OFFICIAL NFL Week by Week Thread:

[RossValoryRocks]

San Diego are looking like world beaters against the Chiefs.

Yeah...everyone with the exception of Pittsburgh looks that way against the Chiefs.

Well my prediction for tonight is a barn busting 6-3 game...who scores 6 and who scores 3? I don't know...then again MAYBE...just MAYBE...this Dixon kid will go nuts and have 125 rush yards, 300 passing yards...and score 5 touchdowns...I put it right up there with Tom Brady suddenly swapping Gisele Bundchen for Kathy Bates or turning gay...

[YoungJRNY]

San Diego are looking like world beaters against the Chiefs.

I applaud San Diego for taking care of Kansas City.. the REAL way. (Clapping)

[YoungJRNY]

The Titans are looking like SERIOUS contenders right now, and by the way they are playing at the moment, Chris Johnson's prediction could hold up and they could go 10-6! WOW what a re-emergence for Young and the Titans team as a whole. After that New England loss, I petitioned that the Titans be banned forever from the NFL, but DAMN are they a whole new beast at the moment. Something to look forward to that's for sure for Titans fans. Too bad that they lose most of the tiebreakers that would come to head to head's but all the teams that are bidding for a spot (Jacksonville, Houston, & Miami) have all lost today so the Titans and Jets are in fact alive in this thing. Who would of thought.

Win or lose tonight, the Steelers STILL control their playoff fate with Jacksonville and Houston losing today. But this is a MUST WIN for both Balty and Pitt. Now I'm sweating.

[larryfromnextdoor]

Because our family is so big we have to have 2 Freaking T-Givings every damn year. The Thursday one with mine and a Sunday one with hers. So I only caught about 2 1/2 qtr of the Bengal game due to driving over at halftime. I fucking hate that. Then the idiots want to use the Living room for Bingo or some shit so we men get kicked out to the porch and miss the second game. What's wrong with that picture?

i hope your wifes father is a Democrat.. BWAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA

i can see you with a piece of chalk out on the back porch..

[WalkInMyShoes]

Because our family is so big we have to have 2 Freaking T-Givings every damn year. The Thursday one with mine and a Sunday one with hers. So I only caught about 2 1/2 qtr of the Bengal game due to driving over at halftime. I fucking hate that. Then the idiots want to use the Living room for Bingo or some shit so we men get kicked out to the porch and miss the second game. What's wrong with that picture?

It's a sad family that thinks they're more important than football, right? Ever heard of a DVR? Oh, I have an old VCR that you can borrow....(actually I empathize with you - same thing happens in my family and unfortunately I'm stuck in the middle of the men watching games and the women in the kitchen. I'd much rather be watching the games).

[Ehwmatt]

The Titans are looking like SERIOUS contenders right now, and by the way they are playing at the moment, Chris Johnson's prediction could hold up and they could go 10-6! WOW what a re-emergence for Young and the Titans team as a whole. After that New England loss, I petitioned that the Titans be banned forever from the NFL, but DAMN are they a whole new beast at the moment. Something to look forward to that's for sure for Titans fans. Too bad that they lose most of the tiebreakers that would come to head to head's but all the teams that are bidding for a spot (Jacksonville, Houston, & Miami) have all lost today so the Titans and Jets are in fact alive in this thing. Who would of thought.

Win or lose tonight, the Steelers STILL control their playoff fate with Jacksonville and Houston losing today. But this is a MUST WIN for both Balty and Pitt. Now I'm sweating.

I felt the Titans win coming... too bad I got the Jax/Houston/Miami calls all wrong. I wouldn't put too, too much stock into the Titans win today alone... it was a Leinart-led Arizona team and they won in the last seconds. But they are still playing well overall in recent weeks and you have to admire the way they've turned it around.

[Enigma869]

I wouldn't put too, too much stock into the Titans win today alone... it was a Leinart-led Arizona team and they won in the last seconds. But they are still playing well overall in recent weeks and you have to admire the way they've turned it around.

