There have been a lot of spoofs of LeBron Jame's "What should I do" Nike ad.
South Park also took a shot at LeBron in a much more hilarious spoof in their latest episode.
Talking about life, sports, politics, and everything else imaginable.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Pittsburgh Steelers biggest concern is their pass defense
After the 20-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steeler's fans, as expected, are overreacting. That's just how it goes when you have a die-hard fan base. Most of the blame goes to offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, and rightfully so. Others blame Ben Roethlisberger and some blame Mike Tomlin. I think the entire coaching staff as a whole is to blame.
It's only one game, however, and the Steelers are still one of the better teams in the NFL. But there is a big concern I have for this team: The Steelers pass defense is quickly becoming something that might hold this team back from winning the Super Bowl this year.
The NFL is a passing league, and that concerns me a lot; the Steelers haven't faced that many good quarterbacks this year, yet they still have looked mediocre at best defending the pass.
Every week, we hear that the opposing team won't be able to run the ball and that the Steelers don't get the ball run on them. While that is true, I'm not sure opposing teams should even be concerned about running the ball against the Steelers. The Saints had no intention of running the ball against the Steelers. They lined Drew Brees up in the shotgun with three-, four- and sometimes five-receiver sets, and threw the ball over 40 times. Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the game, but I still think it's the only way to beat the Steelers.
Brees went on to complete 34 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns on the night. In the second half, Brees completed 20 of 22 passes and led the Saints to 17 of their 20 points, which leads me to believe that the Steelers coaching staff must be one of the worst in the league at making halftime adjustments, both offensively and defensively. The Steelers did a decent job against Brees but the Saints obviously made some minor adjustments at halftime that allowed Brees to go 20 of 22 throwing the ball.
Looking back all the way to Super Bowl XLIII against Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals, the Steelers did a good job in the first half, holding the Cardinals to seven points. But in the second half, Warner threw for over 200 yards, and the Cardinals regained the lead.
Last year, Bruce Gradkowski led not one, but two game-winning drives against the Steelers, who made him and Louis Murphy look like All-Pros.
Last year, everyone gave the defense a pass because Troy Polamalu missed most of the year and the Steelers had replaced cornerback Bryant McFadden with William Gay. Now both Polamalu and McFadden are back and starting, but we're still getting the same results. Polamalu, had one of the worst games of his career against the Saints, getting beat deep in coverage and missing more than one tackle.
The last three games, the pass defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to have big games. Rookie Colt McCoy of the Cleveland Browns threw for 281 yards with a QB rating of 80. Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins threw for 257 yards with a 94 QB rating. Then Drew Brees threw for 305 yards with a QB rating of 101.
Part of the blame goes to Dick LeBeau and Mike Tomlin. They continue to have their corners play eight and sometimes 10 yards off the ball, allowing teams to complete short passes the entire game. The Steelers play a safe coverage trying to prevent the big play. That's fine, but at the same time, if the opposing team continues to complete 4- to 6-yard passes, it still adds up the same.
The Steelers need to be more aggressive and press the corners with a blitz, the same thing that other defenses try to do the Steelers. Playing safe isn't always the best option.
Luckily for Pittsburgh, they don't face too many more "elite" QBs, but they do face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Week 10, and Brady is the same kind of passer that Brees is.
This prevent-style defense could end up costing the Steelers a big playoff, however, especially considering that their opponent will most likely have one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
I just hope the Steelers aren't too arrogant to realize that they have a big problem to fix.
It's only one game, however, and the Steelers are still one of the better teams in the NFL. But there is a big concern I have for this team: The Steelers pass defense is quickly becoming something that might hold this team back from winning the Super Bowl this year.
The NFL is a passing league, and that concerns me a lot; the Steelers haven't faced that many good quarterbacks this year, yet they still have looked mediocre at best defending the pass.
Every week, we hear that the opposing team won't be able to run the ball and that the Steelers don't get the ball run on them. While that is true, I'm not sure opposing teams should even be concerned about running the ball against the Steelers. The Saints had no intention of running the ball against the Steelers. They lined Drew Brees up in the shotgun with three-, four- and sometimes five-receiver sets, and threw the ball over 40 times. Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the game, but I still think it's the only way to beat the Steelers.
