Are you ready for some football??? da sticky

Originally posted by GmanJoe
Just coz I don\'t harp on the Steelers that much doesn\'t mean I jumped on the Steeler\'s bandwagon yesterday. I\'ve been a Steelers fan since 1974. Hardly a fair weather fan.

You have got to admit, saying next to nothing about football, let alone the Steelers, for years and then posting non-stop about them the minute they break the Pat\'s unbeaten streak reeks of bandwagon hopping.

Still, who am I to question your fan status. I\'ve had older Pats fans say I was a bandwagon fan when THEY don\'t know who the #87 is for on my Pat the Patriot throwback (Ben Coates BTW - My favorite player when I was younger) and it is annoying as hell.

Originally posted by CHIZZY
Umm.... go Bills?

I don\'t have any real hopes for them playoff-wise, but it\'s nice to not be disappointed on a monday for a few weeks in a row. I\'m impressed with McGahee, and Lee Evans is turning out to be quite the WR.

I\'m telling ya, it\'s Bledsoe. Its just not going to happen with Drew under center. He is just not a winner. Its weird too because the Bills have pretty much all of the necessary components. They have defense, they have two good RBs, and they have good recievers. Its the damn QB and Coach that are keeping them down.

Not that I\'m complaining though. The less resistance in the AFC East the better.

[GmanJoe]

All I\'ve said in the past NFL seaons here was

"GO STEELERS"

coz trash talking often led to Monday morning humiliations.

Thus why I don\'t say much.

Point taken.

Originally posted by Black Samurai
With Dillon out the Pats had to start Kevin Faulk. Faulk has ALWAYS been a backup. When the Pats needed to gain a couple of yards last year they threw screens and short dink passes. Our starter(Antoine Smith) gave us close to no production. The Steelers are a VERY good team but IMO that Pats are better.

And I\'m just saying I disagree

Courtesy of NFL.com

Leading Rushers
1. C. Martin        NYJ   1305
2. E. James        IND   1291
3. C. Dillon         NE      1221
4. S. Alexander  SEA   1190
5. T. Barber        NYG    1183

This after he missed a game and a half.

total yards (receiving and rushing):
1. Tiki Barber: 1679
2. Edgerrin James: 1656
3. Curtis Martin: 1449
4. Shaun Alexander: 1397
5. LaDainian Tomlinson: 1344

rushing touchdowns:
1. Priest Holmes: 14
2. LaDainian Tomlinson: 13
3. Shaun Alexander: 12
4. Jerome Bettis: 11
5. Curtis Martin: 10

total touchdowns rushing and receiving by RB\'s:
1. Priest Holmes: 15
1. Shaun Alexander: 15
3. LaDainian Tomlinson: 13
4. Curtis Martin: 12
5. Jerome Bettis: 11

Fumbles Lost (RB\'s):
1. Duece McAllister: 4
1. Micahel Pittman: 4
1. Domonick Davis: 4
4. Corey Dillon: 3
4. Quintin Griffin: 3
4. Clinton Portis: 3
4. Ahman Green: 3

Fantasy Rankings (RB\'s):
1. Tiki Barber
2. Shaun Alexander
3. Curtis Martin
4. LaDainian Tomlinson
5. Edgerrin James

And that being said, stats are only half the story.

Those defensive rankings are based on ypg not touchdowns. Indy leads the league in both so that doesn\'t change your argument.

Actually, I was specifically using the rankings based on points allowed per game, not yards per game.

It is not just about the defense. You can have the best defense in the league but if your offense sucks Indy will have that much more time for their own offense to wear you down. The only balanced teams that Indy has faced has been the Pats and the Jags. The Pats beat them and Indy barely beat Jacksonville both times. I wouldn\'t be surprised if the Bolts/Broncs pull off wins against Indy.

And the Pats have played more?  If you really want teams balanced as you\'re defining it, all you have is the Steelers and the Jets.  You lost one of those games, and almost lost the other.

Indy is a very good team. Only because their offense is incredible. You can not win in this NFL without defense, plain and simple.

