Steeler thoughts from snowy PEI

Sitting in my Prince Edward Island cottage during a major blizzard, can�t go anywhere and thanking my lucky stars that this didn�t happen yesterday, as I could never have made it to the barn to watch Steelers/Ravens.�

Some playoff thoughts, followed by game thoughts:

1. I wish playoff tickets weren�t so damn hard to come by.� Can understand ticket brokers wanting to make a profit, but a ducat for the AFC Championship can�t be had for under 4 bills, and even that price is rare, most brokers lowest price exceed $500/ticket.
2. Kind of pleased that we won�t draw Indy for the first round.� Looks as though we�ll get either SD or whoever they play.� I know that the Chargers are tough, but one poster described them, accurately I think, a playing a brand of ball similar to the Steelers, only not as well.� I think we match up better against this type of team, as opposed to a prolific passing team.� I think we�ll limit SD on the ground, Brees won�t be as effective as Manning would have been, and our run/pass balance will yield some points.� If it�s the Jets, I think we win in similar fashion to the game a couple of weeks ago.�
3. Wish the NFL office would post definite dates for the Divisonal playoffs now.� All of the sites are set:� Pittsburgh, New England, Philly, Atlanta.
4. Yesterday�s game was encouraging on several fronts.� After demonstrating major flaws for a few weeks, we beat a tough Baltimore team with:
1. Solid pass protection, interestingly on a game where Ben is injured
2. Very good run defense
3. Great run blocking
4. Impressive return of Plaxico Burress (read John Clayton�s column this morning about the Ravens� potential interest in Plax)
5. I was concerned with Boller�s ability to convert 3^rd & longs against us, hence my relief that we�re not going against Manning & his fleet of damn good receivers.
6. Do agree that it was a mistake not to challenge the spot prior to going for it on 4^th down late in the 1^st half.� It was too big a spot not to risk losing 1 of 2 challenges.� It�s not like we would have had no remaining challenges.
7. As I posted under Swissvale72, I believe that we�ll see a lot of guys rested for the Bills game�.Cowher will need to make sure that his dislike of Donahoe� & wanted to end their playoff chances doesn�t cloud his judgement.
8. We should be just fine for Round 1�.Heinz Field hides a number of flaws.