Sapp Strikes Again

*Sigh* Warren I thought we were past this...

Guess not.

Yesterday on NFL Total Access, a panel consisting of Willie McGinest, Tom Waddle and of course, Warren Sapp, debated whether or not the Steelers should still be considered elite.

In the video, which you can watch here, Waddle says that when thinking of the AFC's elite he thinks of the Patriots, Texans and Ravens. Then, the Steelers.

Though I disagree about the Texans and Ravens being ahead, Waddle's reasoning was generally fair so I don't really have an issue with it. I don't understand why people think the Ravens are still so good but we'll get to that in a minute. Bare with me.

Anyway, Waddle discussed the improved offensive line, the reality that the defense wasn't much younger last year either when people said they were old, and that the Mike Wallace situation would resolve itself eventually. I'd agree with all of that.

As always Willie McGinest was quite fair, saying that he considers the Steelers elite and that it comes down to the fact that the defense is still excellent and as long as Ben is under center, the Steelers are fine. Essentially, singing all the usual praises.

Then came Sapp.

For those of you who don't know, Warren Sapp has been "hating" on the Steelers for quite some time now. Some believe it all began after a skirmish in 2002 between he and some former Steelers. It then escalated last month when Ike Taylor brought up the incident and Sapp fought back by attacking Taylor's performance in the playoffs against Denver. I wrote about the skirmish which you can read here.

Regardless, it has become increasingly evident that the former All Pro defensive tackle has some beef with the black and gold.

Prior to the 2011 season, he said the Steelers defense was too old. Their response? Tops in the league in total yardage, against the pass and points allowed. Not bad for supposedly being too old.

The other day when Chad Johnson (still getting used to that), said that he would have a monster year, Warren Sapp defended Miami's new wideout, saying that one of his best years came when he was 34 years old, as a member of the Oakland Raiders. He encouraged Johnson to "keep his nose to the grind stone and keep working at it." Saying, "it can be done." (You can watch the video here)

Now, as a Steelers fan, that infuriates me.

How in the world can someone, let alone an NFL analyst, say that the man once called Ochocinco, who has been relatively awful the last four years, could be expected to bounce back at age 34, but the Steelers can't?

Explain that to me because I don't understand that logic.

He said straight out that because the Steelers average age on defense was over 30, that they would falter in 2011. When they didn't, he tried again a few months ago.

Am I the only one seeing a bit of hypocrisy on the behalf of our overweight, bankrupt friend?

Anyway, back to today's video.

After McGinest and Waddle gave their reasons for why the Steelers should be considered elite or not, it was Sapp's turn.

The first thing he said, was that when he thinks of an elite team he doesn't think of a wild card team or a team that's playing on the road. He's thinking of a home team with 13 or 14 wins.

By that logic, the only teams that would qualify as elite are the Packers, Patriots, Saints and 49ers. And would exclude not just the Steelers, but the Ravens, Texans and the defending Super Bowl champion Giants.

He continued on, saying that the Steelers "have a lot of question marks. They have a brand new starting right guard, the second round pick, you know taking Kemoeuatu's spot. So now the whole right side is a second year and a new guy."

Seriously? David DeCastro is neither replacing Kemoeatu nor was he a second round pick. It's unfathomable to me that a man who does this for a living could mix up when the top interior lineman in this years draft was taken. On top of that, Kemoeatu was a left guard, and he lost his starting job mid way through last season anyway.

So what Sapp meant to say, was that the Steelers will be starting the best guard prospect in a decade on the right side where he will replace Ramon Foster and not Chris Kemoeatu.

I'm sure it was an honest mistake.

Then we have Sapp's final miscue. At the end of the video, he rolls his eyes and says that the Steelers are going to anchor their 3-4 defense this season with a nose tackle that weighs 280 lbs.

Warren, its not just that I think your analysis is blatantly wrong, its that you're factually incorrect.

For those of you who don't know, the Steelers will (likely) start Steve McClendon this year at nose tackle, at least until Casey Hampton returns from injury. Last year's roster had McClendon listed at 280 lbs. So in this sense Sapp is not wrong. However, if he did his research like an analyst should, he would know that McClendon has bulked up and now weighs close to 330 lbs. (Here's an article on it if you don't believe me)

The point is, Sapp is wrong again. And it comes down to a lack of research and care on his part.

