Playoffs?! Playoffs?!

A common sight in Steeler country

Pats win, no big surprise. I was hoping for a Jags upset.
Packers win, I'm happy about that.
Chargers win, I'm neutral about that.
Giants win, I'm happy about that.

AFC
San Diego at New England
Even before the injuries to Rivers, LT, Gates, and Neal I'd say the Chargers had no shot. Now with all those injuries it's almost a complete lock for the Pats. I hate to say it, but the Pats are going 19-0. Those fuckers.

NFC
New York at Green Bay
I'm rooting for the Giants since I live in NY, but I don't think they have much of a shot. GB has the superior offense and defense. Giants have a banged up secondary and that's the name of GB's game. Plax is still hurt. GB wins big.

Super Bowl
New England crushes Green Bay
Favre retires. Everyone ignores the fact the Pats were found guilty of cheating.

***

As I watch the playoffs the one glaring thing that pops up over and over again is the OFFENSIVE LINE. I believe this is the biggest difference between a good team and a bad team. It's not about the QB or the RB...even the WRs. If you have a solid O-line pretty much any NFL QB can look good back there. This is where the Steelers suck terribly. Let's think about the playoff teams this year:

GB - Favre sacked 15 times
TAM - Garcia sacked 19 times
NE - Brady sacked 21 times
JAX - Garrard sacked 21 times (only started 12/16 games)
IND - P. Manning sacked 21 times
WSH - Campbell sacked 21 times
SD - Rivers sacked 22 times
DAL - Romo sacked 24 times
TEN - Young sacked 25 times
NY - E. Manning sacked 27 times
SEA - Hasselbeck sacked 33 times
PIT - Roethlisberger sacked 47 times


Hmmm, what stands out here? Yes, Ben holds onto the ball too long and fails to throw it away. But, of all the QBs on the list he might be the most adept at avoiding sacks by breaking tackles (so is V. Young). He also drops back less to pass than almost all of those QBs. For a comparison let's look at Tom Brady who attempted 578 passes in the regular season and was sacked 21 times. That's 1 sack every 27. 5 pass attempts.

Now Big Ben threw 404 times and was sacked 47 times. That's 1 sack every 8.6 drop backs!

Now, obviously it's not all the o-line's fault. A pass happy offense like NE demands that a safety double up on Moss so it's probably pretty rare that a team blitzes Brady, but still the numbers are staggering.

In conclusion, the Steelers are in for a losing season next year unless significant additions to the o-line are made via FA or the draft.