I certainly don't put much into it with or without Warner. I don't think the Cardinals are that great and I don't think the Titans are either. Their bounceback is a nice little story and they absolutely have the best running back in the NFL, but they're not going to the playoffs.

[Ehwmatt]

I wouldn't put too, too much stock into the Titans win today alone... it was a Leinart-led Arizona team and they won in the last seconds. But they are still playing well overall in recent weeks and you have to admire the way they've turned it around.

I certainly don't put much into it with or without Warner. I don't think the Cardinals are that great and I don't think the Titans are either. Their bounceback is a nice little story and they absolutely have the best running back in the NFL, but they're not going to the playoffs.

Titans remaining games:

@ Colts
St. Louis Rams
Miami Dolphins
SD Chargers
Seattle Seahawks

Probably not going to the playoffs, but hell, stranger things have happened and that wildcard race is relatively tight right now. Who knows, could the Titans finally put that blemish on Indy's record next week? Probably not... but, you gotta figure Indy's luck is gonna run out with all of these come from behinds lately.

[Enigma869]

Titans remaining games:

@ Colts - WIN
St. Louis Rams - WIN
Miami Dolphins - Toss Up
SD Chargers - Loss
Seattle Seahawks - WIN

As I see it, the Titans have at least one loss left on their schedule and one loss in the AFC is all it will take to knock them out. They're not running the table, and even if the unthinkable happened, they'd be just like they were last season...ONE AND DONE!

[Enigma869]

Did anyone see Hines Ward's interview with Costas on the pregame show? FUCKING WHOA! Dude totally called Roethlisberger out. I was listening to the interview completely stunned. I would not be happy if I were Ben listening to that exchange.

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In an interview with NBC's "Football Night In America" Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward questioned Ben Roethliberger's toughness, saying basically that real football players want to play in these games and don't worry about the future, adding that the Steelers can't get this game back. Roethlisberger is listed as the emergency quarterback tonight which means he can come into the game in the 4th quarter if both Dennis Dixon and Tyler Palko are injured against the Ravens.

[Ehwmatt]

Did anyone see Hines Ward's interview with Costas on the pregame show? FUCKING WHOA! Dude totally called Roethlisberger out. I was listening to the interview completely stunned. I would not be happy if I were Ben listening to that exchange.

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In an interview with NBC's "Football Night In America" Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward questioned Ben Roethliberger's toughness, saying basically that real football players want to play in these games and don't worry about the future, adding that the Steelers can't get this game back. Roethlisberger is listed as the emergency quarterback tonight which means he can come into the game in the 4th quarter if both Dennis Dixon and Tyler Palko are injured against the Ravens.

Wow, that's pretty shitty of him. Concussions are nothing to fuck around with. Worthlessberger may be an ugly fat fuck, but he's a hell of a QB and I definitely would say he's plenty tough.

[Enigma869]

Wow, that's pretty shitty of him. Concussions are nothing to fuck around with. Worthlessberger may be an ugly fat fuck, but he's a hell of a QB and I definitely would say he's plenty tough.

I couldn't agree with you more. I actually watched the entire interview and was actually really baffled listening to Ward. He actually said that the locker room was "50/50" on whether the players thought Roethlisberger should play in this game. The one thing I don't agree with is the guy being the "Emergency" QB. If he can't play, he shouldn't be in uniform. It's beyond moronic and leads to bullshit like this where his own teammates start publically calling him out for not being tough enough. I think Roethlisberger is 1000 times the player that Ward has ever been!

[Ehwmatt]

Wow, that's pretty shitty of him. Concussions are nothing to fuck around with. Worthlessberger may be an ugly fat fuck, but he's a hell of a QB and I definitely would say he's plenty tough.

