Bleacher Report - Articles by Matt Craig

Ben Roethlisberger: The 100 Million Dollar Man

Matt Craig — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:23:12 -0500

Move over, Lee Majors. There is a new Bionic Man in the world and his name is Ben Roethlisberger.

This is to everybody who said Roethlishberger is an overrated quarterback. Yes, the Steelers defense won the game with a late pick six by Troy Polamalu, but Roethlishberger made big plays in the AFC Championship game by—guess what—"holding on to the ball too long".

Roethlisberger might be one of the toughest S.O.B.s in the National Football League.

The guy comes back from a motorcycle accident and emergency surgery; granted that was a couple of years ago, but that is still tough to come back from and start games. This year, Roethlisberger took a hell of a beating and came back from a spinal concussion to have an awesome postseason. Even in the AFC Championship he was down in the locker room entrance getting looked at, but came back to finish the game.

Roethlisberger had a great post season. During the San Diego game he went 17/26 for 181 yards, a touchdown, and was only sacked one time. For the AFC Championship he was 16/33 for 255 yards, a touchdown, and sacked 4 times. However, it could have been much more—Roethlishberger should have two touchdowns but Limas Sweed can not catch the ball.

Roethlisberger created plays with his scrambling and finding open receivers. Roethlisberger proved he is Big Ben. If Roethlisberger finishes strong and wins the Super Bowl, he will have definitely earned his paycheck.

Overrated no more.

One side note: who said its hard to beat a team three times in one season?

Two weeks until Super Bowl XLIII, what a game that will be.

2009 NFL Playoffs Picks: Rematches and Wild Card Success

Matt Craig — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:33:33 -0500

Now that the final playoff spot is determined, after the San Diego Chargers laid waste to their division rivals, here is my view of how the road to Super Bowl XLIII will play out. Believe it or not, the road in the AFC won't travel through Tennessee. The Wild Card teams will play a major factor in the playoffs again this year. Multiple regular season rematches are in the cards for this year.

The Final Seeding for the Playoffs: In the AFC, Tennessee secured the number one seed defeating Pittsburgh a week ago, which gave the Steelers the number two seed. Miami winning today over the New York Jets gives them an 11-5 record and the number three seed in the playoffs. San Diego is given the fourth seed because they won their division, even though they end the season at 8-8.

The Wild Card teams, and probably the hottest teams in the AFC right now, start at number five, the Indianapolis Colts, who shut out the Titans with their starters only playing one series. The Baltimore Ravens secured the sixth seed with a win yesterday, which keeps the New England Patriots at home this postseason.

In the NFC, New York locked up the number one seed in the same fashion as Tennessee, by beating the Panthers in a head to head game. However, Carolina needed a victory yesterday to have the number two seed. They won a nail-biter against New Orleans to get the number two seed.

Minnesota gets the number three seed by being the NFC North Champions and having a 10-6 record compared to the number four seed Arizona Cardinals' 9-7 record. The Wild Card teams are Atlanta and Philadelphia. Atlanta gets the fifth seed because of a better record.

Now to the games. This weekend is Wild Card weekend, and on Saturday at 4:30pm (all times are Eastern time) Arizona will host Atlanta. Atlanta and Arizona both won close games in week 17, but with Atlanta's second-ranked rushing offense at 152 yards per game versus Arizona's 16th-ranked rush defense, giving up over a 100 yards a game, Atlanta wins.

San Diego will get to host a game even though their opponent has a better record. Indy is the hot team right now, winning nine straight games, while San Diego had to claw and scratch their way in. The Colts' offense wins this game.

On Sunday, Miami will host the Baltimore Ravens. Miami's Cinderella season will come to an end when they face the number two defense in the NFL—Ed Reed and a Ravens defense that leads the league in interceptions (26) against Chad Pennington's 10th-ranked passing offense that only has eight plays for over 40 yards. Baltimore wins this game because of defense.

