The Good, The Bad and the Fucking Ugly. Week 4 Tampa.

AJM...its alright, we don't have to do it if you don't want to. I would hate to see you pulling for the Patriots at the end of the year. You asked me if I wanted to bet on it and I stood behind my conviction, so I think I made my point.

I believe that this team will win more than it loses this year. I think its a team that needs to grow up a bit but they will continue to get better. I believe that when the dust settles on the 2014 season, they will be a playoff team because I think the offense is very talented and the defense is growing.

 

Close! *HELP*

 

Every team gets calls, every team gets hosed on calls. There's no conspiracy. Antonio Brown clearly pushed off on his 2nd TD pass. Instead of a TD it should have been offsetting penalties and replay the down. That was a great break for the Steelers. Why would they do that if there was a conspiracy?

 

as others say on here eggggggggsactly damn whiny ass fans trying to blame refs are making me sick.

 

You're on!

If the Steelers make the playoffs, you have to wear an avatar of MY choosing that includes "I Love Tomlin" on it.

If the Steelers miss the playoffs, I will wear whatever you choose that includes "Fire Tomlin".

 

Well, so much for having the Pirates to look forward to.

 

Oh sure pour salt in the wound *ROSE*

 

Good bet. At present, only 5 teams in the AFC are over .500.

 

Its a bet.

Really hope you lose!!

 

In terms of this bet, is or was there a "prediction" type of thread where people took guesses at which ones you'd win or lose? I'm being lazy and don't feel like digging if there wasn't one *SHADES*

 

Don't recall one.

If I had to predict the final 12 games, though, it would look like this:

Jax - WIN
Browns - WIN - even though its in Cleveland and they have been playing well, I think the Steelers beat them.
Texans - WIN - I like the Steelers at home in prime time, although JJ Watt could wreak havoc with our OL
Colts - Loss
Ravens - WIN - Can't imagine them losing two to the Ravens this year.
Jets - WIN - I just don't see the Jets as being very good
Titans - WIN - this completes the "easy" part of the schedule
Saints - Loss
Bengals - Loss - in Cincy
Falcons - WIN - In Pittsburgh, I like the Steelers outdoors in December
Chiefs - Loss - KC is a tough place to play
Bengals - WIN - In Pittsburgh and Cincy may very well be resting people if they keep playing they are now.

That would be 10-6 and should make the playoffs.

What's funny is that I have been saying all along that I expect the Steelers to improve markedly over the second half of the season as the young guys get more experience, but I have them losing 3 of their final 5 games. Strangely, just because they might be playing better football doesn't mean they will win more games I guess.

 

Hmm, leaving all Ravens homerism and opinion out of it, I mostly agree with you.

I do disagree on that second Bengals game though. I doubt the Bengals, even if they continue playing like they are, will be in position to rest players. I have the Ravens sticking with them until the end (ok maybe a little homerism), but even if that's not the case, I see the Broncos and possibly Colts fighting them for seeding, pending they just outright win the North by week 17.

 

Whether the Bengals are playing for seeding or not, I expect the Steelers to take one from them, so the result is the same.

Of course, every game is an adventure for this team. The Steelers could lose two more easy ones and then beat two or three of the teams I think will be tough.


And, all homerism and Raven-hate aside...I don't think the Ravens continue their current pace. The defense isn't that good and the offense will come down to earth. The will be staring 10-6 in the face as well and I really think the Bengals have a good shot at 12-4 or better.

 

So Mano, you have the Steelers getting better and ending up 10-6. You have the Ravens getting worse but ending up 10-6 also. That's interesting.

Any reasoning behind you feeling the Ravens get worse on offense and defense? Seems kinda like a homer/anti-Ravens comment when there's nothing supporting what makes you feel that way.

 

I know for me just watching a few game clips, it seems like Steve Smith Sr. is the sole reason the Ravens are winning. Therefore when he comes back to the mean in terms of production, the Ravens' offense will suffer. If Smith Sr. keeps producing like he has been not only will he be a first team All-Pro, but a potential offensive POY candidate. I groaned out loud when I saw Baltimore signed him, he's still a great player.

I disagree with Mano about the defense not being very good though. 2nd in the league in scoring by giving up 15 points per game against teams that have averaged 25 points per game against the rest of the league. I didn't research every score to see how many may have been ST or defensive scores by the other teams, but I'd say that's the opposite of not very good.


