2017 NFL Playoffs - Super Bowl LI Confirmed! Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots!

[Lord Raven]

I didn't even see your edit when I posted.

Whoever the Browns put behind center is probably going to suck but still torch us and that game is going to be a shitshow. Even so, if Crockett Gillmore is back then we stand a chance, and Chris Givens is going to start and at the very least he can pull a safety away for one of our TEs/possession receivers to catch, it's not as clear cut as you're making it out to be. Flacco's not that turnover prone anyway, despite the rough start.

[Anacybele]

I see... I forgot about Gillmore, I was only thinking of Steve Smith and that Campanaro guy.

Well, Luck wasn't turning the ball over much either before this season...lol And Flacco turned the ball over twice on his own vs the Steelers. I'd be a little concerned. Maybe he won't throw another pick or fumble again, maybe he will. But if Ben made multiple turnovers in one game, I'd get worried. ...Actually, I'm pretty sure he has before in the more distant past somewhere, and yeah, I was worried. :P

Edited October 9, 2015 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

Roethlisberger had 4 multiple turnover games in 2014 (Jets, Saints, Bengals 2, Ravens in playoffs) which is hardly the 'distant past' in terms of the number of games that have happened since then.

[Lord Raven]

I hate this fucking argument that we only beat the Steelers through luck. We had two extremely catchable balls dropped by our third and fourth string receivers and we lost two receivers (one of whom was a return guy who scored a rushing TD earlier in the game) before the midway point of the game. On top of not having Gillmore but Pittsburgh didn't have Ben.

Which is unluckier, losing your best targets all at once or missing two field goals on Heinz?

And wow Ana, Flacco turned the ball over twice against the Patriots in the most recent divisional round game. Doesn't mean he didn't completely fuck up the Patriots secondary. Such a single minded way to look at things.

Ben Roethlisberger also has a higher int% than Flacco does on his career, I'd say that Ben has the worse reputation here.

(Also amusingly enough - Ben Roethlisberger throws 2% more ints per attempt than Flacco does in the playoffs, which is a pretty significant difference).

Edited October 9, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Roethlisberger had 4 multiple turnover games in 2014 (Jets, Saints, Bengals 2, Ravens in playoffs) which is hardly the 'distant past' in terms of the number of games that have happened since then.

...Oh yeah, I do remember those turnovers vs the Jets. Ignore what I said then... Sigh...

But the Ravens DID only win through luck. Scobee missing field goals was really unlucky, and the Ravens' receivers going down was really unlucky. But the Ravens were the ones that ended up winning, not the Steelers. Justin Tucker wouldn't have gotten a chance to kick that FG if Scobee hadn't missed. And the Steelers didn't have Ben, which was lucky for the Ravens, because I think we both know that if Ben had been there, the Ravens would've been crushed given their track record so far in the season.

As for that int percentage per attempt, now that I think about it, Ben might be throwing the ball more than Flacco these days too since he actually has reliable receivers around him, but that was a statistic I didn't know of.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Anacybele

[ClevelandSteve]

Whoever the Browns put behind center is probably going to suck but still torch us and that game is going to be a shitshow. Even so, if Crockett Gillmore is back then we stand a chance, and Chris Givens is going to start and at the very least he can pull a safety away for one of our TEs/possession receivers to catch, it's not as clear cut as you're making it out to be. Flacco's not that turnover prone anyway, despite the rough start.

You think you'll just "stand a chance"? You're playing the Browns, not the Patriots. Even though our offense is outperforming my expectations (not that those expectations were very high) and Josh McCown is playing the best football of his career (not that that's saying much), our defense this year couldn't stop a bunch of sickly toddlers.

Not that firing Pettine would fix anything (we'd just get another bottom-of-the-barrel coach because they're the only ones who would willingly coach the Cleveland Browns), but our defense was in the top ten in the league under Coach Chud and now it's one of if not the worst, even though we keep using high picks to try to improve it. Of course, our front office should probably have most of the blame for the team being the way it is. They don't bother re-signing most of our good players and keep drafting busts. Even if Belichick was still our coach (like he was in the early nineties before the team moved), I don't think he could do much with what the Browns front office gives our coaches to work with.

Edited October 9, 2015 by ClevelandSteve

[ZoesMad]

The Steelers need this win too after that dumb loss to the Ravens. They just need to survive enough without Ben until he comes back. Also, an article on NFL.com proves my point about Vick. AB said that his timing is a little off and that's due to not being quite in sync like Ben would. That they all have to be on the same page. He's got a long week now to work on that, so Vick should be a bit better on Monday night.

