Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints,  the 2009 NFL champions.  Despite a two-faced weasel of an owner and a “fanbase” full of bandwagon jumpers, I have to admit that no team is more deserving of the honor this season.  The Saints played with heart and passion all year, including in the Big Game where going for it on 4th and goal and then starting the second half with an onside kick were two of the ballsiest moves I’ve seen in a long time.   It provided a nice contrast with their opponent, one of the most cowardly and gutless teams of all time, led by one of the league’s most masterful playoff choke artists.   Enjoy your moment of glory, New Orleans.   You’ve certainly earned it.

Watching the Saints celebrate their first Lombardi Trophy after forty plus years of existence, I could not help but reflect on the embarrassment of riches our very own Pittsburgh Steelers have brought our proud city.   The party on Bourbon Street will be unlike anything seen in American sports history but it’ll still be hard pressed to match the majestic sight of over 300,000 die hard members of Steeler Nation descending on downtown for last year’s victory parade.   And what about the 500,000 who came out to toast our Stanley Cup winning Penguins?   Pittsburgh sure takes pride in their sports teams.  With the Steelers suffering a down year, the Pens struggling in defense of their title, and the Pirates being, well, the Pirates, there may not be any parades this year.   But there are still plenty of reasons to be proud of being a Pittsburgher.

Did you know the Klondike Bar was invented in Pittsburgh?

Or that we have the nation’s top aviary?

Or that we’re home of the leading transplant center in the entire world?

I doubt anybody will ever throw a parade to celebrate the culinary triumph of delicious vanilla ice cream coated in a sweet chocolate shell.  EVEN THOUGH THEY SHOULD!!!   But these are things which make Pittsburgh a great city.  And there are many many more.   You can find a partial list on this website appropriately titled The Greatness of Pittsburgh.

The authors of that website have also written a book entitled Pittsburgh:  The Greatest City in the World. The main author, Sean Elliot Martin, sent me a copy and even a lifelong student of Pittsburgh history such as myself was amazed at all the things he didn’t know about his beloved home town.  To be honest, the book isn’t the most well-written literary masterpiece you’ll ever read.   The authors were in a hurry to have it out in time for the G-20 Summit last summer so they didn’t have time to edit as thoroughly as they would’ve liked.   This becomes apparent when certain facts or figures are repeated two or three times over or you come across the occasional grammatical error.   However, in terms of pure research this book is TREMENDOUS.

I loaned my copy out to my Uncle Joe, who has lived here his entire life (almost fifty years) and he was blown away by how much he never knew about our city.  If anecdotes or stories are your thing, this probably isn’t the book for you.   But if you’re looking for an exhaustive collection of Pittsburgh trivia, Pittsburgh:  The Greatest City In the World is just the ticket.  As a blogger, I’ve often found myself having to fend off attacks from ignorant fans in other cities.  I’m grateful to finally have one handy resource which I can use to bludgeon them with the club of truth.

If you’d like to purchase a copy for yourself or perhaps as a gift for an ex-Burgher who misses their homeland, the book can be ordered off Amazon for only $12 by clicking this link right here.  And, no, I don’t get a kick back or anything for promoting this book.  In fact, Sean is a much better person than I’ll ever be because he’s donating 50% of all profits from the sell of his book to local schools and charitable organizations.  I’m giving him a hand because, frankly, I’m sickened by the ignorance people frequently show towards the Steel City and I will do anything I can to promote the fact our city is awesome.  To that end, I’ve also been extended an invitation to occasionally post something on Sean’s site so give the Pittsburgh Greatness link over on my blogroll a click once in awhile if you want to read some non-sports ranting from your favorite Steelers blogger/party host.

In the meantime, another NFL season is in the books.   Bring on 2010!

Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force pretty much sums up my feelings on the participants in this weekend’s big game.

Without the customary playoff berth for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I had no dog in this year’s post season fight.   Still, there were certain outcomes which held my interest.  With Dallas or the Ratbirds, I could root for a humiliating defeat.   With the Jets or Pittsburgh West Arizona, I had a team I could grudgingly support.   If you asked me to pick the worst possible Super Bowl match up, I would’ve been hard pressed to come up with a more wretched combination than the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.

The Colts are a bland, one-dimensional team led by one of the most cowardly head coaches in history.   It’s bad enough to watch a team piss away a chance at all-time greatness by tanking their last two games in the name of “rest” but did anybody check out the AFC Championship game?   Fourth and goal from the one foot line and they kick a field goal.   Grow some balls, Indy.   Furthermore, does anybody outside the Indianapolis area even give two sacks of monkey poop about them?   Despite being the winningest team of the 00’s, I bet you’ve never once heard the term “Colts Nation.”   You know why?   People don’t care about the Colts.   There are PEYTON MANNING fans but the team itself is nothing more than a one man show.

