Hey I never said you're wrong just that if we are going to become a playoff team again we can't lose every game against a team that is equal or better. Last year we only beat the teams under us it seemed. In 2010 we beat the Pats and Steelers. I do think we will split with the Pats though. Rex takes that game personally and just like 2010 when we got blown out we were able to respond on the road and beat them. Even if we do get swept by the Pats I still think we will find a way to beat either SF Steelers or Texans 1 or 2 of those games. I think we have SF and Houston at home.
Well, I wish Ryan would take ALL division games personally. I didn't do much good to beat NE once in 2010 and then split with the fish, who were really bad. In fact his record against Miami has been a problem. Msybe I was too impressed by the Texans last year. My thinking is with Schaub back and those young guys on their D a year older, they will be very tough. We can't just assume year after year that Houston will be an also ran club. As for Pitt, Rothliesberger was hurt last year. I expect he will be healthy now, and they have a strong D.
I've been very upset about how we have played Miami. I hope this year will be different now that they lost Marshall and their QB situation is all messed up. Their offense leaves a lot to be desired. Their D is still pretty good and it is a divisional game but we really should sweep the Dolphins.
The Texans lost the best RT in football this offseason and I think they also have a very inexperienced RG starting for them too this year. Their offensive line made their offense go last year and I fully expect it to take a hit. Their defense doesnt have Mario Williams and traded away a very underrated player in Demeco Ryans. Honestly the Texans have a ton of question marks too. Look what happened when we lost our RT two years ago. The Steelers dont have a #1 RB, their OL is starting 2 rookies and are changing offensive systems. Their defense is getting older and IMO will lose a step. I say we have a definite shot at winning at least one of these games.
Houston got farther than the Jets did last year without their starting Qb. I assume Schaub is back and healthy. They still have lots of great young talent on D. I don't see them going backwards. It would be great if the Jets can beat a team like that. Last year the Jets did not beat teams like that. I see no reason why this year will be different. Pitt? I think they had a great draft, Rothliesberger will be healthier, and they still have one of the two or three best defenses in football. As for a new OC, I think if anything Haley will be a better one, so I doubt you see a dropoff from that. Of course if Rothliesberger gets hurt or in fact is not rehabbed enough, they will struggle.
Wade Phillips is a lousy HC but he's a great DC, and has been great since his days as the Bills DC back in the mid/last 1990s. The Texans switched to a 3-4 last season, and Mario Williams played out of position before he got hurt fairly early in the season, so the Texans aren't going to miss him as much as some think because they played most of last season without him. As for the Stillers not having a #1 RB, that might be true, but Shonn Greene is not that great a runner, either. He wouldn't be the #1 RB on most AFC teams, and he wouldn't even make several. Like Shanahan's Denver teams in their heydays, the Stillers run block well enough to make even ordinary RBs look great. It also helps that they have a good vertical passing game. Pitt knows how to get rookie OLers up to speed, too, as they did with Marquise Pouncey a couple of years ago (he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie). Dave DeCastro at RG is another blue-chip OL prospect who will likely be a Pro Bowler for the next decade. Don't under-estimate the Stillers. The Texans limped into the playoffs with Matt Leinart and then 5th round rookie, A.J. Yates, at QB. With Schaub back, they'll be much better on offense. I agree about Pitt's draft. They reloaded again via the draft like they've done for the last 15 years or so. It seems that NE reloads through FA, and Pitt through the draft but Pitt's success goes back to the mid 1990s at least and predates Roethlisberger (Cowher got to a SB with Neil O'Donnell as his QB back in the 1990s) and will likely continue after he retires (unlike NE when Brady hangs 'em up). I expect they will be in the fray in the AFCN again. Last season they really suffered from injuries down the stretch and in the playoffs, not just to Roethlisberger, but to their defense as well.
