The Crystal Ball 2012 Week 16

Did anyone actually believe the world would end on Friday? Roger Goodell made sure that didn't happen. There's no way the apocalypse would have occurred with two weeks left in the regular season. Goodell would never let the Mayan calendar interfere with NFL revenue.

Opening Kickoff

Ok, I absolutely love the NFL Play 60 commercial with Cam Newton. That little kid steals the show. When he says at the end, "I'm just loosening my arm", I lose it laughing every time.

The Way It Was

Darn, I didn't get my wish. The Saints didn't humiliate Greg Schiano on the last play. But they did do it for 60 minutes of game time, so that's something.

Come on Bill Belichick. I ask you for one thing, just put that chucklehead Harbaugh in his place. And you can't even do that. Useless!

Knocking on the door of a touchdown, Joe Flacco threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown at end of the first half. From there, the game became a Bronco blowout. Is there anything more fun than watching this highly overrated Ravens team exposed? no, no there is not.

Boy, in the second half Peyton just kept throwing deep to stick it to Baltimore.

The Giants were a bad choice.

Yes, that was an impressive Atlanta win. But like everyone else outside of Georgia, I'll believe it when they do that in the playoffs.

NFC East and AFC North division battles are heating up in scintillating ways.

On the last play of the game, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez fumbled the ball. And that marks his last play as a starter. At least for this week.

Well, it would seem Kirk Cousins has proved himself as some valuable trade bait for the Redskins. I fear on what quarterback hungry team that young man may end up. Although I'd be willing to bet Larry Fitzgerald sends him a Christmas card.

Detroit lost to a team with no viable starting quarterback and who lost by 58 points the previous week. It's nice to see the Lions have reverted to form.

Before the Steelers game, Dallas honored murdered teammate Jerry Brown. Then they welcomed his killer Josh Brent to their sidelines for the game. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the Cowboys couldn't see what was wrong with this situation.

The Steel Pit

Steelers 24 - Cowboys 27 OT

Ok, I keep reveling in the collapse and exposure of the Ravens as a mediocre team. But I suppose it's time I recognize the mediocre team in my own back yard. You know, the one that has lost 4 of the last 5 games.

In last week's episode, there was the usual good play from Big Ben, more fumbles from the receiving corps, zero defensive splash plays, more injuries and as has been the case, a loss.

I will never figure out what makes the 2012 edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers tick. I just wish Tomlin and his crew would and get them winning consistently.

Just watching this team this season, I've been happy, sad, upset, infuriated, calm, resigned, hopeful, joyous, ecstatic, dumbfounded, confused, enraged and more. Often, I've hit them all in the same game.

Now, I must once again offer a mea culpa. In the off season, I was with everyone else thinking a change in offensive coordinator would be good for the team. I tired like everyone else of Bruce Arians ignoring the running game in short yardage situations and his penchant for bubble screens. Plus, I figured Todd Haley and his style would shake things up in a positive way, and help bring out the best of Big Ben and the offense.

I was wrong.

Haley has taken a talented offense and neutered it, insisting on short passes and a reliance on a running back corps that couldn't break through a wet paper bag while maintaining control of the football. Haley doesn't call an offense that maximizes the talents and strengths of his players; he calls one he thinks the players should run, talents be damned. Haley's play calling and offensive strategy makes Bruce Arians look like Bill Walsh.

I was rankled by Roethlisberger's griping during the offseason about Haley, but he obviously knew better than the rest of us. Ben, I apologize.

It finally came to a head this week when Roethlisberger rightfully threw Haley under the bus for his play calling after the Cowboy loss. This caused an awful stink in the Burgh until Roethlisberger offered an apology mid week. Mind you, he apologized for causing such a stir, not for what he said about Haley's offensive prowess.

Dealing with this situation, a suddenly overbearing owner, an injury plague that has struck almost every member of the team short of Max Starks, it's a wonder Mike Tomlin has managed to keep this team in playoff contention and even slightly on focus.

And speaking of focus, I know injuries have just decimated this team. But heck, that happens with every team, especially at this time of year. I think the real issue might be a lack of focus. None of the prime receivers, Wallace Brown and Sanders, seems to focus on the minor details like ball security. This goes double for the running back corps.

