It wasn’t pretty football, in fact it was ugly, but in the end the defenses of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers made plays to secure them spots in this year’s Super Bowl.
The Steelers’ defense seems to always score a touchdown in a AFC Championship game or a Super Bowl. In their last trip to the Super Bowl, Troy Polamalu scored in the AFC Championship game on an interception return to beat the Baltimore Ravens and James Harrison took an interception back for a touchdown in the Super Bowl to help beat the Arizona Cardinals.
Yesterday it was Pittsburgh defensive back William Gay who picked up a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown.
I hear people talking about why Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls is going for his third, isn’t mentioned in the same breath as Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Tom Brady. I tell it’s simple, he isn’t as a good of a quarterback as they are. In fact he’s not in the same league.
Yesrerday, Roethlisberger won an AFC Championship game while completing 10 of 19 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His quarterback rating for the game was 35.5. He had a poorer performance in the Super Bowl game the Steelers won over the Seattle Seahawks, yet everybody gives him credit for the win. Tell me how many of those other star quarterbacks could win a conference championship with those pathetic numbers.
I give him credit for completing a couple of big throws at the end of the game, but if he didn’t have that great defense and tremendous running game, he would be just another good quarterback. The Steelers defense and running game give them a chance to be champions every season. If they get quality play from their quarterback, they have a good chance to win it all.
They go out and get tough football players on both sides of the ball and they teach them a commitment to the football team over individual achievements. The Bears always seem to win the toughness factor.
Jay Cutler needs to find Dorothy and go to see the Oz because there’s no way he shouldn’t have continued to play in that game. He didn’t even know when he got hurt. That’s a bit much.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers really disappointed me yesterday. They started out the way I expected, but seemed to get lackadaisical after they built up a 14-0 lead. Rodgers made a couple of bad throws which were picked off and they let the Bears stay in the game.
Rodgers will have to play better for Green Bay to beat the Steelers. He also needs to know that he needs to resist the urge to run with the ball against the Steelers. He’ll have to be sharper reading the blitz and protecting the football. Pittsburgh will put more pass rush pressure on him and they’ll force him to be great to beat them.
On the other side of the ball, the Green Bay defense didn’t play up to the level they’re capable of either and they allowed the Chicago Bears to march for touchdowns when led by Caleb Hanie. The Packers know they’re good and they have lapses which put them in position to lose games that they should win.
I thought the Packers let down against the Eagles to let them back into the game. They play their best ball when they’re on the attack as compared to sitting back in a zone defense and playing bend but don’t break football. If they play that way in the Super Bowl, the Steelers will mop the floor with them.
On the touchdown throw by Hanie to Earl Bennett, two of Green Bay’s Pro Bowl defensive backs Charles Woodson and Nick Collins, stopped on the play because they expected the other guy to make the play. It was an awful play by a team which was trying to get to the Super Bowl.
Even with the poor plays, Green Bay’s defense is main reason that they have a good chance of winning this year’s Super Bowl. Their defense needs to force Roethlisberger into some mistakes in order to beat the Steelers.
I’m picking the Packers to win the game. I think they’ll be focused for the entire game.
I literally got into a two hour argument with my brother about Aaron Rodgers and Big Ben. I told him Big Ben is NOT a great QB, he’s just good enough to play for the Steelers and that defense. He wanted to bring up the fact that Big Ben has two rings and makes big throws — that’s all find and dandy. The light shines on a dogs arse every once in a while.
IMaybe if he didn’t degrade ARodge’s performances so bad, I would give him the benefit of the doubt — but I look for ARodge to get his first ring on Feb 6th.
Look Im going for the steelers……. I tend to be a hater when a team puts us out of the playoffs…….
************************************MY RANT FOR THE DAY****************************************
1) Mike tomlin has been coaching for the steelers since 2007 and he is going to the superbowl twice out of his 3 years as head coach………
2) Mike Mccarthy has a short career tenure at GB with hurt players……. And they seem to find away to get it done and make it to the superbowl……
3) Coach Rex Ryan is a very well liked coach by his players and other players who dont even play for him…….. He took a young Qb to two AFC championship games and beat two of the most recognizable Qb’s in the league………
4) Why do these short lived coaches seem to put things together and have success in there careers at such a fast pace…….. Why does a 12year coach not have his stuff together to take this team to the next level????? It’s been 12 years and if you add there total amount of years compared to Andy Reid as head coach…….. It’s perhaps less than what Andy’s time at the Head Coaching spot……. CHANGE MUST COME……. It should have been the EAGLES vs. STEELERS game!!!!!! JUST MAKES ME SICK………..
I think a lot of football players in the NFL would disagree with your assessment of Roethlisberger’s capabilities.
