The Crystal Ball 2010 Week 16 Thursday Night Special

I got it! It took me almost the entire season, but I finally figured it out. I now know why Pittsburgh has been victimized by the NFL with exuberant fines, multiple penalties and quarterback assault.

It has been opined here, often, that the NFL has been targeting Pittsburgh under their new crackdown on player safety while hypocritically ignoring multiple shots by Ben Roethlisberger. And on the surface, it would certainly seem to be the case. But a logical reasoning has always escaped me and many others who have called shenanigans on the same subject. But now I realize the reason is that Goodell has carefully directed how the Steelers, and to a lesser part the Eagles, are officiated to avoid his greatest fear, a Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia Super Bowl.

At the start of the season, this was not a worry for Goodell. Roethlisberger was sitting at home with Pittsburgh facing a tough slate of games and Vick was safely ensconced on the bench behind starter Kevin Kolb. But as the season began to unfold, two things became vibrantly apparent; Pittsburgh could win games on defense alone and Vick, after replacing the concussed Kolb, was reborn as a potent NFL caliber quarterback. And when these two teams started showing real evidence of being powerhouses, and potential playoff teams, that’s when Goodell started to fear the worst.

This is also when Goodell went into action. After one week that had more than a few highlight level violent hits, he went into action calling for stricter penalties on defensive players making helmet to helmet hits, and started issuing fines as though they were paid with Monopoly money. On the surface, this sounds all well and good, since player safety should be a concern. And Goodell could use another bargaining chip at the table for the new CBA negotiations.

But what it did was put one of the best defenses in the game, Pittsburgh, on the spot and on notice. Now the team had to watch how they made every play for fear of a debilitating penalty, a potential fine or worse, the specter of the dreaded and oft threatened suspension.

Now while this should also benefit the Pittsburgh offense and their prodigal signal caller, it did not as the officials seemed hesitant at best and criminally ignorant at worst when it came to calling penalties for hits on Roethlisberger, despite the fact that any hit on quarterbacks were highlighted specifically as a major no no.

This inconsistency from the officials did two things to benefit Goodell and his plan. One, it gave sports writers both regionally in western Pennsylvania and nationally as well as the sports media in general something about which to complain as opposed to digging for the real reasons as to why Roethlisberger can be punched in the face without a penalty. And two, it gave Goodell what he needed to help shut down and shut up Vick and the Eagles.

You see, Philadelphia is not known for a stifling and shut down defense. So cracking down on defensive hits only benefits their offense. But if Vick can get hit early and often, and take a few shots that should be flagged, without repercussions, then that helps out Goodell. Vick himself has complained about taking shots that other quarterbacks never take without a flag following, and the NFL has basically shrugged its collective shoulders. The response has been well Vick, you are a running quarterback, similar to Roethlisberger, and as a runner, like Roethlisberger, defenders will hit you like a runner as opposed to a classic pocket passer.

Please also note here that this new crackdown on player safety has not once been focused on one single running back around the league. Even though these gentlemen take far more punishment than any other ball oriented player, the NFL seems to be more concerned about wide receivers and quarterbacks than running backs or, it would seem, quarterbacks prone to run on occasion.

Now, why would Goodell go through all of this trouble just to avoid Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, two teams with massive, loyal and exciting fan bases that would make any championship game between these teams memorable even before the first kickoff? These teams have a long and intertwined history that would generate a deluge of story lines for any Super Bowl build up.

He is going through the trouble because at this point, he has punished Vick and Roethlisberger as much as he can without looking biased or vindictive. He cannot ban the teams from the post season altogether like the NCAA can do to colleges that violate the rules. And he cannot be obvious in any move he makes to keep these two teams out of the Super Bowl.

So all he can do is stack the deck as subtlety as possible, and the best way he figured out how to do that is to hamstring both teams by physically punishing their quarterbacks. If Roethlisberger and Vick take extra punishment week after week, by the time they make the playoffs both players will be so beat up and fatigued by such immense pummeling, neither will be effective and their teams will fade into the off season along with Goodell’s greatest fear.

Goodell goes through this trouble to avoid having the most controversial Super Bowl of all time. With the league and players union fighting, the NFL heading for a potential shutdown and possible loss of revenue, fans and popularity the last thing Goodell needs is a Super Bowl assaulted by protesters, bans and boycotts.

Goodell does this to avoid the worst headline in his imagination: Super Bowl XLV the Dog Killer vs. the accused Sex Offender. Just the thought of having to show up for the game and wade through a throng of protesters while wearing a plastered on fake smile has woken Goodell up at nights in a cold sweat. And that is why the Steelers have been targeted by the NFL, so Goodell can avoid bad publicity. Unfortunately, by creating a new officiating controversy each week and letting the labor situation spiral to this precarious position, Goodell has done plenty on his own to tarnish the shield himself. And for that, he should be fined and suspended.

Tonight’s Special

Carolina (2-12) at Pittsburgh (12-2)

Yeah, not many people, me included, will give Carolina a chance in this game. But hey remember last year Cleveland beat Pittsburgh on a Thursday night. Personally after Sunday’s uber disappointment, I am hoping Pittsburgh will leave me a nice win in my Christmas stocking. I think they can swing that.

Steelers over Panthers

The Christmas Present

Dallas (5-9) at Arizona (4-10)

Jerry Jones cops another holiday and further pushes himself, his team, and his deluxe stadium deeper into the collective consciousness of football fans desperate for any game to drown out the craziness of family oriented holidays. We need another team to step up and start taking these games away from Dallas. I mean really, when you think of holiday football, do you want Jones’ surgically stretched features to be the first thing that comes to mind?

Cowboys over Cardinals