With the Panthers two days away from playing in the BBVA Compass Bowl for the third straight season, it's only natural to not be very excited about that. Unfortunately, Pitt is a Big East member, and the BBVA (or as I like to call it"The Seventh Cousin of them all,") is part of the Big East bowl affiliation, and the only real way to avoid such an invite is to not finish at 6-6, which Pitt has done for the past two seasons.
Fortunately, the Panthers will be jumping to the ACC next season, and that means different bowl affiliations. However, it doesn't necessarily mean a higher pedigree of bowl games. It wouldn't be surprising to see Pitt struggle next season. For one thing, the football team will have a schedule full of mostly unfamiliar opponents. And secondly, the ACC is an upgrade from the Big East (if only slightly.)
Like a local radio head said recently, "There are no Florida States in the Big East.")
So, if Pitt is indeed going to struggle for the next season or two, what middling bowls will the program and its fans have to look forward to in upcoming seasons?
Thanks to this wikipedia site which details the ACC and its bowl affiliations, I can see that the ACC champion is the number one choice for the Orange Bowl and has been since 2006. That's not a bad bowl to be tied to. Miami is nice this time of year or any time, really.
However, since the Panthers haven't earned a BCS berth since January of 2005, we better take a look at some of those "lesser" bowls that are affiliated with the ACC.
-The Chick-fil-A Bowl: Perhaps better known as the Peach Bowl, the site of the game is in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.The second choice of ACC teams usually goes to this bowl, and the opponent is normally a pretty decent SEC team--Clemson just knocked off #9 LSU on New Year's Eve. Not a bad game and not a bad destination for Panthers fans. Of course, if it ever came down to a choice between Pitt and Notre Dame (that program sticks its nose in everything), you better make reservations in Miami, Fla. for.........
-The Russell Athletic Bowl: The bid for this game usually goes to the third choice of ACC teams, and is played in Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. So, while it may not be the Orange Bowl, citrus is involved (it used to be known as the Tangerine Bowl, and Pitt actually played in this game following the 2001 season). I could see the Panthers earning a bid to this game during a year in-which they blow a two-score lead in the ACC Championship game and are then passed over by Notre Dame for the Chick-fil-A bowl.
-The Hyundai Sun Bowl: This isn't a bad bowl, as it still gets to include its original name right after the sponsor of the year--always a sign of prestige and cache. The site of the game is El Paso, Texas, and according to wikipedia, this bowl often goes to either the ACC runner-up or the fourth place team. I could see Pitt earning a trip to this bowl. The Panthers have played in this bowl twice since 1989--most recently the infamous 3-0 loss to Oregon St. on December 31st, 2008.
-Belk Bowl: Now this is right up Pitt's alley. The game is located in Charlotte, North Carolina and goes to the fifth choice from the ACC. The Panthers have actually played in this bowl two other times--once following the 2003 season when it was called the Continental Tire Bowl and a second time following the 2009 season when it was called the Meineke Car Care Bowl. However, most long-time Pitt fans often refer to the 2009 game as The Pitt Loses Out on a Chance to Go to the Sugar Bowl and Has to Settle for This Crap? Bowl. Oh, the pageantry.
Oh well. That's all the bowls I'll go over now. Anything after Belk is just the ACC's version of BBVA.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2012: The Year of the "Lost Season" for Pittsburgh Area Sports Teams
The Pittsburgh sports scene has had some pretty exciting years in recent memory.
Take 2005, for example. The Pitt Panthers football program actually earned a BCS bid and played in the Fiesta bowl in January of '05. Later that year, the Steelers actually won their first championship in a quarter of a century with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.
From 2008-2010, Pittsburgh sports fans were really spoiled after the Penguins made back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup finals--including the team's third championship in the summer of 2009--and the Steelers won another Super Bowl following the 2008 season and appeared in Super Bowl XLV two seasons later.
Heck, the Pitt Panthers men's basketball program even made it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament following the 2008/09 season.
Of course, sports can by very cyclical, and the past couple of cycles haven't been too kind to Pittsburgh area teams, especially the just concluded year of 2012.
Below is a recap of what went very down in Pittsburgh area sports in 2012:
2011/2012 Pitt Panthers: Your CBI Champions
The 2011/12 Panthers men's basketball season was supposed to be like many others in the previous decade, and it sure appeared that way when the team was ranked ninth early in the year. However, non-conference home losses to Long Beach State and Wagner (as well as the defection of big man Khem Birch) foretold what was yet to come, as Pitt proceeded to drop its first seven games in conference play before finishing the regular season at 5-13 in the Big East and 16-15 overall. After going 1-1 in the Big East tournament, there was no shot for the 17-16 Panthers to be invited to the Big Dance, but after making it to the NCAA tournament for 10 straight seasons, many hoped an NIT bid would be in order. Unfortunately, Pitt didn't have enough cache for the Not Important Tournament and had to settle for a bid to the CBI. Proudly, the Panthers took care of business against the Woffords of the basketball world along the way to the best of three finals. After falling at Washington St. in the first game, the Panthers took the last two at the Peterson Events Center to claim their first CBI championship.
2011/2012 Pittsburgh Penguins: If you don't win your division, your punishment is a first round match-up with the Flyers
The Penguins were flying high down the stretch and entered the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs with 108 points, the second most in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh plays in the Atlantic Division, a division where four teams finished the year with more than 100 points, including the New York Rangers, who had 109 points and won the division and the first seed in the playoffs. Since the three division winners get the top three seeds in the playoffs, that meant the Penguins could only get the fourth seed and a date in the first round with their blood rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, who finished just behind Pittsburgh with 103 points. Philadelphia defeated the Penguins four times in six regular season match-ups (four out of five in games that mattered), and once the postseason started, the dominance continued, as Pittsburgh fell behind 3-0 in the series before winning the next two to give the fans some hope. Unfortunately for the Penguins and their fans, they put on a lackluster performance in Game 6 in Philadelphia and were eliminated in the first round for the second straight season. Had Pittsburgh been able to accumulate just two more points during the regular season..............
