Bleacher Report - Articles by Leo Hayes

Michel Therrien Was Fired, It Is Now Truly a Great Day for Hockey!

Leo Hayes — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:50:45 -0500

Penguins fans, I am pleased to announce that the day has finally come.

Today, February 15, 2009, Michel Therrien was officially removed from his duty as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

During this season, the Penguins have maintained the top two scorers in the NHL and one of the more talented young goaltenders. Despite this they were five points out of the playoffs and looked lost.

The game on February 14th against the Leafs symbolized what Therrien brought to the table for this franchise. The Penguins came in strong, with momentum from a win against arguably the best team in hockey, the San Jose Sharks.

With this momentum, and the fact that Toronto Maple Leaf goaltender Vesa Toskala is the worst in save percentage in the NHL, the Penguins jumped out to a two-goal lead.

This occurred early enough in the first period that it looked like Toronto was outmatched and the Penguins would pull away with the game. From that point on, however, the Penguins played a brand of hockey that seems to have become the signature during Therrien's tenure.

That is, sloppy, unmotivated hockey.

That is in fact what Therrien himself has said after every loss in his career, but it appears he has done nothing to fix this.

As the sloppiness was reaching its peak Therrien fell back on his usually strategy in times of trouble, playing guess the winger with the forward lines and using overall poor strategy.

By the end of the game, only two players had not played a different position then they were assigned at the start of the game, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury.

I have already had the debate about the 1-2-2 trap strategy and why it is wrong for the Penguins, but that is what Therrien went to when the chips were down, and that is (in part) what lead to six unanswered goals. That is inexcusable.

Let us forget that Toronto is one of the bottom teams in the Eastern Conference and will likely be in the race for worst team in the league by the end of the season, no team, under any circumstances, should score six unanswered goals.

This is especially infuriating when you consider that Marc-Andre Fleury was having an incredible game in goal. He had saves that, at times, defies logic, but still six goals were allowed.

This is due mostly to the Leafs maintaining possession in the offensive zone for almost the entire second period and half of the third. The Leafs' forwards were directly in front of the net creating situations where Fleury literally could not prevent goals.

The team could truly be best described as unmotivated. There is one man whose job it is, above all others, to get a team prepared for a contest, and that includes providing any necessary motivation. That man is the head coach of said team.

Sometimes a coach will have to stretch and work to find ways to keep their team focused and motivated, but in the case of Therrien his team is in the playoff hunt, fighting for a chance to qualify, and playing their best hockey of the year only one game earlier.

Apparently, Therrien needed more than that to get a team prepared, and that is why he was fired.

In his place will be the, now former, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) head coach Dan Bylsma. Last year as an assistant coach he lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the Calder Cup Finals. This year as the head coach, he has the Baby Penguins in good position with a record of 35-16-1-2.

You may or may not agree with this decision, but I for one am glad to say now that Michel Therrien was fired, it is now truly a great day for hockey!

The 4-1 Overload, A Hockey Revolution

Leo Hayes — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:10:02 -0500

The 1-2-2 trap is not only a bad idea, but an impossible strategy for the Pittsburgh Penguins to effectively deploy. It is the worst possible use of the Penguins offensive minded personnel and has not given us any advantage from the time of its deployment.

As an alternative we have created a new strategy. This strategy has not been attempted in hockey up to this point, it is the 4-1.

We will title it the 4-1 overload because the strategy puts as many offensive bodies as possible in the offensive zone in an attempt to use Pittsburgh's greatest strength, as a strength.

To discuss this strategy it is best to understand the personnel who wear the Black and Vegas Gold.

In each of the defensive pairings for the Penguins there is an offensive defensemen. This is a very unique condition and almost no team in the NHL has this personnel set.

It makes no sense whatsoever to use these offensive defensemen in a 1-2-2 trap strategy. It limits their offensive abilities and forces them to play as a defensive defensemen.

Also on three of the four Penguins forward lines there is a player who even now is very effective at the dump and chase strategy due to their physical play and speed while skating. Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Pascal Dupuis, and Bill Thomas have all proven very effective at this.

The second forward line is the only line in which this strategy could not effectively be deployed. However, could be rearranged to use the 4-1 strategy.

With all of that in mind let us consider the 4-1 overload strategy.

A team using the 4-1 would employ a dump and chase strategy where one of the above personnel will use their speed to get behind the net and possess the puck. From this position they will use the entire area behind the net to dish out the puck to other players.

Along the boards an off side winger will come in opposite the dump and use the area from boards to the slot to either set up other players or to take bad-angle shots.

One player, usually a center or a sniper, will rush to the slot area and establish control from the front of the net to the top of the face off circles and to the boards not covered by the off side winger.

This player will take one-timers after being fed from either behind the net or from the winger along the boards. He will also maintain a presence in front of the net for deflections and screening the goaltender.

The offensive defensemen from each pairing will control what is essentially the point on a power play. He will move from the boards to the far edge of the slot to keep the puck in the zone and take shots.

The defensive defensemen from each paring will rarely, if ever cross the blue line. This is what the defensive defensemen on the Penguins prefer to do currently, so it will not adjust their play at all. He will remain at center ice and will occasionally move up to keep the puck in the zone.

This strategy is the most offensively minded strategy that can be used while still leaving a man behind to maintain defense. With the very offensively constructed Penguins roster this is the best possible way in which to utilize their talent.

There is, of course, a down side to this strategy. The possibility of giving up an odd-man rush is greater while using this strategy and it will be more difficult to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

To answer that concern, consider that even while using a 1-2-2 trap the Penguins are still giving up numerous odd-man rushes and not effectively slowing opposing offenses. Our current strategy is ineffective and needs to change if we want success in the future.

The opposing team would need to maintain at least four skaters well within their defensive zone at all times.

At least one skater would be needed behind the net to attempt to cut-off passes. At least one, more than likely two, skaters would be kept in the slot area to prevent one-timers, deflections, and screening.

At least one skater would be needed along the near boards to prevent the playmaker from setting up the player in the slot or point. At least one skater would be needed on the man at the point to prevent shots.

With all of these players focused on playing defense and preventing goals it is unlikely that the opposing team will be able to get enough personnel free for an odd-man rush.

Even in the worst case scenario the offensive defensemen at the point can drop back and the defensive defensemen will have enough time to establish himself before the rush gets to the offensive zone.

Essentially this would create an even-strength power play situation at all times where the overwhelming offensive presence of the team employing the 4-1 will force the opposing team to remain on the defensive if they hope to stop a goal.

Though it has never been deployed in the NHL for a reason, with the Penguins in the position they are, it cannot hurt to try something new.

I would greatly appreciate feedback on this strategy as it is still in the development stages.Also if any of you have contact with the Penguins organization, please inform them of this strategy. Therrien is known to try anything once and this could help the Penguins out of their slump.

Why Does Everyone Try To Discredit The Pittsburgh Steelers?

Leo Hayes — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:09:28 -0500

Copy and paste the question from above. It is because the Steelers are better than whatever team you support.

With this harsh reality in front of you, you have two choices, take it like a man, or the choice that many of you appear to be making. I will not apologize for being better than you. Deal with it.

Now this is not targeted at everyone, just those who are doing everything in their power to make it seem like the Steelers stole Super Bowl XLIII. Or anything else for that matter.

I realize some people have a true love for the game and the principle of potentially biased officiating bothers you, and you seek to find the truth. This article is not directed towards you.

Instead this article is directed to everyone out there with the irrational hatred of greatness, and even worse, the insane drive to deny the great their greatness.

To all of you I pose two questions.

First, how many times has your team won the Super Bowl? If it is less than six, stop complaining and deal with the fact that we are better than you.

Secondly, why do you hate the Steelers?

Do you hate us only because we are better than you?

Do you hate us because you wish you were us, but realize you cannot be?

Or do you hate us just because it is the popular thing to do?

Any rational being can realize there were bad calls on both sides of the ball in the Super Bowl. In fact, this is the case in every game. It is because refs are human and will never be perfect.

I will not get into the debate about any single call in this article. It is irrelevant.

At the end of the day you can say what you want and scream until you are blue in the face. You can do everything in your power, but you cannot erase the greatness that is the Steelers.

The Steelers have cemented themselves as the most dominant team in the modern era of football. What is worse for you haters is it looks like we can continue to excel in the NFL and separate from your mediocre team.

The only other teams that were even in the discussion, the 49ers and Cowboys, haven't done anything relevant in the league in over a decade. It doesn't matter if you are only one behind us, because we have won two Super Bowls since you have even won a playoff game.

Winning two Super Bowls in four years means that not only are the Steelers the best team historically, but they may also become the most dominant currently playing (though at the time I still cannot rend that title from the grasp of the Patriots no matter how hard I try, but it is close).

If the Steelers can manage to win one more soon, or before the Patriots win another, we will become the reigning NFL dynasty. The best historically and currently. That is something many just cannot deal with, so you take everything you can and try to knock down the Steelers.

To all of you who seek to tear down the Steelers' accomplishments I have just one thing to say to you. At the end of the day, if you can count your team's Super Bowl rings on one hand, you are worse than the Steelers.

Take it like a man.

Roethlisberger, One Of The Best?

Leo Hayes — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:32:13 -0500

This is a follow up on this article (click hyperlink) that I am very, very glad I get to write.

Well football fans, Ben Roethlisberger is not only the quarter back with the most wins in five years, he also has 19 game winning drives in 81 games, one in the Super Bowl. Big Ben also has numerous other records, listed in the previous article.

His unique style of play, perhaps best associated with quarterback whose number he wears, John Elway, extends the play and gives Ben a chance at greatness. He is big, tall, and strong, is capable of shaking off defenders, and uses this ability to extend the play.

This, as even the big man himself will admit, is a double-edged sword. It can cause big sacks, as we saw in Super Bowl XLIII, but also demonstrated in the NFL's title game it provides time for receivers to get open and creates the possibility of a big play.

In XLIII there were more of the latter than the former and Big Ben led his team to a 1:55, 88 yard drive capped off with a pass to Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes for the game winning score and perhaps one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history.

Though Holmes won the MVP, it could just as easily have gone to his quarterback, and in all likely hood, it should have.

Ben proved, once again, that he deals with pressure in a way that no other quarterback (yes I said no other quarterback) in the NFL does. He does everything he can, even putting his body on the line, to enable his team to gain victory.

Ben is only behind the man some consider the greatest of all time, Tom Brady, in terms of Super Bowls won in five years. Ben also faced Brady in the AFC Championship game that lead to a ring for Tom in his rookie season. One can assume (or hope and dream) that had the Steelers won, the result would be the same and it would be Tom who was chasing Ben.

Well Steeler Nation, and all of those who live in countries not called the United States of America, what do you think of our most recent quarterback to make a trip to Disney Land.

The 12 Most Average NFL Fan Bases

Leo Hayes — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:47:50 -0500

Well, we've seen the best and worst, so who is mediocre? Who has absolutely no claim to fame?

(The links are to the respective articles.)

I picked 12 so all 32 teams will get mentioned (I will only use teams not used on the other two lists so that everyone feels included).

The numbers in parentheses are the overall rankings.

12(22). Chargers

The Chargers have been a good team for a while now. They have made the playoffs numerous times this year. Their fans don't stand out. Who are Chargers fans?

11(21). Titans

Sorry guys, even though you won 10 straight this year, you aren't well known.

The Titans have been an average team for a while now, and their not too distant past is all too forgotten.

Ironically, the thing the Titans are most well known for is stepping on the terrible towel. Kinda makes you a bit unknown.

10(21). Colts

Not a good showing by the AFC South, no one breaks the top 20.

