This Sunday, Rex Ryan and his New York Jets take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the right to play in Super Bowl XLV.  Not much more needs to be said.  Which is ironic since Ryan is known for saying his peace and then some.  Whether he genuinely respects the Steelers or is just worried about winding up with his foot in his mouth (rather than his wife’s), he’s been remarkably restrained to the point of boredom.

The closest we’ve had to trash talk was when Ike Taylor said he wouldn’t hesitate to lay out his old buddy Santonio Holmes if given the chance.  To which ‘Tone responded he doesn’t care about the Steelers anymore.  Wait, so a defensive player will still do his job in the biggest game of the year even if his opponent is a former teammate?   And a pothead wide receiver cares more about his current team than the one who flushed him like a bag of weed during a drug bust?

SHOCKING.

Truth is, Rexy can call Mike Tomlin “one of my favorite people” in football and Tomlin can say he loves Ryan’s style all week long.  Trevor Pryce can call Big Ben “a polar bear” while complimenting how he plays the game. None of it matters.  When the whistle blows and the ball is kicked, both teams will bring all they have for a chance to play on the biggest stage of them all.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. JETS OFFENSE

Mark Sanchez is the key to the game.  Last week, we saw Bert Flacco fold like a cheap lawn chair when the pressure was on.  Sanchez is a similar kind of quarterback who leans on a strong running game and is protected by safe, short throws when they pass.  Thus far, he has avoided the game-changing mistakes other young quarterbacks have made despite shaky protection due to an injury to his usual starting right tackle, Damian Woody.

The two-headed monster of Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson are a young quarterback’s best friend.  Against the Steelers staunch run defense, they combined for 100 yards.  They may not have won the previous meeting but their effective running kept the pressure off Sanchez by controlling the clock and providing manageable third downs.  If they’re kept in check, it becomes an entirely different game with the ball put into Sanchez’s hands.

Taking a page from the Ratbirds, the Jets tried to cover for inexperience at QB by surrounding him with star wide receivers.   Make no mistake, the duo of Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards are second to none.   Mix in slot man Jerricho Cotchery and dependable tight end Dustin Keller and you have an excellent supporting cast.  Still, in last week’s effort against the Patriots, Sanchez missed a number of throws and generally looked shaky outside of one or two key plays (he was helped immensely, for example, by a helluva catch by ‘Tone in the end zone).  While he has the admirable tendency to make a play when he needs to make one, the Steelers best bet would still be to turn the game into a track meet and dare Nacho to beat them.

The last time these two teams faced off, Sanchez didn’t have to worry about the flowing locks of Troy Polamalu.  Troy had a miserable game against the Ravens but if I were I betting man, I wouldn’t like the odds of him playing two poor games in a row.  Troy is exactly the kind of unpredictable wild card which gives young quarterbacks nightmares.  I fully expect him to be the difference between this game and the last one.

All other hands would seem to be on deck.  Bryant McFadden left the Ravens game with an abdominal strain but returned to practice and expects to play.  With Ike Taylor shutting down the opponent’s star receiver, it’s crucial for B-Mac to line up on the opposite side.  William Gay has played solidly when called upon although we saw what happened with him last season.  Not to mention with McFadden hurt, that leaves Anthony Madison as the nickel.

The only other notable injuries are to special teams players Arnaz Battle and Will Allen.  I note this because in the first meeting between the teams, the key play was Brad Smith’s opening kickoff return for a touchdown.  The good news is Smith is injured and, while he will play, may not handle returns.  The bad news is his replacement is Antonio Cromartie, who is every bit as dangerous.  The special teams played a lot better this season but were terrible last week and if one or both of our special team specialists can’t go, that’s not gonna help matters.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. JETS DEFENSE

If Sanchez is the key for the Jets, Ben Roethlisberger is the key for the Steelers.  Both teams are roughly equal when you compare them position by position.  Except when you look at the quarterback position.  Big Ben is the best big game quarterback in the NFL and perhaps of all-time.  As Hines Ward said following the Ravens game, “When you walk in to the huddle and see #7 there, you know you always have a chance.”