PS,
The NHL decided to lock its players out for the start of the 2012/2013 season, so it was a lost year for Penguins fans in more ways than one.
2012 Pittsburgh Pirates: So good at the start of year, they had to be historically crappy down the stretch just to reach 20 straight losing seasons
Andrew McCutchen was the talk of baseball with his MVP (and Triple Crown) like numbers. Zoltan was the best thing going since the Terrible Towel ( or at least We All We Got!) It was one of those magical seasons Pirates fans had been dreaming about for decades (literally). After 19 straight losing seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates were 60-44 and four games up in the National League's Wild Card chase. Pittsburgh was on a 40-20 tear, and even .500 baseball down the stretch probably would have been enough to earn a wild card spot. Unfortunately, much like the 2011 season, the Pirates finished the year by going 19-39 over the last two months, and they not only missed the playoffs, they made it 20 straight years of losing with a 79-83 record. Not only was the collapse bad, it was historic, as no team in baseball had ever been that many games over .500 that late in the season and then finished with a losing record.
Beat 'em, Bucs! At least they made history.....again.
Penn St. Nittany Lions: Jerry Sandusky sex scandal rocks State College as the football program is stripped of bowl eligibility for four seasons
It all came crashing down for the Nittany Lions in late 2011. Long-time defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was the center of a child molestation investigation. He would soon be charged and eventually found guilty last summer.
Because many high ranking Penn St. officials spent years covering up the Sandusky scandal--including legendary head coach Joe Paterno who passed away last January shortly after being fired--the program received severe penalties from the NCAA, including no bowl eligibility for four seasons starting in 2012.
The football team actually finished with an 8-4 record under first year head coach Bill O'Brien, but the disappointment of no bowl games could be just the tip of the iceberg for Penn St. as the loss of revenue and scholarships could have a long-lasting effect.
West Virginia Mountaineers leave the Big East for the Big 12 conference and realize they're not in Kansas anymore. They're actually in Kansas St., and that program is pretty damn awesome
After the defections of Colorado, Nebraska and Texas A&M from the Big 12 in recent years, there was talk that WVU could actually dominate the conference in its first season. And truth be told, it sure looked like that would be the case when the Mountaineers got off to a 5-0 start--including back-to-back victories over Baylor (ranked 25th) and Texas (ranked 11th)--and were up to No. 4 in the nation. There was talk of a possible national title.............then Texas Tech came along and handed West Virginia a humiliating 49-14 defeat that sparked a fall from grace, as the Mountaineers would drop five straight games--including home losses to Kansas St. (ranked fourth) and Oklahoma (ranked 12). WVU would finish the season at 7-5 (4-5 in the Big 12). The Mountaineers earned a berth in the Pinstripe Bowl and fittingly lost 38-14 to Syracuse, an old Big East foe.
2012 Pitt Panthers football program: New head coach. Same BBVA Compass Bowl smell
It was probably expected that the Panthers would struggle in 2012, especially after a third coaching regime in as many seasons, but I don't think anyone could have predicted an opening loss to the division II Youngstown St. Penguins in Week 1. However, that's what happened. That, and a beat-down in Cincinnati in Week 2. Surprisingly, however, Pitt would knock off future ACC foe and 13th ranked Virginia Tech in Week 3. The Panthers would also come within a few inches of changing the National Title landscape when kicker Kevin Harper missed a 33 yard field goal against Notre Dame in double-overtime that would have given them the upset win. Instead, the Fighting Irish would go on to win in triple overtime, and Pitt would lose at lowly UConn the following game before finishing off the year by defeating a ranked Rutgers team and then taking care of business in South Florida to improve to 6-6 and become bowl eligible. And the bowl the Panthers were once again eligible for was the BBVA Compass Bowl for a third year in a row.
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers
You can always count on the Pittsburgh Steelers to lift the region up, and give sports fans a reason to hope and dream.........except for this season. The Steelers were totally mediocre in 2012, and as I wrote in my postgame article for Behind The Steel Curtain, they just seemed out of sync the entire year. Despite having the inside track for a postseason berth from about mid-season on, Pittsburgh simply couldn't overcome key injuries, critical mistakes and uneven performances in all three phases and would drop five of seven down the stretch to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs for the first time in three years.
The Steelers are long in the tooth in many areas, and an 8-8 record could be a pretty common one in subsequent years. Of course, I thought that before, only to be pleasantly surprised by Super Bowl success.
There you have it. The 2012 sports year in review. 2013 couldn't possibly be worse for Pittsburgh sports........or could it?
Take 2005, for example. The Pitt Panthers football program actually earned a BCS bid and played in the Fiesta bowl in January of '05. Later that year, the Steelers actually won their first championship in a quarter of a century with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.
From 2008-2010, Pittsburgh sports fans were really spoiled after the Penguins made back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup finals--including the team's third championship in the summer of 2009--and the Steelers won another Super Bowl following the 2008 season and appeared in Super Bowl XLV two seasons later.
Heck, the Pitt Panthers men's basketball program even made it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament following the 2008/09 season.
Of course, sports can by very cyclical, and the past couple of cycles haven't been too kind to Pittsburgh area teams, especially the just concluded year of 2012.
