new afc champion poll

[dragon002]

now the wild card weekend is over, who will win the AFC?

 

[charper1]

I am still saying PIT is the strongest all-around AFC team and on a roll.

 

[bigmarkhd]

I love pitt and im a huge rothelisberger fan from his college days.I knew from the minute i seen him play in person against bowling green where i used to live he would be a star.I think with his smarts and the great group of guys around him they can bust paytons knee up to and win the next game ..lol im kidding that was mean.NO really i think indi is a great team butt i have faith that bigben and the talent around him will change they way the world thinks about them and as we all know peyton chokes in the end going back to his high school days.

 

[Purogamer]

I like ben, but let's keep this in perspective. Anyone can hand the ball off to willie and jerome...

In the last 2 years:

Ben: 5006 Yards, 34 TD's, 20 INT's, 65% completion
Carson Palmer: 6733 Yards, 50 TD's, 30 INT's, 65% completion
Tom Brady: 7802 Yards, 54 TD's, 28 INT's, 62% completion
Brett Favre: 6969 Yards, 50 TD's, 46 INT's, 63% completion
McNair: 4505 Yards, 24 TD's, 20 INT's, 61% completion
Boller: 4358 Yards, 24 TD's, 23 INT's, 57% completion

etc...

He's somewhere in between boller, aka the worst QB in the league, and Favre, who everyone thinks should retire. I like the guy but he's not Joe Montana, try to remember that. And he's already having injury problems. Yes he's better that Tommy Maddox and Yes everyone is thankful that Kordell Stewart and his ugly ass are out of the league, but ben is not the great QB he's made out to be.

Better than anything in cleveland, but saying your QB is better than couch, garcia, dilfer or frye is hardly worth bragging about...

 

[dragon002]

puro,

he also missed how many games?!

his totals would greater than they are if he had played.

 

[CPanther95]

So you rank QB's based on yards without regard for interceptions or number of games played - or factoring in whether a team has a running game or not?

QB Passer Rating (top 10):

1. Peyton Manning (104.1)
2. Carson Palmer (101.1)
3. Ben Roethlisberger (98.6)
4. Matt Hasselbeck (98.2)
5. Marc Bulger (94.4)
6. Tom Brady (92.3)
7. Jake Plummer (90.2)
8. Trent Green (90.1)
9. Byron Leftwich (89.3)
10. Drew Brees (89.2)

 

[rjc3895]

I like ben, but let's keep this in perspective. Anyone can hand the ball off to willie and jerome...

In the last 2 years:

Ben: 5006 Yards, 34 TD's, 20 INT's, 65% completion
Carson Palmer: 6733 Yards, 50 TD's, 30 INT's, 65% completion
Tom Brady: 7802 Yards, 54 TD's, 28 INT's, 62% completion
Brett Favre: 6969 Yards, 50 TD's, 46 INT's, 63% completion
McNair: 4505 Yards, 24 TD's, 20 INT's, 61% completion
Boller: 4358 Yards, 24 TD's, 23 INT's, 57% completion

etc...

Both Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw had losing seasons for three years prior to turning things around. In fact, Bradhsaw's first winning season was the same year that the Steelers had drafted the 1972 NFL rookie of the year - a guy name Franco Harris.

The Cowboys built a team around the strengths of Aikman.

Jake Plumer couldn't get Arizona into the playoffs, but he did with the Broncos.

How good would Joe Montana have been without good receivers and running backs? Could Joe get the Texans into the playoffs by himself?

heck how good would Payton Manning be without his supporting cast?

I'm not saying Ben Rothlisberger is or will be as good as Montana, but don't throw him into a class of mediocre quarterbacks because he has great running backs and receivers.

It's amazing how much Ben has learned in such a short time.

P.S.
I'm not calling Favre, McNair, Brady or Palmer mediocre. They are all great QB's. Boller has some work ahead of him.

 

[charper1]

That's why its a TEAM game, no one person is crap without the rest of the team, no matter what his individual stats say. This isn't tennis.

 

[bidaw]

To be the champion, you have to beat the champion when it counts...in the playoffs!

Undefeated in the playoffs, Brady brings home another AFC Championship.