The Colts have (very arguably) the best quarterback playing right now. They have been in the playoffs for what, ten straight years. They have had 12 wins in seven straight seasons.

Again, the Colts fans do nothing to set themselves apart, I suppose that is why they are right about the middle of being mediocre.

9(19). Vikings

The best running back in the league doesn't get the fans excited anymore.

They play good defense, but don't have a quarterback. I guess this proves the point that offense sells tickets.

8(18). Giants

Come on New York, you won the Super Bowl last year.

How many fans exist for the Giants outside of New York or New Jersey? I'd wager about four.

I have met a whopping one Giants fan in my life, and I met him during the playoffs last year. There really doesn't seem to be much more than a base for this mediocre group of fans.

7(17). Saints

I guess I was wrong when I said offense sells tickets.

The Saints have one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He almost broke Dan Marino's single-season passing record this year.

I guess winning championships helps to sell tickets, so offense and defense sell tickets, but defense still wins championships. Advantage: defense.

6(16). Dolphins

Congratulations Miami!!! You are (un)officially at the apex, the very most supremely mediocre, the epitome of ordinary, the embodiment of the undifferentiated.

The exact center of the NFL.

This is actually not that bad, considering the Dolphins had several very bad seasons in a row. This season might help them out over all, but as it stands, the Dolphins win the award for the most average team.

5(15). Bucs

The Bucs won the Super Bowl in 2003. They haven't done much since then. The have a fan base, but at this point it isn't too dedicated.

Maybe they should take a tip from the other pirate themed NFL team and just act crazy and wear battle armor to each game.

4(14). Lions

I said I wouldn't do this, but I have to. I have to give respect to Detroit.

True, they do not have many fans, but coming off of an 0-16 season having any is quite an accomplishment. Just imagine what would have happened if they finished 0-0-16. By Donovan McNabb's logic they would tie for the Super Bowl. I had to do it.

Now this would leave the Cards out of the list somewhere, so put them in the Lion's former spot, where ESPN put them, dead last.

3(13). Bears

The Bears do not have a quarterback. Again, offense sells tickets, so this makes sense for them not to be in the top 10. But according to my previous logic defense should sell tickets too because it wins championships. Wait, that didn't work here. Back to a draw on the old argument.

Realistically the Bears fans are pretty loyal considering their team hasn't been very good for a long time (2006 excluded).

2(12). Patriots

Well now we're getting into some of the better fan bases.

Patriots, this one is for you, you have won three championships in the last three decades and are beginning to establish a pretty good fan base.

It is too early to tell how loyal these fans will be. If the Pats don't win a Super Bowl in the next five years, we will truly know how good these fans are.

1(11). Ravens

Congratulations Baltimore!!! You were good, but not good enough to be great, and yet not mediocre enough to be considered the best at something. Kinda sucks, doesn't it?

The Ravens fans are actually among the more loyal in the league, the travel almost as well as the two better fan bases in the division and are establishing themselves as one of the better groups of fans.

The Ravens relative youth as compared to the remainder of the NFL also makes it hard to peg where to place their fan base. Most of their fans have been alive since the beginning of the franchise, so their traditions haven't even been created yet.

The Ravens recent successes should help them build themselves as a great fan base.

Check back in 10 years.

Hope you enjoyed it, and before you leave a comment check the top right hand corner of the article to see what section it is in.

Top 10 Quarterbacks in NFL History

Leo Hayes — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:58:53 -0500

Browsing the B/R NFL section lately will undoubtedly bring you to an argument about who is the best quarterback in NFL history. This is my take on that argument.

10. Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is easily in every discussion for the top five quarterbacks playing today. He has great leadership qualities and has lead his team to an impressive seven consecutive twelve win seasons.

Manning holds NFL records for consecutive seasons with over 4,000 yards passing and the most total seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career. He also has the second efficiency highest rating of all time.

He also holds the NFL record for the most consecutive seasons with 25+ touchdowns. He has achieved this feat eleven times.

Manning is most well known for his responsibility to call his own plays. He is extremely effective at this job as with Peyton the Colts are the best 3rd-and-4th-down team in the NFL today.

He is rated as 10th overall because despite the above statistics, Manning has only had one Super Bowl win. Considering Manning has achieved an amazing nine consecutive seasons with playoff appearances, he has built a reputation for failing in the biggest moment.

9. Tom Brady

Tom Brady is the most impressive quarterback playing football today. He has won a record three Super Bowl championships before he was 26 years old. In two of these games he has earned the honor of Super Bowl MVP.

Brady also broke Bart Starr's record by winning 10 consecutive playoff games. Brady also has completed the most passes in a Super Bowl of any quarterback in history. In four games, he has completed 100 passes.

Tom Brady has only lost one game in 85 attempts in which his team had the lead at any point in the game's final quarter (during the regular season).

Unfortunately for Brady our most recent memory of him is losing the Super Bowl after an undefeated season, and the Spygate controversy. If he comes back within the next two seasons in his usual form, he will likely move up this list.

8. Bart Starr

Bart Starr was one of the most accurate and clutch quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. He lead his team to five NFL Championships and two Super Bowls.

He lead the NFL in passer rating five times, only Young has surpassed this mark.

When you consider Starr you have to remember that he played in a time that was less of an offensive and passing game, and despite this, he still is one of the greatest passers in NFL history.

Starr was an awful head coach.

7. Steve Young

Steve Young is often underrated as he spent his career in the shadow of Joe Montana, who appears a little further up this list. His poor performance toward the beginning of his career has also lead most to underrate this quarterback.

Some of my former picks will have informed you that Young has several passing records. Aside from those young had four straight seasons where he lead the league in passer rating. He was over 100 in each of these seasons.

Young also rushed for 43 touchdowns over his career, which is an unbelievable number for a quarterback.

Young may be the most accurate passer in the history of the NFL.

6. Otto Graham

Believe me this is hard to admit. I am a Steelers fan, and he is a Browns quarterback.

Graham lead his team to an un-freaking-believable six straight NFL championship games and four straight AAFC championships before that. That is ten straight championship games. I still cannot believe I am saying that.

He won seven of these games.

Graham had a career passer rating of 86.6, the best mark by a quarterback before the live ball era. His career yards per attempt is nine. That is the best in NFL history.

He ranks sixth as much of his career was spent in the lesser AAFC. His numbers declined significantly when he moved to the NFL, and as such would likely not have been as impressive if he played his whole career there.

5. John Elway

In 234 games, John Elway threw for 51,475 yards, 300 TDs and 226 INTs. He also rushed 774 times for 407 yards and 33 TDs.

Elway won two Super Bowls with the Broncos and appeared in several more.

The primary reason Elway makes my top five is the fashion in which he won. Elway is well known for his late game winning drives. His clutch performances have helped to elevate him in to being one of the all time greats.

4. Johnny Unitas

The Golden Arm's record of 47 consecutive games with a touch down pass is certainly an impressive feat.

Unitas set the NFL record for 10 Pro-Bowl appearances; this feat has only been matched by Favre.

Unitas played in what has been titled the Greatest Game Ever Played. He lead his team to defeat the much favored Giants in overtime.

In 1959, Unitas threw for 32 touchdowns. This season was 12 games. That would amount to roughly 42 touchdown passes if he maintained his pace through today's 16-game schedule.

That is not the current record, but considering, in 1959, in the game of football it was much more difficult to be a successful quarterback, his feat is very impressive.

Unitas lead his team to three championship games during his career.

3. Dan Marino

Dan Marino is quite possibly the best passer in NFL history. If you look to the stat books, Marino is in second place in all of these:

Most Attempts, Career: 8,358
Most Completions, Career: 4,967
Most Yards Passing, Career: 61,361
Most Touchdown Passes, Career: 420
Most Touchdown Passes, Season: 48
Most Seasons, 3,000 or more Yards Passing: 13 (1984-92, 1994-95, 1997-98)
Most Consecutive Seasons, 3,000 or more Yards Passing: 9 (1984-92)
Most Games, Three or more Touchdown Passes, Career: 62
Lowest Percentage, Passes Intercepted, Rookie Season: 2.03 in 1983 (296-6)

His name is first place in a wide variety of other statistical categories, but the reason I chose what he was second in is that even the categories in which his records were surpassed, no one player was able to do all of them.

That means that even though he may be second in a lot of categories, no one player can be ahead of him in enough of them to be considered better.

Also in many categories in which he has been surpassed the players who surpassed them have had two things, longer careers, and better surrounding teams throughout the career.

The only reason Marino is not first on my list is the obvious, he never won a championship. I will admit that if Marino had won even one Super Bowl I would consider him the greatest quarterback in history.

2. Terry Bradshaw

The Blond Bomber is my No. 2 overall pick. I may take some heat for this pick, and I will admit that I am a bit biased in this decision. Here is my rationale for this decision.

When Bradshaw began his career the team around him was awful. The Steelers were really bad before Chuck Noll. Really bad.

He had to lead this team, and though this should not increase considerations of his skill, he had to do it with numerous mental illnesses.

Bradshaw set numerous passing records in his day including passing for 932 yards and nine touchdowns in four Super Bowls. Bradshaw also had 3,833 postseason passing yards.

The most important thing when considering Bradshaw is this. He played in a time when scoring and gaining offensive yards was the most difficult in NFL history. It is even referred to by some as the NFL scoring drought.

Defenses during this period were bigger, stronger, and faster than they had ever been. There are reports that almost the entire NFL began to experiment with and abuse steroids during this period, which made matters worse.

During this time, players pads were larger, which made it more difficult for players to sneak by defenders, preform finesse moves, and do any of the amazing athletic things we see today.

Along with this offenses during this time had almost no protection. Defensive players could hit the quarterback late, hit him anywhere on his body with and part of their body, and there would be no repercussions.

With all of that in mind, Bradshaw played hurt almost his entire career and still managed to produce the results that he did.

Considering all of that one of the biggest reasons that I consider Bradshaw so highly is that clutch performances weigh heavily on my mind. If a player is at his best when it matters most, they get bonus points.

Bradshaw is the only player in NFL history to go on four late game Super Bowl winning drives. He is also only one of two players to have won four Super Bowls, guess where the other ranks on my list.

1. Joe Montana

I don't have to write nearly as much for this one. Montana is almost unanimously the greatest QB in NFL history.

Montana won four Super Bowls over his career while throwing for over 40,000 yards and earning a passer efficiency rating of 92.3.

This decision doesn't need much justification. If anyone argues with me on this one, I will expand my explanation.

Well everyone, the time has come, tell me why I'm wrong.

The Truth About the AFC North

Leo Hayes — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:02:14 -0500

The AFC North is an interesting division to say the least. In this division there are several well known rivalries, but I hope to give all of you a new perspective from which to view the division.

Look at this map. As an interesting side note, my home town of Erie is the part of Pennsylvania that looks something like a chimney. Notice how the three fan bases meet there. It's an interesting place to live.

In the AFC North probably the best known rivalry is the Steelers-Browns rivalry, as it is historic and is one of the longest running rivalries in the NFL. The teams and fans hate each other in an interesting way.

The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is also a very well known rivalry that has gained some prominence of late, especially considering the results of this year.

The Bengals aren't really big rivals of anyone. They looked to be establishing themselves early this decade, but it seams they have turned the wrong corner.

Consider, if you will, the current make up of the division.

The Steelers,

The Browns,

The Ravens,

The Bengals.

The Ravens are the relocated Browns who moved to Baltimore. Many of the Ravens fans hate to admit this, but in a way they can be considered the "new Browns."

The Bengals are an organization formed from many members who formerly were in the Browns' organization. In a way the Bengals can be considered the "fake Browns."

