Pray hard my friend. You might need a miracle to get back on this team.... again. Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

‘The Rookies’ got their jersey numbers on Monday.  Perusing the long form roster, we can all heave a large sigh as #86 has not been re-issued already.  I’m hoping the Steelers leave that one off the boards for a few years for those who had a soul and cherished our beloved Ward.  But as I scanned the list, I noticed that Max Starks and that #78 were missing from that roster.  Got me thinking – will we ever see that name again with that number?

Couple nights ago, @SteelersAddict on Twitter asked if the Steelers should make sure to bring back Starks now that they drafted Mike Adams.  I emphatically replied ‘YES!’  And I mean it with all that twittered gusto.  Bring back Starks, let he and Colon, Gilbert and Adams all duke it out during camp.  The Steelers will be better for whomever comes out on top.  It’s a win win for the Steelers.  Of course this is working under the assumption that Starks is healthy enough for camp.  But even if he is not, there is always the ever popular PUP list that will already be filled with stars like Mendenhall.  Should Starks come back but not be ready, he could always ride the PUP list for 6 weeks and not count as a roster spot until those 6 weeks are up.  Worth undertaking?  I think so.

But will the Steelers bring Starks back?  On paper, aside from their experience, Adams has some speed and arm length over Starks.  I don’t think Adams will be the guy to start, but we would all be about as foolish as Cleveland Browns fans to think that the Steelers won’t groom him to hit that line as soon as possible.  So what is Starks’ worth in the meantime?  Not sure what kind of teaching license #78 has these days, but he could be one of the best teaching tools for the Steelers to use for a guy like Adams.  But sometimes we know that the Steelers can walk away from a valuable tool like that for their younger players (see Release of Hines Ward).  There is also the scenario that Willie Colon can stay healthy enough to make it onto the practice field in Latrobe this summer.  We haven’t seen significant any playing time from this guy for some time.  Will he be any good still after back to back season ending injuries?

I still feel that the Steelers need to bring back Starks for at least camp if not longer.  He will be a good asset to the team – whether a starter or a backup.  And the Steelers know better than anyone you can’t have too many offensive linemen waiting on the sidelines.  In fact, Starks is well worth the roster spot for just that trend.  Also, with all the other changes taking place this offseason by acquiring new OC Todd Haley, Big Ben might need his ‘best bud’ for some bro love on the sidelines when things get tough.

Could we see the #78 jersey in Latrobe this season?  Maybe.  But, it might be on Roethlisberger’s back again….

For the record and future: Jonathan Scott will NEVER enter a post when discussing the Steelers offensive line for next season.  He is as good as out, and good riddance along with Kemoeatu.

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Anybody have Justin Hartwig’s phone number?

Remember that “high ankle sprain” the Pittsburgh Steelers said knocked rookie superstar center Maurkice Pouncey out of last Sunday’s AFC Championship game?  Well, that sprained ankle has morphed into a broken ankle according to this report by the Post-Gazette.  He’s been hobbling around the team’s training facility in a cast while his prognosis for Super Bowl XLV would seem to be highly doubtful.  I hope Hines Ward still has that hyperbaric oxygen chamber he used to recuperate in time for Super Bowl XLIII.

It may be moot since the Black and Gold’s new unofficial team physician, Dr. Juicy, has already said Pouncey is going to miss the game. No offense to Chris Kemoeatu but I’ll take his medical advice with a grain of salt.  Remember, Ben Roethlisberger walked around in a cast after break-spraining his foot.  Although, strange as it may sound, this kind of injury is probably worse for a lineman since they need a stable base in order to maintain balance and leverage while blocking.

Losing Pouncer for the big game would be a pretty significant handicap for the Steelers.  Doug Legursky actually did a fairly solid job in Pouncey’s place as Rashard Mendenhall ran for almost all of his 100 first half yards with the Big Legursky manning the middle.  Of course, the Jets didn’t have an imposing nose tackle like BJ Raji lining up across from him.  The center-QB exchange was a little rough but that comes with practice and repetition.  As long as Big Ben spends most of next week between Legursky’s legs, I would think they could develop enough chemistry to where there shouldn’t be any more problems in that regard.

One thing’s for sure, Pouncey will be out there if at all humanly possible.  He’s one of only two Steeler linemen to start every game this season so you know he’s not the type to pull a Cutler.  You see what I did there?  I used “a Cutler” as shorthand for “extreme pussification.”  It’s not too soon, is it?

