Vote for the Steelers to beat the Redskins

Chunky Soup's Click for Cans contest is back this season, albeit with a different format than years past. This season NFL teams "play" each other head-to-head each week, with the matchups corresponding to those on the NFL schedule. The team that receives the most votes gets the "win."

Click here to vote for the Steelers over this week's opponent, the Washington Redskins. Entering this week the Steelers are 8-0 in the standings while the Redskins are 4-4.

"Here we go Steelers, Here we go!"

With a crowd of thousands chanting "Here we go Steelers, Here we go..." Steelers president and chairman Dan Rooney presented the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, with a Steelers jersey -- the new O8 -- at Mellon Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

One wonders how Tommy Maddox -- a staunch Republican -- feels about Obama being awarded his old number.

Giants 21, Steelers 14

It's obvious that WR Santonio Holmes was really missed in yesterday's game, and the Steelers' offensive line let the team down again. With LS Greg Warren out for the season with a torn ACL the Steelers will need to sign a long snapper off the street. I'm sure tryouts are already underway.

With the Giants' victory, The Steelyard is now 5-2 on the season and 31-9 all-time in terms of predicitons.

Giants: What are the Chances...?

Yet another extremely difficult game to project a winner; this game seems like a toss-up. From the Steelers’ perspective the two keys to the game are: Protecting Ben Roethlisberger and keeping Plaxico Burress in check. It wouldn’t surprise me if Pittsburgh’s pass protection falters much as it did against Philadelphia, if not quite to the same degree. Steelers fans also know that a motivated Plax is a dangerous Plax, and this will be a statement game for Burress, who’s probably still jacked up about Michigan State beating Michigan in Ann Arbor yesterday.

Thus far, the Steelers haven’t had trouble plugging in substitutes for players lost to injury, but one wonders if this is the week the losses catch up to them. In particular, I’m concerned about the loss of CB Bryant McFadden and WR Santonio Holmes, and if DE Aaron Smith doesn’t suit up that could also have significant implications in terms of stopping the Giants’ powerful running attack.

My heart says Big Ben will find a way to win this game (as he finds a way almost every week), but my head says the Giants’ pass rush (and the Steelers’ injuries/inactives) will enable Big Blue to prevail. I’m giving the Steelers a 48 percent chance of winning.

That said, it's time to address the Eli or Ben argument. The idea that Eli Manning has surpassed Roethlisberger as a QB is borderline silly. Yes, Eli played better than Ben in their respective Super Bowls (Ben was only 23, however), and Manning is almost certainly a more dangerous two-minute/hurry up QB, but other than that Roethlisberger is a significantly better player. In terms of numbers, Big Ben is in the top five all-time in terms of key stats like winning percentage and passer rating (virtually identical to Tom Brady). I'd be curious to see where Ben would stand if one takes the motorcycle accident/appendectomy/concussion season out of the equation. He might very well be #1 in NFL history in every important QB indicator.

The funny thing is that Big Ben has improved noticeably since his Super Bowl season. What is most impressive now is how he has managed to thrive, in spite of playing behind one of the three or four worst pass protecting offensive lines in the league. If Eli Manning got the "protection" — and I use that word loosely — that Ben has been getting, Giants fans would have booed Eli out of New York by now.

Vote for the Steelers to beat the Giants

Chunky Soup's Click for Cans contest is back this season, albeit with a different format than years past. This season NFL teams "play" each other head-to-head each week, with the matchups corresponding to those on the NFL schedule. The team that receives the most votes gets the "win."

Click here to vote for the Steelers over this week's opponent, the New York Giants. Entering this week the Steelers are 7-0 in the standings while the Giants are 5-2.

Steelers 38, Bengals 10

What is there to say? Another week, another crushing Hines Ward block on a defensive player (this one breaking the jaw of Bengals' rookie linebacker Keith Rivers, most likely ending his season), and another Steelers' victory over the Bengals.

With the predicted victory, The Steelyard is now 4-2 on the season and 30-9 all-time. Next week: At home vs. Plaxico Burress and the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Bengals: What are the Chances...?

The Steelers are 9.5 point favorites over the Bengals - as it should be. If nothing else, with Carson Palmer sidelined by an elbow injury, the Steelers have a huge advantage at quarterback with Ben Roethlisberger going against Ryan Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh has also had two weeks to prepare for the game, while the Bengals played last Sunday, a 26-14 loss at the New York Jets.

