Who The [Redacted] Is Ray McDonald?

The Las Vegas tourism commission should just start depositing money right into the Steelers bank account. Because the amount of exposure that desert oasis has been getting for Steelers players getting crunk round those parts is criminal (please ignore the improper use of that joke, thanks).

But that's not really what's important here.

What is important, is that someone should probably send a memo to Vegas Deluxe (whatever the hell that is), and let them know that the half Asian, half Black man you see on the right here is not Ray McDonald, but in fact, it is Hines Ward - Super Bowl XL MVP and the Steelers all-time leading receiver.

That's a pretty easy mistake to make, though. I mean Hines looks like an Irish guy named "Ray," doesn't he?

Two other things to say about this mess...

1. No idea why, but Peter Gallagher's unibrow was in attendance, and
2. This was a "Night of Champions," including The Bus, for whom the DJ, who I guess thought he was real cute, played "The Wheels on The Bus"

Anyways, there are some other pictures of the dudes partying it up at Tryst recently (too lazy to read about when) over here, if you care. I really don't. Frankly, I'm somewhat ashamed of myself for dedicating an entire post to this. What a waste.

Then again, the same could be said for this entire joke of a blog.

My kingdom for a cold beer right now. Or several horse tranquilizers. It feels like there's a civil war going on in my brain, and shockingly, my tolerance for pain is losing.

SERENITY NOW!

Obligatory Footer - If you haven't already, become a fan of OFTOT on Facebook, join the blog network and follow me on Twitter. Or don't. Your choice, really.

Have No Fear...

"Ward's Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Will Be Shipped to Tampa"

Phew, thank God!

For a minute there, I was worried...

A hyperbaric oxygen chamber, dude?

Well done, Hines.

2 Steelers Bloggers, 1 Amos Zereoue...

EDITOR'S NOTE: I recognize that the following post reads like War and Peace (yes, it's a marathon). But I urge you to do your best to read the whole thing anyway. After all, I mean, we did talk to Amos Zereoue. Your cooperation in the matter is much appreciated in advance! Now let's get on with it!...that's what she said...

If you watched this week's [Unnamed] Steelers Pregame Show, you'll remember how Tec and I rather weakly foreshadowed that we had some "awesome experience" last Thursday night. Well I believe the picture above is self-explanatory, but just for good measure - that experience was meeting and "interviewing" former Steelers RB, Amos Zereoue.

This all came about after a few weeks back I discovered the review of his restaurant, Zereoue, in Crain's New York Business. Not even had I posted the story and Tec had already fired off an email to the restaurant requesting an interview. Luckily for us, they obliged and we got our opportunity last Thursday.

Amos Zereoue is possibly one of the coolest dudes on this earth. But as you can imagine, with running his own restaurant and all, he's a pretty important and busy guy. Despite this, he found a good half hour to sit down with Tecmo and I to discuss everything from his days at West Virginia to his brief time in New England, and even a little about the Steelers current state of affairs.

I'm not going to lie to you, we were both pretty nervous going to meet Famous Amos. It wasn't really until Tec and I boarded the 6 train headed for 34th St. that I really started to feel it, though. And by the time we emerged from the Subway, I was honestly short of breath. Sure, that sounds pretty gay. Hell, maybe it is. But for me, not only meeting Amos Zereoue, but getting to speak to him candidly, was possibly the coolest thing I'd ever been privileged to do. When I started OFTOT approximately two years ago, I never in my wildest dreams thought that someday it'd afford me an opportunity to sit next to Amos Zereoue and probe him about his former days in Pittsburgh.

We entered the bar around 6:10 or 6:15 after composing ourselves outside for a good 15 minutes. But still, my nerves were kind of running full speed (pun intended). When Tec told the guy at the bar we were there to talk to Amos, he said, "oh, you're the blogspot guys?," which I thought was pretty funny. We replied, "yeah," and he told us Amos would be there any minute. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a dark SUV rolled up with what seemed to be a truncated entourage inside and out came Amos Zereoue. He strided past us at the bar, and only catching a quick glance at his face, I wasn't sure if it was him. But it was, and soon enough he came over and introduced himself, shook our hands and told us to have a seat. I think this was the point where I may have pissed and/or shit myself. And let me just say, for the record, while I was a good five or six inches taller than him, his hands were proportionately the size of catchers mitts. I literally thought that as I stood there shaking his bear claw of a right hand.

Anyways, in true blogger fashion, we wanted to keep the "interview" informal and conversational. We had plans to record all of our question and answer, but in all of our excitement, that pretty much went right out the window and we probably both at once started to barrage Amos with questions. Unfortunately, though, having departed from our well thought out plan of preserving the conversation for posterity, I am only able to summarize Amos' responses to our many questions here. And to be honest with you, I can hardly remember what I did yesterday, let alone last Thursday night when we actually interviewed Amos. But I'll do my best, and you can read more over at PSaMP.

We started out talking about what it was like for him to get drafted by the Steelers after coming out of WVU. Amos said he thought to himself, "Why do they want me?," acknowledging to himself that the Steelers traditionally preferred the physical running game to the speed and finesse for which he was "famous" (pun also intended). But he said he loved the time he spent in Pittsburgh, and obviously it didn't work out so bad since he had a fair amount of success. I kind of hinted that maybe the combination of him and The Bus was a precursor to what is now commonplace in the NFL - the one-two punch of power and speed. As I remember he kind of tacitly agreed. But he probably didn't really care much either way, as he did his job regardless.

We then asked him about Hines Ward. Specifically, what he thought about the ever-popular assertion that Hines is a "dirty" player. Not even had we finished our question before he jumped right in and said it was bullshit (my words, not his). He expressed a great respect for Hines both on and off the field and said that it's important to distinguish between the two personas. The way I kind of parroted his response back to him was - when you're on the field, you've gotta get fired up and be ready to do what's needed of you to help your team win. You gotta compete as hard as you can. Amos echoed what many commentators and us Steelers homers have always said of Hines - that he's the best blocking receiver in the game. In fact, I seem to remember Amos thinking that Hines was one of only a few receivers left that even make a real effort to block. And he said, as a Running Back, he really appreciated that, knowing that when he made it to the second level, he had a guy out there who could and WOULD clear the way for him.

He also said Hines is just a very caring person. Not that this is anything new to us. But to hear it from a guy who had significantly more intimate contact with Hines just further legitimized it in my mind. And while we didn't really get into it, Amos seemed to insinuate that Plaxico Burress was actually a pretty good guy too. I found that rather interesting, given Plax's reputation and general public persona. But since Amos obviously knows him better than we do, and in light of some of the other astute observations he made, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Eventually we got on to the subject of how playing the one season he played in New England compared with his experience in Pittsburgh. He immediately explained to us that it was pretty different, adding that "Coach Belichick has a great football mind," or something to that effect. We didn't really press much further about that but just kind of agreed, and I mentioned that any Coach who can post a winning record in Cleveland's gotta know his stuff to a certain extent (I'm looking at you, Romeo Crennel).