I couldn't agree with you more. I actually watched the entire interview and was actually really baffled listening to Ward. He actually said that the locker room was "50/50" on whether the players thought Roethlisberger should play in this game. The one thing I don't agree with is the guy being the "Emergency" QB. If he can't play, he shouldn't be in uniform. It's beyond moronic and leads to bullshit like this where his own teammates start publically calling him out for not being tough enough. I think Roethlisberger is 1000 times the player that Ward has ever been!

I'm curious to hear Travis's take on this. I wish I had seen the interview, I was watchin a local sports talk show

[Enigma869]

I'm curious to hear Travis's take on this. I wish I had seen the interview, I was watchin a local sports talk show

There is ZERO chance that this doesn't become a story in Pittsburgh. Hell, Tony Dungy said he was stunned that Ward said what he said and Dungy is the most mild-mannered guy on the planet. I GUARANTEE you that Ward will either issue a statement or offer an interview in the next day or two either apologizing for his words or using the old athlete standby bullshit of "my words were taken out of context".

[RossValoryRocks]

I'm curious to hear Travis's take on this. I wish I had seen the interview, I was watchin a local sports talk show

There is ZERO chance that this doesn't become a story in Pittsburgh. Hell, Tony Dungy said he was stunned that Ward said what he said and Dungy is the most mild-mannered guy on the planet. I GUARANTEE you that Ward will either issue a statement or offer an interview in the next day or two either apologizing for his words or using the old athlete standby bullshit of "my words were taken out of context".

Yeah I would agree, especially since Coach Tomlin made the decision after talking with the neurosurgeon who WOULD NOT clear Ben to play.

[Glenn]

Wow, that's pretty shitty of him. Concussions are nothing to fuck around with. Worthlessberger may be an ugly fat fuck, but he's a hell of a QB and I definitely would say he's plenty tough.

I couldn't agree with you more. I actually watched the entire interview and was actually really baffled listening to Ward. He actually said that the locker room was "50/50" on whether the players thought Roethlisberger should play in this game. The one thing I don't agree with is the guy being the "Emergency" QB. If he can't play, he shouldn't be in uniform. It's beyond moronic and leads to bullshit like this where his own teammates start publically calling him out for not being tough enough. I think Roethlisberger is 1000 times the player that Ward has ever been!

I agree with all of this except the last sentence.


* 4× Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
* 3× All-Pro selection (2002, 2003, 2004)
* 2× Super Bowl Champion (XL, XLIII)
* Super Bowl XL MVP
* 2003 Steelers MVP
* 2× Steelers co-MVP (2002, 2005)
* Steelers Career Records for Receptions, Receiving Yards, & Receiving TDs


On the field, Hines has proven his worth.

Ben hasn't been in the league long enough and his first super bowl was the worst (rating wise) in NFL history.

Ben is young and can still end his career with HOF numbers, but right now, he's simply not "1,000" times the player Ward is.


Before you rip me a new one, keep in mind this is simply my opinion.

[YoungJRNY]

One of the best games I've seen. Dixon got bit by the in-experienced bug but played better than what we would of ever asked for. The Steelers showed a lot of energy, life and heart and had every opportunity to win it. Defense blows another 4th QRT lead. Story of the season. Pretty much have to win out. Great game. Night y'all.

[Enigma869]

I agree with all of this except the last sentence.


* 4× Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
* 3× All-Pro selection (2002, 2003, 2004)
* 2× Super Bowl Champion (XL, XLIII)
* Super Bowl XL MVP
* 2003 Steelers MVP
* 2× Steelers co-MVP (2002, 2005)
* Steelers Career Records for Receptions, Receiving Yards, & Receiving TDs


On the field, Hines has proven his worth.

Ben hasn't been in the league long enough and his first super bowl was the worst (rating wise) in NFL history.

Ben is young and can still end his career with HOF numbers, but right now, he's simply not "1,000" times the player Ward is.


Before you rip me a new one, keep in mind this is simply my opinion.