As a matter of fact, if you look at most of the young players on the team they all seem to have the same issue of lack of focus and attention to detail. Or maybe it's just there's not enough players on the team that feel that losing is not an option. It's times like this that I miss Mean Joe and Joey Porter.

At this point, I am actually hopeful they miss the playoffs. The young players have always known of a Steeler post season run, and I believe they're spoiled and just expect such things. Perhaps if they learn what it's like to not play in January, then they'll learn that to get there means you have to work every day to be a champion, not just on select game days.

At least there's only two games left, and the potential for a higher draft position. This must be what Browns fans feel like every season.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

Paul Tagliabue finally settled the Bounty Gate stuff, saying that while the players were culpable and should have been fined, Goodell went too far in suspending the offending players. Wow, I bet Goodell felt like the kid who just got yelled at by his dad for not playing nice with the other kids.

Wait, is Aaron Rodgers wearing a thong? Even if he is wearing a thong, it's still manlier than Tom Brady and his Uggs.

Let me get this straight. Goodell's screwball idea of eliminating kickoffs, which is merely a distraction from other more important issues, was generated from notorious bad sport Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano? If Goodell is serious about player safety, and I know he's not, why is he taking suggestions from a guy who's notorious for jeopardizing player safety at the end of football games?

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh suspended running back Brandon Jacobs for the remainder of the season due to his "rotting away" comments. Gee, Harbaugh is such a people person.

Determined to win something, and distract everyone from his very public emasculation by Paul Tagliabue, Roger Goodell suggested an expanded playoff format that could mean up to 16 teams would make the post season. I bet when this happens the poor Browns still won't make the playoffs.

Tim Tebow is disappointed in Rex Ryan's decision to start McElroy over him this week. Well Tim, I'd say that makes you an official Jet, since every Jet fan I know has been nothing but disappointed in Rex Ryan's decisions this season. Don't worry Tebow, perhaps next season in Jacksonville will be better.

Upon Further Review

This past Wednesday, I took pleasure in viewing the latest installment of the NFL Network program, A Football Life. This week's installment focused on the Immaculate Reception with the 40th anniversary of the iconic play coming today.

As a lifelong Steeler fan, I loved watching a program that was so Steelers centric. Although the show did make me think of how annoyed I would be if the Steelers were on the losing side of such a play, and then be forced to watch said play crammed down my throat for 60 minutes. But overall NFL Films did a great job and made it fun to dissect, analyze and only partially demystify one of the greatest plays in NFL history.

Each week in the NFL there are at least a dozen marvelous plays. And over the course of a season, you will find that perhaps a dozen of those plays are memorable. But it is the rare play that occurs that rises to the level of epic. Those are the plays that typically are so good, so miraculous, so tremendous they have a name affixed to them.

The Immaculate Reception. The Sea of Hands. The Holy Roller. The Catch. The Music City Miracle. The Helmet Catch. The Tuck Rule. By just saying these names, you can picture each of these plays, and the ramifications each had not only on the game, but the season. That is the essence of an epic play. All had the same thing in common; a meeting of skill, talent, preparation and more than a little bit of luck to create an enduring image upon the NFL.

Another fun part of the episode, at least for me, was watching the birth of a dynasty. Now the Immaculate Reception occurred before I was born. So I never had a front row seat, or even memories, of when the Steelers finally turned the corner and left mediocrity behind to become a dominant franchise. So watching a team transform from lovable losers to enthusiastic winners was exhilarating.

I also enjoyed  watching the birth of one of the greatest rivalries in NFL history. With the Immaculate Reception, the Steelers and Raiders became fierce, violent rivals over the next half dozen years. The AFC Championship during the 70's often came down to a grudge match between these two bitter adversaries. To put it in perspective, the Raiders/Steelers of the 70s were equivalent to the Ravens/Steelers of the 00's. The Steelers/Ravens 2008 AFC Championship game, one of my favorite games of all time, was only rivaled in violence and sheer animosity to playoff games between Pittsburgh and Oakland in the 70's.