As for the current state of affairs in Pittsburgh, Amos made two pretty on-point observations. The first was, and I recognize this isn't exactly novel, that the Steelers have a problem in the Offensive Line. As a former Running Back, clearly he knows a thing or two about the value of a good Offensive Line. And he talked about how the line the Steelers had back at the tail end of his time, basically the same one that was in place for the Steelers Super Bowl run, was perhaps a little underrated.

The second observation he made was about Anthony Smith. What was funny to me was that, while he really has no reason to follow the team anymore other than nostalgia, he knew about the legend of Anthony Smith and his mouth (of course, I guess unless you're living under a rock you know about this, but it was the context that made it interesting). Like the rest of us, Amos felt that if Smith really wants his chance, he'd be better off keeping his mouth shut and letting his effort do his talking. I brought up how Anthony Smith's biggest headlines since starting his career with a bang had been the victory "guarantee" last season and a couple of stories during the last two training camps about how he's maybe a little more physical with his own teammates than some of his Steelers brethren. Amos didn't really comment on that but the whole discussion evinced a feeling that he valued effort over talent.

As we wound down our conversation, and after we had thanked him gratuitously for spending the time with us, Amos told us to come back anytime. As owner/chef/host/general proprietor of the restaurant, he spends a fair amount of time there. So much so that at least one of the regulars we talked to at the bar knew him by name (and not because of his football career). And all I can say is - I hope he meant it. Because you can't say that kind of thing to two rabid Steelers fans/bloggers and get away with it. You better bet we'll be frequenting Zereoue as often as possible. I'm even thinking about setting up a weekly or bi-weekly happy hour there for Steelers fans in the NY area.

The restaurant itself had a great vibe. The front half was the bar, which included ample bar stools but also a couple of couches in the front, right next to the window (behind us in the picture above). And the back half was the dining room, separated from the bar by a draped curtain. The whole place just kind of exuded culture and it felt really welcoming. That could easily have been because we had just met AMOS EFFING ZEREOUE. But nevertheless, I'm looking forward to eventually getting back to sample some of the West African and French influenced cuisine.

All in all, I gotta say once again, this was easily the coolest thing I've done since I've lived here in the Manhattan area, and high up on the list of coolest things I've done all time. I want to thank Amos and the restaurant for being so awesome! If you are in the area, definitely check it out - on 37th St. between Madison and 5th Avenues (13 E. 37th St.).

Oh, and in case you've forgotten how fast Amos was, I'd urge you to watch these clips of him in HIGH SCHOOL! The dude had some jets for sure.

Here's a couple of other pics for good measure...

We Really Couldn't Have Asked for Much Moore...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that picture has very little to do with what happened in Cincinnati yesterday. It is, however, fun for me to look at. And frankly, that's enough.

Well friends, thankfully I think this is the first time since Week 1 that I don't have to write - "it wasn't pretty, but a win is a win." Whereas our last three wins were achieved by an average margin of 4 points, yesterday we enjoyed a slightly more favorable differential of 28 points! Yeah, we destroyed them. I particularly liked the part where MEWELDE MOORE had THREE TOUCHDOWNS. Let me repeat that. MEWELDE MOORE had THREE TOUCHDOWNS. How many of you thought I'd be writing THAT this morning?

And so we increase our record to 5-1, as the score is now Big Ben - 11, Ohio - 0. The Steelers took care of business by way of "the big three" (Hines, San Antonio and Nate Washington) combining for 206 of the Steelers 250 total passing yards, and 2/3 of the number of touchdowns that Mewelde Moore had. Not altogether a bad performance.

On the other side of the ball, the Steelers Defense had seven sacks - the tandem of Wooderson contributing a combined FOUR, The Law contributing two more and James Farrior rounding things out with the seventh. No picks. But a fumble recovery and plenty of solid plays nonetheless.

Still, before I get too amped up, it WAS the Bungles. I mean, they were 0-6, starting Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB and struggling with perhaps the biggest waste of talent this side of the Mississippi (wait, Cincinnati is on this side of the Mississsippi, right?). The fact is, we should have won this game by even more than we did. Not necessarily because the Bengals were so shitty. But really because of that offensive dearth for the entire 2nd Quarter.

Whatever. We won! We're 5-1, leading Bawlmore, who unfortunately took care of the Dolphins yesterday, by two games in the division and will undoubtedly increase our profile in the conversation about playoff contenders. Not that we need that last part. But listen, without Master Fly W Large, Big Snack or Marvel Smith, we still put up 38 points and held the Bangles to just 10. Probably should have been 3, but I'm not going to split hairs.

5-1 feels good, right? I know it does for me. So let's go through the weekly recap of "Things That Were Awesome," "Things That Were Not Awesome," and "Things That Sucked Mini Horse Balls." You'll notice I expanded the "Awesome" section to 10 instead of the normal five. I couldn't pick just five. Go with it.

Things That Were Awesome...
1. Mewelde F'ing Moore - 120 yards, 3 TDs (no brainer)
2. This hit on Keith Rivers...

3. Silverback...No need for anything more clever
4. Punt coverage (Bengals return avg. = 2 yards)
5. Santonio Holmes' 5 catches, 89 yards, and 1 TD
6. 0 sacks allowed!
7. 0 offensive turnovers!
8. Did I mention, Mewelde Moore's 120 yards and 3 TDs?
9. Timmons, Woodley and Harrison combining for six sacks
10. Face Me Ike playfully nudging Ocho Cinco out of bounds

Things That Were Not Awesome...
1. Kemoeatu's 500th false start penalty in the 1st six games
2. Letting Chad Johnson score his 1st TD against us since 2005
3. The Browns (as we knew they would be)
4. Kickoff coverage (Caldwell's return avg. = 29 yards)
5. Marvin Lewis' post-game demeanor

Things That Sucked Mini Horse Balls...
1. Troy leaving the field after a helmet to helmet with Cedric Benson...
2. With McFadden in tow
3. Our offensive production in the 2nd quarter...or lack thereof, rather
4. Watching Ryan Fitzpatrick orchestrate a 14 play, 92 yard TD scoring drive
5. Being sick and not drinking at the bar

One other thing that was awesome - yesterday's liveblog, courtesy of Tobiathan. I wasn't able to join, because the game wasn't on regular TV here and I don't have the kind of coin that would fund me getting something fancy like Sunday Ticket. But I checked it out last night and it looked to be as awesome as usual! Well done, Tobiathan!

Also, OFTOT friend and compatriot, The Chief was there to witness the beating from some prime seats. And he was kind enough to send visual evidence. Check these out...

Looks like he found an island among a sea of insanity...


Hey, what's Najeh doing stretching? He ain't gonna play, is he? Wait, what?


