2014 First Round Mock Draft

Here is my first mock draft of the offseason. Just remember, I don't predict trades because it's rather unpredictable, so I have everyone picking at their pre-set draft positions no matter the likelihood of them trading down or up. 

2014 NFL Mock Draft

1. Houston Texans: Jadaveon Clowney, DE South Carolina – The Texans need a quarterback, however there isn’t a quarterback that’s a sure thing like Andrew Luck was for the Colts in this draft. Heck, many believe there isn’t a quarterback in this draft that should be taken in the first round. I think the Texans play it as safe as possible here and take Clowney. Pair him with J.J. Watt and you have the best defensive line in the league. He’s not your prototypical 3-4 DE, but the guy is an athletic freak that can maybe even play some OLB in certain situations. You’re in a division with Andrew Luck. Getting to the QB is going to be a priority. With the trade of Matt Schuab and the signing of Fitzpatrick, I think the Texans feel they can find and develop a quarterback in the second round.

2. St. Louis Rams: Sammy Watkins, WR Clemson - I originally thought they were going to take an offensive tackle. But with Rodger Saffold coming back to the Rams, I have a hard time having them pick a tackle here, maybe in the second round. Instead, I have them taking Watkins, giving former first overall pick Sam Bradford another weapon on offense.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Johnny Manziel, QB Texas A&M – Johnny Football is a boom or bust pick. But the Jaguars need to turn this ship around fast, and that’s what Manziel did for Texas A&M. They left the Big 12 for the SEC, and with Manziel at quarterback they shocked everyone by becoming a top team in the conference. The Jaguars need a spark, and Manziel may be the guy that is that spark. He’ll darn sure put butts in seats, and that’s another thing Jacksonville needs.

4. Cleveland Browns: Teddy Bridgewater, QB Louisville – The Browns have had zero luck at quarterback since coming back into the league in 1999. They’ve had 20 different quarterbacks start a game for them since then, Bridgewater would make number 21. The Browns released two of those former starters, leaving plenty of room on the depth chart for the next “franchise” quarterback for the Browns. He makes sense at this pick for the Browns.

5. Oakland Raiders: Greg Robinson, OT Auburn –The Raiders lost their LT, then Rodger Saffold failed his physical and is now resigning with the Rams. The Raiders literally have nobody of note on their roster. The good free agents they had fled like rats on a sinking ship. Nobody wants to stay in Oakland, and they only way they can sign a free agent is to overpay. They could go any direction here, it’s really hard to say. I think the take Robinson, and then maybe they take a QB in the second round. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter who’s playing quarterback if he can’t get any protection.

6. Atlanta Falcons: Jake Matthews, OT Texas A&M – The Falcons can go a few ways here. They need a pass rush, they could use a pass catching tight end to replace Tony Gonzalez, or they could take a tackle. I think the Falcons take Matthews because protecting Matty Ice has to be the top priority. They can find a quality defensive end in the second round, take a franchise left tackle is the best thing they could do with this pick.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Anthony Barr, OLB UCLA – While OLB isn’t the top need on the Buccaneers, Lovie Smith built his Bears Super Bowl run on the back of a strong defense, and that’s how the Bucs won their only Super Bowl. While in Chicago, Smith always had great linebacker play. Barr would become the next great Buccaneers LB, and would be a force coming off of the edge on blitz packages. Anthony Barr could become a cornerstone player for Tampa’s defense.

8. Minnesota Vikings: Stephon Tuitt, DE Notre Dame – Even if the Vikings re-sign Jared Allen, they don’t have a pass rusher on the other side of him. The Vikings gave Matt Cassel a new two year deal, so I doubt they go QB with this pick. If Jared Allen leaves or retires, Tuitt takes over his position. In a division with three first round picks at quarterback, the ability to rush the passer is a must.

9. Buffalo Bills: Mike Evans, WR Texas A&M – The Bills took E.J. Manuel with their first round pick last year. Stevie Johnson can’t do it alone, so drafting Evans would give Manuel another target and would take some pressure off of Johnson. I really can’t see the Bills going any other direction if Evans is still on the board.