Below is a recap of what went very down in Pittsburgh area sports in 2012:
2011/2012 Pitt Panthers: Your CBI Champions
The 2011/12 Panthers men's basketball season was supposed to be like many others in the previous decade, and it sure appeared that way when the team was ranked ninth early in the year. However, non-conference home losses to Long Beach State and Wagner (as well as the defection of big man Khem Birch) foretold what was yet to come, as Pitt proceeded to drop its first seven games in conference play before finishing the regular season at 5-13 in the Big East and 16-15 overall. After going 1-1 in the Big East tournament, there was no shot for the 17-16 Panthers to be invited to the Big Dance, but after making it to the NCAA tournament for 10 straight seasons, many hoped an NIT bid would be in order. Unfortunately, Pitt didn't have enough cache for the Not Important Tournament and had to settle for a bid to the CBI. Proudly, the Panthers took care of business against the Woffords of the basketball world along the way to the best of three finals. After falling at Washington St. in the first game, the Panthers took the last two at the Peterson Events Center to claim their first CBI championship.
2011/2012 Pittsburgh Penguins: If you don't win your division, your punishment is a first round match-up with the Flyers
The Penguins were flying high down the stretch and entered the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs with 108 points, the second most in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh plays in the Atlantic Division, a division where four teams finished the year with more than 100 points, including the New York Rangers, who had 109 points and won the division and the first seed in the playoffs. Since the three division winners get the top three seeds in the playoffs, that meant the Penguins could only get the fourth seed and a date in the first round with their blood rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, who finished just behind Pittsburgh with 103 points. Philadelphia defeated the Penguins four times in six regular season match-ups (four out of five in games that mattered), and once the postseason started, the dominance continued, as Pittsburgh fell behind 3-0 in the series before winning the next two to give the fans some hope. Unfortunately for the Penguins and their fans, they put on a lackluster performance in Game 6 in Philadelphia and were eliminated in the first round for the second straight season. Had Pittsburgh been able to accumulate just two more points during the regular season..............
PS,
The NHL decided to lock its players out for the start of the 2012/2013 season, so it was a lost year for Penguins fans in more ways than one.
2012 Pittsburgh Pirates: So good at the start of year, they had to be historically crappy down the stretch just to reach 20 straight losing seasons
Andrew McCutchen was the talk of baseball with his MVP (and Triple Crown) like numbers. Zoltan was the best thing going since the Terrible Towel ( or at least We All We Got!) It was one of those magical seasons Pirates fans had been dreaming about for decades (literally). After 19 straight losing seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates were 60-44 and four games up in the National League's Wild Card chase. Pittsburgh was on a 40-20 tear, and even .500 baseball down the stretch probably would have been enough to earn a wild card spot. Unfortunately, much like the 2011 season, the Pirates finished the year by going 19-39 over the last two months, and they not only missed the playoffs, they made it 20 straight years of losing with a 79-83 record. Not only was the collapse bad, it was historic, as no team in baseball had ever been that many games over .500 that late in the season and then finished with a losing record.
Beat 'em, Bucs! At least they made history.....again.
Penn St. Nittany Lions: Jerry Sandusky sex scandal rocks State College as the football program is stripped of bowl eligibility for four seasons
It all came crashing down for the Nittany Lions in late 2011. Long-time defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was the center of a child molestation investigation. He would soon be charged and eventually found guilty last summer.
Because many high ranking Penn St. officials spent years covering up the Sandusky scandal--including legendary head coach Joe Paterno who passed away last January shortly after being fired--the program received severe penalties from the NCAA, including no bowl eligibility for four seasons starting in 2012.
The football team actually finished with an 8-4 record under first year head coach Bill O'Brien, but the disappointment of no bowl games could be just the tip of the iceberg for Penn St. as the loss of revenue and scholarships could have a long-lasting effect.
West Virginia Mountaineers leave the Big East for the Big 12 conference and realize they're not in Kansas anymore. They're actually in Kansas St., and that program is pretty damn awesome
After the defections of Colorado, Nebraska and Texas A&M from the Big 12 in recent years, there was talk that WVU could actually dominate the conference in its first season. And truth be told, it sure looked like that would be the case when the Mountaineers got off to a 5-0 start--including back-to-back victories over Baylor (ranked 25th) and Texas (ranked 11th)--and were up to No. 4 in the nation. There was talk of a possible national title.............then Texas Tech came along and handed West Virginia a humiliating 49-14 defeat that sparked a fall from grace, as the Mountaineers would drop five straight games--including home losses to Kansas St. (ranked fourth) and Oklahoma (ranked 12). WVU would finish the season at 7-5 (4-5 in the Big 12). The Mountaineers earned a berth in the Pinstripe Bowl and fittingly lost 38-14 to Syracuse, an old Big East foe.
2012 Pitt Panthers football program: New head coach. Same BBVA Compass Bowl smell
It was probably expected that the Panthers would struggle in 2012, especially after a third coaching regime in as many seasons, but I don't think anyone could have predicted an opening loss to the division II Youngstown St. Penguins in Week 1. However, that's what happened. That, and a beat-down in Cincinnati in Week 2. Surprisingly, however, Pitt would knock off future ACC foe and 13th ranked Virginia Tech in Week 3. The Panthers would also come within a few inches of changing the National Title landscape when kicker Kevin Harper missed a 33 yard field goal against Notre Dame in double-overtime that would have given them the upset win. Instead, the Fighting Irish would go on to win in triple overtime, and Pitt would lose at lowly UConn the following game before finishing off the year by defeating a ranked Rutgers team and then taking care of business in South Florida to improve to 6-6 and become bowl eligible. And the bowl the Panthers were once again eligible for was the BBVA Compass Bowl for a third year in a row.
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers
You can always count on the Pittsburgh Steelers to lift the region up, and give sports fans a reason to hope and dream.........except for this season. The Steelers were totally mediocre in 2012, and as I wrote in my postgame article for Behind The Steel Curtain, they just seemed out of sync the entire year. Despite having the inside track for a postseason berth from about mid-season on, Pittsburgh simply couldn't overcome key injuries, critical mistakes and uneven performances in all three phases and would drop five of seven down the stretch to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs for the first time in three years.
