I know that this may be beating a dead horse, or maybe raising an issue that most Steelers fans don't really care about. But, I was interested in it, so I decided a to take a quick look at it. Ever since the Ravens lost the AFCCG to the Pats in heart-wrenching fashion due to the missed Billy Cundiff 32 yard FG, the main takeaway from the game for the media seems to be this: "You can't say anymore that Joe Flacco can't step up in the big games." Because he basically outplayed Tom Brady in that game right? While Brady passed for under 250 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs, Flacco had over 300 yards, 2 TDs, and only 1 INT. However, was Flacco's performance against that Patriots' defense really that impressive?

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I have been working on this post for a while, but with Chris Hoke's retirement announcement, I think this is the right time to go ahead and post it. As Neal Coolong's Tribute post stated, Hoke has obviously had a great impact on the Steelers' team in ways that we have usually not had insights into. Only now, with his neck surgery and retirement, are we shown a bit more of a glimpse into how important he has been to this team for the last decade. Although lesser known, he is every bit the leader and mentor as the other players that I highlight in this post.

In early December of the 2011 NFL season, backup NT Chris Hoke underwent season, and possibly career, ending surgery on his neck. Around that time, Michael posted a link to Jim Wexell's poignant article discussing Hoke's impact on the team. Reading his words got me thinking about just how many examples of leadership and mentoring that I've heard about in the Steelers locker room in recent years. When I was growing up, I often read about the great heroes of the game and how they would play through myriad injuries for fear of being supplanted by a younger guy. These guys were tough, and they were often great teammates, but rarely did I hear of older players putting a high priority on reaching out to and mentoring the youngsters that were coming along to try to take over for them. The fact is that approach is still very rare in the NFL, but in recent years, I have viewed and read about more and more examples of just this type of player leadership within the Pittsburgh Steelers.

From Jerome Bettis bringing Willie Parker along to Aaron Smith coaching up Ziggy Hood, the character of men within the current Steelers team is rare in pro sports today. It is a reflection on the Steelers' front office: from Dan Rooney to Kevin Colbert. The Steelers allow players to continue to contribute even when their skills have begun to decline, which shows that they value the leadership that men like Bettis, Smith, Hoke, and Hines Ward bring to the table. It also reflects on their drafting philosophy, looking for high character people to fill many roles on the team. I have never heard of a backup NT having the impact on a team that Chris Hoke has had as described in Wexell's article. In this post, I wanted to explore some of the examples of leadership that characterize the Steelers' team of recent history.

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Maybe this is an over-reaction on my part to the news that the NFL has decided to suspend James Harrison for his hit on Colt McCoy, but I believe the NFL has officially passed from being a great game. In my lifetime, it seems that everything that was new and seemed great and interesting eventually grew to the point that it had to change to continue growing. Every new TV channel that I ever found and thought, "Now this is different and worth checking out." has changed until it was like all the other crap that appeals to the masses.

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Hello fellow Wolfpackers. I just completed this post at SBN's Steelers blog, Behind the Steel Curtain. In it, I wrote up an analysis comparing NFL quarterbacks' performances through the first seven years of their careers. The purpose was to see how Ben Roethlisberger stacked up against all other quarterbacks in NFL history who passed for 16000 or more yards in their first 7 years. However, I thought Backing the Pack readers may also be interested in it, since Philip Rivers topped the list in my analysis. I knew that he was performing pretty well for the Chargers since taking over for Drew Brees in 2006, but frankly, I was surprised at how high he ranked in so many passing categories.

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As some of you may remember, I've enjoyed contributing a statistical post to BTSC every now and then. There are a couple of my posts still linked at the left side of the main page, comparing the numbers of the some of the top RBs, WRs, and QBs in NFL history. I also posted an article comparing Big Ben to Eli Manning several years ago while I was between jobs and free to do more research and writing than usual.

After a long hiatus since then, I thought it might be a good time to look back at Roethlisberger's statistics through seven NFL seasons, and then compare his numbers with other QBs, both retired and active, who have started a sizable number of games like Roethlisberger has since 2004.

