Touchdown! Ben to Plax, just like old times. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned In Week 17 in the NFL

• Playoff spots won and lost in final games
• Coaches ready to clean out their offices
• The NFL is foaming at the mouth for a possible Manning vs. Brady playoff matchup
• Steelers end the season with a win at home over the Browns

We had such high hopes for this season, didn’t we Steeler Nation?  We have high hopes for every season, honestly.  Every year it’s either Super Bowl or bust but sometimes things just don’t go the way they’re supposed to and what you’re left with is something Steeler fans aren’t used to; knowing going into the game that it’s the last game of the season.  The Steelers handled the Browns at home for their last outing as the 2012 Steelers but before we review the game, let’s take some cheap shots.

The AFC playoff teams had all already clinched last weekend but the seedings weren’t set until after this Sunday.  The Broncos and Patriots managed to clinch the top two seeds and first-round byes while the Texans slipped all the way down to the #3 spot and will face the Bengals in the Wild Card game.  The Ratbirds claimed the #4 spot and will welcome the emotional Colts in their Wild Card matchup next weekend.  The Bengals were able to take down the Steelers and Ravens for the first time in Andy Dalton’s and AJ Green’s career thanks to the Ravens laying down most of the game yesterday.

The NFC playoff spots were up for grabs yesterday and even though the Giants destroyed the Eagles in their matchup, they didn’t get the help they needed to clinch and will be the first defending Super Bowl Champions to miss the playoffs since the 2009 Steelers.  The Bears were unable to get the help they needed and Jay Cutler’s bitter beer face will have to continue a little bit longer.  The Vikings behind Adrian Peterson’s amazing season where he fell just 9 yards short of passing Eric Dickerson’s record will face the Packers in the Wild Card round while the Redskins who’s gamble on trading everything for RGIII certainly paid off as they claimed the NFC East crown and will face the Seahawks in the Wild Card round.  It will be up to the Falcons to shake their history of playoff choking as they secured the #1 overall seed and home field advantage.

The Monday following Week 17 is usually the day where NFL coaches all over the league get served their walking papers.  The Andy Reid era is officially over in Philly and apparently the Jets ownership decided to make GM Mike Tannenbaum the scape goat for their failures and will retain loud-mouth Rex Ryan as head coach, at least for the time being.  Others coaches that will be looking for jobs are to include Romeo Crennel, Pat Shurmer, Norv Turner, and Ken Whisenhunt.  Might be easier to just name coaches that won’t be fired today.  The Steelers will be on the hunt for a new Offensive Line and possibly Special Teams coach this offseason.  One thing that is irritating me about the talk of the coaching firings is how everyone thinks Andy Reid is just automatically guaranteed another job somewhere else.  I just don’t understand the national love fest for Andy Reid right now.  I mean I don’t have any strong feelings against the guy I just think he’s getting a whole lot of credit for being great at a job he’s also getting fired for.

The NFL marketing executives have got to be as excited as Jo-Jo the idiot circus boy with a pretty new pet at the fact that Peyton Manning was able to perform so great with the Broncos this season following his comeback from a zillion neck surgeries and awful commercials with Papa John’s.  With the Broncos securing the #1 seed and the Patriots with the #2 it looks as though the possibility of a Manning vs. Brady AFC Championship is highly likely.  Up until you realize that the way the playoffs have been going the past 8 years or so, the final conference championship is almost never the #1 and #2 seeds.

As I mentioned before I was at the Steelers final home game yesterday, along with Heinz Field’s lowest ever crowd for a Steelers game to cheer on my beloved Black & Gold in a game that didn’t mean anything for standings or seedings, but meant a whole lot for me to be there.  I’ve sat through a Steelers game in a hurricane, and in seemingly 1,000 degree weather in Florida and I can honestly say I’ll take a game in the snow any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

The Steelers took the field for warm ups while snow was still falling in Heinz Field on a frosty day.  Though most of the time in Pittsburgh the skies are rather gray, the sun managed to pop out just seconds before Troy Polamalu intercepted Browns’ QB Thad Lewis for the first of four Steelers forced turnovers.  Unfortunately, the offense was unable to capitalize off of the turnover and had to punt on their ensuing possession and you almost worried it was going to be the same scenario as last week; the defense creating opportunities by forcing turnovers and the offense failing to capitalize.  Ben and the offense eventually got it together and opened up a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter after Ben was able to throw 3 touchdown passes including one to Plaxico Burress.  Cortez Allen played another outstanding game, forcing two fumbles again.