 

[bigmarkhd]

Thats right its all about poise in the pockect and determination to get the job done.YOur right bigben has learned a ton in the last 2 years knowing in college he was a throwing qb just look at his numbers.He had to learn to rely on his head and not his mobility and great arm strength.I would allready put him in the top half of Qbs in the league right now after 2 years.To hear marino and and aikmen talk about ben as good as they do and knowing there well qualified to do so I think they know what to look for in greatness and they see it as i do.Im not saying the steelers will win on out this year but im saying i promise they will win a few bowls with big ben at the helm because of his leadership and the team players around him.Also if you look at his rating being 3rd best in the league this year and very high in his rookie year thats all based on throwing and TDs and less ints.So his he hands off alot who wouldnt with the backs he has but when he throws the ball its way more likly to be a completion than an int.

 

[BrianMis]

To be the champion, you have to beat the champion when it counts...in the playoffs!
Undefeated in the playoffs, Brady brings home another AFC Championship.

This isn't going to happen, the Pats peaked last year and I'm gong to be surprised to all heck if they get past Denver.

Pittsburgh owns the AFC right now, and they are going to prove it on Sunday.

My predictions:

AFC Divisional Round:

Pittsburgh over Indy by 7
Denver over New England by 14

AFC Championship Game:

Pittsburgh over Devner by 10

 

[rjc3895]

Patriot fans should be careful not to read anything into the team's domination over Jacksonville. Jacksonville had 12 wins, but here are the teams they beat and that team's record.

Seahawks 13-3
Jets 4-12
Bengals 10-6
Steelers (Maddox QB) 10-6
Texans (twice) 2-14
Ravens 6-10
Titans (twice) 4-12
Cardinals 5-11
Browns 6-10
49ers 4-12

Only three of these teams had winning records. Seahawks was opening day (and we know how well that team played after opening day. Not sure what happend in the Bengals game. The Steelers lost to Jacksonbville in OT with Maddox as the QB.

The Chiefs did not make the playoffs, but that's because they lost to teams they should have beat early in the season. The Chiefs beat:
Miami 9-7
Washington 10-6
Texans 2-14
Patriots 10-6
Broncos (split) 13-3
Chargers (split) 9-7
Bengals 10-6
Raiders (twice) 4-12
Jets 4-14

Six of the team wins were to teams with winning records (including the Patriots.) The Chiefs were probably the better team, but that's water over the dam now.

Now we must figure in the Brady factor. This guy seems to find a way to win when it comes playoff time even if his top players are not in the game. I cannot rule out another Patriots victory, but Patriot fans won't see the domination that this team has shown in the past.

Still, I must stay true to my team. Steelers are going all the way so Jerome can celebrate a Super Bowl victory in his home town of Detriot.

 

[CPanther95]

No question that KC and San Diego are the best teams not in the playoffs.

 

[Jimbo]

I like ben, but let's keep this in perspective. Anyone can hand the ball off to willie and jerome...

In the last 2 years:

Ben: 5006 Yards, 34 TD's, 20 INT's, 65% completion
Carson Palmer: 6733 Yards, 50 TD's, 30 INT's, 65% completion
Tom Brady: 7802 Yards, 54 TD's, 28 INT's, 62% completion
Brett Favre: 6969 Yards, 50 TD's, 46 INT's, 63% completion
McNair: 4505 Yards, 24 TD's, 20 INT's, 61% completion
Boller: 4358 Yards, 24 TD's, 23 INT's, 57% completion

etc...

He's somewhere in between boller, aka the worst QB in the league, and Favre, who everyone thinks should retire. I like the guy but he's not Joe Montana, try to remember that. And he's already having injury problems. Yes he's better that Tommy Maddox and Yes everyone is thankful that Kordell Stewart and his ugly ass are out of the league, but ben is not the great QB he's made out to be.

Better than anything in cleveland, but saying your QB is better than couch, garcia, dilfer or frye is hardly worth bragging about...

Big Ben is only in his 2nd year, you make it sound like he's Jake plummer.....
Ben is haveing a much better year this year, he has last years playoffs behind him, He played very well last week.

Also, the Steelers are not just a run team as the preception has been.

HINES WARD IS the best overall wide receiver in the league, barr none :up

Jimbo

 

[dragon002]

puro,

the thing for MOST of his playing time this year, ben has been wearing a splint, tape and TWO gloves on his throwing hand.

excuse....no

but like madden said......""hurt thumb??!! there was a VAPOR trail on that ball""

puro ,this kid is gonna have more records than you can fathom.

keep rooting against him.

any pithy comments?? or are you still living in a world of distorted reality?