Haven’t you heard jroc, according to the Maxwell club Reid is coach of the year, what a joke…
jroc, it’s all about philosophy. The Steelers embody EVERYTHING that the Eagles don’t; hard nosed football with a nasty defense who can also pound the rock. The Eagles are a friggin card trick. Always going for the homerun. I hate the Steelers and their bandwagon fans but Eagles an Co need to be taking notes from the Steelers on the other side of the state. I don’t see how Andy Reid can watch what the Steelers do every year and then think his philosophy has a chance.
You can say what you want about ben. he might be a rapest and not the best qb in the nfl or cant be compared to guys like brady and manning. But Ben gets in done in crunch time. Bottom Line. Defense keeps them in games yes, but ben, when it needs to be done gets it done. Lets not forget, he did have a bad performance no questions asked, BUT This jets defense one could argue is top 3 in the nfl. They are no slouches either!!! i was surprised to see the jets get gashed in the run game like that. Coaches must have saw something
@Jakedog….. LOL……. I cant take it bro!…….. Now thats a real comic book joke there……… I just cant believe that we should have had home field advantage against GB in Philly if we would have gotten the second seed…….. Reid just doesnt want to EAT…….. Only time he wants to eat is when his stomach is growling and he needs a number sixteen from wendy’s…… Thats two number 3’s two number 2’s and a #6 on the menu………. We should have tooken the second seed twice, two years in a row…… U have to question AR’s coaching……. Who else is the blame for our playoff woes????? Our defense played well enough against GB to win the game…….. We should have beaten the Vikings but Reid makes Joe Webb look like Aaron Rodgers against us????? But we so call practiced for GB????? GIVE ME A BREAK………
Jets’ tackling yesterday was putrid.
Btc24……. I agree 110%………. Your right through all the big ben stuff early this season and getting suspended and charlie Batch just doing enough to help them win was just outstanding……. You do things to get your players/Qb’s more comfortable to make plays……… You get a qb like Vick who didnt play football in 3 years and was a 3rd string qb behind Mcnabb and Kolb and then was not the starter early this season and you make him snap the ball 35-40 times?????? Let alone vick did handle his end of the bargain but still you have to be effective and trust your personnel to do there work as well…….. REID DOESN’T TRUST ANYONE……….
Aaron Rogers play slipped after he took that helmet to helmet shot from Julius Peppers.
All in all Greenbay has done an amazing job protecting a guy who has had 2 concussions in one season.
Yet we can’t protect the most mobile and fastest QB ever to play the game.
It was nice to see a man’s defense out there for all 4 of the teams in the championship games.
One day we might realize that these High School sized players or fastballs on offense and defense are not the way to win the NFL championship.
I think the front office sees that and they are going to bring in coaches with a different personnel philosophy. I noticed that one of the annoucers mentioned that the greenbay defensive coaches simplified the defense and made the fundamentally sound on a smaller portion of the playbook. So it looks like the defensive coordinator is going to come from Greenbay. Their headcoach fired his entire defensive staff a few years back and now, well….They are in the Superbowl.
@Btc24…… They looked tired…….. They made a great adjustment 2nd half of the game…… I’ll give them that…….
It’s called the curse of TOMLINSON…….. LOL!…… He’s a great player and HOF’er………. But the guy just has a rain cloud over his head when it comes to winning a SB……..
@BSMVIDEOS…….. Exactly….. Just keeping things simple and plain……… Simple protection schemes to protect your QB and remember last year Aaron Rodgers was the most sacked Qb in the league…… That bone formation was very helpful…… It looks as if its a run formation but you can throw to the flats and make the defense second guess if its pass or run…….. You make adjustments and something as simple as a cornerback blitz we cant stop for the world……. Makes you wonder if reid is just a cardboard cut out of a man!!!!!!
Here’s the thing about Big Ben, he’s clutch. Everything he does will never look pretty but when his teams needs a TD or key first down, he gets it. So no, he will probably never be mentioned in the same breath of the greats but dude is a winner and finds a way to get it done. He’s half the QB of Peyton Manning but double the winner.
Yeah that INT Rodger threw when he threw the ball at Driver’s feet. Picture that, a good QB throwing a ball at the receivers feet. Who would have thunk it? And this one got intercepted.
Big Ben and Aaron Rodgers are probably the best 2 QBs in the league when facing a lot of pressure. The ability they have to not only extend plays but make good decisions and accurate throws while breaking tackles is admirable. Ben was the perfect storm for the Jets. The Jet’s defense with the way they played against the Colts and Pats was made to take out WRs on the sidelines, play heavy zone in the middle and get pressure. They couldn’t do that to Ben because he runs around back there and I don’t care who your CB is, they cannot stay with WRs forever. His stats weren’t pretty but man he gets the job done. I hate the Steelers but you have to admire the way they play the game. They are the gold standard of the league and we aren’t close.
