Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Peter Jester's NFL headlines for December 1st, 2030

-NFL officials are looking into a disagreement between opposing players during the Paris Texans/Tennessee Titans game last Monday night. Several players on each team allegedly used expletives during the argument, and there was even some pushing and shoving. I think these actions warrant fines and/or suspensions for the players involved. There is no place for behavior like that on a football field.

-In other disciplinary news, look for Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Crash Johnson to be fined a substantial amount of money for his violent shoulder-to-torso hit on Bengals quarterback Stats Mcgee in Pittsburgh's win over Cincinnati on Sunday. Mcgee was "kinda sore" after the hit, but otherwise okay. If fined, it would be Johhson's 4th of the season. Some have said that commissioner Goodell is coming down too hard on Johnson. But with more and more players feeling kinda sore and even a little bruised after games, the safety of the players has to be the league's primary concern. They have to try to do something about the shoulder-to-torso, shoulder-to-back, and shoulder-to-shoulder hits that seem to be running rampant as of late. Otherwise, a player could wind up REALLY sore and SEVERELY bruised following a game. The league wouldn't want to have to deal with that public relations nightmare.

-Speaking of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL needs to step in and do something about the playing surface at Heinz Field. Sunday's Steelers/Bengals game was an embarrassment. Many players complained about the playing surface and said there were a few scuff marks on the field. A number of players said they almost fell several times during the game. The Rooney family has been using a synthetic surface called Soft'n FluffyXO2100 since 2018, but the rest of the league has switched to Soft'n Smooth2500. Sunday's 91-84 game was a snooze fest and marked the 3rd time this season that the Steelers and their opponents combined for less than 200 points in a game at Heinz field. Come on, Rooney family, get with the times! The fans don't want low-scoring defensive battles, they want points!

-Don't expect anything to be done about the playing surface at Heinz Field this week. Not with Al Davis' Oakland Raiders and their high-powered passing attack coming to town. Raiders' receiver, Rocket Richardson, is among the league leaders with 245 receptions and over 3100 yards. Pittsburgh will certainly need the atrocious field conditions to slow the Rocket down. Should be an interesting contrast in styles.

-Regarding contract news involving Rocket Richardson, sources tell me that he is threatening to hold-out next season after negotiations for a new deal broke off between the receiver and the Raiders last week. The Rocket's agent called the team's 7 year, $250,000,000 offer "insulting," and said his client just wants to be treated fairly. Richardson is seeking a deal that will make him one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL.

-The NFL has lifted its blackout in Barcelona for the AFC South showdown between the Barcelona Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts this coming Sunday. The game wasn't initially a sell-out, but the Jags local affiliate purchased the remaining tickets, enabling the game to be televised in the Barcelona market.

-The NFL Network has announced that it will increase it's pay-per-view package to $199 a month starting next year. The NFL better be careful. Paying $199 a month to watch NFL games might not seem that bad, and we'll probably never see a time like the '20's when it was only $140 a month, but another increase after this could turn some fans off. They don't want to kill the Cash Cow.

-At least the league isn't sticking it to the fans on both ends. NFL owners have said they will not increase ticket prices next season. In fact, some franchises will slash season tickets by 10%. Financial analysts say that the average ticket for an NFL game will only be $211 in 2031. Good news for the fans, especially in such tough economic times.

-In coaching news, Ivan Kovelesky, the legendary former head coach of the Baghdad Bears, denied rumors that he's interested in returning to coaching next season. Through his translator, Coach told me he is enjoying his time as an NFL studio analyst for ESPN 17.

-My game-ball for this week goes to Colts' quarterback Cannon Peterson for his heads-up play at the end of the game against the Los Angeles Vikings. Trailing, 122-119, and facing a 4th and 21, Peterson rolled out of the pocket and avoided a sack by throwing the ball away. By doing so, he earned 4 points for his team and a come-from-behind, 123-122 victory. If he's not one of the elite quarterbacks in the game, I don't know who is.

-There was much controversy at the end of the New England Patriots' 142-137 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Trailing with time winding down, Miami thought they had taken the lead on an 83 yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds left, but New England head coach Ray Lewis called a time out during the play which nullified the score. The Dolphins again appeared to score on a 45 yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining, but Lewis again called a timeout during the play and that touchdown pass was also overturned. Miami eventually turned the ball over on downs and the Pats escaped with the narrow victory. The loss left a sour taste in the mouths of the Dolphins and their fans. However, a head coach is well-within his rights to call a time out during a play. Especially if his team is in-danger of losing. This "mid-play" timeout rule should be a pretty hot topic for the competition committee in the off season.

-Speaking of rules, I think something really needs to be done about the overtime rule in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants, 115-100, in overtime on Sunday. As the rule currently states, if a game goes into overtime, a team can only win the game if it outscores its opponent by 15 points or more. If a team is only up by 14 points or less, the game goes into a second overtime. What if Sunday's contest had been a playoff game? You mean to tell me that the Giants' season would have ended by the margin of one lousy point? Doesn't seem right to me.

-I really like how the San Diego Chargers have come on lately. After starting out 2-10, they've won 9 of their past 10 games and are now at 11-11 with eight games to play. They are playing the best football in the NFL right now, and I look for them to not only sneak into the playoffs as the 12th seed in the AFC, but I think they will be the team to beat in the postseason and will represent the conference in Super Bowl LXV in Seoul, South Korea on April 10th. You heard it here first.

-And finally, there was a meeting this week between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Fantasy Football commissioner Virgin Thompson to discuss what can be done about NFL coaches continuously taking star running backs out of the game in goal-to-go situations and replacing them with short-yardage specialists. Asked about the meeting, Goodell said, "I had a very productive talk with Virgin. The NFL has had a great working relationship with fantasy football for years, and we're sympathetic with the concerns that fantasy football owners have. We know that points are at a premium, especially for "touchdown-only" leagues and we look forward to working with commissioner Thompson to try and remedy the situation." Should be interesting to see if Goodell really is sincere about changing the way NFL coaches use awesome fantasy football players in key situations.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Watching the Steelers/Bills game with my girlfriend

I initially had a more manly title in mind for my post-game thoughts on the Steelers overtime win in Buffalo yesterday.

I was going to title it "Methodical." That's pretty manly, don't you think?

I thought of it while taking a quick shower during halftime of yesterday's game. The Steelers were ahead, 13-0, and I was feeling really confident.

Who could blame me? The Bills weren't a good team to begin with, and Pittsburgh outplayed them every which way possible in the first half. They led in time of possession, 23:55-6:05. First downs were 18-4 in Pittsburgh's favor, and total yardage was a whopping 225 to Buffalo's 51.

It was about as dominate a half as I've seen in a while.

I won't lie, the Steelers dodged a bullet or two in the first 30 minutes.
Namely, the illegal contact call that nullified a Hines Ward fumble in Steelers' territory that could have altered things a bit.

And a larger point-total would have been nice considering the yardage accumulated, but with this offensive line, the offense will have trouble scoring some points from time-to-time. It's just how it is. Nothing can be done about that right now.

All things considered, though, I was happy. The defense was shutting down the Bills' offense and Pittsburgh's offense was actually taking advantage of Buffalo's league-worst rush-defense as Rashard Mendenhall had 65 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Things continued to go well for the Steelers in the 3rd quarter. Ryan Fitzpatrick had the Bills moving a bit on Buffalo's initial second half drive, and they made it deep into Steelers' territory but fumbled the ball back to Pittsburgh.

About the time the Bills got the ball back again, my girlfriend texted me and asked if she could come over and hang out with me. I was in a good mood and figured it would be fun. The game was going to be a blow out and I could enjoy a nice, relaxing final quarter and a half watching the Steelers and spending time with my sweetie.

But just like that, the complexion of the game changed on one play. Or should I say, one penalty: Yet another questionable personal foul on James Harrison for leading with the crown of his helmet during a hit on Fitzpatrick. Seconds later, Fred Jackson took a screen pass and went 65 yards to put Buffalo on the board.

Now, I was on edge, and that's when my girlfriend showed up. I tried to be nice and calm initially, but I was just too nervous. I started doing my usual jumping around and screaming and my woman found it highly entertaining.

I paced back and forth as the Bills inched closer with a field goal to make it 13-10. I screamed and cried when Mendenhall fumbled moments later and Buffalo eventually turned it into 3-more points to tie the score.

I jumped up and down when Roethlisberger broke away from a potential sack and raced 18 yards for a crucial first down on 3rd and very long. That set up Suisham's third field goal of 40-plus yards to make it 16-13 with only a few minutes left.

