Steel Balls
Where Steeler Nuts Hang Out
Feasting on the NFL’s Turkeys
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d offer a reminder of how fortunate we are as Steelers fans. As shown in the table below, the Steelers are the winningest team of the modern NFL era, beginning with the formal merger of the AFL and NFL. The Steelers have the highest winning percentage – the only team with a winning percentage over .600; the most regular season wins (by a fairly comfortable 14 game margin over the second place team and 157 wins more than Cleveland); the most playoff appearances; the most playoff wins; and of course, the most Super Bowl wins. Whatever happens in tomorrow’s game, we have much for which to be grateful.
To access the “live” version of this chart, click here.
New Chat System
As you have surely noticed on the right, I’ve changed chat systems. The old chat system was great but a huge server resource drain and increasingly erratic. This new one seems to be fast and stable. I hope you grow to like it.
The new chat system has some advantages I think you will enjoy, such as the ability to insert photos, youtube videos, and attachments. The downside is the waste of space by pinning the user list to the right – a feature I can turn off if people don’t like it. Also the input box is smaller than I’d like.
But if people are happy with this system I’ll consider upgrading to the “Pro” version which includes avatars and social media logins.
Please provide feedback as comments on this post. Thanks.
For posterity I have copied the most recent chats to the bottom of this message.
Yes, Copa. I’m Serious.
I really do not think that Ben creates a 6 point swing vs the Ravens this week.
Don’t get me wrong. You want your best players on the field for every game vs. a rival. If he’s healthy enough to play, he should play. Is he better than Landry? Gawd, yes! But is he a six-point-swing better? I doubt it.
Ben doesn’t have the best track record vs the Ravens in particular, especially vs. Dean Pees’ Baltimore defenses. I don’t know why, but Pees seems to have his number, especially when the games are played at Ratland Stadium, where Ben is 0-4 in his last 4 starts, has thrown 3 TDs and 6 INTs and owns a passer rating of 69.76.
Ben’s Career vs. The Ratbirds:
If you would like to see a larger version of this table, just click on the image.
Steelers’ backup QBs are 1-3 vs Harbaugh and 1-4 under Tomlin vs the Rats, respectively. I’ve also included Landry’s career stats here for discussion.
It can be argued that the best game any Steelers QB has ever had, at Baltimore, vs a Dean Pees coordinated Ravens defense was in 2012, under Charlie Batch.
I do not recognize Mike Vick’s game because it was at home and his yards per attempt was anemic. But, otherwise those backups did “ok” when compared to what Ben has done vs. Baltimore the past 5 seasons.
This week’s game is further complicated by the fact that Ben has not played in three weeks. I should not need to remind you of Ben’s track record in games coming back from injury. But just in case you’d like to read about it: An article from last season.
Granted, Ben seems to play exponentially worse the longer the layoff and this was a short one. That may give you reason for some optimism.
I do believe that Ben is the best option Sunday, even at 80% of normal health. I just don’t think that he’s 6 points better than a healthy backup.
*Interesting point that many may not be aware of: Pees was also the Patriots Defensive Coordinator from 2006 through 2009. He reportedly did not get along well with King Bill.
**Also interesting, Ben has missed a TON of games vs the Rats. Seven games missed in 11 seasons has to be a personal record for games missed vs one opponent.
