Football Brainiac

Each week the Impact Segment takes a look at happenings around the NFL and how they affect the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For the remainder of the season we’ll be taking a look at key games and matchups across the AFC that might have an impact on the Steelers as we head into the home stretch.

• The playoffs start Sunday for the Tenessee Titans. They absoulutely need a win this week when they host the Texans. A loss could put the Titans as far as three games back in the AFC South (virtually eliminating them from the division title race) and two games out of the Wild Card chase with four to go. The Titans seem to be the best bet to knock the Browns out of the playoff picture, but it could prove difficult with remaining games against the Chargers and Colts.
• It’s also do-or-die for the Denver Broncos. The team that beat Pittsburgh in October is 5-6 and a game behind San Diego in the AFC West. They host the Raiders this week so it’s a game they should win as well as most of the other games on their schedule (KC, HOU & MIN). The game that could decide this division is the Monday nighter in San Diego on Christmas Eve.
• Game you should keep an eye on #1: Cleveland, .vs. Arizona. This game is important to the Steelers for all the obvious reasons. A Steelers win an a loss to the Cards would put the Brownies, in essence, three games back in the AFC North with four to go giving the Steelers plenty of margin for error. Kurt Warner’s 400+ yard passing game last week and receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald should be a tough task for the Cleveland defense. This one could be a shootout.
• Game you should keep an eye on #2: Jacksonville .vs. Indianapolis. A win for the Colts would give them a 2 game lead in the AFC South and probably wrap up their fourth straight division title. The Jags could force a tie for first with a win, but winning the division still doesn’t look good for them. Jacksonville would have to win all of their remaining games (CAR, PIT, OAK & HOU) and the Colts would still have to lose one more (BAL, OAK, HOU & TEN) which is possible, but not likely given the Colts opponents. The game’s biggest factor might be the play of David Garrard. The Jacksonville QB has yet to throw an interception in 8 games played this season.
  
  Regardless of the outcome, though, it makes the Jags visit to Pittsburgh in two weeks all the more important to the AFC playoff picture given that the Browns are still hanging around.

What are your thoughts about these games? What other significant events do you see happening this week that could affect the Steelers?

BABE, I’M GONNA LEAVE YOU
Last week’s loss to San Diego was the second rout in four games for the Ravens. Phillip Rivers looked like Dan Fouts back there throwing against the vaunted Baltimore D. Their secondary is getting torn to shreds and, to make matters worse, they host the Patriots Monday night so I doubt it’s going to get any better for the dirty birds.

I’m not trying to be extreme here, but coach Brian Billick’s job is in serious jeopardy. Not just because the Ravens aren’t winning, but because they’re not winning consistently. One year the team is up and the next year they’re down. It’s been happening too often.

Their record since their Super Bowl victory speaks for itself.

• 2001: 10-6 (Lost Divisional Round)
• 2002: 7-9
• 2003: 10-6 (Lost Wild Card)
• 2004: 9-7
• 2005: 6-10
• 2006: 13-3 (Lost Divisional Round)
• 2007: currently 4-7

That’s a 59-48 record (.551) over the past 6 1/2 seasons which averages out to be a 9-7 record. Not exactly championship material, huh?

In fact, this past week on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long were asked if Panthers coach John Fox was on the hot seat. They all justified the team’s failures due to injuries and a lack of a good quarterback. When the same question was presented to them about Billick, though, all three of them paused for a long awkward moment. Only Johnson could say anything and it was, “Well, he did win a Super Bowl and that’s hard.”

Somehow, though, I’m not sure that’s going to be enough in Baltimore.

YOU’RE SO VAIN
With the Bengals blowout victory of Tennessee, the nation witnessed a sort of resurrection of Chad Johnson and his touchdown antics. “He deserved it,” defensive captain John Thornton said, approving of Johnson’s celebration which caused the Bengals to kickoff from their own 15 yard line. “He’s been working hard. I told him to keep it up. I told him if he needs a penalty to get himself going, go ahead.”

Seriously, folks, who thinks like this? Even the Bengals website celebrates his behavior! How in the world can Marvin Lewis tolerate this kind of mentality? Chad Johnson is flippantly disregarding the 3rd Commandment of the Incontrovertible Laws of Football. He is putting himself above his teammates and the Bengals organization as a whole and he’s getting a free pass from his coach!

And I have to wonder, if the Titans beat the Bengals by a field goal, what would coach Lewis have said then? Would it have been a big deal? It should be a big deal whether you win or lost because IT IS SELFISH! Remember: the ends never justify the means!

TAKE A CHANCE ON ME
The playoff talk is circling around Cleveland like a bad lake-effect snowstorm. Let’s be honest, their schedule looks pretty promising and they have definitely got their mojo working so it wouldn’t be surprising if they did advance (sigh).

But as each game goes by there’s a certain elephant in the corner that many Browns fans don’t want to consider: What are they to do with Brady Quinn? With Derek Anderson playing like a man possessed lately, Cleveland has some very interesting offseason decisions to make.