It is no secret those teams hated each other, and that was evident throughout the episode. The point was hammered home when it was revealed that former Raiders head coach John Madden refused to participate in the episode. 40 years later, and 30 years after he last walked the sidelines as a head coach, and Madden was still so incensed about the play he refused to participate in reminiscing about it. That is a true rivalry.

The Steelers/Raiders rivalry is not what it once was, as the Raiders have fallen on hard times. Plus the main principals of this rivalry are either all retired or passed on to football heaven. Although in the last few matchups, Oakland has found a modicum of success against Pittsburgh. So perhaps there's still hope of resurrecting this classic competition.

Despite this fun, the NFL missed a tremendous opportunity. The Steelers and Raiders played each other this season, but the game occurred in September. I must ask the schedule makers why this matchup wasn't scheduled for today? The Steelers will honor the play, and I'm sure older players will be on hand to celebrate one of the greatest moments in NFL history. But the game, and most importantly to the NFL, and merchandising opportunities are lessened by not having these two storied franchises playing against each other on the anniversary of a game that helped define both. Considering how much Roger Goodell loves to make money, I'm actually shocked he missed such an immaculate prospect.

He Said He Said

“I couldn’t react because I was dealing with a lot of sickness early in the game. I just wasn’t all the way into it, honestly. I was dealing with flu symptoms and everything. I just kind of watched him jump over me.” - Ravens safety Ed Reed on how he got hurdled by Knowshon Moreno

Always with an excuse there Reed.

“Now, I’m a Packer fan too, for one reason. First of all, I love the coach, he’s from Pittsburgh. But Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in football, without question. He gets it, he understands, he’s a class act. He’s a great leader. I hope they give him a little more protection than they’re giving him right now or he’s going to get his (expletive) busted.” - ESPN commentator and former Bears head coach Mike Ditka

''I am on this team rotting away so why would I wanna put any pics up of anything that say niners. This is by far the worst year I ever had, I'll tell you like I told plenty others.'' - 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs while tweeting pictures of his Giants Super Bowl rings

I'm sure anyone who is forced to spend that much time around Jim Harbaugh feels the same way. Hey, someone ask Alex Smith how he feels.

"My affirmation of Commissioner Goodell's findings could certainly justify the issuance of fines." - former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on overturning the player suspensions meted out by Roger Goodell during the Bounty Gate scandal

Justify fines, not suspensions. Tagliabue's findings confirm exactly what I said months ago - "Goodell slammed New Orleans for making his “player safety” schpiel look like so much clap trap and publicly making Goodell look like a fool."

Idiot of the Week

This week, I place the crown of idiot on Steelers president Art Rooney II. I don't want to, but I must. The 2012 edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the mess they've become, needs to be laid at the feet of Rooney. As Truman once said, the Buck stops here.

Rooney decided in the previous off season to listen to the misguided advice of fans who still believe the running game is the most important part of an offense. Ignoring the obvious fact that the NFL today is a passing league, and he employs a top 5 franchise quarterback, Rooney set out on reshaping the Pittsburgh Steelers to mimic the 1950's NFL.

Rooney circumvented his head coach and fired the offensive coordinator in the messiest fashion possible, with the team claiming that Bruce Arians had retired. Arians, as any Colts fan knows, is not retired and currently the offensive coordinator and interim head coach leading a rookie quarterback and a young team to a playoff birth in Indianapolis.

Rooney then went out and hired Todd Haley, previously of the disaster in Kansas City. Haley's resume while not sterling, did have bright spots. And his initial plans to keep Roethlisberger upright and healthy and increase scoring were met with much huzzahs. And while scoring is up, Roethlisberger still missed 3 games due to a frightening injury, the offense has no identity, no running back will even crack a 1000 yards rushing this season, and the team has already lost 3 more games than it did last season, and could finish losing more games this season than in the last two combined.

One top of that, Rooney has potentially alienated his franchise quarterback. I am openly wondering now if Roethlisberger will even want to re-sign here when his current contract expires. The last time Pittsburgh had a franchise quarterback, he left on such bitter terms he didn't return to the city for almost 20 years. This franchise certainly doesn't need that again. I know I don't want to see Bubby Brister 2.0.