The Steelers are long in the tooth in many areas, and an 8-8 record could be a pretty common one in subsequent years. Of course, I thought that before, only to be pleasantly surprised by Super Bowl success.
There you have it. The 2012 sports year in review. 2013 couldn't possibly be worse for Pittsburgh sports........or could it?
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
It sure is cold without the Steelers in the playoffs
This coming Sunday at 1pm, I'll sit down to watch the Steelers play the kind of game they've only participated in once since December 31st, 2003: A regular season game without any playoff implications or strategy designed to keep the players healthy for a postseason game.
Pittsburgh was eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday after a 13-10 loss at Heinz Field to the Bengals--the team's third straight home loss--and the only thing at stake against the Browns this week is pride and to try and avoid the first losing season since that previously mentioned '03 campaign.
As a Steelers fan, it's sort of an empty feeling to not have the postseason to look forward to. In Pittsburgh, the playoffs have almost become synonymous with the holiday season.
Maybe this is a bit out-of-touch, but when the reality set in on Sunday that the Steelers wouldn't be making the playoffs, it actually made Christmas feel a lot less magical to me. That's weird, isn't it? After all, Christmas and New Year's are about spending time with friends and family, but that's the thing. So many magical memories throughout the years have centered around magical playoff moments.
It's almost as if a Steelers playoff game is like that uncle that comes to visit for Christmas each season. When he decides to stay home for the holidays, it's just not the same.
When the Steelers are in the playoffs, you can extend your holiday season at least another week or two. And if they make it all the way to the Super Bowl like they did two seasons ago, you're 'tissing the season until February.
Oh well, I guess I kind of saw this coming as recently as a year ago. I really didn't think Pittsburgh's 12-4 record reflected its actual play on the field in 2011, and I thought the team's performance was more reflective of a .500 football team that had the fortune of going up against quarterbacks named Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, Tarvaris Jackson, Colt McCoy and Kellen Clemons, just to name a few.
I think the age of the team is more relevant than people want to admit, and that's to be expected. When you watch your favorite football team have so much championship success in such a short period of time, it's hard to let that go, and it's hard to face the reality.
I find it fitting that age might be catching up to the Steelers in this second Super Bowl era because that's what happened to the original Super Steelers of the 70s. Once the calender turned to the 80s, time hit those legendary players harder than any Jack Lambert forearm possibly could, and by the middle part of the decade, Pittsburgh was a mediocre football team with a roster full of underwhelming players.
The decade of the 90s brought us Bill Cowher and a resurgence to excellence for the Steelers. And as for the NFL as a whole, it also brought free agency and a salary cap, and instead of age taking its toll on Pittsburgh's Super Bowl chances, the free agency departures of guys like Leon Searcy, Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Yancy Thigpen and John Jackson depleted the roster and forced a rebuilding phase that brought about more playoff teams in the early 2000's. And when safety Troy Polamalu and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came on board in the middle of the decade, the Steelers were primed for their second true championship era.
Naturally, when a team goes on a run like Pittsburgh has with three Super Bowl appearances and two titles since 2005, an ownership group is going to be more inclined to ride that kind of success out and see how far it goes. And instead of allowing a player to leave a year too soon, the front office is going to keep guys like Casey Hampton, Hines Ward, Aaron Smith and James Farrior around maybe a year too long.
How many times this season did network analysts like Phil Simms quote opposing quarterbacks as being amazed at how the Steelers defenders they were preparing for in 2012 were essentially the same ones they were preparing for in '07 and '08?
Teams that play together may win together, but unfortunately, they also grow old together. Joe Greene said he wasn't the same player at 32 that he was at 27; don't kid yourselves into thinking Polamalu is the same athlete today that he was five years ago. It's simply not possible. Nobody's ever defeated time.
I often wonder if we're witnessing in today's Steelers what we witnessed in the early 80s--a decline into mediocrity.
Of course, I wondered the same thing following other non-playoff seasons, such as 2006 and 2009, but the team bounced back each time, with not only more playoff seasons, but Super Bowl success.
I have all the confidence in the world that the Steelers front office will find a way to keep the team relevant. The NFL of today isn't like it was years ago. Parity really is in full force.
You see it every year with teams making the playoffs a year after having a sub-par campaign like the Colts and Redskins, and if they can do it, I'm sure Pittsburgh will find its way back to January football before long.
I believe as fans, we're always paying it forward and then paying it back. In 1989 and 1993, the Steelers needed all the help in the world to get into the playoffs, and they somehow managed to do so. This season, Pittsburgh was in control of its own fate but still couldn't get the job done on the field.
Three seasons ago, when the Steelers missed out on the postseason, it kind of sucked. But the following year when they made it all the way to Super Bowl XLV, I appreciated it even more. And I especially cherished that Super Bowl when Pittsburgh was bounced out of the first round of the playoffs a season ago.
And now, today, I appreciate what it means just to see the Steelers make the playoffs because they now are absent from them.
There is simply nothing like an NFL playoff game. All the intensity and emotion from a best of seven series that sometimes lasts two weeks is condensed down into this white-hot three hour window of tension and emotions, and it's just a beautiful thing. There are no tomorrows in the NFL playoffs, and that's why I love them so much.
And forget about a Super Bowl run, just winning a playoff game provides fans with so much joy and excitement.
Sadly, it's a feeling that Steelers fans won't get to experience for at least another calender year.
That's too bad. It's going to be a lot colder this January without the Steelers in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh was eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday after a 13-10 loss at Heinz Field to the Bengals--the team's third straight home loss--and the only thing at stake against the Browns this week is pride and to try and avoid the first losing season since that previously mentioned '03 campaign.