Another big change from last time is the presence of Ben’s favorite target, Heath Miller. Those who saw the first meeting between the teams might recall Matt Spaeth being open all over the field.   But Spaeth does as he is known to do and dropped as many as he caught.  Miller will not disappoint in the same fashion.  Last week, Patriot tight ends had over 100 yards receiving while the Jets D have surrendered a league high 9 TDs to TEs during the season so to say having Heath back is extremely important is an understatement.

Make no mistake, the Jets have one of the finest defenses in the league.  They scheme extremely well and take full advantage of weaknesses in their opponents game.  They also take a page out of the Steelers book by blitzing from unpredictable places and at unpredictable times.  It surely helps that Flozell Adams appears to be over the flu bug although Jonathan Scott was also banged up last week and he was the biggest weak link in the previous meeting.

While the Jets play solid defense, they can be exploited.  Rashard Mendenhall had 99 yards rushing in their prior encounter.  The Patriots, who are a below average running team by nature, still ran the ball effectively with itty bitty Danny Woodhead.  While the Steelers are no longer a ground-and-pound “Stiller Football” style offense, it wouldn’t hurt to pound the rock enough to slow down the pass rush just a little bit.

However, the game will still come down to Big Ben.   Darrelle Revis seems to be hitting his stride so I wouldn’t expect much from Mike Wallace this week.  Luckily, the Steelers are five deep when it comes to receiving threats.  Antonio Brown caught maybe a dozen balls all season and then came down with a 58 yard bomb in the most critical moment of the year.  Drew Coleman, Brodney Pool, Kyle Wilson, and even Antonio Cromartie can be exploited.  Hines and Heath are the steady veterans while Ben has shown no fear in calling the numbers of Emmanuel Sanders or A-Brown when need be.

Fellow CMU graduate Nik Bonaddio ran a statistical analysis of this game which I would gladly explain to you if I didn’t fall asleep during stats class sophomore year.  Suffice it to say, his extremely detailed breakdown has the Steelers winning 24-17.  Sounds about right.  Games like this are won or lost on cheap points.  The first time these teams met, the Steelers gifted the Jets nine undeserved points by allowing a kickoff return and then running an idiotic draw in the end zone for a safety.  After last week’s sloppiness, I don’t expect the Steelers to shoot themselves in the foot yet again.  Good for Steeler Nation, bad for Rex Ryan and Gang Green.

So much for class.

Mike Tomlin used his weekly press conference to talk positively about the Pittsburgh Steelers and their playoff chances.  He spoke highly of overrated quarterback Joe Flacco and even said nice things about obnoxious loudmouth Terrell Suggs.  Hopefully someone other than Jonathan Scott tries to block him this time.  The closest Tomlin came to uncouth trash talk was when he referred to the Ravens as “a very salty group.”

Meanwhile, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh used his press conference to show why he’s the perfect leader for a gang of thugs.  “I was glad we broke his nose,” Harbaugh commented to reporters yesterday.  To which the Baltimorons in attendance giggled with glee.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find out the coach who represents the area and the reporters who live there have taken on the low-class behavior typical to that decaying hellhole of a city.

Say what you like about Brian Billick but at least he always kept the fact his team was the dirtest bunch of cheaters in the NFL to himself.  It’s nice to know the Ravens are lead by a man who is not only proud of his team’s goonish behavior, he endorses it.  Newsflash for you, Johnny Boy, what Haloti Ngata did ILLEGAL.  He was fined $15,000 for his disgraceful actions and should have been suspended if not for the NFL’s anti-Steeler bias.

I wonder what would happen to Tomlin if the Ginger Dictator got wind of him encouraging his players to take cheap shots at their opponents?

