SBI: Week 16....Holiday Edition

[swissvale72]

SBI: WEEK 16….HOLIDAY EDITION

This humble scribe doesn’t generally accord much import to one’s body language, look in their eye, etc. That said, I was pleased to see an undeniable scowl on the face of Ben Roethlisberger at game’s end at Heinz Field on Sunday. I’m sure that Big Ben had flashbacks, déjà vu, PTSD, to the All Saints Day Nightmare wherein he threw a pick to the same sideline, same spot on the field with his team protecting a late 4Q lead against the Cincinnati Bengals. That one will likely cost his team a first round bye. This one, thanks to being bailed out by the defense, will not cost his team a playoff spot. The scowl was encouraging though, as it draws a parallel to Ben’s angst after his winning SB XL performance, which he then followed up with a Super Bowl for the ages three years later.

While we’re on the topic of #7, the Steelers coaching staff has bigger balls than me. Were it my call, I would not have been putting the ball in the air, up 7 points, 90 seconds remaining and the Broncos with no timeouts. And, my call would have had nothing to do with Ben having been picked on his latest toss. Run the ball, punt it away and Denver is set up in the vicinity of their own 20 with about 40 seconds remaining. But, I guess that’s why Mike Tomlin’s coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers and I’m sitting at my desk voluntarily scribbling this essay on Monday mornings.

The bipolar personality of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been well documented. But let’s review once more. After connecting on 14 of 18 throws in the first half, the Denver QB, the Jolly Green Giant Brock Osweiler, went 7 for 26 in the second stanza. After being perfect on eight third down conversions going into the half, the Broncos were 1 for 11 on 3rd and 4th downs the rest of the way. The Steelers defense once again, and it seems as though it’s a weekly occurrence, came through with a 4Q interception, and they dropped two in the final quarter, but overcame those drops. Going a little deeper, Brandon Boykin’s snap count exceeded that of Cockrell and Blake, even though, for some unknown reason, he didn’t enter the game until Denver’s 3rd possession. Robert Golden logged 21 snaps with the Steelers employing the Big Nickel plenty against the Broncos.

A few other notables from the Steelers-Broncos Holiday Classic:

*The Debacle that almost was: The Steelers fail to secure the downing of a punt, Broncos pick up the loose ball and find the endzone 60 yards away. But wait!! The Denver offense was already on the field, thus penalized. Closest I’ve ever seen that was my kids’ New Hampshire high school state swim meet a few years back. Oyster River High, in the final relay of the night touches the wall, wins the state championship. But wait!! The three other relay members jump into the pool in an act of unbridled joy while the slower swimmers on the outside lines were still finishing. Oyster River is disqualified. The state championship goes to Keene! That one was huge yesterday. Instead of 34-20 Denver, the game was quickly to evolve into a 27-27 tie.

*The missed extra point. What happens if Denver makes the kick after their third score and goes up 21-7? Then, it’s 28-13 at halftime. Steelers would’ve been dusting off their considerable two-point options in the second half. What if they don’t connect? What if they’re down 28-26 late?

*AB: 18 targets, 16 catches. Is he the greatest Steeler receiver of all time? Maybe. Tough to compare eras. It took Swann and Stallworth about a quarter of a season to be targeted that often. Let’s just hope that AB has the opportunity to compete in something approaching the number of big games as did 88 & 82, and comes up just as big. Other than that, the guy is freakin’ unbelievable.

Okay, SBI Week 17. As close as I’ve followed the playoff possibilities, it wasn’t until last night that I realized the Steelers could slide into the #5 spot if the Bungals beat the Doncos on Monday night. It wasn’t until this morning that I realized that the Jets weren’t necessarily sitting on their asses in January if they win out along with the Steelers and Chefs. They could be the beneficiary of a Denver loss as well, leaving the Broncos and Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler, et al, sitting on their asses in January.

So, here’s the SBI dilemma. Next Monday night, Bungs at Doncos. Do we try to squeeze into the #5 spot, or go all in, holding out hope for the AFC North crown, and possibly still have a shot at a #2 seed. The most remote possibilities first:

*Assuming Steelers win out, should Bengals lose out, Broncos lose to San Diego (at Mile High) during the final weekend, and Chefs lose one of their last two (Browns and Raiders, both at Arrowhead), Steelers win the North and the #2 seed.

