PFT Writers Make Their Wild Card Picks

[NKYRob]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/07/pfts-wild-card-picks-5/

Steelers at Bengals

MDS’s take: If Andy Dalton were healthy for this game, I’d pick the Bengals and I wouldn’t think twice about it: Yes, Dalton has struggled in the postseason, but he was off to an excellent start this season before suffering a thumb injury. Unfortunately for the Bengals, it looks like Dalton will sit and AJ McCarron will start. That’s a rough break, as McCarron did not play well in the Bengals’ loss to the Steelers in December. I expect McCarron to struggle and Ben Roethlisberger to play well, as the Bengals lose yet another wild card game.

MDS’s pick: Steelers 28, Bengals 20.

Florio’s take: It’s Round Three between the Steelers and the Bengals, just like 10 years ago. That time, the Steelers knocked out quarterback Carson Palmer on the home team’s first play from scrimmage, paving the way for a win. This time, the Steelers already have dispensed with Andy Dalton, who broke a thumb while making a tackle after an interception. While the “nothing to lose” mentality could help the Bengals and backup A.J. McCarron, the Steelers already have spent a week staring into the abyss of having their season end after not going all out in Baltimore. On Saturday night, Pittsburgh throws Cincinnati into the pit.

Florio’s pick: Steelers 27, Bengals 20.

Neither of their analysts seem to think the Bengals can do it. Nobody seems to mention how well the Bengals defense is playing, especially against Roethlisberger this season.

[3wt]

(01-07-2016, 02:53 PM)NKYRob Wrote: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/07/pfts-wild-card-picks-5/

Steelers at Bengals

MDS’s take: If Andy Dalton were healthy for this game, I’d pick the Bengals and I wouldn’t think twice about it: Yes, Dalton has struggled in the postseason, but he was off to an excellent start this season before suffering a thumb injury. Unfortunately for the Bengals, it looks like Dalton will sit and AJ McCarron will start. That’s a rough break, as McCarron did not play well in the Bengals’ loss to the Steelers in December. I expect McCarron to struggle and Ben Roethlisberger to play well, as the Bengals lose yet another wild card game.

MDS’s pick: Steelers 28, Bengals 20.

Florio’s take: It’s Round Three between the Steelers and the Bengals, just like 10 years ago. That time, the Steelers knocked out quarterback Carson Palmer on the home team’s first play from scrimmage, paving the way for a win. This time, the Steelers already have dispensed with Andy Dalton, who broke a thumb while making a tackle after an interception. While the “nothing to lose” mentality could help the Bengals and backup A.J. McCarron, the Steelers already have spent a week staring into the abyss of having their season end after not going all out in Baltimore. On Saturday night, Pittsburgh throws Cincinnati into the pit.

Florio’s pick: Steelers 27, Bengals 20.

Neither of their analysts seem to think the Bengals can do it.  Nobody seems to mention how well the Bengals defense is playing, especially against Roethlisberger this season.

I was kind of hoping they would pick the Steelers.  We do better as an underdog.  I want the boys playing in a controlled rage.

[CageTheBengal]

If Dalton was the QB I would have no doubt the Bengals would win.

[BFritz21]

They say McCarron didn't play well against the Steelers........ yeah, that's because he was unexpectedly thrown into the fire with no preparation, jackasses.

We'll come after Ben with their running backs being injured and nothing to keep our pass rush honest, and Hill will run down their throats to establish the tempo while McCarron picks apart their swiss cheese secondary.

Not to mention that Eifert is healthy again and so is our secondary.

Those "experts" need to GTFO with those predictions.

[Brownshoe]

(01-07-2016, 03:10 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: They say McCarron didn't play well against the Steelers........  yeah, that's because he was unexpectedly thrown into the fire with no preparation, jackasses.

We'll come after Ben with their running backs being injured and nothing to keep our pass rush honest, and Hill will run down their throats to establish the tempo while McCarron picks apart their swiss cheese secondary.

Not to mention that Eifert is healthy again and so is our secondary.

Those "experts" need to GTFO with those predictions.

The Steelers also have preparation time against McCarron too. Let's just hope the team can do enough to win Saturday. McCarron needs to have the best game of his career, because playing like he has been probably isn't good enough to beat the Steelers.