So if you consider the AFC North in this way it is the Steelers against three versions of the Browns. This means that this rivalry is played out, at minimum, six times every year. That would establish this rivalry as by far the best in the NFL.

In all seriousness, this division is full of teams who have had their difficult stretches, as well as their good times.

The fans from this division are some of the better fans in the entirety of the NFL.

With the success of the top two teams in the division, and the talent throughout, even in the bottom two teams, this division promises to contend with the best of them.

More NFL Jersey Observations

Leo Hayes — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:25:31 -0500

Yesterday I published an article describing what type of fan corresponds (most often) to what type of jersey. Today I decided to publish a follow-up article on how that relates to the top 10 NFL jerseys sold.

This list was created in October. As such, sales figures have changed, though I doubt the overall message will.

If anyone has more recent sales statistics please post them in the comments section below so that I may update the article if need be.

Brett Favre, New York Jets
Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Eli Manning, New York Giants
Marion Barber, Dallas Cowboys
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys

Well now, readers, we can see a pretty obvious trend here. That is that all of the top 10 jerseys sold are star offensive players.

If my article published yesterday has any accuracy this will tell us a few things about the state of NFL fans today.

That message is that most fans are either bandwagon fans, or fans of a particular athlete. This appears to be especially true in the case of the Brett Favre jersey, as his Jets jersey is very popular.

It is, however possible that a hardcore fan may be purchasing the jersey of a star to add to their current collection.

This again may be particularly true in the case of Favre as he had switched teams this past season and the Jets fans may have been interested in his jersey.

If my theory is accurate it confirms a suspicion that many true fans (that I have conversed with) have had for a while now. The NFL appears to be catering to more casual fans, and as such the merchandise that corresponds to those people would sell more.

How is the NFL providing casual fans a more directed effort at entertainment you might ask? The NFL has decided that all teams should have mascots, all teams should (as of next year) work on a rip-off Terrible Towel.

The sports media (ESPN *cough*) seems to target the teams that provide the biggest headline, regardless of their particular performance. Case in point Dallas this year.

More than 30 percent* of all NFL stories on ESPN this year (playoffs excluded, ha ha) were about Dallas.

*This statistic is 100 percent made up and 450 percent true.

Even in the playoffs, Dallas is making nearly as many headlines as the two teams still in it. Frankly, I do not care if there is a reality show that has anything to do with any NFL team, even if it were the Steelers. It is a bad idea and gives a bad image to the league.

This is not an attempt to bad-mouth the Cowboys, only to show that if you can make a headline, that is all the NFL cares about. That is why there are so many casual fans, who are, in a way, bandwagon fans.

Casual fans do not know much about the game, they only watch it for the commercials, the big-name players, or the fireworks at the end of every game. These fans will watch a team that is either good, or talked about a lot.

This is why so many of these jerseys are sold in today's NFL.

As an interesting observation, only one of the teams listed above won a playoff game, that team being the Chargers. This serves to augment my overall argument above.

With that story covered, I will now use some of the ideas given to me by the readers of the last article.

I will also add a qualification, all descriptions in this and my previous article assume the time in which the jersey was acquired, as many unknown players have become stars and other things of that nature.

Custom Jersey

This, like the greats of the past, is a category with numerous sub-categories.

Want to be Part of the Team

This is the true diehard fan in the group, they love their team with great passion, and feel it cannot be expressed by buying a jersey of an actual athlete.

The solution? This fan will put their own name on their team's jersey.

No one is Good

This is a situation when, defying all odds and statistics, there is not one of the 80 some-odd players (active and practice squads) on one's favorite team with any talent. The individual wants to show team pride, but doesn't want to look like a fool doing it. This course of action, in many cases, backfires.

That is a personal opinion, of course, I am not a fan of personalized jerseys, they cost more, and aren't real in my opinion.

Want to Look Cool

Similar to the "greats of the past" fan who wants to look cool. They put their name on a jersey because it makes them look tough, just like popping their collar. I don't often talk to these kinds of people.

Female (Pink/White) Jersey

As another B/R writer commented to me the most common of these is the Tony Romo. There is a reason for this.

These jerseys exist because there are girls who, more often than not, know nothing about football, but find an athlete (more often than not a high-profile quarterback) attractive.

They buy this jersey instead of just telling people that.

They may also buy them because they have seen their husband/boyfriend/brother etc. wearing a team's jersey and don't want to be left out of the party.

Random Jersey(s)

Normally this fan will start by buying jerseys for a team or athlete that they like. This trend will continue and they will have an utterly random assortment of jerseys.

This fan is one of two things.

They either are a fan of the sport in general, with a favorite team and cannot simply lock themselves into one team's jerseys.

Or they are the heavy-weight bandwagon champion of the world (this also includes the case of "I like their jersey fans".)

Your School (High School or College) but Not Your NFL Team

This is also a conditional jersey.

This fan will either be such a diehard fan that the are a great fan of their non-professional team's player and will watch them out of their common ties, or they will be a star athlete on another team fan.

This depends entirely upon whether the fan in question was a fan of the player when they played on their school team or became a fan because they played on the school team.

Star Offensive/Defensive Player (Appendix A)

After talking with some fans, I have decided to make an addition to the star player section of the previous article.

Some true diehard fans also purchase only the star player jersey. This situation occurs when a fan can only buy one jersey and is unsure which one to get.

They will often default to a well-known star player so that they will be able to wear it for a long time with the player on the team. They also know that they will get their money's worth on the jersey as the player will not disappoint.

Pro-Bowl Jersey

This is an extension of the star-player jersey. Though that is somewhat obvious as a player must (usually) be a very good to star caliber player to make the pro-bowl.

This jersey tends to exclude true fans more than a traditional star jersey. There are a few reasons for this observation.

Firstly, they look ridiculous. I personally will not spend money on a jersey that for no good reason looks much worse than the traditional one.

Second, it makes people think you only like the player because they made the pro-bowl. True fans do not want to be called bandwagon fans, and will try to avoid it.

Alternate Jersey

These mostly attract the casual fans I discussed above. They typically look cool and different and to someone who isn't that into football.

Other fans may also purchase these jerseys, all of the other classifications still apply to the alternate jersey, it simply attracts more casual fans, and a much smaller percentage of hard-core fans will wear these jerseys.

This is also usually not the first jersey purchased by a hard-core fan as they will normally have purchased a traditional jersey before considering an alternate.

I welcome any more suggestions, it will make for a more complete article.

What a Jersey Says About a Sports Fan

Leo Hayes — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:41:34 -0500

The jersey that a fan wears can show a lot about them. Not just the team they like, but much more, down to elements of their personality.

Part of this theory comes from the idea that many fans are limited in the number and type of jerseys they can buy as they may be faced with the choice of buying a new jersey or buying food.

Please do not take anything personally, everything here is a generalization.

Alternatively if you do not know what type of fan I am referring to, Bryn Swartz's 10 most annoying fans article can serve as a good guide.

Star Offensive Player

The fan who goes out and buys the star offensive player jersey will likely know that this player is the best in the NFL at his position (regardless of whether or not he is). This fan will either know every stat about this star player, and will repeat it at every opportunity to prove how great they are, or will be a bandwagon fan who only has the jersey because he recognizes the name on the back.

This fan will likely tell you that their favorite team is better than yours because of, you guessed, the guy whose name they wear.

The jersey that epitomizes this syndrome is either the Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

Star Defensive Player

This jersey is usually worn by a fan who is obsessed with the idea that defense wins championships. They will tell you that your offensive team would never beat their team because the number on their chest cannot be beat. These fans are just like the star offensive player fans description above, just replace the word offensive with defensive.

The Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed jersey would satisfy this condition.

Star Player on a Different Team

This is different from above, the player isn't on the team the fan says they have always liked. This is similar to the fan who roots for an individual player because they like them, but are not a fan of the team they play for.

This is a bandwagon fan, but in some ways much worse.

Until he was no longer a starter, Vince Young was the stereotype of this condition.

Greats of the Past

There are several types of people who wear this jersey. With that being the case I will sub-categorize this classification.

People Actually Alive at the Time

These people bought the jersey when the player was actually playing, and as such has been a fan for a long time. They will know everything about the team back in the day and will likely believe that even with more success, no current team could touch the greatness of the past.

This is only accurate, however, if they maintained fandom through the likely drought in greatness, if they jumped ship, they are bandwagon fans.

People With Teams in a Rut

San Francisco I'm looking at you.

Fans will buy their idea of the greatest player in team history when the guy currently replacing him isn't getting the job done. This is a better, and much more respectable, alternative to being a bandwagon. This fan wishes they were part of the glory days and are waiting it out until they come back around again.

People Looking to be Cool

This jersey can be just like the star player jersey. It is people who try to say that their number is the best number ever to play football. They get an old jersey to say that they have always been a fan of the sport and always knew who the best was. This is essentially a bandwagon who doesn't want to look like one.

They use this jersey to say they have been fans longer than you because their guy was on the team before yours.

A Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, or Troy Aikman jersey could fill this profile.

Unknown Player

This jersey is bought for one of two reasons. Either the fan knows this player is good, and is a great fan of this player (or team) and knows success will come one day, or they don't want to be labeled as one of the above fans. Bandwagon fans typically shy away from these jerseys because they don't know who they are.

These fans either knew who the player was before they got to the team and know they will help the overall effort, or know the player is overshadowed by the greats on their team and "pays them respect" by buying their name and number.

These are typically true hardcore fans. This player must be on one's favorite team, however, or the fan belongs in the category above.

I cannot give a typical example of this jersey, as there is not one.

Multiple Jerseys

This fan is also an "either/or" case. This fan is either a very hardcore fan who cares more for their team than food/gas/anything else that costs money, or they want you to think that they are.

This fan will usually have jerseys from many of the above categories, as they have more than one jersey. Even though this is the case they belong in an entirely different category. This fan truly loves their team (or wants you to think so) and you should never doubt it (or you should).

There is no typical example of the multiple jersey fan.

Your Team's Jersey

This is the fan who knows what team you like, and buys a jersey to match this team. This is the fan who uses your team to become a better friend of yours. It usually backfires and causes you to hate them. If you are considering doing this, I would only recommend this if you want someone to dislike you.

This fan, though they think they are sneaky, is very obvious. You know they actually like another team, as they said so when you met them (or conversely didn't like the sport). Then one day they show up in your team's jersey. They talk about it all the time.

They seem to use it as conversation starter. Then the next day, you see them rooting for their old team (or not watching the game), but still talking to you about your favorite team.

Again, this category has no typical example, but this fan will usually buy a star player, or past great jersey, because if their attempt to become your friend doesn't work, at least they get a cool jersey out of it.

Steelers-Cardinals: How To Stop the "Whis" Kids

Leo Hayes — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:46:38 -0500

On Feb. 1, 2009, the 43rd Lombardi Trophy will be handed out to the team who proves they are the best in the game. It will be a record regardless of the winner, with this trophy being either a team's first or sixth.

In this match up, you can imagine the stereotypical offense against defense debate. Who would win, the unstoppable force or the immovable object?

The unstoppable force, the passing attack of the Arizona Cardinals, is led by a very well schooled veteran quarterback in Kurt Warner. When he drops back to pass he is throwing into, arguably, the best receiving corps in the NFL.

Larry Fitzgerald will catch almost any ball thrown to him. Seemingly the only way to shut him down is to prevent the ball from getting with his reach. That is not an easy task as Fitzgerald stands at 6-foot-3 and has an impressive vertical leap.