*Steelers win out, Bengals lose out, Steelers take AFC North

*Steelers win out, Bengals beat Broncos, Chiefs win out, Steelers take #5 seed.

The component of the first two scenarios of which I’m least confident are the Bengals losing out, specifically their losing to the Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium on the season’s final Sunday. Ravens, per my observation yesterday, are a bad football team. Let’s hope that holds true next Sunday.

So…hedging my best, SBI is for Bengals to beat Broncos next Monday night. That said, in the Careful What You Wish For category, I’m not so enthused as are many of the readership with the prospect of traveling to Houston for the Wild Card round. There’s JJ Watt, there’s the rest of their stout defense, there’s Deandre Hopkins. I like putting off a trip to Foxboro until later, but part of me would rather travel back down the Ohio River to the Queen City for our first playoff stop.

Of the other games, the most important obviously is to have Patriots beat the Jets. Already, there’s talk among the local talking heads of Patriots resting some of their battered troops now that they’ve clinched a first round bye, suggesting that the #1 seed may not be all that important to the Belichickians. Got news!! It is!! Patriots will go all out in the Meadowlands on Sunday, secure the #1 position, and hopefully by 4pm, or 5pm Atlantic Time, where I’ll be viewing both games at once, Steelers will have finally secured a playoff spot.

There’s only three other games to assess. Obviously, we want the Clowns to beat the Chefs. But it won’t happen. And, because, if we land the #5 seed, I would rather us play the Colts than the Texans, SBI is Colts over Dolphins and Titans over Texans. I might have this wrong, and I’m not going to look it up but to Colts have to win out while Texans lose out in order to win the beleaguered AFC South?

Come Christmas Day, I’ll be traveling to the Canadian Maritimes to my Prince Edward Island paradise. It’s likely that I’ll have Pats-Jets beamed in from the Detroit CBS affiliate, and because my NFL Sunday Ticket only works on US soil, through the generosity of my friends who frequent this esteemed website, I’ll see Steelers-Ravens via linkage. Game on the laptop, game on the tube, cold beer, Maritime snow swirling….playoff spot and full moon by nightfall. Gets no better!!

[Donnie Brasco]

Were it my call, I would not have been putting the ball in the air, up 7 points, 90 seconds remaining and the Broncos with no timeouts. And, my call would have had nothing to do with Ben having been picked on his latest toss. Run the ball, punt it away and Denver is set up in the vicinity of their own 20 with about 40 seconds remaining.

Reason I feel the pass was the right call:

-Ben and AB can run the out and the hook in their sleep
-Short drop and the ball was coming out...no need to worry about the OLine holding up and risk a sack/fumble/Int
-Running the ball concedes we are going to punt and the way Berry was kicking I didn't want precious field position yards in the hands of arguably the worst player on the field yesterday

That being said, I would've preferred a pass on 1st or 2nd down but that's my own offensive philosophy and nitpicking

[zeke5123]

Chiefs don't need to win out for the Steelers to get the 5 seed if the Doncos lose to the Bengals.

If the Chiefs don't win out, the Doncos will win the AFC West, but the Steelers would lead frog the Chiefs in the playoff seeding, as they would have a better record.

[Pabst]

Provided we take care of business, the Broncos/Bengals game next Sunday will pretty much determine where we end up:

- Broncos win, and we're likely the #6 seed heading to Cincinnati for the Wild Card round
- Bengals win, and we're the #5 seed heading to Houston (possibly Indy).


Personal take - I want the Bengals to beat Denver, giving us the #5, then I'll be rooting like hell for Denver in the WC. Kansas City doesn't scare me in the slightest.

[Donnie Brasco]

Thinking of bigger picture, I'd rather see the Broncos make the tournament- feel they have a good chance of beating the Pats

[BethlehemSteel]

Nice piece of prose

[JackLambert58]

Good stuff as always Swiss. Thanks brother, and a Merry Christmas to you, Mrs. Swiss and family as you travel to the Great White North.

Even with the Ben INT, for whatever reason, I was confident in the pass play that salted the game away. Higher risk? Sure it was. But I trust AB to get open when needed. I trust Ben to make the pass and AB to make the catch. As good as any Steeler memory was when Ben hit AB to put the '10 AFCCG away against the Jets, and Rex Ryan throwing his headphones to the ground like the petulant child that he is.