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

(01-07-2016, 03:00 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote: If Dalton was the QB I would have no doubt the Bengals would win.

I cannot for the life of me understand this line of thinking. When has Dalton shown he's capable of being anything other than a regular season warrior who sometimes chokes terribly in big games? Dalton's injury was his fault and it was on one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen against these very Steelers. The game before against Pittsburgh, he threw 2 Ints to one TD and if not for Shawn Williams crazy pick, we probably lose that game on another shit interception. Dalton would have been anything but a sure thing in this game.

[Aquapod770]

God, Florio is such a tool.

[CageTheBengal]

(01-07-2016, 04:07 PM)PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop Wrote: I cannot for the life of me understand this line of thinking. When has Dalton shown he's capable of being anything other than a regular season warrior who sometimes chokes terribly in big games? Dalton's injury was his fault and it was on one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen against these very Steelers. The game before against Pittsburgh, he threw 2 Ints to one TD and if not for Shawn Williams crazy pick, we probably lose that game on another shit interception. Dalton would have been anything but a sure thing in this game.

Well he was having a career season. If watching him play this season didn't get you on board then I don't know what to tell you.

From what I saw he was playing a hell of a lot better then in the past.

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

(01-07-2016, 04:13 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote: Well he was having a career season. If watching him play this season didn't get you on board then I don't know what to tell you.

From what I saw he was playing a hell of a lot better then in the past.

Agreed, but I still don't think he showed he was an elite quarterback just yet.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Dalton fan and I've always said that I thought he was going to be a sort of Drew Brees-lite. But his playoff and prime-time struggles are very real, and I'm under the impression that he still had a hard time in a few big games he played in this year (Pittsburgh, Houston, etc.)

Maybe this was supposed to be his year to prove that wrong (see: MVP caliber game against Seattle), and I think it still can be, but he still needs to get over that hump, whether it's this year or further down the road (if ever).

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(01-07-2016, 04:07 PM)PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop Wrote: I cannot for the life of me understand this line of thinking. When has Dalton shown he's capable of being anything other than a regular season warrior who sometimes chokes terribly in big games? Dalton's injury was his fault and it was on one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen against these very Steelers. The game before against Pittsburgh, he threw 2 Ints to one TD and if not for Shawn Williams crazy pick, we probably lose that game on another shit interception. Dalton would have been anything but a sure thing in this game.

Dalton improved in every aspect this year and played great in the big games as well.

He reads Defenses better than AJM, he is the better athlete, he has way more time with the receivers
and was playing the best football of his career before that injury. Dalton would of gave us the best
chance to win this game no question.

But that doesn't take much away from McCarron either who i think can play well enough to win it.

AJM just needs to get the OL to the LOS faster and not throw picks.

[RoyleRedlegs]

(01-07-2016, 04:07 PM)PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop Wrote: I cannot for the life of me understand this line of thinking. When has Dalton shown he's capable of being anything other than a regular season warrior who sometimes chokes terribly in big games? Dalton's injury was his fault and it was on one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen against these very Steelers. The game before against Pittsburgh, he threw 2 Ints to one TD and if not for Shawn Williams crazy pick, we probably lose that game on another shit interception. Dalton would have been anything but a sure thing in this game.

[BengalChris]

Pretty much none of the media folks are picking the Bengals to win. NFL Network, when posting the stats of the Steelers and Bengals, mentioned Rothlesburger's playoff stats versus Dalton's (1TD, 6INTs, 0-4). Dalton isn't even playing in the game, but they sure wanted to put those numbers up there, as if they translate to AJM.

(01-07-2016, 03:17 PM)Brownshoe Wrote: The Steelers also have preparation time against McCarron too. Let's just hope the team can do enough to win Saturday. McCarron needs to have the best game of his career, because playing like he has been probably isn't good enough to beat the Steelers.

Yeah, well, you better hope he has a good game then cause otherwise Dalton will still be 0-4 and no chance to for a playoff win as a starting QB this year.

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

(01-07-2016, 04:48 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote:

Please

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(01-07-2016, 04:59 PM)BengalChris Wrote: Has two picks, which came in the game he had no preparation for. Since then, zero picks.