I pulled my data from Pro-Football-Reference.com. Using their Player Season Finder, I ran a query on all QBs that had 16,000 or more passing yards in their first seven NFL seasons. That would, of course, include some of the all time greats, but it also includes some of the "Hall of Very Good," as well as some "just ok" QBs. But, my goal here was not another comparison of all time greats. I just wanted to see how Ben stacked up against a fairly large sample size. I set the bar at 16,000 passing yards in order to include Tony Romo, because he is one of the QBs in my mind that has been one of Ben's contemporaries, a la Eli and Philip Rivers. I also thought about Aaron Rodgers, but he's only started three seasons, so I would have had to drop the bar to 12,000 career passing yards. I just thought that would open it up too much. 

While this analysis is not exactly the same as the ones that I mentioned above, I followed the same general process. I looked at variety of statistics that were provided by the PFR query, then ranked the players in each category and took the average of each player's rankings. I used the average rankings to determine an overall aggregate ranking for all of the players. For more information the process, I recommend taking a look at one of the posts that I mentioned above (they are under the Statistical Comparisons section).

With that brief intro, let's take a look at the numbers. First, we have the raw statistics from PFR, broken down into two separate tables. Each row of data is sortable.

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Hello Arrowhead Pride readers.

I am picking for the Chiefs in the second round of the Behind the Steel Curtain mock draft, and I was hoping to get some input from the Chiefs experts on the players that I'm thinking of going with on this pick.

In this mock, the first round pick for KC was Martez Wilson. If you hate that pick, don't blame me, I was not the one choosing for them in the first round of the mock. But, at this point, there is only one more pick before I'm on the clock, and here are the players in my mini board:

• Stephen Paea DT
• Randall Cobb WR
• Ras-I Dowling CB
  
• Kenrick Ellis NT

Based my research (here and elsewhere), it looks like the Chiefs biggest needs are improvements in pass offense, pass defense, and rush defense, in that order.

From what I've been able to gather, Paea is the consensus best player available at this point, but if he's taken, Ellis may be a good NT to take instead. However, Cobb would appear to fill a bigger need, and from what I've seen, he shouldn't be a reach here. Originally, I was thinking that Dowling should be off the board at this pick due to his injury concerns, but I've recently learned that he performed pretty well in his pro day (running a 4.36 40, IIRC).

Anyway, any thoughts you could give me on which you all believe would be the best pick in this scenario would be appreciated.

As some of you may remember, I have contributed a few statistical posts to BTSC over the years, and last year I started a blog called Checking the Numbers while I was looking for a new job. Well, as of 3 months ago, I have a job again, so I'm too busy to keep a blog going on a regular basis. However, I should have time now and then to work on some posts for BTSC. Recently, Michael suggested the possibility of a post comparing Hines Ward and Derrick Mason's numbers, so I decided to take a look at them. In many ways, they seem to be similar WRs, although I don't think that Mason is known league wide for his blocking. He may be fine blocking WR, but we all know how Ward is viewed in that aspect.

Hines Ward Decks Ed Reed (via Clubpenguin111)

As we'll see below, their yearly receiving yardage numbers are extraordinarily similar, and if you look on their pages on Pro-Football-Reference.com, you'll see that each is the other's first player listed in the "Similar Players" Career list. In addition, both have played their entire careers on teams known for valuing a strong running game and strong defense. With that said, let's start looking at the statistical comparison.

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This is not the official announcement yet, but I just heard on Colin Cowherd's show that Chris Mortenson is reporting that Ben will be suspended for 4-6 games with the potential of it going down to 3-4 games if he complies with certain stipulations (not really specified).

We'll see if this proves to be the official news.

Hello, Phinsider readers! Here is a statistical review of the Dolphins season that I wrote at my site, Checking the Numbers. I ran it by Matty I, and he thought you may be interested in seeing it. Hope you enjoy it!

QB Chad Henne (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Prior to the 2009 season, one of the biggest issues facing the Miami Dolphins was the tremendous increase in their strength of schedule from 2008 to 2009. In this article, John Clayton predicted that they were likely to end up around .500 for the season, just based on the increase in schedule difficulty. Turns out he was right, as they finished 7-9 a year after winning the AFC East at 11-5. The Dolphins stumbled out of the gate at 0-3, and when Chad Pennington was knocked out of the third game of the season, things looked bad. But they went 7-6 the rest of the way, and Chad Henne had a respectable first season at the helm after replacing Pennington. So, although the season may have been somewhat disappointing, Miami fans must be pleased with Henne’s development and his prospects for the future. With that said, we are continuing my 2009 NFL Season Reviews with the Dolphins. Let’s get started with the numbers.