I believe when all is said and done, AB will be the greatest receiver ever on the Steelers. Mean Joe Greene is never going to give up his status as the greatest Steeler ever.

[Legacy User]

Were it my call, I would not have been putting the ball in the air, up 7 points, 90 seconds remaining and the Broncos with no timeouts. And, my call would have had nothing to do with Ben having been picked on his latest toss. Run the ball, punt it away and Denver is set up in the vicinity of their own 20 with about 40 seconds remaining.

Great stuff Swiss. I actually agreed this time with throwing it Swiss, where normally I may agree with you. Ben had an obvious brain cramp earlier, nice to get that sick feeling of that throw out of his mind right away like that, and his coach having his back like that right away, will pay big dividends, confidence wise down the road. Big learning moment even for a great like Big Ben, cant be doing that shit.

[COR-TEN]

Once again, swiss hits it out of the park.

I don't think the broncos drop a home game to the daltonless bengals. No way in hell.

I also believe the chiefs won't lose at home.

[swissvale72]

Good stuff as always Swiss. Thanks brother, and a Merry Christmas to you, Mrs. Swiss and family as you travel to the Great White North.

Even with the Ben INT, for whatever reason, I was confident in the pass play that salted the game away. Higher risk? Sure it was. But I trust AB to get open when needed. I trust Ben to make the pass and AB to make the catch. As good as any Steeler memory was when Ben hit AB to put the '10 AFCCG away against the Jets, and Rex Ryan throwing his headphones to the ground like the petulant child that he is.

I believe when all is said and done, AB will be the greatest receiver ever on the Steelers. Mean Joe Greene is never going to give up his status as the greatest Steeler ever.

I didn't like that call in the '10 AFCCG either, '58. Rex was so sure Steelers would run though, he only had basically a goal line defense in.

To be clear....I'm not suggesting that either the '10 call, or yesterday's call was a bad call, dumb, etc......just that I would have opted to run the clock, and it's not that I was concerned about a pick, just concerned about an incompletion and giving the Broncos 40 more seconds.

I think though, to their credit, Steelers are very confident that they hit that pass.

[Legacy User]

Were it my call, I would not have been putting the ball in the air, up 7 points, 90 seconds remaining and the Broncos with no timeouts. And, my call would have had nothing to do with Ben having been picked on his latest toss. Run the ball, punt it away and Denver is set up in the vicinity of their own 20 with about 40 seconds remaining.

Great stuff Swiss. I actually agreed this time with throwing it Swiss, where normally I may agree with you. Ben had an obvious brain cramp earlier, nice to get that sick feeling of that throw out of his mind right away like that, and his coach having his back like that right away, will pay big dividends, confidence wise down the road. Big learning moment even for a great like Big Ben, cant be doing that shit.

Ben when asked about that final pass play:

“I was glad when the [pass] call came in at the end, that it wasn’t just a run and let’s punt it and rely on our defense. It was faith and belief in me from the coaches and players. It was great.”

[Legacy User]

My thoughts:

If we end up with six seed, and we win WC game...we head to Foxboro.

Call me crazy, but facing them in divisional round might be better....

For one they would be coming off essentially a bye week and we might catch them a little rusty...

Secondly, an AFCC game at Foxboro is far more pressure.

Let's play them earlier than later.

My 2 cents.

[Legacy User]

My thoughts:

If we end up with six seed, and we win WC game...we head to Foxboro.

Call me crazy, but facing them in divisional round might be better....

For one they would be coming off essentially a bye week and we might catch them a little rusty...

Secondly, an AFCC game at Foxboro is far more pressure.

Let's play them earlier than later.

My 2 cents.

Rather face them before say a 3rd bloodbath meeting with the Bengals.

[zeke5123]

My thoughts:

If we end up with six seed, and we win WC game...we head to Foxboro.

Call me crazy, but facing them in divisional round might be better....

For one they would be coming off essentially a bye week and we might catch them a little rusty...

Secondly, an AFCC game at Foxboro is far more pressure.

Let's play them earlier than later.

My 2 cents.

Rather face them before say a 3rd bloodbath meeting with the Bengals.