In the process, Rooney has ignored other glaring problems with the team, allowed too much infighting amongst the coaching staff, has allowed too many young players to act like jagoffs instead of Steelers and potentially treated his talented young coach in such a jarring way that he may drive Tomlin out of town.

These kind of overbearing owner actions are the type you usually see from inept owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder, not from the Rooney family. Art Rooney II you are an idiot. Although there is hope Steeler fans. Dan Rooney is returning from Ireland, and here's hope the chairman emeritus smacks some sense into his son and puts this franchise back on the right track.

On Tap This Week

Ok, there were a few admittedly bad picks last week. But overall it wasn't horrible.

Last week: 10-5

Saturday: 1-0

Season to Date: 145-80

The best part is the Lady K and I are tied for 6th in our pool. It's time for a late season push together for a top three spot. I've got my eye on a sweet shop cabinet.

Sunday

Minnesota (8-6) at Houston (12-2)

The unstoppable force versus the immovable object. I'm pretty sure Houston will win, so I'm interested mostly to see if Adrian Peterson can continue his ascent toward the single season rushing record.

Texans over Vikings

New England (10-4) at Jacksonville (2-12)

This is the NFL schedule makers Christmas gift to the Patriots.

Patriots over Jaguars

St. Louis (6-7-1) at Tampa Bay (6-8)

St. Louis is 4-0-1 against the NFC West and 2-7 against everyone else. Well the first step toward a winning team is to win your division. Although this seems to be an odd way to do it.

Buccaneers over Rams

Cincinnati (8-6) at Pittsburgh (7-7)

Rage, rage against the dying of the light! Ok, that's a little dramatic. But it would be nice to get a home win, right before Christmas, on the anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. Plus, last year at this time, the Giants were 7-7 and they won the Super Bowl. But I may be day dreaming a bit.

Steelers over Bengals

San Diego (5-9) at New York Jets (6-8)

San Diego houses Pittsburgh on the road, then gets rolled by Carolina at home. Who knows which team will show up this week. Although I'm betting on McElroy power!

Jets over Chargers

Tennessee (5-9) at Green Bay (10-4)

My only question. Will Clay Matthews do another sexy sack dance that gets his female fans all atwitter again.

Packers over Titans

Washington (8-6) at Philadelphia (4-10)

Eagles fans, look at it this way. At least you get to watch RGIII in action. That's something, right?

Redskins over Eagles

Indianapolis (9-5) at Kansas City (2-12)

Could this be the week we see the return of Chuck Pagano? Maybe. It would give the team a big lift. Like they need it at this point.

Colts over Chiefs

Oakland (4-10) at Carolina (5-9)

It would seem that we are seeing the return of Cam Newton from 2011. Panther fans are breathing a sigh of relief.

Panthers over Raiders

Buffalo (5-9) at Miami (6-8)

If Buffalo can't win in Buffalo, or Toronto, what makes me think they'll win in Miami?

Dolphins over Bills

New Orleans (6-8) at Dallas (8-6)

This may be foolish, as they have been a bit unreliable, but I think Jerry's boys will push the NFC East all the way to week 17.

Cowboys over Saints

Cleveland (5-9) at Denver (11-3)

I think Peyton has learned from his past failures, and will not be taking off a week to rest up for the playoffs. That never worked in his Colts career.

Broncos over Browns

Chicago (8-6) at Arizona (5-9)

Ok, I'm going out on a limb here, but Chicago seems to be waist deep in their annual second half swoon. And even the Cardinals can benefit from this.

Cardinals over Bears

New York Giants (8-6) at Baltimore (9-5)

Ok, this is the week New York turns it on. I know they can do it. After all, I'm sure Flacco will throw at least one touchdown for New York.

Giants over Ravens

San Francisco (10-3-1) at Seattle (9-5)

Ok, maybe Pete Carroll can apply some comeuppance to Jim Harbaugh. Go Russell Wilson, the forgotten rookie quarterback.

Seahawks over 49ers

And with that, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!