Unless the numerous helmet-to-helmet hits have fogged up your memory, I’m sure that you are familiar with the player who was your backup from 2006-2008.  Back in 2007, Anthony thought that it would be a great idea to run his mouth during an interview before a crucial late-season game with the New England Patriots.  In fact, Smith even guaranteed that the Steelers would defeat the then-undefeated Patriots on New England’s home-field.

Of course, you probably remember when Tom Brady shredded and embarrassed Smith and the rest Pittsburgh’s secondary throughout the entire game while you were sidelined due to your sickle-cell issue.  Tom was his usual surgical-self that afternoon when he completed 32 of 46 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots rolled to a 34-13 win.

Then again, maybe you choose not to remember that particular beat-down at Foxborough.  Or maybe you simply relish being the biggest attention seeker on a team littered with entirely too many of them.  I do however know that you recently had quite a bit to say about Tom Brady and the New England Patriots when you were on ESPN’s “NFL Live” earlier this week:

When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you’re man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw he sees ghosts…Even when guys aren’t around him, even when he’s not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we’ll see him duck, we”ll see him flinch.  When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away.

 

I know they think Danny Amendola can come in and have the same type of numbers he had with the Rams, but we also have to remember, he’s fragile.  He’s not a guy who has competed a whole season, especially playing inside in what can be a physical AFC East.  You also think about Gronkowski and the injury; that is going to be bigger than anything for the New England Patriots coming in this year.  Also with Aaron Hernandez being questionable and whether or not he will be at full speed when the season starts…

 

While Brady has had his fair share of issues with pocket collapse (along with basically every other professional quarterback), I’m not sure how much talking a guy like you should be doing after your team finished .500 and failed to qualify for the postseason last year.

Not only did your defense fold like origami against cellar-dwellers like Oakland and Tennessee in crunch-time last year, they also failed to rush the passer and force turnovers with any consistency.  Heck, if you want to trash-talk, one could say that your defense last year embodied the very essence of Lee Flowers’ now famous “Paper Champions” phrase.

Ryan Clark did not have kind words for the New England Patriots. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

While you mentioned how Cortez Allen did so well against Rob Gronkowski in the slot during Pittsburgh’s 2011 win, did you take into account how your secondary had Keenan Lewis on the field that day?

Now that Lewis is in New Orleans, Allen will be forced to take his spot in the starting lineup.  Thus the chore of handling “The Gronk” throughout the game could fall to you, the injury-prone Troy Polamalu or an inexperienced cornerback on your roster if Allen has to play outside the numbers and cover other pass-catchers.  And do you really believe that William Gay, Curtis Brown, Josh Victorian, or even rookie Terry Hawthorne can cover Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez in space with any sort of consistency?

In addition to the talented tight ends, what will you do to stop Amendola if he comes your way, Ryan?  Torpedo yourself and your helmet illegally into his face-mask?  I hate to break it to you, but the referees throw flags for that type of play nowadays.  Then again, if you knew that you probably would have stopped doing it due to the excessive fines and costly penalties which you have racked up over the years.

Also, it’s not like Amendola is coming from a “non-physical” and “flag-football background” either.  He spent his entire career in the extremely physical NFC West and he played against the likes of Seattle, San Francisco and Arizona up to six times per season.  The 49ers and Seahawks ranked 3rd & 4th in total defense last year, and the Cardinals managed to rank 12th to boot.  All three of those teams have had rough and tough defenses over the last three years, and I would go so far as to say that the NFC West is the most physical division in football right now.

Furthermore, do not dismiss talented rookies like Josh Boyce and Aaron Dobson from making contributions in the passing game and spreading the field against your defense as well.  Dick LeBeau’s defensive scheme is exposed in zone-coverage against accurate quarterbacks who employ four and five wide receiver sets, so good luck stopping Brady if you want to go zone-heavy against him in Week 9.

Most importantly though, how is your team’s inconsistent pass-rush going to rattle Mr. Brady if you do decide to send guys after him?  LaMarr Woodley has had one foot on the field and the other at a Dunkin’ Donuts since he signed his massive deal during the summer of 2011.  On the opposite side of “Mr. Stay Puft” is the injury-prone Jason Worilds, and the former Hokie has yet to receive anything but spot-starts over his career.  Pittsburgh’s outside linebackers combined to record a total of 15.0 sacks last season, and the unit could struggle even more this year without James Harrison.

Look, I understand that you didn’t guarantee a victory like Smith did Mr. Clark, but you sure sent some unnecessary verbal barbs New England’s way.  Then again, jawing like yours has become the norm more than anything else over the last few years in Pittsburgh.  Essentially, you gave bulletin board material to a future Hall of Famer who has shredded your franchise over the course of his storied career (6-2 record including playoffs).  The sad part is that Brady has carved far more talented Steeler defenses than the one that Pittsburgh will send out on the field in 2013.

But don’t worry Ryan, it’s not like Brady, Amendola and the rest of the Patriots players and coaching staff will sink to your level and respond off of the field by hamming for the camera or jawing through the papers like you do.  They’re more likely channel their energy into performing well on the field like the professionals they are. Ultimately, they’re much more equipped to have the last laugh against you and the rest of the defense by the time November 3rd rolls around.

You know, just like Anthony Smith was all those years ago by a man named Brady.