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Hello, Windy City Gridiron readers! I recently wrote a post with a statistical review of the Bears' 2009 season, and I ran it by Dane and Adam to see if they thought you might enjoy it. Dane liked it, so he gave me the go ahead to do this FanPost, which contains an excerpt of the post (about the first half) and a link. I hope you enjoy it!

CHICAGO - DECEMBER 28: Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears prepares to throw the game-winning touchdown pass to Devin Aromashodu against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on December 28, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Vikings 36-30 in overtime. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Coming into the 2009 NFL season, the big story for the Chicago Bears was Jay Cutler. For the first time in decades, da Bears had a franchise caliber quarterback, and they hoped that he would lead them back to glory. There are certainly signs that he will be the franchise player that they hope for. He had 27 TD passes, just two shy of the franchise record for a single season. He also threw for the second most single season passing yards in franchise history. Unfortunately, he also had the second most interceptions in a single season in franchise history. So, while Cutler had his issues, there is reason for hope going forward from the QB position. What about the rest of the team? This post will look at how the team as a whole performed when compared with their opponents’ season average on a per game basis.

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Hello, Hogs Haven readers! I just wrote up a statistical post reviewing the Redskins' 2009 season. I ran it by KevinE, and he agreed that you all would probably like to check it out. The original is located my site, called Checking the Numbers. So, here you go. Hope you like it.

Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

The Washington Redskins are next up on my list of 2009 NFL Season Reviews. At 4-12, they pick 4th in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft. Of the teams that I've looked at so far, the 'skins had by far the most disappointing season. Following their 8-8 season in 2008, in which they had a top 5 defense, many expected that this year the offense would improve enough to get them into the playoffs and back on the winning track. It didn't quite work out that way. The defense was still solid, ranked 10th in yards allowed, but the offense didn't really improve enough to get them into contention. The conventional wisdom is for them to look for the QB of the future with the 4th pick. Let's take a look at their offensive and defensive performance compared against their opponents' averages and see if that appears to be the biggest need.

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Hello, Pride of Detroit readers! I recently wrote this post reviewing the Lions' 2009 season. The original is located on my site, called Checking the Numbers. Since I thought you would be interested in the post, I let Sean know about it, and he also thought you would be interested in it. So, here you go, I hope you enjoy it.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Continuing the series of NFL Season Reviews that was begun with the Rams 2009 Review, we will now take a look at the Detroit Lions' 2009 season. As I mentioned in the Rams post, I will try to follow, as closely as possible, the teams in order of the upcoming NFL Draft. At 2-14, that puts the Lions at number two on this list. Rarely would a 2-14 season be considered a cause for hope, but in the case of the Lions, fresh off of a winless season in 2008, I believe that this year is the exception. While still a tough year, Detroit fans got a glimpse of the future, and for a rookie on a team that still needs a lot of help on talent, Matthew Stafford wasn't bad. He struggled at times, but he did show signs of the talent and leadership that made him the number 1 overall pick last year. His highlight came in a 38-37 win over the Cleveland Browns where Stafford threw for over 400 yards and 5 TD passes. With that, let's get into the review.

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Hey BTSC, here is my latest post over at Checking the Numbers. I hoped to give a better understanding why so many Steelers fans could want a new OC after having a 4000 yard passer, two 1000 yard WRs, and a 1000 yard rusher.

About a week ago, the esteemed maryrose wrote an excellent post summarizing the Pittsburgh Steelers' issues from this season. Overall, I agree with his assessments, but there is one area where we don't see it the same. While he did point out the short yardage and goalline deficiencies in the Steelers offense, he is willing to give Arians credit for improving the offensive output this season by over 1000 and 21 points. Maryrose asks how Steelers fans can be so hard on Arians after a season with a 4000 yard passer, two 1000 yard receivers, and a 1000 yard rusher. At the same time, we seem to be willing to give Lebeau a pass for the defensive struggles. He has a good point there, but I think there are very legitimate reasons for that.