Buffalo took advantage of a substantial kickoff return and a very selfish personal foul on Keyaron Fox, and eventually had the ball very deep in Pittsburgh territory before Troy Polamalu came to the rescue, yet again, with another highlight-reel interception. All the offense needed to do was get a first down or two and the game would be salted away. They picked up one first down, but a holding penalty on Chris Kemoeatu prevented another and the Steelers had to punt. The Bills drove down field and kicked the game-tying field goal with 2-seconds left. At that point, I unleashed an f-bomb.

I was beside myself and my girlfriend tried to snuggle with me, but I was too hyped-up for that. I needed to pace back and forth.

She told me to relax at one point and said it was just a game. JUSTa game? Surely you can't be serious. You mean like it's not life or death? It felt that way to me, and I acted like it. But I can't help it. You want the calm, rational Tony during a Steeler game, catch me in August or September. Maybe even into October, but once you get into late November and I can smell the playoff possibilities, I turn into an animal. In fact, she called me a monster. I can't deny it. Just throw me in a cage and feed me raw meat. Just make sure there's a television near-by.

Anyway, the Bills won the toss in overtime, and almost immediately won the game. The kickoff returner, I don't know his name, had clear sailing up the middle, but since these were the Buffalo Bills, one of his own players ran into him and knocked him down near midfield. Fortunately, the Bills did nothing with their first drive. Pittsburgh was backed up, I'm sure there were more penalties on the offensive line, but I don't know for sure. Naturally, I saw my life flash before my eyes when Roethlisberger was sacked at the one-inch line and almost coughed the ball up. And when Sepulveda lined-up right at the back of the endzone to punt, my heart was in my throat. I had visions of him accidentally taking a step backwards and losing the game on a safety. At the very best, I figured Buffalo would get the ball near midfield, but Sepulveda unleashed the punt of his life. It had to travel 65 yards in the air. Buffalo's return man caught the ball at his own 40 yard line and went to make a move, and was stripped of the ball by Keenan Lewis. There were nothing but Steelers converging on the ball and I kept screaming, "fumble! Get it! Get it!" They couldn't hear me. Some how, a Bills player recovered the fumble and Buffalo had it at their own 34 yardline. Not as good as the Steelers having it, but at least they weren't in immediate field goal position like I initially feared. They did work their way to the Steelers' 40 yard line, and then on a play action pass, Fitzpatrick let loose on what should have been the game-winning touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson. Johnson was wide open. Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark were both totally screwed. The pass hit Johnson right in his hands, and fell to the turf. Well, that's why Buffalo is Buffalo.

Pittsburgh got the ball back and drove downfield to set up Shaun Suisham's 4th 40-plus yard fieldgoal of the game. This time it was a 41 yarder, and it was a no-doubter the moment it left his foot. Pittsburgh escaped with a 19-16 victory. Ironically enough, I didn't celebrate much when the kick went through the uprights because I thought that maybe Buffalo's coach, Chan Gailey, had called a timeout. I hate that rule, but I digress.

Anyway, I don't have much of a problem with how yesterday's game went. I know people are concerned with certain areas like the defense's ability to hold leads late. But, it's like I said, they almost seemed to go into a shell after that call on Harrison.

And that brings me to another area of concern: the amount of penalties. Once again, 100 yards in penalties for Pittsburgh in yesterday's game, including 4-holding penalties on Chris Kemoeatu. However, I think at least two of those holding penalties were ticky-tacky at best. And don't get me started on the Harrison personal foul. The damn referee was standing there with his hand near his flag waiting to pull it before Harrison even made contact with Fitzpatrick. I don't think the Steelers play has been undisiplined lately, I just think, for whatever reason, they're not getting the benefit of the doubt on close calls the last two games. By the way, was Buffalo called for holding once all game? I do not recall.

I know Pittsburgh got some breaks yesterday, but it was nice to see them pull it out. It was their 2nd overtime win of the year, and was the kind of game they would have lost last year.

The win sets up a first place battle at Baltimore next week. If the Steelers win, they'll be one-game ahead of the Ravens with only four games left. If they lose, it would be damn-near impossible to win the division. They'd only be a game back in the standings, but they'd essentially be two-games out because of being swept by the Ravens this season.

No matter who wins, it'll probably be a 3-point game. My girlfriend better watch out. The monster will be unleashed once again!

Looks like PITT isn't it and might not be ever, really

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I thought this finally was PITT's year to grab hold of the Big East conference and take that next step that we fans have been waiting for for a long, long time.

After a slow non-conference start, they started out their Big East schedule by dominating their first three opponents and it looked like it could be clear-sailing the rest of the way.

But, in week four, they lost a sloppy game in Connecticut, and after rebounding with a win at South Florida, and with their destiny in their own hands, they were blown out of Heinz Field this past Friday in the Backyard Brawl by the West Virginia Mountaineers. A win over WVU and Cincinnati would have given them the Big East title outright, now, they are on the outside looking in as both West Virginia and UConn own tiebreakers over them. All Connecticut has to do is win their remaining game and they'll get that coveted BCS bid. If they lose and WVU wins, the 'eers will earn the title. If both lose and PITT knocks off Cincinnati, the Panthers will back into the BCS game. But I'm not holding out much hope.

It looks like PITT is heading to another Meineke Car.PITT.edu bowl.

The latest bowl projections have them playing in some game on January 8th against Kentucky. I don't even remember the name of the bowl. I suppose I could go back and research it again, but what's the point?

The real point is PITT should be moving beyond these subpar bowls by now. When Walt Harris brought this program back from the dead in the late 90's, these kinds of bowls were fine, but after he departed in 2004, people started to expect more. That's why they brought in Dave Wannstedt to finish what Harris started. But Wannstedt hasn't, and he's achieved less than Harris did. The Panthers were actually in the Fiesta Bowl in Harris' last year with the program. You can call it a tainted appearance since the Panthers finished in a three-way tie, but they made it to a BCS game, and Wannstedt hasn't been able to take his team that far in six seasons and that's rather disappointing.

On paper, it looks like Wannstedt is bringing in more talent than Harris did, but maybe he's not bringing in the key talent. As was pointed out by smarter people than me, Wannstedt insists on running a pro-style offense, but he hasn't been able to develop a pro-style quarterback to run it. He came close last year with Bill Stull, but like they were saying on the PITT panthers postgame show on Friday, Wannstedt's biggest failure at PITT may have been not developing Pat Bostick into the quarterback that he was projected to be when he signed with the Panthers.

I always thought Bostick was the quarterback that the team needed to take the next step and he even managed to win a few big games, but for whatever reason, he was never able to put it together. Now, Tino Sunseri is the guy, and even though he's improved as the year as gone on, I'm not so sure there is much more progress that he can make.

Back to Wannstedt, when he was named the head coach of PITT, I had some reservations because the teams he coached in the NFL always seemed to reach a certain level, but never could get over the hump. I was hoping that wouldn't spill over into the college ranks, but I'm beginning to fear that it has. Three years in a row, PITT has had a chance to win the conference, and they've come up short.

If you're recruiting better than the guy before you, you should be more successful than him, but that hasn't been the case.

Maybe our expectations are just too high. We keep wanting things to be like they were in the late 70's and early 80's, but that is ancient history now.

The Panthers have only played in one New Year's day bowl since 1983, the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, but other than that, there's been a Bluebonnet Bowl, a Liberty Bowl, a Continental Tire bowl, a Tangerine bowl, a couple of Insight.com bowls, a couple of Sun Bowls, and a Meineke Car care bowl.

They haven't lost less than 3 games since 1981. They've only won 10 games once since 1981, last year, and it took them 13 games to do it. Maybe this is just what PITT football is.

And maybe it will be that way as long as PITT stays in the Big East. If they want to get where the fans think they should be, maybe it's time to lobby for the Big Ten conference. I know that might sound crazy since PITT can't even win the Big East, but since Wannstedt is such a great recruiter, if you give him a more prestigious conference to sell, maybe that will translate into getting more blue chip recruits and the ability to compete with the teams in that conference.

Maybe they just need to get a new coach, but would a new guy be as good a recruiter? It's a catch-22, really. Do you want a better game-day coach or a better recruiter? What would translate into better results?

I always thought if you had a coach that knew how to recruit, the wins would take care of themselves. Maybe Wannstedt just needs to take more of an executive approach with his coaching style and delegate more authority to his assistants.