If you look closely, you'll see someone has an even sicker 'fro than Tomlin...


Wow, I'll bet the guy in the Keith Rivers jersey is pissed off today...


The Chief kindly noted - even Anthony Smith got to play...


From 100 feet away, Ed Hochuli is still thicker than that towel holder's wrist...


As The Chief pointed out, somebody won't be getting laid tonight...


Wait, I think I see a Bengals fan...oh, no, that's just a guy in a hunting vest...


No two people are not waving a Terrible Towel...


Thanks Chief! Some solid camerawork. Looks like it was a blast! Beyond that, I think we savor the win for today, and begin to mentally prepare for the defending champion Giants next Sunday.

Now let's get his party started discussion going...

What did you all think? What were your "Awesomes," "Not Awesomes," and "Sucked Mini Horse Balls'?"

Queen's City Here We Come...

Cincinnati. What can I say about the Bungles that hasn't already been said about Afghanistan? They look bombed out and depleted.

Ok, no seriously. Here's the state of the Bengals - They're 0-6 - despite a few close ones, sans Carson Palmer - sub Ryan Fitzpatrick who may be more suited to attack the MCATs than the Pittsburgh defense; they feature a one-two backfield punch of Chris Perry (averaging a staggering 42 rush yards per game) and Cedric Benson (recently signed off waivers), and an imposing Defense that includes such notable talents as Domata Peko, Rashad Jeanty and Dexter Jackson. So clearly the Steelers will face their toughest test of 2008.

Alright, no, let's get serious. There is no such thing as a sure thing. Especially in the NFL this year. I needn't remind you of last weekend's results as evidence. So while the Bengals, on their face, don't seem to be quite the formidable foe they've been in the past they were in 2005, they've still got some playmakers that we'd be apt to worry about. Mainly - TJ Douchemanzadeh, Chad Johns-circus-show, Chris Henry - The Perpetually-Incarcerated Wonder, Jonathan Joseph (ish), Leon Hall (ish), and Keith Rivers (as much ish as you can give to a 1st round rookie).

And let's not forget that now Willie Parker is out for Sunday, Marvel Smith is more than likely out (sub the 7 million dollar bench warmer man, Max Starks), and Casey Hampton may likely sit this one as well. So we're not exactly in tip-top shape either. We're a handful of sacks away from losing to an 0-6 team vying to replace last year's Dolphins as the league's most worthless franchise. We can NOT let that happen.

The good news is, the Defense is relatively healthy. We're getting Keisel back, although we can't be sure he's 100%. Nick Eason, Travis Kirschke and Chris Hoke been filling in rather well. The linebackers are playing like the ravenous, sack-happy beasts we know they truly are, and Troy looks like a man on fire, and has actually been somewhat vocal to boot. All that notwithstanding, I'm slightly worried about our Corners. Notice I said SLIGHTLY. We know they can play, but the only real weapons Cincy has are really the three aforementioned Wide Receivers. Good news again is that Deshea Townsend should be well rested. So the trio of Face Me Ike, Bryant "Look at my sick goatee" McFadden and Deshea "I ain't done yet" Townsend should be alright. That said, it's something to watch.

In addition, I'll also be watching - Jeff Reed. I know that sounds weird, and NO I don't mean watching him while he photographs his manliness in the hotel bathroom. I mean that left calf he injured in our game against Jacksonville Jagoffville two weeks ago. Tec and I have been very vocal about our expectations for Party Boy Reed, but this injury may be more than any of us are thinking. And there's only one way to find that out. Either way, hopefully he spent the bye week rehabbing and taking it easy rather than refereeing pudding wrestling with Sandy Sanderson at Buckhead's. But I have my doubts about that.

Then there's Nate Washington. And, I mean that in a good way (for the first time). Last game he shined, nabbing six catches for 94 yards and a score. If he can be that reliable on Sunday, and Hines can have the kind of game HE had two weeks ago (7 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD), not to mention hopefully a healthy Santonio, we should have some great success throwing the ball in the absence of Master Fly W Large (Willie Parker for those of you who aren't familiar with the OFTOT preferred nomenclature).

Plus, with Dallas Baker out this week, we just might get our first real taste of what Limas Speed Sweed can do. Arians wants to throw that patented corner of the end zone fade? Who better to chuck it to than a 6'4" 220 lb monster who'll likely be covered by either Simeon Castille (6'0", 195, undrafted free agent) or David Jones (6'0", 196, 2nd year Corner out of Wingate). I would love nothing more than to see Limas Sweed pillage the Bengals secondary. Of course, it's not likely...and frankly, I'd love nothing more than to see ANY of our receivers pillage the Bengals secondary. But I gotta have something to write about. You understand.

So that's my two, three, four (?) cents for whatever they're worth (don't even make the smartass joke). And in case you were wondering, Steely McGnome has predicted Steelers - 34, Bengals - 24.

What do you guys think? Anyone you'll be looking at on Sunday? Any concerns you have? Anybody got any gum?

Let's have it.

Oh, I'll also be watching the benGALs. But not in 'nam while the game is going on, of course...

Conference Call Thursday!

Picture for entertainment purposes only. Be cool, Tobiathan! And sadly, this will probably be me for the better part of the day...yes, with the phone upside down too.

This week, the country's all abuzz with Tony Romo's pinky, Pac Man's suspension, Roy Williams' trade, and Shaun Alexander's resurrection. But there's one story line that's been lost among these national media stories. And that's Mike Tomlin and Hines Ward disputing the two unnecessary roughness fines leveled against Hines this week.

Of course, it hasn't been lost on us.

So I thought for a little Thursday morning fun, I'd outline in technicolor how the conversation might go between Tomlin, Hines and Principal...I mean Commissioner Goodell.

So here goes...

[Phone ringing]

The Commish: Hello, this is Roger Goodell.

Tomlin: Yo, this Goodell?

The Commish: Um, yes. As I said, this is Roger Goodell.

Tomlin: Good. Me and my man, Hines Ward, got some questions and we want some answers.

The Commish: Well that usually is how it works with questions. Anyways, what's on your mind, Mike?

Tomlin: I'm just sayin', man, how you gonna do Hines like that?

The Commish: Do...

Tomlin: Yeah, how you gonna jack this man's loot for some bullshit that your on-field clique didn't even call during either of those games? I mean, that sounds like a 211 to me.

The Commish: Well, Mike, as you know, it is the league's official policy to screw your players out of their money with our unexplainable fines...

Hines Ward: Wait, can I say something? Can I just say something right now? I am an innocent man. Does this look like the face of a killer?

The Commish: Killer? I was talking about those unnecessarily rough hits you put on a Raven and a Jaguar.

Tomlin: Hines, be cool, man. I got this.

