Monday, December 28, 2015

Monday morning NFL recap

Steelers: With all of my family visiting, I tried to watch the game on my laptop at the rented beach condo, but the wi-fi there was spotty and so it was like watching a robotic game with jerks and stoppages and, well, it was as frustrating as the Steelers play.

  • I was not one who worried when running back La'Veon Bell got hurt because I had tons of confidence in De'Angelo Williams. and yesterday he was the only player that showed up to play.
  • I knew when the media started praising the Steelers the last two weeks about all of the points they  put on the board that we would be in trouble. We play better when no one talks about us and we just slyly and quietly move forward.
  • Ben Roethlisberger came out fired up, but when the rest of his team failed to rise to the occasion he felt he had to do it all and he tried way too hard and made too many mistakes, but I believe that the rest of the team is at fault. They didn't come out to play.
  • From all the Twitter remarks I gathered that we ran the ball more than we threw, but since the defense and the offense didn't come to play yesterday no wonder Tomlin went with Williams.
  • Losing to the Ravens, a mediocre team this year, twice, is worst to me than being out of the hunt for the wild card spot. Seeing how happy Ravens coach John Harbaugh was in the post game conference was a stab in the gut. I would play that interview over and over and over again every time we have to play them next year.
  • I don't know all the ins and outs of what has to happen now, but I believe the Steelers need to pack up their stuff and call it a season. We just aren't that good. We should be with all of the great player we have on offense, but something isn't working. For years I've called it "heart" and maybe that should be on the coach.


Other:
  • Gotta start with the Peyton Manning accusation. Having been burned with Lance Armstrong, whom I believed til the very end, I just feel sad. I think the world of Peyton Manning. I have written countless times about him being what the NFL lacks; full of integrity. That being said I suppose I won't be shocked if the accusation of him using HGH, a banned NFL substance, is true. Not now. Not after watching him play hurt. Not after watching him as he continues to work to play in the NFL again. I thought he would walk away when it was his time, but now I wonder if he will be like Brett Favre and just hold on to something that isn't attainable. I want to believe him. I do believe him. But....
  • And please tell me why Manning was pretty much the only player mentioned in reports with the other names an after thought? So far we have only heard from Manning and it was to deny the accusations. What about Steelers James Harrison who was mentioned? What about Packers Clay Matthews?  Do we not care that these guys might have done a naughty?
  • And continuing on this subject which annoys me...was it illegal at the time this occurred? The NFL didn't ban the substance until 2011. Was that January 1st? They didn't even test for it until 2014. What? Was Manning, who was on the inactive list, even under the rules at the time seeing as he was out for the year? Can these substances not even be a part of recovering from surgery? I have a lot of questions.
  • I also, sorry still talking about it, believe that Manning would be smarter then having the drug sent to his wife. Surely people watch television these days. Send it to a P.O. Box in a fake name! And why are we listening to a media source out of the middle east? The whole thing just annoys me!!
  • And the Manning situation must have been in Eli Manning's head during his night time game against the Vikings. Three interceptions? Ouch. The Vikings killed the Giants to head into the playoffs.
  • The other big news was the Falcons beating the undefeated Panthers on a Cam Newton forced fumble. I believe it is the best thing that could have happened to the Panthers, but if they can't get that loss out of their head it won't be. No more worrying about being perfect. Now you go out and worry about winning the big one. Behind Cam Newton who is confident and a great leader these guys have a shot if they stop worrying about missing that undefeated season.
  • I got to give it to the Jets. Hell of a game against the Patriots. That's what you do when you want to keep playing. They needed to win and the Steelers needed to lose and the Jets rolled right into the Wild Card spot. "A lot of confidence in the huddle," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick about the overtime play. Yep, that's what you have to have.
  • In the Jets game there was some issue regarding the coin toss. The Patriots won the coin toss and elected to kick. WHAT? Coach Belichick obviously had a plan, but obviously it didn't work out the way he wanted. His team stood behind him after the game, but frankly, the Daily News in New York said it best with their headline that said, "THANKS GENIUS."

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