As a Steelers fan, it's sort of an empty feeling to not have the postseason to look forward to. In Pittsburgh, the playoffs have almost become synonymous with the holiday season.
Maybe this is a bit out-of-touch, but when the reality set in on Sunday that the Steelers wouldn't be making the playoffs, it actually made Christmas feel a lot less magical to me. That's weird, isn't it? After all, Christmas and New Year's are about spending time with friends and family, but that's the thing. So many magical memories throughout the years have centered around magical playoff moments.
It's almost as if a Steelers playoff game is like that uncle that comes to visit for Christmas each season. When he decides to stay home for the holidays, it's just not the same.
When the Steelers are in the playoffs, you can extend your holiday season at least another week or two. And if they make it all the way to the Super Bowl like they did two seasons ago, you're 'tissing the season until February.
Oh well, I guess I kind of saw this coming as recently as a year ago. I really didn't think Pittsburgh's 12-4 record reflected its actual play on the field in 2011, and I thought the team's performance was more reflective of a .500 football team that had the fortune of going up against quarterbacks named Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, Tarvaris Jackson, Colt McCoy and Kellen Clemons, just to name a few.
I think the age of the team is more relevant than people want to admit, and that's to be expected. When you watch your favorite football team have so much championship success in such a short period of time, it's hard to let that go, and it's hard to face the reality.
I find it fitting that age might be catching up to the Steelers in this second Super Bowl era because that's what happened to the original Super Steelers of the 70s. Once the calender turned to the 80s, time hit those legendary players harder than any Jack Lambert forearm possibly could, and by the middle part of the decade, Pittsburgh was a mediocre football team with a roster full of underwhelming players.
The decade of the 90s brought us Bill Cowher and a resurgence to excellence for the Steelers. And as for the NFL as a whole, it also brought free agency and a salary cap, and instead of age taking its toll on Pittsburgh's Super Bowl chances, the free agency departures of guys like Leon Searcy, Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Yancy Thigpen and John Jackson depleted the roster and forced a rebuilding phase that brought about more playoff teams in the early 2000's. And when safety Troy Polamalu and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came on board in the middle of the decade, the Steelers were primed for their second true championship era.
Naturally, when a team goes on a run like Pittsburgh has with three Super Bowl appearances and two titles since 2005, an ownership group is going to be more inclined to ride that kind of success out and see how far it goes. And instead of allowing a player to leave a year too soon, the front office is going to keep guys like Casey Hampton, Hines Ward, Aaron Smith and James Farrior around maybe a year too long.
How many times this season did network analysts like Phil Simms quote opposing quarterbacks as being amazed at how the Steelers defenders they were preparing for in 2012 were essentially the same ones they were preparing for in '07 and '08?
Teams that play together may win together, but unfortunately, they also grow old together. Joe Greene said he wasn't the same player at 32 that he was at 27; don't kid yourselves into thinking Polamalu is the same athlete today that he was five years ago. It's simply not possible. Nobody's ever defeated time.
I often wonder if we're witnessing in today's Steelers what we witnessed in the early 80s--a decline into mediocrity.
Of course, I wondered the same thing following other non-playoff seasons, such as 2006 and 2009, but the team bounced back each time, with not only more playoff seasons, but Super Bowl success.
I have all the confidence in the world that the Steelers front office will find a way to keep the team relevant. The NFL of today isn't like it was years ago. Parity really is in full force.
You see it every year with teams making the playoffs a year after having a sub-par campaign like the Colts and Redskins, and if they can do it, I'm sure Pittsburgh will find its way back to January football before long.
I believe as fans, we're always paying it forward and then paying it back. In 1989 and 1993, the Steelers needed all the help in the world to get into the playoffs, and they somehow managed to do so. This season, Pittsburgh was in control of its own fate but still couldn't get the job done on the field.
Three seasons ago, when the Steelers missed out on the postseason, it kind of sucked. But the following year when they made it all the way to Super Bowl XLV, I appreciated it even more. And I especially cherished that Super Bowl when Pittsburgh was bounced out of the first round of the playoffs a season ago.
And now, today, I appreciate what it means just to see the Steelers make the playoffs because they now are absent from them.
There is simply nothing like an NFL playoff game. All the intensity and emotion from a best of seven series that sometimes lasts two weeks is condensed down into this white-hot three hour window of tension and emotions, and it's just a beautiful thing. There are no tomorrows in the NFL playoffs, and that's why I love them so much.
And forget about a Super Bowl run, just winning a playoff game provides fans with so much joy and excitement.
Sadly, it's a feeling that Steelers fans won't get to experience for at least another calender year.
That's too bad. It's going to be a lot colder this January without the Steelers in the playoffs.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Like the 2012 Steelers, my fantasy football team is pretty inept. However, my team is one win away from winning it all
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a free-fall, and the only reason they're still alive for a postseason spot with a 7-7 record is because the AFC is pretty mediocre this year. Is Pittsburgh deserving of a playoff spot? It really doesn't matter, it's all about the math. Two victories to end the regular season will clinch a postseason berth and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Of course, one has to wonder just how much damage the Steelers will be able to do if they make the dance. Right now, they're injured and struggling in the turnover department, with a minus-14 for the season. That's not championship football.
However, recent history tells us that a team can squeak into the playoffs and still go on a championship run. The previous two Super Bowl champions--the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants--needed to win on the final week of the regular season just to make the playoffs, yet, once they did, they went on a roll and never stopped until they hoisted the Lombardi.
In fact, New York woke up on Christmas Eve a year ago pretty much in a similar predicament to the Steelers this season. The Giants were 7-7 and losers of five out of six. Somehow, though, they were still in control of their own fate and took care of business in Weeks 16 and 17.