I don't know what the answer is, but get ready for that bowl against some team on some channel.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Chuck Noll

I've always admired Chuck Noll. Even as a kid, I respected the kind of coach he was. I remember an exercise during a social studies class in high school where we had to list five famous people that we'd like to have dinner with. Chuck Noll was one of mine. I was laughed at by the other kids in the class, but kids just don't know genius when they see it.

Noll was almost directly responsible for changing the fortunes of an entire franchise, and creating so many great memories for generations of people.

I wonder if he realizes it?

I've been thinking about it recently. How would the Steelers be viewed right now if Noll wasn't hired as the 14th head coach back in 1969? Much like with George Bailey in "It's A Wonderful Life," things might have turned out much differently.

Before Noll, there was a long succession of coaches who were mostly underwhelming. The Steelers never won a playoff game. And they did things like cut Len Dawson and Johnny Unitas. They weren't looked at as the standard of excellence the way they are today. They were looked at as the jokers of the NFL. There never seemed to be a plan or much of a direction.

A different coach would probably have had a different philosophy, and instead of building through the draft, maybe he would have traded high draft picks off in exchange for veteran players. And even if he did try to build through the draft, odds are he wouldn't of had the same view on players. There might have been a Terry Bradshaw, but what about Joe Greene? And would a different coach have acquired nine future Hall of Famers in his first six draft classes? Not to mention other key players like LC Greenwood, Jon Kolb, Dwight White, Mike Wagner, and Donnie Shell?

Chuck Noll had a plan, and he stuck to it and what a brilliant plan it was. Four Super Bowl titles in a six year span, and he built a winning tradition that still holds true to this day. After Noll retired, the fans didn't just want a coach to come in and win games, they wanted one capable of winning championships. If it wasn't for the standard that Noll created, the front office may not have been as serious about his successor and we may not have had Bill Cowher, and then, of course, Mike Tomlin. Instead of three coaches in 40 years, maybe there's thirty, and no championships to celebrate.

If it wasn't for the Super 70's, would the Rooneys be looked at as a class family? How would history have viewed Art Rooney without those Super Bowls? Would there be a play called "The Chief?" What about a statue in front of Heinz Field? Would the family have as much influence in the community as they do today? Heck, would Dan Rooney even be the ambassador to Ireland if it wasn't for the winning tradition that Noll helped to establish? Would the Rooney family even still own the team?

A different coach in '69 might have led to another decade of losing and maybe the Rooneys would have sold the team off to concentrate on horses. Would the team even have stayed in Pittsburgh?

Would Myron Cope have been the celebrity icon that he became without the championships? Myron always attributed his success to that of the Steelers.

And without Myron, there would be no Terrible Towels for us to twirl. Imagine life without the Terrible Towel.

And that brings me to the fans and the city of Pittsburgh. What would have happened to this city without the success of the Steelers in the 70's? The championships came along at a time when the city really needed them. The steel industry was dying and people started to move away. The Steelers helped us get through those days and sort of recreated our identity. We're now known as a sports city. If it wasn't for those Super Bowls, how would Pittsburgh be viewed today?

Speaking for myself, the Steelers have created a ton of memories. I look back on so many periods of my life, and there were the Steelers to keep me company. So many family gatherings. So many good times with my friends. How much different would my life be if I wasn't such a huge Steelers fan? Would I even care about sports at all? I might not be writing on this blog or any blog.

What would become of Steeler Nation, not just in Pittsburgh but around the world? Chances are, there wouldn't even be one. Just thousands of displaced Pittsburghers without a common Black and Gold bond.

Since this is a day for giving thanks, and since this is a sports blog, I'd just like to say thanks for everything, Emperor!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I, too, have thoughts on the Steelers game against the Raiders

Now, that was a good old-fashioned beat down. The 35-3 man-handling of the Oakland Raiders was long overdue for the Steelers and their fans. It was the perfect tonic after last week's thumping at the hands of New England.

Like everyone else, I was simply at a loss for words with some of those calls that went against the Steelers this past Sunday.

The most famous one being the roughing the passer call on Harrison that overturned Ike Taylor's rare pick six.

Some have said that the Powers That Be are against the Steelers and are conspiring to make them fail. I don't necessarily agree with that. Why would the NFL want one of its highest ratings grabbers to not advance as far as they can each and every season?

But when you look at some of those calls the other day, it makes you wonder. I mean, Ike Taylor was called for pass interference after he supposedly cut off the receiver's path on a play in the first half. But later in the game, there was clear face-guarding from an Oakland defender who was covering Mike Wallace in the end zone, and nothing was called. And what about that phantom "pulling a player off the pile" call in the 3rd quarter that sabotaged yet another Steelers' drive?

Back to the personal foul on Harrison. What's going on with the officials now reminds me a lot of what was happening back in the 80's during the league's first era of instant replay. Back then, if I remember correctly, the replay official in the booth had the right to review any play at any time and the officials on the field seemed very hesitant to call anything. Today, with more emphasis being placed on protecting players, officials appear to be going overboard and are calling everything and aren't giving the defensive players the benefit of the doubt. Harrison's hit on Jason Campbell clearly wasn't flagrant and to say otherwise is insulting our intelligence. I expect that there will be an apology or two coming down from NFL headquarters this week. And if there isn't and Harrison is fined, well, maybe that conspiracy theory is right, after all.

But enough about that.

I thought, coming in, that Oakland's offense was the perfect match up for the Steelers. Oakland loves to run the ball and the Steelers love to stop the run. I was listening to sports talk radio on Saturday night, and the host was going on and on about how the Raiders were going to run all over the Steelers since both Smith and Keisel would be missing from the lineup. I guess he forgot that Smith and Keisel have missed a lot of time this season and nobody has really been able to run on Pittsburgh's defense.

As it turned out, no running for Oakland. I believe they had something like 50 yards rushing as a team, and about 25 of them came on a draw play late in the game. And I knew Jason Campbell wasn't going to be able to do anything, and he looked quite pathetic trying to get rid of the ball to avoid Pittsburgh's ferocious pass rush. Where was that last week? But I digress.

I was a little worried when Steve Gradkowski came into the game because he was responsible for torching the Steelers last season in that infamous loss to the Raiders. But there was no Troy last year. Gradkowski was moving the Raiders downfield for an apparent score late in the 3rd quarter. I started to have flashbacks of last year's 4th quarter collapse against Oakland, but Troy put an end to those thoughts when he picked Gradkowski off and it was Game Over.

On offense, I was a little more worried about Pittsburgh's ability to score. The injuries and shuffling on the offensive line are beyond ridiculous at this point, and I didn't think they would be able to keep Ben healthy. But surprisingly, Oakland's formidable pass rush barely got to Ben the entire day. He had a nice, clean pocket for most of the game and the only real shot he took was Richard Seymore's punch to the face after Ben's touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders.

Pittsburgh's running game wasn't that effective. Mendenhall had about 50 yards on the day, but take away a questionable holding call or two and those numbers would have looked a little more respectable. Speaking of running the ball, how about Ben taking off on a few long runs? When Ben scored on that 16 yard touchdown run, I was pumped. I don't know what it is, but there is something about Roethlisberger scoring on a long touchdown run that gets me excited.

All in all, it was an impressive day for the Steelers, and an important victory to keep up with the rest of the big boys in the AFC.

I can't wait to see how this playoff picture is going to unfold. The Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Steelers and Colts are all legitimate Super Bowl teams, and it wouldn't surprise me if any of them made it.

This AFC playoff pool is going to be a monster. If you assume that the winners of the North and East divisions get the top 2 seeds and byes in the playoffs, that would mean that, more than likely, the 2nd place teams from those divisions will get the wildcard spots.

Can you imagine a 13-3 or 12-4 team like the Jets or Steelers going on the road to play the 9-7 or 8-8 AFC West winner in the wildcard round? When was the last time a home team was a double-digit underdog for a playoff game?

If ever there was a season to get the bye, it's this year. Most years, finishing 12-4gets you a first round bye and maybe even the number 1 seed. This year, it might get you a 6th seed and a wildcard game against Peyton at his place.

There is never an easy path to the Super Bowl, but that's especially true this season.

The team that comes out of the AFC will have to EARN IT.

As far as the NFC is concerned. It's your usual. There are a few good teams, but the rest aren't really worthy playoff contenders, just teams lucky to be competing in the weaker conference. Remember when the NFC was far and away the stronger conference? I actually thought the tide might be shifting a little with the Giants and Saints winning two of the last three Super Bowls. And it looked like the Vikings and Cowboys would be super-heavyweights again this year and give the conference some much-needed star-power, but that hasn't been the case.