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This is my most recent post over at Checking the Numbers.  I almost think that the picture says it all. :/

Can Ben put himself back together? (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Earlier this season, there was talk on Behind the Steel Curtain that the Pittburgh Steelers' defense is not playing championship caliber football this season. Early on, most fans were ecstatic about the offensive production, although the offense left points on the field. While I agree that the Steelers defense is not as dominant as it was last year, I put more of the blame on the offense and special teams. Having seen the games this year, I am convinced that the problem with the team lies more in mental toughness than anything else. In at least two of the losses, the team dominated in most categories but found ways to lose. Offensive and special teams miscues have spelled doom for this team on multiple occasions so far this year.

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Hey Saints Fans! Looks like you're having one heck of a season so far this year. Since only New Orleans and Indy are left among the ranks of the unbeaten, I put together a comparison of the two teams over at my site, Checking the Numbers. It's somewhat similar to the other post that I did here a couple weeks ago. Saintsational again very graciously allowed me to post it in a FanPost, so here you go! Hope you enjoy.

Peyton Manning (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)             Drew Brees (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Both ESPN.com and NFL.com have their power rankings as to where teams rank in NFL after the first 8 weeks of the regular season. Everyone that I have seen ranks the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints as the top two teams in the league, but there is some disagreement as to which should be ranked number 1. Both teams have become known for explosive passing games behind future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, who may be making his case for the Hall as well. But as I mentioned in an earlier post on the Saints, New Orleans now also has a serious rushing attack. Let’s see if the Colts have also found that kind of balance. We’ll also compare each team’s opposing offensive and defensive ranks to see what level of competition that they have faced this year.

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Earlier this week, maryrose blessed us with this excellent post on Hines Ward's growing claim to HOF consideration. The only thing he did not highlight in that post was Hines's excellent ranking in terms of playoff receiving stats. I had written this post a couple of weeks ago (and drinkyourmilkshake linked it in a Six Pack), but Blitz and I thought it would be a good followup to 'rose's fine piece. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed maryrose's.

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Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans are already convinced that Hines Ward deserves to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he retires. Currently, in his 12th season in the NFL, he is ranked 17th in career receptions, 31st in career receiving yards, and tied for 28th in career receiving TDs. Some would, and have, argued that he doesn't have HOF worthy statistics, and you can't just say he should be in because he is the greatest blocking receiver in NFL history. If he retired today, and that were the extent of his accomplishments, I would agree. But, he should play another 3 or more years, including this season. Currently, he is on pace for about 100 receptions and over 1400 yards this season. Although he has yet to catch a TD pass this year, based on his productivity in past years, it's reasonable expect at least 5 receiving TDs this season. Those numbers would put him at 11th in career receptions, 22nd or 23rd in career receiving yards, and 22nd or 23rd in career TD receptions. Just a couple more years of what would be mediocre production for Ward would put him in the top 10 in every receiving category.

I think that those numbers would be enough to get him in when you consider his other accomplishments: 2 Super Bowl rings (more to come?), a SB MVP, and a rule named after him. When the NFL Network announced the most recent round of HOF candidates a couple of weeks ago, they had two HOF voters on the show. One said that she believed that a major consideration for whether a player is HOF worthy is whether you could tell the story of the NFL without them or not. I think it's clear that you cannot tell the story of the NFL without Hines Ward. His blocking down the field is so physical that they had to change the rules because of the hit he put on Keith Rivers in the 2008 season, breaking his jaw. The hit was legal then. Anyway, that was a long introduction to get to my latest piece of evidence in favor of Hines Ward being HOF worthy.

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Hello, Broncos fans! Congrats on the 6-0 start. I recently wrote a post analyzing the Broncos' numbers so far this season against their numbers from 2008. I contacted John, and he graciously encouraged me to share it with you here. If you enjoy this post, you can see more like it (not all about the Broncos, but mainly about the NFL) at my site, Checking the Numbers. Hope you enjoy!

Is Josh McDaniels a coaching genius? (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Coming into the 2009 season I, along with many others, thought that Josh McDaniels was an egomaniac who had made a huge mistake in getting rid of Jay Cutler. I know I heard at least one pundit say that the Denver Broncos’ ceiling this year was 3 or 4 wins. Well, so far, the Broncos’ are 6-0, they have the top ranked defense in points allowed (2nd in yards), Elvis Dumervil leads the league in sacks, and McDaniels is looking like a genius. In fact, Neil Paine over Pro-Football-Reference.com wrote a post showing the top season performances in Broncos’ history through the first 5 games of a season. Several players are in the top ten and several more in the top 20 in those lists.