Then again, this isn’t the first time the Ravens have publicly admitted to their criminal tendencies.  Ray Lewis broke Rashard Mendenhall’s collar bone during a particularly hard-hitting contest back in 2008.  Afterward, he and Suggs talked of “a bounty” being placed on certain Steelers’ heads.  The NFL, under the direction of known Steeler hater Ray Anderson, conducted a sham of an “investigation” before quietly sweeping it under the rug.

Ray Lewis did make a great hit on Rashard.  But then he had to jump up, thump his chest, and point at him so the rest of his defense could see Mendy was laid out.  Typical punk-ass behavior from “God’s Linebacker”, although what else do we expect?  Lewis would be in jail if it weren’t for football and Suggs would probably be his girlfriend.  That way he could put his purty mouth to use for something other than talking trash he seldom backs up and whining when his team loses.

Gotta love the Raven Way as endorsed by their very own leader.  Put bounties on the other team’s players.  Try to kneecap the other team’s star linebacker on an extra point attempt (as Chris Chester tried to do to James Harrison in their last meeting).  And attempt to break the nose of the quarterback who owns you.

Pure class.

In a constantly changing world, it’s nice to know there are some things you can count on.  Politicians will lie, birds will poop on your windshield minutes after you’ve washed it, and the Cleveland Browns will always stink.

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up the second seed in the AFC and a first round bye by laying a 41-9 pasting the hapless Brownies.  As I’ve said before, last year’s Thursday night debacle may have been the best thing that ever happened to us.  It gave Steeler Nation a reason to believe in a Rivalry which had become pointless, it fooled pitiful Clevelanders into thinking their sad franchise was in the same universe as the Steelers, and, most importantly, it ensured the Steelers would never take anybody lightly ever again.  What we saw yesterday was a team which has come full circle from that embarrassment of a little over a year ago.

Troy Polamalu returned to the line up and his presence paid immediate dividends.  Colt McCoy’s second pass of the day was batted by his own man right into Troy’s waiting arms.  It’s amazing how a rather pedestrian secondary looks so much better than they are when Troy is out there.  On the Steelers first play following the turnover, Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace with a 56 yard touchdown bomb and the route was on.

Big Ben hit the Flash with a 41 yarder on the Steelers next drive, setting up a one yard TD plunge by Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendy would bang home another one yarder later in the 2nd quarter as the Steelers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions.  Following a sweet diving interception by Ryan Clark, Ben hit Heath Miller at the pylon for another score.  After being slapped around for thirty minutes, the Browns’ balls finally dropped, forcing us to settle for a FG to ruin the streak with ninety seconds remaining in the half.

The passing game looked fantastic with Ben hitting eight different receivers while going 15/22 for 280 yards.  Wallace had another 100 yard day while Hines Ward and Heath provided steady hands over the middle.  It was rookie Antonio Brown‘s turn to shine as he caught 4 balls, including a nice 26 yard catch-and-run along the sideline.  The rushing attack was a little rough as Mendy finished with only 36 yards on 14 carries.  As painful as this is to say, I think going forward the Steelers will have to become more of a pass-first offense.  The patchwork line seems better at pass blocking than run blocking (Ben wasn’t sacked once) and, while I like Issac Redman, the team’s loaded with weapons at wide receiver.

The Steelers defense played a magnificent game with only a garbage time touchdown against third stringers marring their day.  Ziggy Hood had his finest effort of the year, recording four solo tackles (two for loss), a sack, and narrowly missing the quarterback a couple other times as he was a disruptive force all afternoon.  Lawrence Timmons was all over the field as he seems to be getting back to early season form.  The secondary held up well with William Gay playing in relief of a limited Bryant McFadden.  The Browns only managed one meaningful 80 yard drive which stalled at the Pittsburgh 2, where Eric Mangini decided to show the hostile crowd his mangina by kicking a field goal on fourth down.