10. Detroit Lions: Justin Gilbert, CB Oklahoma State – The Lions have a glaring need at cornerback, especially in a division with Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers. Gilbert turned heads at the combine, and that made his stock skyrocket. With the Lions signing Golden Tate in free agency, I don’t think they take a receiver in the first round.

11. Tennessee Titans: C.J. Mosley, ILB Alabama – With the Titans moving to a 3-4 defense, they’re going to need some linebackers. Inside linebacker is a need for the Titans, and I don’t think they have a stud on the inside on the roster. Mosley comes from a 3-4 ran under Nick Saban, and he would be an instant plug-and-play pick for Tennessee. Ken Whisenhut might be an offensive minded coach, but spending those years in Pittsburgh, you know he learned a thing or two about defense.

12. New York Giants: Taylor Lewan, OT Michigan – The Giants did a poor job of protecting Eli Manning, and that was a big reason why he threw so many interceptions last season. The Giants have a couple of needs, but a left tackle that can protect Manning’s blind side is paramount to the Giants getting back into the playoffs.

13. St. Louis Rams: Hasean Clinton-Dix, S Alabama – The Rams helped their offense with the second overall pick of the draft. With this one, they go after a need on defense by shoring up their secondary with a player that goes by the nickname “HaHa.” There’s nothing funny about his play, he’s athletic enough to make plays in coverage and physical enough to support the run or take out a receiver who caught a short pass.  

14. Chicago Bears: Calvin Pryor, S Louisville – The Bears have some need in their secondary. They currently don’t have anyone that can be a successful starter at strong safety. The Bears couldn’t stop the Packers from driving down the field and winning the NFC North in the season finale. They’ve also got to face the Lion’s Matthew Stafford twice a season, and the Vikings could take a QB in the second round to groom for the future. If they want to win the division in 2014, they’ll have to stop two of the better quarterbacks in the league.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kelvin Benjamin, WR Florida State – The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up a safety in free agency, and that’s good because in this mock I have both top safeties already off of the board. Kevin Colbert has said they’re going to draft a receiver, and I think they take the tall playmaker from the National Champions who made the biggest offensive play of the game. Ben Roethlisberger has been asking for a tall receiver since the Steelers let Plaxico Burress walk after Roethlisberger’s rookie season. I think this is the year they 

finally acquiesce their franchise quarterback with this request.

16. Dallas Cowboys: Aaron Donald, DT Pittsburgh – The Cowboys are in need of a stud defensive tackle as they move from a 3-4 defensive alignment to a 4-3 which employees two defensive tackles. Donald is the smartest choice here for the Cowboys, who need to get better on that side of the ball in a division with Eli Manning (who had an off year), Chip Kelly’s Eagles, and Robert Griffin III. Donald can stuff the run and rush the passer from the DT position, making him a great choice for the Cowboys.

17. Baltimore Ravens: Eric Ebron, TE North Carolina – The Ravens traded away Anquan Boldin before last season. They paid Joe Flacco huge money, and left him with very little to work with, especially since TE Dennis Pitta injured his hip before the season started and missed most of it. In their Super Bowl season, many of Joe Flacco’s big players was throwing up prayers. Last season Flacco looked like the typical Joe Flacco, not the guy the Ravens thought they paid all that money to. Eric Ebron is a stud pass catching TE who could start right away, and also allow the Ravens to run two tight end sets which I think would be a big help to Joe Flacco.

18. New York Jets: Marqise Lee, WR USC – The Jets need to surround either QB that starts for them, Geno Smith or Mike Vick, with some better talent than what Geno had a season ago. They added Eric Decker, but this offense needs more than just Decker if they want to get into the playoffs, much less win a game in the playoffs. Lee is fast, will force defenses to keep a safety up top, and can blow the lid off of defenses.

19. Miami Dolphins: Zach Martin, OT/G, Notre Dame – The Dolphins are in trouble on the offensive line after the bullying scandal that rocked the club last season. Gone are Richie Incognito and Jonathon Martin. They signed Branden Albert formerly of the Chiefs, but they have two positions on the right side currently open for starters because the two players that I said were gone were listed as starters on that side of the line a year ago. Zach Martin would fill one of the two holes, as he could play either tackle or guard.

