griping more vociferously. And players are starting to speak out.
A few weeks ago, Pittsburgh Steelers enforcer Troy Polamalu said that football “just loses so much of its essence when it becomes like a pansy game.” (He wasn’t referring strictly to roughing the passer rules.) Polamalu added, “It has more to do with money and not really with our safety.”
He’s right. And what’s wrong with that? Money…
Podcast - Week 11 GamePodsNovember 12, 2008
Andy Benoit offers previews on all the Week 11 NFL action.
Click play to listen (Firefox users click audio icon)
Week 11 Power RankingsNovember 11, 2008
32. Detroit Lions (0-9)
More than halfway to history.
31. Oakland Raiders (2-7)
It takes a special team to find a way to lose when the opposing quarterback is 7/27 passing with four interceptions.
30. Cincinnati Bengals (1-8)
If they could have fallen to 1-9 on their bye week, they would have.
29. St. Louis Rams (2-7)
It’d be hard to get down 40-0 at halftime even if you were trying to throw the game.
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-8)
They don’t win games, but you have to admire the way they’ve competed as of late.
27. Seattle Seahawks (2-7)
Playing Matt Hasselbeck at this point is the bonehead move of the year if the QB’s back…
Sunday Snide Remarks - Week 10 Late GamesNovember 10, 2008
New York Giants 36, Philadelphia Eagles 31
- Andy Reid plain got out-coached by Tom Coughlin in this game. Besides calling failed back-to-back handoffs on Philadelphia’s final possession, Reid made the inexcusable error of wasting his first challenge out of desperation on the first Brandon Jacobs non-fumble near the goal-line. I’ll never understand why some coaches challenge out of sheer hope for a miracle.
- Speaking of Jacobs’s non-fumble, how many guys fumbled after being down by contact in this game? It seemed like every other play there was a non-fumble.
- When Brandon Jacobs gets a full head of steam, he is the most difficult player to stop in all of football.
- Not…
NFL Midseason All-Pro TeamNovember 7, 2008
Offense
The running game has been huge in football this season, but everything still begins and ends with the QB (Cowboys fans know what I’m talking about). The trendy All-Pro pick is Kerry Collins. People love to righteously condemn others for calling Collins a game manager. “He’s much more than a game manager,” they proclaim. Well, no he’s not. Look at the numbers: 154 yards passing per game, three touchdowns, three interceptions. Collins epitomizes the game manager.
I want a quarterback who can carry his team to victory. Give me Drew Brees. The Saints QB is posting huge numbers and making the best and most consistent reads in football. His intelligence and…