@Scorp…. Your right……. Its about winning…… Big Ben has a short term memory…… If he makes a mistake he’ll bounce back and make it happen next series………
Another thing is that you have to keep tradition in stake……… The steelers have been a very feared team defensively and smash mouth has always been there nack for decades…….. The eagles in the late 90’s and early 2000 season wasn’t pretty with the short dinks and dunks to the rb and fb, and te’s and so fourth…… Ar just wants to Sammie Sosa every play and look at what happens……. What the GB packers have done is made the game simple…….. throwing 5 yard completions here and then extending the ball further for a big play……… AR should take notes on how to be a successful coach on winning the SB…….
The eagle have lost there tradition…….. Jim Johnson took it with him when he passed away……. We need that nasty gritty team that we once loved…….. I dont want us to be the finesse team who plays for wildcards and Nfc Championship games…….. We need that Ravens/steelers/Jets mental state of mind…… Where’s that at?????
Big Ben is a leader. Other Players feed off of him. He keeps plays alive with his feet and there is no way he would have quit like cutler did. McNabb played with a broken leg. Alot of what Ruthlessburger does, does not show up in the stat sheet. I remember before he was being drafted, he said point blank he was the best of all the QBs coming out. He is extremely cocky and confident. That makes a big difference in the huddle. He might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, off the field, but on it he is a football player. He hangs in the pocket, and has no hesitation to run. He does whatever it takes to win. I don’t think he would just decide he was not going to run anymore like McPuppet did. He plays within his skill set. The only stat I care about is superbowls. And he has them. Keep Dan fouts, Dan Marino, Bert Jones, Warren Moon, and all those other talented QBs. Give me a leader that wills his team to victory, even if he does not play well himself. Of course he is in a system designed for him to succeed. For the Steelers to succeed as a team. They are not dependent on one part. They have a football team. We have a passing team. We come into the season without players at certain positions. We don’t value linebackers. All that crap. They put a football TEAM on the field.
Nice concept. So if the running game is not working they can pass. If the offense is not playing well the defense can carry the team. Shut down our passing atttack and we keep passing.
Pretenders like Cutler and Babyarm have most of the physical tools but not the leadership tools. Babyarm was scared out of his mind. He recovered, but he’s not a natural. I believe the front office told him to annouce he wanted to start (oddly right after a playoff loss), so they could trade him.
I would take Ruthlessburger in a heartbeat. Even over Vick. Vick is not going to last in Andy Reids system. He could do all that Steve Young did, with a great coach that would protect him.
There is a reason McNabb put on the pounds. He was taken a beating here. Vick will not last one full season with Andys Passaholic ways. Look for the Giants to end the Eagles season next year. They are going to knock Vick and Soulja Boy into the stands, the first chance they get.
This does not have to happen. Not if Andy changes. But after 12 years I say let Andy be Andy. And ship “the 400” off to a dome statium or the west coast where his BYU offense might do like the rams did.
LOL@BSMVIDEOS……… Your right…… Vick will not last a full season behind AR……. I say fire him now and get Dungy……… But than again Manning did call his own plays in the huddle and went for it on 4th down on his own at times LOL…….. Reid is a Qb killer……. His days playing Football as a kid who i believe he dominated against little babies lol……… He has the nerve to not want big men on the team to stay with little guys to not get pressure and defend pressure on the front line…….. Big Ben has what it takes to be a winner……
If Big Ben and Vick were the qb’s in the superbowl it would be called…….
THE FORGIVENESS BOWL………….
Say what you will about Big Ben.. All he does is win in the Post-Season and has something like a
10-2 record in the Playoffs… he has the knack of coming up with the big plays at the right time..
I think Steelers win the Super Bowl 23-20 which would be Ben’s 3rd Super Bowl Ring…
“Alot of what Ruthlessburger does, does not show up in the stat sheet” BSM I totally agree with this assessment of what you said about Big Ben. Whether you think his stats are mediocre or that he is just lucky to play with a great Defense, This guy has something that we have always been missing in an Eagles QB…he is clutch…probably the most clutch QB in the league right now. GCOBB I understand the points your are saying but the only stat that counts is on the scoreboard and this guy just wins big games. He will probably win his 3rd Superbowl this year and we are still dying to just win one. He steps up at the end of games, in the biggest games, and makes the throws to get it done over and over again. I feel like this was McNabbs biggest flaw. He had all the nice stats in the regular seasons but in the playoffs to say any Eagles fan truly believed McNabb could bring his team back on the final drive or make the clutch conversion in a NFC championship/Superbowl game is a fan that is lying. I will take the most clutch QB in the league over one that has the best looking stats any day of the week. Manning is gonna break every record for QB stats in history when he retires but he will only have one Superbowl. Big Ben might have 5 when he reitires.
