*** Official Steelers vs Colts Thread ***

[fluxrad]

I'm a Steelers fan and I thought they were going to get worked. I honestly didn't see the Steelers getting as much pressure on Manning as they did. It also helped that the Colts decided to take the first quarter off.

[TheNoodleMan]

First, congrats to the Steelers, they earned it.
I was at the game and I'm going to write a trip report, but I need some time to digest. When I'm on my deathbed, this will probably be the most memorable game I ever saw in person, so I want to take my time and give it the treatment it deserves.

[Bud Light]

The current general manager of the Colts was the general manager of the Bills during their streak of Super Bowl futility. That guy's got to be close to suicide.

[TheNoodleMan]

The job of general manager is to put together a team that can win. Bill Polian hes done this.
You can try to hate all you want, but the man has done an amazing job. There were plenty of kibitzers who regarded the choicer between Manning and Leaf as a toss up.
A year later, most people said "WHO?" when he took Edge over Ricky Williams.
He followed that up by stealing Reggie Wayne at the bottom of the first round. He was the fifth WR taken, behind David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Rod Gardner, and Santana Moss.
The next year he took a DE that was supposed to be too small, Dwight Freeney has worked out pretty good thus far.
Two years later, the Colts traded down multiple times before selecting Bob Sanders in the second round.
A general manager can only control so much, no one has done a better job building franchises than Polian. Ask any Bills fan if they wish they had him back.

[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?

[lastchance]

Yeah, Edge needed more carries. Not giving Edge enough carries let Pittsburgh get after Manning in the first quarter, and the fourth quarter. When Manning gave Edge the ball, he had all sorts of time to throw.

I don't know why the Colts Pass defense was so soft early on. The Chargers like the Steelers came out firing early, before the Colts defense clamped down, and got a lot of points. This Colts defense is very good, and I don't understand how they give up so many points early through the air. Something Dungy will have to work on during the offseason.

Bill Cowher is too conservative. That clock-killing drive where the Steelers converted two fourth and 1's was huge, both correct calls by Cowher, but a single play-action, and the Steelers go up by two scores, and the Colts can't come back.

As bad as all-pass is, which is what the Colts did throughout this game, all-run is just as bad, at least when there are more than 5 minutes left in the game.

[thatpfunk]

actual interesting segment on espn.

on 2nd and 2 and 3rd and 2 peyton's check down routes were open for a first down or more. the colts still had 2 time outs as well. whoops.

[mostsmooth]

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WTF was that. WORST CALL I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. JUST AWFUL. SHAME ON YOU REFEREE.

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good game refs

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This may end up being Indy's "tuck rule" play. It is very likely the right call but a poor ru hle.

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the right call?
are you serious?

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I can almost guarantee, by the letter of the rules, that it is the "right" call, so yes, I am serious. Pay attention please.

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the rule for a complete pass that i could find.
8. A forward pass is complete when a receiver clearly possesses the pass and touches the ground with both feet inbounds while in possession of the ball. If a receiver would have landed inbounds with both feet but is carried or pushed out of bounds while maintaining possession of the ball, pass is complete at the out-of-bounds spot.

they described previously a receiver as any player on defense and the eligible offensive players.
im too lazy to search any more. if you can find the rule on possession id be interested.but the above, admittedly very basic, would make us believe the int should have stood.

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i guess everybody is now aware the refs have admitted blowing the int situation?
link

[TheNoodleMan]

Just though some of you Steelers fans might like this one, I think its a better shot than the one some of you guys are using as an avatar. Helluva play by Ben.