Anquan Boldin is another big threat weapon in the Cardinals arsenal. He is one of the more physical receivers in the league and can threaten to turn almost any catch into a big yardage play.

With the weapons the Cardinals have they can threaten a touchdown on almost every offensive play. They have receivers who can catch a ball from almost any body position and turn up field towards the end zone.

In previous years, the secondary has been the weakest part the Steelers defense, and if an opposing team dedicated to the pass, they would find the holes in coverage and move down the field with short passes. This is how Tom Brady and his Patriots have historically beaten Pittsburgh.

As the short passing game appears to be most effective, the defense would typically adjust coverage and try to lock down on short passes. When this happened, the Patriots would open up the deep passing attack and score touchdowns.

This is the formula that had beaten the Steelers in the playoffs for the better part of this decade. It's the same formula that the Cardinals have used to build their impressive playoff run.

Needless to say the Cardinals have the ability to put up points in bunches. The question is: What do the Steelers need to do to limit this threat?

The Steelers need to do several things, effectively, if they can hope to defeat the Cardinals. Luckily for the Steelers they have the right men for the job.

To defeat the Cardinals, the Steelers passing defense needs to start with an effective pass rush. A quarterback is at his weakest point when he is faced with constant pressure and is forced to make quick throws.

In these situations a quarterback can often rush his game plan and make mistakes. If he refuses to adjust his timing, he will eventually get hit, which also serves to limit his effectiveness as the game goes on.

Getting hit can not only limit a quarterback's physical effectiveness as the game goes on, but it can disrupt the timing in his head. A quarterback can adjust the mental clock of his throws to release the ball before he gets hit instead of when his receivers get open in their routes.

Kurt Warner, however, is a veteran quarterback who knows all about the pass rush. This presents the Steelers with the challenge of effectively disguising their pass rushers and never doing the same thing twice. The Steelers, are known to be effective at just this task.

The remainder of the defense needs to stay dedicated to their coverage, be it man or zone coverage. A big reason that for this is that the Cardinals receivers can exploit soft coverage very effectively. Another element is the trick play that Ken Whisenhunt has integrated into the Cardinals playbook.

A pass rush can effectively limit trick play opportunities as an error becomes more likely and may hold greater consequences with defenders in the back field. A defense who holds their assignments, however, is equally, if not more, important.

If the coverage bites on a trick play and moves in the direction the offense wants them to, it opens up the field to the big play. If they hold their assignments, a trick play simply puts more pressure on the quarterback to make plays, and make them quickly.

The Steelers need to get into Kurt Warner's head. If he has a weakness it is that he gets frustrated when he is pressured and sacked. If the Steelers can prevent Kurt Warner from gaining comfort in the pocket, their chance to win increases greatly.

This, however, will not ensure the win. The Steelers must prevent Fitzgerald from having an instrumental role in the game. Fitzgerald has had one of the most astounding playoff performances of any receiver in history. He is more than half of the Cardinals total offense.

Ike Taylor will likely have coverage responsibilities on Fitzgerald. He has effectively limited big name receivers Randy Moss and Terrell Owens among others this season. Fitzgerald, however, presents an entirely new set of challenges.

Troy Polamalu will need to relieve Ike Taylor, especially when the Cardinals look to throw the deep ball. The explosive safety has the ability to turn any play into a turnover and grant the Steelers an enormous momentum swing. This has become his signature move so to speak.

James Harrison has been quiet of late, due in part to opposing teams double- and triple-covering him. LaMarr Woodley, on the other hand, has used this lack of focus on him to get the the quarterback numerous times this post season.

This game plan, however, is not a new idea for the Steelers this season. This is how the Steelers defense, under mastermind Dick LeBeau, has become one of the greatest units in the history of the game.

If the Steelers can execute on the same level that they have all year they should effectively limit the Cardinals passing attack. With the Cardinals limited Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can lead the team to its second Super Bowl this decade.

This Just In: Super Bowl XLIII Isn't New England Patriots vs. New York Giants

Leo Hayes — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:23:04 -0500

The more and more I listen to commentary on ESPN and read their articles, I come to an interesting conclusion. They must think that we are heading into Super Bowl XLII.

Not literally of course, but there is a confusing trend from my perspective. Why is it that everyone is looking for "This Year's Giants?"

This has actually been the story for most of the latter half of the 2008 season. Commentators have always been looking for the team who can win the Super Bowl so they can have the title "This Year's Giants."

I believe that team exists; they were the first seed in the NFC and lost their first playoff game. Can we stop talking about them, please? We had to more than enough when Burress shot himself.

Now I understand from a media perspective there is no undefeated juggernaut and no weaker team that shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence. This Super Bowl has its own story, that's what makes it great.

I understand that they want to make up a story to draw in casual fans, and even non-fans, to the marketing spectacle that is the Super Bowl. I can accept that. I have to ask, however, everyone please stop comparing this Super Bowl to last year.

The Giants were great last year, the right players performed at the right time and they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. That game happened. This is a different game.

Yes there is a favorite and an underdog in this game, but it is not last year, they are closer in skill and either team could realistically win the game.

The Cardinals are not the Giants and the Steelers are not the Patriots. The teams do not even play similar styles. They do not have similar personnel.

I know this may seem like a personal problem and that I am complaining, but in reality it seems foolish to go out and look for a team this year to do the same thing as one in another.

I'm sure the Cardinals wouldn't want the comparison, as they did better than the Giants this year and deserve the respect for their accomplishment.

The Cardinals had two home games in this years playoffs, last year's Giants had none last year. It doesn't make sense to draw the comparison.

I didn't hear any analysts looking for this year's Patriots, a team to set numerous records and have one of the greatest seasons in NFL history (even though I hate to admit it). Why are they all looking for some underdog to win it all. I know it makes a great story, but it doesn't happen every year.

In 2006 no one went out looking for that year's Steelers, so why all this focus on last year's Giants. If the phrase is only used to mean this year's Super Bowl Champion, wouldn't it make more sense to say that.

Are the Pittsburgh Steelers On The Verge Of a New Dynasty?

Leo Hayes — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:47:54 -0500

Well Steeler fans, here we are again. For the seventh time in our history we are going to the Super Bowl!

We all know the story of the 1970's. Our team was the greatest franchise in the NFL, led by a stifling defense, a few marquee receivers, a great running game, and a cannon armed young quarterback. With this formula we became the first team to win four Lombardi Trophies.

Our team was consistently a playoff team throughout the 80's and 90's, but only made it to he big game once. I'm not going to talk about what happened in that game.

The 2000's started well for our franchise, reaching the AFC Championship game in 2001. We had home-field advantage and were on the verge of going to the Super Bowl. We lost. To the Patriots.

We made the playoffs but struggled to find our franchise guy at the quarterback position. Luckily we still had the defense and running game.

At the beginning of the 2004 season Tommy Gun went down and we saw this young guy come in with an impossible to spell last name. He lost in that first game and we all were thinking only bad things could come.

Well it looks like this sense of unease was wasted as the big guy didn't lose another regular season game. He lead the team into the playoffs with the best record in franchise history, 15-1.

We narrowly beat the Jets at home in the divisional round and blamed it on rookie jitters. Hopefully it would subside as our next opponent was, that's right, the Patriots.

We lost another home AFC Championship game to New England. Their route to dynasty came through Pittsburgh. If it serves as some consolation, that easily cemented us as one of the better teams of the decade, always finishing right behind New England.

The next year we did pretty well, finishing 11-5, but that wasn't good enough to win the division. Our first playoff round was against the Bengals, the AFC North Champion Bengals.

No one gave us a chance, as they had already beaten us and looked to preform well in the playoffs. We beat them, soundly.

If analysts were to be believed we might as well have not shown up to the next game against Indy. Though the score was close, the game really wasn't. If it weren't for the refs it wouldn't have mattered if Big Ben made his "Tackle" or not.

Luckily for us Denver already pulled off the big upset and slayed our dragon -- New England. Another big win against Denver and we were on our way to Detroit.

Here we won our fifth Super Bowl championship and became the only sixth seeded team to do so.

We started a trend as teams with fewer and fewer wins were going further in the playoffs. This year two sixth seeded teams were in Championship games. Two teams also had fewer than 10 wins.

Long story short were in the Super Bowl again looking to be the first team in NFL history to win six times.

Assuming we win, (and I'm not saying this as if the story is already written, I'm imagining a world in which we do win) we will have once again proved ourselves to be the greatest franchise in NFL history.

History is great, but does this game potentially mark the beginning of a new Steelers Dynasty. I personally believe that it does.

Earlier I laid out the model of our 1970's dynasty. Why did I do this you ask? Because it is the same team we have now.

We have a great defense, we always do, but think about these comparisons.

Big Ben is the new Terry Bradshaw. Remember Bradshaw didn't even step into his hall-of-fame self until his fifth year. This is that year for Ben and he already has a ring.

Ward and Holmes can be the new Swan and Stallworth, Hines may not have much time left in his career but some of our younger receivers may develop into great players. They show signs of it now.

Our running game has a new style, but can still be as effective with a combination of backs serving to fill the holes left by Harris and Bleier.

So with all of this information consider the following.

We have been in four AFC Championships and two Super Bowls in the past decade, only the Patriots can claim to have bested us.

With Tom Brady's return date in question, and his effectiveness upon that return in even more doubt, anything goes in the AFC. We have met the Patriots twice in nine years in the AFC Championship and have been in two others.

If they don't have Tom Brady, do we succeed them as the favored team in the AFC?

With the Steelers annually preforming very well, and with the most recent success I have to ask, Steeler fans do we have another dynasty on our hands?

Steelers-Cardinals: It's Super, Baby

Leo Hayes — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:10:06 -0500

I need to take a minute here and say wow! Congratulations to both teams; this is really something.

To the Cardinals, you have made history for your franchise during one of the most improbable runs in NFL history.

To the Steelers, you are on your way to Tampa to become the first team in NFL history to win six Super Bowls.

I was fortunate enough to find tickets to the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh. The energy was unbelievable as Troy Polamalu intercepted Joe Flacco's pass, ran sideline to sideline, and brought in the game-sealing touchdown.

As the newest version of the seemingly annual "Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl" song was blasted over the loudspeakers at Heinz Field, 65,350 fans screamed themselves mute the lyrics of the song. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

I can only imagine that a similar celebration occurred in Arizona hours earlier as the Cardinals wrapped up their first Super Bowl berth in history.

Looking at this game, both teams have proven themselves to be among the best in the league this year, and certainly deserving of their chances to win the title.

Unfortunately for one of these teams, the Super Bowl can only have one victor.

I suppose it has become common practice to analyze each potential edge in the game and see where that takes us.

Coaching

This one isn't clear. Mike Tomlin is one of the best young coaches in the NFL and will have an amazing career ahead of him, especially if he keeps up his recent performances, which have earned him something that no other Steelers head coach has earned: back-to-back playoff appearances in his first two seasons.

Ken Whisenhunt, however, has already proven that he knows how to win a Super Bowl. I refuse to mention which team he won it with because ESPN will have that subject covered, beaten, killed, buried, resurrected, and killed again by the time that February rolls around.

Dick LeBeau is probably the best defensive coordinator in the league. Bruce Arians is probably the worst offensive coordinator in the league. Seriously Bruce, empty backfield on 3rd-and-1?

I will call coaching a push because the head coaching isn't easily determined, as both are early in their careers (as head coaches), and while Dick LeBeau is a genius, Bruce Arians is very, very bad.

Push

Special Teams

I will give this to the Cardinals. Berger punted the ball 10 feet in the last game and he needs to find a new line of work.

The bright light for the Steelers here is Santonio Holmes, who threatens to break almost any return for a big gain.