Rather face them after say...a brutal meeting with Denver. Maybe Uncle Pey-Pey can manage one last miracle and then go back to his terrible ways...

[oldsteelerfan]

Thanks Swiss and a Merry Christmas to you and yours

[Legacy User]

My thoughts:

If we end up with six seed, and we win WC game...we head to Foxboro.

Call me crazy, but facing them in divisional round might be better....

For one they would be coming off essentially a bye week and we might catch them a little rusty...

Secondly, an AFCC game at Foxboro is far more pressure.

Let's play them earlier than later.

My 2 cents.

Rather face them before say a 3rd bloodbath meeting with the Bengals.

Rather face them after say...a brutal meeting with Denver. Maybe Uncle Pey-Pey can manage one last miracle and then go back to his terrible ways...

True that. Many different scenarios we could think up. I'll take whoever is there, personally, gimme the Texans.

[Thrillsseeker]

Great stuff Swiss.

Safe travels and enjoy the hell out of Your Prince Edward Island paradise brother!

[Legacy User]

Chances are VERY high that the Steelers are playing either Denver or Cincy for the WC round. Both will be tough outs.

[Legacy User]

Chances are VERY high that the Steelers are playing either Denver or Cincy for the WC round. Both will be tough outs.

Agreed.

I'd much rather grab that 5 and play at Houston or Indy.

That's why we should root for Cincy over Denver, 2 seed is a pipe dream...5 is a little more possible

[Legacy User]

Chances are VERY high that the Steelers are playing either Denver or Cincy for the WC round. Both will be tough outs.

Agreed.

I'd much rather grab that 5 and play at Houston or Indy.

That's why we should root for Cincy over Denver, 2 seed is a pipe dream...5 is a little more possible

Who is better? Broc O or AJ McCarron? This game is going to be a toss up.

[Legacy User]

Swiss, so long as the Pats beat Miami in Week 17, they don't need to beat the Jets to get the #1 seed.

In fact, if they lose to the Jets and Cincinnati beats Denver, the Jets might slip into #6 seed over the Broncos (who would be eliminated from playoffs). If you are an arrogant bunch (and NE is nothing if not that), you might be sure enough to beat the Dolphins to take the chance that an excellent and dangerou defense like Denver's is eliminated from the playoffs.

[swissvale72]

Swiss, so long as the Pats beat Miami in Week 17, they don't need to beat the Jets to get the #1 seed.

In fact, if they lose to the Jets and Cincinnati beats Denver, the Jets might slip into #6 seed over the Broncos (who would be eliminated from playoffs). If you are an arrogant bunch (and NE is nothing if not that), you might be sure enough to beat the Dolphins to take the chance that an excellent and dangerou defense like Denver's is eliminated from the playoffs.

I don't think so, Stainless. No team does that, meaning tank the next to last game while playing to win in the last game. Pats will make every effort to beat Jets, clinch #1 seed....then.....possibly....rest guys against Miami. Belichick's not the biggest fan of resting guys.

[jeemie]

Swiss, so long as the Pats beat Miami in Week 17, they don't need to beat the Jets to get the #1 seed.

In fact, if they lose to the Jets and Cincinnati beats Denver, the Jets might slip into #6 seed over the Broncos (who would be eliminated from playoffs). If you are an arrogant bunch (and NE is nothing if not that), you might be sure enough to beat the Dolphins to take the chance that an excellent and dangerou defense like Denver's is eliminated from the playoffs.

They're not going to tank when the situation they want to happen is not in their control.

Can we give up this idea that the Pats will tank against the Jets? They aren't going to do it.

They may lose- but it won't be done on purpose.

[Legacy User]

You are right, Swiss, I don't think that BB would intentionally set out to lose. But knowing that losing might actually benefit the Pats might alter the risk-reward calculation in tactical situations. Plus that knowledge might affect the willingness of individual players to go all out.

And of course not all decisions are made solely on the conscious level. For instance, I don't think
conciously Jeemie wants Tomlin to make an arguably controversial decision or that the offense sputters in a way that arguably could be attributed to Haley. But when it does happen there is less of a downside to him because it allows Jeemie to again promote his endless agendas.

My only point was that they don't "need" the Jets game to get the #1 seed and that knowledge will have some (maybe not a decisive) affect on their play.