If the Steelers don't feel like looking back to recent NFL history to stay motivated down the stretch, maybe they can use my fantasy football team--Horrible Losses--as an example of what can happen if you get hot at the right time.
For those of you who know me, you're probably aware of just how "horrible" my fantasy football history has been. From 2003-2011, I played in at least one league a year but only made the playoffs one time.
I played in money leagues from 2003-2009 and never won a single dime--I would have been better off just flushing the $35 fee down the drain every year.
The past three seasons, I've been in a "fun" league (no money), and it's been mostly the same story: Injuries, bad luck, etc, etc.
This season started out much the same way with my usual 0-2 start. I rebounded and managed to win three straight games, and it was pretty much that same pattern the rest of the season. Weeks 3-14, I was never more than a game below .500 and never more than a game above.
And that, in and of itself, is pretty remarkable, considering I had the second lowest point total in the league. There's an interesting stat that breaks down what my record would be if I played every other team every week, and my record would be 39-57-2 .
Maybe my low point total had to do with my inept roster management. There is another stat in my league that breaks down the number of points a team leaves on the bench, and for the season, I finished at -381 in that category, or 27 points a week. The Steelers are struggling with trying to overcome a minus-14 in their turnover ratio, try winning fantasy football games when you start four players who are on byes like I did in Week 6--I scored 25 points!
You think injuries are demoralizing to a real NFL team, how do you think I felt when I left Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin and his 51 points on the bench in Week 9?
However, I managed to hang in there the entire year and actually clinched a playoff spot in Week 13 with only a 7-6 record. I lost in the final regular season game to finish the season at 7-7. Why'd I make the postseason with such a low point total? Simple, I had the third lowest points against. Much like the Steelers in the mediocre AFC, it sometimes just comes down to luck.
Did I deserve to be in the playoffs? Judged on my performance of managing my team, probably not. But just like in the NFL, it's all about the math (thank goodness, my league doesn't rank its teams by points).
Four teams make the playoffs in my league, and needless to say I entered the postseason as the fourth seed and faced the number one seed in the semi-finals, a 12-2 team that scored 117 points more than I did in the regular season.
However, I won because of three reasons.
First, I decided to start Matt Schaub instead of Matthew Stafford, who I started almost exclusively in the regular season, and Schaub put up 14 points to Stafford's three.
Secondly, I went with my gut and inserted Michael Crabtree into the starting lineup as one of my wide receivers, and he picked up 22 points.
And third, my opponent's quarterback, Tom Brady, did a QB slide right before the goal line instead of trying to dive for a touchdown in the Patriots Sunday night game against San Francisco.
Those three things all added up to a six point win, and my team, perhaps the worst performing unit in my fantasy league, is in the championship round and one game away from winning it all.
So, let this be a lesson to the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers. As long as you make the dance and make all the right moves once you get there, anything is possible.
Of course, one has to wonder just how much damage the Steelers will be able to do if they make the dance. Right now, they're injured and struggling in the turnover department, with a minus-14 for the season. That's not championship football.
However, recent history tells us that a team can squeak into the playoffs and still go on a championship run. The previous two Super Bowl champions--the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants--needed to win on the final week of the regular season just to make the playoffs, yet, once they did, they went on a roll and never stopped until they hoisted the Lombardi.
In fact, New York woke up on Christmas Eve a year ago pretty much in a similar predicament to the Steelers this season. The Giants were 7-7 and losers of five out of six. Somehow, though, they were still in control of their own fate and took care of business in Weeks 16 and 17.
If the Steelers don't feel like looking back to recent NFL history to stay motivated down the stretch, maybe they can use my fantasy football team--Horrible Losses--as an example of what can happen if you get hot at the right time.
For those of you who know me, you're probably aware of just how "horrible" my fantasy football history has been. From 2003-2011, I played in at least one league a year but only made the playoffs one time.
I played in money leagues from 2003-2009 and never won a single dime--I would have been better off just flushing the $35 fee down the drain every year.
The past three seasons, I've been in a "fun" league (no money), and it's been mostly the same story: Injuries, bad luck, etc, etc.
This season started out much the same way with my usual 0-2 start. I rebounded and managed to win three straight games, and it was pretty much that same pattern the rest of the season. Weeks 3-14, I was never more than a game below .500 and never more than a game above.
And that, in and of itself, is pretty remarkable, considering I had the second lowest point total in the league. There's an interesting stat that breaks down what my record would be if I played every other team every week, and my record would be 39-57-2 .
Maybe my low point total had to do with my inept roster management. There is another stat in my league that breaks down the number of points a team leaves on the bench, and for the season, I finished at -381 in that category, or 27 points a week. The Steelers are struggling with trying to overcome a minus-14 in their turnover ratio, try winning fantasy football games when you start four players who are on byes like I did in Week 6--I scored 25 points!
You think injuries are demoralizing to a real NFL team, how do you think I felt when I left Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin and his 51 points on the bench in Week 9?
However, I managed to hang in there the entire year and actually clinched a playoff spot in Week 13 with only a 7-6 record. I lost in the final regular season game to finish the season at 7-7. Why'd I make the postseason with such a low point total? Simple, I had the third lowest points against. Much like the Steelers in the mediocre AFC, it sometimes just comes down to luck.
Did I deserve to be in the playoffs? Judged on my performance of managing my team, probably not. But just like in the NFL, it's all about the math (thank goodness, my league doesn't rank its teams by points).
Four teams make the playoffs in my league, and needless to say I entered the postseason as the fourth seed and faced the number one seed in the semi-finals, a 12-2 team that scored 117 points more than I did in the regular season.
However, I won because of three reasons.
First, I decided to start Matt Schaub instead of Matthew Stafford, who I started almost exclusively in the regular season, and Schaub put up 14 points to Stafford's three.