Hines Ward: Yo, Coach, ain't nothing cool about this. Listen up, Jane Goodall, this ain't studying the apes, here. If you're gonna fine me for unnecessary roughness, don't you think you should have called the penalty during the damn game?

The Commish: Well, Hines, as you know, it is the league's official policy to screw you out of your money with our unexplainable fines...I'm sorry, my hands are tied.

Tomlin: Yeah, you don't cut this shit out and your hands will really be tied! And your feet too. And any other body parts I can get my hands on.

Hines Ward: Well, maybe if you could just let me explain myself. I plead Sammy Sosa. I don't understand English, I'm from Georgia.

The Commish: I don't...I don't even know where to begin...

Tomlin: How 'bout you BE-GIN by removing your foot from Hines' ass? Sounds to me like a good place to start.

The Commish: I think you've lost me, Mike.

Hines Ward: OK Goodall, so you wanna fine me for some grabassin' that wasn't even called a penalty, whatever. Maybe you could explain to me the definition of "Unnecessary Roughness"?

The Commish: Surely, Hines. "Unnecessary Roughness" is when you hit someone and we arbitrarily decide that even though our refs didn't see or call it, we're going to hold you responsible anyway.

Tomlin: What's that? Your momma's recipe for french toast? Hines' talkin' about hitting people.

The Commish: Yes, Mike, I understand. But like I said, the rules are the rules. I'm sorry, as you know the league's official policy is to screw your players out of their money with our unexplainable fines. There's nothing I can do.

Hines Ward: Yo, I'm gonna come up there and unnecessarily rough you up, Goodall!

Tomlin: That makes two, Good-asshole. I'll cut you.

The Commish: Gentleman, this is exactly the type of behavior that the league is trying to discourage. I'm sorry, but I've heard your pleas and the policy is the same. The league's official policy is to screw your players out of their money with our unexplainable fines. End of story.

Hines Ward: Alright, you know what? Obviously we're not getting through here. Tomlin, let's go hit Sheetz. I'm trying to get some munchies.

Tomlin: Aight. Goodie, we out. This is some bullshit. And yes I will play golf with you on Saturday.

The Commish: Great! I'll call Al Davis and we'll all hit the links.

Tomlin: Nah, [redacted] Al Davis. He's always drooling all on my driver and shit. Call up Ditka, he owes me a mai tai.

The Commish: Consider it done. Alright gentleman, I'll speak with you soon.

Tomlin: Peace out, G.

Hines Ward: I stopped listening 20 minutes ago, what? Oh yeah, take 'er easy Goodfornothing. I'm out.

[hang ups all around]

Yeah, I don't know either. I think I need more sleep. Good luck making any sense of that one. Oh, and by the way, I am a fan of Hines Ward on Facebook...don't judge me...

But what about those fines??

What is This, The Mike Tomlin School of PR?

Ok, first off this morning - what the hell went on in NY yesterday?

"There's great respect for the Rooney family in the National Football League, and we want to do everything we can to ensure that the Steelers continue to be operated by the Rooneys and the way they've been operated."

"[It's] another step in the process."

"We had a good dialogue, good communication about the issues at hand and I think we have a better understanding of where things are."

Mike Tomlin, is that you? Oh no, it's Roger Goodell. Wow, that's enough ambiguities to choke a horse Steely McBeam. Ok, no but seriously though, what are they talking about? These quotes are Oscar-worthy. Hey Goodell, does Pacino know you stole his line about "great respect for the...family?"

Secondly, did this guy seriously rank the Steelers' backup QB behind Matt Leinart, Chris Redman, Matt Moore and Gus Frerotte? #17 out of 32? Surely he can't be talking about Chuck Batch? Well, actually, he's not. The backup he's referring to is current backup, Lord Byron "Does Not Understand The Mechanics of Throwing A Football" Leftwich. Plus, he ranked Kyle Boller (being honestly evaluated as the potential starter in Baltimore) behind all of them at #20. So um, in that case, fair assessment. Carry on, Don Banks.

Lastly, Hines Ward had a revelation about how to help fix Wreckingball's recent fumbling problem. The same god damned revelation every blogger who made the obvious joke did. Yes, we all saw "The Program." Paying people to try and make Wreckingball fumble? Now, you're just being a dick. He already has to carry the ball everywhere with him. Knock that crap off. And also, this is news? Seriously? Wow.

Sorry guys, this post was the result of what they call a creativity fail. I'll try and come up with something better for tomorrow. I'm embarrassed. Embarrassed, really.

Any burning topics you'd like to discuss? I hear Perez Hilton thinks the Cracker Barrel is homo-unfriendly. Guess nobody told Perez that Domski used to work there...

REFERENCE MATERIAL:
Rooney bros. conclude meeting with NFL Commissioner [Post-Gazette]
Goodell calls meeting with Rooney brothers 'productive' [Trib]
Ranking each team's No. 2 QBs [SI.com]
Ward, Steelers Teach Mendenhall Not To Fumble [Trib]

Somebody Get Hines A Tissue...

"That's his opinion. Even with Plax and Kordell [Stewart], I would be wide open in the red zone, but people get enamored of tall receivers -- 'I have to throw it to him, throw it to him.' Tom Brady looks at coverage. Me, I'd take a guy who will scratch and claw and do anything to get the ball rather than go with height."
- Hines Ward

Dear Hines,
I'm pretty sure at no point when Ben made the comment about wanting a tall receiver did he ever say - "Hines Ward is dog shit. I mean he's not even a pro bowl caliber receiver. Definitely not what I need. We should probably just cut him -- he's too old anyhow."

Of course he didn't. Ben knows when he needs tough yardage or a clutch play, he can look to you every time. He's just saying -- in the red zone it's nice to be able to throw the ball up high, above a DBs head, and have a receiver who can get up and grab it without risking an interception. Or maybe I'm putting words in the man's mouth.

One way or another -- Relax man. Everything's gonna be just fine. No one's trying to take your job dude.

Sincerely,
Cotter

REFERENCE MATERIAL:
Ward Blindsided by Big Ben [Post-Gazette]
Hines Ward No Longer Likes Ben Roethlisberger [MJD]

We Dey.

"Hey, that's our job."
- Larry Foote (on crushing the Bengals playoff hopes)

Alright, it's late, I'm super tired and it's gonna be a long week. So let's make this fairly simple. The Steelers got a much needed win tonight to give us a two game lead in the AFC North, some reassurance that our offense is not completely worthless, another reminder of how dominating our defense can be, and some decent momentum to carry into this coming Sunday against the Patriots.

Again, for the 2nd time in the course of one week, it wasn't the prettiest, but as the old adage goes - "a win is a win." We did a lot of things well, but also some things not so well. Here's my not-so-authoritative list of positives and negatives:

BUENO

• Hines "Balls of Steel" Ward ~ 11 catches for 90 yards and 2 TDs. Oh an by the way, with the 2nd TD he passed John Stallworth for the all time Steelers record for scores with 64. I hear he even pisses slag. Bravo Hines, well done...


