XLVII Slightly Ridiculous Predictions for the 2012 NFL Season

By: Eric Brill

Simply put, this is a list of possible "I told you so" predictions. In some capacity I do believe each one will happen. Some I'd bet money on, most are gut feelings and some are just wishful thinking.

I) Tom Brady will break the passing yardage record Drew Brees set last year.

II) Chandler Jones will record 14 sacks and be the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

III) Aaron Hernandez will post better stats than Gronk.

IV) Brandon Lloyd will finish with over 1500 yards.

V) The Patriots will go 15-1,

VI) But will lose in the AFC Championship game.

VIII) The Jets will win five games...max.

VII) Tim Tebow will be starting after halftime of their week four matchup against the 49ers.

IX) Skip Bayless will still think he's better than Aaron Rodgers.

X) The Dolphins will finish with the worst record in football.

XI) The Bills will make the playoffs for the first time this century.

XII) Cincinnati will be this years Tampa Bay and Andy Dalton will be this years Sam Bradford.

XIII) The Bengals will win just 6 games.

XIV) The Browns will win 7.

XV) The Ravens will finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs.

XVI) Torrey Smith will finish the season with 1300 yards.

XVII) Joe Flacco will grow a soul patch.

XVIII) The Steelers will finish 11-5 en route to a first round bye.

IXX) Lamarr Woodley will lead the NFL in sacks with 18 and be the Defensive Player of the Year.

XX) The Steelers will have four running backs finish the season with over 500 all purpose yards.

XXI) The Chiefs will win the AFC West.

XXII) 2012 will be the year Norv Turner finally gets fired,

XXIII) After his Chargers falls short of the playoffs for the third straight year.

XXIV) Philip Rivers will still manage to throw for 4700 yards.

XXV) The Broncos wont make the playoffs.

XXVI) The Peyton-less Colts, will.

XXVII) Andrew Luck will throw for over 4000 yards and break Newton's rookie record.

XXVIII) Reggie Wayne will be this year's Steve Smith.

XXIX) The Texans will falter and finish 8-8.

XXX) Jake Locker will look like the best QB of the 2011 class by season's end.

XXXI) Chris Johnson will lead the NFL in rushing,

XXXII) But only because Darren McFadden only plays in 11 games.

XXXIII) The Cowboys will win the NFC East.

XXXIV) The Eagles will still make the playoffs.

XXXV) The Super Bowl Champion Giants, will not.

XXXVI) Jordy Nelson will remember he's white and not supposed to score 15 touchdowns.

XXXVII) Speaking of scoring 15 touchdowns, welcome to Chicago, Brandon Marshall!

XXXVIII) Seattle will win the NFC West.

XXXIX) Russell Wilson be the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

XL) The Panthers record will improve.

XLI) Cam's stats will not.

XLII) Especially when he leads the NFL in interceptions with 28.

XLIII) Matt Ryan will throw for 5000 yards.

XLIV) 1700 of which will go to Julio Jones.

XLV) The Falcons will win the NFC South,

XLVI) But it will be the Saints who go to the Super Bowl, (in their own building)

XLVII) Where they will lose to the Steelers 34-28

Steelers vs. Colts Recap

By: Eric Brill

The Steelers won their preseason home opener against the Colts 26-24, after rookie Danny Hrapmann's deflected 22 yard field goal attempt carried over the crossbar with just 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Ben Roethlisberger played four series, finishing 5 of 9 for 81 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Fifty seven of those yards came on the heels of an electrifying bubble screen to Antonio Brown, which he took the distance to give the Steelers the early lead.

That was the second long screen the Steelers have scored on this year, after Chris Rainey's last week in Philadelphia. Its funny how those plays were not nearly as effective under Bruce Arians' tutelage during his tenure in Pittsburgh.

Arians, who is now the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis had his work cut out for him tonight against the Steelers vaunted defense. His sensational rookie quarterback Andrew Luck began the night 2-7, before throwing an ill advised pass Ike Taylor's way, who returned his mistake 49 yards to the house.

Luck bounced back in a big way after that, leading three scoring drives in the second quarter to give Indianapolis a 17-14 lead at the half.