Yet, the people in the comments section of this article, just...wow. I always thought that the people that commented on these articles were nothing but rude assholes, but they're just downright stupid here, accusing AB of just being a dick and not taking any blame for himself because of his ONE dropped pass. Yes, he should've caught it. But that's not the whole reason Vick wasn't quite in sync, that's on a lack of practice for Vick and that was just his FIRST official game as a Steeler. And AB doesn't sound at ALL like he's trash talking Vick. He's giving his honest, constructive view. He's a top wideout in the league and a pro. He was asked what he thought, and he answered.

He's also frustrated that his 5-catch 50 yd streak ended. Poor guy, I'd be frustrated too... He made it last SO long, only for it to end because Ben couldn't throw to him, basically. Though, he shouldn't dwell on it, he can always make another streak. :)

Also, Tomlin has said that they're working on making the offense adapt to Vick's skillset, not the other way around. Which I think is the right idea, because you can't turn Vick into Ben 2.0, he just doesn't have the same skills. Go Tomlin. :D

EDIT: Oh yeah, my game picks.

Colts vs Texans: I WOULD pick the Colts here, and I do think they'll win if they have Luck or Hasselbeck. But BOTH of them are merely questionable, which leaves Indy with...who exactly, for a QB? lol Even the Texans gotta have a better QB at this point. So if Luck and Hasselbeck are both out, I pick the Texans. If not, Colts all the way.

Redskins vs Falcons: Georgia birds are on a roll, man. And they're at home.

Browns vs Ravens: The Ravens barely beat a mistake-prone Steeler team and Flacco has no receivers anymore since his best ones got hurt. He's also turnover prone all of a sudden. The Browns look pretty decent this year.

Seahawks vs Bengals: This is a tough call, they're both good. But I think that Seahawks D could give Dalton a hard time, so I think I'll pick them. I need the Bengals to finally lose anyway. xP So please please please help the Steelers, Seahawks...

Rams vs Packers: The Packers usually get it done at home, though they're facing a brutal defense here. Tough call. Gonna stick with the Packers though, just cause they're at home.

Bears vs Chiefs: The Bears are just bad this year. And the Chiefs are at home.

Saints vs Eagles: I think the Eagles are a bit better. This would be nice for my Panthers too. :3

Jaguars vs Buccaneers: Neither of these two teams are good. lol But the Jags boast the better QB and defense, so I'm going with them.

Bills vs Titans: Bills are better right now, Mariota's a work in progress, methinks. He's looking decent so far though.

Cardinals vs Lions: Does this need any explanation? :P

Patriots vs Cowboys: See above.

Broncos vs Raiders: The Raiders are looking decent now, but I don't think they're good enough to beat the Broncos yet.

49ers vs Giants: Niners suck. lol

Steelers vs Chargers: The Steelers still don't have Ben, but Vick looked good enough to win in just his first game (other team members caused the loss... There was some weird choices by the coaches too) and Martavis Bryant and Ryan Shazier are back! Much needed boost to both offense AND defense! The Steelers also haven't lost back to back games in a couple years and haven't lost on Monday night in who knows how long. This could change, but it's not likely, imo. This team needs to win here too.

Agreed on all except I've got Ravens over Browns and Bengals over Seahawks.

[Anacybele]

Well, I did say I would pick the Colts if they would be able to use Luck or Hasselbeck and they did get the latter and end up winning. But I still can't agree on the Ravens winning and Bengals winning. I'm not even trying to be biased, honestly... I'll be surprised if one or both of them do win though.

Also, our new kicker Chris Boswell said he does not want to let the team down. He also practiced in some crazy weather. That's the spirit! I hope you can do better than Scobee did!

Edited October 9, 2015 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

I actually considered picking the Texans because Hasselbeck was in the hospital Tuesday, but then I remembered that the Texans are terrible. (5-0 picking Texans games on the year, one of my few perfect teams alongside the Packers, Panthers, and Niners).

Edited October 9, 2015 by -Cynthia-

[Lord Raven]

...Oh yeah, I do remember those turnovers vs the Jets. Ignore what I said then... Sigh...

But the Ravens DID only win through luck. Scobee missing field goals was really unlucky, and the Ravens' receivers going down was really unlucky. But the Ravens were the ones that ended up winning, not the Steelers. Justin Tucker wouldn't have gotten a chance to kick that FG if Scobee hadn't missed. And the Steelers didn't have Ben, which was lucky for the Ravens, because I think we both know that if Ben had been there, the Ravens would've been crushed given their track record so far in the season.

As for that int percentage per attempt, now that I think about it, Ben might be throwing the ball more than Flacco these days too since he actually has reliable receivers around him, but that was a statistic I didn't know of.