*** When I say "sole reason the Ravens are winning" I am naturally exaggerating. I just see him as the most important person on that offense right now.

 

I didn't say they would get worse on defense, I just said they aren't very good already. If they stay the same, they will be about what I expect.

On offense, I believe they will even out a bit, that's all. I could prove to be wrong, but you and I have been through this privately...I don't think they have enough playmakers on offense. Realistically, they have not played as well on offense as you would like us to believe. Against the Bengals, they looked anemic. Against the Browns, they deserved to lose they played so poorly on offense. If not for some typical Browns late game ineptitude, we are talking about a 2-2 Ravens team, not a 3-1 Ravens team. Against the Steelers, they forced key turnovers for short fields, but were otherwise held in relative check until a late big run by Forsett. The Panthers game has stacked the deck on their season averages. 38 points and 454 yards of offense will do that when the sample size is only four games.

I broke down for you how I thought the Ravens season would go on the Ravens board, and I am sticking to it (I expect them to lose somewhere else along the way now that they beat the Panthers, but you get the idea). One great performance against the Panthers doesn't mean squat...trust me on this! They are good enough against this schedule to win 10 games, but they aren't the second coming of the Manning led Colts on offense here, no matter what your over-inflated sense of confidence has you believing after their performance on Sunday.

 

Sample size again. They gave up 23 to the Bengals and 23 to the Browns. Sure, they only gave up 6 points to the Steelers and 10 to the Panthers, but that was as much about the ineptitude of those two offenses on those particular days as anything else. They are giving 5.8 yards per play, which is actually worse than the Steelers. They are not shutting people down by any stretch.

I didn't watch the Carolina game, so I don't know what happened there, but we all watched the Steelers game. The Ravens didn't hold the Steelers to 6 points...Ben playing like crap held the Steelers to 6 points. They're PPG average doesn't mean much to me at this point.

 

That's fair, Mano. But they held every one of their opponents to a lower score than that team's average in their other games. By contrast, the Steelers have allowed every one of the opponents to score higher than their average against other teams. It may only be 4 games, but it still indicates a quality defense.

 

I gotta break this up in quotes, Mano.

#2 scoring defense, not very good. If they stay the same, they'll continue to be what you expect, the #2 defense yet not very good? Got it.

Gotta watch these games, Mano. Against the Bengals, they dropped passes all 1st half. It was also the first half of regular season play under the new offense. They went over the total averaged points allowed by Cincy in the second half alone. And no, there was no prevent defense, before that angle gets mentioned, it was cut to one score in the 3rd.

Come on. The Steelers deserved to lose against the Browns also. Where did they "play so poorly on offense"? 23 points on the road? Leading at the half? Scoring in every quarter? No including the turnover drive, there was only 1 actual three and out the entire game by Baltimore. That's "played so poorly on offense" to you?

Ok this game I know you watched so I'm not even sure how you game to this conclusion
1st scoring drive started at the Ravens 15 after a turnover. Worse field positioning than a touchback. They drove down the field for a TD
2nd scoring drive started at the Ravens 24 and they drove to the Steelers 11 for a FG.
3rd scoring drive started at the Ravens 20. TD. That's 17 points off long drives so far
4th scoring drive started at the Ravens 42 after a punt. FG at Steelers 5
5th scoring drive started at the Steelers 20 after a turnover. FG at the Steelers 4.(this was your short scoring drive, although it was 4 runs and a pass, meaning Baltimore was "coasting" and not attacking)
6th scoring drive started at the Ravens 45 after a punt. More coasting here, 6 run and 1 pass attempt. FG at Steeles 2 (this is the Forsett run

The Ravens scored their first 17 points off long drives. Do you realize that after scoring 20 (14:11 left in the 4th), the playcalling went very conservative to kill clock (11 runs to 2 pass attempts), and they still kept scoring lol. You're faulting the offense for that? Even though the drives before it was a blowout had the Ravens moved from one end of the field to the redzone each time? Again, come on, Mano

So then you agree that that the Steelers offense isn't really that good since they put up 37 points and 461 yards on those same Panthers? Although we've both know you've heralded the Steelers' performances

If only it was "one great performance". The Ravens have had literally one bad half of football so far. I won't say great, definitely not the second coming of Manning's Colts offense, but they've been a good offense and a great football team.