Consider this: After the pick to Taylor, Luck went 14-17 on his next four possessions. Of those three incompletions, one was a spike to allow a field goal attempt and another was an interception on a play that saw rookie T.Y. Hilton, bobble a perfect pass right into the arms of Steelers cornerback, Cortez Allen.

Defensively, the starters played well with the exception of some miscommunications in the secondary that allowed some open runners. Otherwise the pass rush was solid, and through the first quarter, the Colts offense had just six yards rushing on four carries. Definitely still have areas to improve on but nothing too concerning.

Chris Carter continues to impress but I wouldn't feel comfortable with him as an opening day starter. His bull rush must improve and his inexperience is evident. He will only continue to grow but obviously you'd rather not throw him into the fire too early if it can be avoided. Hopefully James Harrison or Jason Worilds is healthy before the Steelers head to Denver in week one.

Offensively, Roethlisberger wasn't sacked! In fact, the Steelers offensive line didn't allow one until midway through the third quarter, when the starters were well out of the game. It was a nice rebound after last week's porous performance.

Though it likely has to do with the loss of Mike Adams, I'm more of a glass half full kind of guy, so I'm going to accredit the improved pocket to the addition of Willie Colon, who looked naturally fit to play left guard. Ben had more time and their were some nice running lanes early on. Hopefully the line continues to gel, especially with Max Starks' impending return.

Some other points of interest:

-Pittsburgh's red zone was mediocre at best in 2011 (17th in touchdown efficiency) and those woes continued in the second half of this game. Keep in mind that the Steelers have scored just one red zone touchdown in two games this preseason as their other three have been Taylor's pick six and a pair of screens that Chris Rainey and Antonio Brown took the distance. The remainder of their scoring has been seven field goal attempts, three of which came in the red zone, and all of which came within the thirty yard line. One of the reasons I was so excited about Todd Haley's arrival was an improved scoring offense, but I have yet to see it after two, tight preseason games.

-Maybe this is a correlation to the improved line, but after getting sucker punched with injuries last week, the Steelers came off virtually scott free in this one. Chris Rainey took a shot from Colts corner Jerraud Powers on the first series of the game, forcing him to head into the locker room to get checked out, but returned shortly thereafter. Newly signed Jason Ford left the game briefly in the second half but was also back on the field by the next series. Baron Batch was seen icing his hamstring but it doesn't appear to be anything serious. As far as preseason action is concerned, you can't hope for much better.

-I don't know if David Gilreath did enough to solidify his position as the Steelers fifth receiver, but he certainly laid the groundwork tonight after sitting out against the Eagles last week. Gilreath finished with four receptions for 78 yards, leading the team in both categories. If he continues to impress it appears to be his job to lose as none of the other young wideouts have done much of anything to earn a spot, even on the practice squad.

-Danny Hrapmann continues to impress. He finished 4-4 tonight and has now made all five of his attempts thus far in preseason. I still expect Sushi to hold onto the starting job but its worth noting the rookie's success.

-Mortty Ivy blocked a punt tonight which doesn't technically count as a turnover because the Steelers didn't recover it, but for the sake of my point we're going to count it. If you couple that play with their three interceptions, the Steelers had a +3 turnover differential tonight and are +4 through two games. The biggest issue last year was the Steelers lack of turnovers, (they forced just 15 all year) which is why it was nice to see some real playmaking again.

The Steelers (1-1) head to Buffalo (0-2) next weekend for a Saturday night matchup against the Bills and their revamped defense. Hopefully Max Starks will see his first action of the year and Isaac Redman will be healthy enough to start.

Steelers vs. Eagles Recap

By: Eric Brill

It's never good when your rookie left tackle recovers two fumbles in the first quarter, but thats just what Mike Adams did tonight after giving up two strip sacks before leaving with a knee injury.

He and fellow rookie lineman, David DeCastro, have been under the microscope since being drafted with the Steelers first two picks in April's draft. With Max Starks inactive and Willie Colon recovering from an ankle injury, the two were thrown into the fire earlier than expected.