Int per attempt is career, not season, but Flacco threw the ball 40 more times than Ben in the first 3 games of the season because a) our run game was shit until the Steelers game and b) our receivers didn't get enough yards after catch or just couldn't catch it. Flacco's int% is .9% higher than Ben's having that said, although that interception he threw at the end of the Raiders game was him just airing it out because there were 20 seconds left in the game and we were desperate otherwise they'd have the same int%.

Both teams were very unlucky. The luck cancels out. Steelers had many chances to seal that game that they did not take, Scobee's field goal aside, and the Ravens had very few chances to do so until they ultimately took advantage of it.

[Anacybele]

Yeah, that the Steelers didn't take because of Scobee and weird decisions by the coaches, not anything the Ravens did. So the Ravens were lucky to even get the chance they had to win.

[Lord Raven]

That's not luck, that's poor execution.

You can make that argument for just about everything. We got unlucky in our first 3 games because our DC insists on playing defenders 10 yards off of receivers and allowing long completions on 3rd and 2. Doesn't mean anything because you're not executing.

The point is that you guys got lucky that we lost our best receivers in the middle of the game. Like, starters being down mid-game vs an unreliable kicker missing two field goals. I really don't know what you're smoking if you think that we got lucky, because we got plagued with bad luck during that game that was only salvaged by Scobee missing. It's one thing to have starters out before the game started but to lose them mid game is another thing entirely.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Again, THAT. IS NOT. THE POINT. You guys WON. The Steelers did NOT. How is that being more unlucky than lucky for the Ravens?

Edited October 10, 2015 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

because you guys didnt lose as much mid game

lol

[Slade]

49ers vs Giants: Niners suck. lol

I'm a Giants & a Niners fan but honestly Kaepernick is playing absolute shit and Niners are going to get their asses handed to them by the Giants. Ntm my fantasy team is literally the Giants & the Niners lol

[Jiac]

[spoiler=Chargers Injury Report]

We need Jason Verrett, he's literally the only one who can line up against Antonio Brown and contain him that is not named Weddle. We really want to have Eric Weddle not have to cover a weakness so he can just make plays and be a danger on field. Also he'll probably be assigned Le'Veon Bell due to our weak run defense.

Hopefully Jahleel Addae plays since he's our run-stuffer, and can line up against the Steelers' taller receivers like Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant (out) . If we activate Ryan Carrethers we'll have a better chance at stopping the run.

I expect Malcom Floyd to be out since he's like 33 years old and is probably going to rest his body due to this concussion. I'm surprised we haven't activated Tyrell Williams from the Practice Squad but I think we'll be playing either Ladarius Green or Antonio Gates to cover their hole.

Brandon Flowers isn't a huge loss if he doesn't play since I trust Patrick Robinson and Steve Williams with the Steelers' other receivers besides Antonio Brown. But he would solidify our secondary and make it very hard for Michael Vick to have a good day.

Hopefully Jacoby plays due to our lack of receiver depth. But it's not a huge loss if he doesn't besides I'd rather have him return punts than our Keenan.

I expect Fluker to play. Dunlap could play too but he has a history of concussions so I don't think he'll play for another week. I doubt Chris Watt but if he does then all the better because our O-line is in shambles and the pass-rush is there.

[spoiler=Steelers Injuries]

With Martavis Bryant out, our short secondary is less likely to be exploited in jump ball situations. But Heyward-Bey is still 6'2.

I don't know about the Steelers' situation of injuries but I'll take their injury report at face value.

A corner being questionable is very good for our passing attack, and the questionable Steelers secondary. It gives Rivers a better time to pick apart the secondary. Especially with Antonio Gates being back we have more of a reason to exploit our passing attack.

Roethlisberger out is self explanatory, Vick has done a great enough job as a back-up Quarterback.

Ryan Shazier out sets the hammer on how I fully expect us to exploit our passing game, I highly doubt we'll be using Melvin Gordon a whole lot, we will use him here and there but Rivers being Rivers will pick apart their secondary. Also one less pass-rusher to exploit our weak O-line.

Steelers X-factor: Pass-rush (Stephen Tuitt, Cameron Heyward, Bud Dupree)

Chargers X-factor: Danny Woodhead (Picking up blitzes, and moving the chains at key moments)

Prediction for game:

Rivers: 400 yards, 4 TDs

Woodhead: 40 rush, 80 yards rec.

Allen: 120 yards, 1 TD.

Gates: 80 yards, 1 TD.

Vick: 15 rush, 150 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Bell: 170 rush, 40 yards rec. 2 TD

Brown: 45 yards

Tuitt: 2 TFL, 3 QB hits, 2.5 sacks.

