John's Week 1 Power Rankings

High Five

Here are my top 5 teams in the league following the action in Week 1. These don't necessarily represent my top picks to win the super bowl, but who I think leads the pack after each week.

Was there a more impressive team in week 1 than the Bills? The boys from Buffalo dismantled the Seahawks, my super bowl representative from the NFC, 34-10. The Bills were solid in all facets of the game, even getting a punt return for a TD from the special teams. The scary part is Marshawn Lynch only had 76 yards rushing. We should get a great indication of the true ability of this team this weekend, as they travel to Jacksonville.

Last year, the Giants lost Tiki Barber to retirement and went on to win the super bowl. This year, they've lost their starting defensive ends (one to retirement, one to injury). So, what will they do for an encore after last year's championship run? Whatever it is, it started well with a dominating performance over the Redskins on opening night. My only concern is that I would have liked to see the offense finish them off in the first half, but it was only week 1.

The Saints have been much more efficient on offense in the past couple years than they were on Sunday, but when you get a season-opening win against your only legitimate competition within the division, you can't complain. The loss of Colston will hurt, but that just means Bush and Shockey will finally have to live up to the expectations they had coming out of college. It was nice to see the Saints make a defensive stand near the end of the game.

Dallas beats out the Steelers because their impressive win came on the road. "America's team" made the media's AFC North darlings look like the Browns of old. Yes, the Browns were without Josh Cribbs, and Derek Anderson was just coming back from a concussion, but this was an embarrassing showing from a supposedly up-and-coming team. However, no matter what Dallas does this year, they will be judged by what they do in the playoffs.

The Steelers were the most impressive of the AFC contenders this week. Houston never had a chance as the Steelers won primarily with the running game. The offense was amazingly efficient, and the Steelers hardly employed Mendenhall or even a 3-WR set when the game was still "close." Pittsburgh gets an angry Browns team next week, so the competition will be stiffer.

Just Missed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dive Five

Here are my 5 teams that took the biggest dives for the worse after Week 1.

It's really no surprise that the Rams lost to the Eagles, especially on the road against a healthy Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. The surprise was their anemic offense, which hasn't looked that bad since the pre-Kurt Warner/Marshall Faulk days. Things don't get any better with the Giants, Seattle, and Buffalo up next.

My NFC sleeper team forgot it was the start of the regular season until the second quarter last week at Atlanta. By the time they realized what was going on, their deficit was unsurmountable, while Matt Ryan and Michael Turner looked like pro-bowlers. Expect a much better performance against the Packers this week.

On the heels of the Lions is my AFC sleeper team. The Raiders were embarrassed by the rival Broncos Monday night, but a surprisingly disappointing defense is more to blame than an unknown offense. Oakland actually showed a strong running game that they had to abandon due to an early deficit. I think the offense will be fine, starting with an easier task against K.C. this weekend.

I don't think this ranking will reflect the true team that we should see by the end of this season. Therefore, this position is attributable to rust, as Peyton Manning was seeing his first action of the year, while Harrison and Freeney were experiencing their first regular season action since before the playoffs. The Colts will rebound, although, if they couldn't stop Matt Forte, how are they going to contain Adrian Peterson on Sunday?

Let's face it - the Steelers should be mentioned with the AFC's elite. However, Houston came out uninspired, and their supposedly vaunted front-7 was carved up by Willie Parker. Their offense also better get it together, because Baltimore, Tennessee, and Jacksonville, all arguably with top 5 defenses, are up next.

Just Missed: Seattle

Ian's Week 1 Power Rankings

In the first of many this year, John and I are both going to be posting our Top 5 and Bottom 5 in the league as we see them. Feel free to disagree. Heck, we'll probably even disagree with each other.

The February 5
Five teams with the best chances of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February

Yes, I know I picked them to finish 7-9 this season. But they are the reigning World Champs and until someone proves them to be otherwise, they're going to stay on top. Losing Osi for the season hurts, but they put out a solid performance against the Redskins. They have a legitimate shot at starting 3-0 as they have St. Louis and Cincinnati coming up next.

They shut down Cleveland's offense on the road, the offensive line looked great, and Felix Jones is going to be an excellent compliment to Marion Barber. Things were clicking on offense and the Defense looked good. As long as they keep winning, the big egos in the locker room will be happy.

