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(12/20) When the Red Sox won the World Series last year, Boston fans could no longer play their little martyr act anymore. For years they reveled in the fact that they were the poor, long-suffering fans whom bad things always happened to. Now that they lost that claim to fame, which sports franchise has taken over the role of most miserable? I believe that no team in any sport has suffered more in the past 20 years than the Cleveland Browns.

For my whole life as a Steelers fan, I have always been trained to hate Cleveland and everything about it. However, when you look back at the recent course of events, you almost have to feel sorry for Cleveland. Consider the following chain of demoralizing events, and then try to convince me that some other team and its fans have suffered more than this:

1986: Led by upstart QB Bernie Kosar, the Browns put together a great season and advance to their first ever AFC Championship Game, which they host at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Browns hold a 7-point lead over the Denver Broncos and pin John Elway back at his own two yard line with just 5:43 remaining in the game. But Elway proceeds to make history, taking the Broncos 98 yards for the tying touchdown in what will forever be known as "the drive". In overtime, Denver kicks the winning field goal and advances to the Super Bowl.

1987: The Browns return to the AFC Championship Game and get a rematch with the Broncos. This time it is the Browns who trail late in the game, but they are poised to tie it up. RB Earnest Byner takes a handoff at the 8 yard line and darts into the endzone. The problem is that he loses the ball on his way in. Denver recovers and Cleveland suffers another heartbreaking defeat.

1989: During a game at Riverfront Stadium in which Bengals fans begin throwing snowballs at the Seahawks players, Cincinnati head coach Sam Wyche grabs a microphone and scolds the crowd, yelling, "This isn't Cleveland!" Sadly, an incident that should have been a black eye for Cincinnati only serves to show what the rest of the football world thinks about Cleveland.

1989: After an off-year, the Browns get right back on track, pounding the Steelers 51-0 on opening day (I was at that game thinking that Cleveland was really going to be a scary team that year). For the 3rd time in the past four seasons, Cleveland will play Denver in the AFC Championship Game. This time however, there will be no last-minute heartbreak. Denver easily beats Cleveland by the score of 37-21.

1993: Cleveland starts off the season with a 5-3 record and takes over first place in the AFC Central following a dramatic win over Pittsburgh (the infamous Eric Metcalf game). But when starting QB Vinny Testaverde goes down with an injury, head coach Bill Belichick makes the dubious decision to cut Bernie Kosar and the Browns lose five out of their next six to fall out of contention.

1994: The Browns put together their best season in years. They only lose six games all year, but three of those losses come against arch-rival Pittsburgh, including a 29-9 playoff thrashing at Three Rivers Stadium which ends their season.

1994: Jacobs Field opens in Cleveland. The city has given the Indians a beautiful new ballpark and has built the Cavaliers a new basketball arena. They have poured millions into building a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a new science center. Meanwhile, the Browns continue to plod along in broken down Municipal Stadium. Owner Art Modell begins to get bitter.

1995: On draft day, the Browns are set to take TE Kyle Brady (Penn State sucks) as the final piece to their Super Bowl puzzle when the New York Jets suddenly surprise Cleveland front office officials by drafting Brady one spot ahead of them. Apparently having no plan B option, the Browns hastily trade away their pick to San Francisco for virtually nothing, then select LB Craig Powell with the 30th pick overall.

1995: Picked by Sports Illustrated to be a Super Bowl team, Cleveland opens the season with a disappointing 2-5 record, but that's not the worst of it. Modell shocks the entire city by announcing he is going to move the franchise to Baltimore at the end of the season. That's it - no ultimatums, no demands, no warning. The Browns fans have given him sellouts for 30 years, and in return he stabs them all in the back. In what becomes a surreal scene, Steelers fans (including me) wear orange armbands to a Browns-Steelers Monday Night Football game in support of the Cleveland fans' efforts to block the move. Those efforts are unsuccessful and Cleveland loses its beloved football team.