[spoiler=Analysis]

This game will be incredibly high scoring due to the flaws of both teams being extremely exploited, especially with both having dominant talent at those positions.

I believe the Steelers rushing attack is dominant enough to put up two 100 yard rushers in the game. Bell is a very good running back, but he isn't Adrian Peterson. The Steelers' running backs will have big days.

Depending if our starting corners start, that will determine what kind of day Vick and his receivers will have. I believe Brown will have a much better day than I listed if both are out. But our back-up secondary has talent, holding Bridgewater to 121 yards in the air.

The Chargers passing attack will likely pick apart the Steelers' secondary, Woodhead is the biggest match-up nightmare. He's an outstanding pass blocker, complete play-maker, and is Rivers' safety net. Especially if we run a heavy 2 TE set, it'll be hard for the Steelers to stop the passing game. We have receivers injured, but there is confidence we'll be able to rely on our running backs and TEs for snags.

The current Chargers' O-line is currently utilizing 3 back-up offensive linemen, therefore Steelers' pass-rush is the key to this game. Rivers cannot pick apart a secondary if he cannot throw the ball. Their run defense is talented enough to probably hold us from big gains. Woodhead will likely receive a couple draw plays but I believe it will not be enough if the Steelers bring their best pass-rush.

Score: 31-24 Chargers

Edited October 11, 2015 by ~Summer~

[Anacybele]

Uh, Martavis Bryant is playing. He's not injured. Ryan Shazier isn't out either. He was stated to be returning.

And Bell is better than AP. AP rushes very well, but can he also block, not fumble, and function as another receiver just as well? I've not heard such a thing. If I'm incorrect though, my apologies.

Brown can't be shut down lol. He's too good. He can be covered well sometimes, but he can't be shut down completely. He always got several passes and yards, remember? :P

I still think the Steelers will win and that you're making some really bold predictions here. Things like Vick throwing a pick or losing a fumble is plausible, but our secondary isn't THAT bad. If Cockrell is back in there, which he should be after his show against Flacco (picked him off and recovered his fumble in amazing tippy-toe fashion), and Boykin, they can do alright. Not amazing though, sadly.

EDIT: Oh, also, Cortez Allen being questionable doesn't mean squat, he sucks and hasn't even been on the field lately. The secondary you should be worried about are the guys I mentioned above alongside Will Allen and William Gay (and Shamarko Thomas, hopefully).

Edited October 11, 2015 by Anacybele

[Jiac]

Uh, Martavis Bryant is playing. He's not injured. Ryan Shazier isn't out either. He was stated to be returning.

And Bell is better than AP. AP rushes very well, but can he also block, not fumble, and function as another receiver just as well? I've not heard such a thing. If I'm incorrect though, my apologies.

Brown can't be shut down lol. He's too good. He can be covered well sometimes, but he can't be shut down completely. He always got several passes and yards, remember? :P

I still think the Steelers will win and that you're making some really bold predictions here. Things like Vick throwing a pick or losing a fumble is plausible, but our secondary isn't THAT bad. If Cockrell is back in there, which he should be after his show against Flacco (picked him off and recovered his fumble in amazing tippy-toe fashion), and Boykin, they can do alright. Not amazing though, sadly.

EDIT: Oh, also, Cortez Allen being questionable doesn't mean squat, he sucks and hasn't even been on the field lately. The secondary you should be worried about are the guys I mentioned above alongside Will Allen and William Gay (and Shamarko Thomas, hopefully).

Yes he was suspended, but he hurts his knee sometime during Monday Night Practice. Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/11/martavis-bryant-not-expected-back-for-monday-night/

But I'm not a Steelers fan so I don't know the situation about him.

Also on the injury report I posted it said he was Out, I took everything at face value, once again I don't know much about his situation.

AP can block, he can catch but I've never seen him function as a receiver. Of course that's not unique, we did that with Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead a couple times this season. Both can also block and not fumble. But it's alright, not enough running backs have that sort of skill. Deangelo Williams will probably have an amazing day too.

We held Calvin Johnson to 39 yards. He had one big gain the entire day. Calvin Johnson is far bigger than Antonio Brown, and has his good route-running skills. Of course we had our full secondary at the time, but Verrett matches up well with Antonio Brown. He could have a far better day if we're playing our back-up secondary again which I doubt.

I can't really say much about your secondary because they're doing a better job than most people expected.