You're entitled to your opinion. I don't agree. I could care less how many Steeler receiving records Ward has. The receivers that have come before him in Pittsburgh have all been very average, and yes, I include hall of famers like Stallworth and Swann, because both of those guys have awful numbers to be in the HOF. To me, a players "greatness" in any sport will always come down to a question of whether or not he was ever a dominant player at his position, during the era he played. The answer in Hines Ward case is an emphatic NO. I can't help but notice that none of the accomplishments you listed had anything to do with him ever coming close to leading the NFL in anything. He's been a better than average receiver (but not much) and an above average blocker. I agree that Ben has to do it longer. In fact, this is really the first season that I think he's played VERY well. That said, the only QB in the history of the NFL who has won two Super Bowls who isn't in the HOF is Jim Plunkett. Roethlisberger still has a very long way to go to put himself into the category of the all time greats, but he's a top 5 QB in the NFL right now in my opinion, and I don't think he was a top 20 QB during his first super bowl run.

[Maui Tom]

I'm curious to hear Travis's take on this. I wish I had seen the interview, I was watchin a local sports talk show

There is ZERO chance that this doesn't become a story in Pittsburgh. Hell, Tony Dungy said he was stunned that Ward said what he said and Dungy is the most mild-mannered guy on the planet. I GUARANTEE you that Ward will either issue a statement or offer an interview in the next day or two either apologizing for his words or using the old athlete standby bullshit of "my words were taken out of context".

Yeah I would agree, especially since Coach Tomlin made the decision after talking with the neurosurgeon who WOULD NOT clear Ben to play.

Let Hines get multiple concussions and see what happens...the players are too big...too strong...and WAY too fast nowadays...the NFL better get a handle on this concussion thing like yesterday.

[YoungJRNY]

Wow, that's pretty shitty of him. Concussions are nothing to fuck around with. Worthlessberger may be an ugly fat fuck, but he's a hell of a QB and I definitely would say he's plenty tough.

I couldn't agree with you more. I actually watched the entire interview and was actually really baffled listening to Ward. He actually said that the locker room was "50/50" on whether the players thought Roethlisberger should play in this game. The one thing I don't agree with is the guy being the "Emergency" QB. If he can't play, he shouldn't be in uniform. It's beyond moronic and leads to bullshit like this where his own teammates start publically calling him out for not being tough enough. I think Roethlisberger is 1000 times the player that Ward has ever been!

I'm curious to hear Travis's take on this. I wish I had seen the interview, I was watchin a local sports talk show

I didn't like it. Say what you want about Hines, he was ALWAYS the one that spoke his mind regardless of the situation and even though many have their opinion on this situation, this is NOT an issue to take up with the media or in an interview and let out beef that the locker room is 50/50 about Ben's status. (If Hines is going to harp on Ben, then he might as well harp on Troy as well since I'm SURE Hines played with many knee injuries, which he has..the dude has NO MCL also.)


I trust they will sort everything out but this is internal and internal only, something the Steelers do so well and I'm disappointed this had to come out at this time and be publicly heard within a national audience. Now the media is going to take the ball and run with it and it could cause an immediate distraction. IF there's a player in the NFL that is the definition of tough, it's Ben. The "50/50" talk in the locker room needs to be addressed and virtually those 50% of men that called out Ben's toughness only wish they'd be HALF as tough as the man. Ben takes a beating on a weekly basis and is hit many many more times than ANY Quarterback in the league and he still performs at a high level while doing so. He had multiple concussions, including his accident and each and every time it happened, he came out, played bad and things got worse, so I don't blame Ben or anyone for that matter to sit him. The timing was the bad thing. They'll get this all settled and try not to make it out as big as the media wants it to be.

On another note, I loved Tomlin's post game press conference. Hopefully the troops listen and unleash fury from here on out in December.

"Please don't talk to me about moral victories," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "That would be disrespectful to guys in the locker room. We're going to unleash hell."

[Enigma869]

Now the media is going to take the ball and run with it and it could cause an immediate distraction.