1999: The NFL, clearly embarrassed of letting something so unjust happen, gives Cleveland a new team complete with the name, uniforms, and history of the old team. With much fanfare, the Browns open their new stadium (which all of a sudden gets built after the fact) with a 43-0 pounding at the hands of a bad Steelers team. The new Browns also start off with two disastrous first round draft picks, taking Tim Couch over Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper in 1999, and Courtney Brown (Penn State sucks) over Lavar Arrington (Penn State sucks), Brian Urlacher, and The Drug Dealer in 2000.

2000: Modell and the old Browns win the Super Bowl while the current Browns suffer thru a miserable 3-13 season.

2001: The Browns suffer what is arguably the most devastating regular season loss in NFL history, allowing the Chicago Bears to score 14 points in the final 28 seconds of regulation, which forces overtime and ultimately leads to a Chicago victory. Cleveland, who would have been 5-2 with a win, never recovers and stumbles to a 7-9 record.

2001: The NFL bans 4th quarter beer sales after an ugly incident at a Cleveland-Jacksonville game in which drunken Browns fans litter the field with plastic beer bottles following a bad call by the referees. "We feared for our lives," says WR Jimmy Smith.

2002: On opening day, the Browns have the Kansas City Chiefs defeated, but a penalty on LB Dewayne Rudd for taking his helmet off gives the Chiefs one more play, and they kick a game-winning field goal to defeat Cleveland.

2002: After plodding through their first three seasons back with losing records, the Browns make a late run at the playoffs and squeeze in by winning the final game of the season. That sets up a playoff game with - who else - arch-rival Pittsburgh. The Browns take a commanding 24-7 lead in the 3rd quarter but start to play soft on defense. QB Tommy Maddox, who was selling insurance a few years earlier, leads the Steelers to one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history and the Browns lose 36-33 in their most heartbreaking game since the 1987 AFC Championship.

2004: Belichick wins his third Super Bowl in four years with the New England Patriots and is widely declared as one of the most brilliant minds in NFL history.

2005: TE Kellen Winslow, whom the Browns have invested heavily in, misses the entire season after hurting himself doing motorcycle stunts without a helmet. Later in the season, WR Braylon Edwards becomes the most recent first round draft pick to suffer a season-ending injury.

2005: The Browns will finish with yet another losing season.

If you throw in the Indians blowing the 1997 World Series when they had a lead going into the bottom of the 9th inning of game 7, and all those times Michael Jordan single-handedly knocked the Cavaliers out of the playoffs, it's been a rough 20 years for our neighbors in Cleveland. I think they deserve a little sympathy. Hopefully the next 20 years won't be quite as rough.

(11/7) The season is now officially half over, which means it's time once again for the annual mid-season report. This year the Steelers came out flying, had some tough losses, but still held it together for a 6-2 start. Despite their struggles in the past couple of weeks, they are still poised to make their fourth playoff run in the past five years. The second half of the season will bring another showdown with the first-place Bengals, and a huge Monday night game against the current AFC king Indianaplois Colts. But before we get to all of that, let's take a moment to reflect on what has been a very solid first half of the 2005 Steelers season. Enjoy!

(11/2) Big Ben had surgery on his knee today and will miss at least the next two games. That means the Steelers will have to rely on the arm of Charlie Batch, who has not started a game since 2001. While this looks bad, you have to look at the bright side. First off, the next three opponents are don't have more than five combined wins. Secondly, I'd rather have Ben down now and back for the stretch run. He has been the key to our offensive success this year, and the Steelers would be in much bigger trouble if he had this happen in late December instead of early November. Get well soon, Ben.

(10/11) You could hear the huge sigh of relief all over town today. Ben Roethlisberger, who sustained what looked like a nasty knee injury last night, is going to be OK. Ben may miss that start this week, but he didn't suffer any long-term damage, just a hyper-extended knee and a bone bruise. Thank God! It looked like one of those "his season is over" injuries when it happened. I just sat there with my head in my hands. The Steelers really caught a break here. Roethlisberger is somewhat quietly leading the NFL in passer rating while putting up 200+ yards in each game. He hasn't thrown a single interception this year, and he has twice led the Steelers on clutch last-minute scoring drives. His loss would have been devastating to the team and to his career, which is really taking off right now. All I have to say is, "Whew!" And by the way, memo to the Pittsburgh Pirates: you couldn't have picked a worse day to announce that you have a new manager. Very few people care to begin with, and given the emotional ride of the last 24 hours over the Steelers comeback victory and Big Ben's injury, even fewer people care that the joke team in town found some chump to manage it to another losing season.

