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Jay's in left field again (as per his usual)  
The Broncos? THE BRONCOS? THE BRONCOS ????!!
Have you watched any games this season???? Have you watched the playoffs at all???? Where are you getting your disinformation from??? And can I bet my house against any of you picks???
I don't know where to begin. But let's start with the following points:
1-) Home field advantage: Yes, the Broncos are 9-0 at home (though they got lucky against the Patriots -- see below), but the Steelers are 8-2 on the road (as opposed to 5-3 at home). This is a veteran team that doesn't get rattled by home field advantage or the "noise factor" or whatever else you want to throw at them, as witnessed by their destruction of a superior and almost "unbeatable" team at Indianapolis (who was 7-1 before their shallacking).
2-) Broncos/Pats game: If you actually watched the Broncos/Pats game, you would have concluded that the Broncos were EXTREMELY lucky to get out of there with a win. I don't think I've ever seen a worse game played by a Tom Brady-led offense and a more opportunistic (in a lucky sort of way) defense. Five turnovers were committed by the Patriots. FIVE!!! Not to mention the back-breaking type of turnovers that reverse the momentum of the game. How often does that happen to a veteran-tested team??? How often is Champ Bailey going to return an interception for 100 yards, when an opposing team has the Broncos on the ropes by driving them right to their goal line (not to mention that it should have been called a touchback). How often can you count on 5 turnovers to win the game??? Because clearly, the Broncos would have lost that game otherwise.
The Steelers have committed a total of 20 turnovers in 18 games. That's about 1 a game. From a statistical point of view, lightning won't strike twice with another playoff-tested team, especially one like the Steelers who take care of the ball. And without turnovers, there is now way the Broncos win against the Patriots, let alone the Steelers.
3-) Coaching: Mike Shanahan is the most overrated coach in the history of the NFL (after Marty Shottenheimer). Yes, he "won" 2 super bowls, but I use the term "won" very loosely, since he had almost nothing to do with the wins. Without Elway and Davis, he wouldn't have won a thing, as witnessed by his zero playoff wins since 1998, until he got lucky with the Pats. That's ONE playoff victory since then. And a fluke at that. And even then, Bill Belicheck was eating him alive with the matchups. He looked like a dear caught in the headlights everytime the camera focused on him when the Patriots were driving it down their throats. The Mike Shanahan face is to die for. You'll be seeing a lot of that this weekend.
Bill Cowher on the other hand, though not as good as Belicheck, is a fucking solid coach. He's taken Pittsburgh to the playoffs 10 out of 14 years since he's been here, including one trip to the Super Bowl, with average talent. He came up with a master plan against the "unbeatable" Indy squad at home that made them eat their socks. His only dumb call was trying to rush Bettis at the end, instead of asking Ben to take a knee at the 2 yard line (although who would have guessed that Bettis, who hadn't fumbled all year would fumble then). Otherwise, the entire plan was brilliant.
Not to mention that Dick Lebeau is the best defensive coordinator since Buddy Ryan back in his Philly days. The guy is a defensive genius and a master at disguising coverages, not to mention a blitz master extraordinaire. If Peyton Manning had problems throwing the ball against them, you think Jake will fare any better????? Jake the snake???? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Which brings me to:
4-) Quarterbacks: Ben versus Jake. Should be a no-brainer. Roethlisberger is a rock back there, with the poise of a 12 year veteran. So smooth, so confident, very rarely makes bad decisions with the football. Can you even trust Jake??? I mean seriously. Would you want to have him back there trying to lead your team from 7 points down??? Can you count of him not turning all Jekyl and Hyde on you and reverting back to Jake the Snake of his first 10 years in the league, forcing passes into coverage or rolling out on bootlegs and getting smashed in the face by linebackers? Imagine Joey Porter getting a free shot at Jake. He'd rip his helmet off, shave his beard, stuff his facial hair down his panties and give him an atomic wedgy. Jake is not to be trusted. NEVER!
I could go on and on, but this is getting long and I think you get my point. Personally, I don't even think this one is going to be close. I say Steelers by at least 7. And then, onto the SuperBowl where they'll either clobber Seattle or win a close one against the Panthers.
STEELERS BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by Epicurus on Jan-20-2006 at 22:34
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