As for the Saints, when a long suffering fan base is finally rewarded for their decades of misery with a brief taste of playoff glory, I’m usually happy for the underdog.  However, the media has successfully ruined all that by repeatedly trotting out the tired THE SAINTS ARE MORE THAN A FOOTBALL TEAM!  THEY’RE A BEACON OF HOPE FOR THE ENTIRE CITY! crap.  First of all, if the Saints were so beloved by the people of that city then explain the following banner:

The Saints entered the NFL in 1967.   I repeat, 1967.  If the team is such a dear and precious local resource for the people of New Orleans, then why did it take them FORTY FREAKIN’ YEARS to sell out their season tickets?  Here in Pittsburgh the waiting list to purchase season tickets is about forty years.  How am I supposed to be happy for a city full of bandwagon jumpers?   And even more vomit inducing were the fawning announcers when owner Tom Benson accepted his NFC Championship trophy.   LOOK AT WHAT THIS GREAT MAN BROUGHT TO THE BIG EASY!   Except four years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and turned the Superdome into a giant toilet bowl, Benson was running all over San Antonio trying to work out a deal to move the team there permanently.   So you have a fair weather fanbase, a dick owner, and Reggie Bush dating that girl with the big ass.   Why root for them?

Oh, there is one other thing.   For those undergoing Steeler withdrawal, you will have a chance to see a few of your heroes on Super Bowl Sunday.   Hines Ward and LaMarr Woodley will be taking part in the Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Bowling Invitational airing at 2:00 (ET) on ESPN.   You can catch a nifty preview video here. It looks like fun and, hey, who doesn’t want to see if Mister Woodley can knock pins like he knocks heads.   At the very least, it should give you enough of a Black and Gold fix to get you through three hours of Cowardly vs. Unworthy later that evening.

Please let the commercials be good.   That’s all I have to look forward to.

Meet Al Everest, expected to be the next special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Sure looks like a ball of fire, doesn’t he?   I guess if his kick coverage units don’t work out, he always has the fall back of hosting a kiddie show on WQED.  A group of preschoolers hopped up on sugar would probably have more lane discipline than the Steelers showed this year anyway.

Actually, Grandpa Al was the special teams coach for the 49ers this past year.  He’s a football lifer, whose coaching resume dates all the way back to the early 70’s.   He’s coached just about everywhere, from a semi-pro league in Italy to Arena Football.  Hopefully he can draw on his wealth of experience and straighten out the coverage mess which cost the Steelers dearly this past season.

Joining him on the 2010 staff will be Sean Kugler.   Kugler, formerly of the Toronto Buffalo Bills, is the team’s new offensive line coach.  I ignore the Bills, as does everybody outside of upstate New York, but I do know they’ve been a fairly good running team the past few seasons.  They even had a Pro Bowler at LT who they stupidly traded away rather than pay what he’s worth.  It’s that kind of crack management that brings about Chan Gailey as your head coach.  In any event, you’re only as good as the talent you work with so Kugler will have his work cut out for him next season.

Completing the coaching merry-go-round, the Steelers promoted WRs coach Randy Fichtner to QBs coach.  Fichtner was an offensive coordinator for Memphis when Mike Tomlin was down there getting his start so they go way back.  He’s been here since Tomlin took over and (Limas “Butterfingers” Sweed aside) he’s done a fantastic job developing wide receivers.  Even Nate Washington improved by leaps and bounds after Fichtner got here.  Moving him over to the QBs coach where he can make sure Ben and his wide outs are on the same page is a natural fit.  Of course, Ben has to actually follow his advice and, as desk clerks out in Reno will attest, we all know Big Ben isn’t always the best listener.

Finally, for those of you still watching football, I’m sure you’re happy that the Trifecta of Hate (Baltimore, New England, and Dallas) have all disgraced themselves in this year’s playoffs.  Dreamboat Brady and Peepin’ Bill self-destructed in the Wild Card round while basically handing the Ratbirds the game on a silver platter.  When Baltimore actually had to, you know, EARN a victory, they folded like cheap lawn chairs.  I love how in his second year, Joe Flacco puts up some of the most pathetic passing numbers in playoff history while in Ben’s second he was putting on a ring.  Meanwhile, those buffoons out in Dallas got their one playoff win and then didn’t bother to show up against Minnesota.  Then again, neither did Pittsburgh West (Arizona) who surrendered over 90 points while playing some of the worst playoff defense I’ve ever seen.  At this point, the playoffs have lost interest for me as the one team I liked is gone while the teams I hate have also fallen by the wayside.