ALSO: What was up with that horrible fair catch interference call last night? In case you missed it, here is what happened: early in the 3rd quarter the Steelers punted. The ball bounced off the helmet of Chargers returner Darren Sproles and right into the hands of Chidi Iwuoma. It was a huge break, because it was going to give the Steelers, who were ahead 14-7, the ball at the San Diego 22 yard line. But the refs huddled and said that Iwoma INTERFERED with the catch!! Yes, Sproles signaled for a fair catch, and if he were somewhat bobbling the ball while trying to cradle it in and Iwoma nails him, then I can see that being a penalty. But in this case the ball was tipped to the Steelers without them doing a thing and Sproles would've never even had a chance for it. What they were basically saying is that a fair catch signal entitles you to do anything you want with the ball! Should Iwuoma back off and ask for permission next time? "Excuse me, sir. Are you done with that football yet?" That was perhaps the WORST interpretation of a rule I have ever witnessed. Those refs need to be called on it by the league, and the Steelers should demand yet another apology.

(9/27) Some controversy has erupted from last Sunday's slugfest. The referees admitted to a clock mistake early in the 4th quarter. Without going into specifics, basically what happened was that the refs were supposed to reset the game clock to 13:59, but instead reset it to 14:51. The logical conclusion you could draw from that is that the game went on for 52 seconds longer than it was supposed to, and that New England had 52 seconds more to work with on that final drive. I personally agree with Steelers officials who say it didn't affect the outcome of the game. If there was less time on the clock, maybe the Steelers operate with more of a sense of urgncy on their last drive and still leave New England with plenty of time. Also, even if the Patriots had less time, I still think that they would have been able to get into FG range, especially after that long kickoff. Let's just all be careful here - Tom Brady and his 12-for-12 performance in the 4th quarter is what beat us, not the refs.

The other interesting tidbit that came out of the game was the story of Todd Light's injury. When Light went down, Steeler trainers came onto the field, but Bill Belichick told them to "get the *bleep* away from my player!" Ok, Billy - settle down! Did he really think the Steelers were going out there to see if they could hurt Light worse? That was a jerk thing to do on his part when our guys were just trying to help. I respect the Patriots. I have admitted over and over again on this site that they are one of the greatest teams in NFL history. But I am starting to get really sick of them. I really hope someone - whether it's us or Indianapolis or whoever - takes them out this year.

(9/2) The pre-season is thankfully over. I hate pre-season just based on principle, but this pre-season was made even more excrutiating by the Steelers poor play on offense. Now as I said last week, I absolutely REFUSE to push any panick buttons based on meaningless games - I just hope that the worrisome yinzers will all be placated by a good performance in the opener. One player who has really shined on offense is FWP (Fast Willie Parker). Due to Jerome Bettis' latest injury, FWP will be the starter against Tennessee next week.

Expectations will be high for the Steelers this season. There is no way they will win 15 games again, but I'm hoping that the 2005 season can parallel the 1995 season. If you remember, the Steelers went 12-4 in 1994 but lost at home in the AFC Championship Game. The following year, they had a worse record in the regular season, lost some key players on offense, and their defense lost a step, but they still managed to win the Chmapionship Game. That is how I'm hoping this season plays out - the team is not quite as strong as they were last year, but I'm hoping they make up for it in other areas. In 1994, QB Neil O'Donnell did virtually nothing but handoff to the RB's. In 1995, he had the best passing year of his life. Maybe Ben will follow a similar path (minus the part where he throws two Super Bowl interceptions to the guy who is covering grass).