If the Saints or Packers make it to the Super Bowl this year, that would make for an epic battle no matter who they face from the AFC. I think they're right up there with the top teams in the AFC. But it seems that the best team or teams in the NFC rarely make it, so don't be surprised if it's Chicago or Tampa that represents the NFC this season.

Friday, November 19, 2010

The Steelers are still elite despite what happened last Sunday

The debacle last Sunday night against the New England Patriots has left a lot of people questioning the Steelers' legitimacy this season.

For one thing, fans (and probably players) are just frustrated to no end by the mastery that Tom Brady has displayed over the Steelers' defense his entire career.

Brady was 30/43 for 350 yards and 3 touchdown passes in the game against the Steelers. And for good measure, he even scored on a rushing touchdown, after which, he spiked the ball in our faces. I've been watching football for a long time, and it very well may have been the greatest I have ever seen a quarterback look. Does Brady carving-up the Steeler D mean that Dick Lebeau's scheme is doomed and outdated? That sentiment has been floated around this week. I don't think that's the case. Sometimes, you just have to give the other guy credit. And when the other guy is Tom Brady, you're talking about maybe the best quarterback in the league, and possibly one of the best ever. Brady is a no-brainer to get into Canton when his playing days are over, and Hall-of-Famers earn their busts by doing what Brady did to the Steelers on Sunday.

I'm too young to remember this, but I do know that in a game in 1975, OJ Simpson came into Pittsburgh, at the height of the Steel Curtain's defensive dominance, and rushed for well over 200 yards at Three Rivers Stadium. Simpson had a Hall of Fame career and was one of the greatest running backs of all time, and those kinds of offensive weapons make even the most dominant defenses look foolish at times. The defense recovered quite nicely as most of you probably know.

And even with Brady in the league throwing a wrench into things over the years, the current defense has been good enough to help win a couple of World titles.

But I digress.

Another factor from Sunday's game that has people wondering whether or not Pittsburgh is one of the elite teams in the league this year is how thoroughly the Patriots beat up the Steelers on both sides of the ball. And don't let that 39-26 score fool you, it was a shellacking. Let's face it, Steeler fans are a prideful group, and watching our guys get owned by any team is very hard to take. We probably hold onto that kind of defeat longer than the players. It had been a while since Pittsburgh was so severely outplayed. I've heard more than one person suggest that Super Bowl contenders don't get beat as badly as Pittsburgh did last week.

I don't agree with that.

In 1995, the Steelers opened up the year 3-4. Among those 4 defeats were a couple of lopsided losses to the Vikings and Bengals respectively. Another was a humiliating loss to the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. People, including Myron Cope himself, were questioning whether they were even a playoff team, let alone a Super Bowl contender. Well, they rebounded well enough to not only make the playoffs, but advance to Super Bowl XXX.

Going back even further to the 1979 season. The Super Steelers, the defending champions, one of the greatest teams of that era or any era, were victims of not one, but two embarrassing losses that year. They lost, 35-7, to the San Diego Chargers, and, 34-10, to the Cincinnati Bengals. Their performance against the Bengals was so bad, in fact, that Chuck Noll jokingly asked his players if they had money on the game. But when it was all said and done, those blowouts simply represented a couple of losses along the way to a 4th Lombardi trophy.

If you need some more recent examples, look no further than their last two Super Bowl years. In a Monday night game in 2005, the Steelers played so badly against the Colts, they didn't even look like they belonged in the same league as Indianapolis. Yet, they recovered and not only turned the tables on the Colts in the playoffs, but ended the year as World Champions.

And in 2008, in a game at Philadelphia, the Steelers' offensive line was so over-matched by the Eagles defense, that it may well have been the worst performance by an offensive line in team history. Roethlisberger was sacked 8 times, and it could have been 12 or 13. That's how much the Eagles dominated that day. No way was anyone thinking Super Bowl after that game, but the team ended the year with their 6th Lombardi trophy.

Losing the way Pittsburgh did to the Pats doesn't necessarily mean they're not a worthy championship contender.

A more tangible concern is the injury situation. They've lost some key players, but every team, even Super Bowl winners, have to overcome big injuries from time to time. It's part of the game.

Even without Max Starks and Aaron Smith, Pittsburgh still has enough high-end players on both sides of the ball to compete with any team in the league.

The only question is how far they're able to take things this season.

We'll begin to find that out this Sunday.

Go Steelers!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

So glad PITT basketball didn't "PITT football" the start of their season

Last week, when I read that the 5th ranked PITT men's basketball team would be opening up against 24th ranked Rhode Island, I experienced a feeling of deja vu. Not too long ago, PITT's football team started the year ranked 15th in the nation and there was plenty of hype as they opened up on the road at Utah. PITT lost in overtime, and although they still have a great shot at winning the Big East conference, they clearly haven't lived up to their lofty preseason praise.

The basketball team has been another story for quite some time, and they did defeat Rhode Island in a hard-fought game. They won another tough battle tonight against Maryland and improved to 4-0 to start the young season. Nothing new for the program. They've been doing this since the 2001/2002 season and they've turned the basketball progam into one of the most consistent in the country. Clearly a tribute to Jamie Dixon for continuing what Ben Howland started 9 seasons ago.

As is usually the case, there is much hype associated with them this year, but I have no doubt that they'll remain near the top of the rankings for the entire year.

I'm sure the pressure to advance to that elusive Final 4 will rear its ugly head as we get closer and closer to The Madness, but, for now, I'm easing into the college basketball season. Enjoying the games and knowing that even an early season loss by the Panthers won't cripple them, because, in college basketball, they have something called a playoff tournament. Pretty innovative.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Comparing the Steelers place kickers to old girlfriends

Matt Bahr was the Steelers' placekicker when I started following them. Bahr was like that girl you called your "girlfriend" when you were about 9 years old, but she wasn't really your girlfriend. I mean, you were only 9. Your parents thought it was cute that you had a little friend like that and they'd often take you over to her house so you guys could have little play dates. It was just so adorable. You may have even shared your first kiss with her on the swings at the playground. But eventually, she moved out of the neighborhood and you never saw her again.

And then there was David Trout. He was like the girl you went to the movies with once in the 6th or 7th grade. She probably liked you more than you liked her. You were kind of a jerk to her because she wore braces and smelled like raspberries. It didn't really last long.

Ah, but then there was Gary Anderson. He was like your high school sweetheart. You met her during your freshman year and the two of you were together always. You were practically married even though you were only teenagers and still in high school. You considered her family your family and vice versa. You continued to date her all throughout college and the two of you often talked about getting married. There was no doubt this was going to be the girl you spent the rest of your life with. Sadly, however, she wanted to study abroad after college. You didn't want her to go, but you knew that it was very important to her. You didn't want to do the long-distance thing, so you just parted ways. It was the most difficult thing you ever had to do. No matter what, you'll always consider her your soulmate.

And who could forget about Norm Johnson? Norm was like that woman you met while on a Caribbean cruise. You had a wonderful couple of weeks with her. You both knew it couldn't really go any further than that, but it was fun, and you often find yourself thinking of her and smiling.

Then there was Kris Brown. He was like the really attractive girl you dated once you got into your mid-twenties or so. At first glance, she was everything you were looking for, and you had so much in common with her. However, over time, you realized that you really didn't have much in common. And she was kind of possessive and wanted to monopolize all of your time. She even made you get rid of your friends. Finally, you have enough of this head case. I mean, looks only go so far. You dump her and move on.

After that, it was Todd Peterson. The blind date from hell. What were your friends thinking?

And, finally, there's Jeff Reed. Reed is like that girl you met while out at a bar. You didn't go to the bar to meet women. That's not your style. You were just there to have a good time with your friends. Besides, you didn't even feel like dating any more. You've practically sworn off relationships. But the more you talk to this girl, the more you like her. Yeah, sure, she's not really your type, but she's so much fun. She even hits it off with your friends. Just a really cool girl. The two of you start to date, and before long, you're going out every night. You can't believe that you've fallen for this girl. She's so much different than every girl you've ever met. You introduce her to your family, and they like the fact that she's a little off the beaten path. Besides, she's so attractive and smart, and loves you. Your happiness is the only thing your family is concerned with. The relationship starts to get more and more serious, and one day you decide that she's the woman you want to spend your life with, and soon, you're married. Things are great in the beginning, but conflict soon arises because she still likes to go out and party practically every night, and you're at the point where you want to settle down and have a family. After all, you are in your 30's now and so is she. You fight about it, but at the end of the day, you still love her and when you're with her, life is good. Sadly, however, as the years go by, she's still hanging out at the bars, and you hardly ever see her. In the beginning, you could always count on her being there for you, but now, you never see her and you can't depend on her any longer. You're also fearful that she's becoming an alcoholic. You confront her about it, but she has no interest in changing and she tells you that it's all your fault. Part of you still wants to save the marriage, but it takes two and she just isn't willing. Time goes by and now you start to resent her, and the two of you barely speak at all. And when she does talk to you, it's nothing but put downs and insults. Plus, you start to suspect that she's having an affair. And how could you not? She's never home at all any more. You no longer have any interest in saving the marriage and you just want out. You wait and wait for her to screw up one more time, and when she finally does, it's the out you need. You serve her divorce papers and kick her to the curb. Sure, it's an ugly divorce, but you're better off apart and you move on.