20. Arizona Cardinals: Darqueze Dennnard, CB Michigan State – The Cardinals want another top-flight corner across from Patrick Peterson, and Dennard seems to fit well here. The Cardinals also want to go best player available, something their head coach learned from his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dennard falls into that category as well. If he is gone, they may go offensive line with this pick.

21. Green Bay Packers: Ra’Shede Hageman, DE/DT Minesota – The Packers need more help on defense, and they want to get tough and quicker on the offensive line. Hageman could play DE in the base package and DT in the sub packages. He would be an instant starter for the Packers, who would be able to help the OLB’s get to the quarterback by taking up blocks.

22. Philadelphia Eagles: Ryan Shazier, OLB Ohio State – The Packers had problems on defense last season, hell they had problems in their playoff loss. I don’t think there is a safety worth taking here, so I think they take Shazier who is a tackling machine and will turn the corner on the blitz. He could replace Connor Barwin at LOLB immediately.

23. Kansas City Chiefs: Brandin Cooks, WR Oregon State – The Chiefs might be a candidate to trade up ahead of Miami to take Martin of Notre Dame since they lost Albert in FA. Since I don’t predict trades, I have them taking the speedy WR from Oregon State because Alex Smith needs a speedy downfield receiver to be his best in this offense. Cooks will cause matchup problems and now allow defenses to stack the box against Jamaal Charles.

24. Cincinnati Bengals: Dee Ford, DE Auburn – The Bengals lost Michael Johnson in free agency and they need another pass rusher. Ford can come in and help with that immediately. In the division you have three Super Bowl rings between Ben Roethlisberger (2) and Joe Flacco (1). The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990 either, getting to the quarterback can help break that skid.

25. San Diego Chargers: Louis Nix, DT Notre Dame – He falls to the Chargers, who need a nose tackle to anchor their 3-4 defense. He can play right away, taking up two blockers most of the time to help free up a linebacker to make a big splash play. The Chargers can then go linebacker or wide receiver in the second round, but there’s no way they pass up Nix if he falls to them. Their guy in New York should sprint that card up front.

26. Cleveland Browns: Xavier Su’a-Filo, OG Notre Dame – The Cleveland Browns have a glaring hole at right guard, and they have nobody who is currently ready to step in and play. It’s not going to matter who plays quarterback for the Browns if they can’t protect their signal caller. This guy’s name is a mouth full, but he will provide protection for the quarterback and help open holes for new starting running back Ben Tate.

27. New Orleans Saints: Kyle Fuller, CB Virginia Tech – The Saints need a CB who can start across from Keenan Lewis, so they draft Fuller to give them two young studs at the starting cornerback positions. Defense has never been the strongest side of the ball for the Saints, but they knew they need some playmakers in the secondary if they want to compete for and in the playoffs every year.

28. Carolina Panthers: Odell Beckham, WR LSU – The Panthers WR corps has turned into a joke. They signed Jericho Cotchery, but his ten touchdown season with the Steelers last year (a career high) is probably more of a fluke than a projection for future production. However, he is a heck of a possession receiver and should help. But outside of a guy who was a third receiver a year ago, they have nothing. That’s why I have them taking Beckham, or whoever is best available at this position. If they want to get the most out of Cam Newton, he needs weapons.

29. New England Patriots: Jace Amaro, TE Texas Tech – The Patriots like big tight ends who can catch, and Amaro falls into exactly the mold they like. Gronk finished the season on IR once again, and they don’t really have anyone behind the oft-injured tight end. Enter Amaro, who will allow the Patriots to go back to the two tight end sets they used before Aaron Hernandez went to jail. Amaro will bring new wrinkles to the Patriots offense, making them that much harder to defend. Teams can’t defend Gronk, and Amaro would prove to be a challenge himself.

30. San Francisco 49ers: Bradley Roby, CB Ohio State – The 49ers not only got some surprisingly poor QB play towards the end of the NFC Championship Game, they also allowed the Seahawks to make plays at will. I am not impressed at all by their secondary, and while Roby had an up-and-down season at Ohio State, he’s a first round talent who the 49ers could use immediately.

