Conference Championship Preview: AFC

Jets at Steelers

For the second year in a row, the New York Jets will be playing in the AFC championship game. Similar to last season, Rex Ryan will take his show on the road for a chance to reach the Superbowl. The only thing standing in their way is the AFC north champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 Sunday night at Heinz Field.

The Jets have already proven that they can win at Heinz field, something only two teams (Jets and Patriots) have accomplished since Ben Roethlisberger returned from suspension in the middle of October. The Jets won a hard fought battle, 22-17, with help from their defense (4th quarter safety) and special teams (97-yard kickoff return by Brad Smith). Jets’ quarterback, Mark Sanchez, was held in check completing 19 of 29 passes for 170 yards. New York’s balanced offense (27 rushes, 29 pass attempts) confused the Pittsburgh defense and although Sanchez was not able to throw any touchdowns, he orchestrated two drives resulting in short field goals, on top of running in the Jets only offensive touchdown. Pittsburgh came up just short, with the ball in Roethlisberger’s hands in the final seconds, he was unable to complete what would have been the game winning pass, Where is Santonio when you need him?

Interestingly enough, the Superbowl XLIII hero was traded to none other than New York Jets following another disastrous off-season that netted Holmes a 4-game suspension of his own to start the season. Since returning, Holmes has had a remarkable impact on the Jets offense, hauling in 52 catches for 746 yards and 6 touchdowns. His specialty has always been the clutch touchdown. This year was no different. Holmes had game winning catches in back to back games against Cleveland and Houston. Most recently, Holmes sealed the victory over the Patriots with a magnificent catch late in the 4th quarter. Alongside fellow cast-off, Braylon Edwards, they have created a dynamic duo. Holmes has great hands and can be very explosive in the open field. Edwards is more of a deep threat whose long body can make for a challenging assignment to shorter cornerbacks.

Despite having two very good receivers, the strength of the Jets offense is their 4th ranked rushing attack. A year of resurgence from LaDanian Tomlinson has paid off with a chance to play in the Superbowl, something Tomlinson has yet to accomplish in his illustrious career. Spelling Tomlinson is second year back, Shonn Greene, many envisioned a bigger role for Greene coming into this season, however, the balance between LT and Greene has worked out favorably for both backs, limiting their carries to a manageable amount and preserving their legs for the postseason. Greene has posted back to back 70+ yard games in the postseason, and put the Jets up two scores in the closing minutes against New England. Look for these backs to get around 30 total carries for 150 yards if the Jets want to have any success on offense.

Another element the Pittsburgh defense should be concerned with is tight end, Dustin Keller. DK has been relatively silent the last month of the season, but out of sight does not mean out of mind in the eyes of an NFL head coach. The Patriots were able to dismantle the Steelers by matching up their tight ends against the slower Pittsburgh linebackers, if this is the case on Sunday, Pittsburgh could be in for a long evening.

Fortunately for Pittsburgh, as I mentioned, the Jets ability to win games is largely in part of their stellar ground game. However, Pittsburgh boasts the league’s best defense against the run, holding opponents to 62.8 yards per game. Defensive tackle Casey Hampton is superb at clogging up the middle and often commanding two lineman to prevent him from blowing up running plays before they can start. Lawrence Timmons led the team in tackles with 135, and remains a very underrated piece of the Steelers championship caliber defense. Both James Harrison and Lamar Woodley had 10 sacks this year. It marks the third straight season that both men had 10 or more sacks, and Harrison’s second year of 100+ tackles and 10+ sacks, the first time coming in 2008, when he was named the league's defensive player of the year and a Superbowl champion. Monitoring the secondary is All-Pro safety, Troy Polamalu. It is imperative that Polamalu finds a way to force a turnover; he is a menace in the backfield and plays a great center field for a strong safety. Sanchez has been known to leave a lot balls hanging up in the air this postseason. It is only a matter of time before one of those ill advised throws winds up in the hands of an opposing defensive back. The Jets did not have a single turnover in their first matchup one month ago, if they play turnover free football; they are almost impossible to beat.