The end.

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Steelers appear to be at a crossroads

For the second straight year, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished the first half of the season at 6-2 after a win on Monday night football. And for the second straight year, they started the second half of the season by laying an egg at home and fell to 6-3.

However, unlike last year's lackluster 18-12 loss to the Bengals at Heinz field, last night's dismantling at the hands of the New England Patriots was quite disturbing.

The Steelers were dominated by New England in every facet of the game. Tom Brady, Mr. Steeler-killer himself, seemingly passed at will and was barely even touched by Pittsburgh's pass-rushers.

And more frightening was how New England's 29th ranked defense took advantage of Pittsburgh's patchwork offensive line and not only held the running game in check, but were in Ben Roethlisberger's face the entire time, finishing with 5 sacks and countless knock-downs and hurries. Ben passed for 387 yards, but most of them came in garbage time when the Steelers were in serious catch-up mode.

Pittsburgh had no answer for New England. It reminded me of that infamous Monday Night game in Indianapolis back in 2005 when the Colts took apart the Steelers before a national audience.

Pittsburgh had several factors going against it heading into last night's game with the Pats.

For starters, New England was coming off an embarrassing, 34-14, loss to the Cleveland Browns in their previous game. The second time in three weeks that Pittsburgh had to face a really good team the week after an uncharacteristic showing against the Browns. Much like the Saints a couple of Sunday nights ago, you just knew that Bill Belichick would have his team ready to play their best game.

Another factor was Tom Brady. As I said, he's always been a Steeler killer, and the perfect counter to Dick Lebeau's legendary zone-blitz defense. He gets rid of the ball quickly, he's deadly accurate and he kills the Steelers with his ability to spread the field and hit his underneath receivers. All of that was on display last night.

And the third, and in my opinion, most important factor were the Steelers' ever-mounting injuries. Going into the game they were without Max Starks and Chris Kemoeatu on the offensive line. Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel were gone from the defensive line. And during the game, they lost Lawrence Timmons and Hines Ward with injuries. And that doesn't even include the guys that were less than 100%, like James Harrison who was suffering from back spasms prior to last night's game.

The win by New England marked the 6th time in 8 meetings under Bill Belichick that the Patriots have defeated the Steelers in the last ten seasons. The NBC announce crew mentioned the decade-long rivalry between the two perennial AFC powers, but when history judges the teams years from now, the Steelers will be to the Patriots what the Raiders were to the Steelers in the 1970's: A team that displayed consistent excellence over a period of time but who mostly came up short against the other giant in the conference. But the Raiders of the 70's matched up better with the Super 70's Steelers than these Steelers do with the Patriots. I think after last night, even the most diehard Steeler fan must admit that it's been almost total domination by the Pats. The only way the Steelers can salvage their part in this rivalry is by defeating the Patriots in a postseason game on the way to a Super Bowl. It doesn't have to be in the AFC championship game, it just has to be in the playoffs and against Tom Brady. If I had my wish, I'd want it to be in New England just so their fans can feel what it's like to be on the other side of a postseason home loss.

But that's for another place and time. Right now, the question is how will the 2010 Steelers finish out these remaining seven games.

I can see this season going in one of three directions:

They're unable to recover from all their injuries and collapse like last season and finish out of the playoffs.

They sort of fade down the stretch like they did in 2007, back into the playoffs and go one and done.

Or, ideally, they stabilize their injury situation, and go on a championship run like they did in the '05 and '08 seasons.

What direction they go in will be determined by how well they compensate for the loss of so many key players.

I mentioned that '05 loss to the Colts. The Steelers had injury-issues at that point of that season, too. Left tackle Marvel Smith was out with an injury, and Ben Roethisberger had just returned from mid-season knee surgery. They were still a few weeks away from starting their run, and as we all know, the playoff game against the Colts had a stunningly different result.

But there weren't nearly as many key injuries in 2005 as there have been this season, and unlike five seasons ago when Marvel Smith eventually returned to the line-up, Max Starks isn't coming back in 2010 to protect Ben's blind-side. Aaron Smith may not return until the postseason, if at all. Kemoeatu and Keisel will eventually come back, but will it be enough to make up for the other losses?

I have serious doubts about that, and that's why I think they should make some adjustments to their approach on both sides of the ball.

As far as adjustments on the offensive line, I don't know what more can be done. As I said, Kemoeatu should hopefully be back soon, and he's a pretty steady, if unspectacular, left-guard so that should help. As for the left tackle spot? That's a bit more concerning. Jonathon Scott seemed completely over-matched last night. Scott was brought in to add depth and if he can't step in and fill the void that Starks left, maybe they go with Tony Hills or even Trai Essex. I know Essex is the starting right-guard, but I recall him filling in at left tackle when both Smith and Starks were injured near the end of the 2007 season. Legursky did an okay job filling in for Essex earlier this year. Just a thought, maybe I'm just grasping for straws at this point.

If changing personnel on the o-line isn't an option, maybe changing the offensive game-plan is. It's pretty obvious the Steelers' last three opponents had very little respect for the line's ability to keep the pocket clean for Roetlhisberger, and they loaded up the blitz time and time again. I'm not one of the many Arian-bashers in this town, but I think he needs to spread the offense out a bit and call more three step drops. Roethlisberger is taking way too many 5-7-step drops and by the time he completes his drop, he's having to scramble out of the way because things are breaking down too quickly.

Another option would be to use the hurry-up offense more. I know that won't be very popular with a lot of run-happy Steeler fans, but you can still run the ball out of spread formations, other teams do it, and Roethlisberger really excels out of the no-huddle. And no matter how poorly the line has played over the past few seasons, most of the time when the Steelers run the hurry-up, the offensive line does a really good job of protecting Ben. I'm not saying the Steelers need to take this kind of approach on offense exclusively, they just need to do it more often. And those that might worry that this approach would take away Ben's ability to improvise, well, it won't. Improvising occurs during breakdowns, and you don't have breakdowns in mind when you're gameplanning. Ben can still do his thing when he has to.

Another personnel move they should seriously consider on offense is using Emmanuel Sanders more as the 3rd receiver. I know Randle El was brought in here to fill that role, but he just looks really slow out there. Yes, he can still throw the football as well as any receiver in the league, but I think it's far more important for the slot receiver to make big catches underneath and then make things happen with the ball in his hands. Sanders might be a rookie, but Mike Wallace was a rookie last season and he performed really well as the number 3 receiver. Sanders could provide a much-needed spark in the passing game.

On defense, it might be as simple as letting Troy be Troy. During the NBC telecast, Cris Collinsworth said that Polamalu had relinquished a good deal of his free-lancing duties to Lawrence Timmons, and Troy has been a more conventional safety this season. With all due respect to Timmons who is having a tremendous season, he's no Troy. And I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but Polamalu has been pretty quiet the past month or so. Some have said that he's less aggressive because of the league's crack down on head-injuries, and that might be true, but it could also be because he's not improvising as much. I think we can all agree that there are few defenders in the league who make as big a difference for their team as Troy does for the Steelers, and whatever's going on with him these days, he must be the old Troy in-order for the defense to continue its dominance.

We'll find out pretty soon what kind of second half it's going to be. They play the Raiders and Bills the next two weeks, and they MUST win both of those games. If they split with Oakland and Buffalo and then lose at Baltimore, they'll be 7-5, and in the very competitive AFC, they'd have almost no margin for error. However, if they win these next two games, and lose to Baltimore on yet another Sunday night game, they'd still be in pretty good shape at 8-4 with a three-game homestand and Cincinnati and Carolina coming to town. The way things are shaping up right now, it looks like the two wildcards will be coming out of the East and the North, and I know Steeler fans want homefield advantage and a bye, but first and foremost, I want to see them make the playoffs regardless of seeding. How they're playing come the postseason will be more important then anything. They proved that much five years ago. I'm not saying they're automatically going to lose to the Ravens. They haven't lost to them with Ben under center since '06, but I'm just looking at the worst-case scenario. It goes with out saying that I'd rather see them win the division and get a week off, but no matter how they make the dance, I don't care. I just don't want to sit through another Steeler-less postseason.