At least you can always tell people you were on The Sopranos, Genius.

You could just hear the howls of protest from whining Yinzers when Ben and company came out to start the third quarter already up 31-3.  Big Ben capped off his nearly prefect afternoon by engineering a thirteen play 77 yard drive which consumed over seven minutes.  It was mostly pass plays which shows you can control the clock without running the ball.  The drive ended with a bit of TRICKERATION when Antwaan Randle-El took a reverse, stopped, and fired a bullet to Hines standing all alone in the end zone.

From that point on, it was a preseason game as rookies and back ups held the pitiful first team Browns mostly in check.  Jonathan Dwyer saw his first action of the season and looked okay.  Byron Leftwich didn’t fare as well, getting sacked twice and looking a bit confused at times although he can still fire the pigskin.  Part of the problem was superstar rookie Maurkice Pouncey left the game with a stinger so he was stuck with Doug Legursky as his center.

What more can I say?  I know I joke a lot about Pittsburgh Paranoia and stuff but Steeler fans tend to be a pretty optimistic bunch.  I remember when I was a kid and Mark Malone was behind center for the Black and Gold and overhearing my Dad and uncles saying, “You know, they just need a couple more players…”  If that’s not crazy optimism, I don’t know what is.  But between the most tumultuous off-season in Steelers history, the quarterback mess to start the season, a very challenging schedule (we ended up playing 6 playoff teams), the injuries to an already mediocre offensive line, and the Ginger Dictator and his zebra striped minions attempting to screw the team over on a weekly basis, I don’t think even the most die hard Steeler fan could’ve envisioned we’d be sitting in this position at the end of the year.

I had a bad feeling when the Steelers kicked off the year on September 12th.  Here on January 3rd?   All I can say is, “I’ve gotta a feeling….”

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o' auld lang syne.

Lyrics aside, I still don’t like the Cleveland Browns.  And I’m sure the Browns haven’t forgotten the beating handed to them by the Pittsburgh Steelers way back in week six.  Well, except for Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi, who probably don’t remember much from that game thanks to James Harrison.  I’m sure Silverback will be more than happy to renew acquaintances if either should be dumb enough to venture in to his part of the field.

You’ll have to forgive me if this Know Thy Enemy is shorter than usual as I’m still a bit exhausted from New Year’s.  No, I wasn’t drinking like a college girl in Milledgeville.  I was late, got stuck in traffic, then had to run up nine flights of stairs just to make sure I got to the party in time to be with my girl when the clock struck midnight.  That damn “Dice” song is still stuck in my head.

There’s not much to say anyway.  After we destroyed the Brownies, figuratively and literally, they went on to defeat the Saints and Patriots in back-to-back weeks.  Yes, Cleveland beat two of the four teams we’ve lost to this year.  And they narrowly missed beating the Jets the week after all that.  But they’ve lost their last three in a row, two of which (Bills and Bengals) were very winnable games, so they may be up-and-coming but they’re not quite there yet.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. BROWNS OFFENSE

The Browns seem to have found a keeper at quarterback with rookie Colt McCoy.  He was the man behind center for those big wins and despite pretty unimpressive season numbers (5 TDs/6 INTs 1,400 yards in a half season’s worth of work), he’s shown enough to earn the starting job next season.  With a few more weapons at his disposal, he should prove to be a more than adequate signal caller.

Peyton Hillis has been the breakout star for the Browns this season.  The Browns’ recent struggles can be traced to his missing time due to injury.  To get an idea how huge Hillis is to Cleveland’s offense, not only is he the team’s leading rusher (10th overall in the NFL) but he’s the team’s second leading receiver.  P-Hill hasn’t practiced this week due to his sore ribs but with this being the team’s final game of the year, it is expected he’ll be out there on Sunday.

The Steelers defense will greet him with a rush defense seeking to set one of the best marks in NFL history.  They’re currently allowing a meager 64 rush yards per game.  The next best D is allowing 90.  If the Steelers can keep that mark under 65 for the season, they’ll be only the third team in the last thirty-five years to accomplish that goal.

