AFCN Week 11 Review

[ATL96Steeler]

CIN...8-2, (lost @ AZ, 34-31)...back to back losses...not totally unexpected, CIN played better than figured they might actually...west coast trip after a MNF game. STL, @CLE, PIT, @SF, @, DEN, BAL...obviously PIT needs to even up the season series in week 14, but that won't be enough I'm afraid...maybe they lose 2 of the 6...I'm projecting 12-4.

PIT...6-4, (bye)...Hopefully they're able to come out of this bye week with a reasonable amount of health...running the table sounds good, but I think the Steelers will do no better than the 5 seed...@ SEA, IND, @CIN, DEN, @BAL, @CLE...the road has to be friendly, but I like projecting 11-5. I still think 10-6 will earn a WC spot.

BAL...3-7, (won vs STL 16-13)...when it rains it pours...Flacco done for the year with an ACL...still mathematically alive. Shaub has been a starter in this league, but I'm not seeing but maybe 2 to 3 more wins max...projected...5-11

CLE...2-8, (bye)...The Browns have finally decided to turn the reins over to Manziel for the rest of the yr...I'm not sure what went wrong with the Brown DEF this year, but talk of key OL guys getting traded had to have an effect in that locker room...I think the Browns are going to be probably around 5-11 as well, and picking a QB in the 1st round.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

CIN... I feel the same. They are still a rock solid team. They would need to turn into the typical Bungals and piss the season away if they were to give up the division. 12-4 seems very likely.

PIT... Gaining steam. If the injury demon has been exorcised then this team could be primed to make a solid run. As always, everything hinges on Ben. Still the rest of season has softened up dramatically. SEA might be without Lynch next week, IND without Luck, DEN without Manning, BAL without Flacco/Forsett. It shouldn't be very hard to finish with 11 wins with all that going on. SEA will be a good measuring stick. Hopefully Landry's MRI results surface as negative (haven't checked). Would hate to have Vick as the only backup option moving forward.

BAL... Flacco & Forsett done for the year. Stick a fork in them. I can see Schaub treading water, but with no Forsett? Buck Allen & some PS kid they signed recently will be their backfield for the remainder of the season unless they sign a vet. Pierre Thomas maybe? But Schaub is going to be leaned on and the entire NFL knows what happens when anyone does that. No top WR options either? Yikes. I almost feel bad for them lol.

CLE... Still a spoiler threat, close to being all but eliminated. Still interested to see how Manziel progresses throughout the remainder of the year. My guess is he disappoints and/or gets injured.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

CIN... I feel the same. They are still a rock solid team. They would need to turn into the typical Bungals and piss the season away if they were to give up the division. 12-4 seems very likely.

PIT... Gaining steam. If the injury demon has been exorcised then this team could be primed to make a solid run. As always, everything hinges on Ben. Still the rest of season has softened up dramatically. SEA might be without Lynch next week, IND without Luck, DEN without Manning, BAL without Flacco/Forsett. It shouldn't be very hard to finish with 11 wins with all that going on. SEA will be a good measuring stick. Hopefully Landry's MRI results surface as negative (haven't checked). Would hate to have Vick as the only backup option moving forward.

BAL... Flacco & Forsett done for the year. Stick a fork in them. I can see Schaub treading water, but with no Forsett? Buck Allen & some PS kid they signed recently will be their backfield for the remainder of the season unless they sign a vet. Pierre Thomas maybe? But Schaub is going to be leaned on and the entire NFL knows what happens when anyone does that. No top WR options either? Yikes. I almost feel bad for them lol.

CLE... Still a spoiler threat, close to being all but eliminated. Still interested to see how Manziel progresses throughout the remainder of the year. My guess is he disappoints and/or gets injured.

11 wins...Brock Osweiller looked pretty good in his starting debut in CHI...I didn't see the game, but that DEF is better than I thought, gotta be able to run against them...SEA will be a good measuring stick because they don't try to trick you too much...the OL has to play well out there to keep you ahead of the chains...presnaps, putting you behind the chains is not going to win out there....I can't say I really care whether they are the 5 or 6 this year...I'd be happy with either spot, so 10-6 I wouldn't feel too bad about.

CIN...yep, they could have folded up the tent down 28-14...that will be a tough game in CIN

BAL...probably heading towards a top 10 pick...it will be interesting to see what direction they go in picking so high if that pans out.

CLE...not every team is going to play him the same way Butler did...to be such an elusive guy, nearly every time Butler sent pressure they were effective...he gets hit too much to be such as small guy so I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't finish the season...I think the Browns should take a QB high regardless.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Tough loss when you basically give it away with the turnovers & bad coaching. Oh well.

Still alive at 6-5 (need to make a T-shirt out of that lol). Tied with the Texans, Chiefs, Colts, & Jets. I don't believe for 1 second that any of those teams are better than Pittsburgh right now.