31. Denver Broncos : David Yankey, OG Stanford – The Broncos could use some more beef up front, not just to protect Peyton Manning but to help bust open holes for the running attack so they can balance the offense. At 6’6” and 315 pounds, he’s a guy who could help where there’s a need on offense.

32. Seattle Seahawks: Kony Ealy, DE Missouri – Free agency hasn’t been good to the defending Super Bowl Champs, and it normally never is. The Seahawks lost Chris Clemmons, and they could lose Chris Avril after this season. Ealy can step right in and rush the passer on the defensive line for this team that plays a rough and mean defense, which is what won them the Super Bowl. 

Steelers @ Broncos - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers opened their season last night in Denver against Peyton Manning and the Broncos with a loss. I absolutely hate playing in Denver, because that means the team has to hold FS Ryan Clark out of the game because he has sickle cell trait. The last time he played a game in Denver, he had to have his spleen and gall bladder removed, therefore he doesn't play there as a precaution.

Also missing from the game was Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison due to a knee injury.

So here we go with it...The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good

1. The offense wasn't horrible. This was a fear that many fans had going into this game, that the offense would be completely inept. The Steelers changed offensive coordinators during the offseason with Bruce Arians either retiring or being fired (whichever you believe) and Todd Haley being brought in to make the offense more efficient. Well, the efficiency wasn't where they would want it to be, but I saw an offense that once they get in sync should be nearly unstoppable.
2. The no huddle is going to be used in Pittsburgh. With Arians, there was a lot of talk of using the no huddle offense more often, but normally it was just used when the Steelers were trailing or when it was the end of the half. The offense seems to be better in the no huddle, so I like the fact that it's being used in situations that do not absolutely call for it. 
3. I am optimistic about the Steelers receivers after this week. It looks like Heath Miller is finally going to be used as a red zone weapon instead of an extra blocker. It's going to take Mike Wallace a week or so to get into "game shape," but he caught a touchdown last night and I think once he gets into sync with Big Ben, he'll have a typical Wallace season. Antonio Brown is going to have a really big season and might possibly become Ben's favorite target. He's going to be making big plays all season long. 

The Bad

1. The offensive line suffered another injury last night when RT Marcus Gilbert went down with a knee injury. It has not been announced what the injury is or might be, and according to ESPN  he is currently listed as questionable. In the preseason we lost our first round pick, OG David Decastro, to a devastating knee injury. Last season and the season before we lost Pro Bowl Center Maurkice Pouncey to ankle injuries. If the Steelers are going to go anywhere this season, the line has to stay relatively healthy. Luckily, second round pick Mike Adams stepped in for Gilbert and played well. 
2. Ben Roethlisberger made a bad decision on the pick-six that he threw towards the end of the game that sealed it for the Broncos. This has been a problem for Big Ben his entire career, sometimes he just gets a brain fart and makes a dumb throw. Hopefully there are less of them this season because Todd Haley will be holding Ben responsible for his mistakes, something people feel Bruce Arians did not do.

The Ugly

1. The defense just simply looked bad last night. They had trouble stopping the run, and they damn sure couldn't stop Peyton Manning once he knocked the rust off. I know the defense was without Ryan Clark and James Harrison, but I still expected a better showing from our defense. I mean, Demaryius Thomas scored a long touchdown on a screen pass! Manning ended up just toying with us, he even ran for a first down. 
2. The offensive line as a whole couldn't open holes for our running backs and gave up five sacks last night. This has been a problem for years that we hoped would be fixed with the drafting of David Decastro who is out for the season, and Mike Adams who lost the starting left tackle job and might be playing right tackle if Marcus Gilbert's injury causes him to miss some time. If any other quarterback played behind this line, he would be on IR or retired before being killed during a football game. It looks like this season the offensive line will be as ugly as it's ever been...and will find itself in this section of my blog on a weekly basis.

Next week, the Steelers open their home schedule at Heinz Field against the New York Jets. Let's hope that they end next week at an even 1-1.

Who's the most indispensable Steeler?

Earlier this week, NFL.com had an article asking who was the most indispensable player in the NFL. Most of the people who contributed to the article went with either the Saints' signal caller Drew Brees; or the new quarterback in Denver, Peyton Manning.

This got me to thinking, what player in the Steelers is the most indispensable?