Bias? Maybe, but they were the only AFC Division winner from last year not named New England to win this week. And they didn't just squeak by. They probably could have put up 50+ if they had wanted to. Ben's a little dinged up, but he's going to keep playing. The offense looked great on the ground and through the air. The defense played incredible and the special teams was fantastic.

Aaron Rodgers proved himself to be a legit quarterback and, at least for now, they proved that the road to the NFC North still goes through Lambeau. Special teams stepped it up against Minnesota and Rodgers played well against a very good front 7 for the Vikes. Peterson put up 100 on the defense, but they completely shut down Minnesota's passing game.

This was a close decision between New Orleans and Philly. I gave the nod to New Orleans because they beat a better team (Tampa Bay as opposed to St. Louis). Losing Colston for 4-6 weeks hurts, but Brees has plenty of targets but after Washington and Denver they get a break with San Francisco, Minnesota and Oakland (all teams with bad pass defenses). Putting up 300 passing yards is no easy task against Tampa, and they deserve credit for starting strong. The defense looked much better as well.

Just missed: Philadelphia

The April 5
The five teams with the best chance of picking at the top of the draft in April.

Much the same as with the Giants, they were the worst team in the league last year, and until they prove differently, they're still at the bottom. Even with Brady's injury, they're the only team in this division without a shot at winning it. If it's any consolation, Matthew Stafford looked great against Central Michigan.

What happened here? Last year the Rams had a legitimate complaint that they had suffered numerous injuries along their offensive line. But with a healthy team to start this season, they get demolished by Philadelphia? Only 3 points, really? From weeks 11-16 they get San Francisco twice and Miami. Those 3 games might decide who wins the Matthew Stafford sweepstakes.

Baltimore started a rookie quarterback and the Bengals recorded a grand total of 0 sacks. Their offense accounted for 4 points (an extra point and a field goal). Their only touchdown came on a fumble return. What is going on here? Marvin Lewis will be gone before the end of the season.

They stuck around against Arizona, but the quarterback situation is a huge issue here. Alex Smith is out again and J.T. O'Sullivan had a so-so NFL debut. Frank Gore looked good, but with Mike Martz running the show, you have to wonder how many touches he's going to get in the future.

Much like with the February 5, this was a toss-up between Oakland and Kansas City. Oakland gets the nod for their disgusting display of offensive line play and their downright inability to stop Denver's passing game, which was supposed to be the strong point of their defense. Russell and McFadden couldn't do anything because the line couldn't stop Denver's defense. It's going to be a long year for Lane Kiffin if the line doesn't start blocking soon.

Just missed: Kansas City

Week 1 Recap

Week 1 Recap

First up, we go to our man JD.

After a busy weekend looking over Tom Brady, Nate Burleson and Vince Young, JD finally gets to relax with an Appletini.

JD's prognosis?

Brady- done for the year.



Burleson- Torn ACL. Done for the year.

Young- Out 2-4 weeks.

JD lives by Meat Loaf's rule: 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

In another huge loss to a legitimate super bowl contender, the Chargers announced Tuesday that pro-bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman is out for the season after unsuccessfully attempting to play with two torn ligaments in his knee.

In the midst of this rough political campaign where he just fell behind in the national polls, Barack Obama's Bears pulled a stunning upset of the Colts to get revenge for their Super Bowl XLI loss. Rookie RB Matt Forte looked great and the Colts defense was bad enough to make Kyle Orton look like an NFL Quarterback.

Chad Johnson changes his name and then produces nothing. Kinda like the remake of the remake of "The Incredible Hulk." Cincy lost to a Baltimore team that was starting a rookie quarterback. To make matters worse, they didn't sack Flacco once. Speaking of Baltimore...

Chasing Phelps:
Phelps: 8
Ravens 1

For those that don't remember, we guaranteed that Phelps would win more golds at the Beijing Games than the Ravens would win games this year.

• Jacksonville's offensive line. They lost one of their starting guards for the year and the other for 4-6 weeks.
• Cleveland's defense. Tony Romo had enough time to sign out a library card, check out a book, read it, and then throw a touchdown pass before they got any pressure on him.
• St. Louis. The whole team. Looks like those injuries might not have been the only reason they sucked last year.
• Oakland. No offensive line whatsoever meant no time for Russell and no room for D-Mac to run through. Denver torched them last night.