Brees went on to complete 34 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns on the night. In the second half, Brees completed 20 of 22 passes and led the Saints to 17 of their 20 points, which leads me to believe that the Steelers coaching staff must be one of the worst in the league at making halftime adjustments, both offensively and defensively. The Steelers did a decent job against Brees but the Saints obviously made some minor adjustments at halftime that allowed Brees to go 20 of 22 throwing the ball.
Looking back all the way to Super Bowl XLIII against Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals, the Steelers did a good job in the first half, holding the Cardinals to seven points. But in the second half, Warner threw for over 200 yards, and the Cardinals regained the lead.
Last year, Bruce Gradkowski led not one, but two game-winning drives against the Steelers, who made him and Louis Murphy look like All-Pros.
Last year, everyone gave the defense a pass because Troy Polamalu missed most of the year and the Steelers had replaced cornerback Bryant McFadden with William Gay. Now both Polamalu and McFadden are back and starting, but we're still getting the same results. Polamalu, had one of the worst games of his career against the Saints, getting beat deep in coverage and missing more than one tackle.
The last three games, the pass defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to have big games. Rookie Colt McCoy of the Cleveland Browns threw for 281 yards with a QB rating of 80. Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins threw for 257 yards with a 94 QB rating. Then Drew Brees threw for 305 yards with a QB rating of 101.
Part of the blame goes to Dick LeBeau and Mike Tomlin. They continue to have their corners play eight and sometimes 10 yards off the ball, allowing teams to complete short passes the entire game. The Steelers play a safe coverage trying to prevent the big play. That's fine, but at the same time, if the opposing team continues to complete 4- to 6-yard passes, it still adds up the same.
Luckily for Pittsburgh, they don't face too many more "elite" QBs, but they do face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Week 10, and Brady is the same kind of passer that Brees is.
This prevent-style defense could end up costing the Steelers a big playoff, however, especially considering that their opponent will most likely have one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
I just hope the Steelers aren't too arrogant to realize that they have a big problem to fix.
Week 9 Power Rankings: Where do the Steelers fit in at?
Hey thanks for visiting my blog. Recently I've been doing a lot of work for www.bleacherreport.com and that's where my critically acclaimed NFL power rankings appear. Feel free to comment and discuss my power rankings.
Monday, November 1, 2010
breaking news
This breaks my heart. Jordan Staal was all set to return to the Pens for the game in Dallas on Wednesday but now it looks like that's going to happen. Staal has suffered a broken hand at practice and is expected to miss another few weeks.
And this just in, the Vikings have placed future Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss on waivers. I guess they didn't find his post game press conference as funny as the rest of us did.
And this just in, the Vikings have placed future Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss on waivers. I guess they didn't find his post game press conference as funny as the rest of us did.
Steelers lose to the Saints 20-10. Time to play the blame game
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the New Orleans Saints 20-10 last night, and now it's time to play the blame game.
In Pittsburgh, it's very popular to blame Big Ben Roethlisberger every time the Steelers lose. However, if you actually watched the game last night, you would know it's really hard to blame him for the loss.
The next obvious choice would be the coach, and in this case that would be the right answer.
I rarely blame the coaching staff for a loss. They can only do so much as far as preparing their players for their next opponent. Well, from the very start it looked as though the Steelers weren't prepared to face the Saints.
Offensively the Steelers, on paper, looked like they had a great matchup versus the Saints defense. However, the Steelers apparently weren't ready for the very good blitzing scheme the Saints were hell-bent on bringing last night.
About 75 percent of the time, the Saints brought six, seven and even eight guys in for an all-out blitz. The Steelers countered that by having receivers run 10- to 15-yard routes that took about four seconds to develop. Most of the plays developed into Ben running for his life, getting hit by more than a defender often.
So who's to blame? How about blaming Ben? I know that's what typical Steelers fans love to do. Ben didn't audible enough last night. He held on the ball as he normally does and didn't look like he was very cerebral last night.
Who do you blame for the loss last night
Ben Roethlisberger Mike Tomlin Bruce Arians The Wide Receivers The Offensive line The Enitre Coaching Staff Submit Vote vote to see results
I'm hearing things like, "Ben just can't read defenses like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady." If you saw last night's game, you would probably agree with statements like that.
