Bleacher Report - Articles by Will Gordon

Big Ben and His Pudding O-Line Vs The Knicked Up Titan's D: FIGHT!

Will Gordon — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:00:19 -0500

Are you looking for a high octane shootout in the NFL this week, with plenty of high flying circus catches and 60 yard touchdown gallops after every commercial?

If so, I recommend staying away from watching the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Tennessee Titans this Sunday. Only the most die hard of fans will be able stomach watching these two rickety offenses limp through each of these teams stellar defenses.

The 12-2 Titans and 11-3 Steelers are meeting at an important crossroad in both of their seasons as they square off in Tennessess's own Music City. Should the Titans win they will take control of the coveted No. 1 seed in the playoffs, keeping home field advantage throughout January.

The same can also be said for the Steelers, although technically they will have to beat the bungling Browns the week after to officially lock the No. 1 seed up. One thing is for sure though: Sunday will be a display of the AFC's finest two teams and the two with the best chance of representing their conference in the Super Bowl in February.

Another sure thing is that this whole week Ben Rothlisberger has been carrying a plethora of rabbit ears, shamrocks, and horseshoes on him at all times while also attending church regulary and making damned sure to knock on wood after every word that comes out of his mouth.

Yes, Big Ben lucked out big time this week when The Titan's announced that both Albert Haynesworth AND Kyle Vanden Bosch will not be playing in Sunday's game.

How big of a deal is this, you may ask? (All Stats are from the Titans last three seasons.)

W/L Record

With Albert Haynesworth: 28-10

Without: 2-6

Rush Defense

With AH: 103 ypg

without: 141 ypg

Points Allowed

With AH: 17

Without: 27

Ouch. Couple that with the absence of run-stuffing DE KVB and you can actually here the Steelers O-Line breath a sigh of relief. Although it is a rare occurrence, Big Ben's QB rating is over 90 when taking two or less sacks in a game.

More importantly, Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore could actually find some running lanes this Sunday, giving the Steelers a rarely seen two-dimensional offense and also taking additional pressure off the very sore and bruised Roethlisberger.

Kerry Collins will have no such luck. Facing the No. 1 ranked pass defense and the No. 2 rush defense will be his biggest test of the year, and with three interceptions in his last two games the Titans will be hurting if they cannot get their vaunted run game going, a strength they will have to use if they want to beat Pittsburgh.

Although the Steelers have been holding running backs to 75 ypg and 3.2 ypc, they have not faced a two headed monster quite like Lendale White and Chris Johnson, the perfect thunder/lightning combo.

Also worth noting is how the Titans have only given up an impressive seven sacks this whole season. This number will be tested by the Steelers sack duo, Woodley and Harrison.

My prediction: The Steelers D shuts down the Titans run game enough to put Kerry Collins in some precarious third and longs. With the game in Collins's hands look for him to force a few throws and the Pittsburgh secondary getting one or two picks.

On offense Big Ben will be able to stay upright for most of the game giving Hines Ward and company enough time for Mr. Roethlisberger to hit the 3000 yard mark for the second consecutive season.. Willie Parker wakes up from his hibernation and also puts up some respectable numbers against the weakened D-line. He won't get a hundred yards, but enough to move the chains and a touchdown.

Final Score: Steelers 24 Titans 9

Note: If the Steelers hold the Titans for under 300 yards of total offense, they will become the first team in NFL history to record 15 straight games with no offense going over the 300 yard mark.

USC Vs. Penn State: A Look at the Rose Bowl Without the Dolce & Gabannas

Will Gordon — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:22:59 -0500

Lets face it: No college football team gets more media time than the USC Trojans. Now before I get rained on with cardinal red hatred, let me make my first point.

USC totally deserves the attention, they have in fact been the most successful college program of the 2000's and have poured globs of talented stars into the NFL in true Willy Wonka fashion.

But all of this media glare and hype can blind, even those SoCal fans with the most expensive of sunglasses. To counter this effect and the ridiculous rumors of a ritual slaughtering of the Penn State Nittany Lions on USC's own altar, I offer a side-by-side stat breakdown of each team. Let the grumbling begin.

Total Offense

USC: 821 total plays; 5437 total yards; 6.62 yards per play; 61 TDs; 453.08 yards per game.

Penn State: 828 total plays; 5426 total yards; 6.55 yards per play; 60 TDs; 452.17 yards per game.

Rushing Offense

USC: 468 carries; 2472 total yards; 5.28 yards per carry; 26 TDs; 206 yards per game.