• Larry Foote, The OG ~ 4 solo tackles (6 total), the team's only sack, and a forced fumble that led to points. Seemed like every down Foote was chasing Carson Palmer. We knew it wasn't going to be easy to get penetration against that Bungle Offensive Line. But Foote helped do just enough to keep the pressure on. That'll do Larry, that'll do...


• Overall Defensive Nastiness ~ Only 249 total yards allowed by the NFL's top Defense in this win. They held Rudi Johson and Kenny Watson to just 57 yards on 19 carries, TJ Douchemanzadeh to just 42 yards on 5 catches, and Chris Henry to just 32 yards on 2 catches. Yes Ocho Cinco caught 6 balls for 86 yards. But he did not score, and generally did not have the impact he typically could have. And to top it all off, we covered extremely well and got enough pressure on Carson Palmer so that he only completed 17 of his 44 (!!) passing attempts.


• No Sacks on Big Ben!!!!! ~ Well worthy of five exclamation points. In fact, here's five more - !!!!!


• Good Ben ~ We'll start here because I think the man had a better game than we'll give him credit for. Ben's stat line = 21/32 for 184 yards and 2 TDs. Rarely does Ben have to throw the ball 30+ times in a game. But having done that tonight, I think he did OK. Not great. Certainly not flawless. But OK. Plus, again showing he fears no man, he got a ballsy rushing TD for our 1st points of the night. All in all an acceptable performance. I guess he can stay...

NO BUENO

• Bad Ben ~ The flip side of Big Ben's stat line = 2 INTs and his 2nd lowest passer rating of the season - 75.5 (72.9 low mark coming against the Cards). AND he consistently overthrew his receivers. As I said above, by no means did Ben play flawless. But I'm willing to overlook these foibles because we pulled out the win. Still, the Patriots will not let us off so easily. Just saying.


• Willie The Sure Handed ~ Oh wait, that's not right. 2 fumbles lost tonight for FWP. I don't know what to say about that. It definitely doesn't give me much confidence going into the biggest test of our season. Especially considering that aside from his two mistakes, he had 28 chances and could only amass 87 yards. These are just not FWP stats. Whatever his problem is he better figure it out. Willie - Like they said in the Disney classic DII: The Mighty Ducks, "You better get the damn magic..."


• Flag Me Again ~ 7 penalties for 37 yards. Not what I'd call mistake free. I'm alright with some of these. But Kendall Simmons - you asshole. What was the point of that meaningless display of machismo. Show that aggression on the next play. Not in between plays. Help us help you, man. Also, a 15 yard facemask penalty on Anthony Smith. Avoidable. A little more self-awareness might not hurt us...

Now, I admit. For the 1st time in weeks, possibly a month or more, I took in the game from the comfort of a table at the bar. So I didn't take any notes or pay particularly close attention to much of the game's finer points. Therefore I may have missed a few things.

So I ask you guys -- What did YOU think of the game? Good? Bad? Ugly (besides TJ Douchemanzadeh)?

PS - Hopefully this recap will not suck nearly as much after I've had a chance to scan the interwebs for more coverage and read over whatever it is that I just wrote...stay tuned. UPDATE: I read it again and I still don't know what the hell is going on here. Hopefully you guys understand me. Word.

GAME RECAPS:
[Behind The Steel Curtain]
[Blitzburgh Report]
[DC Steeler Nation]
[Die Hard Steel]
[Joey Porter's Pit Bulls]
[NFL From The Sidelines]
[NonStop Steelers]
[Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies]

[Associated Press]
[Post-Gazette]
[SteelCityInsider]
[Steelers.com]

Spend It Like You Stole It - Hines Ward...

Ladies and gentleman, this afternoon Hines Ward was reportedly ordered to repay a grand total of $48,438 to the bar he co-owns on the South Side, The Locker Room Bar & Grille. In a move that'd be sure to make Chris Henry proud - apparently Hines had used this "company" money to buy two rides for his boys.

First of all, I wanna know - What kind of whip was he buying for $24k a shot? A Hyundai? I mean, don't get me wrong, Domski drives one. These cars offer a comfortable and luxurious driving experience at a sensible price, but he's Hines Ward. Where my Bentley's at? Where the Caddy with the D's? Why am I trying to talk like this when I'm clearly out of my element?

Which leads me to my next question - What the hell does Hines Ward need with $48k from a bar he co-owns anyhow? How much (or little) are the Steelers paying him? Can't afford a couple of Toyota Camrys on that salary there, Hines? Gotta dip into the company funds?

Way to go jagoff...

Judge Settles Ward's Suit [Associated Press]

Big Ben - 9 | Ohio - 0

"That's why they're 5-2 and we're 2-5. Good teams put it in the end zone. Teams like us kick field goals."
- TJ Houshmanzadeh

Whine all you want, Cincinnati. Had you gone for it on 4th down instead of kicking a field goal, A- there's a good chance you would've gotten ZERO points off that drive and B- the 2nd guessing would be even worse than it is already. So I'd just take your loss like men, and deal with the fact that you've fallen way behind in the division and probably won't even make the playoffs. That ought to occupy you for a while...Oh yeah, and Anthony Smith slept with all your mothers...

But Steeler fans - Guess what? - we needed a win and we got a win! We took an embarrassing loss on the chin and shrugged it off this week to put down our not-so-worthy division rivals, the Bengals, and reaffirm our position atop the AFC North...for now. The bad news, if there is any at all, is the Browns (!) beat the Rams this afternoon 27-20, which means they're still just a game back, moving into 2nd place ahead of the Ravens. So the division is quite unsettled right now. But let's not go there. We won today. Let's just revel in that. Bask in the glory of beating a team whose city wanted a win so bad that elephants in their zoo were crushing pumpkins with Big Ben's picture on them. What a bunch of assholes.

The final score was 24-13, but it might as well have been 42-13 the way we controlled that game. Big Ben, FWP, Hines Ward and company took care of the ball today, mixed it up, and played the balance game we needed to stand victorious, while Farrior, Ike Taylor and Anthony Smith kept a lid on the Bengals so-called "electrifying" offense, holding their big three - Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmanzadeh to a respectable 205 yards through the air and only 1 TD. Pretty, pretty, pretty good, I'd say.

Now that we've won, let's take a look back at my thoughts from Friday and how the Steelers followed or did not follow what I thought we should do:

• Run the god damn ball: Check! Run it, then run it some more, we sure did. FWP carried exactly 22 times (whoa...prophetic...) for 126 yards and 1 score and Najeh added 8 carries for 23 yards. I'd say that's pretty successful indeed.