I could be wrong, but if PIT wins next week against Indy, and OAK beats KC, doesn't that vault PIT back into the 5th seed?

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Tough loss when you basically give it away with the turnovers & bad coaching. Oh well.

Still alive at 6-5 (need to make a T-shirt out of that lol). Tied with the Texans, Chiefs, Colts, & Jets. I don't believe for 1 second that any of those teams are better than Pittsburgh right now.

I could be wrong, but if PIT wins next week against Indy, and OAK beats KC, doesn't that vault PIT back into the 5th seed?

I've been offline for a several days...I gotcha on the turnovers...the coaching part idk...I was in and out working on house projects, but I don't think I missed much.

My thoughts.

Overall...Considering SEA got 28 pts off the 4 turnovers, I'm thinking that really killed them. I think SEA had 3 sustained drives that didn't begin with a turnover.

DEF...the score really makes it seem like they got torched, but again...4 turnovers led to 4 TDs...I paid particular attention to #41 throughout the game...I'm thinking that Lake might have a different take today...he is NOT starter material and they are NOT OKAY at CB...on the final SEA TD...it looks as if Blake has m-t-m coverage on the slot with a single high S. If you watch that play again...why is #41 playing outside technique? (essentially giving up the slant across the middle) when he had no help inside.

OFC...I think you know where I'm going with this...55 pass attempts...8 rushes by DWill...I don't care if Ben throws for 500 yds...that's not winning football...4 picks...I think one slipped out of his hand, the one intended for AB I thought should have drawn a PI flag imo. Was not a trip.

Playoff hunt...no, I think HOU, and NYJ both have better conference records so they also need to lose for PIT even get back to 6. If we beat CLE, and NYJ and HOU lose, PIT moves back into the 6th spot...if they all lose, yes, we move back to the 5 seed.

 

[MISKO]

Roethlisberger says he was diagnosed with a traumatic ocular migraine. He says he has just finished concussion protocol at the Steelers facility.

“I didn’t feel right, it doesn’t make you less of a man or a football player to come out of the game,” he said.

Ben said that his peripheral vision looked as if he was looking through water.

“It was a big hit, got the wind knocked out of me, and I was on the ground, Roethlisberger said. “I felt okay, just felt like it was a big hit.”

Roethlisberger said Dr. Maroon told him “Ben we can’t let you go back out there,” because vision problems could lead to not protecting himself

Ben Roethlisberger: 'For The First Time I Was Thinking About My Family'

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I've been offline for a several days...I gotcha on the turnovers...the coaching part idk...I was in and out working on house projects, but I don't think I missed much.

My thoughts.

Overall...Considering SEA got 28 pts off the 4 turnovers, I'm thinking that really killed them. I think SEA had 3 sustained drives that didn't begin with a turnover.

DEF...the score really makes it seem like they got torched, but again...4 turnovers led to 4 TDs...I paid particular attention to #41 throughout the game...I'm thinking that Lake might have a different take today...he is NOT starter material and they are NOT OKAY at CB...on the final SEA TD...it looks as if Blake has m-t-m coverage on the slot with a single high S. If you watch that play again...why is #41 playing outside technique? (essentially giving up the slant across the middle) when he had no help inside.

OFC...I think you know where I'm going with this...55 pass attempts...8 rushes by DWill...I don't care if Ben throws for 500 yds...that's not winning football...4 picks...I think one slipped out of his hand, the one intended for AB I thought should have drawn a PI flag imo. Was not a trip.

Playoff hunt...no, I think HOU, and NYJ both have better conference records so they also need to lose for PIT even get back to 6. If we beat CLE, and NYJ and HOU lose, PIT moves back into the 6th spot...if they all lose, yes, we move back to the 5 seed.

Turnovers definitely killed them. Without them, they probably would have won. I was also pretty upset with the officiating as well, but I hate to put any blame on that because its pointless.

D... The Tomlin-Blake love affair continues. Frustrating to say the least. I really don't understand this anymore. And its probably only going to get worse. I fear that Blake will get another INT and it will cement him as a starter for the remainder of the season.

O... I agree. They stuck to the aggressive play calling. Maybe they were trying to make a statement, but it ended up backfiring on them. That fake FG was ridiculous. No sense in doing that IMO.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Turnovers definitely killed them. Without them, they probably would have won. I was also pretty upset with the officiating as well, but I hate to put any blame on that because its pointless.

D... The Tomlin-Blake love affair continues. Frustrating to say the least. I really don't understand this anymore. And its probably only going to get worse. I fear that Blake will get another INT and it will cement him as a starter for the remainder of the season.

O... I agree. They stuck to the aggressive play calling. Maybe they were trying to make a statement, but it ended up backfiring on them. That fake FG was ridiculous. No sense in doing that IMO.

Maybe this was the straw that broke the MT's back...or confidence...I'm hearing that Boykin is going to get more snaps in the slot this week.