Edited October 11, 2015 by ~Summer~

[Anacybele]

Well, the injury report on NFL.com doesn't say that Bryant is out. It does say Shazier is though, which is really weird because I could've sworn I read that he was back in practice and stuff. God damn it. I want to love this guy, but he gets hurt way too god damn much. -_-

Okay, but Bell can still do it ALL. Other RBs seem to be able to only do one or two of those things, maybe three. But Bell can do all four and perhaps more. He's still early in his career. And he can break through even good defenses (see vs Rams and vs Ravens). With Bell, you have to worry about everything. And we can ride him to a victory too, if necessary. He was practically the reason we won vs the Bengals and Titans last season. He wasn't named the team MVP for nothing. Oh, and if Vick blocks for him again... Heh heh.

Calvin Johnson is also far older and slower. Probably past his prime. Brown is different. He can return punts, go deep, whatever. He's also the best at gaining yards after the catch, no doubt. There's a reason he's still tied with Julio Jones for most receiving yards and TDs this season despite Ben not throwing to him for a game and a half.

Agreed on our secondary though. I mean, two interceptions on the season so far isn't impressive, but it's not bad either given our schedule. And I've seen a couple of our guys bat down passes too and almost make some more picks.

Also, Christ, everyone's just lost faith in the Steelers... Nobody on the NFL site is picking them to win anymore. All because of a lack of Ben and a good kicker, I'm assuming? That's really sad. Did people just forget that Vick had little time to prepare for the Ravens game and that we got another new kicker? We've not seen what this guy can do yet and Vick wasn't even that bad vs the Ravens. This team just better prove everyone wrong! It wouldn't be the first time this has happened either...

Edited October 11, 2015 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

And Bell is better than AP. AP rushes very well, but can he also block, not fumble, and function as another receiver just as well? I've not heard such a thing. If I'm incorrect though, my apologies.

AD is a better pure runner than Bell.

Brown can't be shut down lol. He's too good. He can be covered well sometimes, but he can't be shut down completely. He always got several passes and yards, remember? :P

What happened last week then

I still think the Steelers will win and that you're making some really bold predictions here. Things like Vick throwing a pick or losing a fumble is plausible, but our secondary isn't THAT bad. If Cockrell is back in there, which he should be after his show against Flacco (picked him off and recovered his fumble in amazing tippy-toe fashion), and Boykin, they can do alright. Not amazing though, sadly.

Easy to pick something off that's thrown right to them and recover a fumble that's fumbled right to them... if he forced the fumble then we'd be talking but recovering a fumble is luck.

[-Cynthia-]

Agreed on our secondary though. I mean, two interceptions on the season so far isn't impressive, but it's not bad either given our schedule. And I've seen a couple of our guys bat down passes too and almost make some more picks.

The Steelers schedule has been pretty favorable in terms of playing against passing offenses. Niners and Rams are the two worst teams in the league in terms of yards per game throwing the ball and the Ravens lost their top WR on an already depleted receiving corps. This game should be a good test of how good their secondary actually is.

Edited October 11, 2015 by -Cynthia-

[Anacybele]

AD is a better pure runner than Bell.

What happened last week then

Maybe so, but Bell is still a great runner and great at everything else I mentioned.

Dude, you know the answer to that. Ben wasn't throwing to him and Vick didn't have enough practice to get as in sync with him. A good receiver can't do his job as well if the QB can't get on the same page as him. And like I said, Brown can be covered well sometimes. But no matter who covered him, he still got 5+ catches and 50+ yards in every game for 35 games up until last week.

EDIT: Cynthia, what about the Patriots then? They did decently in covering GRONK of all people until the communication shit happened (I just can't see any other reasonable explanation for how Gronk was later left completely uncovered). Gronk hadn't had his name mentioned at all for like two whole quarters or so.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

EDIT: Cynthia, what about the Patriots then? They did decently in covering GRONK of all people until the communication shit happened (I just can't see any other reasonable explanation for how Gronk was later left completely uncovered). Gronk hadn't had his name mentioned at all for like two whole quarters or so.

This is you attempting to blame the Steelers defensive struggles on the headset thing, which apparently affected both teams and even Steelers players claimed it wasn't a big problem. The fact of the matter is that Gronk had 94 yards and 3 TDs. Not a good example of the Steelers secondary playing well.

Edited October 11, 2015 by -Cynthia-

[Lord Raven]

Linebackers or safeties or a combination of both tend to cover Tight Ends anyway.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Tomlin was pissed at the issues though, so they WERE a problem. Yes, it affected both teams, but it still contributed a lot to the issues. Like I said, why else would Gronk have been left totally uncovered on that one play? He got one of those three TDs because of that, btw.

I'm not saying the headset issues were completely to blame, that secondary is still a work in progress. But I think it was a contributing factor.