And while I'm in the mode of looking ahead, here are my non-Steeler predictions for the upcoming season:

• Carson Palmer will have a breakout season. Everyone is expecting the Ravens to be the team to challenge the Steelers in the division, but I think it will be Cincinnati. They're offense is going to be explosive this year (and I'm not just saying that because Palmer and Chad Johnson are on my fanatasy team). Palmer is a great QB who is finally coming around, much unlike.....
  
  
• Kyle Boller and the Ravens will be a disappointment. You wait and see - Boller will never develop into the QB they wanted him to be, and The Genius will refuse to make a change because he is the one who traded the #1 pick to draft Boller. Here is a great rule for drafting QB's: if a guy finishes the college football season being projected as a 3rd or 4th round pick, then suddenly shoots up to early first round just based on meaningless workouts, never EVER draft that guy. Boller threw a pass 50 yards on his knees, and suddenly he was a top ten draft pick. As if that "skill" would mean anything in a real game. Cincinnati got burned on this same phenomenon when they drafted Akili Smith over McNabb and Culpepper in 1999.
  
  
• Cleveland will end up with the NFL's worst record. They have zero prospects whatsoever. They have nothing at all to look forward to except more losing. You low-life's in Cleveland who root for that team really should demand better than one winning season in the six years since the Browns returned.
  
  
• NFC Championship Game prediction: Minnesota at Carolina. Seriously, who else is going to be there? Philadelphia? No way - they can't take a whole season of this soap opera crap and expect to go anywhere. Atlanta? The only reason they were there last year is because they were the only other over-.500 team in the NFC's final four! Carolina will rebound from an off-year the way New England did in 2003, and Minnesota will benefit from a better defense and a lack of Randy Moss drama.
  
  
• New England is still the team to beat. Yeah, they lost Bruschi. Yeah, they lost both coordinators. It doesn't matter - they now have to rank among the best teams in league history, and until someone knocks them off, they are still the team to shoot for.

Meanwhile, another longtime Steeler will not be returning for another season. CB Chad Scott, who was the team's #1 draft pick in 1997, has been released as a cap casualty. Scott was always a mediocre cornerback who had his up and down moments. He was expendable after the Steelers secondary showed they could get by without him during his injury last year. The Steelers also have young corners whom they expect to step up. Scott certainly took his share of shots from the fans over the years, and much of it was deserved. His biggest problem was awareness. As one of the fastest guys on the team, he rarely got smoked by a receiver, but he often seemed out of position when he did have good coverage, which was almost more frustrating than just getting burnt! Still, I give him credit - he was a starter for 8 years. That's not too shabby. I wish him good luck elsewhere.

Also, in less exciting news, the Steelers also released TE Jay Riemersma. If you didn't know that Jay Riemersma played for the Steelers, it's because he did virtually nothing in his two seasons here (except get hurt a lot). He was supposed to give the Steelers a new weapon in the passing game. After all, the TE has been just a blocker in the Steelers offense ever since Eric Green left in the mid-1990's. So it was a good plan to try to add a pass-catching TE to the offense, especially one that had success in Buffalo. But after a great debut game, Riemersma disappeared, and now he is gone. So long.

(2/7) Now that the Patriots have beaten everyone else (again), they are officially an NFL dynasty. I'll give the Eagles credit though - the game was closer than I expected (although I don't know what they were thinking during that last time-consuming drive, and I still think McNabb is a big McChoker). It was also nice to see Josh Miller contribute to that win - he deserves it for the crappy way he got booted out of here last year. So now the NFL offseason officially begins, and the Steelers have some issues at hand. What will they do with Plex? Will Bettis call it a career? Who are they going to draft? What will the schedule look like? All of these stories will be covered over the next few months, but it's also going to be a slow time for Pittsburgh sports fans. We don't have a hockey season this year, Pitt's basketball team is inconsistent so far, and the only people who still look forward to baseball season are the parking vendors who get to gouge those of us who work on the North Side.