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Hello Saints fans! Here is a Story that I posted at my site, called Checking the Numbers. It's a statistical comparison of the Saints' 2008 per game numbers versus 2009 numbers. I emailed Saintsational to see if he was interested in it, and he said he'd like it posted as a FanPost, so, here it is. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks!

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AP Photo/Bill Feig

Last season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees nearly broke Dan Marino's single season passing yards record. He fell just a few yards short of breaking the record on the final play of the final game of the 2008 season. While Brees had a great season individually, the Saints as a team were the definition of average, finishing with an 8-8 record. So far in 2009, they are one of the last remaining undefeated teams in the NFL. So, the question is, are they for real, or are they either just on a hot streak or playing cupcakes?

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Hello, Packers Fans! I have a statistical preview of the upcoming game that I hope you will enjoy. I appreciate Brandon allowing me to post it here. If you enjoy this, you can find more like it at my site, Checking the Numbers.

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In perhaps the most intriguing game of the year, the Green Bay Packers will travel to Minnesota to take on the Brett Favre led Vikings. This will be the first time that Favre has played his old team, and the second time in my memory where a young star quarterback has faced the icon that he replaced. In the 90's, the 49ers, with Steve Young, faced Joe Montana and Chiefs. That time, Montana came out on top. Now, it will be Aaron Rodgers facing his old teammate. Will Favre get his revenge on the Packers, or will Rodgers help Green Bay fans forget about Brett? (Ok, I know Packers fans will never forget Brett.)

For all of the storylines surrounding this game, it will still come down to who plays the best and takes advantage of their opportunities.  By reviewing the statistics for each team (from Pro-Football-Reference.com) up to this point in the season, we may get a better idea of who we will win this game.

I have pulled the per game numbers for each team so that we can do a head to head comparison of their respective offensive and defensive numbers so far this year. I also have each team's offensive and defensive ranks in both points and yards after the first 3 weeks. Then, to help give context these numbers, I have the average offensive and defensive rankings of both teams' opponents, again for both yards and points.

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Hello, Bolts From The Blue Readers! Here is a post previewing the upcoming game. It's a statistical comparison of the Steelers and Chargers. If you enjoy this, you can check out similar posts at my site, Checking the Numbers. Many thanks to John for letting me post this here.

This weekend, on Sunday Night Football, we will see what looked like one of the top matchups of the year prior to this season. In another matchup of top quarterbacks, the San Diego Chargers will travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. I'm sure there will be some discussion about Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers being in the same draft class, and many previews will talk about how this is the third meeting in less than a year between these teams.  But, to me, the main story is that both teams have struggled early in the season, with the Chargers winning a very close game in Oakland in week 1 and losing to the Ravens in week 2, and the Steelers twice losing second half leads in the last two weeks. While it has become expected almost for San Diego to struggle early in the year under Norv Turner, Pittsburgh has generally started strong since Mike Tomlin has taken over. So, will we see the Steelers get back to their winning ways this weekend, or will they find another way to lose? Or, will the Chargers just play outstanding football and overpower the ailing champs?Who knows? We'll find that out soon enough.  But, perhaps by reviewing the statistics for each team (from Pro-Football-Reference.com) up to this point in the season, we may get a better idea of who will win this game.

For this preview, I have pulled the per game numbers for each team so that we can do a head to head comparison of their respective offensive and defensive numbers so far this year. I also have each team's offensive and defensive ranks in both points and yards after the first 3 weeks. Then, to help give context these numbers, I have the average offensive and defensive rankings of both teams' opponents, again for both yards and points.

First, the head to head comparisons: 

Per Game Averages So Far This Season

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By popular demand, here is my Vikings-Packers game preview. I hope all enjoy. If you like this, you can check out similar posts at Checking the Numbers.

In perhaps the most intriguing game of the year, the Green Bay Packers will travel to Minnesota to take on the Brett Favre led Vikings. This will be the first time that Favre has played his old team, and the second time in my memory where a young star quarterback has faced the icon that he replaced. In the 90's, the 49ers, with Steve Young, faced Joe Montana and Chiefs. That time, Montana came out on top. Now, it will be Aaron Rodgers facing his old teammate. Will Favre get his revenge on the Packers, or will Rodgers help Green Bay fans forget about Brett? (Ok, I know Packers fans will never forget Brett.)

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