I have friends Pittsburg who wanted Big Ben gone after he was getting accused of rape or whatever the hell he did and I told them they are nuts. This guy just wins big them. He has been in the league for like what 5 years or something and has already won them 2 Superbowls and will probaly get them 3 on another last minute final drive and clutch throw.
@jroc…I first want to state that I agree with you that a change in philosophies is needed and agree that maybe that means a change in head coach. Have always liked Reid, but when the same questions and problems come up year after year it makes you wonder. Having said that, you mentioned the early successes of Tomlin, McCarthy, and Ryan compared to Reid. I can’t argue Tomlin’s success. I’m not going to do the research but I am sure there aren’t many coaches in history that have had as much early success as he has. But how can you suggest Reid didn’t “put things together and have success in (his) career at such a fast pace?” In his first 6 seasons the Eagles went to the playoffs 5 times, reached the NFC Championship game 4 times, and the Super Bowl once. No, they did not win, but Green Bay has not won yet either. It has been since the Super Bowl that Reid hasn’t had as much success. Green Bay could very well win in two weeks and then I will give you McCarthy in addition to Tomlin. But not yet. They could lose and McCarthy could end up having more difficulty over the next 5 years just as Reid has had. The same goes for Rex. He has been to 2 AFC Championship games. Isn’t that considered a failure here in Philly? Players love playing for him, but players also love playing for Reid. It’s just the media and us fans that get tired of him. I’m not saying Reid is the answer. I’ll be the first to admit we need to consider a change. But I just don’t think we should be so quick to forget all the success he has had here.
And yes the Steelers are everything we are not. They don’t rely on 60 yard bombs to win the game they do it right.The Eagles FO should really take a look at what the other team does in the same state as them because it just works year after year..they let their long time tenured coach go for a guy that was up and coming and havn’t looked back since
Mr bsm you should be the eagles gm and I am not “lol”
Amen pheags
Eagles will never Win a CHampionship/Super Bowl with Coach AR at the helm for the following reasons
#1) Team is built with small,fast players with overall lack of strength and toughness
#2) Offense Philosophy is to pass, pass, pass in a Northeastern City which has bad weather conditions
every Dec/Jan during crunch and playoff time..
#3) The “Linc’s atmosphere and intimidation sucks compared to the Vet.No teams are intimindated to come in and play there.. (the fans have a large responsibilty for this too)
#4) The Team,players and coaches are a reflection of their HC and to be very blunt, Coach AR is too nice of a guy to be a winning Coach in the NFL… You have to have a little mean streak, a little craziness..a little kick ass, take no prisoners attitude and Coach Reid is just not that way…
Like the old adage says, ” Nice Guys finish last” abd while Coach AR has been succesfil in winning games and making the playoffs consistently, he is lacking that killer instinct to complete the job
Paul, your last point is very interesting. I didn’t think about that as much. Besides Tony Dungy, the other coaches that win Super Bowls are either classified as jerks (Belichiek), “rah rah” guys (Tomlin, Cowher) or a no prisoner attitude like Sean Payton. I think you may be right about Andy. He may be too nice and built a team that’s just too nice. You need nastiness on the team. You need guys that are tough and back it up on the field. We have a bunch of guys with no personality and even less toughness. And Andy is fine with that. This team was at it’s best when you had guys that were just plain nasty on the field. The Dawkins, Trotter, Hugh Douglas, John Runyan… guys like that. Everyone on this team is made of Marshmallows. Your QB can’t be the only player with the will to win.
It’s become too “Sterile” of a Franchise and Team which is a reflection of it’s Coach and Leader (AR)
in fact, it’s become so business as usual,so everything is under control and rationalized that it has seeped into the fan base and to the staidium crowds,,,Football is a man on man sport, raw emotion,
and yes, sometimes mistakes and over-reactons occur.. but this Eagles team over the last 4-5 years has lost that emotional energy, that special karma that big advantage The Eagles use to have when Visitors traceled to Philadelphia to play the Eagles..
Now they have simply become another NFL average, ho-hum Football team where players come and go and eyeryone is happy to have a job and a sold out stadium every game … Where’s the risk takers, the players and coaches who live and play on the edge, who’ll do anything to win a Championship.. Those days are long over and won’t be returning with the crew that’s running the organization now where they all are worried about public perception, policitcal correctness, the bottom line as far as finances go, not Championships…
paul, that was a rational, insightful, and well -thought out post. Some of the fan base is brainwashed and afraid of a change, “we might not win 9-12 regular season games”, somebody here posted that he is ok to wait another five years for a super bowl, but there is a growing voice that has had it with reid, lurie, banner, roseman, see mr.bsm’s posts, the eagles are very difficult to like, to root for like the steelers, there are some players we like, but the team’s character is voided or vanillasizied by the coach and the front office