However, Ben is not the reason the Steelers lost last night; he was actually one of the better players on the field. He didn't call most of the plays, and in fact the one time the Steelers went to a "no-huddle" offense, Ben got to call some plays, and it was very effective as usual.
It also wasn't Ben's fault that Heath Miller fumbled at a key moment or that Antwaan Randle El didn't score on a play that should have been a touchdown.
I don't blame Ben for this loss, and neither should you.
Do you blame the offensive line? The Steeler offensive line also took a step backwards last night; actually, they were taking a lot of them, because the Saints had them on their heels, giving Roethlisberger little time to throw and play the style of football that he's used to playing.
The offensive line also wasn't winning many one-on-one battles with the Saints defenders. The offensive line looked confused and overwhelmed. However, I won't blame the offensive line for the loss; they weren't prepared well enough for what they encountered last night.
Do you blame the receivers? Hines Ward is the leader of the receivers, as he often reminds us. Last night he shouldn't be proud of that. The receivers got smothered all night last night. NBC even gave some great shots downfield during the game, showing the blitz coming and the receivers being 15-plus yards downfield, covered and not looking for the ball.
106408315_crop_340x234 Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images
Even when they were going against man coverage, the Steelers receivers got little separation.
Also, it's the receivers' responsibility to readjust their routes accordingly (a hot route) if the other team brings a blitz. The receivers also have to look back for the ball if they feel a blitz. Last night this didn't happen. The receivers often left Ben out to dry.
However, the receivers don't get the blame, or at least not the main blame for last night's game.
No, to me Mike Tomlin and Bruce Arians are to blame. They had all week to prepare the offense for a Saints team that blitzes a lot.
The Saints defense showed Arians what they were going to do from the very first series. Then he had halftime to readjust the offense for the blitz. He obviously wasn't able to counter the blitz. He continued to call plays that took way too long to develop, having Ben take five-step drops and having receivers run 15-plus-yard routes.
No slants, short crosses, running back screens, delayed pop routes by the tight ends and running backs? These are routes that can be effective via the screen. I've defended Arians in the past, but last night he failed as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In fact, the only time the Steelers offense got into a real rhythm was when they finally went to a no-huddle toward the end of the fourth quarter. Ben got to control the offense and moved the ball downfield, completing a big play to Heath Miller, which would have had the Steelers in field goal range. Unfortunately, Miller fumbled the ball, and the Steelers would go on to lose the game.
Shold the Steelers use the no-huddle more often?
yes no Submit Vote vote to see results
I think last night shows that on most weeks, the Steelers offensive players overcome their horrible offensive coordinator by making big plays. Think about it: Most of the Steelers' big plays in the passing game come from Ben scrambling and making a play. Ben makes this offense look better than it really is.
Why wait till the end of the game to run the no-huddle? Ben is one of the best quarterbacks at running it, and the offense almost always produces when it's in it. That's on head coach Mike Tomlin.
Speaking of Tomlin, he's right there in guys to blame for last night's loss. Tomlin coached not to lose instead of coaching to win the game. His conservative coaching was a big reason why the Steelers lost.
For example, when the Steelers had the ball on first down at the half-yard-line, they tried a standard handoff three times and got stuffed. Why not run a QB sneak behind your best offensive lineman, center Maurkice Pouncey? Why not run a play-action pass and roll Ben out on one of those plays? Why not go for it on fourth down? If you don't make it, the Saints take over from their own one.
Tomlin was very unimpressive last night, and if this team wants to win a Super Bowl this year, the coaches are going to have to do a better job.
So go ahead, blame who you want to blame, but the coaches were responsible for that loss last night.
In Pittsburgh, it's very popular to blame Big Ben Roethlisberger every time the Steelers lose. However, if you actually watched the game last night, you would know it's really hard to blame him for the loss.
The next obvious choice would be the coach, and in this case that would be the right answer.
I rarely blame the coaching staff for a loss. They can only do so much as far as preparing their players for their next opponent. Well, from the very start it looked as though the Steelers weren't prepared to face the Saints.
Offensively the Steelers, on paper, looked like they had a great matchup versus the Saints defense. However, the Steelers apparently weren't ready for the very good blitzing scheme the Saints were hell-bent on bringing last night.
