NFL Week 6 thread

True, but Dungy wasn't very good as a playoff coach outside of that season (5-10 overall without that 2006 run), so if two franchises were to win Super Bowls immediately after his departure, that tells me he's great at collecting talent, not so great at coaching it.

 

The next month will be a big one to see exactly where the Saints are.
Three home games, starting with the Giants on Sunday--the most complete team they'll face this year. The Dolphins in Miami will be tough, then open divisional play on Monday night against the Falcons. The stretch ends with another home game with Carolina, who has owned the Saints lately.

If they get out of that stretch 7-1 they'll be set up to finish strong and vie for home field throughout the NFC playoffs.

 

That would be AWESOME. Look at that, now I'm rooting for Peyton Manning.

 

You have the Jets in the top 10, and better than the Steelers? The Steelers haven't played great ball yet, but they are most definitely better than the Jets.

 

I definitely struggled with the Steelers. But "most definitely" better than NYJ? Not so sure about that. Then again, you might be right. Thankfully, that list means nothing.

 

So much for the top-ranked defense from last year. Steelers may be without Aaron Smith for a long time. For those who don't know who he is, Smith is the team's best defensive lineman and the run defense fell apart without him late in the '07 season.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09286/1005165-66.stm

 

Nature of the game, sadly.

Do they not have much depth on the line?

 

They won the Super Bowl last year with the worst offensive line in history, so I'm sure they'll overcome.

 

Depth is decent. Their first-round pick, Ziggy Hood, got a lot more playing time after Smith was hurt Sunday. But none of those guys is on Smith's level.

 

It's a cliche, for sure, but that's where games are won and lost -- in the trenches.

I see so many teams spend millions of dollars on skill positions and ignore the lines. And the Redskins still haven't figured out that one.

I still think the Steelers are a playoff team.

 

My tweaking of Steelers fans aside, Smith is a big loss. Guy was one of the more underrated defensive players in the league. Just went out and did a great job every week while the Harrisons and Polamalus got all the headlines.

 

Exactly. Still disgusts me that the guy has never made a Pro Bowl. Easily a better player than Casey Hampton. After Polamalu, Smith is the toughest guy to replace on that defense, even over Harrison.