Advantage Arizona

Defense

Now here is where an interesting question arises. The Cardinals were very poor defensively in the regular season. They had impressive games against Atlanta and Carolina. They had a horrendous game against the Eagles.

I have heard that there are two different versions of the Cardinals defense, the good and bad versions. People have said if the good unit shows up it could rival the Steelers. I have to respectfully disagree. Any team that gives up over 450 yards of offense in a Championship game is not good on defense. Period.

The Steelers defense is the superior unit. There can be no question about it.

Advantage Pittsburgh

Running Game

Interestingly the Cardinals have developed something of a running game this postseason. That is likely a major cause for their success. This trend will not continue. No team runs successfully against the Steelers, and a team who only came into their running game in the past three games doesn't stand a chance.

Willie Parker looks to have another big game against a softer defense. The Ravens were able to keep him somewhat in check, but those are the Ravens. This type of bird doesn't play defense quite the same way.

Advantage Pittsburgh

Quarterbacks

I would say that because Kurt Warner is forced to throw more he would be projected to perform better. That will likely not happen, however, because the Steelers defense is very good at pressuring the quarterback. Warner will have a tough time as his offensive line does not match up well against the top-ranked Steelers defense.

Even when he does get the pass off, it travels into a secondary that is ranked number one against the pass.

The Cardinals, however, do not pressure the quarterback effectively or play very good passing defense. The Eagles came out in the second half with a necessity to pass the ball if they had any hope of winning.

McNabb recorded 375 passing yards by systematically picking apart the Arizona secondary. The Cardinals knew they had to defend the pass and they failed. This does not bode well for them.

If the game is on the line and a game winner needs to be produced, Big Ben is more likely to deliver than Warner.

Advantage Pittsburgh

Receivers

Hines Ward looks to be healthy which will be big for the Steelers. Santonio Holmes has had a phenomenal postseason, stepping up at just the right time to help his team win.

Larry Fitzgerald. That's all I need to say. This man is unbelievable and is recording numbers this postseason that are astronomical. Anquan Boldin is also going to be healthy but will be less involved than Fitzgerald, who has become Warner's go-to guy.

Advantage Arizona (Slightly)

Tight Ends

Heath Miller is one of the best in the game. He will catch any ball thrown his way and is very good at blocking for both the pass and the run.

Jerame Tuman hasn't played much this year and probably won't factor into the game.

Advantage Pittsburgh

Offensive Line

While the Steelers' offensive line has played far above their regular season schedule, I will default to the body of work argument. They are not a very good line, and they represent the only glaring weakness of the Steelers. Other than Berger. Who sucks. And Bruce Arians. I hate him.

The Cardinals' line, however, has struggled against the blitz. That is something the Steelers like to do.

Push (If the good Steelers line shows up, Advantage Pittsburgh; if not, Advantage Arizona)

Well, now that the boring part of the program is over, I will show clairvoyance and predict the score perfectly.

The Steelers will win the game by a score of 31-13. I like palindromes.

Realistically, the score of this game is impossible to predict. Every time the Cardinals should lose, they manage to pull out a win. They, however, have beaten teams led by their offense (sorry Philly, you were never a defensive team, and you played very soft defense against the Cards). That is how upsets occur. If you slow down an offensive team even a little bit, you can destabilize their whole game plan.

A defensive team, however, will still play defense, and still play defense well. If you cannot get points, you cannot get an upset. That is why the Steelers usually win and have defied the recently created rule about the playoff bye.

Steelers-Ravens: Paid Ref Says What?

Leo Hayes — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:00:23 -0500

To preface this article, I am a Steelers fan. I have and always will support my team.

With that being said, I have already, not even five hours after the game, heard Ravens fans complaining about bad officiating. If that is not you, this article is not intended for you.

If, on the other hand, that was you, I will have to ask when your brain transplant surgery is scheduled.

During this game, the Steelers were vastly outplaying the Ravens. By the end of the first half, the Ravens had only had one drive with any first downs. The Steelers, on the other hand, had several good drives.

The refs, however, weren't having any of that. I don't know why, but the NFL did not want the Steelers to win this game.

I will start this article with the obvious. Santonio Holmes scored a touchdown. If you do not think that is a catch, please provide me with a definition of a catch in which a defender contacting the receiver, taking three steps, and reaching the ball across the goal line does not qualify.

If you can find one, the Ravens probably would not have completed any passes and would have lost by even more.

Now, we will move to my favorite—the James Harrison holding no-calls. This song has been sung. I don't need to go into it.

What's interesting to me is that in a league which loves to protect the quarterback, no defender gets called for roughing Big Ben. Seeing as he is hit more than any other quarterback, you would think that someone would get there a little late.

Well, the Ravens did—several times. No penalties were called.

At one particular point in the game, Kemoeatu was called for a personal foul. The defender had pushed Kemoeatu's helmet up and forced his face mask into his face. Kemoeatu gave him a little push.

Meanwhile, Ray Lewis came in and gave Willie Parker who was on the ground at the time a late hit. That wasn't called. Kemoeatu's push was.

The roughing-the-kicker call against Berger was bad. However, as bad as it was, there were at least two other times it should have been called and wasn't. I figure Baltimore should be happy it wasn't worse for them.

On both of Baltimore's scoring drives, there were pass interference calls that kept the drive going.

The call against Ike Taylor can be justified but was wrong. The receiver could not have in any world (with our laws of physics) caught the pass. It hit Taylor in the back. Unless the receiver can phase his hands through solid objects, he wasn't catching the pass.

Ike, however, did not touch the receiver. He flailed his arms about in an attempt to bat the ball down. Okay, if that is pass interference, I can live with it.

On the other hand, the other call was, well, uhh, I cannot really think of a good adjective. Harrison was at least five yards from the receiver. Unless he is so good that he can telepathically prevent a receiver from catching a ball, he didn't commit a penalty.

Baltimore would, in all likelihood, have scored a field goal on this drive.

I have heard accusations that Ryan Clark's hit on Willis McGahee was helmet-to-helmet. If Clark put his helmet on his shoulder pad, then you are right. Otherwise, it was technically a shoulder-to-helmet, which is perfectly legal. This is because Clark lead with his shoulder and McGahee lowered his head to cause the helmets to collide.

I have also heard that the fumble by McGahee was not a fumble. The ball hit the ground before any part of McGahee's body other than his feet, but after he established possession. Unless we use the new definition of a catch, that three steps and reaching for the ball isn't possession.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is a fumble!

With all of these calls listed above, the score should have been at least a 27-3 blowout in Pittsburgh's favor—most likely even greater from the Steelers' perspective.

Now if you can prove to me that the refs somehow favored Pittsburgh in this contest, I will delete this article, leave this Web site, and mail you $100.

Alternatively, if you can prove that Baltimore somehow deserved to win this game, but was robbed, I will do all of the above and double the monetary amount.

Steelers-Ravens: If Defense Wins Championships, Who Wins This Game?

Leo Hayes — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:34:57 -0500

Here we are, sitting less than one week away from the Championship round of the playoffs and you have to ask yourself, how did this happen?

In the two games, three of the teams playing did not make the playoffs last year and the other was a one-and-done team that looked a little lost. To be more specific, only the Steelers had more than eight wins at this point last year, and they were already on the outside looking in.

This year was full of NFL firsts. The first 11-10 and 23-11 scores. The first time the Cardinals franchise hosted a championship game. The first time two sixth-seeded teams reached their respective championship games. That's just to name a few.

This year was definitely full of surprises, and as a Steelers fan, I will be the first to admit there was no way I thought that the Steelers would win 12 of their games this year. Well, they did, and now the Ravens, a team with five wins last season, are now the only opponent preventing them from reaching the Super Bowl.

So that brings me to the game in question. The saying is always thrown around that defense wins championships, and as a Steelers fan, I have never questioned that statement in my life. I'm sure my counterparts in Baltimore can actually agree with me on that point.

So if both teams agree that defense is the key to winning, then it should be easy, one of them should be better on defense and they should win. The problem with that is that both teams know this well-kept secret and have constructed their teams around their truly championship-caliber defenses.

Both teams are actually so good at defense that they rank first and second overall and their is barely a visible difference in the way that they play defense. This makes it hard to pick a winner.

That being the case, I will go through all potential reasons that one team would win and we will see where that gets us.

Home-Field Advantage

In theory, and in the regular season, playing games at home benefits a team greatly. In fact the Steelers are the best at using this to their advantage in the league since the 1970 merger.

In the playoffs, however, and especially recently, home-field advantage has been more of a curse than a blessing, and particularly if your team is named the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers have been in three other championship games during this decade, two at home one on the road. Take a guess which one they won.

In fact, the Steelers opted out of their right to be considered the home team in their most recent Super Bowl victory.

As a result, I will consider home-field advantage to be little more than a draw, with only the abysmal field conditions of Heinz Field giving the slightest advantage to the Steelers. This is very slight because the Ravens come to town every year so they know how to play on the field, and they play a similar very similar style of football.

History

The Steelers have beaten the Ravens twice this year, for the first time in a long time. This, however, may be another curse in disguise. It is very difficult to beat a team twice, and three times is even harder.

While the previous two matchups cannot be said to be non-important games, this is the playoffs, and the AFC Championship no less. Both teams will play much differently, that's a guarantee.

The Ravens are 1-0 in Championship games, but they have only played one so that's not enough to determine a trend. The Steelers, however are 6-7 in these games.

Again I have to consider the history of this matchup to be a draw, each team has a few advantages, but all of those advantages have down-sides as well.

Experience

Finally, an area where I can attribute a definitive advantage.

Most of the Steelers roster was around for the two consecutive AFC Championships and the Super Bowl victory just a few short years ago. The coaching staff, however is much different, though I don't believe that will effect Mike Tomlin all that much.

Bruce Arians, well he may be a different story, but that's why the Steelers have the $100 million man.

The Ravens, however, do not retain many members of their roster from their Super Bowl victory nine years ago. The coach and quarterback are both rookies in the league.

The Steelers have an advantage in this category.

Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger has played many games in his five years in the league, two of them being the AFC Championship game. The pressure will not affect Ben, he knows how to win and he's been here before.

Joe Flacco is a rookie in the league and in Roethlisberger fashion he is in the AFC Championship in his first year. I don't know how this will affect Flacco; there is a chance that he will play at the same level that he did against the Steelers in the previous two contests, but he may be affected by the fact that he is one win away from the Super Bowl.

I encourage Ravens fans to give me input in this area, because I would actually like to know how people who've observed him more think he will respond.

Regardless the advantage in this area goes to Big Ben. He has over 50 wins in five years and one of them was in the Super Bowl. He is one of the must clutch quarterbacks in the league and if I were down with only one drive left there is no one I would rather have leading my offense.

Offense

The Ravens' offense has been slightly more effective than the Steelers, particularly when running the ball comes into question. They, however, have slowed down slightly on the offensive side. That may be because they played one of the better more physical defenses in the league in the Titans.

The Steelers, on the other-hand, seemed to have an offensive renaissance with their offensive line coming out of no where to be very skilled at blocking. Fast-Willie Parker also seemed healthy for the first time this year and propelled the Steelers by earning the most playoff rushing yards since 1975 (146-yd).

Ironically, that record is held by Franco Harris (153-yd). As an interesting side note, that game was the debut of the Terrible Towel.

I will include momentum in this section. Both teams are 4-1 in their last five and have put together fairly impressive winning streaks to end the season. This is partly caused by the two teams competing with each other to determine the division winner.

We don't know if the good or bad offense will show up for either team. We can, however be certain that neither team will gain as many total yards, or likely points, as they have in their previous home playoff games.