If you watched the game, or were on twitter during the first quarter, you're probably thinking that Adams played poorly. Most of the media tore him apart after giving up two early sacks, but if you go back and watch every play he was in for, you'll see he actually did a pretty good job. His run blocking was solid, and even on plays he allowed pressure, he was rarely out of position. Now, I'm not saying he doesn't have a lot to work on, but he performed about as well as I could have hoped. Especially considering he had a late start to camp after missing OTAs. Keep in mind, this is guy who has a ton to learn yet and this time next month will be vastly improved. All in all, I was actually quite impressed.

As for DeCastro, he showed nice pulling ability and from what I can see on film, he played well for the most part. I know he relied on Maurkice Pouncey to help him but for his first action at the pro level, I was pleased. Admittedly, I have only one camera angle to study, and its hardly flattering for interior linemen, but from what I could see, he didn't blow anything, looked to be in position and held his own against fellow first round pick, DT Fletcher Cox. DeCastro is still adjusting to the physical aspects of the game, and like Adams will grow with each rep he gets.

On Roethlisberger's one drive, he finished 7-8 for 49 yards. Not bad at all, but a number of those throws were check downs out of play action. He made a "ben-esque" play on 3rd and 11 escaping the rush before hitting Emmanuel Sanders for a 17 yard completion. Overall Ben was Ben, and the first team offense led a methodical 16 play drive, lasting 9:48 that resulted in a 46 yard Suisham field goal.

David Johnson, who was having an excellent training camp, caught two passes before getting hurt. He is now rumored to have torn his ACL and is expected (unfortunately) to miss the season. Will Johnson, who is also having a nice camp so far, is now a virtual lock to make the roster, as he is the only other fullback the Steelers have.

The first team defense, namely Steve McLendon, looked as good as Michael Vick and the Eagles offense looked bad. Chris Carter, who started in place of an injured James Harrison, showed excellent burst off the line, supplying consistent pressure. There are still a number of areas that he needs to work on, namely his bull rush, but he may well overtake Jason Worilds on the depth chart if he continues to progress like this. McLendon played most of the first half, adding a sack in the process, while consistently pushing the pocket, and making plays all over the place.

The Steelers second possession was highlighted by a 33 yard run by Jonathan Dwyer, who strained his shoulder on the play and did not return. Two plays later, Byron Leftwich hit Emmanuel Sanders on a two yard slant to give the Steelers an early 10-0 lead.

Nearing the end of the second quarter, Brandon Johnson supplied great pressure on a blitz from the left side, allowing Al Woods to pick off an ill-advised screen pass from Mike Kafka, which he returned 52 yards, all the way back to the Eagles 5 yard line. The Steelers added a short field goal three plays later, capping the first half scoring.

Perhaps the only man to turn more heads than McLendon was rookie running back Chris Rainey. Rainey, who showed off his speed all night, took a short screen from Jerrod Johnson and turned it into a 57 yard touchdown, evading a number of Eagles defenders in the process. If his performance proved anything, its that Todd Haley is going to find ways to get the ball in his hands, because he is a playmaker. Keep in mind, he was the only man who played the whole game. He caught a pass from Ben on that first drive and was still getting carries well into the 4th quarter.  Its clear that the coaching staff is excited by his ability, so I'd expect to see a nice dose of Rainey throughout the remainder of preseason.

Otherwise, Cortez Allen played well and despite giving up a long touchdown, Curtis Brown hung with his men consistently in coverage. He's just gotta get his head up on those. I expect Allen to make a push for the starting job opposite Ike Taylor in the coming weeks.

Undrafted free agent OLB Adrian Robinson really caught my attention in the second half, getting in the backfield on virtually every passing play. He had more than one hand on opposing quarterbacks, now he just needs to bring them down. Otherwise he was as good as advertised after having had a great camp thus far.

I wasn't impressed by the offensive line in the second half, but most of them won't make it out camp, so I'm not overly concerned. Its unfortunate for Baron Batch, because he's being judged based on their poor play.

Shaun Suisham (or Sushi, as he will henceforth be known) played well, going 2-2, hitting easily from 46 and 31 yards. It looks like I'll get to put off yelling about him until next Saturday, when the Andrew Luck led Colts visit Heinz Field.

At the end of the day, this was a much better start to the preseason than last year's egg against the Redskins. Lots of good, lots of bad, but its all fixable and mostly the result of inexperience. The starters dominated Philadelphia in most all phases and that's what should be focused on.