Le'Veon Bell - What a great first year for the running back. What a great pick the Steelers made in drafting him. He was a monster yesterday spinning, twirling, and rushing his way down the field collecting first downs and touchdowns as he ran. It was a beautiful sight. He broke Franco Harris' record and then set a record of his own by rushing 50 yards in every game.
Troy Polamalu - He too was on his game and all over the offense. He is the defensive Peyton Manning reading the plays of the opposition and instructing the Steelers defense. I hope he restructures his contract in the off season and finishes his career with the Steelers.
Defense - They got it together here in the end and it's too bad that they let the Browns score with less then three minutes left in the game. Ending the season, especially this season, with a shut-out would have been sweet.
Stadium - Heinz Field was minus so many fans I wish I had flown up for the last game. Except that it was cold and raining. But then again it was raining here too. My buddy and I felt like we were already at Heniz Field with our towels, the rain, and the game on a large screen TV.
Ending - Lawrence Timmons intercepted the ball to end the game. Love it when the elder guys play the way the media says they can't anymore.
Chargers - My gosh, was this the most watched game EVER? Usually after the Steelers play I can relax during the next set of games. But no. This one comes down to the wire for my boys, the Chiefs hold out 20 of their starters, and still almost pull it off. Frustrating. But I give the Chiefs reserves props. The Bolts? Lucky to be playing next week, thanks to some home field officiating advantage.
Officiating - Last week Wade Phillips sent in tape on his game to the NFL and claims they came back with a "you're right, we blew the call" result. I wonder if Mike Tomlin sends in tape this week on the Chargers/Chiefs game concentrating on the too many guys lined up on one side during the last field goal attempt no call and on the overtime call on fourth and two where the Chiefs snatched the ball out of the offense's hand and scored. While it won't do the Steelers any good now, it might help Tomlin on his defense of his stepping on the field and possibly impeding a score if that take-away-a-draft-pick-punishment crap comes up again.
Twitter - The social media network was crazy during the Kansas City/San Diego game. It made me more nervous then the actual game which I had to watch on my computer.
Other:
Ravens - So glad that the Bengals kicked them all over the field. Flacco threw three interceptions, but then again the Bengals' Andy Dalton threw four himself. The Bengals took their place in the playoffs a lot more seriously.
Miami - There were several teams that finished 8-8, but out of those teams no one choked more then the Dolphins who started out hot, cooled off, got hot for a game here and there, and then just decided that football wasn't their thing. This ain't the NFC division guys. Welcome to the AFC.
Hot potato - The Bears and the Packers game mattered as the winner got into the playoffs. But you wouldn't have known it from their first half play. In the second quarter Aaron Roger's pass was knocked down. The Bears messed around with the ball, picked it up and then let it just fall to the ground. The Packers Jarrett Boykin touched it, rolled it around on the ground, picked it up and stood there holding it like it was a crying baby. Aaron Rogers, now I see why they put him in again ASAP, yelled at Boykin that the ball was live, told him to run the hell into the endzone, and the Packers casually scored. Seriously? NFC...pfft.
Peyton Manning - Take that Wade Phillips and stuff it where the sun don't shine!
Rex Ryan - Did he do enough to save his job? Was it ever in jeopardy? Who cared either way. I like that he told them it was, and I like that they did enough to maybe save him. That's teamwork. Then the Jets owner flat out tweeted that Ryan would return next year. It was a nice way to end the year.
Coaching changes - And now we speculate on who will stay and who will go. Sunday night the Browns fired head coach Rob Chudzinski after only one year. Early buzz is Redskins' Mike Shanahan, and Vikings' Leslie Frazier are out. Other jobs that might be lost are the Titans, the Lions, and the Raiders. Of course, here in Tampa mum's the word.
Aaron Rodgers - He may not be a personal guy, but the man is money. I didn't agree with the decision to play him. I thought Matt Flynn had done a heck of a job getting them to this point and thought he had earned the right to finish it out with Rodgers coming off an injury. Obviously, the Packers know better. The two teams traded touchdowns, and Rodgers looked a bit rusty with some endzone interceptions, but in the end the main man pulled out a last minute fourth down pass to seal the deal.
Bears - Fourth down with 42 seconds and you let the receiver run right past you with barely a tap? Somebody forgot what it was like playing against the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. Somebody isn't going to show his face around Chicago for some time.
Last week - Most years by the last week too many teams are safe and have nothing to play for. This wasn't the case this year, and it made for some fun and exciting football. The only team whose place didn't matter was the Chiefs. Nothing they did yesterday would have changed their spot so Andy Reid held out his main guys. Can't fault him for that as injuries occur each week. But when you are a fan of the teams that need wins to get in it is heartbreaking. Then again, those teams had 16 weeks to get into the playoffs.
No comments:
Post a Comment