Defense

Well, eventually we would have to get here. I'm not even going to get into this one, we all know both teams will bring their defenses and play well in this category. I'm actually so certain on this if they don't play well defensively the game may be fixed.

The only major difference I can see here is that the Steelers have a better chance to confuse Joe Flacco than the other way around. The Ravens, however, have a better chance to get to Big Ben.

I'm not even going to say that a team can have an advantage in this category. Both defenses are so good that it's impossible to determine which one will hold the advantage.

The one thing that I will say is that the Steelers' defense finished first, not second.

Yeah, I went there.

Well, with all of that, this is really the biggest toss-up game that you could have. So I'm going to say the Steelers come out with a win 17-13, or maybe 2-0. You never know.

Regardless of who wins, the AFC Champion will have a distinct advantage, defensively, over their NFC counterpart. Especially if that NFC team thinks that they will win the Super Bowl by only playing offense and only by passing the ball *cough cough*.

Why the Pittsburgh Steelers Are the Best Overall Franchise in the NFL

Leo Hayes — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:06:14 -0500

Earlier today I read an article on why the Carolina Panthers were the best franchise written by Dreu H. While I respect Dreu's opinion I have to disagree. This will serve as my direct response to that article and will be presented in the same format. The Pittsburgh are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, their greatness is known by every fan of every team. The Steelers wrote the book on what it means to win a championship with a defense and continue to add to that work each year. I truly believe that the Steelers, from the top of the organization, down to the fans, is the greatest franchise in the NFL.

Begin Slideshow

The NFL Playoffs: A Preview

Leo Hayes — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:42:44 -0500

With the playoffs upon us, here is a short preview of how it will break down.

AFC Wild Card Weekend

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

The Ravens have become a very good team, no matter how much I hate to admit that they are good at anything.

Their defense is great, and their offense is above average and shows potential to get better. I simply think that the fact that the head coach and quarterback are both rookies will catch up with them.

I don't predict a blow out, but a few mistakes will prevent them from winning the game.

Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers

The Colts are the hottest team in football and have one of the most explosive offenses in the league.

Peyton Manning has elevated his team with MVP-level play and enabled them to turn around a 3-4 season. The Chargers' defense doesn't have what it takes to stop the red-hot Colts.

NFC Wild Card Weekend

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals

The Cards locked up their division early and haven't shown anything to prove themselves since then.

Their abysmal record out of their division will come back to haunt them now that they are in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings

This is a difficult one to call.

The Eagles are winning in quality fashion and may be one of the hottest teams in football after clawing their way back into the playoff picture and putting up 44 on Dallas.

The game will be close but the difference maker will be the running game. The Eagles have had great success in this department and have had good balance on offense. This is the reason they have won their past games.

The Vikings, however, have the best running defense in football, the Eagles will fall back on an unbalanced one-sided passing attack, and they will lose.

AFC Divisional Round

Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Dolphins amazing season comes to a close as they run into the brick wall that is the best defense in football.

The Dolphins have won games on offense and not turning the ball over. This is why they say defense wins championships as they will be severely limited in their offensive production and will turn the ball over.

Defensive MVP candidates Troy Polamalu and James Harrison will make the Dolphins pay each time they drop back. With the Steelers getting healthy, especially on the defensive side, a week off can only help.

Willie Parker has shown signs of health as well, having one of the best games of his season in week 17. Ben Roethlisberger's mild concussion will have healed within two weeks and he will be ready to lead his offense.

Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans

The Colts beat the Titans in the last game of the year. There are those who say that this game didn't prove much and it probably didn't.

There is, however, much to be said about the idea of resting starters for the playoffs. The Titans starters are not only going to be rusty with almost three weeks off, but they will have lost any momentum they had by losing.

It can also be a huge psychological block for a team when they lose to a team they must play in the playoffs, especially when it is toward the end of the season. I am a Steelers fan so take this however you want to, but the Curse of Myron Cope will destroy the Titans.

A team cannot disrespect the symbol of another team and hope to perform well. The only other team who has done this is the Bengals. That was at the end of their 2005 season. That turned out to be a great decision on their part.

The Titans don't actually play the Steelers in this game, but that's why I am calling it a curse. I hope the Titans win so the Steelers can show them how to win with class. It won't happen however as the Colts are far too skilled.

NFC Divisional Round

Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are one of the best teams in football; at home they have no equal. The Panthers balanced offense has the second best receiver in football (Steve Smith) and one of the best rushing attacks of any team.

Typically I would pick defense over offense; however I cannot see the Vikings keeping up with the Panthers.

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants

The NFC South has struggled on the road and the division-winning Panthers have already lost to the Giants. The Falcons do not have a way to overcome the Giants' defense and will have trouble putting points on the board.

Eli Manning has begun to return to his role and will be able to lead his team to a victory. All possible Cinderella stories in the NFL come to a close as the renewed Giants resume their devastating rushing attack, to which the Falcons will have no answer.

AFC Championship

Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers lost the last game by making mistakes, on offense and defense. Expect the Steelers to be a more solid team against the Colts, as Ben has worked through the rough points in his season, and the defense has allowed only one of sixteen opponents to gain 300 yards.

Peyton Manning typically has struggled against pressure, particularly from Pittsburgh. Expect a game similar to the previous post-season match up of the two AFC perennial powerhouses, with the defense of the Steelers controlling the flow of the game early, and preventing the Colts from gaining enough traction to get back into the game.

NFC Championship

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants

This will be the best game up to this point in the playoffs. Both teams are quite skilled and the previous matchup ended in overtime with a field goal.

Expect a similar game, with the Panthers using their offense to get out to an early lead, and the Giants looking for a way to get back into it. This game, however, will have a different result as the Panthers will not let the Giants back into the game.

Superbowl XLIII

The best game of the year will fittingly occur as the Panthers and Steelers meet in Tampa to determine the World Champion.

The Panthers' unstoppable force of an offense against the Steelers' immovable object of a defense.

If the Panthers don't get out to an early lead the game will be over, as the Steelers will smother the opposing offense, and move the ball only efficiently enough to eat away the clock.

But come on, none of us want to see that.

The game will be a microcosm of the Steelers season and the result will depend on whether Big Ben can muster another comeback in the fourth quarter. The Panthers will score a few times quickly, and at the half appear to hold a commanding lead.

The genius of Dick LeBeau, however, will make the proper half time adjustments, as he does game in and game out, and the Panthers will be shut down in the second half. The Steelers will get key turnovers as the defense chokes the life out of the Panthers.

The offense will take the easy points, and as the fourth quarter begins to wind down it will seem as if the Steelers just wont die off. With little time left on the clock Big Ben will hold the ball and force the issue, driving the Steelers down the field on the most important fourth quarter comeback of the year.

Pittsburgh becomes the first team in NFL history to win six times in the Big Game as they prove once again that while offense may be pretty and fun, it is truly defense that wins championships.

The Flower Can Be the Rock for the Pittsburgh Penguins

Leo Hayes — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:30:05 -0500

The Penguins are a very talented team that has hit a rough patch lately. They have lost four of five games and appear to be in a tail spin.

The question can then be posed, how can the Penguins turn it around and get things going again. The question can be perplexing especially considering that the Penguins hold the No. 1 and 2 spots in individual points scoring.

The answer however, may be very simple, that is to have a healthy Marc-Andre Fleury in goal.

At the start of the season the Penguins were a force, they were lead by some of the best goal-tending, and goal scoring, of any team. When one of the two sides were in a slump, the other would do something amazing to generate energy for the other.

With the return of Fleury we may see the Penguins return to the peak of their game. This is because he is the starting goaltender, and he is at the heart of the team.

Remember the playoffs, when the offense was struggling to get going against Detroit, it was the amazing showing of Fleury that kept the Penguins in the game, and eventually generated energy for the offense.

This is not to say that the back ups on the Penguins are not skilled, in fact, Sabourin is one of the best goaltenders in the league, let alone back up. Curry has also performed admirably considering the situation.

The issue is that Sabourin does not inspire the team in the same way; he does not generate the energy that Fleury does. The energy that Fleury generates is unimaginable, he not only inspires players, he inspires the home crowd, which in turn generates more energy for the players.

Fleury has a special talent to make the team perform at their top level, and his return to the ice should inspire greatness out of a Penguins team that has looked exhausted, mentally and physically.

When it comes down to it Fleury is simply one of the greatest goaltenders in the NHL. His athleticism is unmatched and when he plays at his peak I dare anyone to score on him.

Think back to game five against Detroit. Saving over 50 shots in the Stanley Cup Final is impressive enough, but these shots were all quality scoring chances and Fleury simply would not allow them to enter the net.

At the end of the day if nothing else Fleury is the best goaltender on the Penguins team and that alone should help. We have also discovered that he has two quality back ups if a scenario were to arise where they were needed. If nothing else Fleury's ability will help to prevent opponent scoring, but in reality he means much more than that to his team and his fans.

NFL Week 16 Previews and Predictions

Leo Hayes — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:59:08 -0500

In Week 16, there are a few interesting match ups that enable teams to either lock up or move into the first seed in both conferences. There are also a few key match ups that will do more to determine the playoff picture.

Jacksonville vs. Indy: This should be a good game; division rivals, one securing a playoff spot while the other is trying to play spoiler. Indy should win this game because their offense is unstoppable right now. Jacksonville will keep it close for most of the game, but by the end we will all be certain on who the better team was.

Baltimore vs. Dallas: Here are two teams fighting to maintain their current position in the wild card race. Dallas just came off of a big win against the Giants, while the Ravens lost a tough game against the Steelers. Both will come out with something to prove. Look for the Ravens defense to be the difference maker. If they show up, the Ravens should win, but it won't be pretty.

Cincinnati vs. Cleveland: Two teams well out of the playoffs, in the same division, and coached by people fighting to keep their jobs next year. This will be a dirty and sloppy game. It will be on Ken Dorsey to win the game. I don't think he has it in him. Cincinnati for the second time this year goes two weeks without a loss (for clarification: earlier in the year they had a bye, a win, and a tie, meaning three weeks without a loss).

San Diego vs Tampa: Another match up of two teams fighting for the playoffs. Tampa's defense will be the difference. If they show up to play, the Chargers will be knocked out of playoff contention.

Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee: The game of the week is hard to determine this week, but this defensive battle of the likely one and two (or three) on the power rankings wins the award. I see Pittsburgh putting pressure on Collins, forcing him to make mistakes. I expect the Steelers to win big and move closer to the one seed.

San Francisco vs. St. Louis: This will be a messy, poorly executed game. Look for the 49ers to eke out a win, as they are the better team.

New Orleans vs. Detroit: The Lions will not get their first win of the season here. The Saints will use their high-powered offense to run up the score. It may, however, be another game lost by the Lions in the last quarter.

Arizona vs. New England: The Cardinals finally get a big win outside their own division. I was initially leaning toward the Patriots, but the problems in their secondary might be too large against a pass-happy team like Arizona. The game being in New England will give an edge to the Patriots, but the play of their secondary will be the difference.

Miami vs. Kansas City: Miami continues to roll in this one and moves closer to a playoff spot.

Buffalo vs. Denver: Buffalo will continue to ruin their impressive 5-1 start with another loss this weekend. Denver, however, will still have troubles on defense, and that may put the game up for grabs.

New York Jets vs. Seattle: The Jets get their first win on the west coast against a Seattle team trying to play spoiler. Expect the game to play similarly to the Patriots-Seahawks game earlier in the season, with the Jets gaining the lead and closing it out toward the end of the game.