The keys to the game for the Steelers are: To keep Cincy's wide receiver trio of Chad (Ocho Cinco) Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Chris Henry from making big plays in the passing game, and to limit the return yards of Bengals' KOR Glenn Holt, who leads the NFL with 744 total return yards, and is on pace to generate close to 2,000 kickoff return yards. If the Steelers find success in these two aspects of the game, the rest should take care of itself. Let's give the Steelers a 75 percent chance of winning this game.

Roethlisberger undefeated in Ohio

One of these days, Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger is going to lose a game in the state of Ohio - maybe even this Sunday when the Steelers face the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. But it hasn't happened yet.

Now in the midst of his fifth NFL season, Big Ben is 10-0 in road games against the Browns and Bengals, including a playoff victory at Cincinnati during his second year.

Of course, Roethlisberger doesn't lose many NFL starts. Period. Big Ben has thus far compiled a career record of 48-19, including 5-2 in the post-season (a winning percentage of 71.6 percent, among the best in NFL history).

The strangest injuries in NFL history

Naturally, Kendall Simmons' icepack/frostbite injury from 2006 is among those mentioned. Click here to read the article (from Failure magazine/Oct. 2008).

Vote for the Steelers over the Bengals

Chunky Soup's Click for Cans contest is back this season, albeit with a different format than years past. This season NFL teams "play" each other head-to-head each week, with the matchups corresponding to those on the NFL schedule. The team that receives the most votes gets the "win."

Click here to vote for the Steelers over this week's opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals. Entering this week the Steelers are 6-0 in the standings while the Bengals are 5-1.

Hines Ward fined unnecessarily for unnecessary roughness

It has recently come to light that Steelers’ wide receiver Hines Ward has been fined twice this season by the NFL — on two consecutive weeks, a total of $15,000 — for “unnecessary roughness,” in spite of the fact that he wasn’t penalized for such a rule violation in either of the two applicable games (Baltimore, at Jacksonville).

Lost in the afterglow of the win over Jacksonville is the fact that Ward was the catalyst for turning the momentum in Pittsburgh’s favor after the Steelers were dominated by the Jags for most of the game. Recall that it was Ward’s block on a Jaguars’ defensive lineman (I believe it was #95, Paul Spicer) that sparked the Steelers’ offense, as the six-foot-four, 295-pound Spicer was so infuriated by being pushed downfield by a diminutive wide receiver that he committed a personal foul against Ward in frustration. The penalty gave the Steelers a free 15 yards, a shining example of the kind of game-changing effort that Ward has demonstrated throughout his career.

In conjunction with the fact that Ward already holds most of the team’s key receiving records — ahead of Hall of Famers John Stallworth and Lynn Swann — it seems likely that Ward will one day receive serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Vote for the Steelers over the Chiefs

Chunky Soup's Click for Cans contest is back this season, albeit with a different format than years past. This season NFL teams "play" each other head-to-head each week, with the matchups corresponding to those on the NFL schedule. The team that receives the most votes gets the "win."

Even through the Steelers have a bye this week, there's no rest for the weary Steelers fan, as Pittsburgh is matched up a fellow bye-week team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Click here to vote for the Steelers over the Chiefs.

Entering this week the Steelers are 5-0 in the standings; the Chiefs are 2-3. Next week's opponent, the Cinncinati Bengals, are an impressive 4-1 thus far.

Jaguars: What are the Chances...?

For the second week in a row, the Steelers play a game in which it is especially difficult to predict the outcome. Both teams are considerably banged up; the Jaguars on their offensive line and secondary, the Steelers at running back and on the defensive line.

Ideally, the Steelers should go to a pass-heavy offense this week. After all, the Jags' strength on defense is defending the run, and the Steelers are so thin at RB that their regular third down back (Mewelde Moore) will be serving as feature back. The problem is that the Steelers' O-line can't pass protect, and could allow a plethora of sacks if Pittsburgh attempts 40-50 passes. With Ben Roethlisberger already nursing multiple injuries, a relatively conservative game plan - one that features lots of wide receiver screens, slants and draw plays - might be best.

On the other hand, leaving the game in the hands of the Steelers' defense might be problematic, because injuries on the defensive line leave Dick Lebeau's unit vulnerable to the Jags' running game. But one could also make the argument that the Steelers' D-line injuries are offset by the losses the Jags have suffered on their O-line. The bottom line is that this game figures to be very close, but being at home, the Jags have a distinct advantage. Never mind the fact that NFL teams have a woeful track record in road games immediately following home wins on Monday night.

That's why "What are the Chances...?" is predicting a narrow Steelers' loss, giving Pittsburgh a 45 percent chance of victory. If Big Ben is unable to play, the Steelers' chances of winning drop a little bit further, to around 35 percent.

In terms of predictions, The Steelyard is 3-1 this season and 29-8 all-time.