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Your First Place…Cleveland Browns?

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north stand

I think we’ve received our first sign of the apocalypse…

The NFL is unpredictable. Regardless of what the scamdicappers who advertise on late night TV may tell you, even the best gamblers are lucky to get half the games right on any given week. Never mind the fools at blogs who “preview” the next year’s games during the off-season or the media types who write preseason prediction articles. The reality is outside of the really really good teams and the really bad teams, it’s hard to figure where the rest are going to land.

Enter your first place Cleveland Browns.Read More »Your First Place…Cleveland Browns?

Why Can’t The Steelers Beat Bad Teams?

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il_570xN.413652325_tgor

The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost four times this season. Two of those losses came against division rivals Baltimore and Cleveland. That’s understandable because division games are traditionally tough for any team, regardless of records. Their other two losses came at the hands of the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers (still their only victory this year) and the 1-8 New York Jets. And the saddest part is neither of those losses was all that surprising.

Since 2012, the Steelers are 8-10 against teams with losing records at the time they played them. You want an explanation for back to back playoff-less 8-8 seasons, look no further than that. Until they figure out how to correct this habit of playing down their opposition, they’re never going to turn the corner. The NFL is all about parity – some might call it “mediocrity” – where the difference between 10 wins and a playoff berth or 8 wins and a mid-round draft pick is your ability to win the games you’re supposed to win.Read More »Why Can’t The Steelers Beat Bad Teams?

Week 9 Recap: Sweet Revenge

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Stonecold Shaun Suisham

Back in week two, the Baltimore Ravens humbled the Pittsburgh Steelers with a one-sided butt whuppin’. Last night, the Black and Gold got sweet sweet revenge thanks to yet another record-setting performance from Ben Roethlisberger. A rivalry once known for close games has now become a series of knockout punches. This time the Steelers were left standing at the end, owners of an epic 43-23 smackdown over their hated rivals.

Oddly enough, the first quarter seemed to imply doom for the hometown team. Ben was getting the bejeezus beat out of him, culminating in a late hit that left him checking if his jaw was still attached. There were actually two personal fouls called on that one play, which is just about the most Raven-y thing ever. Prior to that drive, though, the Steelers were stuck in neutral, going almost the entire first quarter without a single first down. Their first decent drive ended after Ben was sacked on three consecutive snaps and it really looked it was going to be a herculean struggle to get the ball in the end zone.Read More »Week 9 Recap: Sweet Revenge

Mediocrity Good Enough For Steelers

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hi-res-8838c9f7fec6e34838b90ade58faa038_crop_north

Monday night’s exhilarating performance aside, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a decidedly mediocre football team. That’s the bad news. The good news? In today’s NFL, that might be good enough.

The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks are on a two game losing streak following a stunning upset at the hands of the Rams. They’re still a quality team but they’re learning what Steeler Nation learned on two separate occasions: it’s hard to wear the crown. Not only does everybody give you their best shot, it’s nearly impossible to keep the same level of intensity you had pre-Lombardi Trophy. What’s more, the NFL is designed to ensure every team has a shelf life before they lose key pieces, others become too expensive to keep, and others simply lose their luster. Read More »Mediocrity Good Enough For Steelers

Week 2 Recap: Back To The Drawing Board

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Maybe Ryan Clark wasn’t so bad after all…

After a week dominated by the Ray Rice controversy, the Baltimore Ravens came out and crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-6 on the inaugural edition of CBS Thursday Night Football. Towards the end of the game, commentator Jim Nantz said the Ratbirds were “galvanized” by recent events proving nothing brings a team together better than a wife-beater. Then the players themselves did Nantz one better by dedicated yesterday’s performance to Rice, poor unfairly maligned soul that he is.

Stay classy, Baltimore.Read More »Week 2 Recap: Back To The Drawing Board

Know Thy Enemy: Baltimore Ravens

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suggs tomlin shirt

So, anybody know what’s been going on with the Baltimore Ravens?

I kid, I kid.

As if preordained by the Football Gods, the team that has been at the center of a media firestorm this past week happens to be playing in one of the league’s featured prime time contests. When CBS chose Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens for their inaugural telecast of Thursday Night Football, I imagine they did expected another epic chapter in one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries. They surely didn’t expect the Ratbirds to be one of the central players in an ongoing drama that spilled over to the mainstream media. Read More »Know Thy Enemy: Baltimore Ravens

Ray Rice Fiasco Proves Steelers Right All Along

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The Blind Eye Ray Rice

If you’re reading a football blog – particularly one dedicated to the Pittsburgh Steelers – chances are you’ve heard plenty about the Ray Rice fiasco the past couple days. The fact Rice has had his career nuked due to his reprehensible actions doesn’t interest me. Maybe some day he’ll be welcomed back by the Baltimore Ravens – perhaps they’ll even erect a freakin’ statue in his honor like they did for the murderous thug who played linebacker for them –  as nobody really expects better from a low class organization like the Ratbirds. But for now Rice is simply a lowlife scumbag who got exactly what he deserved.

What does interest me about the Ray Rice fiasco is the number of eyes it opened to the corrupt administration of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In recent days, everybody from Keith Olbermann to former governor Ed Rendell have called for Goodell to resign. And those who haven’t gone quite that far are still taking Goodell to task for his absolutely inept handling of the entire situation. Nobody has to tell Steeler Nation, though, as we’re a fanbase that has long been familiar with the slimy little weasel who sits in the commissioner’s office.Read More »Ray Rice Fiasco Proves Steelers Right All Along

Steelers Playoff Hopes Dwindling

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Beaky-Bastards

The Baltimore Ravens must be the luckiest team in NFL history.

They should’ve been one and done in last year’s playoffs only for Rahim Moore’s epic blunder to set them on course for a Super Bowl run. They defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a pivotal division match-up on Thanksgiving night thanks to five field goals by Justin Tucker. Last night, in an equally crucial Monday Night game, they somehow beat the Detroit Lions without scoring a single touchdown. Six more Tucker field goals was all the offense “elite” Joe Flacco and company could muster.

Maybe they should’ve given Tucker the $120 million dollar contract. Read More »Steelers Playoff Hopes Dwindling

Mike Tomlin Owns His “Blunder”

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Back and to the right… Back and to the right…

The controversy over what Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin did or didn’t do in his team’s Thanksgiving night loss to the Baltimore Ravens has reached new levels of absurdity. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. It was a national showcase in front of one of the largest audiences of the year. And with the year winding down and so many sites devoted to NFL coverage, these kind of “stories” are a perfect way to generate hits.

Although at this point, they’ve all but accused Tomlin of hiding on the grassy knoll.Read More »Mike Tomlin Owns His “Blunder”

Week 13: If You Ain’t Cheating, You Ain’t Trying

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Tomlin Sideline Jones Jumps BackBaltimore

The Pittsburgh Steelers playoff hopes sustained a crushing, possibly fatal blow on Thanksgiving with a 22-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Of course, the big story coming out of the game – at least outside of Pittsburgh – are the actions of head coach Mike Tomlin. The Ratbirds won so their trademark whining has been mostly replaced by jokes and sarcastic comments about Tomlin standing on the field just long enough to interfere with Jacoby Jones 73 yard kickoff return early in the third quarter.

Although it didn’t stop Terrell Suggs for providing me the title of this post when asked his thoughts on the Tomlin Two-Step: “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying to win.”Read More »Week 13: If You Ain’t Cheating, You Ain’t Trying