The players that came to mind for me were:

QB Ben Roethlisberger - The Steelers won zero Super Bowls between the Bradshaw and Roethlisberger eras. Since Roethlisberger has become the Steelers' starting quarterback, the team has won two Super Bowls and been to a third.

C Maurkice Pouncey - Most people wouldn't consider an interior offensive lineman indispensable. However, Pouncey is one of the top two centers in the AFC, if not the entire NFL. He makes a lot of the line calls and is the anchor of the offensive line.

OLB James Harrison - The attitude of the defense comes from Harrison. He plays mean, angry. He doesn't want to injure anyone, but he's not opposed to hurting somebody (his words, not mine). When he missed those games with a broken orbital bone (that's his eye socket), the Steelers defense had trouble getting to the quarterback.

OLB LaMarr Woodley - Woodley is another sackmeister, and it was obvious that the pass rush was hurt by him missing games and then being limited by a hamstring injury. When Woodley and Harrison are both on the field together, they are one of the best pass rushing duos in the league and big plays often happen. He has also won a Defensive Player of the Year award.

FS Ryan Clark - Ryan Clark is a hard hitting safety. He plays within the scheme and allows Troy Polamalu to be Troy Polamalu. He missed the playoff game against the Denver Broncos last season and Tim freaking Tebow (TEBOW OF ALL PEOPLE!!!!!) had his best game as a QB. If Clark is there, I think the Steelers probably win that game.

That's a pretty good list of candidates. They are all excellent players. They have all been to a Pro Bowl, they all have Super Bowl rings. However, none of them are the most indispensable player on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That indication goes to Troy Polamalu.

He is the only player on the defense that's allowed to play outside of the scheme. He's allowed to play completely on instinct. He causes big plays. He's the one player on the defense in which the other team's quarterback has to know exactly where he is when the QB snaps the ball, not that it matters much because that spot is likely not where he will be when the ball is thrown.

Troy Polamalu is the ONLY player that I have ever seen dive over the offensive line and sack the quarterback. And he's done it twice.

If he's lined up at the line of scrimmage like a pass rusher, he's likely going to end up somewhere in the defensive backfield breaking up as pass or coming up with an absolutely stunning interception. If he's way back at his spot at safety, next thing you know he's in the offensive backfield chasing down the quarterback or stuffing the running back for a loss.

This is the guy that makes the Steelers defense so good. He allows Dick LeBeau to call a lot of those exotic schemes and blitzes. When Polamalu isn't players, it's a watered down version of the defense.

With Arians' retirement, what's going to happen to the Steelers offense?

A few days ago, it was announced that Steelers' offensive coordinator Bruce Arians would be "retiring." Rumor has it that Arians didn't have much of a choice. No matter how the retirement came about, this will be the first major coaching change that head coach Mike Tomlin has had to deal with since he became the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He retained Dick Lebeau as defensive coordinator when he took over the job, and Lebeau has not decided to hang them up yet. He promoted Bruce Arians from wide receiver coach to offensive coordinator, and now he is without an offensive coordinator for the first time as a head coach.

Bruce Arians was a lightning rod when it came to discussion between Steelers fanatics. There was a faction that absolutely hated him, a faction that loved him, and then there were those in between.

The ones that absolutely hated him felt that the offense was too predictable, wished he would use a true fullback and run the ball more, and felt that the plays he called never worked and the only plays that ever worked were the ones that Ben Roethlisberger called.

The Arians lovers felt that the offense was moving in the right direction with the league becoming more and more pass happy with each season. They felt Arians was utilizing our best player, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. And they felt that when a play didn't work it was the sole fault of the players not executing the play that was called.

I am more of an in between guy. Did I feel that Arians' offense was at times too predictable? Yes, there were times where I knew what the play was going to be before the huddle was broken. However, with the way the NFL is going under the direction of Roger Goodell (and this is a whole other blog article in itself), that focusing more on the passing game is a good idea. However, I did wish that he would have utilized a true fullback, especially in short yardage and goal line situations. Yes, there were bad play calls, but hindsight is 20/20. If the play works and gets good yardage, it was a great call....but if it ends up in a loss of yards or worse a turnover, the fans say it was a horrible play call. And that goes for any play caller, not just Bruce Arians.