Houston vs. Oakland: After a huge win over the Titans, the Texans will come in with confidence and win big over a struggling Raiders team.

Atlanta vs. Minnesota: The difference maker in this game is the best running back in the league. Adrian Peterson will run all over the Falcons defense. Remember, this game is in Minnesota, and the NFC south struggles on the road.

Philadelphia vs. Washington: The Eagles will come in with renewed life looking to squeeze into the playoffs, and Washington will be caught wondering where their amazing start went. Expect the Eagles to win this one.

Carolina vs. Giants: This is the other game in contention for the game of the week. The Giants will come out with something to prove after losing their last two, and Carolina will be fighting to prove they are the best team in the NFC. I see Carolina running (pun kind of intended) away with this one as their version of smash and dash will carry them to another victory.

Green Bay vs. Chicago: This is a difficult game to call, two division rivals meeting trying to prove themselves. Expect Chicago to use their home-field advantage and get a win.

Steelers-Titans: The AFC's Top Two Square off in Nashville

Leo Hayes — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:28:17 -0500

Week 15 was very exciting in the NFL with many rivals meeting to determine who advances in the season. Week 16 can match that intensity as the likely one and two seeds in the AFC playoffs going head-to-head.

The Steelers are coming off of a huge win to secure a playoff appearance, continuing a very impressive run against talented teams. The Titans, however, lost to the Texans today, meaning that this matchup can do a lot to determine playoff seeding.

This game will mean everything to both teams. For the Steelers, this includes having run the gauntlet of the toughest schedule in 25 years and finishing with the best record in the conference. For the Titans it will mean getting that much closer to the best season in their history. For both it will do much to determine who earns home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Expect the Steelers defense to continue to show up against tough opponents and create pressure for Collins. At the same time expect the Titans defense to do some of the same against Pittsburgh.

The difference here is that the Steelers defense is much more tested, and has passed the test better than anyone, ranking first in many categories of defensive statistics. The Titans, however, have struggled in a few games, and haven't faced as many high caliber offenses.

The defense of Pittsburgh also does something better than anyone else: creating pressure on the quarterback and causing sacks. When we examine the Titans loss to the Texans, a big part it was the amount of pressure that the Texans put on Collins, making him quite uncomfortable.

If the Texans could get to Collins and make him play poorly, you can count on the Steelers doing the same, and doing it better.

When Collins is under this pressure players like Polamalu and Clark will be flying around the field picking off the errant passes. Turnovers don't help against any team, and against Pittsburgh it usually means losing.

The way the Titans can balance this out is doing much of what Baltimore did and changing up their line formations, willingly sacrificing one or two receivers, and putting extra blockers on the Pittsburgh pass rushers.

This will give Collins a little more time to throw, but it does sacrifice receivers, which will not help against Pittsburgh's top ranked passing defense which allowed only 90 passing yards against Baltimore.

The Titans can also use a running attack, but against a top-ranked rushing defense in Pittsburgh this will only go so far. The Titans must establish a balance quickly and find some way to slow down a top ranked pass rush from Pittsburgh.

The Steelers have also shown very good signs of improving their offense against a second ranked Baltimore defense. The Steelers out-matched Baltimore throughout much of the game in terms of offensive yards gained, it was only poor field position that enabled Baltimore to gain an early lead.

As the game progressed, however, Pittsburgh began to find their offensive strengths, and when they needed offense, Ben Roethlisberger shouldered the game and led his team to the 17th game-winning drive of his career in the fourth quarter. If Pittsburgh can use the momentum from the end of the win against Baltimore it will be very difficult for Tennessee to win the game.

Tennessee must find a way to exploit Pittsburgh's weakness, the offensive line, if they hope to win. Pittsburgh, however, showed improvements in this category, as well, allowing three sacks against a very good Ravens defense who were playing for the division against a hated rival.

The running game of the Steelers is beginning to perform, which was difficult against a defense like the one found in Baltimore, and Tennessee must work to prevent the Steelers from establishing themselves in this area, above all else, if they hope to win. In games where the Steelers had a running back with 99 or more yards, they are 5-0.

In fact the Steelers are 18-2 in the past three years when they have a running back with 99 or more yards.

The Steelers' passing attack has also matured as of late with Roethlisberger throwing for over 630 yards in the past three games. Big Ben has also thrown four touchdowns and only one interception during that span.

In the past four games Tennessee has played Houston, Cleveland, Detroit, and the Jets. Tennessee lost two of the four, only managing to beat winless Detroit and a Cleveland team that was on their third string quarterback, Ken Dorsey, and in a downward spiral toward the bottom of the league.

Meanwhile they lost one of those games to a Jets team that has managed to lose to teams like San Diego, San Fransisco, and Oakland. They also lost to a Texans team that has only become a .500 team after beating the Titans.

The Steelers however have beaten teams like New England, and Dallas, and Baltimore in consecutive weeks. Not only have the Steelers won, but they have shown that they are a very complete team, especially defensively, that does not need to rely on any one player to win a game.

Though the Titans have more wins and are currently the best team in the AFC, the Steelers should win this game if they continue to play at their current level. I predict the Steelers to win 28-10.

That being said, this is the most dangerous Steelers team that I have seen in a long time; they are playing a very similar style to the team that won the Super Bowl in the 2005-2006 season, except with an even better defense this time around. The Steelers are prepared for a strong playoff run with a great chance of ending in Tampa with a record sixth ring to show for it.

Steelers-Ravens: NFL Game of The Week

Leo Hayes — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:21:47 -0500

It's crunch time in the NFL and this week the Steelers face the Ravens with the chance to lock-up the AFC North.

This is a head-to-head matchup of two of the best defenses in the NFL, as well as one of the most bitter, bloody rivalries. These teams hate each other and neither wants the other to one-up them. This has been demonstrated over the years with the two teams usually splitting the annual series.

Both teams have tough schedules in the remaining parts of the year, with the Steelers going to Tennessee after this game then heading to Cleveland to wrap-up the season and the Ravens playing in Dallas and finishing with Jacksonville.

Both Pittsburgh and Baltimore will treat this game as the most important of the season and will come out swinging.

In the last matchup Pittsburgh won on a Jeff Reed field goal in overtime. Baltimore had the better offense to begin the game, but it was the defense that allowed the Steelers to get back into the game, and eventually win, forcing a turnover, which resulted in a touchdown, shortly after the offense generated points.

Expect to see more of the same in this game as the team that gets their offense going first will have the fast-track to a win, while the other will have to rely on their defense to get them back in the game.

The defenses will show up and will wreak havoc on the opposing team's offense. With that said, I will now move to the respective offenses.

Baltimore has the slight edge in offensive statistics, ranking 19th overall with 320 yards per game, while Pittsburgh is ranked 26th with nearly 303 yards per game. However, these stats don't amount to much as neither team will get close to their season averages this Sunday.

The Ravens offense is lead by Joe Flacco, a rookie quarterback who is having a very good year. Rookie quarterbacks, however, struggle greatly against the confusing blitz brought by Dick LeBeau and the Steelers.

Flacco did perform well in the first matchup, but the pressure eventually got to him and he made a few crucial turnovers that lead his team to a loss.

Flacco will probably have more pressure than he would like and James Harrison will probably continue his trend of forcing fumbles. The key to win for the Ravens is to have Flacco stay protected in the pocket and make good decisions.

The Steelers offensive line will again be tested and Ben Roethlisberger will get hit, several times, but if he can handle the pressure his team will have a good chance to win.

The key for the Steelers is getting open quickly on passing plays and giving Roethlisberger enough time to get the ball off. Alternate options such as short passes over the middle to Heath Miller and screens to the running backs will help in this department.

Neither team will have an impressive running game as both defenses excel in this area and neither has all that impressive of a running attack this year. Both teams must protect the quarterback and create openings in the passing game, quickly, if they want to win.

As a side note, Baltimore has won five straight at home against Pittsburgh and was the last team to sweep the series in 2006. Pittsburgh leads the overall series 15-10.

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Monday-night game this year and all I can say is this will be a great hard-hitting football game. I predict the Steelers to come out on top 14-13.

Steelers, Roethlisberger Get No Love

Leo Hayes — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:10:31 -0500

People love to hate the Steelers.

Why not? They are the most consistent playoff team since 1972, are tied in first for most Super Bowl wins at five, and appear poised to make that number larger.

When the Steelers win, ESPN will tell you it is usually because the other team made mistakes. When they lose it is because the other team "dominated" the Steelers. Even when the loss was by four points...and the Steelers were in the lead for 57 of 60 minutes.

With all of this hate floating around it is easy to point out Ben Roethlisberger, say that he is not good, that he makes mistakes, and that he frequently does things that make his team lose. This is made even easier by Roethlisberger himself as he, unlike any other quarterback, will take full credit for a loss, even if it was not his fault.

What you will hear less of is that Roethlisberger is poised to be the winningest quarterback in the first five years of his career, the youngest to win a Super Bowl, the first ever to win 13 consecutive starts (he did this as a rookie), and several others including the only quarterback to play a season after successfully stopping a car with his face.

When Roethlisberger has a bad stretch, as almost all quarterbacks have every season, people will say that he is not very good, talk of him will fade as talk of Matt Ryan, the NFL MVP ramps up. Are they joking, Ryan MVP? He is a rookie, and has eight wins, he set no records with this performance and is average at best.

In fact the only good thing about him is that he is a rookie with eight wins. Remember, Roethlisberger won fourteen his first season, and no one called for him to be the MVP.

Debates are always started about who is the best young quarterback, who will replace Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the elite class. Roethlisberger is by far better than any other player considered for this category.

Many people say that Tony Romo is an elite quarterback. I have actually heard ramblings of people saying he is better than Brady. Romo has never won a playoff game. That's all I need to say about that.

In fact the only other player in the running is Eli Manning. Remember for a while in New York Manning was not good. He was skittish, threw far too many interceptions, and hurt his team more than he helped it. At that point in time Roethlisberger was leading his team to consecutive AFC Championship games and a Super Bowl.

Eli has an offensive line that is probably the best in the league, whereas Roethlisberger has a line that until recently has not been capable of handling a high school team's pass rush. Manning, however, is still very good, but Roethlisberger is better.

Analysts speculate on who the toughest quarterbacks are. Surprisingly is that Roethlisberger is often absent from many of these discussions as well. Roethlisberger gets hit more than any other quarterback and he thrives. Other people in his position lead their team to ruin.

To prove my point the only quarterback sacked more than Roethlisberger last year was Jon Kitna. Kitna's passer rating was more than twenty points lower than Roethlisberger's.

This year Roethlisberger has had injuries from week one, including ones to his throwing shoulder, both hands, and more. Through this he had some poor performances. He has also had two games of over 300 yards passing and has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions.

Roethlisberger's toughness is not just getting hit and bouncing back, he plays through injuries that would limit most player ability greatly and still does better than most of the quarterbacks out there now. He inspires his team by playing hurt, he shows faith in them by playing with the same team that has allowed him to get hurt, and through it has rallied them to play better.

Any discussion of the elite quarterbacks absent Roethlisberger is fraudulent. Roethlisberger is clearly the most established young quarterback and with most of his career still ahead of him he is likely to win a few more Super Bowl rings.

Steelers-Cowboys: Pittsburgh Can Dominate Wounded Dallas

Leo Hayes — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:13:39 -0500

Big Ben Roethlisberger said Sunday evening after beating the Patriots that he doesn't look ahead in the schedule, so we are going to do that for him.

The Steelers have a tough schedule coming up, all but one of their opponents have winning records and two of the four are division rivals. Of the remaining four opponents there are two of the top five defenses, one of the most explosive offenses, and one bad team whose coach only keeps his job with a miracle finish (something tells me that means beating the Steelers more than winning out).

