gowingsgo

Less than 2 weeks to go. Everything is good in Pittsburgh so far....except for Ward's hammy and Townsend broke his thumb this week in practice. Aside from that, the boys are geared up to start the triple repeat in the Burgh. I can't effin wait.

Thats true to a point, but Pittsburgh went into Indy and ***** slapped them on their home field. The game was an utter blowout until the refs decided they wanted to play God. Thats fine though, the good guys still won. I hope the Colts keep talking trash, they'll have the same result this year. Hopefully Peyton has to come outside and play at Heinz. That would be great.

I'd be more concerned with Choke Artist Manning's inability to win a big game. That 3 point margin of victory was all due to one of the worst officiating calls in sports history. Otherwise, Peyton was blown out of yet another playoff game. That window for the Dolts looks to be closed IMO.

Carolina is the early favorite to win the NFC. I see a few things in the NFC this year, Chicago stepping up again, Seattle slipping a little, someone in the NFC East is going to emerge battered and bruised (my money is on Philly to rise again), and in the south Carolina. Out of those teams and with a Tampa, Washington/NY/Dallas potential wild card entry, the NFC has some good teams. There were several injuries in the NFC last year that hurt teams. Foster getting hurt killed Carolina v Seattle. Getting Keyshawn is huge for the Panthers. He's not a monster WR, but if you cheat on Smith they will find Keyshawn. I wouldnt count the Eagles out either. They still have much of the core that went to 3 straight NFC title games and lost a Super Bowl. Sure they dont have TO, but they were good before they had TO. McNabb being healthy is a big plus for them. One thing we all know about the NFL, anything can happen on any given Sunday. No one is guaranteed squat. I just cant wait for the 06 season to kick off.

You dont replace a guy like Steve Hutchinson and get better. They lost the best guard in the league. That will severely impact Shaun Alexander's stats and the entire rushing game this year. Seattle almost has a default playoff appearance based on their division. How many Super Bowl losers in a row have missed the playoffs entirely? They have the same deal as the Pats and the Colts. A sorry ass division with no one to challenge them, although Arizona will be much improved this year. Zona is probably another year out from taking that division.

And went 15-1 the following year. The Pats WERE a dynasty. We need to win a few more titles to reclaim that dynasty title.

Bill Cowher's record 10 playoff seasons in 14 years. 2 Super Bowls. 6 AFC title games. Parity just went out the window We're a franchise QB away from several more Super Bowls we missed over the past 14 years. We've got that now in Ben. Its a matter of how many he's going to win now.

Not over a career no. There is no comparison between the two at this point of their careers. But their situation is identical. I'm saying just like you did, Emmitt Smith had one of the best O-Line's in NFL history. He wasn't a game changing RB on his own. He grinded out yardage because of his line. Willie Parker isn't going to run people over like Bettis or LJ. Parker needs blocks to break loose. Once he gets loose, look out for Fast Willie. He's still running by the Seahawks.

I guess he'll just have to prove all the doubters wrong. Emmitt Smith was a good back who benefitted from a HOF O-line. Willie has to prove it to not only Steeler fans, but to all the doubters who think his 1200 yards were a fluke. http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/494527/splits/2005 http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...s/s_463030.html Willie Parker went from undrafted free agent to Super Bowl hero in a matter of two years. Parker had the longest run (75 yards) in Super Bowl history, so when people ask for his autograph, they want him to add something like, "Longest run in Super Bowl history." "I've signed so many '75-yard' autographs, my hand's about to fall off," Parker said. Did the price for his signature - and his appearances -- go up? "Yeah," Parker said, smiling, "all that went up."

Bingo...but that goes without saying for all 32 teams. We've got a fairly young line except for Hartings and have some depth if someone were to go down

They already double Ward. Most teams play Pittsburgh to run the ball and it wasnt until the playoffs that Cowher let Ben open it up and beat teams passing. Miller will be a huge part of our passing game. As will Wilson and depending on who steps up to be #3, Quincy Morgan, Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington (sleeper), & Willie Reid. Ward is a few yards away from being the all time leading rusher at WR in Pittsburgh history behind Swann or Stallworth. Ward played RB, QB, and WR in college at Georgia. He can and has been used as a gadget player with reverses. We haven't seen it from Wilson yet, but I know they will work him into the fold. Ward and Wilson have 3 combined pass attempts in their NFL careers. Hopefully Jerome taught Willie how to throw a good HB option before he retired. Jerome was damn good with his HB option passes. Where we will miss Randle El the most is on punt returns....but our draft picks should take care of that.

We let 6'5" 1st round pick Plaxico Burress WALK the year prior when the team was 15-1 and we suffered with a Super Bowl win. Plaxico was a MUCH better receiver than Randle El. Where we will miss Randle El is on punt returns and his gadget plays. We still have TWO WR's who are former QBs who can run gimmick plays, Hines Ward and Cedrick Wilson. Wilson got recruited to Tennessee as a QB but switched positions to WR because Manning was the starting QB then. I'm sure we'll have to work out who our new gadget man is. Here are Randle El's stats. You tell me where we will miss his 1 TD catch. He did break some long catches, but he dropped a LOT of balls. I was saying this before he left the team too. We addressed Randle El's leaving with our first round pick, Santonio Holmes and our 2nd third round pick Willie Reid (punt return specialist). ARE's stats from last year. 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 15 35 558 15.9 63 1 10 3 23 Santonio Holmes #4 Santonio Holmes | WR Roster: Full Name: Santonio Holmes Born: March 3, 1984 Birth Place: Belle Glade, FL Height: 5-11 Weight: 190 lbs. Age: 22 Pos: WR Class: Junior REC 53 | YDS 977 | TD 11 Profile Stats Game Log Stat Overview Receiving Rushing Fumbles YEAR REC YDS AVG LNG TD ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST 2003 32 549 17.2 47 7 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0 0 0 2004 55 769 14.0 80 7 2 19 9.5 19 0 0 0 2005 53 977 18.4 85 11 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Vanderjagt despite missing that kick is still the most ACCURATE kicker in NFL history. The NFL couldn't even hand Peyton a ring last year when they tried. I look at the Colts this year and if I'm a d-coordinator challenge them to run the ball. You don't go from a Pro Bowl/ almost HOF back to a journeyman or rookie and get the same production. I've heard all off-season about how losing Bettis will kill Pittsburgh....problem with that argument is that Jerome was the back up for the past 3 seasons in a row and only got starting time when we were grinding out the clock or someone was injured.