• Deploy a balanced offensive attack: Check! In addition to the 30 rushes by FWP and Deuce Davenport, the Steelers threw the ball 26 times, with Ben completing 19 passes for 230 yards and 2 TDs. Sure, he threw a pick...in the red zone...and that's pretty bush league. But I'm going to let it slide since he played a pretty decent game otherwise. I will say this though - Ben needs to get his passes down. There were too many balls above Hines and Santonio's heads that could have gotten them hit hard had the Bengals played any defense today. Watch out for those guys Ben, they're your lifeblood right now. Still, as I mentioned we needed to do on Friday, the Steelers mixed it up well, and were able to control the game with sustained, efficient drives. In fact, 3 out of 8 Steeler drives lasted 6 minutes or longer and 2 of those 3 were scoring drives (the 3rd would've been another score had Ben not thrown that pick). Can you say efficiency?


• Stop the Bengals passing machine: Check! Carson "I like wieners" Palmer - 23 for 31, 205 yards and only 1 TD. Chad "I just gotta be me" Johnson - 5 catches, 51 yards, 0 TDs. TJ "I'd like some cheese with my whine" Houshmanzadeh - 7 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD. Ok, that last stat wasn't exactly ideal. But neither of the twin towers broke 100 yards or had more than 1 score. So I consider that a success. Although, at the risk of being a wet blanket - we did not register a single sack, and I really didn't see us in the backfield often enough to make Carson Palmer sweat. That was unfortunate. Plus, the other thing I would have liked to have seen that I didn't see from a defensive scheme POV was pressing the receivers a little more. We kept giving them the 8-10 yard cushion we gave the Denver receivers and for at least the beginning of the game, they took it. We just can't continue to allow this. What more can I say? Good receivers will take that cushion and exploit it. We need to move up to the line and knock them off their routes. Get on their case a bit. Don't make it easy on them. Sort it out.


• More facetime for Woodley: Fail! I hardly saw Woodley at all. I guess when you're winning it's the ol' "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra. And I can respect that. Nonetheless, I'm not sure Woodley saw the field at all today, and he certainly didn't make any tackles. So just another thing to think about in the future. One man we did see a lot of today though, was Anthony Smith. And thank god for that. I don't think I have to say much more about him than his hit on Houshmanzadeh said for itself. The team's leading tackler this week - Smith made 10 tackles, 9 solo - Fear the wrath of Anthony Smith. Maybe Ryan Clark should get injured more often? (kidding...sort of)


• No stupid penalties: Check! 3 penalties for 30 yards but none at crucial moments in the game. Though just about anything (and everything) Kendall Simmons does right now is stupid. Thanks for the false start asshole. Way to make a positive contribution to the game.


• Put some breathing room between us and the Ravens: See above...Check!

Some other moments to cherish, not mentioned above:

• Silverback stripping the ball from Kenny Watson in dramatic fashion. Looked like Harrison brought the friggin' hammer down on that ball. I don't blame Watson for coughing it up. Bravo Silverback!


• Marvin Lewis' post-game quotables - "We are not overmatched. We were outplayed, outexecuted, and I was outcoached." Sounds like a personal problem to me...


• Big Ben hooking up with Santonio for 42 yards on the Steelers 2nd drive. Funny how much easier it is to throw the home run ball when your offense is rolling...


• Remember Hines Ward? He's not dead yet. Ok, he's not that old. But considering how much of a non-factor he has been this season, today was a pleasant surprise. Obviously we should be looking his way more often in the coming weeks. Bonus.


• Hope you didn't adjust your TV set. The Bengals did only have 10 players on the field for that last Pittsburgh TD. Sucks for them. I don't know what else to tell you.

One way or another, I'd say I'm very please with the way things went on the field today. We played our game, plain, simple and disciplined (for the most part). But again, coming in, we regarded this as a winnable game. The kind you need to have to gain momentum. This coming week we've got another big division game against the dirty birds of Baltimore, the Ravens. Another big MONDAY NIGHT game at that, in which I hear we'll be celebrating the Steelers 75th anniversary. Yellow helmets, great. Consider me psyched...

With that, it's 11:00PM and I'm beat. So that'll be all for today. Feel free to comment and tell me your thoughts on the game. Good, bad, outlandish. Any and all are encouraged. Let's have 'em!

Post-game coverage:
[DC Steeler Nation]
[Joey Porter's Pitbulls]
[Behind The Steel Curtain]
[Non-Stop Steelers]
[Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies]
[Blitzburgh Report]
[The Steel Tradition]
[Die Hard Steel]
[Fanhouse]

[KDKA]
[Associated Press]
[Post-Gazette]
[SteelCityInsider]
[CBS Sportsline]
[Tribune-Review]
[Steelers.com]

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, It's Go Time In The Steel City!

You might call it Super Sunday, a rematch of the game that netted us One For The Thumb. You might call it a rebound game, after a tough loss to our old friends Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. And you might just call it Week 5. Call it what you will, today's game against the Seattle Seahawks is just yet another test of what we have in the tank this season.

Some big questions - how will the team respond after last week's disparaging performance? Will Willie Parker break a 75 yarder? Will Santonio Holmes catch 3 TDs? Will the Defense hold Shaun Alexander to under 100 yards? Under 50 yards? And most of all, will Big Ben be wearing a helmet? (ah, it never gets old)

So, in preparation for today's battle at Heinz Field, here are some points to look for as you're watching the action:

THE STEELERS

• On Defense: The Blitz-Master Dick LeBeau will deploy multiple zone blitzes and maintain the physical play that has marked Steeler football for just about as long as we all can remember. The main key will be to keep pressure on Matt Hasslebeck to make the quick throws and throws he will not want to make. If we can generate an effective pass rush, it will frustrate the Seahawks passing attack, which hopefully by the 2nd Quarter or at least the 2nd half, they will have to rely on (to their detriment -- abandoning Shaun Alexander).
  
  Also, Bryant McFadden is out. So at 3rd corner we will see rookie William Gay. I'll bet Seattle is chomping at the bit to try and pick on Gay, but if they watched any of the preseason (yes I know it's just preseason), they ought to know that Gay won't be any more forgiving than McFadden would be. Gay just needs to maintain his confidence and focus. Don't be intimidated by the Seattle passing attack. If you stick to them, they will get frustrated and that will make your job infinitely easier. Look for Gay to do a good job filling in, though he may get thrown on a couple more times than he might like.
  
  Worse, Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton are listed as Questionable, and from what I'm reading, are NOT expected to play. Troy's nursing some torn cartilage in his rib cage, which sounds like a beast of an injury, and Big Snack has a Hammy injury. Still, if they do play, don't expect them to be anything less than 98% because I don't think either of them would put themselves on the field if they didn't think they could get the job done. Here's hoping they do play...'cause let's face it, they are two of the biggest reasons our Defense can be so nasty.