The late game on Sunday features Minnesota hosting Philadelphia. After putting up 44 points against a good Dallas defense and Minnesota squeaking by the Giants on a last second field goal, my pick is the Eagles in the game of running backs—Westbrook versus Peterson.

The Divisional Round has rematches from the regular season. The lowest remaining seed travels to the house of the number one seeds. The Ravens will go south to Tennessee, and the Eagles will travel to New York for an NFC East rematch.

Baltimore learns from their mistakes or a phantom roughing the passer call on Baltimore that cost them the game. Sorry, Pittsburgh Fans, you won't get a chance to avenge the towel stomping. Baltimore beats Tennessee by 10 points.

In the third meeting of two NFC East teams that split the series, the Giants' defensive front seven will swallow Donovan McNabb and contain Brian Westbrook, ending the Eagles' playoff run.

The other games pit the Colts on the road against the Steelers again and Atlanta traveling to Carolina. These will great games to watch—one a defensive battle and the other a running back game.

Last year an AFC South team beat the Steelers at home twice in one season—a Steelers first. Expect the same thing again this year when Indianapolis comes back to Pittsburgh. This will be a low-scoring game, even though the last meeting put up 45 total points. Reggie Wayne won't get to two tipped passes his way again, and if Roethlisberger can't return, the Steelers' chances of a Super Bowl run have dropped.

As for the Panthers/Falcons game, the NFC South has lost fewer than five times at home this season, and the running back duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will propel the Panthers to the Conference Championship game for the second time this decade.

The Conference Championship games will be rematches as well. First on the AFC side, where I think for the first time both teams are from the Wild Card round meeting in the conference championship, in a rematch from week six, where the Colts dominated a Ravens defense 31-3. Baltimore will play a better game, but the Colts offense has too many weapons, and the Colts will be in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.

On the NFC side, this rematch won't be for home field advantage—it will be for a chance to play on the biggest stage in sports. Sorry to anybody who wants to see an all-Manning Super Bowl on the 50th anniversary of the greatest game ever played—it's not going to happen.

The Panthers are going to learn how to finish games and not blow big leads to dangerous teams if you let them hang around. Just like in 2003, when the Panthers flew under the radar, defeating the Eagles to go the Super Bowl, the Panthers will beat the Giants to play for it all.

Super Bowl XLIII will be an offensive showcase of superstar players. Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Joseph Addai, Jonathan Stewart, and the others will make for an exciting game. In the end, the Colts and Peyton Manning will make more big plays, giving Adam Vinatieri a chance to win the game on a final field goal like he did in 2003, when he was with the New England Patriots.

Colts win the Super Bowl 38-35, making the last four Super Bowl Champions from the Wild Card round. The MVP will be none other than Peyton Manning.

Top 10 List: Greatest Wrestlers of All Time

Matt Craig — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:25:34 -0500

With the NFL season coming to an end I need something to write about and since Iam a pro wrestling fan this seems only natural to me to write about. The reasoning for my Top Ten Article which there will be more to come. This is my introduction too the Pro Wrestling community and it lets people know where I stand and how I think about Pro Wrestling

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Classless Tennessee Titans Clinch Home Field Advantage

Matt Craig — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:15:03 -0500

Just for the record, I am not bitter about Tennessee's win over Pittsburgh. All credit goes to the defense of Tennessee, especially that front line. Pittsburgh's offensive line struggled in this game; they held up long enough on occasion to give Roethlisberger time to make some of his throws, but overall the line did not give Roethlisberger enough time to get rid of the ball, resulting in 5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.

Along with slipshod offensive line play, Pittsburgh made some critical mental mistakes in the game as well.

To me the turning point was not when Chris Johnson took a fourth and three pitch in from 21 yards which put Tennessee up 17-14. It was when whoever got a penalty (don't know who; the microphones were down for most of the game) on that fourth down field goal attempt which would have made it 20-14 with the whole fourth quarter left to play.

Instead, Tennessee got the ball at the 3 yard line, and two plays later scored on LenDale White's 15th touchdown of the season.