Not to mention, to say that a team has to be the host of a playoff game to be elite, and has to win 13 or 14 games seems just a little bit ignorant. Let's review. The Giants won the Super Bowl this season after winning nine games. NINE.

The Packers won the year before after winning ten and doing it as a WILD CARD TEAM.

Maybe I'm assuming too much but I'll bet if you'd asked Warren if the Packers should have been considered elite last year he'd have said yes. Even though they didn't host a playoff game or win 13 games.

I also tend to think he considers the Giants elite after just winning the Super Bowl, but they won their division with again, just nine wins.

So we seem to have circled back to the notion that Warren Sapp is a complete hypocrite.

Here is my solution: Either Sapp should admit that he simply has it out for the Steelers, or the NFL Network should fire him. Soon.

Because if I have to listen to even one more completely biased, factually incorrect, hypocritical rant of his, I'm going to punch a baby.

I don't want to punch a baby. Believe me.

Now that we're all in agreement that Sapp is a joke, I'd like to conclude by defending the Steelers "eliteness."

Let me begin by reiterating something I have pointed out a thousand times over: I don't care that the Steelers defense is old on paper. As long as they aren't playing like it.

The only real issue with Dick LeBeau's defense last year was a lack of turnovers.

I can actually explain this one quite easily: You create turnovers by rushing the passer. It leads to strips and interceptions. So if you don't have a good pass rush, your defense isn't going to create many turnovers. In 2011 the Steelers were so hurt along the front seven, that it severely diminished the pass rush.

Check out these numbers, the Steelers had just 35 sacks, 11 interceptions and four, count 'em,  four fumble recoveries!

That's unacceptable, but it's also understandable given the injuries. Keep in mind that of the opening day front seven, only Lawrence Timmons played in all 16 games. Keisel and Farrior missed two, Hampton three, Harrison five, Woodley six and Smith twelve.

That's 30 games missed by the front seven alone!

Moral of the story, if they're healthy in 2012, the pressure will return, the mistakes will increase and the turnovers will again be abundant.

The offense is in great shape. I trust that Mike Wallace will sign his contract soon and everything will work itself out eventually, because he's not going to miss any regular season games. You can hold me to that. He might be rusty for the first half of the season because of it, but I still think this is the most talented an offense the Steelers have had since.... well maybe ever to be quite honest.

One thing Waddle did agree with Sapp on, was that it was hard for him to rap his head around calling a team elite when they are entering the post season via the wild card, because he still expects the Ravens to win the division.

Shall we review the Ravens offseason so far? First they lost a plethora of playmakers via free agency. The most notable of whom was Baltimore's top offensive linemen Ben Grubbs who dashed for New Orleans. In addition, they lost Jarrett Johnson, Cory Redding and Tom Zbikowski. So while Warren Sapp can talk about how the Steelers have a ton of question marks because they plan on starting a rookie at right guard, maybe he should worry about the Ravens having to replace four defensive starters first. (I'm counting Suggs)

Oh and guess who'll be calling the shots for that defense in 2012. Dean Pees, their new defensive coordinator.

Remind me again why the Ravens are favorites.

They now boast an offensive line that's average age is 31.8 years old. In addition, this is a team that has already lost their best defensive player for at least half the year. Plus, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are coming off their worst seasons as pros and unlike the Steelers defenders, actually have begun to show signs of age.

If anything were to happen to Ray Rice, this team probably wins six or seven games and there really isn't much of a debate there. The games the Ravens lost or struggled in last year were the ones where they diminished Rice's role. When the ball wasn't in his hands, they were in trouble and it was obvious. Joe Flacco and those receivers simply can't be expected to carry them to victory.

I don't think the Ravens should be considered favorites in the AFC North. I still think they're a playoff team capable of making a Super Bowl run if they get hot at the right time, but right now I see no reason to think that they have improved even a little bit this offseason.

So Warren Sapp, I'd appreciate it if you'd do some research because I would kill for your job, a job you clearly don't care about. Your lack of preparation, understanding and passion are why you fail, not just as an analyst but as a functioning member of society. Your bankrupt for a reason and its reflected quite clearly in your work.