I just think it's pretty strange how they have the exact same record as they did a year ago, and just like last year, some apparrent cream-puffs on their schedule that most fans will pencil in as automatic wins. I just hope it's not history repeating itself. At least not the history of last season.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Well, I didn't have a dream this week, Steeler fans, but I did experience deju vu!

Yesterday, at my place of employment, the refrigerated dairy case broke down. Things got really annoying and ugly as we had to unload every single item and try to find room for it elsewhere.

You're probably wondering what that has to do with the Steelers.

Glad you asked, the last time that case broke down, it was also on a Saturday. Just like yesterday, we had to unload everything and it was a huge pain in the butt. The very next day, the Steelers played the Patriots and beat the snot out of them, 33-10. What a glorious day that was. I'll cherish it always.

I think you all know what that means for tonight's game. I mean, it's almost the exact same sequence of events. Pretty spooky. I'm thinking the Steelers will roll.

So, Steeler fans, how much is this valuable information worth to you? Oh wait, I just told you everything I know. Damn it!

At any rate, I hope it's the same result as 2008.

Go Steelers!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Time and Time again, PITT football makes me want to retch

I haven't had much of an opportunity to watch PITT football this year since they almost always seem to play when I'm at work. And since I don't get ESPN any more, I haven't seen any of the prime time games either so it's been hard to really get a feel for their abilities.

But I do know that PITT was 3-0 in the Big East heading into last night's game and in the driver's seat for the conference championship and automatic BCS bowl berth.

Today, things are a bit different after their narrow, 30-28, loss at Connecticut. Much like the season-opening overtime loss at Utah, I suppose losing on the road to the Huskies isn't a huge sin. After all, the Huskies were one of the preseason favorites for the conference title and playing at Connecticut has been Hell away from home for the Panthers in recent years.

But a win sure would have been nice. The PITT Panthers just can't seem to stand prosperity. Anytime something is out there for the taking, they don't reach out and grab it. Defeating the Huskies would have been a nice signature win for the program and for Dave Wannstedt. It would have given them a 2-game lead over the rest of the Big East with only three games remaining and PITT could have coasted to the title. Sweet relief for long-suffering PITT fans, such as myself, who have been waiting for them to get over that hump.

But now things are a little more complicated. The Panthers still control their own destiny, but another slip up could mean the difference between the Fiesta Bowl, and once again playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Seriously, how bad is Big East football this year? The conference desperataly needed someone to jump up and dominate, but nobody has done it, and nobody really will. What are the odds of a team with an overall record of 7-5 or 6-6 winning the Big
East and representing the conference in the BCS? After last night's loss by the Panthers, the odds have grown considerably. It certainly wouldn't put to rest the argument that the conference should lose its automatic BCS berth, that's for sure.

But I'm almost rooting for it to happen just to see if Kirk Herbstreit has a melt-down on the College Gameday set.

PITT fans, be prepared to sweat out another long November.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

An open letter to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Well, Penguins, you haven't gotten off to the greatest of starts this season. Right now, you're 7-8-1. Pretty bad for a team with your talent.

You're 19th out of 30 teams on the power play. That's just not going to cut it. You supposedly have two of the top three players in the world. I'm talking to you, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. With that kind of fire-power, your scoring should be up whether you're on a power play, a penalty kill, or 5 on 5. I'm no hockey expert, but even I know that.

And Mark Andre Fleury. What's your problem? I mean, one minute, you're stopping a sniper shot with your eyes closed and then the next minute, someone slowly bounces a puck towards you and you let it trickle between your legs like a seeing-eye basehit. Pick up your game. I stick up for you all the time.

I know what you guys are going to say. Yes, you've made the playoffs four straight years. Yes, you were in the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row and you even won it in '09. And, yes, NHL rosters are always changing because of the salary cap, so each year, the dynamic is different, and the chemistry could be off, even with an elite core of players. Heck, Jordan Staal hasn't played at all this year. Maybe you're just due for a bad season. Hell, maybe you're even entitled to it because you've done so much over the last few years.

Well, personally, I don't care that much. I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I have a girlfriend and she adores you guys, especially you, Sid. Most of you probably don't know what it's like to have a woman in your life, but just to clue you in, the number one rule is to keep your woman happy. When she's happy, that's good for business.

Let's face it, I screw up a lot, and when you guys are doing great, and Sid's scoring hat-tricks and beating the Flyers, it provides a nice little diversion for my screw ups. It's a great filter between my screw ups and her reaction. It's a long season, and I can't have you guys floundering at the bottom the standings for the entire year. That would be bad for business.

And my girlfriend isn't the only woman who loves you guys. A lot of women do. I hear them talking all the time. They sit around and chat about how hot you Penguins are. I haven't seen this kind of thing since the heydey of 'N Sync.

Sid, did you know you have luscious lips that are just made for kissing? That's what I hear. And, apparently, hockey players have the hottest bodies of all the professional athletes. Well, lately, those hot bodies have been skating around the Consol Energy Center like lifeless zombies.

I don't know what these women see in you guys, really. To me, you're just a bunch of weird looking Canadians who talk funny and spout absurd hockey cliches. What's that about?

Like for example, "it's hard to win the first home game after a long road trip." Oh yeah, that makes sense cause I know when I'm away for an extended period of time, I HATE being home. I mean, the familiar bed. It sucks! No, give me hotel sheets and crabs.

Oh, and another one that I think is funny and pretty fitting considering how last night went. "You know what they say, the hardest lead to protect is a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period." What? Oh yeah, it's the same way in the NFL. Teams really hate having two-touchdown leads in the 4th quarter. It's a real pain in the butt. Nope, they'd rather be trailing by three-scores and have to come all the way back.

Look, the bottomline is you guys are way too talented to be playing this way. If you're not going to do it for yourselves, do it for the women out there who love you and the men who love them!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What is Steeler football? Well, lately, one aspect of it seems to be getting big leads and then torturing Steelers fans at the end of games

It used to be if the Steelers had a pretty significant second half lead (for the sake of this post, 10 points or more) they would usually close out the game pretty easily. That's not to say that there weren't some blown leads and pretty crazy finishes like the one the other night in Cincinnati, but they weren't as common as they have become over the past two seasons.

It all started in Super Bowl XLIII.

If you remember back to the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers had what appeared to be a pretty safe, 20-7, lead against the Arizona Cardinals. Even though Arizona had a dangerous offense with Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin, Pittsburgh's legendary 2008 defense had held Arizona in check for the first three quarters. Steeler Nation was dreaming of the six-pack. It was just a matter of 15 minutes before the celebration could begin. However, instead of the defense continuing their domination, they started to self-destruct. Warner found his groove and Ike Taylor suddenly was unable to cover Fitzgerald after shadowing him for most of the game. Midway through the 4th quarter, the Cardinals made a game of it when Warner hit Fitzgerald for a touchdown pass. And that's when the real fun began. Later in the 4th quarter, after making Arizona punt, James Harrison was called for a 15 yard personal foul penalty after committing assault and battery on an unnamed Cardinal player. The subsequent poor field-position helped lead to a safety when Justin Hartwig was called for holding in the endzone, and the Cardinals only trailed, 20-16. And just two plays after the free kick, Warner hit Fitzgerald for a 63 yard touchdown catch and run that left Steeler nation in stunned disbelief and made the Bettis fumble seem like child's play by comparison. The Cardinals led, 23-20with 2:37 left. But thanks to the heroics of Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes, the Steelers came back and defeated the Cardinals in the final minute to earn that "One for the Other Index finger" and Pittsburgh did get to celebrate.

Nobody thought much of that 4th quarter collapse. After all, the Steelers defense was pretty dominant all-year long. I, personally, figured it was just a hiccup.

However, since Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers have had 14 leads of 10 or more points in the second half of games, and in ten of those games, they saw their leads melt-away and either had to hang on for dear-life or lost in dramatic fashion.

Week three of the 2009 season, the Steelers led the Bengals, 20-9, in the 4th quarter only to see the Bengals score two touchdowns, including the game winner in the final seconds. The Steelers lost, 23-20, and dropped to 1-2.

