The experts provide insight

We have often trumpeted our admiration for the folks at Football Outsiders and this week's "Film Room" take on the Steelers vs. Cowboys is a shining example of what sets this publication apart from so many others.

If you want to get inside the game this is a must read.

Live from the Combine

In addition to the live coverage available through the NFL Network and NFL.com, Doug Farrar of Football Outsiders is doing Twitter-esque updates for the Washington Post.

The information available at the Post site is terrific ~ succinct and informative ~ and right now there is a good look at the top offensive linemen available in the 2009 draft.

A Professional Preview

Our "preview" of Super Bowl XLIII was short, and quite general.

Meanwhile, the folks at Football Outsiders have come up with their preview, and it is lengthy and exquisitely detailed. Here is the bottom line:

Perhaps the Arizona Cardinals will become legendary, the ultimate underdog that finally turned around a franchise-long history of losing. Larry Fitzgerald grew up in Minnesota, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind playing the role of Kirby Puckett, leading an inferior team to victory on the ultimate stage. More likely, Super Bowl XLIII will go down as yet another glorious moment in the long, storied history of the modern NFL's most successful franchise, and the Arizona Cardinals will go down as just another mediocre opponent eventually wiped from the earth by the Terrible Towel of Fate. Hey, nobody remembers the 1979 Rams either.

Helpful hints for Bruce Arians

We have been amazed,and mortified, throughout the season at how poorly the Steelers execute the traditional screen pass (i.e. allow defensive line to penetrate, pull a guard and tackle, throw a pass to a running back). They have been somewhat more successful in running the so-called "bubble" screen to a wide out, but the screen is just not a play that Pittsburgh has run well this season.

So it was with some interest that we read an older item from our friends at Football Outsiders that provides an in-depth look at a variety of screen packages (an example of which you can see above). We don't know if there is time to work any of these into Sunday's game plan, but it was worth a try.

Wille Parker Out? It May bea Blessing in Disguise

The good folks at Football Outsiders have written extensively, and convincingly, of the risks of overworking running backs. Specifically, their research has shown that 370 carries in a season represents a threshold beyond which bad things ~ usually physical in nature ~ happen to an NFL running backs.

So it was with some concern that we watched Willie Parker rush the football fifty-three times in the first two weeks of the season ~ a pace that would have resulted in 424 carries for the season. The inability of the offense to generate any momentum limited Mr. Parker's carries in week three; and while we never want players to suffer injuries (especially those wearing black & gold) we are relieved that the coaching staff is now being forced to employ other running backs.

Let's just hope that Rashard Mendenhall has figured out that whole fumbling thing.

Rating the Drafts

Unsure of how well the Steelers drafted? Confused by all the grades that the draft "experts" -- most of whom didn't come close to accurately predicting which players would go where -- are handing out?

Well, Vince Verhei at Football Outsiders has come up with a terrific assessment of the assessors.

The Steelers come up looking very good in this article, so please enjoy!

They Sound So Much Smarter

Our roundup from the first weekend of free agency says some of the things that our friends at Football Outsiders say in theirs, but they just come-off as so much more intelligent we couldn't help but share.

The Mother of All Game Previews

"Since midseason, no team has improved more than Jacksonville, and no team has declined more than Pittsburgh."

So begins the preview offered by Football Outsiders of the Jaguars v. Steelers contest. It is far-and-away the best preview you will see of any game (a preview of the Redskins v. Seahawks precedes the Steelers' preview, on the same page), and provides a fair-and-balanced (to coin a phrase) look at both teams.

Just as an aside, Pat Kirwan of Sirius radio's Movin' the Chains offers up a more simplified approach to determining which team will win in any given game. Take a look at the yards per catch and the takeaway/giveaway ratio of the two teams -- if, and when, those numbers tilt towards one team or the other then you have a clear cut favor.

In this week's game between Jacksonville and Pittsburgh here's how those numbers stack up:

Takeaway/Giveaway
Jacksonville +9
Steelers +3

Yards per Pass
Jacksonville 7.5 yards
Steelers 7.7 yards

Hmmm . . . looks like a nail-biter.

And not to be outdone, the New York Times also has a preview worth looking over.

Sepulveda & Timmons Named to All-Rookie Team

Regular readers know of our great respect for the experts at Football Outsiders, so it is with great pleasure that we alert all of you to their All-Rookie choices.

Of particular interest to Steelers fans was the inclusion of Daniel Sepulveda, who single-footedly cleansed us of the foul taste that Chris Gardocki had left us with, and Lawrence Timmons as the "Special Teamer"!

One publication's dud is another's gold.

Just What DOES Ail the Steelers?

Our friends at Football Outsiders have turned their laser focus on the Steelers in an effort to uncover why the team has struggled recently. Or, as they say in their own words: "[T]he Steelers have lost three of their last six games, and even in the three wins they haven’t looked particularly impressive, and while their defense isn’t bad, it’s no longer dominating. So what’s happened?"

It's a very interesting take on the team's performance, and the diagnosis offered up by writer Michael David Smith is, in a word, unexpected.