Troy Polamalu practiced on Friday and is listed as questionable.  The Steelers are saying he’s “50-50″ but Troy sounds more optimistic than that.  Reading between the lines, it sounds like he’s pushing to play while they’re reluctant to risk him getting hurt on the eve of the playoffs.  I would play him since a first round bye is absolutely crucial to making any kind of run but the second we open up any kind of lead, he should go right back to the bench.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. BROWNS DEFENSE

The Browns rank a notch above the Steelers in pass defense while they’re near the bottom against the run.  They also have the fourth fewest total sacks in the NFL.  Despite all this, they’re allowing only a smidge under 20 points a game which is better than the Chargers, Jets, Eagles, Patriots, or Giants.  So while they give up plays, they’ve clearly mastered the philosophy of “bend but do not break.”

Ben Roethlisberger has quietly put together a very nice season.  In addition to throwing for 3,000 yards, his 15/5 TD-INT ratio is a career best.  If not for the four missed games due to the unfair unwarranted unjustified suspension, he would’ve hit the 20 TDs/4,000 yards mark for a second consecutive season.  When you factor in the patchwork line, crippling injuries, and the officials out to get him, one might argue this has been the finest season of his career.

Rashard Mendenhall and Mike Wallace have done their part by contributing 1,000 yard seasons to the Steelers cause.  Hines Ward is sitting at 710 so barring some sort of crazy shootout, he’s not going to add another 1,000 yard season to his Hall of Fame credentials.  I’ll have more to say about Hines after the season is over in February but for now I’ll simply leave it at this.  While he’s clearly not the centerpiece of the passing game nor is he even the team’s second best option anymore (Heath Miller deserves that honor), I believe his heart and experience are not only key in big games but contribute to our young receivers coming along so quickly.

Josh Cribbs has not returned a punt or kick for a touchdown this season.  If the Steelers don’t allow any cheap points, I think they’ll be more than able to take care of business on Sunday.  To put this game’s importance in perspective, if the Steelers lose, they can fall from the second seed all the way to the sixth.  However, as I’ve said throughout the season, this team clearly learned from last year’s mistakes and never takes anything for granted.  Good news for the Steelers, not so good for the Browns.

With one more game left to be played, the road to the number two seed and a first round bye for the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t be clearer.  Win at Cleveland and it’s a done deal.  Although rivalry games are usually cause for concern, we could not have chosen a better opponent.  Not only are the Browns a mediocre team, their soul-crushing upset of the Steelers last season is still fresh on the Black and Gold’s mind which means they will be ultra-focused this weekend.

Brady Quinn?  WE GOT BEAT BY BRADY FREAKIN’ QUINN?!?!

The Baltimore Ravens stomped the Browns to fine paste on Sunday so we remain tied with them at 11-4.  However, the Ravens have two division losses while we only have one giving us the edge in tiebreakers.  If they should win their final game while we lose, they’d take the #2 seed by virtue of a better AFC record.  The Ratbirds are playing the Bengals this weekend.  Cincy is coming off their best game of the year, knocking the San Diego Chargers out of the playoff picture thanks to a four TD pass performance from Carson Palmer.  Funny how well he plays when TweedleDumb and TweedleDumber are both injured.

The 10-5 Kansas City Chiefs are the only other team with a chance to catch the Ravens and Steelers, record-wise.  However, they have a 6-5 conference record while both Pittsburgh and Baltimore are 8-3.  So no matter what happens, they can’t win the tiebreaker over either team.  They’re basically only playing to lock in a #3 seed over Indianapolis, who need a win to hold off the Jaguars for the AFC South title.

*Whew*  This sure beats last year when even my advanced calculus training didn’t help me understand the infinite possibilities required for the Steelers to back in to a Wild Card.