New England is still tough, but they have been losing pieces of their team from the front office to players every off-season. I look at New England and see a team on a slow decline. Pittsburgh tied with Cincy for the division last year and lost the tie breaker. Obviously it didnt matter if they won or lost the division, they only needed to get to the dance. Indy is not going to be anywhere near as strong as in the past. You dont lose a 1,500 yard back who can block like Edge and improve. They will fall back to 10-12 wins this year. That window is slowly closing on Manning. The media has used every excuse as to why he can't win the big games. Last year it was home field and they said with home field in the dome Manning was a lock to win it all.....until he got beat down by Joey Porter and company. If anything about Pittsburgh, they are going to be better than last year. Parker is in his 2nd full year of starting at RB. Our right tackle is now in his 2nd full year starting. Our tight end Heath Miller is in his 2nd year. Polamalu is getting better by the year and is possibly the best defensive player in the league. We replaced an aging RE with a young fire baller. There have been no changes on the coaching staff for the 2nd straight year. Everything is in place to challenge for a repeat. We just have to get to the dance first. 26-6 over Big Ben's first two years with an AFC title game loss as a rook and a Super Bowl. As long as he doesnt have any lingering effects of that accident the league is in trouble again this year.

You mean, had it not been for two wrongly overturned Troy Polamalu interceptions, Pittsburgh would have blown Indy out at home in yet another blow out playoff lose for Golden Boy Manning.....oops......sorry NFL. The NFL tried to fix the game, Indy had no business being in the game at the end. Pittsburgh hammered Indy despite the close score. Explain to me how the Colts IMPROVED after losing a 1,500 yard back? I think the Colts have taken a huge step backwards....not only did James rush and catch balls, but he is a damn fine blocker and they will miss that extra protection for Manning. Peyton having to throw more this year without a stud RB is not good for the Colts IMO. Jacksonville will challenge hard for the AFCS. If things go the way I think they will go, the title goes through Pittsburgh in the AFC and Carolina in the NFC. Unless Big Ben can't regain his play from his accident, I see no reason why the Steelers arent BETTER than they were last year when they struggled to make the playoffs. This is why the games are played though, everyone starts off with the same record, 0-0....we'll see what happens from there. I wish the Lions well.

Vive FIFA! Goodbye to the MVP award... So much for being named MVP....this is what baseball ought to do to Bonds Blatter says Zidane could lose MVP award 'We have to await the outcome of the investigation,' FIFA boss says MILAN, Italy - FIFA president Sepp Blatter says Zinedine Zidane could be stripped of his Golden Ball award for the best player at the World Cup due to violent conduct.“The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international commission of journalists,†Blatter said in Wednesday’s La Repubblica. “That said, FIFA’s executive committee has the right, and the duty, to intervene when faced with behavior contrary to the ethic of the sport.†Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest after the two exchanged words on the field in extra time of Sunday’s World Cup final. He was sent off and Italy won its fourth title on penalties.

Sounds like sour grapes from you to me. I've heard worse things playing basketball than being called a dirty terrorist. And its not like both sides dont talk s*** ALL GAME LONG. We talked s*** all game when we played basketball and it was at its worst when doing free throws. Zidane lost his cool and gave up on his team and his country. His reaction to the header Buffon saved tells you all you need to know. He was frustrated that Italy shut his game down. I'll give France credit, they dominated the 2nd half. The refs stole a goal from Italy on the free-kick offsides call. But the game evened out at the end. All of those Italian players are supposed to be free agents if their teams drop down to the minors.

Zidane is a piece of s***. Glad Italy won the game. France dominated the 2nd half but the refs blew the offside call on Italy's second goal they overturned. Italy played a great Cup giving up only 1 goal on a phantom penalty call PK mind you and 1 own goal

No thanks on Belfour. Shanny can go off to Boston if he can get paid more there.....Thank you Captain

Home field advantage plays a big part into any sport, but Argentina is a scoring machine. Germany is going to have a hard time making it to the final four let alone the finals

My Final Four...I'd love to see England win it all just so we can witness hooliganism at its finest but they wont get past Brazil if they can win their next match ARG v ITA ENG v BRA For the Cup ARG v BRA Champions Brazil

Looks like Ukraine took out Switzerland on PKs. Things are looking rather interesting

The Socceroos may take out Italy....0-0 in injury time headed for OT and possibly PKs Squash that, Italy in injury time with a clutch win down a man

D Wade is making a lot of people forget about that sidekick Shaq used to have in LA. D Wade is a better baller than that guy is too IMO

I'm looking forward to the US match on Thursday. Hopefully they can overcome missing their two players with reds from the previous game and Italy can beat the Czechs. Should be interesting to say the least

I dont hate the Heat....but I do hate Dallas. The calls he gets are because he drives to the basket and creates contact. Jump shooters will never get to the free throw line because they don't create contact. We'll see just how good of a coach Pat Riley is tonight. I think Dallas will be tough to beat at home. Tonight is the night to do it if you're Miami