I’m still so happy I was able to take in the game yesterday; I can’t really be spiteful or sarcastic about the Steelers 8-8 season at this point.  I’m sure that will come, I know we’d all rather be ready to talk about the playoff matchup the Steelers will face rather than what coaching and personnel changes will happen in this, long offseason that lies before us.  I’ll make sure to wear my smart-ass hat while watching Wild Card Weekend next weekend and report all the cheap shots I can think of.  Until then, bring it on Wild Card Weekend!

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Heath Miller is having a Probowl year for the Steelers. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-US PRESSWIRE

What We Learned in Week 8 in the NFL:

• San Diego out Browns the Browns
• The Patriots should play every game in London
• Jets get housed by Dolphins at home
• Cowboys have genius play calling
• Cam Newton is still pouting
• Steelers bumble bee uniforms sting RG3

Am I right or am I right about Steeler Nation being a happier place to be after a win?  The Steelers put together their best overall performance of the season on Sunday afternoon but we’ll get into that a little later.  We got cheap shots to take.  First up; my favorite overrated quarterback, Philip Rivers.  San Diego, which of course is German for “a whale’s vagina” played as such in Cleveland.  The Chargers failed to reach the endzone the entire game thanks to some bad drops, bad punts, and the super inefficiency of Rivers.  The Browns scored one touchdown on a Trent Richardson run and that proved to be the only points they needed to get passed Norv Turner’s Chargers.  Why does that guy still have a head coaching job again? (more…)

Too bad they can’t bring their cheerleaders.

The San Diego Chargers return to the sloppy tundra of Heinz Field in a rematch of a week 11 contest which ended by the improbable score of 11-10.  It actually should have been 17-10 but one of the refs got a call from his bookie wrong thus negating Troy Polamalu‘s last minute TD return of a fumbled lateral.  Let’s hope the NFL assigns a competent crew to the Divisional Playoff game this Sunday.  Last thing we need is a replay of last year’s playoff debacle against Jacksonville where the officials mysteriously missed three blatant holding penalties on the QB scramble which set up the game winning FG.

Regardless of the final score, anybody who thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers have a decided advantage because of their performance in their first meeting didn’t watch the game.  On paper, it looks like a one-sided slaughter.  QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 308 yards, WR Hines Ward caught 11 balls for 124 yards (plus 6 for 55 by TE Matt Spaeth), and Fast Willie Parker had a rare 100 yard day.  The defense held San Diego to 218 total yards while picking off Philip Rivers twice.

However, the Steelers did not score an offensive touchdown the entire game.  How you may ask?  Penalties killed them.  They were flagged 13 times for an atrocious 115 yards. Several of these negated big plays, particularly the one which cost them a TD bomb to Nate Washington.  They also struggled badly on key short yardage conversions, getting stifled on third and shorts while also failing to punch it in on a big 4th and goal play.

Most importantly, the story of the game was the inclimate weather that day.  Playing in steady flurries on a frozen field, the San Diego defenders played well off the recievers.  They didn’t want to chance slipping and allowing them to run by for a big gain.  If the weathermen can be believed, and I don’t believe anyone not named Kudzma, the weather should be markedly better this weekend.

Without the climate advantage, this game could easily go very differently.  The Chargers showed good coverage against the pass happy Indianapolis Colts so thinking the game will follow the same script is unrealistic.  The Steelers better not fool themselves into thinking the running game will not be a huge factor.  Ignore the mantra of a good ground game always wins in the playoffs at your own peril, Bruce Arians.

Since I’ve already done a highly detailed breakdown of the two teams, I won’t bother to repeat it.  The key changes since then are both Chargers RB Ladainian Thomlinson and the Steelers’ Roethlisberger coming off injuries.   Thomlinson has his groin muscle separated from his pelvis (raise your hand if you just crossed your legs and grimaced) and probably won’t play (he may not even dress).   He’ll be replaced by a midget named Darren Sproles, a burner who Indy had no answer for.  Ben was concussed in the season finale against the hapless Browns.  He was apparently given a green light, although anybody who has been knocked loopy will tell you that the affects can last weeks or months.  If this concussion affects his decision making skills one iota, head coach Mike Tomlin’s season ending gambit will go down as one of the biggest blunders in Pittsburgh sports history.

The Chargers.  The Steelers.  Heinz Field.  The 2008 NFL Playoffs.  One team takes a step forward toward glory while the other has their season end in a hail of frustration and tears.  As the Joker said in the best movie of the year, “And…here…we…go…”