Teams that looked good

Buffalo. They torched Seattle, giving the AFC it's only win in cross-conference competition this weekend.
Philadelphia. They racked up huge numbers against St. Louis. The offense looks good as long as McNabb can stay healthy.
Carolina. Shocking upset of San Diego. I don't think anyone saw this coming. They used a power running game to get it done.

New Orleans. When you throw for over 300 yards against Tampa Bay, you've done something special. Plus, the defense came up big at the end of the game.

Overachievers

Atlanta. Michael Turner racked up huge numbers against a bad Detroit defense.
Chicago. Remember, Manning had just come back from injury and missing the entire pre-season. Also, the Colts always seem to suffer from defensive inconsistency.

Underachievers

Indianapolis. Manning was out of sync and potential injuries to Addai and Dallas Clark might hinder the offense.
San Diego. Carolina? Really?
Washingon. This team will pull it together. They really need to work on the 2-minute drill though.

Biggest upsets

Chicago over Indy
Carolina over San Diego

Games with playoff implications

Green Bay over Minnesota
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
Tennessee over Jacksonville
N.Y. Giants over Washington

In conclusion, the NFC South might be better than expected. Arizona might have a legitimate shot at Seattle in the NFC West. San Francisco will be picking in the Top 5 in the draft. Minnesota might not be the NFC North darlings everyone thinks they are. The NFC East is the best division in football. Period.

The Bills might win the AFC East. Yes, I just said that. The Steelers are in solid position in the North. They might be the best team in the AFC right now. San Diego starts slow again, but they'll come around. The injuries on Jacksonville's line will catch up with them. If Tennessee can jump out a few games on Indy, they can challenge for the South.

Texas Hold 'em: Steelers WIN

38
17

Coming into this game, there was increasing concern around tSn@ about the effectiveness of the Steelers offensive line and their ability to handle Houston's front 7 which featured 2 first round picks and a Pro Bowler. Needless to say, those concerns were answered in resounding fashion. Previously, the Texans were the only team in the NFL that the Steelers had never beat at home. Granted, the Steelers were 0-1 against them, but it was still a statistic that made you nervous.

The game started with a touching tribute to Ernie Holmes, Dwight White and Myron Cope, members of the Steelers family who passed away over the last year. Along with representatives from their families, the Steelers had legends L.C. Greenwood, Mel Blount, and Joe Greene on the field to honor the departed.

The Terrible Towel display during the moment of silence for the departed.

After that, things started rocking. In true Steelers fashion, they brought out a highlight act to sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Charlie Daniels can still belt it.
Ironically, there's a Texas flag in the background of this picture. It would be the best anything from Texas not named Casey Hampton would look all game.
WOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harvey Dent strikes back. Houston wins the toss and elects to recieve.

Reed pounds the opening kickoff into the end zone, but Andre Davis elects to bring it out and barely makes it over the 20.

The Texans come out throwing as Schaub hits Kevin Walter on an out route for 11 yards. Schaub tries a swing pass to Green, but Polamalu blows it up. Andre Johnson makes his first appearance of the game and snags one for a first down, quieting the crowd a bit. Apparently the Texans didn't remember what happened last time Steve Slaton played against a team from Pittsburgh, and they brought him in for Green. The D stands on first down, but Farrior jumps offsides on second down, and Slaton picks up 2 to set up 3rd and 3. Schaub hits a short pass but Deshea is there for the stop to set up 4th and 1. With the ball at midfield, Houston opts to go for it. Apparently Casey Hampton heard there were Cheesy Poofs on the Texans side of the line because he sliced between the guard and center and stopped Schaub in his tracks on a QB sneak.

After the TV timeout, Houston threw the red flag, hoping to get the call overturned, but it wasn't happening.

Ben comes out with a short field and hands off to Willie for no gain. But right off the bat, just like in the preseason...

It's about time more people started making this joke. Heath needs t-shirts.

Ben hits Heath for 6 to set up a 3rd and 4. Everyone around us in Section 107 was trying to guess who would catch the 3rd down pass. Shockingly, Ben takes off a la Kordell Stewart and scrambles for a huge 17-yard gain to take over the team lead in rushing yards for the season.