Jason Jones, the rookie filling in for an injured Albert Haynesworth, did a great job of blowing up the Steelers offensive line in route to 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.

Congrats to Tennessee for being the first team to go over 300 yards in a game against the Steelers; this was a critical element in the Titan's victory over a very physical, but very tired, Steelers defense.

All is not lost for Pittsburgh, though. There are a few silver linings to pull out of this cloud:

1. The offense moved the ball in a quarter other than the fourth.

2. The passing game was there for the whole contest, something we haven't seen of late.

3. Home field advantage throughout the playoffs doesn't mean anything. The last three years the Super Bowl champions came from the Wild-Card round. The Steelers, Colts, and Giants did not have home field advantage throughout the playoff so it is not that big of a deal.

The part of this game that angers me the most came with less than one minute in the game. Having no timeouts left, Pittsburgh was forced to go downfield for a quick score. Roethlisberger threw a floater that landed in the hands of Michael Griffin, tying him with Troy Polamalu for most interceptions this season at seven apiece.

With less then a minute left, you would like to think he would take a knee and ensure the Titans' victory. Instead, Griffin decides to return the pick 83 yards for a score that most assuredly put the game out of reach at 31-14; totally unnecessary in my mind.

Another display of uncoolness was displayed when the camera man made his way over to the Tennessee bench, where a celebrating LenDale White and another player attempting to rip a terrible towel, spit on it, and ultimately threw it to the ground to stomp on it and rub it in the dirt.

Knowing the game was out of reach, Pittsburgh took a knee to end the game—something you rarely see a losing team do—and the game was over. The camera shot of Keith Bulluck waving a terrible towel in the face of the camera mocking the Steelers was totally unnecessary in my mind.

It is fine for the media to show the Titans happy and celebrating the win; shots of Titans displaying little to no respect for the fans who buy the tickets and merchandise that pays their salary is just wrong. The cameras should have cut to other players celebrating instead of show a classless act from role models of today's youth. Good job, CBS, for dropping the ball there.

I'm sorry but that's unsportmanlike to me; and this isn't the first time Tennessee has been accused of being classless. On Thanksgiving when Tennessee played the lowly Lions, Jeff Fisher elected to go for a fourth and short conversion late in the game after Tennessee was up big.

It is uncalled for; adding insult to injury doesn't add to your mistique, it detracts from it. This is the Tennessee Titans we're talking about here; not the New England Cheatriots. The Pats left their starters in the game well into the 4th quarter of their contest with Arizona, even though the game was well in hand halfway through the third period.

Typical behavior for New England, but not behavior you want to emulate.

For a team that is in need of help just to make the playoffs, the Pats didn't do anything to bolster their case as being one of the top teams in the league. A participant in a BCS bowl game, where running up the score is almost required to get a post season bid, mybe; but unprofessional and uncalled for at this level.

I don't know; to me Tennessee showed no class at the end of this game. What I saw was that they had stooped to the low-class antics of New England.

I'd like to hear your opinions because I don't think I'm alone on this.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowl Contender or Lucky Pretender?

Matt Craig — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:21:46 -0500

Last Sunday, when Deshea Townsend intercepted Tony Romo on the Dallas 26-yard line and ran into the end zone for the go ahead touchdown that ultimately won the game, Bill Hillgrove was going nuts.

After reading Mike Craig's picks for Week 14, I left a comment and told him the Steelers would win the game.

After the game, I bragged about it in his comments. Mike told me the Steelers were lucky, which is something I have been hearing a lot.

There was nothing lucky about the Steelers' victory over the Cowboys.

It was not lucky that Santonio Holmes returned a punt 33 yards that set up a Jeff Reed field goal which made it a one possession game. The Steelers defense was dominating all day, making Romo throw errant passes.

The only blemishes against the Steelers were three plays.

The first was a 3rd-and-3 play when Tashard Choice ran for 22 yards, keeping the drive alive. That led to a Romo pass to Terrell Owens for a touchdown on a broken play.