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Tom Brady is sad. That helps a little. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned in the NFL Conference Championship Weekend

• Steeler Nation is being punished
• Atlanta Defense fails to stop Kaepernick and Davis
• Falcon fan stabbed following NFC Championship game
• Tom Brady blows it and Belichick pouts
• Ray Lewis nothing but humble
• Harbowl already turning people off of SB XLVII

Clearly we’re being punished, Steeler Nation.  We all know we’re spoiled, we expect the Steelers to be in the Super Bowl every year because that’s what we’ve grown accustomed to.  I’m not sure what the egregious offenses were exactly but the Football Gods are clearly not pleased with us and now we must suffer the consequences.  It was bad enough to have to watch another AFC Championship between the Ratbirds and Patriots but now we’re staring down our worst nightmare as we’ll be flooded with nonstop coverage of Ray Lewis and his dancing/crying/preaching farewell tour and the Jagoff vs. Jagoff that will be the Super Bowl between the two Harbaugh brothers coaching.  Ugh.  I’m disgusted already.  Let’s throw out some cheap shots.

Last week we saw Seattle and their offense pick apart the Falcons defense in their comeback from a 20-0 deficit.  This week we saw Atlanta jump out to another easy 17-0 lead, only to blow every chance defensively to stop Kaepernick, Gore, and Vernon Davis collectively.  Also, apparently Randy Moss is still alive and well in the NFL and actually caught a few passes on his way to his first Super Bowl appearance with the 49ers.  While the top seeded Falcons managed to win their first playoff game under head coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan, they didn’t seem to have enough gas left in the tank to stop the surging 49ers.  Jim Harbaugh goes from throwing toddler-like temper tantrums on the sidelines to rejoicing over a Super Bowl berth.  Clearly his move to bench Alex Smith following his concussion in favor of Colin Kaepernick has paid off.  A risky move considering Smith was not playing badly and the team was succeeding.  But Harbaugh made his choice and now he’s doing as a coach what he was a Hail Mary batted down in the endzone of Three Rivers Stadium away from doing as a quarterback, he’s going to the Super Bowl.

Following the NFC Championship in Atlanta, a Falcons fan is now recovering in the hospital from stab wounds received in a fight with a 49ers fan outside of the stadium.  If you’re thinking that the most incidents we hear about regarding fan violence sending someone to the hospital stemming around the 49ers, you’d be right.  There have been several incidents of stabbings and fights outside of Candlestick Park in San Francisco following 49ers game against the Giants and Raiders.  The Falcons fan is reportedly in stable condition and there is no truth to the rumors that Ray Lewis was involved in this stabbing although if the police in New Orleans know what’s good for them, they’d be on high alert next week, for all parties concerned.

Speaking of Ray Lewis, how humble is this man?  Just unassuming, going about his business not wanting any attention or praise kind of hard working guy huh?  If you’ve gotten sick of the entire Ray Lewis last ride BS, you’re going to take a turn for the worse before you get any better.  If you like your football without a side of religion, you might not want to follow any part of these purple guys.  Apparently God likes them the most and that’s why they got to finally win and beat Tom Brady and the Patriots.  The Godly Terrell Suggs was heard screaming at reporters to tell the Patriots to “Have fun in the Pro Bowl” and then added, “Arrogant f*****s” just for good measure.  Meanwhile, Lewis was probably leading a prayer circle or a Soul Train dance line in the middle of the Patriots field.

Can’t get away from the fact that the Ratbirds beat the Patriots and beat them soundly.  Tom Brady managed only one touchdown and two interceptions after leading an offense that scored 557 points this season.  Flacco’s policy of chucking the ball in the air and seeing if either his receiver will catch it or if they’ll be the benefactor of a pass interference call is still working apparently.  In all fairness though Anquan Boldin has been catching everything this post season and for his sake I hope he’s gotten his flu shot.  The Ratbirds defense held the Patriots scoreless in the second half of the game.  Following the loss, the hoodie pouted and refused to do the obligatory “we just didn’t make enough plays” interview with CBS on the field but did give his usual emotionless press conference following the game.

For the first time since 2003 the Super Bowl will not have a quarterback named Brady, Manning, or Roethlisberger playing.  Does this make Flacco elite now?  You bet your ass his agent will think it does as Flacco will be renegotiating for a new contract this offseason regardless of the outcome of the Super Bowl.  Make your plans now Steeler Nation, are you going to watch just for the commercials and hope to stomach though the jagoffery or are you going to boycott all together and finally clean that garage out?  Super Bowl XLVII is less than two weeks away and it’s going to blow.

Follow me on Twitter @Kimmy_KimKimM and follow all of NPC’s posts @NicePickCowherC

Dougie Fresh breaking tackles on his way to the endzone. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

What We Learned in Week 11 in the NFL:

• Three games end in overtime
• Patriots open up a can on Luck
• Eagles still suck without Vick
• Norv Turner’s seat should be on fire by now
• The Jets manage a victory but are still a mess
• Steelers remain winless against Ravens without Big Ben

We haven’t had a Monday morning like this in a while have we?  Nothing can ruin the start of the week worse than a Steelers loss.  That little extra sprinkle of suck on top of your sucky Monday morning is because this loss was at the hands of the Ratbirds, who have won 3 straight against the Steelers going back to last season.  There were some positives to take away from the game but we’ll get into that later, there’s some cheap shots we need to take first. (more…)

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…)

Dwyer came through big time for the Steelers in Cincy. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE

What We Learned in Week 7 in the NFL:

• Eli giving Giants solid start
• Flacco ain’t no elite quarterbacko
• Patriots outlast Jets in OT
• Steelers earn their first road win of the season

Aren’t Mondays so much better after a Steelers victory?  The coffee tastes just a little bit better, the traffic isn’t quite so frustrating, and your boss isn’t that much of an idiot on a Monday morning following a Steelers victory.  One thing is certain; this particular NFL Sunday had some great finishes and some entertaining games. (more…)