Willie, determined not to let Ben be the leading rusher on the team for too long, picks up 3 and 4 on the next two plays before Ben hits Santonio on a slant route to pick up the first down. Santonio, tell the boys in white what down it is.

Ben hits Hines in the flat on the next play to get the ball down to the 7. On 2nd and 4, we were calling for Heath, but Ben hands it off to Willie who bounces it to the outside and turns on the afterburners to hit the corner of the end zone.

7-0

Houston came out with a chance to respond. On first down, Schaub escaped pressure from Woodley and Keisel but threw and incomplete pass. That set the tone for the rest of the drive. Slaton picked up 8 and Johnson hauled in a first down pass to keep the drive alive. Schaub ran play-action and rolled out as the entire line fell for the fake and found Andre Johnson downfield for 24 yards as Woodley bore down on him. But the Big Stick policy was about to be enacted.

Houston decides not to block Woodley and he buries Schaub in the turf.

Ahman Green ran for 8 yards on a draw play to get the Texans back to 3rd 11. Schaub tried to roll out, but Nick Eason was all over the contain and Farrior buried him for the second sack in 3 plays.

Remind you of the old Steelers anyone?

Mewelde Moore makes a nice running fair catch and it's our ball again.

Ben runs play-action on first down and goes downtown for Hines who makes a great catch while a defender is hanging all over him then takes it all the way to the Houston 2 as laundry litters the field. On an absolutely terrible call, they called offsetting penalites. Offensive pass interference on Hines for "pushing off" a defender that was hanging all over him, and facemask on Houston at the end of the play. The penalties offset, and it was first down...again.

Mario Williams stopped Willie on first down part 2, but Ben found Heath down the seam to move the chains. As hard as this might be to believe, Ben was pressured and threw the ball away on the next play, which would end up being his only incomplete pass of the game. Ben went back to Hines across the middle and he scampered for some great YAC yards to get the ball down to the Houston 34 as the quarter ended.

Second Quarter

The Steelers came down to our end of the stadium to score, and they didn't let us down. Parker for 2, then back to Heath for 9 to move the chains again. Parker got held to 1 twice. On 3rd and long it was looking like Field Goal city, but Ben hits Santonio for the first down and more as Santonio fumbles the ball out of bounds at the end of the play, giving us all a scare. The butterfingers continued as Ben dropped the next snap and had to fall on the ball. So what do you do when you're having trouble holding on to the ball? Run the ball. And that's exactly what we did. Parker takes it to the left side and Marvel Smith throws a great block to allow him to take it to the house for his second touchdown of the day.

14-0

It was around this time that rumors started circulating around the stadium that Tom Brady had gone down with a knee injury, but no one knew how long he was out for so we weren't certain about how much our chances of winning the AFC had just improved.

To make things better, the Texans came back onto the field on offense. Slaton for 4, Slaton for 2. Schaub tries to dump off a short pass but Big Stick reaches out a limb and tips the ball back to himself for the interception.

Mendenhall comes in and busts for 6 yards on his first carry. Mendenhall got dragged down by his facemask and the ref right in front of him didn't throw his flag. Luckily, the ref from the far corner chucked his flag across the field to make the call. Absurd. 1st and 10 from the 13. The Steelers line up with Hines in the slot and you know what's coming. Ben runs a perfect play action, takes one step back and fires one across the middle. Houston's defense is caught flat-footed and Hines pulls it down for the touchdown.

21-0.

Houston comes back out with 9 minutes to go in the half and the Steelers defense is primed to put the game away. Houston picks up one first down, but then Green gets stopped in the backfield and Houston is called for Offensive Pass Interference for blocking downfield while the ball was in the air on a slip screen. On 2nd and 21, Schaub fires left but the hair is there and Polamalu comes up with his first pick of the year.

With the ball on the 32, the Steelers were ready to drive the nail in the coffin, but on the first play Mario Williams gets free and sacks Ben. The ball comes loose and DeMeco Ryans scoops it up and charges the other way. Willie Parker finally makes the tackle, but gets called for a facemask and the Texans get the ball at the 12.

