Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2006 I know this doesn't really jive with the discussion about the pre-season ranking ESPN put out but I think it is great. This is the Vikings radio call of the Arizona Cardinals vs Minnesota Vikings game from a few years back in which the Cards knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs. Cards knock the vikes out of the playoffs Oh man, I love it. I've played the .gif and sound enough already around here, though. PA is such a shill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2006 Considering that the Seahawks should be the defending Super Bowl champions, I don't think it's inaccurate to have them at # 1. whine The Steelers shouldn't be at number one because of the uncertainty regarding their offseason. Specifically, they shouldn't be at #1 until Ben starts throwing (next week) and shows he's got no ill effects from the wreck. They're not a legit repeat contender without him, but with him (and provided Holmes isn't in jail by the start of the season), they should be the favorites. Cowher, for once, has a Patriots-esque staff and he's actually deferring to them for the first time in his career. Whisenhunt is a wizard when it comes to game planning, and Ben is going into his third year in the NFL (compare to Carson Palmer, who absolutely exploded in his third year -- so did Manning, IIRC) and should finally be able to understand an NFL offense well. He was beginning to do that in the playoffs, SB notwithstanding. The running game should be upgraded now that they don't need to keep a roster spot for the Bettis Sympathy Tour. With a legitimate NFL runningback behind Willie Parker, they should have a significantly upgraded offensive attack this year. On defense, the concern has to be losing Kimo von Oelhoffen, not Chris Hope. Oelhoffen kind of made that defense run; by keeping a blocker out of Larry Foote's face, he made sure that Foote wasn't exposed. I'm worried that Kiesel might not be able to do the same thing, but he's got a lot of potential. If he can put on some bulk, he might be alright; he's tremendously athletic, and he showed some spunk when used as a spot rusher; against a starting LT, though, who knows. Hopefully he'll draw the double team and keep the linebackers running free. There's no real reason, aside from Ben, that the Steelers won't repeat. If he's healthy, I don't see why not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
