Knowing what you know now would you still draft

[Dr. Tom 0]

I would have taken Ben-Ro over Manning to begin with. Manning seemed like a lot of hype and family pedigree to me, while Ben just went out and won games. And I'd still take Ben over Eli today. I think they'll both turn out to be good, but Eli's really been thrown into a bad situation. IMO, the Giants should fire COughlin for his handling of the QB position.

 

Y'know, I bet the Ravens thought they were shafting the Steelers when they hurt Maddox in week 2. "Muahahaha, now we're leaving them with this rookie whose name barely fits on his jersey. They're done for!" Not so much, it would seem.

[mike546 0]

So?

 

Randell is better than both Hilliard and Toomer.

Oh please, stop acting like Toomer is this suddenly horrible wide receiver. The guy had 5 straight 1000 yard seasons leading up to this one.

I'm not saying Toomers no longer good, because he is.

 

But the injuries hes playing with have affected his game a ton, and with the injuries, Randel El is probably better.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Y'know, I bet the Ravens thought they were shafting the Steelers when they hurt Maddox in week 2. "Muahahaha, now we're leaving them with this rookie whose name barely fits on his jersey. They're done for!" Not so much, it would seem.

This made me laugh. Did you as a Ravens fan, think this as well when it happened?

 

Personally, I don't see why Maddox gets crapped on so much. I've watched him play, and he doesn't have a bad arm as Tyler claims he does. He makes poor decisions more often than Big Ben does, which is still pretty amazing for the rookie.

 

I think Ben is the better QB now, but we'll have to wait at least 3-5 seasons to really judge who the better QB is, and if Eli gets any talent around him. Eli doesn't have the mobility than Roethlisberger does, but he has the natural game instincts and the passing arm that his brother does, and I think he'll end up being a star for New York, barring any injury.

 

People keep underestimating the difference an offensive line can make, apparently...

[Dr. Tom 0]

Y'know, I bet the Ravens thought they were shafting the Steelers when they hurt Maddox in week 2.  "Muahahaha, now we're leaving them with this rookie whose name barely fits on his jersey.  They're done for!"  Not so much, it would seem.

This made me laugh. Did you as a Ravens fan, think this as well when it happened?

Yeah, pretty much. I never thought Maddox protected the ball very well, but I was expecting the Steelers to be a dark horse contender for the playoffs. And tossing a rookie QB out there, not even two full games into the season, looked like a recipe for disaster. However, the Steelers' gameplan means Ben plays a similar role to Trent Dilfer on the 2000 Ravens: hand the ball off, don't fuck up, and make the throws when you need to. He's done a fine job of it so far.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Mommy Maddox really doesn't have half the arm strength of Ben. You've got to understand that everything you're talking about relating to Ben (surrounding cast makes him look good, etc.) is the epitome of Mommy Maddox's game. His arm is average at best (perhaps "flaccid" was a bit of an exaggeration) and his mobility is piss poor. The offensive line is the exact same unit as last year, and with the one exception of Keydrick Vincent and Ben Roethlisberger taking over, this is the exact same offense as last year. The difference is that Ben is a far bigger threat to run and throw the ball.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

What were the Steelers ranked as a rushing unit last year and this year?

 

Also, in this age of parity, isn't it amazing that we're into Week 16 and have three 12/13-1 teams?...

[Guest Vitamin X]

So then tell me why did Jerome Bettis have such a nondescript year last year and is having such a great one this go-around?

[Guest Vitamin X]

Oh, and the Steelers are also ranked 28th in passing this year, which is of course attributed to the run-first philosophy. I still found that moderately interesting though, that 171 passing yards per game isn't even good enough to get past the 20's in the rankings nowadays.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

So then tell me why did Jerome Bettis have such a nondescript year last year and is having such a great one this go-around?

They couldn't pass at all last year.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Well last year the Steelers were going to be a pass-oriented team, and Bettis wasn't the starting running back last year -- Amos Zer-what's-his-name was the starter. Then, toward the end of the season, Bettis became the starter.

 

Personally, I thought it was smart for the Steelers to sign Staley and keep Jerome. Staley has trouble playing a full season, and when Bettis played a full season he seemed to be banged up down the home stretch and wasn't effective. And even though Jerome took a hefty paycut to stay with Pittsburgh, he still makes a pretty penny from endorsements -- he's beloved in Pittsburgh.

 

Did that answer your question?...

[Guest Vitamin X]

Gah. Damn quick posts.

 

What were the Steelers ranked as a rushing unit last year and this year?

 

So far, the Steelers are ranked 3rd in the NFL in rushing this year, as opposed to 31st (next to last!) in 2003. They were also 14th in the league in passing last year, which is confounding as well. Maybe Mike Mularkey was the problem?

 

Personally, I thought it was smart for the Steelers to sign Staley and keep Jerome. Staley has trouble playing a full season, and when Bettis played a full season he seemed to be banged up down the home stretch and wasn't effective. And even though Jerome took a hefty paycut to stay with Pittsburgh, he still makes a pretty penny from endorsements -- he's beloved in Pittsburgh.

 

I agree with you. And now both Duce and Jerome have a chance to become dual 1,000 yard rushers on the same team. Not sure if that's ever happened before.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

So far, the Steelers are ranked 3rd in the NFL in rushing this year, as opposed to 31st (next to last!) in 2003. They were also 14th in the league in passing last year, which is confounding as well. Maybe Mike Mularkey was the problem?

I don't think so because the Steeler offense seemed to be good in previous years he took charge. What happened last year was that Cowher wanted to focus more on the passing game and less on the ball-control/power-running game, which meant a faster Amos Z. was the starting back instead of Bettis. The whole thing blew up in his face, as you can see. Ironically, Tim Lewis, who was fired as D-Coordinator last year by the Steelers (and caused a stink in the local liberal media because Lewis was black, and you're not allowed to fire black NFL coaches) is the D-Coordinator of the Giants. Gee, I wonder why Pittsburgh got rid of him?

 

And now both Duce and Jerome have a chance to become dual 1,000 yard rushers on the same team. Not sure if that's ever happened before.

 

I'm sure it has before, and I think the '76 Steelers did this with Harris and Bleir...

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

And now both Duce and Jerome have a chance to become dual 1,000 yard rushers on the same team. Not sure if that's ever happened before.

 

I'm sure it has before, and I think the '76 Steelers did this with Harris and Bleir...

You're correct. They sure did.

 

The Steelers success this season is for several reasons compared to last year. The O-line has been healthy this year for the first time in several seasons. Big Ben has played great in replacing Maddox and with a new O-coordinator they have allowed Ben to learn the playbook at the same time as the other players. Also, Dick LeBeau doesn't get enough credit either........he's the biggest reason for the Steelers turn around.