Anderson becomes a restricted free agent next year and with the number of QBs that have gone down to injury lately, you can bet your bottom dollar somebody is going to take a chance on him. Will the Browns match offers other teams make? Make him their franchise player? Will they sign him long term and make him their definitive starting quarterback? Or will they believe Quinn is ready to take the helm? Interesting questions indeed.

We don’t have to look far for two previous examples of teams that have found themselves in the same situation. Both San Diego and Cincinnati started “lesser” quarterbacks for their teams as they groomed their franchise players.

Jon Kitna earned “Comeback Player of the Year” honors for his play in the 2003 season as the Bengals improved to an 8-8 record. He was then benched the next season for Carson Palmer and remained his backup for two seasons. The decision has obviously done wonders for the Cincinnati offense, but still has produced zero postseason wins.

San Diego traded for Philip Rivers in 2004 and many expected him to play sooner rather than later. But because he held out of camp too long, Drew Brees got the nod and took the Chargers to a 12-4 record and the AFC West crown. Unlike what the Bengals did to Kitna, Brees started the entire 2005 season as well, but his injury on the last game of the season gave the Chargers the justification to let him go to New Orleans and give the job to Rivers. Again, even with the ups and downs Rivers has had this season (his 2nd as a starter), It looks as if they made the right decision, although it has not produced a postseason victory either.

So what will the Browns do with Derek Anderson? That’s the million dollar question. If these examples show us anything, it is that Quinn would probably be expected to get the Browns to the next level maybe in 2008, but definitely by 2009. No pressure, huh?

What do you think?

The “Incontrovertible Laws of Football”, as they are known, are described more fully in my last post. Briefly, these commandments are the essence of all 667 laws documented in the scrolls. Remember, these laws have never before been released to the public. Here are the laws with commentary on each one.

THE INCONTROVERTIBLE LAWS OF FOOTBALL

Laws one through four have already been covered in my previous post, but are listed again for your reading pleasure:

1. Thou shalt remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
2. Thou shalt play on grass
3. Thou shalt not put thyself on a pedestal
4. Thou shalt play thy part and no other
5. Thou shalt not disrespect thy opponent
   Players that disrespect their opponents do so for two reasons and both are detrimental to their team:
   1. They feel that either their team or they themselves are superior to their opponent.
   2. They are trying to gain media attention for themselves (for reasons too numerous to mention here). This is in direct violation to the 3rd commandment listed above, “Thou shalt not put thyself on a pedestal.”

   Each player is commanded to show an adequate amount of respect to his opponent because “on any given Sunday”, as the adage goes, their next opponent could be the better team or player. Best to stay humble and let your play on the field speak for itself.

6. Thou shalt not murder thy coach
   
   Even though coaches were known to be stoned to death for their team’s poor productivity as late as the 3rd Century, most scholars agree that the word murder in these scrolls actually means “to hastily dispose of.”
   
   The translation, then, would imply that franchise owners who fire coaches prematurely or players that speaking critically of their coaches are “disposing of them hastily.” This is in direct disobedience to the 6th Commandment.
7. Thou shalt not turneth the ball over
   Committing turnovers is an unforgivable sin to the football gods. No other mistake in a game can turn the fortunes of a team like a turnover, whether you are on the giving or receiving end of one. Coaches would do well to preach this commandment vehemently to their players. For as it is written in the Scrolls:

   
   Wherefore the gods say unto you: All manner of terrible and foolish playing shall be forgiven thee. But the blasphemy committed in which thou turneth the ball over shall not be forgiven. Verily, we say, holdeth on to thy ball!
   

8. Thou shalt honor the run
   
   It is well known by football enthusiasts that the forward pass was not used to any great length until the 1950s. However, what many people do not know is that the forward pass was widely utilized in ancient times which is why the 8th commandment exists.
   
   Please understand that using the forward pass is a valuable asset in any offensive arsenal, but the football gods have warned mankind of the evils that those who solely rely on the pass will endure (why do you think King Tut died at such an early age?).
   
   To this same extent, defensively, you must honor the run as well. Teams who can run the ball well and stop the run on the defensive side of the ball show the run the honor it deserves and appease the football gods.
9. Thou shalt pressure thy opponent
   The 9th Commandment is the first document in recorded history that contains a scientific equation:

   
   “The degree of pressure a quarterback feeleth from his opponent is equal to the degree of mistakes he maketh.”
   

   This self-explanatory equation clearly describes that for a defense to be successful they must pressure their opponent’s quarterback. When they do, he will unavoidably break the 7th commandment and turn the ball over all but assuring victory for your team!

10. Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s players
    This last commandment is one of the more intriguing laws found in the Ohio River Scrolls. The football gods evidently frowned upon the timeless urge that so many people have to covet, or desire, players from other teams. It is written, “…grow thy team in they own soil” which would suggest that each team should cultivate its own talent.
    
    However, trades do not always seem to provoke the gods’ ire. As a matter of fact, the earliest trade in football history is found in the Scrolls. It is recorded that the Cairo Condors traded two Hebrews to an unnamed team for a “Carrier” (today’s equivalent of a running back) named Runnenoften.
    
    In light of today’s feeding frenzy that is Free Agency, team owners are cautioned to use this tool sparingly so as to not aggravate the gods.