Most of the teams in the NFL would be worried going into this stretch when more wins are needed to guarantee a playoff spot. The Steelers are not, and need not, be one of those teams.

This week we will look at the Cowboys. Tony Romo is an over-hyped quarterback who still likely has a lingering injury to his throwing hand. This will not be a good thing to have against the Steelers who will hit him hard and often. He has not done well against a consistent pass rush, and quarterbacks do not have good days when they play Pittsburgh.

The Cowboys do, however have some very talented receivers on offense. This, however did not help New England who had one of the best of all time on their team dropping balls because he was afraid to get wrecked as he landed. Terrel Owens also does not match-up well against the Steelers, with his last game against the Black and Gold coming back in 2004 when his Eagles were demolished 27-3. He did not contribute significantly to his team's three points.

The running game of the Cowboys will have to face the NFL's best defense in all major categories, allowing only 71.2 rushing yards per game. With a running back coming off of an injury in week 13, this is not a good match-up for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys also have to come to Pittsburgh, to the cold, snow, and ice to play the Steelers in "Steeler Weather." This will make passing all the more difficult, likely resulting in either the Cowboys becoming more one-dimensional toward the run, or becoming indecisive with passes as more of them are dropped and more difficult to throw. T

his indecision will result in sacks. Sacks will cause more indecision. You can see where I am going with this.

If the Steelers defense shows up, as it does week in and week out, the Cowboys will need to be perfect if they hope to win, and in Pittsburgh in December, perfection is highly improbable, if not impossible.

The Steelers offensive line also showed signs of improving last week against an admittedly weak New England defense. If the line can remain consistent, or improve further, and the Steelers keep their running game going, it will create problems for a Dallas defense who have suffered several key injuries this year; a defense that has allowed 260 points this season, 90 more than the Steelers top ranked defense.

The Cowboys with Romo have had troubles in big games, especially those in December and into the playoffs. All four of the Cowboys' losses this years have also come when they have scored fewer than 28 points. No team has scored more than 24 points against the Steelers' defense.

This game will come down to a few key factors.

First whether or not injured Cowboys players, including Barber, Ware, and Romo can play at their normal level.

Second: how the Cowboys react to the exotic looks and intense pass rush of the Steelers defense.

Thirdly, if the Steelers offense can continue to get back on track and perform at their top level with injuries to some of their key players including Roethlisberger, Parker, Miller, and the offensive line in general.

The Steelers will win this game 28-7.

As an interesting side note, the Steelers were able to hold the Patriots to 1-of-13 on third downs. The Patriots were, before last week, in the top ten in that category. If the Steelers' defense can have another performance near that level, the game will become very winnable.

Winning this game will put the Steelers in good position for the playoff race this year, and with Baltimore playing a difficult game against the Redskins it may provide the chance for a comfortable two game lead in the AFC North.

Dem Picksburgh Stillers: How to Get Started on the Other Hand

Leo Hayes — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:16:43 -0500

The Steelers are one of the elite teams in football, but they are not without fault. The defense is as close to an immovable object as humanly possible; however the woes on offense are evident.

The line is poor, very poor, and that is not changing any time soon. The mystery of why the offense cannot preform, however is complex.

The line is key to the offense, but with players like Big Ben, Ward, Miller, Holmes, and Parker, there is no excuse for being in the bottom half of the league.

So you might ask, how is it that the Steelers can achieve greatness on offense, which when combined with this great defense will all but guarantee another piece of hardware.

Well, that answer is simple, but before I tell you, I want you to think of the past few games for the Steelers, and the game against the Jaguars.

I'll give you a minute.

Done?

What is the common thread in these games. Many things appear to be going well, but what is the most obvious part of the victory?

In these games, the Steelers have more effectively run the ball against their opponents, averaging about 100 yards per game. Running the ball, the Steelers have shown for many decades, is key to winning, and doing it consistently.

More important to the victories, however, is the performance of the man named after a clock in England. In these victories, Ben took the reins of the offense, using the no huddle and adjusting the offense to the particular situation of the defense.

This allows the person closest to the game, the quarterback, to adapt his team and exploit the weaknesses of the defense.

Another factor of Ben's performance is that the offense found a way not to rely on the line. It seems obvious, when your weakness is giving your quarter back time, find a way for him to need less time.

Ben throwing short passes, slants through the middle and to the flats, and actually using his key players like Miller, Ward, and Holmes, allows the offense to keep the ball, which will prevent the other team from having chances, and enables the Steelers to put points on the board.

Both of which, with a stingy defense like the one from the Steel City, means 7's for 3's or 0's and a win.

This offense can also be very deceiving. The Steelers can line up Miller, Spaeth, Ward, and Holmes, all of whom are explosive offensive players who can turn a short pass into a long gain and a first down nine out of ten times. Those players also have another thing in common, an incredible ability to block for the run.

Under this formation, a defense will really have no idea what will come out of the offense. The Steelers could send all four out for passes and use the backs to block, and with hands like those of Miller and Ward, as well as their physicality, it is an almost guaranteed catch and a big threat of a huge gain after the catch.

They could also use the tight ends to block and go for a deep bomb, and with speed like Holmes or skills like Ward, it is not easy to catch the defense looking at the wrong guy and punish them.

Also, the Steelers could use all four to block for the run meaning time off the clock and when you run enough, big plays will open up.

In the most recent games it appears that the Steelers have finally discovered this formula, and if they get good at it, every team in the NFL had better watch out cause Picksburgh's goin' to the Super Bowl!

NFL, Officials Biased Against Pittsburgh Steelers?

Leo Hayes — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:35:51 -0500

Updated as of 12/1/08.

This has certainly been an interesting year in the NFL; elite teams under-performing, several major rule changes, and a rash of bad calls have changed the outcome of some games and the scheme of the NFL.

In Pittsburgh, bad calls and strange rulings have almost become common place this season. A good start would be the Hines Ward fines.

A player who is the model of what an NFL player should be, one who follows the rules and is a genuinely good person, has been fined thousands of dollars on several occasions for "dirty hits."

Even more bizarre is that, on one of these occasions, the NFL refused to explain the reason for the fine. Personally, if I were sent a bill for thousands of dollars with no explanation why, I wouldn't pay.

Fast-forward to the Steelers-Chargers game; we all know what happened and I don't really need to detail it. All I will say is that the point differential can actually come into play if the Steelers lose against the Ravens and another AFC opponent and the Ravens lose to an NFC opponent.

Now, here is the real interesting point I want to make. If you had watched some of the past few Steelers games, starting with the one against the Colts, you will see a lot of the opposing team's offensive line holding the Steelers linebackers as they rush the passer.

This is normal and I can even accept it. The odd thing is that very few of these holding calls result in penalties.

This situation is most evident in the game against the Chargers, when the Steelers became the only team this year with over ten more penalties than their opponent.

The reason is that holding was called against the Steelers line, not the Chargers. The image from this game that sticks in my mind is James Harrison behind the Chargers' line preparing to tackle Phillip Rivers, but he couldn't.

The reason that one of the top pass rushers in the league couldn't tackle a quarterback directly in front of him is because the Chargers' line was holding him, by his face mask. As a side note, that was on third down and the Chargers scored on that drive.

I am not saying bad refereeing is only occurring in Pittsburgh. However, watch the next game, look at the opposing team's line, and then see if there is a flag. There is a reason the Steelers sack totals seemed to slow down significantly, and it's not because the defense cannot rush the passer effectively.

Unfortunately after the Patriots game I have to update this article. This game once again symbolizes the poor officiating against the Steelers. To begin with, how does a defensive nose tackle get a holding penalty, in fact why is there a penalty for that, if it were a penalty it would help the offense more than the defense anyway, by taking the tackle out of the play.

Also we see the same line play by the opposing team, except worse because they are the Patriots. Watch the highlights, on both times Harrison gets to Cassel his arm is behind him in the grip of Matt Light and the Silverback still gets through and forces a fumble.

The same is true on the other side, and this is not joke, on every single play in this game Woodley was being held, his jersey is practically above his head in the grip of the opposing team's offensive lineman. If you do not believe it watch all of the offensive highlights of the Patriots, however few of them there are.

The penalty against Ryan Clark was also a poor call. I can agree that if a hit is big, and that one was big as it took Welker out of the game and probably did more to secure a win than any fumble or touchdown, (though you will never see it on a game changing performance poll) that close attention must be paid.

With that said, the hit was clean, the ball was tipped, could have gone anywhere, and rather than give up a first down Clark decked Welker and made sure that he couldn't get to it, and don't fool yourself, a receiver like Welker could have easily turned and jumped and made that reception.

The Patriots game at least proved that the NFL likes their pretty boys more than their physical down and dirty teams. It also proved that even if you call bad penalties against them, don't call ones on the other team, double team every guy, and do everything dirty you can, the defense of the Steelers is still going to wreck your day. I see a silver football in the not so distant future coming back home for the 6th time.

Steelers-Patriots: How the Pittsburgh D Can Stop Matt Cassel

Leo Hayes — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:53:25 -0500

Everyone remembers the past decade, the Patriots dominating everyone in the NFL, and certainly not least the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers have lost two AFC championship games to the Patriots and several regular season games, though they did snap the record 21 game winning streak of the Patriots in 2004.

In these games we typically see a Patriot's team, led by Tom Brady, picking apart the relatively weak secondary of the Steelers, and eventually throwing up the deep bomb on 3rd-and-long for a 60-yard touchdown.

Something tells me it will be different this time around.

First thing's first, though Pittsburgh's defense is usually a top five powerhouse, the defense this year is giving up fractions of a yard over 235 per game, which is easily one of the best defenses in recent memory, for any team.

The Steelers have also excelled in every defensive category, including Passing Defense, Points Per Game, and Red Zone defense. Those last three statistics are going to make the difference in this game.

Matt Cassel is good, but he has not faced a team like "Blitzburgh" with 37 sacks on the season and some of the most confusing blitzing schemes in the league. The pass rush is why the Steelers defense is so good, with both of the outside linebackers having more than 10 sacks and looking to get more.

This kind of pass rush the Patriots have not faced yet this year, and Cassel has yet to see.

I would be foolish not to mention the weaknesses in the Steelers offense, the offensive line is very poor at best and is allowing Ben to get hit entirely too much. Luckily for the Steelers, the Patriots do not usually test this aspect of an opposing team, especially not this year.

The Steelers also have injuries to key players, most notably, Big Ben Roethlisberger who has been playing hurt from week one and has managed, except for a poor stretch in the middle, to do well enough to win.

Willie Parker is also hurt... again, and may not be the same running back he used to be whenever he finally gets healthy, but the Steelers have shown depth at that position calling up practice squad players who now have touchdowns (Gary Russell).

The game will be close, it will come down to the offense of the Steelers, as the defense will keep them in every game they play.

If they can stick to the short efficient passes, as they did against the Chargers and Bengals and can keep Ben's TD column with a higher number than the INT column the Steelers will likely win, because with the No. 1 defense in football, the Patriots aren't putting up many points.

Now for the crystal ball portion of the article:

Final Score: Pittsburgh 21, New England 17

Both Roethlisberger and Cassel have two passing touchdowns, Ben has a pick, Matt has two.

Pats take the lead late in the fourth with a field goal. The Patriots bring the blitz and try to sack Ben but leave Nate “Clunky” Washington open for a deep bomb inside the 10. Davenport or Russell runs it in on 2nd and short to put up the difference.

No QB has a 400 in the passing yards column.