Woodley and the Diesel stop Slaton in the backfield on first down. Farrior and Smith plug up the hole on second down to force a 3rd and 15. Schaub dumps one off to Green and Timmons makes a great open-field tackle. Former Steeler Kris Brown comes on to a chorus of boos and knocks home a 34-yard field goal.

Parker came out with two solid runs to set up 3rd and 2, but Mario Williams found his way to Ben again and brought him down for a sack. Mitch Berger came on for his first punt of the year. Willie Gay made a great tackle running from the outside to stop the Texans returner in his tracks.

With a little under 3 minutes left, Houston seems poised to cut into the lead even more. Schaub hits Slaton for 5 then Owen Daniels for 10 to move the chains. Schaub completes another pass, but that would be his last of the half. The Diesel applies the heat and Schaub can't find his receiver on 2nd down. Townsend gets a hand on a 3rd down pass that Clark might have picked off if Deshea handn't gotten a paw on it. Turk punts it into the end zone for a touchback.

The Steelers look content to run out the clock with Parker, but Houston uses a timeout after second down to force the Steelers to make a decision on 3rd down. Unlike the wimpy play call Arians made in the playoff game on 3rd and 5, Ben fires one to Hines to pick up the first down. Ben gets up a little slow, but makes his way up to the line, calls a play and hands off to Willie to end the half.

Third Quarter

After watching a very innebriated Charlie Daniels lip-sync through "In America" at halftime, we were anxious to see the Steelers back on offense to make sure Ben was okay.

The Steelers get the kick and it was the Willie Parker show. He starts the drive with runs of 12, 9, and 8 yards. After a penalty for defensive holding on another run by the Flash, Mendenhall coems in to give Willie a breather. Mendenhall carries for 6 and 9 yards to get the ball into the red zone. Parker comes back in and picks up 3. The Steelers come out on 2nd and 7 with a double-tight Power I set with Ward and Holmes on the sidelines. The guy next to me says "This looks like the old Steelers! We're gonna run it right at them." To everyone's surprise, Ben fakes a pitch to Parker and hits Davis all alone in the flat to move the ball down to the 6. Parker pounds out 2 hard yards to get the ball to the 4. On a play that looked eerily similar to the play they ran for his second touchdown run, Parker goes off-tackle again and takes it to the house for touchdown #3.

28-3

What a great drive to start the second half. 10 plays (9 of them rushing), 71 yards and 6 minutes off the clock.

Houston responds to the Steelers long drive by going 3-and-out and putting their defense back out on the field. Coach, determined to get Willie his 100 yards, gives him the ball on first down. Ben goes to Spaeth on 2nd down and he bulldozes DeMeco Ryans as he reaches for the sticks, but comes up just short. Parker slashes for 4 and picks up the first down. Ben mixes it up and goes to the air on first down, but Hines can only get a few. On 2nd and 8, the Flash charges around the corner for 13 yards to put him over 100 on the day. But the Flash wasn't done. He took the next handoff around the right end and broke free, but cruised out of bounds at the Houston 21 as he ran out of gas.

Mendenhall came in and bruised for 5 yards on 2 carries to set up 3rd down. It looked like the Steelers were going to be content with a field goal, but Ben fired one over the middle and Hines pulled it down in the end zone for his second score of the game.

35-3


I don't know coach, I just keep throwing touchdown passes!
That was the last we'd see of Ben, but he finished the game a stellar 13/14 for 137 and 2 TDs.

With the clock winding down on the 3rd quarter, Schaub tries to put something together and hits Johnson for 11 on first down. James "Some Kind of Monster" Harrison joined the sack party and put Schaub on the turf on the next play. Ahman Green dashed for a big gain on 2nd and long and Ryan Clark went down on a bit of a scary moment because he wasn't moving for a bit. But he eventually got up and walked off the field. Green carried for 3 to midfield to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Schaub tried to go after Clark's replacement Tyrone Carter, but it wasn't happening as Daniels couldn't pull it down. Farrior and Smith got pressure on 3rd down, forcing a bad pass and a punt.

Byron came in to play the 4th quarter as most of the starters got a rest. Mendenhall carried twice and Byron couldn't find Holmes on 3rd down, forcing a punt.

