AFC North Headline Of The Day...

Aw, poor Brady Quinn. And he played so well. Why oh why couldn't the rest of the Browns come through for him?

Yeah.

So I guess I gotta give the dude some props. That was pretty much 100 times better than I would've expected him to do. But you know what? It's like I said all week, the Browns' collective sucking has indeed been a full team effort. Sure, Derek Anderson was playing about as well as JT O'Sullivan. But it didn't help that Braylon Edwards had a case of Ike Taylor hands and Lt. Kellen Winslow was hurt and/or dicking around with the Browns front office.

And speaking of K2, what good is it to have that big of a game if you can't come through in the clutch. From where I was sitting, that 4th down throw went right through his hands. Listen man, I know Brady Quinn is the Myoplex King and probably super strong for it (riiiggghhtttt). But that's a ball you've gotta catch. I don't really know what else to say.

Oh and the Browns defense, much like their counterparts on the other side of the field, clearly didn't feel like stopping anyone last night. Nice work giving up that big play to Eddie Royal, dudes. I mean, the Broncos didn't have hardly any healthy running backs left. You know they're going to pass, and yet, nothing. Of course, that comes as no surprise to this guy. But dude, 447 passing yards! Ouch! I doubt any of you are sitting well today after that ass raping.

I guess there's really only one thing to say then...CHAMPIONSHIP!

Maybe these links could play better Defense than the Browns...

Big Ben = NFL's highest paid player...I wonder what the breakdown is for dollars earned per sack [WKYC]

It's official, Willie Parker will not play Sunday. I just...ugh [Post-Gazette]

Even more bad news - Phil Simms will be calling Sunday's game...he did compliment our linebackers, though... [SteelCityInsider]

DeAngelo Hall lands with the 'Skins...thankfully AFTER we already played them [WaPo]

Ah whatever, you've probably seen all the decent news by now anyhow. God I need a vacation...

PS - Yes, this is super late today. What can I say? It's been a long week. And much like last week, for some reason, I'm more busy on Friday than I was on Tuesday and Wednesday. Consequently, if anyone has a knife, I wouldn't much mind slashing some vital body parts right now. Cheers.

Mike Tomlin Is Not Pleased With Your Incompetency...

“No. 1 across the board won’t get you a cup of coffee.”
- Dick LeBeau

"Stats are for after the season to enjoy. We’re not into stats right now; we’re into winning games...You know, there’s a fine line between 1-8 and 8-1. In this league, there’s really not much difference. We’ve already lost two games on the road, so we’ve got to be wary of these guys."
- Aaron Smith

"When you do those things -- you don't stop the run, you can't run the ball effectively, you can't protect your quarterback -- you have a high probability of losing."
- Mike Tomlin

Yet again I find myself disappointed and confused. A third loss for the Steelers predicated on the same shit as our other two losses, and what's most frustrating is that we could've (might have even) seen this coming. A special feature starring Big Ben on Sunday Morning Countdown, an 8.5 point favor from Vegas, and more hype than Peyton Manning and Tony Romo combined (ok maybe that's an exaggeration...)? Nothing like the kiss of death. It's like I told a boisterous, misguided Jet fan at the game this afternoon - "there is no such thing as an easy win." (Though one could be led to believe otherwise...¹). And this just proves it.

So why did we lose this game?

1. Defensive Inadequacy In Crunch Time ~ As I talked about on Friday, just like against Denver and Cleveland, when we were given the chance to close out the game, our defense completely shit the bed. The last Jets drive before OT began at their 14 yard line with 2 minutes and 23 seconds left in what was at that point a 16-13 Steelers win. And yet 14 plays and 76 yards later, the Jets capped off a nice little drive with three points to send the game into OT. Hey guys, here's a tip from Boiler Room - "Always be closing." Always, not just 58 out of 60 minutes...

2. Inability To Establish The Run ~ Does anyone know why Willie Parker was on the sidelines for like half the game? As far as I could tell he wasn't injured. Plus, we were up against the WORST rush defense in the entire NFL. So all we could muster was 112 yards and 3.3 per carry (33 attempts)? Willie himself had 21 carries and only gained 52 yards. Those are numbers to forget. If you can't run on a team that hasn't been able to stop the run all year long, what does that say about you? Nothing good, I know that much...

3. Costly Turnovers ~ Ah yes, the old turnover routine. Big Ben was quite a success this afternoon, fumbling one ball away and throwing another to a guy with the wrong color jersey. Every turnover is costly, but ones that turn into points are especially costly in a game where points are at a premium. You just can't give teams the opportunity to beat you like that...

Of course, this is all not to mention the stupid penalties³, an embarrassing and untimely Leon Washington punt return⁴ and ZERO protection for Big Ben⁵. But who's counting.

All in all, this was a very discouraging loss. And not just because I was sandwiched among some of the most obnoxious sports fans on the face of the earth, screaming about how the Jets just pulled off an impossible feat⁶. But mostly because the Steelers failed to show any progress towards remedying the problems we've had all season. At least those which are capable of remedy. One of these days I'd just like to see us win one relatively flawlessly. Is that too much to ask?

What say you all? What were the biggest disappointments? Silverback only registering 10 tackles instead of like 25? Losing two coin tosses in one game? Curtis Martin's choice of attire? Let's have 'em...

FOOTNOTES:
¹ - See here
² - See Box Score - Disclaimer: if you choose to review this, please be sure to eliminate all sharp objects from your immediate surroundings. It may cause you to exhibit uncontrollable aggression and anger...
³ - 8 for 100 yards (including one pass interference call for 41 yards, courtesy of "Face Me" Ike Taylor...)
⁴ - When you kick away from a guy all game, why would you then all of a sudden decide overtime is a good time to kick it to him? Someone help me understand this...
⁵ - 7 sacks? You assholes let Ben get sacked 7 times by the league's worst defense? Miserable...
⁶ - It would appear some NY Jet fans believe that the Lombardi trophy is handed when a team wins 2 out of 10 games...no other explanation for the display of bravado I was forced to bear witness to after today's game...

GAME RECAPS:
[Behind the Steel Curtain]
[DC Steeler Nation]
[Die Hard Steel]
[Doubt About It]
[Fanhouse]
[Joey Porter's Pit Bulls]
[NonStop Steelers]
[Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies]

[Associated Press]
[ESPN]
[Fox Sports]
[Post-Gazette]
[SteelCityInsider]
[Steelers.com]