The proverbial trick up the sleeve for Pittsburgh is breakout wide receiver, Mike Wallace. This guy can change the momentum of a game in an instant. His explosive speed has haunted defensive coordinators all season long. He has the ability to turn an 8-yard crossing pattern into a 75-yard touchdown in the blink of an eye. It will be interesting to see which of the Jets cornerbacks checks the speedy Wallace. Antonio Cromartie might make the most sense; he is a little bit faster than Darrelle Revis, and typically covers opposing teams’ deep threats. The Jets must also attempt to shut down future hall of famer, Hines Ward. In plain terms, Ward is a pest. He is the ideal Pittsburgh Steeler. Ward gives 100% on every play, a rarity for wide receivers, he can catch, run, and block at a very high level and always seems to play above his head in the playoffs.

The Jets 3rd ranked rushing defense will have the challenging task of stopping Rashard Mendenhall. He was limited to 46 yards on 20 carries against Baltimore on Saturday; however, he was able to find the end zone twice. The Jets had an ideal game plan last weekend against the Patriots holding running backs Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis to 89 yards on 23 carries. Although Mendenhall is a better runner than those two backs combined, the Jets have only allowed one 100-yard rusher the entire season (Matt Forte, 135 yards).

Seeing as both teams have solid defenses, and equally strong supporting casts on offense, I think this matchup will boil down to Mark Sanchez vs. Ben Roethlisberger.

On paper, it’s an easy pick. One guy is 9-2 in the post season and owns two Superbowl rings. The other is in his second year, has never played in a Superbowl, but he is 4-1 in the playoffs. Conventional wisdom would say that the better quarterback is going to win at home. However, seeing as I am neither conventional nor do I have much wisdom, I am picking the New York Jets. There is something magical about the Jets in the postseason and I can no longer deny it. Last year I wrote them off as lucky after they were one win away from a Superbowl berth. This year, I thought they had the talent but no leadership and no quarterback. And now, I can admit, that I was wrong. This team is spectacular and they know how to win playoff games. Not to take anything away from Pittsburgh, they are an excellent team but the Jets are playing possessed football, and I am not sure anybody can beat them.

J-E-T-S 20 Steelers 16

Santonio Holmes Shown The Door, Dez Bryant In?

The Steelers trade Santonio Holmes to Jets for a 5th round pick.

As a Steelers fan I understand this from an organizational standpoint. Santonio Holmes has been troubled since coming into the league and the Steelers normally don't deal with stuff like this, I just wish they got more than a second day pick. Santonio is a great WR on the field, stretches the field, returns kicks and will be very successful in NY. Santonio is already used to a QB who has a knack for impromptu offense and I believe Sanchez has a lot of that in him too.

For this though it leaves the Steelers incredibly thin in WR Depth. We have always reliable Hines Ward, then after that it gets a little scary. They have Mike Wallace, Antwaan Randle El, Arnez Battle and perennial bust Limas Sweed. I hope this means the Steelers go after Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant. He is a bigger, extremely talented WR who can return kicks also. But he also has checkered past as well, so we will see.

I also hope this is an indicator that they will be going back to smashmouth offense. I would like to see them take OL Boluga or Pouncey if they don't take Bryant and just run the fuck out of the ball with Rashard Mendenhall.

Hopefully this also sends a message to Ben Roethlisberger too.

Steelers Getting Bengalish

Santonio Holmes is in a bit of trouble for throwing a glass at a woman at club and this could lead to a suspension for another premier player for Pittsburgh.

I will just sweep this one under the rug too, and pretend like nothing happened, because what am I supposed to say? The Steelers have been acting like they are still in college and continuously put themselves in danger of getting in trouble. I don't think throwing a glass at someone is a big deal, especially if you're drunk, because everyone's favorite game when they have had too much is to throw stuff at people. So it happens.

Conspiracy theorist like BMack has already proclaimed, "Tomlin has lost this team" as he was diddling himself and throwing knives at MLK. But this is a Superbowl team heading into this year. They just need to stop acting like assholes.