Steelers President Art Rooney II has reportedly said that he wants the old offense. He wants to go back to the blue collar identity that the Steelers have had in the past. This isn't the first time Art Rooney II has given an edict to his coaches since taking over as the shot caller in the Steelers ownership structure. Just the other year, he demanded that the offense put more of a focus on running the football.

The Rooney ownership has largely stood back and let the people they hire to run the football side of things do their job. That's the way they have operated throughout most of the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have had only three head coaches since 1969 (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin). However, they have intervened at times when they have seen it necessary, it is their money that is being spent.

However, with Art II now having the final decision over everything, it looks like his input will be offered more often than that of his father Dan Rooney..and his grandfather, Steelers founder Art Rooney. I am fully expecting Art II to be involved in the search for a new offensive coordinator since he wants to go back to the blue collar identity that has been the Steelers in the past.

My main concern is, by old offense, does he mean the "Cowherball" days where the Steelers offense looked like this: run-run-pass-punt more often than not. Do I want more balance between the run and the pass? Yeah, I would prefer more of a 45% run to 55% pass, or something close to that. Running the ball keeps the defense honest, it doesn't allow them to totally sell out to protect against the pass...and throwing the ball slightly more doesn't allow the defense to totally sell out against stopping the run.

I am expecting whoever gets hired for the job to employ a true fullback into the offense, especially with Rashard Mendenhall being injured. Our starting running back will likely be Issac Redman, and he's a power runner. I think with Redman as our starter, using a true fullback would help tremendously since I don't see us running many edge plays. Just give him the ball up the gut, let a fullback make a hole, and then Redman can blow it open even more.

One thing I really liked about Bruce Arians is that he consulted with Ben Roethlisberger about the offense. They sat down and went through the playbook...they got rid of plays that Ben felt didn't work or he didn't like. And that was the right move. Roethlisberger is the franchise quarterback of the Steelers. He is the recipient of the largest contract handed out to a player in team history. He has won two Super Bowls and been to a third.

I just hope that the new offensive coordinator brings back some of that blue collar toughness that comes to mind when you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But with the league becoming more and more pass happy, I really hope that the new coordinator doesn't try to be too much of a "three yards and a cloud of dust" play caller. Just strike the appropriate balance of run/pass on offense. The Steelers have the type of players to finish in the top ten in most offensive categories every year. I am expecting whoever is hired to replace Arians to make this offense the best it can possibly be.

And yes, I am going to be sending my resume to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Why not?

Steelers Pro Bowl Selections & Snubs

Yesterday the Pro Bowl rosters were announced, and five Pittsburgh Steelers made the team. Now while some people put a lot of stock into making the Pro Bowl, I do not. It's more of a popularity contest than anything else in my opinion. Players and coaches aren't watching all the games, they see game film of who they play and maybe Monday Night and/or Sunday Night games. Fans vote specifically for players of their favorite teams, rather they deserve to go or not.

Steelers who made it:

Ben Roethlisberger, QB: 3856 yards, 91.5 QB Rating, 21 TD, 14 INT

I think he deserves a backup spot to Tom Brady, partly because the AFC quarterback play is down this year. Phillip Rivers is the third QB on the roster, but he had a very bad season. I think Andy Dalton deserved to get to the Pro Bowl over Rivers who made it on name alone. This is Ben's second Pro Bowl.

Mike Wallace, WR: 71 receptions, 1182 yards, 8 TD


This will be Mike Wallace's first ever Pro Bowl, and I think he deserves it. His production has dropped off some lately, but that's partly because he's seeing more double coverage so Roethlisberger is looking for his other receivers a little bit more.

Maurkice Pouncey, C: 13 games started


Pouncey went to the Pro Bowl last year as a rookie, but didn't play because the Steelers were playing in the Super Bowl the following week. Pouncey has missed some time this year due to an illness and then injury, but he has played very well this season. I do think he's the second best center in the NFL behind the New York Jets' Nick Mangold.