I usually tend to stop writing stuff during this time of year, but I am going to make an attempt (emphasize the work "attempt") to keep this site updated a little better during this offseason. I am working on some good filler stuff - mostly countdown type stuff. Also, since we are now halfway through this decade, I want to do another "Games of the Decade" feature like I did at the end of the 1990's. I know it's not a full decade yet, but it was fun to do that last time and who knows if I'm still going to be keeping this site up in 2010. So hopefully my loyal readers (all 7 of you) will keep checking in during the offseason, because frankly, what else are you going to do!

(2/2) It's Super Bowl week, which means that football fans have to deal with way more media coverage than we really want. However, one thing I always love during this time of the season are the Super Bowl highlight films shown frequently on ESPN Classic. I'm a big NFL history nerd so I eat this stuff up. As I've watched those shows this week, I noticed some things I hadn't paid much attention to before.

First off, I have come to the conclusion that Jackie Smith's dropped touchdown pass in Super Bowl XIII is the single most overblown "blunder" in the history of pro sports. Smith's drop doesn't belong in the same time zone as plays like Scott Norwood's missed kick or Earnest Byner's fumble. The Steelers led 21-14 in the 3rd quarter when Smith dropped that pass. Dallas kicked a field goal and made it 21-17. Then the Steelers scored two 4th quarter touchdowns to take a 35-17 lead. If not for some desperate last-minute efforts, the game wouldn't have even been close. Plus Smith didn't even really drop it. By Roger Stabauch's own admission, it was a bad pass. I just think it's beyond unfair that people act like he somehow blew the Super Bowl for the Cryboys.

This is part of an overall trend I have seen when talking about the 1970's Steelers, or great teams in general for that fact. People like to make excuses for why the team was so great in order to discredit them. After a while, people start automatically disliking a team that beats everyone else. The same thing tends to happen to the Patriots of this era - people say they got lucky with the tuck rule in 2001, they grabbed onto the Indianapolis receivers in 2003, ect.

My favorite example of this backlash against the 1970's Steelers is the Super Bowl XIV film. In that game, the Rams had a small lead early in the 4th quarter, but then Terry Bradshaw hit John Stallworth with a memorable 73 yard TD bomb down the middle of the field, giving the Steelers a lead they never relinquished. It was an all-time great play, but according to the 1979 NFL Films version, it was a fluke. John Facenda, the famous voice of NFL Films, describes the play like this (I am paraphrasing here): "At first it looked like Stallworth beat his man, but in actuality, Stallworth was a slow piece of crap who couldn't outrun anyone. The play succeeded because the Los Angeles defender suffered a near fatal heart attack right before the snap, giving Pittsburgh yet another lucky break. Basically, I could have caught that pass...." Then Facenda goes on to talk about how, after the score, the Steelers arrogantly celebrated as if the game were over. C'mon dude!

Ironically the only Super Bowl highlight film which favors the Steelers is the Super Bowl that we lost to Dallas in 1995. They spend the whole time following Cowher around the sidelines, then they show his wife and daughter coming up to console him after the game. They make sure everyone knows how the Steelers would have easily won that game had Neil O'Donnell been able to throw the ball somewhere near his receivers. But regardless of how the Steelers are portrayed, it's fun to watch these things. The Super Bowl is just such a massive event, and I'm glad there are people documenting each game for the course of history, even if it the view is somewhat skewed.

(1/30) Just some random thoughts now that we've all had a full week to mourn:

• I know I complained last week about the yinzers who took out their frustrations by bashing Cowher, but overall I have to say I am extremely impressed by the positive attitude the Steeler Nation has shown since last Sunday's loss in the AFC Championship Game. This year was different from the other Championship Game losses. There was something about this team that made you think they overachieved just to be there, rather than choking like the other teams did. Maybe it was just because New Engalnd is so freakin good. Regardless of the reason, it's nice to see most fans appreciating what an amazing season it was. Personally, I am not as bummed out as I thought I'd be. Yes, I desperately want the Steelers to win a Super Bowl, especially since I am 28 years old and never got to experience the 1970's glory years. But I've also learned that a season's worth of great memories can't be wiped out just because you didn't win the Super Bowl.
  
  
• The fact that the Patriots and Eagles are playing each other in the Super Bowl next week just makes the Steelers two week domination of those two teams a few months ago that much more impressive.
  