Secondly, I went with my gut and inserted Michael Crabtree into the starting lineup as one of my wide receivers, and he picked up 22 points.
And third, my opponent's quarterback, Tom Brady, did a QB slide right before the goal line instead of trying to dive for a touchdown in the Patriots Sunday night game against San Francisco.
Those three things all added up to a six point win, and my team, perhaps the worst performing unit in my fantasy league, is in the championship round and one game away from winning it all.
So, let this be a lesson to the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers. As long as you make the dance and make all the right moves once you get there, anything is possible.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Playing volleyball at the West Penn Rec Center Really Takes Me Back
After a year of only half paying attention to the Pittsburgh Dad phenomenon, I recently started to watch more of his videos, and I have to say, they really take me back to a simpler time. Curt Wootton, the co-creator and actor who portrays Dad, really has the speech pattern, mannerisms and accent of the typical "Pittsburgh Dad" down perfectly.
If I close my eyes, I can picture every adult authority figure of my youth (male and female) as they raised holy hell over everything I did.
Speaking of my youth, one of the neighborhoods that I grew up in was Polish Hill.
For the past seven years, I've been playing recreational volleyball in the West Penn Recreational Center, located in Polish Hill. It's always a fun time, but whenever I'm over that way, I can't help but feel a sense of home. I often forget that the playground located adjacent to the rec. center was the playground of my toddler years, and it's where my mom taught me how to swing.
I never went into the rec. center as a kid, but I did swim in the pool, and looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have, because it was an absolute disaster. The pool was so badly in need of restoration, pieces of cement would crumble into your hands as you got in and out, and if you had goggles on under water, you could see huge chunks of cement just sitting at the bottom.
If stuff like that went on at a local pool today, people would lose their minds.
Back to volleyball. Following one of my Thursday night matches, it's fairly common for my teammates and I to frequent Gooski's, a bar located on Brereton Avenue, about a block away from the rec. center.
In the late 70's, when I was about six years old, I lived in an apartment right next to that bar. It wasn't called Gooski's then, but it looked pretty much the same as it does now. There's a little walkway beside the bar that connects Brereton to Dopson St. and it's adjacent to the yard I used to play in. All day long, drunk grown ups would walk by and comment on whatever it is that I was doing, and it would scare the living crap out of me.
Back when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, he, along with Vice President Walter Mondale, visited Pittsburgh, and one of their stops was Polish Hill. During their visit, one, or both, came over to pat me on the head. I couldn't have been any more than four or five at the time, and I would have none of it.
I don't know why I'm blogging about this stuff. I guess the Pittsburgh Dad has got me feeling a little nostalgic.
Too bad he's also got me ramblin' and writin' bad!
I BETTER SHUT THIS DAMN COMPUTER OFF! IT'S RUNNIN' UP MY LIGHT BILL!
If I close my eyes, I can picture every adult authority figure of my youth (male and female) as they raised holy hell over everything I did.
Speaking of my youth, one of the neighborhoods that I grew up in was Polish Hill.
For the past seven years, I've been playing recreational volleyball in the West Penn Recreational Center, located in Polish Hill. It's always a fun time, but whenever I'm over that way, I can't help but feel a sense of home. I often forget that the playground located adjacent to the rec. center was the playground of my toddler years, and it's where my mom taught me how to swing.
I never went into the rec. center as a kid, but I did swim in the pool, and looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have, because it was an absolute disaster. The pool was so badly in need of restoration, pieces of cement would crumble into your hands as you got in and out, and if you had goggles on under water, you could see huge chunks of cement just sitting at the bottom.
If stuff like that went on at a local pool today, people would lose their minds.
Back to volleyball. Following one of my Thursday night matches, it's fairly common for my teammates and I to frequent Gooski's, a bar located on Brereton Avenue, about a block away from the rec. center.
In the late 70's, when I was about six years old, I lived in an apartment right next to that bar. It wasn't called Gooski's then, but it looked pretty much the same as it does now. There's a little walkway beside the bar that connects Brereton to Dopson St. and it's adjacent to the yard I used to play in. All day long, drunk grown ups would walk by and comment on whatever it is that I was doing, and it would scare the living crap out of me.
Back when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, he, along with Vice President Walter Mondale, visited Pittsburgh, and one of their stops was Polish Hill. During their visit, one, or both, came over to pat me on the head. I couldn't have been any more than four or five at the time, and I would have none of it.
I don't know why I'm blogging about this stuff. I guess the Pittsburgh Dad has got me feeling a little nostalgic.
Too bad he's also got me ramblin' and writin' bad!
I BETTER SHUT THIS DAMN COMPUTER OFF! IT'S RUNNIN' UP MY LIGHT BILL!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Notre Dame vs. Alabama for the BCS National championship: Let the ratings begin!
Alabama came back to defeat Georgia in the SEC Championship game Saturday night to secure the program's second straight appearance in the BCS Title game. The Crimson Tide, the defending National champions, will meet top ranked Notre Dame January 7th.
It's the first appearance in the BCS title game for the Fighting Irish, who are seeking their first national title since 1988.
Alabama also won the National title following the 2009 season, so a victory over Notre Dame would not only mark the first time a team has won back-to-back BCS Championships, it would be the Tide's third title in four seasons.
It will also be the seventh straight season in-which at least one school from the powerful SEC will appear in the championship game.
As far as television ratings are concerned, this has to be a dream matchup for ESPN, the network that holds the rights to broadcast the BCS.
The Crimson Tide aren't just the most important thing in the state of Alabama, they're also a national brand, complete with eight national championships.