Take away Choice's run—no touchdown.

The last play was a Romo pass to Choice that went for 50 yards and led to a Folk field goal which would be the last time Dallas scored.

The Steelers had a drive that saw them march down the field only to get shut down on the goal line by a good Dallas defense.

So after the 4th-and-goal, there was less than eight minutes left in the game.

Pittsburgh scored 17 points in eight minutes with good offense and defense, not luck.

Holmes' return, then the eight-play, 67-yard drive capped by a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Heath Miller for a touchdown to knot up the game, were not luck.

Townsend's pick was not lucky either.

Linebacker LaMarr Woodley pressured Romo into throwing when he was not ready and sailed the ball too high. Townsend was there to pick it off and score.

Mike Ditka from ESPN's NFL Countdown said the best team won—good teams find a way to win and average teams find a way to lose. Dallas found a way to lose.

To all the naysayers, Pittsburgh, in my opinion, is the team to beat in the AFC.

Keep this in mind—the Steelers had four comeback victories when they trailed in the fourth quarter: week 11 against San Diego, week five against Jacksonville, week four against Baltimore, which was won in overtime, and now the Dallas Cowboys fall victim to the last quarter heroics of the Steelers.

It wasn't lucky the Steelers started playing football at the right time and Dallas decided to quit playing.

The next two weeks will be real challenges for the Steelers, as they face Baltimore and Tennessee, who are the second and third ranked defenses in the league. Both games are on the road and will probably be like the Pittsburgh/Dallas game—low scoring.

Pittsburgh is a team that is up to the challenge. They are 8-1 versus the AFC this year.

Unlike the Steelers from last season, they are getting healthy at the right time and I'm personally looking forward to the next two weekends of the NFL.

Final Diagnosis: Super Bowl Contenders.

Will they make it there? I don't want to say yes and be disappointed later, but they will make a run for it.

The 2008 Steelers have the same qualities as the 2005 Steelers. It would be cool to see the Steelers write history again by being the first to six, but you have to play one week at a time and there is still a lot of football left.

West Virginia to Rich Rodriguez: Please Come Back?

Matt Craig — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:08:57 -0500

Bill Stewart has done an alright job coaching the Mountaineers this year; however, West Virginia didn't win the Big East title.

Stewart's first season was better than former coach Rich Rodriguez's. WVU ended the regular season with an 8-4 overall record and a 5-2 conference record. Rodriguez's first season as the Mountaineers head coach sported a 3-8 overall and a 1-6 conference.

The difference really is that Stewart walked into a great situation at WVU, whereas Rodriguez fixed his team in one year by going 9-4 overall and 6-1 conference in his second year. Rodriguez pulled off the biggest turnaround in Big East history, so don't worry if your a Michigan Wolverines fan. Wait until Rodriguez gets his players in there; Michigan will be the top team of the Big Ten.

Back to WVU's dire need of an offensive attack. I just watched WVU barely beat South Florida, 13-7. WVU has not been able to finish games this year.

The Mountaineers lost to Pittsburgh in a last quarter touchdown by LeSean McCoy. WVU ranks 68th this year in points per game with a 25.0 average, behind teams like Akron, which ended 5-7 overall, and Louisiana-Lafayette, which ended 6-6 overall. UL-Lafayette barely is bowl eligible.

Last year under coach Rodriguez, the Mountaineers were ninth with 39.6 points per game—ahead of LSU and Ohio State, the two teams that played in the national championship game.

WVU has lost that explosiveness it had in previous years. I don't think that the losses of Steve Slaton and Owen Schmit in the running game put that much pressure on Patrick White. White, who now owns the record for most rushing yards of a collegiate quarterback, still has Noel Devine, who is a good tailback. The play calling is what killed WVU, along with the lack of big plays.

West Virigina should have done a coach search before handing the job over to Bill Stewart after an Fiesta Bowl victory of Oklahoma in January, but we will see what Bill Stewart can do with Jarrett Brown next year when White goes to the NFL.