  
• I know he was just upset about losing, but was it really necessary for Plaxico Burress to start talking about leaving Pittsburgh immediately after the New Engalnd game ended? Many people are freaking out, saying the offense would be devestated if Plex leaves. I think it will have an impact, but I also think people are overrating him too much. He still has never proven to be a great receiver. That play last week summed up his whole career. The Steelers had 2nd and goal from inside the 5 yard line, and they threw a jump ball to Plex. He had two guys on him, but he was much taller than the defenders so they didn't have a prayer. But Plex couldn't hang onto the ball, even though it hit him right in the hands. Everyone forgot about that play, because that was the series where Cowher elected to kick a FG instead of go for a touchdown, but to me, that play symbolizes why Plex is not franchise player worthy. A great receiver makes that catch.
  
  
• Had the Steelers beaten the Patriots in the 2001 AFC Championship Game, I really think they would have defeated the Rams in the Super Bowl that year. Had the Steelers (or any other decent AFC team) won the conference this year, I KNOW they would have wiped the floor with the NFC rep. So that raises an interesting question: are the Steelers of the 2000's just like the Houston Oilers of the late 1970's? If you recall, the Oilers had the second best team in the AFC. They always had to go into the playoffs as a wild card but still beat everyone - except the Steelers. Even though they were one of the rare handful of teams that beat the Steelers during the regular season in 1978-79, they couldn't get past them in the conference title game. Hopefully the Steelers are able to overcome the Patriots eventually.
  
  
• Not to sidetrack from Steelers news, but has anyone seen the new Arizona Cardinals logo? The cardinal is supposed to be "meaner" and more imtimidating now. This has to be one of the funniest thing I've ever seen! This is probably the biggest scrub team in pro sports, but hey - now they have an "attitude"?!? I can just picture opposing defensive linemen staring at the angry cardinal (on the helmets of the Arizona O-linemen) while in their pre-snap stance, getting more and more nervous by the second, then getting blown off the line because they are so psyched out thinking about what the cardinal is going to do to them!
  
  
• Bill Cowher will coach his fourth Pro Bowl in two weeks. I wonder if that's a record?
  
  

(1/24) Imagine this scenario: a coach takes over an NFL team which has appeared in the playoffs only once in the past seven seasons. He proceeds to take them on a 13 year run which features 10 winning seasons, 8 division titles, 5 AFC Championship Game appearances, and 1 Super Bowl appearance. Most recently, this coach rebounds from a lousy 6-10 season - during which many critics claimed he was with the team too long and no longer capable of being effective - and becomes the first AFC coach ever to go 15-1. Now imagine this scenario: a bunch of the fans of this coach's team want him fired. Welcome to Pittsburgh, home of the spoiled football fan.

After the devastating loss in yesterday's AFC Championship Game, some fans (like yours truly) are just downright distraught, but others have been channeling their frustration by seeking a scapegoat. They want to blame the rookie quarterback, but he's just a kid. So let's pin it on the coach who "can't win the big game". Bill Cowher may have made his share of mistakes over the years, but as I listen to fans complain about what happened yesterday, I just can't see how Cowher could have made a difference. People are upset because he kicked a field goal in the 4th quarter instead of going for a touchdown when it was 31-17, as if New England was ever going to relinquish the lead. As I said in my game recap, that game was all about player execution. I don't care if Vince Lombardi was on the sideline, because he would not have been able to stop Roethlisberger from throwing that interception to Harrison, or stop Aaron Smith from holding on 3rd and 17, or stop Troy Polamalu from being fooled by Tom Brady and letting Deion Branch get locked one-on-one with Townsend.