Man, if only the Steelers hadn’t gone into that November swoon.  After watching some of these “playoff” teams, I’m more confident than ever that the Black and Gold would’ve done some damage had they gotten invited to the dance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers fired their second coach in as many days, this time relieving special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky of his job.  I have mixed emotions on his departure.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the least bit surprised.   When you surrender the most return TDs of any team in forty years while ranking 30th and 24th in kick and punt coverage, something is definitely rotten in McKeesport.  And since you can’t fire the eleven men running down the field (although Mike Tomlin certainly tried), it’s easier to can the coach.

However, in some ways I feel Ligashesky is being made a scapegoat.   He can only use the players he’s given.  When you hand a cook a bushel of rotten tomatoes, it’s hard to blame him when his sauce tastes like crap.   Last season, the Steelers were one of the best special teams coverage units in the NFL.   This season, he’s been saddled with a bunch of clueless youngsters (Joe Burnett, Ryan Mundy) and lazy veterans (Keiwan Ratliff, Tyrone Carter).   They even had little 5′6 175 pound Stefan Logan out covering kicks.  They’d be better off running Daniel Sepulveda out there.

The biggest problem with the coverage is the lack of a gunner.   Every good special teams unit has a gunner or player whose specialty is flying down the field like a human missile and disrupting whatever the other team is trying to set up.  Whenever the Steelers have found a special teams ace, be it Chidi Iwouma, Anthony Madison, or the great Sean Morey, coach Tomlin and Kevin Colbert have let them go.  If anybody deserves blame for this year’s fiasco, it’s the two of them.

Also in special teams news, I found this list of players the Steelers signed to their offseason roster.  The interesting name is Piotr Czech, the kicker whom the Steelers brought to camp this past preseason.   After being cut, Czech hooked on with the UFL and now seems to be back in the fold.   Could this be a sign that Skippy Reed’s days in the Black and Gold are rapidly coming to an end?

Over the past several days, rumors have been flying about what changes might be in store for the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010.  When you go from Super Bowl champions to missing the playoffs, the fanbase naturally wants a scapegoat.  And the easiest target is usually either the quarterback or a coach.  Since we all seem to agree that the team has a good signal caller in Ben Roethlisberger, the ire has fallen on offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

Well, put away the champagne. The circus will coming back to town next year.

Despite radio reports to the contrary, head coach Mike Tomlin has invited Arians back as OC next season.  Now, as anybody who has read this site regularly knows, I am not a member of the Arians Nation.  I frequently find his offensive philosophy frustrating and counter intuitive to what the team’s talent dictates.   However, as I’ve said all along, I was pretty certain that he would be retained for another year.   When you have a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards, two 1,000 yard receivers, and a 1,000 yard running back all in the same season for the first time in franchise history, it’s a little hard to justify starting over from scratch.

Yes, the team had a lot of trouble in the red zone.   Yes, they frequently pissed away chances to put games away.  And yes, it took them fourteen weeks to realize short screen type throws and 20+ rushes per game made for a much more effective offense than throwing a deep bomb every three plays.  However, blaming the offense for missing the playoffs is hugely unfair.   The offense actually averaged one more point per game than last year while the defense gave up 6 more.

In other words, the failure of this season was a total team effort.

While I doubt Arians learns from this year’s mistakes, I am not all that unhappy about giving him another season to straighten things out.  People (and I’m guilty myself) often have the kneejerk FIRE HIM! reaction when things don’t work out.   While that sounds great in theory, it’s much more complicated in practice.  I love Ben, I really think he’s a top five NFL quarterback.   But I also think he’s a bit of a meathead.  Part of his holding the ball for 4 1/2 minutes on every pass play seems to be that he takes a while to recognize what’s going on.   And this is with using same playbook for over three years now.   Can you imagine how he’d be if we brought in a brand new OC and he had to learn an entirely new system?

One coach who didn’t escape the ax was offensive line coach Larry Zierlein.   How Zierlein has kept his job all these years totally baffles me.   One would think sending bukkake porn links to Dan Rooney would be enough to get you canned.   I realize Ben holds the ball too damn long but when your line gives up 50 (or more) sacks EVERY YEAR, that’s putrid.   Not to mention, the run blocking schemes are so messed up that getting short yardage is always an adventure.   Perhaps the worst thing about Zierlein is his seeming inability to develop young linemen or improve veterans.  Young OL never get on the field unless they come into camp already with a degree of polish while I defy anybody to name any multi-year starter who has improved under Zierlein’s tutelage.

With a rash of coaching staffs getting the heave-ho, I’m sure the Steelers will be able to find an experienced line coach.   To be honest, I don’t think our line in past years has been all that great talent-wise, they were just coached up by the great Russ Grimm.  If the Black and Gold can find a similar grizzled old timer who can put some of their lazy unmotivated blockers (I’m looking at YOU, Max Starks) through their paces, maybe Arians will have an easier time calling a run on third and 4.   Hey, a guy can dream can’t he?

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