Happy Friday to all of yinz once again and welcome to the last weekend of 2017.
Wow, what a week it has been. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a new kind of drama this past week and it was all related to former outside linebacker James Harrison. You had to figure there were more layers to this proverbial onion than originally met the eye and Harrison peeled back those final ones Friday morning with his social media statement.
The Steelers will play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in what many consider will ultimately wind up being a meaningless game as not many are expecting the New York Jets to beat the New England Patriots in Foxbourough on the same day. What a hoot it would be should the Jets pull the upset and the Steelers beat the Browns.
The college bowl game season is starting to really heat up now and thus you can bet I will be glued to the television tonight and Saturday. On a similar note, you’ll be glad to know that our very own Alex Kozora is now completely booked for this year’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL once again. I do believe this will be his third trip to the annual college senior all-star game.
As usual, I have five questions for yinz to answer in the comment section below and I hope several of you have a few minutes to do just that. Have a great rest of the weekend and Happy New Years.
Peace and love, peace and love and Go Steelers!
1 – Knowing all that you know now about how things transpired this season with Harrison, should the team have cut him after his second request to be let go, which probably wasn’t too far long after the Week 8 game against the Detroit Lions?
2 – With the Steelers now expected to rest several of their key players on Sunday against the Browns, which seldom used backup player are you most excited to see play in that contest?
3 – Which AFC team has the best shot at beating the Patriots in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, assuming they’ll be the No. 1 seed? Choices: (Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans)
4 – Over or under 4.5 sacks for the Steelers defense against the Browns?
5 – Over or under 1.5 touchdown passes for Steelers quarterback Landry Jones against the Browns?
Recap last week’s Friday night questions per David Orochena:
Question 1 – The answers to this question were rendered moot when the Steelers waived James Harrison to make room for Marcus Gilbert on the 53-man roster.
Question 2 – One more game to determine the scoring to this question. Many took this as an all or none type question. However, for those Star Trek fans who recall the Kobayashi Maru scenario; sometimes you must think outside the box to ultimately solve the puzzle. Up to 3 points can be scored. JuJu Smith-Schuster needs one more catch to reach 50. Martavis Bryant needs six & Jesse James needs nine. 25 of 33 respondents say JuJu will do it. 19 of 33 say Martavis will do it. Only 9 of 33 say Jesse will.
Question 3 – There were 7 folks that have seen enough and say Vance McDonald is not worth keeping. The other 26 respondents varied from an unqualified “Yes” answer to only if his contract is reworked or seeing how he does during the playoffs. His injury history is a concern of most.
Question 4 – The consensus of respondents is that T.J Watt needs more splash plays to overtake JuJu as the team’s rookie of the year. Multiple sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles and/or defensive touchdowns were called for. Against the Texans; T.J was credited with two tackle assists. Not sure if he can make up for it versus the Browns.
Question 5 – Seventeen folks said any Steelers gift received was okay for them. I do wonder if anyone received a James Harrison jersey this year and considered it weird or now hate the Harrison jerseys they received in the past.
No points scored yet for Week 16; must wait for the receiving stats from the Browns game. However, some slight changes to the leaderboard as points from Week 2 & Week 13 were awarded. The most games the Browns can win this season is one. Way back in Week 2; the least number of wins predicted for the Browns was two. Rock Solid is the only person to get a point as the other 44 respondents predicted anywhere from 3-8 wins for the Browns. The signing of Deebo by the Patriots also ensured that he would end up with less than 20 defensive snaps for the Steelers in his last games. 12 of the 38 respondents picked up what could be a critical point by answering NO. Weeks 1, 9, 10 & 12 are the remaining weeks with pending questions to be answered.
Leaderboard after Week 16 (includes Week 2 & Week 13 scores):
1st Place – Alan Tman with 34.5 points (5-point lead could be insurmountable)
2nd Place – Marcel Chris Chauvet with 29.5 points
3rd Place – Reader783 with 29 points (back points push Reader up a spot)
4th Place – Darth Blount 47 with 28.5 points
5th Place – DirtDawg1964 with 28 points
6th Place – Matt Manzo with 26 points (got his answers in just before window closed)
7th Place – heath miller with 25.5 points
8th Place – (tie) SJT63 & LucasY59with 25 points (Lucas up a couple rungs)
10th Place – (tie) Josh Cummings & Jeff McNeil with 24.5 (McNeil up 3 spots!)
12th Place – (tie) Chris92021& Phil Brennenman II with 24 points (no back points = slide back)
14th Place – (tie), J. & Jaybird with 23 points (The J’s)
16th Place – (tie) Beaver Falls Hosiery & Pittfan with 22 points
18th Place – Kevin Schwartz with 20.5 points
19th Place – Michael Mosgrove with 20 points (doesn’t answer the Bell Week 16 but a back point breaks him ahead of the caboose pack)
20th Place – (tie) SkoolHouseRoxx, PaeperCup & RiversTKO with 19 points (in danger of falling off leaderboard others pressing to get on)