About 75 percent of the time, the Saints brought six, seven and even eight guys in for an all-out blitz. The Steelers countered that by having receivers run 10- to 15-yard routes that took about four seconds to develop. Most of the plays developed into Ben running for his life, getting hit by more than a defender often.
So who's to blame? How about blaming Ben? I know that's what typical Steelers fans love to do. Ben didn't audible enough last night. He held on the ball as he normally does and didn't look like he was very cerebral last night.
Who do you blame for the loss last night
Ben Roethlisberger Mike Tomlin Bruce Arians The Wide Receivers The Offensive line The Enitre Coaching Staff Submit Vote vote to see results
I'm hearing things like, "Ben just can't read defenses like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady." If you saw last night's game, you would probably agree with statements like that.
However, Ben is not the reason the Steelers lost last night; he was actually one of the better players on the field. He didn't call most of the plays, and in fact the one time the Steelers went to a "no-huddle" offense, Ben got to call some plays, and it was very effective as usual.
It also wasn't Ben's fault that Heath Miller fumbled at a key moment or that Antwaan Randle El didn't score on a play that should have been a touchdown.
I don't blame Ben for this loss, and neither should you.
Do you blame the offensive line? The Steeler offensive line also took a step backwards last night; actually, they were taking a lot of them, because the Saints had them on their heels, giving Roethlisberger little time to throw and play the style of football that he's used to playing.
The offensive line also wasn't winning many one-on-one battles with the Saints defenders. The offensive line looked confused and overwhelmed. However, I won't blame the offensive line for the loss; they weren't prepared well enough for what they encountered last night.
Do you blame the receivers? Hines Ward is the leader of the receivers, as he often reminds us. Last night he shouldn't be proud of that. The receivers got smothered all night last night. NBC even gave some great shots downfield during the game, showing the blitz coming and the receivers being 15-plus yards downfield, covered and not looking for the ball.
106408315_crop_340x234 Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images
Even when they were going against man coverage, the Steelers receivers got little separation.
Also, it's the receivers' responsibility to readjust their routes accordingly (a hot route) if the other team brings a blitz. The receivers also have to look back for the ball if they feel a blitz. Last night this didn't happen. The receivers often left Ben out to dry.
However, the receivers don't get the blame, or at least not the main blame for last night's game.
No, to me Mike Tomlin and Bruce Arians are to blame. They had all week to prepare the offense for a Saints team that blitzes a lot.
The Saints defense showed Arians what they were going to do from the very first series. Then he had halftime to readjust the offense for the blitz. He obviously wasn't able to counter the blitz. He continued to call plays that took way too long to develop, having Ben take five-step drops and having receivers run 15-plus-yard routes.
No slants, short crosses, running back screens, delayed pop routes by the tight ends and running backs? These are routes that can be effective via the screen. I've defended Arians in the past, but last night he failed as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In fact, the only time the Steelers offense got into a real rhythm was when they finally went to a no-huddle toward the end of the fourth quarter. Ben got to control the offense and moved the ball downfield, completing a big play to Heath Miller, which would have had the Steelers in field goal range. Unfortunately, Miller fumbled the ball, and the Steelers would go on to lose the game.
Shold the Steelers use the no-huddle more often?
yes no Submit Vote vote to see results
I think last night shows that on most weeks, the Steelers offensive players overcome their horrible offensive coordinator by making big plays. Think about it: Most of the Steelers' big plays in the passing game come from Ben scrambling and making a play. Ben makes this offense look better than it really is.
Why wait till the end of the game to run the no-huddle? Ben is one of the best quarterbacks at running it, and the offense almost always produces when it's in it. That's on head coach Mike Tomlin.
Speaking of Tomlin, he's right there in guys to blame for last night's loss. Tomlin coached not to lose instead of coaching to win the game. His conservative coaching was a big reason why the Steelers lost.
For example, when the Steelers had the ball on first down at the half-yard-line, they tried a standard handoff three times and got stuffed. Why not run a QB sneak behind your best offensive lineman, center Maurkice Pouncey? Why not run a play-action pass and roll Ben out on one of those plays? Why not go for it on fourth down? If you don't make it, the Saints take over from their own one.
Tomlin was very unimpressive last night, and if this team wants to win a Super Bowl this year, the coaches are going to have to do a better job.
So go ahead, blame who you want to blame, but the coaches were responsible for that loss last night.
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