AFC "Wild"Card Race

Why oh why can't the Steelers just be mathematically eliminated already???

With three games to go there are seven, yes seven teams within one game of the last spot. Who is going to get it? I still claim that Jacksonville and the Dolphins are pretenders, the Texans schedule is too tough and the Titans are just not quite there.

That leave realistically the Jets and the Ravens, I think both will finish 9-7. Based on current conference records the Ravens would get the last spot. I'm going to say that B-More will in fact get the 6th seed. Even if the Steelers win out, they lose out on tie breaks with those two teams.

Ain't the size of the dawg in the fight...

its the size of the fight in the dawg(pound).

Cleveland deserved to win this game. The Steelers played like their season was already over and whataya know? Self fulling prophecy comes true!

The O-Line was pathetic (can you think of a better word), Ben didn't have his usual urgency to avoid the rush, Mendendall wasn't hitting the holes (were there holes?) with power and seemingly nobody wanted to make a tackle.

Never seen the black and gold mail it in like that.

Hines is right, the last three are for pride. Screw the playoffs, to a man the Steelers need to prove they care. In short, they need to play like the, um, Browns.

No heart... no heartbeat

They have stopped caring, so why shouldn't I?

Nobody is good to enough overcome a lack of effort. The Steelers stopped believing in themselves before their fans did, but now we are all of the same mind. Season over, you get what you deserve.

When you play with no heart, you can not survive.

Browns Super Bowl

The Browns are in the Super Bowl… well kind of.

Their season is lost and at 1-11 they have nothing to play for except for; a high draft pick, a brand new front office, head coach, oh and of course to beat the Steelers. With losses to the Chiefs and Raiders in the last four weeks the Steelers must seem vulnerable to Cleveland. If they win the game they can effectively end the season for their arch rival, certainly a nice consolation prize. If they lose it’s just one more loss.

My guess is that the Steelers will come out fast and bury the Brownies early. If that doesn’t happen and the Browns keep it close, I’m going to have to shut my eyes for the fourth quarter.

Kethchup Colored Glasses?

I know, I know, the popular sentiment is that the Steelers season is over, they’re toast, turn out the lights the party’s over. So why must I continue my torture by believing that all is not lost?

Am I some sort of masochist? Not last I checked.

Am I that much of a blind homer? Quite possibly.

But mostly I think it’s in the facts…

When you look at this team vs the other teams in the hunt it is impossible for me to give the edge to any of them; both on talent and remaining schedule. I mean really; Jacksonville just is not very good, they face a difficult schedule to close the season and they are the only team in front of the Steelers for the 6^th seed. If they lose twice, the door is open. If we win out we will eliminate both Baltimore and Miami, then we just have to hope for one Jets loss and we are in.

Sounds good, but I know what you are thinking. How in the world can we expect this team to win their last four? Well, I do and here’s why… We have outplayed virtually every opponent this year, we’ve had a ton of late game let downs yes, but we are one blowout win, or one big defensive stop away from regaining our swagger. We get Green Bay after a long week of rest and we get the Ravens at home with a healthy Big Ben.

I hate that we are fighting for a six seed, but we are still fighting. In my crystal ball I see a matchup with Cinci in the Wild Card round and I for one am excited about that possibility. When we win that game, looks like we’ll get Indy in the divisional round, hmmm that seems oddly familiar.

I say put on your ketchup colored glasses, jump in your Delorean and set the date for 2005, gonna be a fun ride.

Steelers remain unbeaten

That is what the headline could have read.

That's right; despite injuries, less than stellar play and unimaginative play calling the Steelers season could have easily been something else entirely.

Week one of the season the Steelers struggle against the Titans, but pull it out in OT. This is one of only two games Pittsburgh has been outplayed in.

In weeks two and three Steelers give up a combined 24 pts in the fourth quarter, score zero and lose both games at the gun.

They rip off the next five games, only being seriously challenged once (by the Vikings).

During the current four game losing streak the Steelers gave up the last six points vs the Bengals. Dominated the box score against the Chiefs, darn near pulled off a win in Baltimore with a 3rd string QB and gave up 21 points to the Raiders... IN THE FOURTH QUARTER!

All 12 games have been winnable, ten of which should have been won. I don' think you can overstate the value of confidence. The Saints and Colts have both had multiple games this year that they should have lost, but they found a way to win. Pittsburgh was closer than you think to being right there too.

Goin thru Hell

If you're goin thru hell keep on going... Tomlin said we'd unleash hell in December, just didn't realize it was going to be on the fans.

That was one of the biggest defensive meltdowns by ANY team in recent memory. Let alone for the Steelers vs the offensive juggernaut that is the Raiders. Unbelievable how valuable Aaron Smith and Troy are to this team, scary in fact.