Still, that won't stop people from turning on Cowher. Granted, most of the email I received after the game was positive, but I have still heard the rumblings about Cowher around town today. I'm tired of this. We have a great coach who consistently wins. Maybe he's not Bill "Almighty" Belichick, but who is at this point? But fine, if the fans really want a coaching change, let's follow the fine example set forth by the San Francisco 49ers. They too were spoiled by the success of winning four Super Bowls in one decade, and no coach could ever match what Bill Walsh did. What's that George Seifert? You won a measly TWO Super Bowls?? Not good enough - you're fired! And Steve Mariucci - what did you ever do? Four playoff appearances in six years, including a Championship Game?? Ha! What a joke!! You're gone too. Now let's bring in Dennis Erickson, a guy whose best record as coach of the Seahawks was 8-8. His record doesn't matter, because we need a coach who doesn't choke, and who doesn't always blow it, and who can take us all the way unlike those other bums. Well, guess who is drafting first this April after beating just one NFL team (the Cardinals) all season. Yeah, that's a much better path to go down. For the last time, lay off of Cowher. He lost to a dynasty and the players didn't execute. That is the real story, but for some reason a large segment of fans don't want to accept it.

(1/9) Wow, what a wacky way to open the playoffs. So much for the "forgone conclusion" that the Chargers would be visiting Heinz Field next week. Marty Schottenheimer continued his long tradition of choking in the playoffs as the New York Jets went into San Diego and upset the 12-4 Chargers in overtime. That means the Jets return to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers for the second time in the last month. These two teams have never met in the playoffs before and the Jets have never won a game in Pittsburgh before. However, after this weekend saw three out of the four home teams go down, that homefield advantage will only mean so much. I honestly thought the Jets would get pounded, and if you would have told me we didn't have to play San Diego, I would've been thrilled. But after watching the Jets yesterday, it's obvious that they have something to prove after everyone accused them of backing into the playoffs (ditto the Vikings in the Crap Football Conference). New York gave us a tough game last time around, and even though they should be exhausted after playing nearly ten quarters of football in the past two weeks, I expect a close game. I'll have a full preview later this week.

(1/5) Just some random thoughts as we get set for the start of the NFL playoffs this weekend:

- It looks like a forgone conclusion that San Diego will be coming here next weekend. There is NO way the Broncos upset the Peytons, and the Jets just aren't a good enough team to go all the way across the country and beat the Chargers. But as we all know, anything can happen in today's NFL.

- Speaking of forgone conclusions, Ben Roethlisberger was named NFL offensive rookie of the year today. Was there anyone else who was even close? The guy hasn't lost a football game since September of 2003! And now he is dating this girl, who is described as the "Anna Kournikova of golf"!!

- And speaking of the Jets, did anyone happen to catch Herman Edwards incoherent rant about how they didn't back into the playoffs and how they are going to "get on the bus" and not "pour any poison" in their Kool-Aid?? I wish I could just say random crap like that. "We need to polish the dining room table this week, boys...." That is a desprate man who knows his season is about to end.

- The Steelers finished ranked first in defense this season. That seems like no big deal because our defense has been tough for more than 30 years now, but think about how awful it was the past two seasons and you'll realize what an amazing job Dick Lebeau did in 2004.

- I never really liked or disliked Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander before last weekend, but now I think he is one of the biggest jerks in the league. "I was stabbed in the back" - did you really say that, Shaun? Do you even care that your team won the division and has a playoff game at home this weekend? You really care about the rushing title that much?? What a chump.

- I know defense wins championships, but have you ever seen a better QB than Peyton Manning? I mean, this guy is unreal. Not that San Diego will be an easy game, but I'm kind of glad Peyton has to go to Boston next week rather than come here.

- The NFC field is beyond pitiful this year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see any of those six teams in the Super Bowl (where they will promptly get hammered by the AFC representative). How can a team like Minnesota - who lost 7 out of its last 10 - be in a playoff game? That is just beyond me.

- The 49ers fired pitiful coach Dennis Erickson today. Why does that matter in Steelers country? Well, I think it is a good example of why it can be good to stick with a winning coach. San Francisco, spoiled by two decades of success, didn't think Steve Mariucci's four playoff appearances in six years quite lived up to the Bill Walsh standard, so they canned him and quickly became the NFL's worst team. The Rooneys took a lot of flak for giving Cowher another contract extension last summer, but look how well it paid off. Sometimes you need to stick with a coach who knows how to win and has proven he can do so over a sustained period of time.


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