I kinda remember saying something along the lines of “9-5 would suck.” Well…as it turns out…this sucks. Jags win.
I’m trying to figure out what sucked more…losing big in New England or losing a damn near winnable game at home. The sting hurts either way.
Tale of the tape: Awful play by both the D and O lines. Underlying theme: Troy Polamalu needs to stay healthy.
Two games left, and we still haven’t punched out ticket to the playoffs. We’re currently tied atop the North with the (ugh) Browns. However, out two wins against those idiots gives us the tiebreaker.
Only road games remain. In St. Louis and in Baltimore. Seeing as how we’ve already peaked, I’m not guaranteeing a win in either. We’ve been pure slop for the past 5-6 games. All I want is the playoffs, though. Only good things happened last time we were the 6 seed, so I’m not worried about placement. We aren’t the Indianapolis Steelers or the New England Steelers, so the best we can do is play in the Wild Card round. We just need to take care of business and get in. The second season wipes the slate clean. Hell, look at Indy’s Jekyll and Hyde defense from last season.
So yeah, there is a lot to bitch about in the Jacksonville loss. However, I’m trying to stay positive. After this, its all business focusing on St. Louis. Get the job done…make the playoffs…let both the defense and offense redeem themselves.
Bennifer. Played the first half like he had poop in his pants. That was pathetic. However, when the game was about to get out of hand, he responded by creating 2 solid scoring drives to tie the game. After the tie, its up to the D to stop the Jags and set up the win…or at the very least…force overtime. Ben put the team in position to erase a 15 point deficit in the 4th quarter. The D responded by bending over. Ben gets 3.75 out of 5 motorcycle helmets. He almost deserved a 4 for turning the game around late.
Willie. Stud. He was stuffed early and often by the Stroud-less Jags, but still managed to surpass 100 yards. That Roethlisberger-almost-sack-turned-into-pass-but-was-ruled-a-Parker-rush was ridiculous. Willie needs to stay on track to help the team make the postseason. He was a solid bright spot in the loss. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
O-Line. Awful. 2 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
D-Line. Awful. 2 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
Troy Polamalu. Even with Aaron Smith gone for the year, the D can rebound with Troy back in the lineup. There’s no one on the team who can close on a guy faster than Troy. Without him, there’s no way we even tie the game. He helped make it close. I wanted to give him a 5, but he missed a couple of tackles late. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
We can’t let Steven Jackson run wild on us the way Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew did. Neutralize him…make the playoffs. Simple.
