[Schwartzy61]

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Well, I said I was done with this thread because of the flaming, but I got a question and don't want to start a new thread.

Who all predicted the Steelers would win? I know Hodge did (obviously) and I was watching some NFL Network clips on NFL.com last night and Sterling Sharpe I believe picked them. ESPN.com also lists Theismann picking the Steelers.

I thought there would be more as this was a no-loss/high-gain pick. You pick the Steelers and they lose, well they were supposed to lose so no biggie. You pick the Steelers and they win, you look smart.

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Well the "experts" look pretty stupid when they pick a team that then gets worked over. It's much easier to say well I picked the Colts, but the team I picked to win didn't really show up and that's why they lost. Pick the Steelers and they lose, and there isn't really an excuse you can make for that pick. You just made a dumb pick against such an "awesome team."

As an aside, Roethlisberger's prediction that it would take Pittsburgh's A game to beat Indy's B game came true. The team the Colts threw out there did not look like the team that went 13-0. Indy hasn't been the same since they locked up the AFC's best regular season record. The Pittsburgh game was amazingly similar to the Chargers game of week 15. Too many dumb penalties, Peyton wouldn't hand off to Edge, and Indy couldn't protect Manning well enough to get the offense into rhythm. Meanwhile the other team runs the ball, controls the clock, converts some key 3rd downs, and hits a big play here or there. End result Indy loss...

I think Indy would have been better served by playing NE, it's almost like they couldn't get motivated to play anyone else. I think they thought once NE was gone they would just walk to the Super Bowl championship. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, does it?

The other thing I can't fully grasp is why Peyton doesn't seem to trust the running backs in these types of games. The last 2 years the Colts final game is one in which Edge gets about 15 carries and Manning tries to carry the offensive load all by himself. I think Tom Moore and Tony Dungy have to sit down with Peyton and force him to understand that the running game is the key to the championship. Show him tapes of Dan Marino racking up all those yards but never a championship. Show him tapes of Elway putting up stats for years without winning the big one. Then boom, he gets Terrell Davis and suddenly Denver is a Super Bowl champion. Peyton is just wasting his chances at championships trying to be the hero with a wide open passing attack. Does he understand running the ball slows down a relentless pass rush?