I have to say that after visiting the websites of local Pittsburgh TV stations (KDKA, WPXI, and ThePittsburghChannel.com), I am STUNNED that not one of these stations has a single mention of this interview. Either the media in Pittsburgh REALLY sucks or they're incompetent, because there can't be any other reason for not at least reporting the story. If a Patriots player called out Tom Brady on national TV, the Boston media would be all over it and it would be guaranteed to be the biggest distraction on the planet. I guess journalistic integrity is a dying art.

[X factor]

Titans remaining games:

@ Colts - WIN
St. Louis Rams - WIN
Miami Dolphins - Toss Up
SD Chargers - Loss
Seattle Seahawks - WIN

As I see it, the Titans have at least one loss left on their schedule and one loss in the AFC is all it will take to knock them out. They're not running the table, and even if the unthinkable happened, they'd be just like they were last season...ONE AND DONE!

Intereting predictions, as this is the way I see it shaking out too. The Colts don't scare me nearly as much as the Chargers do. Not in an overall sense, mind you, just for Tennessee. People forget that Tennessee has played Indy VERY well the last few years (not sure what the won/loss is between them, but TN has matched up well against them) but the fucking Chargers seem to spoil the party every time.

[RossValoryRocks]

Now the media is going to take the ball and run with it and it could cause an immediate distraction.

I have to say that after visiting the websites of local Pittsburgh TV stations (KDKA, WPXI, and ThePittsburghChannel.com), I am STUNNED that not one of these stations has a single mention of this interview. Either the media in Pittsburgh REALLY sucks or they're incompetent, because there can't be any other reason for not at least reporting the story. If a Patriots player called out Tom Brady on national TV, the Boston media would be all over it and it would be guaranteed to be the biggest distraction on the planet. I guess journalistic integrity is a dying art.

Check out http://www.post-gazette.com

The main sports writers in Pittsburgh are saying what you are.

[Enigma869]

Check out http://www.post-gazette.com

The main sports writers in Pittsburgh are saying what you are.

Kudos to Ron Cook for saying what he said. It's nice to see someone in the Pittsburgh media as shocked as I was by this. Hell, if that were Terrell Owens, they would have been camped outside of the fucker's driveway for two weeks trying to get a comment. I'm not sure if ESPN has reported this but it will be interesting to see if they ignore it the way all the Pittsburgh TV stations did. I understand that no football team wants controversy, and I'm quite sure that Tomlin cringed when he listened to this interview. That said, the media has a job to report stories and it makes it look like they work for the Steelers when they ignore a story about the star (and I use the term quite loosely with Ward) receiver calling out the QB on national TV.

[Enigma869]

By the way, something I forgot to mention as it relates to last night's game. It's interesting how not one person is questioning Harbaugh's decision to go for it on 4th and 5 on his side of the field with almost 4 minutes left in the game, while everyone crucified Belichick two weeks before that for going for it on 4th and 2 from about the same spot on the field with only a shade over two minutes left. The difference? Baltimore converted the fourth down, so it's like the play and decision never even happened.

[YoungJRNY]

Now the media is going to take the ball and run with it and it could cause an immediate distraction.

I have to say that after visiting the websites of local Pittsburgh TV stations (KDKA, WPXI, and ThePittsburghChannel.com), I am STUNNED that not one of these stations has a single mention of this interview. Either the media in Pittsburgh REALLY sucks or they're incompetent, because there can't be any other reason for not at least reporting the story. If a Patriots player called out Tom Brady on national TV, the Boston media would be all over it and it would be guaranteed to be the biggest distraction on the planet. I guess journalistic integrity is a dying art.

I watched the post game show for an hour an and a half and the first and last subject that was talked about was indeed the Ward/Roethlisberger situation. Pittsburgh local news (KDKA) has been reporting it all day long and has raised many concerns in the community. This is indeed going to be a big deal within Pittsburgh the next couple days and I expect it to linger for quite awhile, esp if we miss a playoff spot.