[Jobu]

Mean Joe Greene is never going to give up his status as the greatest Steeler ever.

If 7 wins another Super Bowl or three, he is!

[swissvale72]

You are right, Swiss, I don't think that BB would intentionally set out to lose. But knowing that losing might actually benefit the Pats might alter the risk-reward calculation in tactical situations. Plus that knowledge might affect the willingness of individual players to go all out.

And of course not all decisions are made solely on the conscious level. For instance, I don't think
conciously Jeemie wants Tomlin to make an arguably controversial decision or that the offense sputters in a way that arguably could be attributed to Haley. But when it does happen there is less of a downside to him because it allows Jeemie to again promote his endless agendas.

My only point was that they don't "need" the Jets game to get the #1 seed and that knowledge will have some (maybe not a decisive) affect on their play.

The only part that I'll partially cede, Stainless, is that knowing that they have two bites at the #1 seed apple, the Pats might not play as desperately as if they needed to win both. Perhaps they're more careful with some players, limit Gronkowski's snaps, don't play Amendola, etc.

Remember....Jets have always played Pats tough, including earlier this season when Pats were at full strength.

[jeemie]

You are right, Swiss, I don't think that BB would intentionally set out to lose. But knowing that losing might actually benefit the Pats might alter the risk-reward calculation in tactical situations. Plus that knowledge might affect the willingness of individual players to go all out.

And of course not all decisions are made solely on the conscious level. For instance, I don't think
conciously Jeemie wants Tomlin to make an arguably controversial decision or that the offense sputters in a way that arguably could be attributed to Haley. But when it does happen there is less of a downside to him because it allows Jeemie to again promote his endless agendas.

My only point was that they don't "need" the Jets game to get the #1 seed and that knowledge will have some (maybe not a decisive) affect on their play.

The only part that I'll partially cede, Stainless, is that knowing that they have two bites at the #1 seed apple, the Pats might not play as desperately as if they needed to win both. Perhaps they're more careful with some players, limit Gronkowski's snaps, don't play Amendola, etc.

Remember....Jets have always played Pats tough, including earlier this season when Pats were at full strength.

Right- and the Pats may want to do their part to make sure the Jets don't reach the playoffs as well as go after the #1 seed.

[Legacy User]

Mean Joe Greene is never going to give up his status as the greatest Steeler ever.

If 7 wins another Super Bowl or three, he is!

There isn't a bigger fan of Ben Roethlisberger than me and even I will tell you nobody is supplanting
#75. Another 3 SBs? meaning he would have won 5 and been to 6? Lets revisit that when it happens.

[Legacy User]

Good stuff, Swiss.

We will win out, rest assured. This team is ready and primed to make people pay.

[Jobu]

Mean Joe Greene is never going to give up his status as the greatest Steeler ever.

If 7 wins another Super Bowl or three, he is!

There isn't a bigger fan of Ben Roethlisberger than me and even I will tell you nobody is supplanting
#75. Another 3 SBs? meaning he would have won 5 and been to 6? Lets revisit that when it happens.

I don't want to get in to a pissing match over this because it would be sort of like trying to decide which of my daughters I love more.
That said, I will express my opinion and then let it go.
There is absolute no doubt that Joe Greene is the most important Steelers ever, but IMO, the thought that "nobody is supplanting" him is kind of stubborn. Unless one is to believe that without MJG the Steelers would not have acquired the likes of Bradshaw, Webster, Lambert, Blount, Swann, Franco, Stallworth, LC, etc., then it is not hard to imagine them still winning at least 2-3 of those Super Bowls. Without Ben Roethlisberger, The Steelers are still stuck on 4 Lombardi's, there's little doubt about that! Mean Joe Greene was arguably the best DT to ever play the game, but he was, and I don't mean this in negative way, just a DT. Ben, obviously, plays the most important position on the team, and plays it as well or better than anyone in the history of the league. If one thinks that statement is over the top, I'll throw out a suggestion. If you have a game/games recorded, put it on. Now don't watch the game, watch 7. Watch him work the offense, the way he uses his line, his weapons...no one does it better. The guy is on a different level. Whether or not he gets recognized as the greatest Steelers ever does not really matter. He is special.