Why Not?

Superbowl Through Neutral Eyes

What a game. The Steelers are now the world champions of football and Big Ben has made one step closer to becoming a sure thing for a spot for all eternity in Canton. But lets be honest, the Cardinals made it very interesting, to say the least. Honestly i was glad i wasn't watching with DP because i got to watch without tension, just simple, univested enjoyment. i wouldn't want to be with him as the Cardinals seemed to attempt a game plan not involving Larry Fitz and then BANG across the middle, splits the two deep backs and 6 points later your boy is doing the two arm raise to the sky yet again this postseason.


But i know i was excited when Holmes made that catch to win the game, and in that way i do wish i got to see DP's reaction. What a catch. An all time great catch at an all time great time. No matter what he does for the rest of his career, that will undoubtedly become the single most important thing hes ever done. the presence of mind to keep both feet inbounds is something that boggles my mind. Arguably the most impressive thing in the game. And you know what the coolest thing about all that is? They tried the same play like 3 plays earlier in the opposite corner with Holmes, and it was JUST missed...he didn't miss the next one.

The Cardinals proved that they deserved to be there, and fuck all the haters, they did their thing and almost came out with a win. They know what its like to be winners and they showed alot of heart last night. they never gave up, Warner had a great game statistically. And even though his stats were more impressive on paper than bens, it just goes to show its not what you did, but when you did it.

The Superbowl is supposed to be like this. two great teams battling it out head to head for the trophy. fuck all those years we had to watch boring games and hope the commercials would make the experience semi enjoyable. this year the commercials were sub par, and this year, i was actually getting up during them so that i wouldn't miss a second of this fantastic, historic, and memorable Superbowl.

And now, this is a clip of Santonio Holes and Hines Ward smelling a fart on the bench during the divisonal championship game against the Chargers this year.

Superbowl Breakdowns

Today's edition of superbowl breakdowns focuses on the wide receivers. Pittsburgh won the match-up of the first two match-ups so lets see how this ends up.

Arizona Cardinals:
They obviously have better wide receivers in this match-up. Larry Fitzgerald may be the best WR in the NFL and has had a nothing short of spectacular playoffs so far, Anquan Boldin is another premier WR in the league, and although he has been an ass this year on th sidelines he is an amazing pass catcher, and Steve Breaston may be the best slot WR in the league. All of the fore mentioned guys are extremely explosive, are deep threats, and physical guys, many people compare this WR corp to the Rams that Kurt Warner led to the Superbowl against the Patriots, but there is one glaring difference. These guys can't be pushed around and can't be intimidated, like Holt and Bruce could. The only thing that can slow these guys down is if Pitt says fuck the run game, we are going to be in dime the whole game. Either way, this is an extremely tough match-up for Ike Taylor, Troy Polomalu, and Ryan Clark. I expect nothing less than 2 TDs in the air.

Pittsburgh:
Hines Ward is banged up but is going to play, Santonio Holmes has been a home run threat in the playoffs, Nate Washington is the burner, and Heath Miller is the check down guy. Although they aren't as explosive as Fitzgerald or Boldin, the Steelers WR's do their job. They are extremely physical, hardly drop passes and given the opportunity they can break one deep. No one ever knows what to think of the Steelers passing game, and even me being a Steelers fan have no idea who could lead the team in receiving yards any given week. The Steelers will probably spread the ball around, with a couple of deep bombs to Washington or Holmes, but who knows.

This match-up goes to Arizona.

Santonio Holmes Busted With Pot

Well obviously this guy smokes pot. It shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. The Steelers don't seem to be taking any action with it and they probably won't. One reason might be found in the police report
"Vogel said Holmes was very cooperative, respectful and wasn’t impaired. He thinks that should be taken into account when it comes to any potential action taken against him by the Steelers and the NFL.
And
“We wouldn't expect a steelworker to be laid off or suspended without pay,” said Vogel. “I wouldn't expect a police officer, firefighter or a member of the Steelers.”
So there you have it. He was polite so he should get off.