Not just an L in the loss column

 

Former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon made his first NFL start on Sunday. For the first time, he played for more than just a snap. 

Normally, a quarterback’s first NFL start would be for a less than average team. Like the Raiders, or the Chiefs, or the Lions. And the team probably wouldn’t be poised to take a wildcard spot and make a legitimate run for the Super Bowl.

Dixon’s first start wasn’t normal. He started for the 6-4 Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers stood towards the top of the long list for an AFC wildcard spot. And so were the 5-5 Baltimore Ravens, the young quarterback’s foes for the night.

Ben Roethlisberger left the Steelers game against the Kansas City Chiefs two Sundays ago in overtime with “concussion like” symptoms. Back up quarterback Charlie Batch took his place, and the Steelers ended up losing the game by a field goal.

No worries. All week, it was reported that the constantly battered Big Ben would play on Sunday. And, of course, if he couldn’t there wasn’t reason to fret too much. Batch was a good back up quarterback who could lead the Steelers into a heated divisional game in Baltimore. He has been Roethlisberger’s back up for a few years now; he knows the system and the players.

Let the worrying begin. Batch was put on IR with an injured wrist early in the week. Roethlisberger had been having headaches all week and his start was scratched Saturday. So now, the Steelers were left with a third string guy in only his second year in the NFL who had never taken a professional snap.

Boy, it sure didn’t look that way.

Dixon played smart for the majority of the game. Until the fourth quarter and overtime, he made smart passes and even had two large runs in very open territory. Against one of the best defenses in the league, Dixon looked like a quality quarterback. He threw a great touchdown, made some amazing passes, and even ran the ball along the right sidelines for 24 yards to score another touchdown.

It wasn’t all Dixon though. Wide Receiver Hines Ward made sure to point out everything going on with the defense so that he didn’t miss anything. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arinas kept the offense to about 15 plays that Dixon had said he felt comfortable with. And of course, Big Ben was on the sidelines helping him throughout the entire battle.

Despite all of the help, Dixon showed that he could be a quality quarterback for a team in need of one. He won’t attract big money—he shouldn’t—but he should grab the attention of some teams in need of a quarterback, or a back up one, this off season.

As for Pittsburgh, they may have lost a pivotal game against a dangerous foe, but they showed just how good they could become. They stayed in with the Ravens despite the loss of their pro bowl safety—Troy Polamalu is out with a knee sprain—and their pro bowl quarterback. If both, or even either, had played Sunday night, the Ravens would not have been flying as high as they were. Pittsburgh could easily have taken that game. And that is something to be truly fearful of.

Pittsburgh may have loss in Baltimore Sunday night. And Dennis Dixon may have loss his first start. But both made a statement that goes beyond the standings.

My injury plagued life…

After a long day of classes and homework, I went onto my computer tonight and started checking out the news. At least my version of the news. I visited ESPN.com first, and much to my anger I saw the first headline on the right side of the page:

“Dolphins put Brown on IR, ending season”

Not to be a part of the new cliché, but F My LIfe.

I just suffered through over five months of injury riddled games. The Mets were plagued with injuries this season. Starters were out left and right. We went the AAA to get talent to bring to New York.

Sports Illustrated put us at the top of the division before the season began. We had superior pitching and a great infield. But, due to injuries, we suffered a summer of discontent. I was excited when we won a game. Forget about the race to the pennant, I was racing to the end of the season. Refresh the roster, and I’ll see you next year.

Almost two months after the Mets closed their season, more injuries come to haunt my sleep.

The Dolphins aren’t doing great this season. Trust me, I understand. Ted Ginn Jr. can’t catch a ball when he needs to to save his life. The wildcat is being caught on to by opposing teams. And the defense allows 25.2 points per game.

Despite this, though, the Dolphins actually are in the hunt for a playoff spot. Tied with the Jets at 5-4—Miami holds the tiebreaker with a sweep of the Jets—both teams are only two games behind division leading New England. Miami is also in the thick of the wildcard hunt.

The reason for this? The running game. Ricky Williams and Brown lift the Dolphins every game. Miami averages 156.2 rushing yards per game, fourth in the league. Without Brown, half of the running attack is gone.

The guys to take his place, Lex Hilliard, hasn’t even played in an NFL game. His preseason numbers looked good, but what does that really show? He probably was running against second string defenses for most of August.

So another sporting season becomes marred by injuries. I am just waiting for half of the Pittsburgh Panthers starting lineup to fall on each other during a rebound and break something. Then, it seems, the injuries plaguing my life would succeed to their fullest extent.

Please Win!!

The Yankees won their 27th World Series pennant Wednesday. Their 27th. Out of 105 World Series. The New York Yankees have won over a quarter of the nation’s World Series. That is a ton.

As much as I dislike the Yankees and how they have won all of their Championships, I am jealous of all of the winning Yankees fans are able to be a part of. I mean, come on!!! My teams practically never win!!

I’ll start at the bottom. I’m a Miami Dolphins fan. Although it isn’t as hard as everyone makes it out to be, it is still a tough team to root for. The quarterback situation hasn’t even been average since Dan Marino retired. I understand that no one will live up to Marino, but please get someone in there that can hit a receiver.

And on the topic of receivers, what is wrong with Ted Ginn Jr? He was the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft but his productivity doesn’t represent it. So far this season, it seems like he has dropped more balls than he has caught. And it isn’t like the balls are poorly thrown. Many of them are catches he has to make if he wants to be in the NFL.

Moving on. Here’s a heartbreaker…the New York Mets. Their talent this year was good, but injuries created a season to burst out in tears about. By the end of the season, they didn’t even have good talent from the minors to bring up. Mets continuously lost this season. But that was just an icing on the cake from the last two seasons. First place by a significant amount and then losing it in September? Ugh…

Let the winning begin…please!!! Apparently, the baseball gods are also in love with the Yankees.