Houston was determined not to give up, and the next drive showed it. Against the Steelers second string defense, Houston's offense finally came to life. Schaub hit Walter and Johnson for solid gains to move the ball inside the 30. Ryan Clark came back into the game and put a big hit on Steve Slaton. Welcome to the NFL son. Houston got flagged for a false start, but then got a huge break when Clark got called for pass intereference on what looked quite similar to what happened with Hines in the first half. It's debatable whether or not the pass was catchable, and Tomlin had some words with the officials. With 1st and goal at the 4, Houston looked poised to score, but a tripping penalty sent them back to the 15. Slaton got stopped in the backfield and it looked like the red zone defense might hold again. But on 3rd down Schaub found Kevin Walter over the middle for the score.

35-10.

The Steelers come out and go run-run-incomplete pass-punt. No surprise there, the game was well in hand.

Schaub hits Johnson for 5 and Slaton slashes for 8 to start the next drive. On first down, Some Kind of Monster comes from Schaub's blindside and rocks him, knocking the ball free. A Texans lineman tries to fall on the ball, but he misses and Big Stick smothers it.

Houston challenged again hoping to get a Brady-esque ruling, but it wasn't happening. Namely because "Houston" is no where near the same as "New England."

Mendenhall ran for 2, then Byron couldn't hook up with Davis or Nasty Nate, as Reed came on to hit his first field goal of the year.

38-10

With 5 minutes to go, Houston could have just run the ball and ended the game sooner. But they wanted to prove that they could move the ball against the Steelers JV defense.

Schaub hits Johnson for a first down before being sacked again by James Harrison. Daniels snags one on second down and Slaton picks up the first down on 3rd and 4. Schaub continues to pick the Steelers apart by hitting Daniels again and Johnson twice to get the ball down to the 4. Schaub runs a play-action bootleg and no one on the defense is home as he is able to scramble for the corner of the end zone.

38-17

The Steelers get the ball with a little over a minute left and Leftwich hits the Victory formation.

Game.

The Steelers win their 6th straight season opener and 6th straight home opener.

Players of the Game:
Offensive Game Ball: Willie Parker 3 TDs, 138 yards
Defensive Game Ball: LaMarr Woodley 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery

Honorable Mentions:
Ben Roethlisberger 13/14 137 yards, 2 TDs
Hines Ward 6 rec, 76 yds, 2 TDs
James Harrison 8 tackles, 3 sacks

NBC
In their halftime highlights during the Colts-Bears game on Sunday night, NBC touched on every game except for the Steelers game. They also mentioned that "all the elite teams in the AFC are falling on their faces today" meaning New England, Indy, San Diego and Jacksonville.

Guess what? As of right now, we're an elite AFC team.
Cleveland looked downright awful (more on that in our Week 1 recap tomorrow).

All in all, the score does not reflect how well our defense actually played. Houston scored two meaningless touchdowns when the game was over. Great game by the O-line, especially in the run blocking department.

Tom Brady Out for the SEASON

We don't want to wish an injury on anyone.

But this is huge.

League MVP from last season who broke almost every NFL single-season passing record last year.



That being said, we'd almost feel bad, except...





What does this mean?

The AFC East is now wide open. Buffalo and the Jets have a legit shot at the title.

The Steelers, Colts and Chargers are now the elite teams in the AFC.

New England still has weapons, but they are not the same team without Brady.

Daunte Culpepper might be getting a phone call from old pal Randy Moss tomorrow.

Since 2000, Seattle is the only team to lose a Super Bowl and return to the playoffs the following year. New England might keep that streak alive.

NFL: Week 1

Each week, we will present a short glance at the scheduled games, including the key games and potential pivotal players to focus on for each weekend's action. On to Week 1:

Best Game: Jacksonville at Tennessee - In the AFC, even Week 1 games can have playoff implications. Both teams made it to the post-season last year, but it wasn't easy. This contest won't be as polished as the rematch later this season, but it should still be the best of the day.

Most Intriguing Game: Seattle at Buffalo - I'm staying away from the Brett Favre saga, and focusing on a cross-conference clash. Some people (myself not included) believe Seattle's window is officially closed. Some people also feel that Buffalo is ready to take the next step and become a playoff team. This is a great test for both squads to start the year.

Upset of the Week: Oakland over Denver - The Raiders are my sleeper pick this year, and they will get off to a great start by beating the rival Broncos on Monday night.

