The Football Thread

I'd have to agree. I hope I'm wrong, though. As a fan of one of the top AFC teams, I'd really, really like to believe the Pats have some vulnerabilities.

This Dallas defense will have it's collective hands full today. Moss is clearly a threat, but, as Bobby stated, the back covering him today is exceptional, so he may tie up Moss pretty well, but, then again, he may not. The Cowboy safety situation is where the trouble starts. These guys are weak, from what I have seen, and Watson and Welker, two dangerous weapons, will be in the slot snagging first down catches all day, too much for safeties of this caliber to handle. That would be enough, but the Pats have more with Stallworth and Gaffney in action as well. I have a feeling the Dallas D will perhaps get a good 9 minutes of decent defense in before Bellichick starts to pick them apart and the Pats start doing real damage. A quiet first quarter, but then, game on.

What a ridiculous offensive assault. Brady, Moss, Watson, Welker, Stallworth... Morris is having great games and Harrison is back in the lineup on D. Look for Samuel, Harrison, and Thomas to grab at least two picks today, and, as usual, Vrabel will pop in for a touchdown to make it 12 career receptions for 12 touchdowns...

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Big day for Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth... An exciting game!

That was almost boringly predictable; not in the sense that the Pats won, but that looking at the two teams, this is exactly the kind of game we ought to have expected: very little rushing, Dallas scoring a reasonable amount of points, and New England torching the Dallas pass defense, which is very average.

That said, Dallas stayed in the game longer than I thought they would have. They needed one more big turnover, though; the fumble return for a touchdown struck me as a potential key to the game. When it happened, I said to myself "they'll need another play like that to have a chance." I think there are two ways to beat New England: big turnovers, and strong special teams (either with a big return, or consistently good field position). I don't see anyone trading punches with them, though. In other words, if the whole game is exchanging turns on offense and seeing who can drive down the field more often, New England'll win every time.

So, it was a big win for the Pats, but at the same time, I think they were exposed as a little below superhuman. Dallas stayed in the game and had a few convincing drives. I think the key is getting to Brady early and often; when they stopped pressuring him, New England ran wild. But they didn't, and New England kept the Dallas defense on the field forever.

Frankly, as a Steelers fan, this gives me a little optimism, as Pittsburgh specializes in pressuring the quarterback and controlling the time of possession. People like to talk about turnovers are the most important stat, and in a sense they're right, but turnovers are fickle and sometimes downright random. Time of possession -- wearing out the other team's defense and resting your own -- is highly underappreciated.

Great two-and-half quarters of football, though. If we learned anything about the Pats (other than the above), it's that you absolutely can contain Randy Moss, but that Welker and Stallworth are completely capable of stepping up in his place.

Wow. Brady had another SIX TD passes today, giving him twenty-seven through the first seven games. He now has the remaining nine games to get the twenty-three more he'd need to break Manning's 2004 record. That's only averaging 2˝ per game.

It'll be a very interesting story. The Patriots have a much tougher schedule coming up than the one they've had so far.

Still, after today, I have to think Brady is a bit more likely than not to break the record...except for the fact that, if and when they lock up home-field advantage, they might stop playing him for all four quarters. That's the real X-factor here.

Also, if you'll all allow me a bit of homerism, I think my Steelers are better-suited than most other teams to give the Pats a run for their money, primarily because we run well, and New England has, at times, struggled to stop the run. Especially today.

So, I certainly may be deluding myself here, but I'm excited and cautiously hopeful about how the Steelers will match up with NE.

And if you'll allow me a Homerism (Homer Jay), "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand."

So Yoda, you think the Steelers match up better against the Patriots than they do against the mighty Denver Broncos?

I think you better out a little more caution in your hopefulness.

It makes me wonder if the Steelers are as good as they've seemed, sure, but no, I still think they match up better against the Pats than most other teams do. Good teams beat themselves from time to time. It's not a good sign, but it's not the same as being outplayed; especially when it happens in a nailbiter.

'Course, people thought the way you do two years ago, too. The Pats were much hotter then, having won 30-odd regular season games in a row, and they lost -- badly -- at Heinz Field. If that shows us anything, it's that it's all about which team shows up. Pittsburgh didn't show up tonight until the second half, but it's quite an extrapolation to draw any conclusions about their long-term prospects as a result.