Of course, no one mentions that the defense is getting better as the offense is taking off (6th best in points against in the NFL in the last month).  No one mentions that they are FIRST in the NFL in take aways and first in takeaway giveaway ratio.  Or that they are 4th in sacks.  This defense is NOT as bad as everyone makes them out to be, and the honest truth, and the stats back it up, is that in the last month they have outplayed defenses like Baltimore, Carolina, Atlanta, and Washington.  They aren\'t a top defense, no, but with an offense as amazing as the one they have, which I think COULD be the best ever, they don\'t need to be.

Originally posted by Black Samurai
At running back. This is a given. You can\'t compare Kevin Faulk to even an aging Jerome Bettis.

Overall, its arguable. Do the Steelers keep winning with the same injuries as the Pats? Not likely.

BTW, Did it hurt when you jumped onto the Steelers\' bandwagon? Was it crowded?

They have been playing the entire season with their backup QB, and nearly half of it with their backup RB.  I\'d like to see how the Pats would do in that situation

[GmanJoe]

Originally posted by shockwaves
They have been playing the entire season with their backup QB, and nearly half of it with their backup RB.  I\'d like to see how the Pats would do in that situation

Plus a rookie QB. Ben Rotha-hamburger.

EDIT : ooooh! New page!


GO STEELERS!

You guys are missing the point.

26 out of 27, and the team has been dealing with more and more injuries.  They are now getting players back.

Patriots play the Steelers 10 times, I\'ll take the Patriots 9 of those 10 times.

Shockwaves, you\'ve also failed to mention that Dillon has had 100 yards rushing in 6 of his last 7 games, that one game didn\'t he had 98.

What do you mean I failed to mention that.  That\'s an obscure trend stat, the likes of which I could come up with for any other player in the NFL.  Dillon is NOT a top 5 back, and I guarantee you any NFL GM would tell you the same.

And the point isn\'t that you won 26/27, the point is you lost 1/1, to a team that has the longest winning streak in the NFL, and that has beat both of the other two one loss teams.  They killed the Eagles as well, which is a much much more impressive victory than anything the Pats have done.  And they beat the Pats.  You saying that the Patriots are not only better, but far better, is an incredibly biased and groupless statement.  You have nothing to back that up except excuses.

Well according to ESPN.com, they agree with me.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking

The fact is the Patriots have dominated teams since that lost, Pittsburgh has been just getting by.  I don\'t need to hear this garbage from you.  Beat the Patriots in the post-season and I\'ll give the Steelers their due credit.

Also, the Chiefs beat the Falcons, does that make them better than the Falcons?  The Bills beat the Jets, does that make them better than the Jets?  The DOLPHINS beat the Rams, does that make them better than the Rams?  I rest my case.

[GmanJoe]

I doubt the Pats could stop the Steeler\'s run game.

I\'m pretty sure the Steelers run defense could cause the Pats to throw a lot more than run the ball.

See you in the playoffs.

You don\'t have a case, BTW.

Ok, we will see who finishes 15-1.

Because the Ravens beat you guys, does that make them better than the Steelers?

[GmanJoe]

Originally posted by The Hurricane
Ok, we will see who finishes 15-1.

Because the Ravens beat you guys, does that make them better than the Steelers?

We still have to play them again. So I can\'t say. And for a while there, Pats were tied 3-3 with the Ravens until the 4th quarter. Steelers would have had 33 points by then.

Originally posted by GmanJoe
We still have to play them again. So I can\'t say. And for a while there, Pats were tied 3-3 with the Ravens until the 4th quarter.

As opposed to being down 20-0 in the 4th quarter. Thats how the great teams roll. You\'ve got to lull them to sleep and STRIKE!

Especially against that vaunted Raven offense. They are a defensive coordinator\'s worst nightmare.

[GmanJoe]

Originally posted by Black Samurai
As opposed to being down 20-0 in the 4th quarter. Thats how the great teams roll. You\'ve got to lull them to sleep and STRIKE!

Especially against that vaunted Raven offense. They are a defensive coordinator\'s worst nightmare.

Heh...Ravens offense. That\'s a new oxymoron.

Ok lets compare box scores:
(Oh and pats scored in the 3rd)

BAL
0-3-0-0 = 3
NE
0-3-6-15 = 24

BAL
7-6-7-10 = 30
PIT
0-0-0-13 = 13

You were saying?