Antonio Brown, KR: 24 kick returns, 664 yards, 27.7 avg, 2 TD; 30 punt returns, 325 yards, 10.8 avg, 1 TD


Brown made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner, but I am sure he will see snaps at receiver also. He was electric on returns this season and set the Steelers record for all-purpose yards in a season with one game to add onto it. He is deserving of his Pro Bowl nod.

Troy Polamalu, SS: 89 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 11 PDef, 


Polamalu is considered one of the best two safeties in the NFL. This year he hasn't been the turnover machine that Steelers fans are used to, but he has been a disruptive force for this defense. He is the one player that the other team absolutely has to account for before every snap on this defense because they don't know what he is going to do. While some people feel he's going based off of his name and not his production this season, I think he is deserving.

And those who were snubbed:

Ike Taylor: 42 tackles, 2 INT, 13 PDef


Ike Taylor plays for a defense that is one of the best in the NFL...but they are known more for stopping the run than their pass defense (even though this year their pass defense has been better than their run defense). Ike Taylor is never going to have a big interception total, he has hands of bricks. But he does more-often-than-not shut down the opposing team's top receiver. He's a shutdown corner and one of the best in the entire AFC. He deserves a Pro Bowl spot.

Ryan Clark: 96 tackles, 1 INT, 5 PDef


Ryan Clark isn't going to get a ton of interceptions either, but he's a vicious hitter who can knock the ball out of a receivers hands and is a solid tackler in space. While his backfield partner, Troy Polamalu, is the bigger name...Clark is also deserving of being a Pro Bowler.

Two players I am not listing as snubs, though many people feel they were snubbed, are outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Both have missed a lot of games this season due to injury and/or suspension and I feel that keeps them out of the snub category.

Those are my thoughts on the Steelers' Pro Bowl selections. Like what I had to say? Don't agree? Feel free to leave comments and let me know! HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!

The Division is Still Attainable

A week ago, after getting beat badly by the San Francisco 49ers 20-3, many members of Steeler Nation were thinking that we are looking at likely the #5 seed in the AFC Playoffs. The night before, the Baltimore Ravens were blown out by the San Diego Chargers, and if the Steelers could just beat San Francisco; they would be in the driver's seat for not only the AFC North crown, but also the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Big Ben Roethlisberger was hobbled, almost a one-legged quarterback. There wasn't enough zip on his throws and the ball sailed, causing him to throw three interceptions. He also fumbled the ball while being sacked, unable to be as mobile as normal due to a high ankle sprain.

On Christmas Eve, Ben rested. Charlie Batch started at Heinz Field against the St. Louis Rams. I was confident we could win this game with Big Ben, I was just hoping Batch could get through the game without breaking like a fine piece of china. I got my wish, and the Pittsburgh Steelers shut out the Rams 27-0.

The Baltimore Ravens also won their game against the Cleveland Browns. However the Ravens allowed the Browns to come back from a 20-0 hole in the second half and get the score to 20-14. On fourth-and-two, the Ravens lined up as if they were going to run a play in hopes of getting a Browns player to jump offside. The entire world knew that Baltimore was not going to run a play, but rookie first round draft pick Phil Taylor jumped offside anyhow, giving the Ravens a first down and allowing them to run out the clock since Cleveland was out of timeouts.

Both the Steelers and the Ravens hold an 11-4 record going into the final week of the regular season. Due to a season sweep of the Steelers, the Ravens hold the tie-breaker and technically have the division lead. The only way the Steelers can take the division would be for the Steelers to win and the Ravens to lose in the final week of the season.

The Steelers play the Browns. Even without Roethlisberger, the Steelers can beat the Browns next week. The Ravens play the Cincinnati Bengals, a team who is still fighting for a Wild Card berth in the AFC playoffs. The Bengals are playing very good football, and I think they have a great shot at beating the Ravens which would put the Steelers into the playoffs as the AFC North Champions and the #2 seed in the AFC.

Steeler Nation, it is still a possibility that the Steelers end up with a first round bye. While we do not control our own destiny, we have to rely on the Bengals of all teams to get us the AFC North crown. Otherwise, we've clinched the fifth seed and will likely not see a home playoff game in the playoffs.

Get those Terrible Towels waving, the Steelers could walk off of the field in Cleveland next Sunday AFC North Champions!