• On Offense: There will be many keys on Offense today, but most importantly - give Willie Parker the ball. Fast Willie had a tough time last week in Arizona, but don't expect that to be the case against Seattle. For starters, we're at home, where Willie has made just about everyone his bitch. Plus, despite what seems like a superb front 7 on paper, the Seachickens are giving up an average of 104 yards a game and recently allowed the Cards' Edgerrin James a 128 yard game.
  
  Also important on Offense today will be Big Ben making efficient use of his arm. Provided Willie Parker is getting his job done, Big Ben should be afforded more time and confidence to make his reads and find an open man (instead of throwing into triple coverage). With Hines Ward out, it will be up to our man Santonio (or is it San Antonio, Dan Dierdorf?) Holmes to get open and make plays like he did last week. I personally think this is more of a probability than a possibility. But the Seahawks have a pretty good, fast, secondary that could be tougher to beat than you might think. Beyond Santonio, we will need at least two other receivers/tight ends to step up and deliver when their number is called. We hoped that would be Nate Washington last week...and well, you know how that went. This is not to say that Washington couldn't be today's hero, but just that Ben will need more support from someone. Maybe that is Mammoth Tight End Matt Spaeth near the goal line, maybe it's Heath Miller in the flat, maybe it's Cedric Wilson or Willie Reid on a deep cross. I don't know, but they will need to be ready for the ball when it comes.


• On Special Teams: Uh, we should probably not, like give up punt return touchdowns or something. Yeah, so this has been a problem for us - kick coverage. Hopefully after being embarrased last week, and with the addition of Andre Frazier to the unit this week, we won't have quite such a problem. Nonetheless, we will have to see.
  
  On the flipside, Allen Rossum has been a HUGE plus returning kicks. That 98 yarder for a score a couple weeks ago was something no one expected. I mean, hey, I'd have settled for him just catching the ball and holding on to it, let alone running back kicks 98 yards. So hopefully we'll see a lot more good work out of Rossum and it will be one more thing we throw at Seattle for them to have to worry about. The more the better.

THE SEAHAWKS

• On Defense: Don't listen to anything I say if it seems like Seattle's D does not scare me. As I may have mentioned, their front 7 is pretty solid and includes names like Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson, Patrick Kerney, Rocky Bernard, and Chuck Darby. With these guys and safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russel, the Seahawks are going to try and load up the box to frustrate Fast Willie and put pressure on Ben to look like the QB he looked like last week (not to mention the better part of 2006).
  
  Also, Nate Washington, who apparently will start for Hines, may or may not be matched up against Marcus Trufant, a pretty damn good Cornerback for those of you who might have forgotten. So wherever Trufant is marked up, we may have to look elsewhere, just further reinforcing the importance of some of our other guys stepping up to make plays.


• On Offense: The Seahawks have a pro bowl running back in Shaun Alexander, who likes to run behind LT Walter Jones. He's been carrying the ball an average of about 23 times per game, despite the fact that the 'hawks run a west coast style offense. So don't expect this to change much today. We'll see enough of Shaun Alexander for him to be dangerous. This is big because if Casey Hampton can't go, Seattle will be looking at Chris Hoke in the middle, who is still a formidable foe, but no Big Snack by most standards.
  
  Beyond the run, the Seattle west coast offense will include a lot of short passes, with QB Matt Hasslebeck (no slouch himself) effectively delivering the ball to guys like Deion Branch (the Pacific Northwest version of Hines Ward), Nate Burleson, Bobby Engram and Marcus Pollard. That's a lot of guys to cover. The answer to all this of course is, if Hasslebeck doesn't have time to find an open man, their passing strength is moot.

And overall, just play disciplined football like you want to win. We have to minimize turnovers on Offense while trying to create them on Defense, and just be efficient. This is not rocket science. It's football. He who controlleth the ball, dictateth the game. Let's hope the Steelers work as hard as they can for a win today, because 4-1 going into a bye week next week would be a hell of a lot better than 3-2. With that, let's get it on. I'll be at the bar, thanks.

Best Damn News I've Head All Day...

that is besides the verdict rendered against Zeke (Isaiah Thomas for those of you who don't remeber 1989) and MSG. Maybe now we can finally bust up that bullshit monopoly Cablevision has on providing cable TV to the greater NYC metro area (mainly because I can't get NFL Network or Sunday ticket...bloodsuckers).

Oh right, what I really meant to say was - Best Damn News I've Heard All Day -- Polamalu, Big Snack and Spaeth will be ready to go on Sunday! Quoth zen master Mike Tomlin -- "All indications are that they will be fine." AND what's more, playing in place of McFadden (because he IS still injured) as the 3rd Corner this weekend will be rookie stud William Gay. So not only will we get our pro bowlers back in time to attempt to silence all the critics who said Super Bowl XL was a fluke, but we'll get to see what our promising young Louisville alum can do in regular season competition. Bonus.

Bad news is potentially no Hines Ward for the second straight week, and only the fourth time in the last 10 years (so I learned today). So [maybe] no scenes like the image inset. Also, apparently Big Ben hurt his vagina...I mean foot, when someone stepped on it in Sunday's debacle against Pittsburgh West. Gee, maybe if he were wearing a helmet...oh just kidding, come on, I love Ben.

Anyways, that's the injury update for today. 'Til tomorrow, take it easy Steeler Nation.

Attention Cleveland -- Thanks for Making My Job Easy...

I mean, a 34-7 victory in which Big Ben threw 4 TD passes? That just about says it all! But let's talk about what was really telling - 0 interceptions. Ben just about exceeded all expectations yesterday, and while it was Cleveland, which may or may not be a true test of how efficient the Steelers offense will be, this is very promising for the rest of 2007.

But it wasn't just Ben. Willie Parker pitched in to the tune of 27 carries (!) for 109 yards, the Defense came up with 3 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, 6 sacks and limited Jamal Lewis to just 37 yards(though it's kind of tough to run the ball when you're behind by like 21 points...), and Allen Rossum held onto each of the kicks he fielded (sad as it is...Upgrade).

Here's some other things I liked:

• The 1st quarter, 40 yard Ben to Santonio hook up, capitalizing on a Browns turnover
• Ben did not appear to force the ball at any point(though he did hold it a bit long at times)
• Najeh Davenport - 8 rushes for 43 yards, a 5.4 yard per rush average (and 1 catch for 17 yards)
• Rookie [monster] TE Matt Spaeth's 1st Career NFL TD...now I kind of feel bad shitting on this pick...
• Heath Miller Touchdown!
• Ike Taylor picks up his 1st career sack (can this be true??) and adds an interception. Questions answered?
• Sepulveda continued to shine...pinning the Browns deep on a couple of different occasions. I think he can do better than his 37.2 average, but these things tend to happen when you don't have to punt often and punt on a short field, word.
• Jeff Reed appeared to be sober for the entire game...APPEARED to be...

