AFCN At Large thru week 7

[ATL96Steeler]

Clearly the Ravens are in command as they sit 5-2 overall and 2-1 in DIV. I've had a chance to see every team play at least 2 now. My thoughts.

BAL...Obviously they look the strongest...especially on DEF @ home. The Falcons are bordering on yet another season with the poorest OL in the league...that really showed yesterday so Idk how much credit to give BAL, but I'm still not seeing them do a whole lot better than 10-6.

CIN...After starting strong, we'll have to see how they respond to a beat down yesterday. That DEF doesn't look anything like LY now and the OFC to have some many weapons (aside from AJ Green ) is doing just okay imo. 2 big ST plays really kept them in the CAR game. 9-7 is still in play, but they have the tougher row to hoe schedule wise.

CLE...I knew they were celebrating too much after a split with PIT... Hoyer was quoted that he was "bored" vs the Steelers...they got what I expected yesterday in JAX...Typical of a team that hasn't won much. Still, .500 thru 6 is probably a positive for them...I'm not seeing many more road wins for this team though...plus CIN & IND at home...8-8.

PIT...while I think you are what you are 6 to 8 games into an NFL season, within the DIV the Steelers imo have the most potential to improve on their recent play. Why? The OFC clearly has better personnel than the results to date...the OL has been decent, and so far the running game looks like it's something they can sustain. These are the ifs...Wheaton & Ben on the same page, figure out the RZ playcalls and maybe interject some bigger players into the play calls...I know Bryant is a rookie so you never know, but he has some talent...also Spaeth, and Will Johnson should get more touches.

The DEF I've long felt would be better by week 10 or 12 than at any point earlier so we'll see...right now I'm still keeping the 9-7 to 10-6 in play for them but leaning to 9-7 and missing the playoffs based on inconsistent play.

Has anyone really surprised you so far?

 

[TDs3nOut]

Couldn't resist posting in this thread how my prediction that Kubiak was a great hire for the Ravens seems to be turning out. I do, however, reserve the right to not acknowledge that prediction in the future if circumstances so warrant backing off it. In the mean time, I only hope that Kubes makes both Forsett and Daniels more integral parts of the offense, since both are on my fantasy team! Finally, I also have Ben on my bench, so I don't object to the Steelers finishing strong!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Couldn't resist posting in this thread how my prediction that Kubiak was a great hire for the Ravens seems to be turning out. I do, however, reserve the right to not acknowledge that prediction in the future if circumstances so warrant backing off it. In the mean time, I only hope that Kubes makes both Forsett and Daniels more integral parts of the offense, since both are on my fantasy team! Finally, I also have Ben on my bench, so I don't object to the Steelers finishing strong!

Ravens have been putting up more points than I expected particularly after losing Pitta (Daniels is actually playing better), but I'm more impressed with their DEF so far.

Ben needs to get in sync with Wheaton badly imo...if not teams will double A. Brown and the Steelers won't sniff the playoffs.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Ravens have been putting up more points than I expected particularly after losing Pitta (Daniels is actually playing better), but I'm more impressed with their DEF so far.

Ben needs to get in sync with Wheaton badly imo...if not teams will double A. Brown and the Steelers won't sniff the playoffs.

^ that comment reminds me of something that I've wondered about for a while, namely, does Ben fall too much in love with a particular target? I think it was only three years ago that the Steelers had Wallace, Brown, and Sanders. Wallace had a monster year before leaving, while Brown and Sanders were, in my opinion, somewhat under utilized. Then, after Wallace was gone, Brown became the go to guy and Sanders was still an after thought. Makes me wonder why Ben doesn't spread the ball around more.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

^ that comment reminds me of something that I've wondered about for a while, namely, does Ben fall too much in love with a particular target? I think it was only three years ago that the Steelers had Wallace, Brown, and Sanders. Wallace had a monster year before leaving, while Brown and Sanders were, in my opinion, somewhat under utilized. Then, after Wallace was gone, Brown became the go to guy and Sanders was still an after thought. Makes me wonder why Ben doesn't spread the ball around more.

Ben is quite willing to spread the ball around, but if the WR is dropping it or not quite where Ben expects them to be...he will tend to lean on old reliable...particularly on 3rd down...that being A. Brown or Heath Miller now, and he's developing more confidence in Bell as a receiver.

Wheaton, J. Brown and Moore are all 1st year contributors to the Steelers...Moore is seasoned in his time with Brees, but missed the 1st 4 games. Wheaton is the guy imo...they gave up Sanders (to you guys actually) and he was more or less given the #2 slot and his numbers are projecting out to match Sanders from LY, but his ceiling was supposed to be much higher.