 

[Purogamer]

There's only one distorted reality here and it's you...This is why I avoided commenting on the last topic, you keep trying to make it personal and it's really f**king annoying. Calm your ass down and just READ. I'm not throwing any darts at you...If you can't have a discussion and keep it light and fun, i'm out of here. I'm not going to start insulting you as a person because of the team you root for, it's illogical. Even in the topic about my avatar you were WAY out of control and over the line. Calm the f**k down...

I just listed a few QB's that everyone knows. I gave every stat that mattered and showed how he's on par with some, ahead of others, and behind others. Nothing more, nothing less. He's an average quarterback in the NFL, and he's already having injury problems, as I pointed out without bias. Hines Ward is a Hall of Fame WR that NOBODY outside of pittsburgh cares about. I feel bad for him. Bettis doesn't get the respect either. I feel bad that those three (including ben) are on a team that's now full of young, loud-mouthed players who haven't done anything yet. If larry foote wants to run around with a superbowl ring being an annoying twit, fine. If Polamalu wants to run his mouth with a MVP trophy in hand, great. Until then, shut up. You beat the bungles after their QB (who is better than ben IMO) went down, in the wild card round. You can carry on like you won the superbowl after you do it, until then concentrate on not getting into trouble on the field which you're lucky to not get thrown out for...

I don't like the steelers but I don't look for reasons to dislike them. I respect some of their players, I respect their coach if for NO other reason than he's been able to keep his job for so many years in a league where you get a few years if you're lucky. I'm rooting FOR them this weekend because I can't stand the colts or peyton, but that doesn't mean I think they can win.

If pittsburgh is going to get to a superbowl this HAS to be the year because they'll play on the road no matter who the opponent is, and evryrone knows cowher can't win a championship game at home.

If you want to believe nothing ever goes wrong in pittsburgh, well, that's about as distorted as a person can get. That'd be like me sitting here saying next year is going to be the Indians year or the Cavs year or the Browns Year. Those are my teams but i'm not delusional about what they can and can not do...

 

[rjc3895]

Purogamer,
I think the comment that got the Steelers fans fired up was "I like ben, but let's keep this in perspective. Anyone can hand the ball off to willie and jerome"

I only wanted to point out that having great running backs doesn't take away from Rothlisberger's talent. All great QBs need great offenseive linemen, running backs, and wide receivers. And I believe that Ben will be a star QB in this league.

Carson Palmer should be a better QB; after all, he won the Heisman. The comments about some of the Steeler players being loud mouths is true. But I can't think of any team that doesn't have loud mouth players. Troy Polamalu has surprised me lately with his lack of self control.

Personally I believe that Pittsburgh would have beaten the Bengals even if Palmer would not have gotten injured. The score would have been a lot closer, but Pittsburgh had the better defense.

I also believe that the Steelers can beat the Colts. It was advantageous for the Steelers to have already played at the RCA Center. The team is healthier now as well. Both Marvel Smith and Rothlisberger were back for the first time in three weeks. I think Smith was out longer.

I'm looking forward to watching the matchup.

 

[dragon002]

puro,

nothing i said was personal. nothing. for gods sake if you cant handle a little pittsburgh / cleveland banter, then ....well ill leave it at that..


BTW i love your avatar, i NEVER said anything bad about it.

ps, if you were referring to my comments about the rivers , modell etc,,,,read your history books . both statements are factual.

 

[cdru]

So you rank QB's based on yards without regard for interceptions or number of games played - or factoring in whether a team has a running game or not?

It's hard to compare two QB using any performance metric, even QB rating. Vick, Manning, Roethlisburger, Brady...all excel in particular areas yet have problems in other. QB rating has it's flaw too if you don't pass much. If you pass 5 of 5 for 10 yards total and 3 TD, you'll have a 118.7 rating. It doesn't make you a good QB. Anyone can hand off the ball 1/2 of the time which is what they did last year and almost this year.

I think Big Ben will be a great quarterback, with time. I don't think he is quite there. The Steelers are a defense and running team. They have Hines Ward and who else? I'm not saying it's his fault or even anyone's fault. That's just how the Steelers play.

My predictions are:
Indy over Pittsburg
Carolina over Chicago
Denver over New England
Seattle over Washington

With the exception of Seattle over Washington, I think the games are going to be real close. I don't think there are going to be any blowouts.

 

[CPanther95]

What about points?