[Enigma869]

As I predicted, the backpeddling by Ward for opening up his big mouth has already began.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 55509.html

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09334/1017350-66.stm

Yahoo Sports Take On It:

After guiding the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl wins and absorbing 221 sacks over six seasons, you'd think Ben Roethlisberger(notes) would have earned a little credibility with his teammates – particularly among pass-catching teammates. But apparently not.

Hines Ward shared a few Big Ben-related pregame thoughts with NBC's Bob Costas:

"This game is almost like a playoff game. It's almost a must-win. I could see some players or teammates questioning, like 'It's just a concussion. I've played with a concussion before,'" Ward told Costas in an interview taped Saturday at the team's suburban-Baltimore hotel as a prelude to the Steelers-Ravens game.

"It's almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room: Should he play? Shouldn't he play? It's really hard to say. I've been out there dinged up; the following week, got right back out there. Ben practiced all week. He split time with Dennis Dixon(notes). And then to find out that he's still having some headaches and not playing and it came down to the doctors didn't feel that they were going to clear him or not – it's hard to say. Unless you're the person [himself]. … I've lied to a couple of doctors saying I'm straight, I feel good when I know that I'm not really straight."

Roethlisberger practiced with the Steelers throughout the week, but he was still dealing with exercise-induced headaches so the team's neurosurgeon recommended that he not play. Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh's coaching staff complied. That seems perfectly reasonable, considering the mounting evidence that suggests repeated concussions lead to severe, life-shortening neurological disorders.

But for Ward, it's really hard to say. He would maybe just lie. It was almost like a must-win. (Even though it wasn't, not at all. The Steelers are a six-win team, they have five games remaining and their next two opponents are Oakland and Cleveland).

We should note that Dixon was plenty impressive facing one of the league's better defenses. He threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score. He's clearly a weapon; the Steelers can win with him. He wasn't perfect on Sunday – his completion percentage was below 50 and he threw a game-deciding interception in overtime. – but he was hardly a disaster. Ward should perhaps rethink his position on both Ben and Dixon.

[YoungJRNY]

By the way, something I forgot to mention as it relates to last night's game. It's interesting how not one person is questioning Harbaugh's decision to go for it on 4th and 5 on his side of the field with almost 4 minutes left in the game, while everyone crucified Belichick two weeks before that for going for it on 4th and 2 from about the same spot on the field with only a shade over two minutes left. The difference? Baltimore converted the fourth down, so it's like the play and decision never even happened.

There's a big difference between this situation and the Pats situation. This call was made with more than 3:00 left on the clock and Harbaugh had no threat of one of the best performing quarterbacks in the past decade and to go 30 yards to win the game on the other side of the ball AND they were also 3 points down at the time, not protecting a lead. They were only down 3 and the Steelers played conservative mostly all night so that CERTAINLY wasn't going to be Baltimore's last drive of the game if they didn't convert. If he doesn't convert that 4th and 5, he had a better shot at defending the field with a 3rd string quarterback at the helm (whose next possession at that point provided a WHOPPING 24 seconds) then he certainly would of got the ball back with minutes to go to AT LEAST tie or win the game. Two majorly different scenarios.

[squirt1]

I hate to tell Hines but Ben is one of the QB's that other teams dread 2x a yr. Maybe the white coats need to measure Hines head to see if he is in danger of imploding. What a fool!

[YoungJRNY]

I hate to tell Hines but Ben is one of the QB's that other teams dread 2x a yr. Maybe the white coats need to measure Hines head to see if he is in danger of imploding. What a fool!

I'm disappointed in Hines for publicly starting all of this. He needs to shut the yap. There's NO reason to call out your quarterback, a quarterback who single handily put the offense on his shoulders the past 5 seasons and a quarterback who takes a major beating and a quarterback whose won many games because of HIS ability. If it had to be anyone, it's a shame Hines has to be the culprit since he's just as important as Ben when it comes to leadership and reliability. We need to get this shit straight ASAP, we aren't the fucking Cowboys.