John’s Well-Educated Guesses: Week 15
It’s always been my dream to start a blog series that would
go until the end of the season. This is
one blog in that series, and I will answer for my predictions next week.
Disclaimer: My takes are almost always correct. So buckle up- buckaroo.
What a yucky game against the Dolphins. Glad that’s over. It’s weird because I still kind of expect us
to win that game. We got all the stops
we needed and I figured we would pull off some magic at the end. Why didn’t we go for it on that 4th
and 10? Why did we roll out half our
defensive players? Is anybody reading
this?? Anyway, I say let’s throw it
out. We have a couple of those games a
year when everything is just….off. I’m
just praying that this is not what it’s supposed to look like having a 40 year
old QB. (Yikes)
Anyway, here we go.
Biggest game of the year. Battle
for the number 1 seed. I’ve been hoping
that Pittsburgh would have dropped a game or two along the way, but they have
eeked out a few close ones. They are the
class of the AFC right now, so you gotta beat the best if you wanna be the
best.
Before last week I was not concerned about Pitt at all. We work their bitch-ass every time we
play. Six out of the last Seven if I
remember correctly. They keep trotting
out that same zone defense they have been running for years. Brady always has the answers to that
test.
Their offense is seriously explosive. Big Ben is no longer the iron-man he once
was. He can still evade pressure and
make people miss, but he is not as good at it as he once was. Antonio Brown is the best receiver in the
league, but Malcolm Butler has normally been able to contain him. The big X-Factor is Leveon Bell. He was unable to play in the AFC Championship
game last year, and I expect them to use him heavily. He will get a lot of carries, but I also
expect them to split him out wide. Kenyon
Drake ate our lunch last week doing the same thing.
This year, the Steelers also vowed to play more man-to-man
defense in order to finally top the Patriots.
I am still skeptical that they have the personnel to do that. Brady is excellent at spreading them out and
finding the weak link. You either have
to be 5 deep at CB or have a super-elite defensive line to beat him. I don’t think the Steelers have that.
I’m already getting sweaty just typing this. Sunday can’t come soon enough.
Prediction: More picks for Brady – Last week I called out
that Brady would be interception free. I
was wrong.
Prediction: Bell catches 7 passes – As I mentioned above,
I think Bell will be used heavily in the passing game and they will split him
out to get mismatches. (This will also
cause me to lose my fantasy football playoff game.)
Prediction: Bell goes over 100 on the ground – Can you
tell I think he is going to kill us?
Lets hope he pulls a Ladanian Tomlinson an sits on the sideline with a
hood on….like the AFC Championship game last year.
Prediction: 31-28 Pittsburgh Wins – I know that this is sacrilegious,
but the Patriots just don’t do themselves any favors at the end of the
season. We are a banged up football
team, and last week’s disaster was really telling for me. I am hoping I am wrong on this prediction.
