Friday, September 7, 2007
Sport Staff's NFL Predictions
3. Washington
6. Atlanta
4. Tampa Bay
5. New York Giants
NFC Wilcard.
3. Washington vs. 6. Atlanta
The back field tandom of Ladell Betts and Clinton Portis dog out a win against the Falcons rushing for a combined 206 yards and three touchdowns. Jason Campbell leads the Redskins potent
offense to a decisive victory. Washington 31 Atlanta 17
4. Tampa Bay vs. 5. New York Giants.
Eli Manning continues to play like, well, Eli Manning, completeing a miserable 12 for 32 completions and throwing two interceptions against the suffocating Bucs defense. To add to the Giants
woes runningback Brandon Jacobs rushes for a season high 27 yards. The G-Men wish they still had Tiki. Tampa Bay 27 New York 24
NFC Divisional
4. Tampa Bay vs. 1. San Francisco
In the battle of the Alex Smith's the quarterback prevails passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Runningback Michael Robinson rushes for two touchdowns. San Francisco 28 Tampa
Bay 24
3. Washington vs. 2. Detroit
Quarterback Jon Kitna goes down early in the first quarter with a terrible case of frostbite. Luckily for the Lions, UConn standout Dan Orlovsky jumps in to lead the team in a shootout. First
rounders Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson combine for five touchdowns. After the game General Manager Mark Millen recieves compliments from the press. Naturally, he's unsure how to
respond. Detroit 41 Washington 38
NFC Championship
2. Detroit vs 1. San Francisco
In this low scoring battle between two defensive juggernauts, the young squad from the city by the bay squeaks out the victory. Alex Smith has a stellar afternoon passing for 173 yards and two
touchdowns catapaulting the 49er's back towards the glory nearly a decade removed from the iconic franchise. San Francisco 14 Detroit 10.
AFC Wildcard Matchups
3. Houston vs. 6. Miami
Texans forget about passing on Reggie Bush with Ahmed Green's 155-yard performance. Matt Schaub's two touchdown passes to tight end Owen Daniels gave the Texans an edge over the
Dolphins. Houston 17 Miami 14
4. Oakland vs. 5. Tennessee
Titans Vince Young rushes for 182 yards and passes for 72 yards in their victory. Raiders rookie quarterback JaMarcus Russell tosses five interceptions in his losing effort. Tennessee 27
Oakland 13
AFC Divisional Matchups
1. Buffalo vs. 5. Tennessee
The Bills do it again, coming back from a 38-3 halftime deficit. Backup quarterback Trent Edwards comes in for the injured J.P. Losman and throws five touchdowns in the second half,
including one with only 38 seconds left in the game. Buffalo 41 Tennessee 38
2. Cleveland vs. 3. Houston
The Browns keep using their three quarterback system and have them combined for two touchdowns and one pick. The Browns also hold the Texans to 50 yards total offense
Houston 10
AFC Conference Championship
1. Buffalo vs. 2. Cleveland
The Bills hang on in a nail-biter in Buffalo. Brady Quinn throws a late pick to seal the victory for the mighty Bills. Buffalo 31 Cleveland 28
Super Bowl
Buffalo vs. San Francisco
The Bills finally do the impossible and win their first Super Bowl. Rookie Linebacker Paul Pousluzny wins the MVP award, with 14 tackles and one interception
Steelers look to improve on last season's setback
By Jess Carlson
staff writer
jlcsol 8 @ psu.edu
On Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers will kickoff at
Cleveland Browns stadium for the start of their
2007 season and Mike Tomlin's first regular season
game as head coach of the Steelers. The team has a
lot to prove this year, but they certainly have the
means to do so.
After a faulty .500 season in 2006, ending with a
record of 8-8, and the announcement of head coach
Bill Cowher's retirement, the Steelers are leaving
their old habits and multiple mistakes in the past
and looking towards the 2007-08 season with plen
ty of optimism, starting with a few new faces and on
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top of that, a healthy quarterback,
Beginning last season recovering from a near fatal
motorcycle accident, an emergency appendectomy,
and multiple concussions throughout the year, Ben
Roethlisberger says he is feeling "happy and
healthy" this year. After experiencing the frustra
tions of watching Big Ben throw pass after pass into
the hands of the opposition (making him the leader
in interceptions last season), Pittsburgh Steeler fans
have high expectations for the young quarterback.
One of the Steelers biggest challenges at the start
of this season will be to get people to forget last
year. With new faces on the coaching end as well as
on the field, the team is headed in the right direc
tion. New names on the coaching side include head
coach Mike Tomlin, Minnesota Vikings defensive
coordinator in 2006, and Bruce Arians who was
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promoted from wide receiver coach for the Steelers
last season to offensive coordinator, replacing Ken
Whisenhunt for the 2007 season. Tomlin is just the
third head coach for the Steelers since 1969.
The main focus on the offense this season will be
running back Willie Parker. Parker scored 13
touchdowns and ran for 1,494 yards last year. The
defense should remain solid with returning players
like linebackers James Farrior, Clark Haggans and
Larry Foote, along with (arguably) Pittsburgh's
most feared player on the defense, safety Troy
Polamalu. Polamalu signed a contract over the
summer with the Steelers, guaranteeing his commit
ment to the team for another four years.
While on the topic of contracts, offensive lineman
Alan Faneca has made Steeler fans a little weary.
After a contract dispute between him and Steelers
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5. Tennessee
2. Cleveland
3. Houston
Buffalo 26 San Francisco 13
management, Faneca has made it clear that this will
be his last season as a Pittsburgh Steeler and cannot
guarantee how much focus he will be able to bring
to the team this year.
In order to stand a chance in the post-season, the
Steelers need to start off the first half of their season
with a winning record, opposite of last years 2-6
first half record. Starting the season against the
Cleveland Browns should help; the Steelers have
won 13 of the last 14 games against the Browns and
have gone 6-0 at Cleveland. On Sunday, the
Steelers will look to make it seven.
So get your cuzzies ready and put your jerseys on,
fill your beer mugs up and brush the dust off that
Terrible Towel because the Pittsburgh Steelers are
going to give you something to cheer about this sea
son.
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Cleveland 24