BTSC Steelers Six Pack: To the Second Half They Go Edition

by Michael Bean on Nov 11, 2011 7:36 AM EST in BTSC Steelers Six Packs

IX - Here's your NFL Week 10 TV Distribution Map. If you aren't a Pittsburgher or live in the surrounding vicinity (West Virgnia, Ohio, Kentucky) you're not getting the Steelers important road test against the Bengals.

X - Your prototypical newspaper preview article, but it's worth a quick read for an overview of Sunday's game. There's also a nice Tomlin quote about Mike Wallace:

"(Wallace) is a guy that's pretty bold in his desire to be great, but more importantly than that we see day-to-day work habits that are pushing him in that direction," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin.

Bold in his desire to be great. Outstanding.

XII - Hines Ward joined The Fan on Thursday to talk about his new foundation and his status for Week 10.

XIV - Bodog has released their odds for the 2nd half of the football season. The Steelers are listed as 12:1 favorites to win the Super Bowl, up form 9:1 a week ago. Either this week or the next might be the best time to take your stake on the Steelers to win it all if you were considering it. A win in Cincinnati bumps it back down around 10:1, and with their schedule down the stretch, I don't suspect we'll see them fall out of the graces of the public more than once at most. Somewhat interestingly, Pittsburgh is listed as 5:1 favorites to win the AFC. In other words, everybody's getting bumped up by the fact that the Packers look so darn good.

A couple of individual props -- Ben Roethlisberger is 22:1 to win the 2011 MVP. Aaron Rodgers, of course, is the front runner at 1:4. There are worse ways to flush $5 dollars. Perhaps better value though would be Big Ben winning the passing yards title, even though the current leader, Drew Brees, is on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season record of 5,084 by a comfortable margin. Roethlisberger is 15:1 in that race. Finally, Mike Wallace is 15:2 to win the receiving yards title. Wes Welker is currently the favorite at 5:4. LaMarr Woodley gets the same odds, 15:2, to win the sack crown this year. Jared Allen is heavily favored at 5:4.

XL - Reputations die hard. Hines Ward is still getting voted by his peers as one of the NFL's dirtiest players. He's not wearing that crown though anymore. Ndamukong Suh gets the nod by a wide margin.

XLIII - There's a 12 minute interview with Aaron Smith on the Steelers' web site, the first, they claim Smith has given since being placed on Injured Reserve in mid-October.

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Comments

Smitty

Is a complete class act. Thinking about him not in Black and Gold makes me very sad.

by SteelheadOH on Nov 11, 2011 8:27 AM EST reply actions

+91

People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.
- William McFee

by stillergorillar on Nov 11, 2011 8:43 AM EST up reply actions

See, the whole "dirtiest player" thing is always a crock of S

The guy who has a notable event occur within a memorable time of the vote always wins. Ward won that one time after the Keith Rivers crackback. Suh is now winning after that stuff with Ryan.

"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Nov 11, 2011 8:47 AM EST reply actions

To be sure, Suh has been known for being a bit too aggressive going after QB's.

Even Warren Sapp once said something on twiiter to the effect of “bad suh! cannot rip head from qb’s body! bad!” when he threw some qb by his helmet or something in his rookie year.

by SteelersVT on Nov 11, 2011 10:21 AM EST up reply actions

Jake Delhomme. He twisted him one way then threw him back the other way – by the head.

Didnt look good. He just plays mean and nasty, not sure if I would call that dirty

Formerly known as Steeler_

BTSC's token Kiwi fan. That means I'm a New Zealander. Yes, that small country next to Australia....no we are not part of Australia

by Michael Hewitt on Nov 11, 2011 10:02 PM EST up reply actions

I may never understand the NFL’s choices of which games to show where…I live in Cleveland and CBS shows Baltimore@Seattle, a game that’s likely to be a solid blowout, instead of Pittsburgh@Cincy, a meeting between 2 division opponents who are both among the top-3 teams in the league? Just ridiculous…

by Akshay R on Nov 11, 2011 8:49 AM EST reply actions

The local game...