And that's all well and good, but my STAT OF THE GAME was:

Braylon Edwards was credited with 3 tackles, one more than LB Kamerion Wimbley...hahahaha

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

So yeah, one could not script an opener better than that which the Steelers enjoyed yesterday. Let's hope this momentum continues and we have even close to the game we had yesterday against the Bills this coming Sunday. The Bills are coming off a last second loss to Denver, which I'll admit surprised me. I figured the Bills would be pushovers after the departures on Defense and Willis McGahee (though of course now they have Marshawn Lynch). But it doesn't look that way. The good news is it seems like Tomlin isn't taking anyone or anything for granted. So he will likely have the team heads down all week so that this Sunday ends up looking a lot like last Sunday (maybe with 0 turnovers and 0 dropped passes this time)!

Anyone else have any thoughts? Likes? Dislikes? Does Hines Ward like Heinz ketchup?

Cheers to a great 1-0 start!!

- Cotter

These Are NOT Your Father's Pittsburgh Steelers...

The theme of the day is acceptance. Acceptance and embrace of the NEW Pittsburgh Steeler offense. Not that it's all that new. Most of us remember a similar foray in 2003, with a man once known as Tommy Gun running the show. But as Steel City Insider Adam Gretz notes, do not make the mistake of thinking that this year's Steelers are anything like the 2003 Steelers. Tommy Maddox is no Ben Roethlisberger. Amos Zeroue is no Willie Parker. Plus, now we're working with Tight End Heath Miller, and most importantly Wideouts Santonio Holmes, Cedrick Wilson, Nate Washington, and Willie Reid (also of course Hines). So no, this offense is nothing like that offense. We should be ready for this change. We saw how the Steelers shocked everyone by throwing the ball during the 2005 playoffs en route to a Super Bowl victory. Our personnel is only better now, with Willie becoming an established back and the additions of burners Santonio Holmes and Willie Reid. The future is bright for the Steeler offense under Bruce Arians.

And also, don't kid yourself in thinking we aren't going to run the ball (not that any of you are necessarily). The Steelers will always run the football. It's ball control, a big part of winning games. But with an offense that threatens the long pass at any moment, things can really open up for the running game, especially with Willie Parker coming out of the backfield. If you think 213 yards in one game is where he stops you're deluded. It's not out of the question that Willie could break his own record this year if the circumstances are right. Plus, with Carey Davis or Gary Russell, we have our traditional between the tackles back. Sure, we're hoping Najeh will be able to be successful at this too. But I'm just being realistic with my expectations. Najeh hasn't shown us that he is much of a threat, and I personally would love to see Davis or Russell take over the 2nd back duties at some point this season.

So as you watch the game this evening (that is if you're lucky enough to be in the 'Burgh and not have it blacked out) try and wrap your head around how great the Steelers can be this season with a new approach. It may be hard to digest since the Steelers have pretty consistently played the same "pound the rock" game of football for the duration of their 75 year existence. But don't let your love for the past cloud your vision of the future. Does it really matter how the Steelers win so long as we're winning? We'll still get our running game, but we'll also get some fireworks from the passing game. I envision a lot of excitement from Big Ben, Santonio, Ced, Nate, Willie Reid and Fast William Parker. God I love Steeler football. Why can't it be September 9 tomorrow?

Angry Rant of the Day...

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and it really irks me to no end that many people - members of the media, bloggers, sports fans in general - have never seemed to give the Steelers much credit for the achievement of winning Super Bowl XL. Either it was because the Seahawks just didn't belong there in the first place, or that Big Ben didn't post up hall of fame numbers, or the game wasn't exciting enough...

Well let me tell you something pendejos - When in recent NFL history has a 6th seeded AFC team gone on the road and won 5 games in a row (if you include the Super Bowl) to capture a championship? That not exciting enough for you??

Some might say this sentiment came about because it was "the Colts year". Well it's been the Colts year for like the last FOUR years, supposedly (no offense Colt's fans). So I don't even want to hear that argument. Frankly, it shouldn't ever be anyone's "year." I believe the saying goes "Any Given Sunday." Rather than be disappointed the Colts couldn't pull it off, why not embrace how hard the Steelers worked and all they had going for them? (PS - I know the media hopped on the bandwagon once the Steelers made it past the Broncos so don't think I'm overlooking that fact)

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but it just seemed to me like many people thought the Steelers didn't deserve it.

Anyways, my whole point is, this Super Bowl win should not be overlooked as a fluke. As any doubters will see this coming season, despite the struggles in 2006, the Steelers will be back in the post season in 2007. I am confident that the fluke was 2006, not 2005.

Tomlin All Business, Wilson a Locker Room Voice, Ward and Faneca Still Skeptical...

Those are the best descriptors I can offer after reading reports on Mike Tomlin's team meetings yesterday.

So apparently Tomlin laid down the law, or so we hear through Cedric Wilson(?)

Astutely recognizing the drop off in play last year from the prior Super Bowl year, Tomlin called for players to train in Pittsburgh this year. That is, with the team, rather than in Florida or Arizona, or anywhere else that isn't with the majority of their teammates. And supposedly about 85% of the team has already heeded this call, surfacing in Pittsburgh. Among the most notable - Big Ben. Also important to note was that Tomlin said every man at every position will be competing for a starting job. The rest was just more of the same.

From my perspective, I really don't know that Tomlin has to be so authoritative. While I appreciate the sentiment of Steeler-bonding, the Steelers were/are already founded on hard work - blood, sweat and tears. So I don't see too many of the players being lackadaisical about their off season training or their potential starting jobs next season. Then again, you can never be too careful -- too many off seasons spent doing their own thing and the Steelers could become the next Bengals...

Anyways, the other rather significant happenings were - Alan Faneca still bitter over the so-called Russ Grimm "snub", and Hines Wards still bitter over the recent jettisoning of emotional leader Joey Porter. A lot more bitterness than I expected actually...

So alright, Faneca's not quite gotten to Pittsburgh yet. To me that doesn't really say anything. And as for his saltiness about Grimm, eh, what are you gonna do. Get over it Alan. I don't think this is a huge deal though. In time, Tomlin will earn Faneca's respect/trust, or Faneca will follow Grimm and former Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt to the desert. It would be unfortunate if it came down to the latter, but sometimes things are better for the team.

Moving on, Hines Ward came right out and said he didn't understand the release of Joey Porter. Come on Hines, you know exactly what's going on. New coach, new regime, new leaders. It's about time Big Ben stepped up and said "this is my team." The Bus was great, and Peezy though at times brash and unncessary, provided great leadership for the Steelers. But this is now Ben's time to shine. All those voices are gone. He needs to be the guy. Plus, Joey's a 9th year Linebacker who's play declined significantly last year, the year before a potential contract extension/new contract. Again though, I think this is a case where you just let him cry about it for a few days and by the time the week is over, Tomlin will have earned Hines' respect...of that I have little doubt.

Man that was a long post...I'm exhausted...