Penn State: 482 carries; 2539 total yards; 5.27 yards per carry; 35 TDs; 211.58 yards per game.

Passing Offense

USC: 64.02 completion %; 2965 total yards; 32 TDs; 247.1 yards per game; 12 INTs.

Penn State: 58.67 completion %; 2887 total yards; 22 TDs; 240.6 yards per game; 4 INTs.

Total Defense

USC: Gave up 3.38 yards per play; 206.08 yards per game; 11 TDs.

Penn State: Gave up 4.17 yards per play; 263.92 yards per game; 17 TDs.

Rushing Defense

USC: 2.58 yards per play; 83.3 yards per game; 7 TDs.

Penn State: 2.91 yards per play; 95.9 yards per game; 11 TDs.

Pass Defense

USC: 51.59 completion %; 17 INTs; 4 TDs; 122.83 yards per game.

Penn State: 54.12 completion %; 16 INTS; 6 TDs; 168 yards per game.

Punt Returns/Kick Returns

USC: 0 TD; 8.13 AVG/1 TD; 27.57 AVG

Penn State: 1 TD; 10.36 AVG/2 TDs; 25.66 AVG

Sacks/Sacks Given Up

USC: 28 sacks/ 17 sacks given

Penn State: 32 sacks/ 12 sacks given

Oh dear God! So you mean to tell me that both the Trojans and Lions have nearly Identical stats in basically every major statistical category? (Startled noises.)

Yes, in fact, I do tell you that. Everyday someone will tell you how USC's defense is one of the best the NCAA has ever seen, when Penn State is right behind them.

Being a lone Penn State fan living in San Diego, it has become commonplace to hear words like torched, destroyed, obliterated, thrown around when describing what USC's offense will do to PSU. Really? Not only are the yards almost equal, but USC has turned it over twice as much and taken more sacks.

I know this is asking a lot, but please remember that Jan 1st is not going to be a multimillion dollar action movie starring Mr. Sanchez in the Blood Bowl: Trojans From Hell with pictures of the Rey Maualuga feasting on lion cubs. If anything, this should be one hell of a bowl game with a last second win written all over it.

But Just for Controversy:

PSU 17

USC 14

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Ugliest Best Team in the NFL

Will Gordon — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:10:09 -0500

To all the Ravens and Cowboys fans out there, my condolences. As a Steelers fan, I personally would much rather have my team win in a dominant, soothing fashion with no fourth-quarter comebacks leaving me reek of perspiration and grabbing for my yuengling.

But not this Steelers team, who have seemingly perfected the art of winning in the most ugliest of fashion.

Coming off of their second last minute win in as many weeks, teams are scratching their heads wondering how they let those rascally Pittsburgh boys get away. I mean, let's face it, the offense is mediocre on a good day and they also have a penchant for letting teams get out to early leads.

Their running game is about as effective as throwing mud against a wall and the offensive line would have better luck protecting Big Ben by tying a mattress to his back. How on earth did these 11-3 Steelers just win their division, clinch the No. 2 playoff seed and all of the sudden became the last team anyone in the AFC wants to see come January? Here is my take.

Mike Tomlin's Secret Recipe For Winning With A Team Beaten By The Ugly Stick

Defensive Excellence and Depth: Everyone knows the Steelers defense is great (They have a very real chance of becoming the only NFL team to NEVER give up 300 yards in a game). But not everyone realizes the sheer depth of this squad. When you can have playmakers come off the bench like Timmons, Gay, Hoke, Eason, Townsend and make serious contributions to a game it becomes impossible for any offensive coordinator to make a gameplan short of throwing his clipboard in the air.
A QB Who May Have Sold His Soul: There are a lot of Big Ben haters out there, always busting his chops for "Being a bus driver" and citing his obscene amount of wins being due to his superior team. Bull crap. For one reason or another, that maybe only Ben and the devil know, this guy is clutch. No matter how porous his O-line is, how many sacks he has taken or how crappy he might have been playing in the first three quarters, when the cards are down, Big Ben is better than any.

Really gents, that is it in a nutshell. Try to find a bright spot other than those two areas. I dare you. As for the Titans, Colts, Jets and who ever else we see in the playoffs, get your Kleenex's ready.

Remember not to cry too hard when you get beaten by a team that rushed for 22 carries 65 yards on the ground and a QB that threw 137 yards, 80 of them coming of that last drive.