Best Performance: Donovan McNabb - The Rams will be focused on stopping Brian Westbrook, allowing a currently healthy McNabb to display his full talent.

Stay Away From: Braylon Edwards - The Browns' QB situation is in flux with the concussion sustained by Derek Anderson during the pre-season. Even if he plays, Anderson will be rusty. Additionally, the Cowboys have a loaded secondary with newcomers Adam Jones and Mike Jenkins joining the defense. Yes, this game may become a shootout, but I think Edwards will get shut down.

Bring on the Texans!

Game Day 5

Ready or not, "next year" is here.

All the "what if"s from last season don't matter any more.

At 1:00 today, former #1 overall pick Mario Williams leads a stout Houston front 7 (that's shaded by a terrible pass defense) into Pittsburgh. On the other side of the ball, Houston's running game has been downright awful in past years features Ahman "Butterfingers" Green, but with Matt Schaub and the emergence of Andre Johnson, their passing game is quite formidable.

When asked how to deal with Houston's offensive firepower, our resident defensive analyst said:

"We'll make them an offer they won't refuse."

1pm
CBS

GET PUMPED.

Wow

When you start a post on Blogger, it will publish the post in the order you started them. So, if you start a post on Tuesday, but don't finish it until Friday, it will still show up on the page behind Wednesday and Thursday's posts.

That being said, everyone should read John's preview of the Steelers Defense. It took a few days, but it was well worth the wait. Wow, fantastic read.

It's posts like that that make John a great asset to this blog.

The last time we played Houston Troy Polamalu ruined David Carr's day.

Go Steelers.

Houston Sucks

This post has been a long time coming.


But do we even really need to make jokes about this?

Since they came into the league, the Texans have a grand total of 0 winning seasons.

Then again, the last time they came to Heinz Field, they beat us because Tommy Maddox didn't know the meaning of "ball security."


Maybe if Houston home-boy Roger Clemens knew more about ball security and less about pumping roids, he wouldn't have blown the 2004 All-Star game for the NL.

Houston has been home to 2 NFL teams that have combined for 2 championships. Those were the first two AFL Championship games ever played in 1960 and 1961.

Houston is routinely named as one of the fattest cities in America.

Don't believe me? Ask Google.

Houston has only won league championships in major sports in years when there was a Democrat in the White House.

Ouch.

Houston's most famous football moment in recent memory is "that team that the Bills came back against in the playoffs."

Go Steelers.

AFC Wrap-up

Well, we finally finished our season previews. Here's a brief recap along with our playoff predictions.

Ian's Predictions:
AFC East
Patriots (14-2)
Bills (9-7)
Jets (7-9)
Dolphins (3-13)

AFC North
Steelers (9-7)
Browns (7-9)
Ravens (6-10)
Bengals (5-11)

AFC South
Jacksonville (11-5)
Indianapolis (10-6)
Tennessee (9-7)
Houston (6-10)

AFC West
San Diego (14-2)
Denver (8-8)
Kansas City (5-11)
Oakland (3-13)

Playoffs:
1. San Diego
2. New England
3. Jacksonville
4. Pittsburgh
5. Indianapolis
6. Buffalo

Round 1: Pittsburgh over Indianapolis, Jacksonville over Buffalo
Round 2: San Diego over Pittsburgh, Jacksonville over New England
Championship: San Diego over Jacksonville

SUPER BOWL: San Diego over Washington

John's Predictions:
AFC East
Patriots (13-3)
Jets (10-6)
Bills (8-8)
Dolphins (5-11)

AFC North
Steelers (12-4)
Browns (8-8)
Ravens (6-10)
Bengals (4-12)

AFC South
Indianapolis (11-5)
Jacksonville (11-5)
Tennessee (7-9)
Houston (5-11)

AFC West
San Diego (12-4)
Oakland (8-8)
Denver (6-10)
Kansas City (4-12)


Playoffs:
1. New England
2. San Diego
3. Pittsburgh
4. Indianapolis
5. Jacksonville
6. N.Y. Jets

Round 1: Pittsburgh over N.Y. Jets, Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Round 2: San Diego over Pittsburgh, New England over Indianapolis
Championship: San Diego over New England

SUPER BOWL: San Diego over Seattle