As for Notre Dame, the program has been a bit down in recent years (at least for them), but make no mistake, the Irish still generate the ratings, and much like Frank Sinatra, who was still filling up Las Vegas venues back in the 70's despite being over the hill and past his prime, Notre Dame fans go to see their team play regardless of its record, and regardless of what bowl it's in--to say Fighting Irish fans travel well would be the understatement of understatements.
With a perennial national powerhouse in Alabama and a Notre Dame program that finally has the on-the-field credentials to match its long-time national cache--the Irish also have eight national titles--the 2013 BCS title game could be the most hyped college football game in the past two-decades. And if the over-the-top rabid fan bases of both programs have anything to say about it (which, make no mistake, they will), it could be the most talked about football game of 2013, period.
It's the first appearance in the BCS title game for the Fighting Irish, who are seeking their first national title since 1988.
Alabama also won the National title following the 2009 season, so a victory over Notre Dame would not only mark the first time a team has won back-to-back BCS Championships, it would be the Tide's third title in four seasons.
It will also be the seventh straight season in-which at least one school from the powerful SEC will appear in the championship game.
As far as television ratings are concerned, this has to be a dream matchup for ESPN, the network that holds the rights to broadcast the BCS.
The Crimson Tide aren't just the most important thing in the state of Alabama, they're also a national brand, complete with eight national championships.
As for Notre Dame, the program has been a bit down in recent years (at least for them), but make no mistake, the Irish still generate the ratings, and much like Frank Sinatra, who was still filling up Las Vegas venues back in the 70's despite being over the hill and past his prime, Notre Dame fans go to see their team play regardless of its record, and regardless of what bowl it's in--to say Fighting Irish fans travel well would be the understatement of understatements.
With a perennial national powerhouse in Alabama and a Notre Dame program that finally has the on-the-field credentials to match its long-time national cache--the Irish also have eight national titles--the 2013 BCS title game could be the most hyped college football game in the past two-decades. And if the over-the-top rabid fan bases of both programs have anything to say about it (which, make no mistake, they will), it could be the most talked about football game of 2013, period.
The 2012 Pitt Panthers are bowl-eligible after their 27-3 thrashing of South Florida
What to make of the 2012 Pittsburgh Panthers under first year coach Paul Chryst? Sure, they're a 6-6 football team that will probably get an invitation to some 3rd world bowl somewhere. However, it's a team that could have been a lot better or even a lot worse. I'm sure you could say that about any football team--the whole "fine line" philosophy--but the Panthers were just totally unpredictable in 2012.
Pitt started out the year by losing to the division II (or whatever the college football sub-divisions are called today) Youngstown St. Penguins in Week 1, followed by a beatdown in Cincinnati in Week 2.
However, just when you thought the season was lost, the Panthers went out and handed it to 13th ranked Virginia Tech in Week 3. Maybe the Hokies weren't worthy of their early-season credentials, but Pitt may have pulled off an even bigger feat weeks later when the team came within an inch (almost literally) of knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend when Panthers' placekicker Kevin Harper barely missed a 33 yard field goal in double-overtime that would have won the game. Now the Fighting Irish' are ranked number one in the nation and are set to play Alabama in the National title game in January.
You lose to Youngstown St. and then almost totally alter the National title picture? Crazy Panthers. Of course, who can blame them for being a bit uneven during a season in-which they had to play under their fourth head coach and third coaching regime since December of 2010. If I was a 20 year old in that situation, I'd act out, too, on the football field.
The roller coaster 2012 Panthers then lost to an underwhelming Connecticut team following the heartbreaking Notre Dame defeat and followed that up with another unexpected impressive 27-6 win over a ranked Rutgers team a week ago at Heinz Field.
The regular season wrapped up Saturday night with a 27-3 victory over the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.
Pitt finished fifth in the Big East and now is slated to play in any number of third-tier bowl games. The latest bowl projections place the Panthers in the Pinstripe Bowl against West Virginia on December 29th. I don't know how excited any Pitt fan could possibly be with yet another appearance in the BBVA Compass Bowl or the Beef O'Brady Bowl, but a matchup against the program's most heated football rival would probably be more rewarding for the fan base than even a trip to a higher-level non-BCS bowl against a more formidable opponent.
Pitt started out the year by losing to the division II (or whatever the college football sub-divisions are called today) Youngstown St. Penguins in Week 1, followed by a beatdown in Cincinnati in Week 2.
However, just when you thought the season was lost, the Panthers went out and handed it to 13th ranked Virginia Tech in Week 3. Maybe the Hokies weren't worthy of their early-season credentials, but Pitt may have pulled off an even bigger feat weeks later when the team came within an inch (almost literally) of knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend when Panthers' placekicker Kevin Harper barely missed a 33 yard field goal in double-overtime that would have won the game. Now the Fighting Irish' are ranked number one in the nation and are set to play Alabama in the National title game in January.
You lose to Youngstown St. and then almost totally alter the National title picture? Crazy Panthers. Of course, who can blame them for being a bit uneven during a season in-which they had to play under their fourth head coach and third coaching regime since December of 2010. If I was a 20 year old in that situation, I'd act out, too, on the football field.
The roller coaster 2012 Panthers then lost to an underwhelming Connecticut team following the heartbreaking Notre Dame defeat and followed that up with another unexpected impressive 27-6 win over a ranked Rutgers team a week ago at Heinz Field.
The regular season wrapped up Saturday night with a 27-3 victory over the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.
Pitt finished fifth in the Big East and now is slated to play in any number of third-tier bowl games. The latest bowl projections place the Panthers in the Pinstripe Bowl against West Virginia on December 29th. I don't know how excited any Pitt fan could possibly be with yet another appearance in the BBVA Compass Bowl or the Beef O'Brady Bowl, but a matchup against the program's most heated football rival would probably be more rewarding for the fan base than even a trip to a higher-level non-BCS bowl against a more formidable opponent.
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