A week later on a Sunday night at Heinz Field, the Steelers led the Chargers, 28-7, heading into the 4th quarter, before San Diego scored 21 4th quarter points. But Pittsburgh avoided a total meltdown and won, 38-28.

One week after that, the Steelers were in Detroit and led the hapless Lions, 28-13, in the 4th quarter, but needed a last minute defensive stand to keep the Lions from tying the game, and held onto win, 28-20.

Week seven of 2009, after a hard-fought game between the Steelers and Vikings, Pittsburgh appeared to seize control once and for all after Lamarr Woodley returned a Brett Favre fumble for a touchdown midway through the final period to put Pittsburgh ahead, 20-10. However, Percy Harvin returned the ensuing kickoff all the way for a touchdown to make it 20-17. And late in the 4th quarter, the Vikings were poised to take the lead, or at the very least tie the game with a field goal, but the Steelers were rescued by Keyaron Fox's pick six off of a botched screen pass and Pittsburgh won, 27-17.

Fast-forward to week ten of last season, the Steelers were in Kansas City to play the Chiefs. After giving up a touchdown on the opening kickoff, Pittsburgh was in total control, 17-7. They were driving for more at the start of the 3rd quarter. That's when Heath Miller, of all people, let a perfectly thrown pass clang off his hands and sail straight up in the air like a volleyball set and was intercepted. The Chiefs not only got back in the game, but they eventually tied the score and won in overtime.

Week 14 of the 2009 season, the 6-7 Steelers were on a five game losing streak and badly needed a win over Green Bay at Heinz field to keep alive what little hope they had at the postseason. There they were in the 4th quarter with the season on the line and a 24-14 lead. That's when Aaron Rodgers and the potent Packers offense came to life and scored 22 points. If it wasn't for a last second Ben Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace touchdown pass, the Steelers would have been on a six-game losing streak.

One week later, the Steelers playoff chances were slightly better as they faced off against the hated Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh led, 20-10, at the start of the 3rd quarter, but couldn't hold the lead and the Ravens quickly tied the game. But with the help of a holding call that negated a Ravens touchdown pass, and a Jeff Reed field goal, the Steelers were able to pull out a 23-20 victory.

The final week of the 2009 season had Pittsburgh in Miami. The Steelers needed the win to stay alive for the playoffs. They were ahead, 27-10, in the 4th quarter, but gave up two quick touchdowns and had to hold on for dear life to win, 30-24.

But the late game struggles weren't unique to last season.

Week two of this season in Tennessee. The Steelers defense had totally dominated Vince Young, Chris Johnson and the rest of the Titans' offense. Pittsburgh was ahead, 19-3, in the 4th quarter. Tennessee went on a time-consuming drive and scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to close the gap to 19-11. That in and of itself was okay. The Titans had used up so much time that all Pittsburgh needed to do was cover the onside kick and the game would be over. But they didn't recover the onside kick. Tennessee did, and came within a heartbeat of tying the game in the final seconds.

And that brings us back to this past Monday night in Cincinnati. If ever there was a microcosm of the team's recent struggles with big leads late in games, the Steelers 27-21, white knuckle victory over the Bengals was it.

Just like Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers led, 20-7, after three quarters and had totally dominated the Bengals in every phase of the game. Cincinnati's only touchdown was set up by a Hines Ward turnover, but otherwise, the Steeler defense had its way with Carson Palmer, TO, and Ochocinco. And unlike Super Bowl XLIII, Pittsburgh actually extended their lead to 27-7 on an Antwaan Randle El touchdown pass to Mike Wallace at the beginning of the 4th quarter. I let out a sigh of relief at that point and had Pittsburgh's 6th victory penciled in.

Well I'll be damned if they didn't self-destruct again. Even with Ochocinco pouting on the sideline, the Bengals moved the ball with ease on their next possession and the score was 27-14.

I was kind of nervous at that point, but when Roethlisberger scrambled for a big first down, I felt a lot better. However, just two plays later, Big Ben threw a Favre-like interception and the Bengals had the ball back. And thanks to a personal foul on Flozell Adams after the pick, Cincinnati had possession inside the Steeler 40. Just a few plays after that, Ike Taylor was called for pass interference and the Bengals had it first and goal from the one. Cedric Benson scored, and just like that, Cincinnati was only six points down with a lot of time left.

At that point, I was in panic mode. But, the Steelers patch-work offensive line put on a run-blocking clinic, as Rashard Mendenhall carried six straight times. Pittsburgh's offense not only milked a lot of clock, but set Jeff Reed up for a 46 yard field goal. No gimme, but Reed made a 53 yarder at the end of the first half. If he could knock this one thru the uprights, I could breathe easy. But wouldn't you know it, he missed it to the left and the Bengals had life with 3:59 remaining. Cincinnati drove downfield almost at will and found themselves on Pittsburgh's doorstep with a chance to win in the final seconds, just like last year. I didn't think they were going to stop the Bengals, to be honest. But on 4th and 5 from the 12, Palmer hit Jordan Shipley with a pass over the middle and he looked to have a catch for a first down. Thankfully, the Steelers defenders dislodged the ball before he could secure the reception and Pittsburgh had escaped with another narrow victory after dominating for so much of the contest.

So what is it about these Steelers and their inability to put teams away? I can see it happening once or twice, but 10 times over the course of a season and a half? To me, it's a reflection on the personality of the team. Do they lack a killer instinct? Whenever they have a team on the ropes, they seem to let them off the hook with a turnover, a poor special teams play, or a stupid penalty.

But the most alarming thing is how easily offenses seem to be able to move on the defense late in games. It was like someone flipped a switch the other night. The Bengals offense just sprang to life. Is it a matter of the defense just getting old? Has Lebeau become too predictable with his 4th quarter tendencies?

I don't know what it is, but I do know one thing: When the Steelers are up by two or three scores late in a game, I'm not as confident as I used to be.

Monday, November 8, 2010

I had a dream, Steeler fans!

Yesterday morning, right before I woke up, I was dreaming about the Steelers beating the crap out of a team. The score was like 31-10 and then that team scored a late touchdown. In my dream, I thought, "Damn it, there they go giving up another garbage touchdown." Anyway, you know how dreams are, the score changed several times. First it was 31-17, and then it was like 51-35, and finally, it was 64-28. The team the Steelers seemed to be playing in my dream was the Cleveland Browns, but in my mind, I knew it was the Bengals.

What does this have to do with anything, you ask? Well, many years ago, when the Steelers were set to play a prime-time game with the then Houston Oilers, I had a dream the night before that they beat the Washington Redskins by about two touchdowns. Much like the Browns' dream from yesterday, I knew in my mind that the team in the dream was really the Oilers, and not the Redskins. Heck, they didn't even play the NFC East that year. Why would I be dreaming of the Redskins? Duh!

But I digress.

What was the final score of that prime-time match-up? Steelers 30 Oilers 16. You don't believe me? Wikipedia the Steelers 1996 season. It's right there in black and white.

You're probably thinking, "this guy dreams about the Steelers? He's such a loser!" You're right, no doubt, but I feel that this is valuable information, so it is my duty as a Steeler fan to pass this along to all of you.

I doubt they'll win 64-28 or 51-35, but if they're winning the game 31-10 with about 3 minutes left and Palmer throws a garbage touchdown to make it 31-17.....well, no thanks needed. I do what I can.

Enjoy the game.

Go Steelers!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Mixing sports and pollitics. Just this once

I normally don't get into political discussions because, really, they're pointless. You're not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change yours.

But since politics are a pretty hot topic this week, join me as I attempt to draw an analogy between fantasy football and this week's mid-term elections:

I've been playing fantasy football for the last seven years and I've had very little to cheer about. Even this year, I signed up in a "fun" league, just for kicks, and I've had the same amount of success that I've had in previous years in my more "serious" league. In other words, I'm in last place with no real hope of making a run at the postseason.

In order to change my fortunes, I often search the waiver-wire for a diamond in the rough. Some player that may swing things my way. But that rarely works, cause, let's face it, there's a reason a player is on the waiver-wire.

America, too, has had a pretty rough go of it as of late. The last decade has seen the country suffer through the largest terrorist attack in history, two wars in the Middle East, and a declining economy.

Starting in 2002, the republican party was in total control of the country. George W. Bush was in the White house and the GOP held a majority of seats in both the Senate and House of representatives.

That all changed in November of 2006 during the mid-term elections. America placed the GOP on waivers and the democrats seized control of the House and the Senate.

