Considering the Steelers are still searching for their 2012 groove and the Titans are laughably bad, you may find more entertainment and hostility from the vice presidential debate between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Steelers at Titans
If you read this blog with any consistency, you’ve probably noticed I have absolutely no feel for the Tennessee Titans this season. For some inexplicable reason, I keep pretending as if these Titans are still a Jeff Fisher team – one that should never be counted out of any contest. Clearly, they’re not. Regardless, and you’re probably not gonna believe this, I kinda/sorta/maybe like the Titans Thursday night.
Just kidding. The Steelers aren’t all that good, either, but losing to the Titans would take a mammoth effort from the Steelers. The Tennessee defense posses no threat to opposing offenses. If Chris Johnson didn’t retire after the 2010 season, the Titans offense might have a fighter’s chance Thursday night. Instead, the offense is left with Chris Johnson’s corpse, a decrepit quarterback, and little hope of salvaging the 2012 season.
Put it this way, the Titans have scored 88 points in five games, good enough for 26th in the NFL. It is, however, important to note that 44 of those points came in a fluky win over the Detroit Lions. For those of you bad at math, that means the Titans are averaging 44 points against the Lions in 2012 and 11 points against the rest of the NFL. Not good.
As for the Steelers, they looked better against the Eagles with a formidable running game. The offensive line surrendered no sacks and gave Roethlisberger time because it wasn’t in pass protection 65% of the time. Rashard Mendenhall’s return added a much-needed boost to a pathetic ground attack. Though the Steelers beat Philadelphia, I still can’t say Pittsburgh is a legitimate contender in the AFC, at least not yet. I need to see more.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Troy Polamalu is on the verge of being overrated. No doubt, when he was healthy and in his prime there was no one better, perhaps ever. However, if you asked me if I’d rather have six seasons of a relatively healthy Polamalu followed by four injury-riddled, play-declining seasons, OR 14 consecutive seasons of a mostly healthy and almost equally impactful Brian Dawkins, I’m taking Dawkins.
And with that I have nothing left to offer about this uninspiring Thursday matchup. Joe Biden and Paul Ryan may actually give us a more spirited battle, and they’re not even allowed to hit each other. Don’t feel guilty about missing this game. The Steelers will play on national TV plenty of times, and sadly, the Titans will face off against the Jets on Monday Night Football in Week 15. (Awesome, right?) STEELERS If I were Charles Barkely; Steelers -6.5