Anyhow, I guess I'll take these topics in order: the future. What does it hold for us? That's probably what you're asking right now. You're also probably wondering what "us" is referring to. Well, I mean "us" as fans of the Steelers and fans of the footballs (not "us", as in "we" are members of the Steelers by proxy, because we aren't, because if we were, I'd have a lot more money and could post on this blog more than once every 3 weeks).
As I sit here, the Steelers are battling the worst division champs of the last decade (i.e. the '08 Dolphins, that's all I meant by that, because much of the team is still together)... Well, the Bengals this year very well might give them a run for their money, but that aside, the Dolphins are giving us a fight, when they really shouldn't be.
But moving on from there, the question is: when the defending champs miss the playoffs, what positives can we take from this situation? Well, in the spirit of optimism, let's look at the bright spots.
(1) Our Skill Players on Offense Are World-Class: Nothing need be said about Ben. He is the man. Regardless of whether you like him or not, he gets the job done. He's still relatively young, and can learn a thing or two still (specifically, getting rid of the fucking ball on 3rd down at the opponent's 20-30). You know, so we can avoid losing points every game because Ben takes a sack to knock us out of field goal position. But, of course, that's something that could easily be fixed with a little coaching, which, as we know, doesn't exist on the offense.
Mendenhall has all the tools to be an every-down back. He's big, fast, runs hard, can catch and can block. If you've missed his blitz pickup work this year, you clearly aren't watching their games. And I've heard a couple comments calling him "Fumblehall" which is clever but also a complete misnomer. Going into Sunday, he was sitting on 222 carries and 3 fumbles. If you look at the 21 players with 200+ carries, 3 isn't necessarily low, but it's far from abnormal. And let's not forget that one came while he was lying on the back of Browns defender, and had been for about 4 seconds. The rest of the country thought the play was dead, so let's not shit on Mendenhall because he did, too.
And I'll be short on the receivers, because they need very little. Holmes is 3rd in the league in receiving yards. Hines snatched his 6th 1000-yard receiving season. Cousin Heath finally came into his own, and Mike Wallace. Well, that boy is fast (and he catches the ball).
(2) Troy Polamalu is the best player in the NFL. PPG (in 4th quarters alone). With Troy: 0.0. Without Troy: about 37.
(3) LaMarr Woodley is quickly on his way to being our best pass rusher. Again, if you've watched him this year, the guy is awesome.
But now, for the bad (and there's more of it than good, shit...)
But remember, we wouldn't have known this if we had beaten the Chiefs/Raiders/Browns like we should have. And we would be falling victim to another playoff loss, and would be regressing rather than moving forward.
(4) Our offensive line is not so great. Well, we already knew this, but it's starting to become an issue. Wait. No, let's stop.
(5) Bruce Arians is incompetent. Our issues with the o-line are a matter of people having trouble picking up stunts, and Ben NOT HAVING OPTIONS UNDERNEATH. Oh yeah, and setting up the o-line to get fucking shredded. Last time I checked, play action only works when you run. Last time I checked, 5-WR shotgun sets on 3rd and 1 foreclose a lot of play options, and make the defenses job a fucking lot easier. Last time I checked, teaching the players how to be effective is part of the job.
And Arians is incapable of all of these. Fire the motherfucker, and hire someone decent, and you're going to see a positive change on offense.
(6) We really should have kept Larry Foote. Timmons has lots of potential. But he's still basically a rookie, and still gets out of position. That's due, in large part, to his amazing speed. But it does leave the middle open on running plays sometimes. The problem then is that James Farrior is really getting old. He's losing a step. He can't clog the hole, he can't cover in the flat, and he's just generally lost a step. Who's stepping in for him?
(7) Our DBs ain't no good. We need to do some work in the draft. Simple as that. How bad do I wish that we had gotten Darrell Revis rather than Lawrence Timmons 2 years ago? Well, a lot. And that's not because Timmons isn't a very good player, with a lot of promise. It's because our DBs are SO bad, that the upgrade of Timmons over Foote is nowhere near the upgrade of Revis over Will Gay. I hate to say it, but I think Gay loses his starting job next year. I also think that Ike Taylor is going to have to play much better next year for the sake of keeping his job. He's been too consistent over the last 5 years to lose his job over a few bad plays, but he's definitely lost his position as the team's clear #1 CB, and as an irreplaceable part of this defense.
So, I look at these as good things, because I think that this team is serviceable, and that with a little work in the draft, will be better in 2-3 years than it would have been if we had made the playoffs this year.
So that's my optimistic spin on the year.
So, now, on to what I call "sports ethics", or managing your fantasy football team in light of your love for your favorite team. My conclusion: in fantasy football, it is best to abandon all love for your favorite team, and pick the players you hate most, because that usually means that they're pretty damn good. Take, for example, my championship-winning fantasy football team (the starting lineup for most of the year, and the championship game last week):
QB: Philip Rivers. I hate this motherfucker so bad.
Don't you? Seriously, though, he gets good numbers. Not sure he can ever win in the playoffs. Still hasn't really proven it. But whatever. The dude was solid for my team, so I was able to profit despite my hatred.
RB1: Chris Johnson. He plays for the Titans, and I hate seeing him play the Steelers. But the boy is fucking awesome. Sure, he hasn't had Holmes/Faulk/Tomlinson-like TDs this year. But he's still silly good.
RB2: Lawrence Maroney. Despite the fact that he almost fucked me with his fumbling-at-the-goalline bullshit last week, he was really solid over the last 2-3 weeks of the season. Fuck the Patriots.
WR1 & 2: Vincent Jackson & Wes Welker. Again, a Charger and a Patriot. Fuck that shit.
DEF: Dallas Cowboys. Enough said.
So, before you ask, yes, Santonio and Heath were also playing at WR and TE for me. But if you look at the rest of my team, I fucking hate all those guys. But there's a reason. And I got past it. All the way to a championship.
So the lesson is this: being a real fan and being a fantasy player don't mix. You have to leave each at the door. I mean, you need to root for your real team first and foremost, and at the expense of your fantasy team. But you also have to leave your favorite team and those allegiances behind, and go with the best players.
I don't know if that made any sense.
Fuck Philip Rivers. Cocksucker. Hope he never wins a Super Bowl.
So, now for our last topic of the day: Patriotism.
This is kind of fucked up, but I'm having trouble not wanting to root for Team Canada, because Fleury and Sid will be playing for them. Yes, I have more allegiance to the Penguins than my country. Really? Well, no, just the Olympic hockey team. But still, I don't know how to feel about that.
Well, solved that problem... U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
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