And two years ago, the republican party was sent straight to the injured reserve list when democrat Barack Obama easily defeated republican John McCain in the presidential election.

The democrats now controlled everything and Team America was excited about the new vision the party had for the country and how well it could perform. But sadly, the democrats haven't performed at as high a level as America would like. We're still fighting terror, wars in the Middle East, and a declining economy.

And with that in mind, Team America re-claimed the republican party on the waiver-wire in this week's mid-term elections. The GOP gained control of the House and narrowed the gap in the Senate.

The republicans don't quite have the power they had before the 2006 mid-term elections, but they have enough to make a difference and they believe they can map the course to get us back to where we once were. However, I'm having a hard time believing they have what it takes.

After all, just two short years ago, the party seemed completely out of touch with what the country needed. People were fed up with everything they represented. The GOP appeared to be on the brink of extinction. You mean to tell me in just a matter of two years, they've gotten their act together to the point that they can now be trusted to lead us back to the promised land?

Were Tuesday's election results a mandate for the republicans? Not even close. More like a reaction to the continued struggles of our great Team America.

Much like with fantasy football, where owners are constantly adding and dropping players, elections are a series of adds/drops where America adds officials to public office and drops others in the hopes that someone will have a breakout year and score a lot of points.

A lot of fantasy football owners, desperate for an edge, will read the wrong scouting reports and drop a player only to see him go on and have a really great year. If the owner had just held onto the player for another week or two, their patience would have paid off.

When it comes to Team America, the people have no patience right now. They want jobs, they want the economy to recover, and they want this in a hurry. But it took a long time to get into this mess, and it's going to take a long time to dig our way out. I fear that we may have given up on Obama and the dems too soon, before they could hit their stride and really make things right.

Let's hope the republicans really do have the answers this time around and we're not left regretting the decision to reacquire them from the waiver-wire. I mean, let's face it, there's a reason they were there in the first place.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Bengals game is HUGE!

I didn't think the Steelers played a great game in New Orleans Halloween night. I wasn't impressed with some of the decisions Tomlin made like challenging the non-fumble early in the game which, in my opinion, led to his decision to not challenge whether or not Mendenhall crossed the plain of the goal line during the crucial goal line stand by the Saints. Ben Roethlisberger really struggled. I believe he had 93 yards passing through three quarters. The offensive line had trouble picking up the New Orleans blitz and it has come to light that they were having problems communicating because of the noise in the Super Dome. Also, the running game wasn't great. There weren't many holes for the backs and, of course, there was the inability to score from the six inch line. The defense was OK. The Saints offense is pretty potent but I believe the D did its job for the most part. I barely noticed the absence of Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, and that's a testament to the fine work that both Ziggy and Nick Eason did in filling in for those guys. Not an easy assignment. Troy Polamalu didn't have his greatest game--the pass interference penalty, getting fooled on that 50 yard pass play in the 4th quarter-- but it happens. Even Superman had his kryptonite. Nope, the Steelers didn't really perform all that well on any level from the coaching staff to the players, yet, there was Heath Miller, midway through the 4th quarter, running down the middle of the field with the ball and, perhaps, the game in his hands........well, we all know what happened. Miller fumbled, and that was that. The Steelers left New Orleans 20-10 losers.

The loss in and of itself isn't that big a deal. I said last week that of the three road games, the one in New Orleans was the least crucial. I wanted them to win the two AFC games.

Besides, all the elements were there for New Orleans: The Saints haven't had the greatest start. They just lost at home to the Cleveland Browns of all teams, and it was the Sunday Night Game of the week. I think even the most die hard Steeler fan had to be at least somewhat prepared for a loss.

There is no shame in losing a game like that on the road to the defending World Champs. Heck, go back and check out the season-by-season recaps of some of those Super 70's Steelers squads. Even they lost games like that in their day, to lesser teams, no less.

But what worries me is how the Steelers are trending. Yes, they are 5-2, but they're only 2-2 in their last four games. You might say, so what, over the course of a 16 game schedule, even good teams have stretches like that, and you'd be right. However, I think we can all agree that the Steelers were damn lucky to leave Miami with a win. They were a rules interpretation away from fumbling that game away. If the ref had seen things differently in that critical moment in Miami, Pittsburgh would be losers of 3 of 4, and that wouldn't be good.

And the last month has seen the team do the kind of things that got them in trouble last year: Losing 4th quarter leads, committing dumb penalties at the worst times, and of course, turning the ball over at critical moments.

This is the kind of stuff that cannot continue or the team may find itself in the same position it was last year: Out of the playoffs.

I believe this game in Cincinnati will go a long way in shaping the rest of the season. It reminds me a lot of the '05 trip to Cincinnati after they had just lost that heartbreaking overtime game to Jacksonville that, of course, led to "Garbage-gate."

The Steelers won that day in Cincinnati, and I think they can win this week, too. But if the team were to lose, it would be a cause for concern. For one thing, they would drop to 5-3 and 1-2 in the division. Not too many teams win their division with 3-3 or 2-4 records, so they'd probably have to sweep the remaining three division games just to have a shot at the AFC North crown. And they would be on a two-game losing streak heading into the Sunday night showdown with the New England Patriots. And lastly, a loss in Cincy would drop them back to the pack with a number of teams in the AFC. I think we all know how the AFC tiebreakers have treated the Steelers in recent years. They need this game for a variety of reasons.

The problem is, these aren't your big brother's Cincinnati Bengals any longer. They're not the defending World Champs, but they are the defending AFC North Champs and, despite their 2-5 record, they're more than capable of defeating the Steelers Monday night.

Their offensive attack isn't as potent as it was a few seasons ago, but the Bengals' defense has come a long way over the last few years and is better than people think. Don't let those silly striped helmets fool you. These aren't the bumbling, stumbling Bungals of years gone by. They're a team that can stand toe-to-toe and slug it out with the rest of the AFC North teams. In-fact, one of their two wins was against the Baltimore Ravens. Plus, the Bengals swept the Steelers last year, not going to be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.

But, if the Steelers are the team we think they are, this is a game they should win. It's the kind of game a "developing World Champion" MUST win.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Seahawks fans: From now on, you can't complain about Super Bowl XL. Or at least one of the calls

It was late in the first half of last night's Steelers/Saints game. The Steelers were ahead 3-0 and had the ball in Saints' territory after Ike Taylor surprised us all with a nice homecoming interception.

It was 1st and 10 from the Saints' 23 yard line when Ben Roethlisberger went back to pass. He attempted to hit Hines Ward down the middle for a touchdown, but the pass was broken up and Hines was nailed by the two defenders who were covering him. Right as the play ended, a flag was thrown as Hines stayed on the ground for an extra few seconds in obvious pain.

The first thing I thought of when I saw the flag was a personal foul on the Saints for a head-to-head hit on Hines. At the very least, I thought the defense would be called for holding, illegal contact, or hopefully, pass interference and Pittsburgh would get the ball 1st and goal with a chance to take a 10-0 into the locker room.

Just before the referee announced the penalty, I heard the crowd roar and that's when he said that the Steelers were penalized for offensive pass interference. The guilty party was Hines Ward. Cris Collinsworth, the NBC color analyst, said it was the right call. I couldn't wait to see the replay of this foul. They showed it from two or three angles, and there was barely contact by Ward, but he did use his hand to sort of push off the defender.

Why I bring this up is because one of the most controversial plays from Super bowl XL, and the poster play for whining Seahawks fans was the offensive pass interference call on Darrell Jackson that overturned a Seahawks touchdown in the first quarter that would have given Seattle a 7-0 lead. Jackson was jockeying for position in the back of the end zone with former Steelers safety Chris Hope when he pushed off of Hope and caught the touchdown pass.

It wasn't a big pushoff, but it was just enough to gain an advantage over Hope.

I'm not saying Hines didn't try to use his hand to gain an advantage. He did, but his push off was just a small tap on the shoulder of the defender, as if he was saying, "excuse me, but the ball is coming. May I have it please?" Jackson's push off was way more obvious and it was right in front of the official. Jackson might as well have said, "Mr. official, I'm pushing off of Mr. Hope. Please throw the flag."

If the call on Hines was a good one as Collinsworth suggested, then Seahawks fans can never bring up that penalty on Jackson ever again. You have forever lost that right. You can bring up the holding call early in the 4th quarter if you want (also pretty iffy.) You can whine about Ben's touchdown if that helps you (another weak case,) but the Jackson call is no longer admissible in the court of Steeler Nation.