Yeah, he has to keep that up.

He has improved in lots of stuff, he has a bright future. But he has held onto the ball too long, a lot.

This has caused him to get sacked a bit more than Dalton would have.

The delay of game penalties are also something him and the Offense as a whole need to work on.

Dalton seemed to get the OL lined up much faster than AJM.

[BengalChris]

(01-07-2016, 05:02 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Yeah, he has to keep that up.

He has improved in lots of stuff, he has a bright future. But he has held onto the ball too long, a lot.

This has caused him to get sacked a bit more than Dalton would have.

The delay of game penalties are also something him and the Offense as a whole need to work on.

Dalton seemed to get the OL lined up much faster than AJM.

That's all true, but for a guy with 3 starts I think he's doing pretty well.

I for one will not give Dalton a pass for a playoff loss however. He needs AJM to play well enough to get us to the next round so that he can get his shot at his own playoff W this year. Then he'll need to deliver in Denver.

[The Burfict Answer]

I look at it this way. Shittsburgh lost to Baltimore week 16 with mallet at qb.

Aj>mallet
Our offense weapons > Baltimore
Our defense> Baltimore .

There is no reason if we come out ready to play we cant win . Our line the both sides of the ball will be key.
Dunlap and geno have to make life hell for ben. With a limited deangelo williams those dump passes won't help much.

If our line can get a push and allow a run game aj has a pretty ball and works well with a play action.

I really think we win. The defense isn't scared of their offense.

We have a healthy eifert and hopefully ajs confidence carries to the rest of the offense.

Their defense isn't good we need to exploit their secondary .

[fredtoast]

(01-07-2016, 05:17 PM)The Burfict Answer Wrote: I look at it this way. Shittsburgh lost to Baltimore week 16 with mallet at qb.

And people forget that the Steelers desperately needed to win that game to keep their playoff hopes alive.  That was a very big game for them.

[The Burfict Answer]

(01-07-2016, 05:29 PM)fredtoast Wrote: And people forget that the Steelers desperately needed to win that game to keep their playoff hopes alive.  That was a very big game for them.

Exactly that's not a game u sleep walk into . That's a win and your in game .. if you get pressure on ben they aren't everything their made out to be . tries to make something out of nothing and instead of throwing the ball away he throws a pick.

[Luvnit2]

(01-07-2016, 02:53 PM)NKYRob Wrote: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/07/pfts-wild-card-picks-5/

Steelers at Bengals

MDS’s take: If Andy Dalton were healthy for this game, I’d pick the Bengals and I wouldn’t think twice about it: Yes, Dalton has struggled in the postseason, but he was off to an excellent start this season before suffering a thumb injury. Unfortunately for the Bengals, it looks like Dalton will sit and AJ McCarron will start. That’s a rough break, as McCarron did not play well in the Bengals’ loss to the Steelers in December. I expect McCarron to struggle and Ben Roethlisberger to play well, as the Bengals lose yet another wild card game.

MDS’s pick: Steelers 28, Bengals 20.

Florio’s take: It’s Round Three between the Steelers and the Bengals, just like 10 years ago. That time, the Steelers knocked out quarterback Carson Palmer on the home team’s first play from scrimmage, paving the way for a win. This time, the Steelers already have dispensed with Andy Dalton, who broke a thumb while making a tackle after an interception. While the “nothing to lose” mentality could help the Bengals and backup A.J. McCarron, the Steelers already have spent a week staring into the abyss of having their season end after not going all out in Baltimore. On Saturday night, Pittsburgh throws Cincinnati into the pit.

Florio’s pick: Steelers 27, Bengals 20.

Neither of their analysts seem to think the Bengals can do it.  Nobody seems to mention how well the Bengals defense is playing, especially against Roethlisberger this season.

I prefer us as the underdog. Respect is not based on a prediction from a bunch of talking heads who also predicted the Steelers and Ravens to win the AFCN and Bengals to even make the playoffs. Respect will be earned after we beat them.

[BonnieBengal]

They also picked the Bengals to go 6 - 10 this season. They looked at the world through Steeler colored glasses. Very Steeler friendly site.