…here in Cleveland is the Brown Browns vs the Rams @ 1PM on Fox. CBS is not allowed to play a game opposite the local market game…sadly. We all know the ratings in Cleveland would be higher for the Steelers/Bengals than the Browns/Rams. Hahahaha.

I just go to a Winking Lizard and drink yummy beer while watching the game.

by SteelheadOH on Nov 11, 2011 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

The lizard in Lakewood? Great wings :)

The Ravens are pus*ies compared to the Steelers. - Peyton Hillis 2010

by malaki on Nov 12, 2011 11:28 AM EST up reply actions

Ahh, that makes more sense then. I was under the impression that if the local game is on one network then the other had free choice to play whichever game(s) they wanted. It’s just upsetting that week after week I’m forced to watch our games online because the Browns usually play at the same time as the Steelers and both are usually on CBS.

by Akshay R on Nov 12, 2011 1:58 PM EST up reply actions

Always a crapshoot.

I live in Alaska and, quite frankly, I’m surprised we’re not getting Baltimore/Seattle as our CBS game, since our Pacific Northwest status almost always forces us to watch the Seahawks. Or, at the very least, Buffalo/Dallas, since it’s CBS’s designated marquee game of the week. No idea why our CBS affiliate is thinking for itself.

Those who can...do.
Those who can't... post on message boards using a screen name boasting the name of those who can.

by Craig Sager's Wardrobe on Nov 11, 2011 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

I had never seen that map...

… of the TV break down. I love it. Question though: Why are some area’s listed as having no game due to NFL rules? What did Seattle and Kansas City due to get NO game at all?

by yeah, im a jerk on Nov 11, 2011 9:53 AM EST reply actions

they didn't sell out their home games.

its the black out rule. I have it on good authority that its named for how oakland almost never has local games on due to empty seats.

by SteelersVT on Nov 11, 2011 10:23 AM EST up reply actions

You are kidding, right?

I'll be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from May, 2011 to Sept., 2011, to raise money for charity. For more info, please visit: http://thf2.wordpress.com

by Fifty-Eight on Nov 12, 2011 3:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

Funny, huh? I better not quit my day job.

by SteelersVT on Nov 12, 2011 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

That site puts up the TV distribution maps every week; it’s incredibly helpful if, like me, you live outside of Pittsburgh and want to know what games you’ll have on that week.

by Akshay R on Nov 12, 2011 1:59 PM EST up reply actions

I live in Cleveland, thank you Al Gore for creating the internet so I could watch Steelers game in this football hell.

The Ravens are pus*ies compared to the Steelers. - Peyton Hillis 2010

by malaki on Nov 12, 2011 3:56 PM EST up reply actions

awesome quote about Wallace and Brown

thats exactly what you want to hear about two budding stars

by steel.curtain.number2 on Nov 11, 2011 11:36 AM EST reply actions

I like the second part better

we see day-to-day work habits that are pushing him in that direction.

America still rewards hard work.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
--Aristotle

by steelerstyle on Nov 12, 2011 7:59 AM EST up reply actions

the506

I found 506 last season. I live in western KY so I get to watch the Titans, Rams, Chiefs, and Bears every week, sarcasm intended, unless I travel. Have only missed one game since the start of last year though, and thats because I was in a tree, shooting deer. :)

Being from KY my first NFL game was Cin/Pit Roethlisbergers rookie year. I think they were 9-1 when we left the stadium that day. Farrior had a pick 6, Porter and Housh were jawing pre-game, and Kendrell Bell was still the ILB of the future. Oh, and The Bus was playing. I’ve been to 3 Cin/Pit games total now, and then the game in Cle last year.

Sorry for the rambling, but this game always gets me jacked up as it’s in my region and I know many people rooting against us.

by Andrew Hill on Nov 11, 2011 12:38 PM EST reply actions

Hines Ward

One of the greatest NFL players I have ever had the privilege of watching. Despite what some have said, if he retires during the next 2 years, it won’t be because he can’t still play. It’ll be because Ben is throwing the ball to other receivers and Hines doesn’t want to be 2nd or 3rd fiddle anymore. The highest compliment I can pay to #86 is to say that he could have started on any Steeler team—including the one with Stallworth and Swann.

by Billy52 on Nov 11, 2011 4:14 PM EST reply actions