Yayo's Take 11.01.06: Big Ben, Darrent "Powdered Toast Man" Williams, Manning vs. Brady
Posted by J. Yayo Hernandez on 11.01.2006
How do I defend Big Ben starting? With words my friend, with words...
Did I miss another week? Yes. Do I have another good reason? No. Nothing terribly excited me to write a column last week and I would rather give you nothing then a bareass column (I couldn't even work my way to halfassed when I started). But with another weekend of NFL football under my belt and the clocks being pushed back an hour, I have been refreshed. So the real question is: Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!
1. Why was Big Ben on the field?
Big Ben: Dazed and Confused
It's easy to be an arm-chair quarterback on Monday, but this just seems like a decision that may have cost the Steelers their season. Now sitting at 2-5, the Steelers would have to win at least seven of their next nine games to even be in the playoff mix. This seems fairly unlikely as they still have Denver (5-2) on 11/5, New Orleans (5-2) on 11/12, Baltimore (5-2) twice 11/26 and 12/24, Carolina (4-4) 12/17 and Cincinnati (4-3) on 12/31 to play. So back to the question, why was Big Ben playing? Or more aptly, if you were coach, would Roethlisberger have played?
The answer is yes. There is a reason why the rest of us are arm-chair quarterbacks and Bill Cowher has been one of the most successful NFL coaches of the last 15 years. First, before Ben would have been allowed to play he would have received medical clearance from the team doctors. So at this point his health would not have been a reason to sit him. We can assume that he had a good practice that didn't show any effects from the concussion because nothing has been said to that effect. So the real question is would you bench your Superbowl winning quarterback for no reason? Would you risk alienating not only your franchise quarterback, but possibly creating more controversy anyways. If Batch had played and the Raiders won then the complaints would have flooded in as to why Ben wasn't on the field. Bill Cowher made the right decision… period. You wouldn't ask Bill Walsh to bench Joe Montana if he had a bad game, so why would you sit a healthy Roethlisberger? I understand Ben has had a rough season so far, he also is only in his third year behind center. More than that, he played caretaker to the offense his first year and wasn't given much responsibility. Letting him work through his slump now sets up Pittsburgh to have a better year in 2007.
2. Would you like some butter with your toast Mr. Wayne?
10 catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns was Reggie Wayne's stat line from Indianapolis's 34-31 squeaker over Denver. But watching the highlights it seemed that Darrent Williams had money on the Colts. On two of Wayne's touchdowns he ran right by Williams (on one play it looked like Williams expected safety John Lynch to pick him up… he didn't. On the other he stayed covering the flat) who was left flat footed. In the fourth quarter drive that put Indy ahead 31-28, Wayne had four catches for 67 yards and caught the two point conversion, and all of it was against Williams. Of course his quarterback didn't have a bad game either going 32 of 39 for 345 yards, three touchdowns with no sacks. So Mr. Williams if you do face Mr. Wayne in the playoffs, please remember that the NFL is not a game of
3. Manning vs. Patriots
You will hear the stats floating from all over. Belichick since becoming Patriots head coach in 2000 is 9-2 against Manning. Brady is 6-1 against Manning. What may be more telling is that the Colts and Patriots have only played once over the last 21 months, and that was last years 19 point trouncing by the Colts. If the Colts can somehow hold both Corey Dillon (3.9 yards per carry) and Laurence Maroney (4.2 yards per carry) from running at will this will be another blowout. The Patriots are currently averaging 124.9 yards per game (eighth in the NFL), and one would assume the game plan is to run it down the Colts throat (Indianapolis allows an NFL worst 167.9 yards per game on the ground). If the Colts allow New England to dictate the pace of the game, Manning may be neutralized to an extent due to time constraints. My bold prediction… Patriots win 27-17.
Moment of Zen
WTF!!!
This is not me, but I couldn't agree more.
The Hook and Lateral
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