You're right, though, Yods. They didn't show up last night till the second half, and even then I think the air was a bit thin for them and the temperature suddenly too low. ;)

Ack! Ronnie Brown out for the season!

Not that I already didn't have enough fantasy fball woes...

As of next week, I have to replace almost my entire team!

Think of it as a fresh start, Sedai. ;)

I started off so well this season, too...

Meanwhile, last week the Vikings super rookie, Adrian Peterson, was in every paper. He had a ridiculous game, netting 361 combined yards and 3 TDs, one from 75 yards out and one from 65 yards out.

So, what do the Vikings do this week, when they traveled to face the NFC best Cowboys?

They barely use him, giving him 9 touches all day (1 for a TD), and calling inexplicable plays using their has-been half-back. I guess Chester Taylor was upset that he was being outshined by a rookie, and told them "put me in coach, I'll lurch and putter around the defensive line! That new kid is a fluke!"

Nope. They got owned. Taylor did jack squat, and the play calling was some of the wost I have ever seen on a professional team.

For instance:

Vikings get pinned at the one yard line. They sideline Peterson, and pass on first down. OK, a valid play, but the pass got dropped. Then the dunce caps went on. On 2nd and third down, they run. Not only do they run, they keep Peterson on the sidelines and ship the ball to Chester Taylor, who hobbles up the middle into 5 defenders for a gain or 2 inches. Thinking maybe they made a mistake using Taylor, they run AGAIN, this time using ... the fullback?? Who is this guy? He could barely move... Peterson watched stunned from the sidelines, and I sat in my chair thinking that yes, I can be an NFL coach after all...

Yeah, unfortunately it's all judged on the results, even though people who watch these sorts of games know better.

Same thing happened last year; if you didn't follow the Steelers, all you'd know was that they were 8-8, and you'd pick the Bengals or Ravens to take the divsion this year, as almost all analysts did. But anyone who watched last year's team knew they were still one of the AFC's best. Lo and behold, here they are, atop the division again.

Anyone catch The Patriots yesterday. In a supposed "trap game," lined up against the #1 ranked pass defense in the league, The Pats looked even more unbeatable. They had the usual onslaught of top notch receivers catching passes all over the field, and this week, Maroney came alive was rushing effectively.

Yes, the men 'ol Pats went for it on 4 and 2, with 11 minutes to play, up by 38. Running up the score? Maybe, but, wasn't this the team that supposed to shut The Pats down in a surprise upset?

Like the commentator said:

"If you feel like the Pats are running up the score, maybe think about the 3 hours your team had to do something about it. Stop whining, and start scoring."

Word.

Big win for Pittsburgh tonight, 38-7 over Baltimore. It was actually a good deal more lopsided than it sounds, though, as the Steelers opened up a 35-0 lead before halftime, and pretty much coasted through the second half. Roethlisberger was an absolute magician, slipping through the hands of defender after defender, often completing long passes afterwards. Though always hard to bring down, Big Ben has been phenomenal at alluding defenders this season. It's safe to say no one today does it better.

Anyway, when the dust had settled, he'd thrown 5 touchdowns by the end of the first half. Fantastic performance. Baltimore played terribly, gaining the fewest total yards in franchise history. They had themselves to blame for much of that, to be sure, but it's never easy to move the ball on what was the NFL's #1 defense even before tonight's shellacking.

And by the way...

...the fellas on Monday Night Football said the same thing tonight. Not that I'm a predicting a victory; not by any means. But if you had to build a team to match up with New England this year, they'd look a hell of a lot like this Pittsburgh team.

I only saw the second half (so I missed all the good stuff) oh well...

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The Divide by Zero Foundation - Where the real world ends... and mine begins

Yeah, they looked great last night, and, glad I have Pitt's Defense on my fantasy team, as they got me plenty of points. As for them being the number one defense, I think that is just in points allowed. Their secondary is rated a bit lower. That said, that is the perfect set-up against the Raven's, who have by far the worst passing in the game. Pitt clearly has the best defensive line right now, and they rolled right over the Raven's poor protection. The worst match-up for the Ravens, by far.

As for the Pats, this team will give them a run for the money, but, Brady has better protection, and he is a master at getting rid of the ball to a slot guy if needed. Pitt will need to get their secondary in line if they plan on challenging the Pats. The Pitt Offense is fine, and is clearly able to put up enough points to challenge The Pats.

Should be a good game!