Archive for September, 2010

There are certain things you can count on in life.  The Liberty Tubes will be jammed when you’re already twenty minutes late for work.  The old lady in front of you will take forever counting out exact change for skim milk and a banana at Giant Eagle.  A bird will poop on your windshield right after you finish washing your car. And the Baltimore Ravens will whine whenever they lose. Ray Lewis went on the above rant after his team lost to the Bengals 15-10 in week two.  They went on to win this past weekend but I’m posting that [...]

Dear Joe Flacco: Just thought you’d like a sneak peek at what you’ll be facing this Sunday.  Sweet dreams. Best, Steeler Nation

Sorry for doubting you, Charlie.  I’ll never do it again. Team Dixon.  Team Leftwich.   It looks like we should have been on Team Batch all along.  Maybe the broken clavicle in 2008 really was a fluke injury.   Maybe last year’s horrendous three play outing really was the result of a broken wrist from a game of pickup basketball.  Maybe he really does still got it. All I know is I’m not the only one who doubted Charlie Batch.   Yes, a number of my astute readers had faith in him.  Kudos to them.  But the fact remains his own head coach, [...]

Ordinarily, I’d like the Pittsburgh Steelers chances against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  But last season, I was supremely confident when we faced off against the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns and we all know how those games went.  Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  And what we’ve learned is to never ever take anything for granted. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Steelers will be blushing on Sunday.  Two years ago, Tampa Bay lost their last four games to miss the 2008 postseason, which ended the Jeff Garcia Era and set John Gruden [...]

In footballese, a “trap game” is a game played the week before a contest against a tough or division rival opponent.  Teams have a tendency to underestimate their current opponent and worry more about the game looming on the horizon.  The trap is thus sprung when what would otherwise be an easy win becomes a surprising loss. While the 2010 season is not even a month old, this weekend’s tilt between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers has trap game written all over it.  When the schedule was announced, I’m sure we all scanned the first month to see [...]

Is a quarterback controversy still a controversy when you only have one healthy quarterback? This Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the surprisingly undefeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Somebody will be behind center to handle the snaps from Maurkice Pouncey.  Although who that lucky individual might be is anyone’s guess.  Forget about the Banner-tailed Kangaroo Rat, the Black and Gold able-bodied quarterback is a real endangered species. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting Dennis Dixon‘s minor knee injury isn’t so minor after all. It’s apparently a torn lateral meniscus which usually requires arthroscopic surgery to patch up.  Even if Dix avoids [...]

Quarterback?  We don’t need no stinkin’ quarterback! The Pittsburgh Steelers put on a magnificent defensive performance, humiliating the Tennessee Titans in front of their home crowd.   The final score of 19-11 does not indicate how one-sided a beating it truly was.   If not for a garbage time touchdown and a tricky on-side kick, Tennessee’s output would’ve been limited to a lone field goal.  In fact, the Titans did not drive into Steelers territory until their final two possessions of the game. How complete was the domination?   They held the best running back in football, Chris Johnson, to a pitiful 34 [...]

Considered a Super Bowl caliber team last year, the Tennessee Titans instead lost their first six games.  They made a change at QB and proceeded to win eight of their last ten.  Finishing strong should not be surprising for a team led by one of the best coaches in football.  Jeff Fisher, entering his 16th season, is the NFL’s longest serving head coach having began the job when the team was still the Houston Oilers. STEELERS DEFENSE vs. TITANS OFFENSE Vince Young, the third overall pick in the 2006 draft, reclaimed the starting QB job last season.  Former Steeler great [...]

Late in the 2008 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Tennessee Titans.  A Black and Gold squad exhausted from playing the toughest schedule given any team in the last thirty years was crushed 31-14.   What happened during that game is something which will long live in infamy among Steeler Nation.  Cameras cut to the Tennessee sideline where their running back, Lendale White, proceeded to desecrate the Terrible Towel. The Titans finished 13-3 that season.  In their very first playoff game, the AFC’s top seed was one-and-done.   Meanwhile, the Steeler would go on to add Lombardi Trophy number six [...]

*Wipes tear from my eye*   Tell it like it is, Terry. The greatest quarterback to ever wear the Black and Gold ripped his current counterpart a new one on Sunday’s NFL pregame show.  Saying Terry Bradshaw does not like Ben Roethlisberger is like saying there’s been a mild disagreement in the Middle East the past, oh, thousand years or so.  One thing you can’t accuse Terry of is being a johnny come lately.  He’s made his feelings clear on a number of occasions, first during an off-season charity golf event where he plainly stated, “Ben doesn’t like me and I’m [...]