0 Steelers suffer a stunning OT loss to the Chiefs 27-24. Posted by DieHardFans | at 2:47 AM

Call it a trap game. Call it a lack of focus. Whatever you call it, the Steelers 2009 season is now officially in a world of trouble. That was the case after Sunday’s 27-24 shocking overtime loss to the formerly 2-7 Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers are now 6-4, and in big trouble when it comes to even thinking about playing in the post season. The team dominated the game from the stats standpoint, and after they allowed an opening kickoff for a touchdown took charge, scoring 17 straight points. Then turnovers took their toll, as first a pick from QB Ben Roethlisberger that bounced off the shoulder pads of Heath Miller early in the third quarter led to a KC touchdown.

The Steelers then had another shot to rally and put the game away, as they marched to the KC 20, but Roethlisberger threw a pick in the end zone that Andy Studebaker took back 94 yards. That’s when things went wrong. KC marched from their own 9 and went 8 plays, including a pass play of 30 yards then another of 47 yards to get to the Steelers 13. The Steelers, who had over 500 yards of offense total, were unable to get past midfield, and were forced to punt. The Chiefs tried a play, but then downed the ball and the game went to OT. More bad news.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got the ball first, and seemed to be moving the ball well. They got to the KC 49, but then on a run Roethlisberger was kneed in the head, and had to leave the game. His status for next week’s game is still questionable. Then though backup QB Charlie Batch came in and made a big play, hitting Santonio Holmes for 17 yards to the Chiefs 43. The Chiefs got the ball at their 20, and quickly struck. After three plays, Cassel hit Chris Chambers, who caught the ball in stride and went down the sideline for a 61-yard gain to the Steelers four.

The next play Ryan Succop put the Steelers out of their misery with a 22-yard field goal to make it the 27-24 final. Pittsburgh had outgained the Chiefs in regulation 463-206. The Chiefs stayed in the game with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the contest. The Steelers also held the ball for 19 more minutes. Roethlisberger was 32-for-42 for 398 with three TD’s and two picks.

0 Larry Johnson left out in the cold after being released by the Chiefs... Posted by DieHardFans | at 4:07 AM

In October of this year, RB Larry Johnson was accused of making homophobic comments through his Twitter account and was subsequently suspended. The ban was scheduled to be lifted Monday.

However, Johnson failed to rejoin the team. He had been just 75 yards shy of surpassing the Legendary Priest Holmes to become the franchise's all-time rushing yards leader.

The Chief’s owners are said to have had enough of Johnson. It is thought that he may have taken exception to his recent criticism over his coaches, along with his use of a gay slur that embarrassed the franchise and the league.

He has been released by the Chiefs and is subsequently a free agent. Now the question is whether any team wants him. Johnson, the former Chiefs running back, passed through the NFL's waiver wire without a single team showing an interest. That makes him an unrestricted free agent, available to sign with any team.

Johnson had 132 carries for 358 yards this season, which is a disappointingly low average of 2.7 yards per carry. A number of commentators have been forced to question whether he still has what it takes to play in the big leagues and at 30 years of age, he has a fair amount of critics.

When you combine the age with his increasing lack of productivity, not to mention his bad attitude, things look bleak.

0 Johnson lands himself in trouble for gay slur on twitter... Posted by DieHardFans | at 5:04 AM

The Kansas City Chiefs spokesperson has made the public announcement that Johnson has been suspended for two weeks. Essentially this is a one-game suspension The NFL is thought to be conducting it’s own investigations, along with and the Chiefs combined are conducting an investigation into his recent statements.

The Twitter account, belonging to the Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has landed him in hot water after particular comments caused a great deal of contravener and subsequent accusations that he is homophobic. Despite the fact, he was profusely apologetic; he has been banned for forthcoming match ups.

He spoke out for the benefit of his team, fans and the NFL. Now, there are a couple of factors to consider here. First, Johnson apologized (you can read it at the KC Star if you want, but it's pretty standard, including a bit about not being a "good role model" and telling his coach, the fans and his team-mates that he's sorry). Commentators are divided on whether he should be given a break. At the same time though, Bob Griese apologized too, and he's still staring down a one-week suspension for talking about Juan Pablo Montoya and tacos.

The fact of the matter is, the KC Star is liable to be dropped all together, if not released if he does not change his attitudes with many of his teammates already sick of his lax attitude.

0 Tons to work on as the Cowboys go into BYE WEEK... Posted by DieHardFans | at 2:41 AM

Heading into the bye week, the Dallas Cowboys are carrying a modest 3-2 record. After successive victories against teams that are a combined 1-13, they have also had a string of defeats against teams that are 10-0.

Commentators are often left questioning their consistency after watching them steam roll the Buccaneers, only to suffer a heart breaker at the hands of the Giants. After winning against the Panthers; they went on to let the Denver Broncos slip through their hands.

They did however manage to keep the Chiefs in check, and to go on to win the game in what was to be an overtime thriller. The boys of Dallas still have a fair bit of work to do and LB Bradie James admitted as much during a press conference on Monday.

Let’s see how the Cowboys have been playing the field:

So far, the Cowboys have committed 68 penalties in the 5 games played according to NFL.com. They currently rank in the top three in the league for most penalized team. In the first five games of the season, four of them have come down to the last possession, forcing overtime on 3 separate occasions. Whilst the defense was excellent in the overtime period against Kansas City on Sunday, it was the failure to stop the Chiefs from scoring a touchdown with under a minute to play that knocked them down a peg or 2.

0 Eli Manning & Matthew Stafford leaves Sunday with Leg Injury’s Posted by DieHardFans | at 11:53 PM

New York Giants QB; Eli Manning has suffered a setback this week, injuring his heel during Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Manning who left the game in the 4th quarter implied that it was a non-contact injury and is not going to miss any games. He was replaced by David Carr. It was at this stage that the Giants had almost sealed a 27-16 win over the chiefs. The question of whether he will be fit for Sunday’s match up has been answered this week. His MRI results haven’t revealed any major injuries, leaving the New York Giants fans breathing sigh of relief.

Another player to be blighted by injury is Detroit Lions rookie; Matthew Stafford. After twisting his knee against the Chicago Bears, he has been referred to a specialist for tests and the Lions have said they will assess his injury in due course.