Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Postseason Rooting Guide and Other Crap


Watch white people do the Ray Lewis dance. (And yes, they're making fun of him.)

pr9000 asks a very important question:
...for whom are we rooting in the playoffs, as Steelers fans?
Here are some responses via yesterday's comments and I might as well ad my own:

In the AFC, under no circumstance can you pull for the Ravens. In fact, if the choices are wrestling with a naked Tony Siragusa or pulling for the Ravens, well, bring on the Goose. Same goes for the Pats. I was indifferent about the Chargers, but Philip Rivers has the Opie/Leave it Beaver thing going and for some reason it bugs the crap out of me. Couple that with Shawne Merriman cheating, and I'm inclined to pull against them under certain circumstances. The Chiefs all seem like good guys, but if they somehow managed to win the Super Bowl, Herm Edwards would be under the mistaken impression that he's actually a good coach. He's not.

It's hard not to like the Jets and Man-boobs Mangini and if they manage to beat the Pats, I hope they win it all. And just so we can all turn the page on the "Peyton Manning/Tony Dungy is the best QB/Coach to never win the Super Bowl!" talk, I'd wholeheartedly support them.

In the NFC, I hope Seattle loses 81-0. You know, before the Super Bowl, I didn't mind the Seahawks. I think Hasselbeck is a really good QB and they were overlooked by the media in 2005, probably because they played in the NFC and because they were based just east of Alaska. After all the bitching and moaning in the months following the Super Bowl, they're easily my new favorite team to hate. But hey, at least their head coach isn't a big fat baby.

For some reason, I find the whole T.O. debacle hilarious. In fact, I passively want them to do well ... but without T.O. just so he can scream, "WHY THE F- AM I HERE?" after every game.

Also, as was mentioned in the comments, how can you not like the Eagles? I've always liked McNabb, I love the way Brian Dawkins plays and Jeff Garcia ... well, that's one sexy short, bald, red-headed backup quarterback. Okay, maybe I've said too much.

The Giants? Meh. Tom Coughlin is a douchebag, second only to Jeremy Shockey. I still like Plax, but not enough to overcome the fact that Huckleberry Hound is the quarterback.

And obviously, the Saints are the team to pull for in 2006/2007. I've always liked Drew Brees, New Orleans' Deuce reminds me of what Pittsburgh's Duce used to be like, and how can you not enjoy Reggie Bush and Marques Colston? That said, their defense has a lot of issues and it'll be tough sledding to win the conference ... even if it is the NFC.

***
I'll file this under "Hello Apocalypse!" I agree with DJ about the Steelers' first-round needs given that I haven't really paid attention to the 2007 draft prospects. At this early stage of the proceedings, I say offensive tackle. I also agree with Countertorque that addressing the OLB position is kinda important, especially since there's not a lot of depth and Porter/Haggans/Harrison are a year older. I still don't know when they should fill that need (as in, what round), but it's certainly an issue.

In the spirit of wasting time, NFLDraftCountdown.com has the Steelers drafting Texas guard Justin Blalock with the 13th overall pick (the site was last updated 12/6), and the Sporting News ($ subscription) has Pittsburgh selecting Michigan CB Leon Hall with the 15th pick (last updated on 12/28).

I think somebody mentioned that Pittsburgh's CB situation isn't an immediate need, but I don't think you can ever have enough good cornerbacks. Of course, I didn't watch much of Michigan this year so I don't know how good Hall really is. I know the draft websites love him, but I remember reading the same crap about Marlin Jackson, who I've referred to as the second biggest first-round CB bust of the 2005 draft after Carlos Rogers (pithy, I know).

Blalock? I have no idea? I think taking a guard with the 15th (or 13th, or whatever) pick is silly, but I haven't given it a whole hell of a lot of thought. I'm sure I could be convinced otherwise.

In the meantime, let's all hope the Steelers hire Whisenhunt because I just bought www.firekenwhisenhuntnow.com and I want to be able to put it use.