Maddux Sports Blog

Something is very rotten in Pittsburgh. There is really no way to explain how the Steelers managed to lose to the Browns last night. The stats are just staggering. They lost to a team that has a quarterback who completed six of 19 passes for 90 yards. The Browns’ leading rusher was Josh Cribbs – a wide receiver. Cribbs only had 87 yards, but he outgained the entire Steelers team by 12 yards. Big Ben was sacked eight times. This was as bad as a legitimate team can possibly play. The offensive line was offensive, the defense didn’t care, receivers were quitting on routes – absolutely nothing went well. The defending Super Bowl champs have now dropped five in a row, and you really have to wonder what Mike Tomlin is going to do about this, and maybe even f he is going to survive it. Injuries – Troy Polamalu chief among them – are a big part of the story, but that’s not an excuse. It could be an excuse for not winning the division, but it’s not an excuse for a five game slide and a loss to the freaking Browns. Now they have nine days to sit and stew in their own misery before their next game. It will be very interesting to watch what goes on in Pittsburgh over the next few weeks.

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Yesterday I touched on how uneven and uninspiring so many teams have been in the NFL has been this year. It’s really striking how large the gap is between the good teams and the not-so-good ones – bigger than usual, I think. As I was thinking about that earlier I was particularly struck by the sad state of quarterbacking in the league. There are always some QB problems, but I’m not sure that there is also this many teams in such a hopeless situation. Here’s a look at the worst offenders:

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I’m going to do a much more comprehensive review of what we learned from the NFL today when I have more time tomorrow. For now, though, I just want to touch on five different stats. Each of them is almost impossible to believe, but they all happened. Not surprisingly, three of them came from the same game:

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The Jets are mortal after all – I’ve been feeling all along that it is important to look at the Jets with context. They have been impressive on both sides of the ball, but it wasn’t going to be sustainable through all 16 games. That just wasn’t possible given that they were working with a totally rebuilt defense and a rookie quarterback. I don’t want to suggest that things are bleak or hopeless for this team – far from it. I just think that the setback against the Saints should remind us that our expectations for teams need to be reasonable or they will be costly.

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I don’t know about you, but I am itching for the football season to get here. Aching, really. NFL training camps get under way right away, so America’s favorite sport has been on my mind a lot lately. We’ll obviously spend a lot of time talking about the league in the weeks and months to come, but before we get into any specifics I just wanted to reflect on some of the general thoughts that are bouncing through my mind at this point.

Jacksonville – I like this team. A lot. Their division is a bit softer than it has been. Their offense is solid. Their defense is significantly upgraded. Every year there are a couple of teams that I either make or lose a fortune on. I strongly suspect that Jacksonville is one of those teams. They aren’t going to surprise anyone, and the public is going to be aware of them, but I still thin that they will play well enough to make some money.

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