I don’t know how anyone can be a Buffalo Bills fan and keep their sanity…

A week after turning in their finest performance of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers stunk out Ralph Wilson Stadium but somehow managed to walk away with a 19-16 overtime win.  The Steelers lost the game on about three different occasions yet the Bills kept snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

I had a feeling it was going to be one of those days when the Steelers dominated the first two quarters yet held only a 13 point lead.  The Bills had the ball for only six minutes and amassed a tad over 50 yards of total offense THE ENTIRE HALF.  When you dominate that completely and hold less than a two touchdown lead, you just know that’s asking for trouble.

The first half was back to the future.  Between passing the mashed potatoes and cutting the pumpkin pie, somebody at Bruce Arians’ table must have clued him in to the fact the Bills have the worst run defense in the NFL.  He actually called running plays, a lot of them, 21 in the first half alone.  Rashard Mendenhall would eventually finish with 36 rushes for 151 yards, the most carries by a Steeler back in three years.

A return to Steeler Football led to an opening drive which lasted thirteen plays and eight minutes, finishing with a one yard touchdown run by Mendy.  Pittsburgh’s next two drives were six and eight minutes, respectively, ending in FGs.   It’s pretty clear the Steelers are going to have to be more of a running team the rest of the year if they want to succeed.  The offensive line is far far better at run blocking than pass blocking.  Those long drives only stalled when Arians would dial up pass plays which resulted in a sack or a holding penalty.

Despite dominating action, the Steelers only had one TD to show for it.  As if that wasn’t ominous enough, Ben Roethlisberger was shown limping badly with some sort of foot/tendon injury.  Still, I don’t think anybody expected what we saw in the second half.

Ryan Fitzpatrick came out firing and our lousy secondary could do little to stop him.  Dick LeBeau finally made a defensive adjustment, going with a dime package (inserting Anthony Madison along with our regular three CBs) on obvious passing downs.  It didn’t help.  Buffalo controlled the ball for six minutes until James Harrison said “Enough of this nonsense” and blasted Lee Evans from behind, causing a fumble.

The Steelers drive stalled at the Buffalo 35.  They lined up as if to go for it but Ben went for a surprise punt.  Even though he punted with his good foot, this was an idiotic call.  Either go for it or give Shaun Suisham a chance at a long field goal.

The nightmare began with the following sentence:  “Bryant McFadden is injured.  He is being replaced by William Gay.”  It continued on second down, when Fitzpatrick was sacked by Harrison.  Wait for it…

PENALTY FLAG!   ROUGHING THE PASSER!   This week’s crime?  Leading with the crown of the helmet.  Of course, Silverback drilled Fitzy dead center in the chest with a form perfect hit but why let logic or fairness interfere with the persecution of James Harrison?  At this point, James should just bear hug the QB and hold him until he hears a whistle because he’s getting flagged every time they hit the turf.

With 15 free and totally undeserved yards gift-wrapped to Buffalo, you could see the iceberg about to hit the Titanic.  Sure enough, three plays later RB Fred Jackson took a little three yard screen pass, broke two or three tackles, and then outraced the rest of the defense for a 65 yard touchdown.  Just like that it was 13-7.

A three and out later and Buffalo was back in business.  Pass, pass, and more passing (Fitzy threw 45 times) with Madison being abused like Tom Cable’s wife.  At the start of the dreaded 4th quarter, the Bills found themselves on the Pittsburgh 28.  Since B-Mac was injured, Keenan Lewis had to play in the dime.  For those of you who wondered why he hasn’t seen playing time, here was your answer.  Lewis was completely turned around at the snap, then mugged the receiver who was about to blow by him for a nifty pass interference.  Luckily, the Steelers D stiffened and his ineptitude only cost them a shorter FG.

On the Steelers very first play of the 4th, Mendy tried his patented spinerooni and would up with his patented fumble.  His fumblitis seems to have flared up with his second miscue in two weeks.  Please get this under control, Rashard.   Last thing we need is to give BA an excuse not to run the ball.  The D held yet again but the FG was good.

So the game which the Steelers had once dominated was now tied at 13.

Time for a Big Ben comeback.  Although his final numbers weren’t horrible (20/33 for 246 yards 0/0), our passing game was various shades of terrible all afternoon.  The offensive line, LT Jonathan Scott in particular, couldn’t pass protect at all.  When he or the equally wretched Chris Kemoteau weren’t getting flagged for holding, Ben was dancing around in the pocket.  Even reliable Maurkice Pouncey had a rough game as NT Kyle Williams owned him, collecting two of the Bills five sacks.  When Ben had time and decided to throw, receivers were dropping passes.

However, with time ticking down in the 4th, Big Ben rose to the occasion.  On 3rd and 17, he scrambled for 18 yards despite the gimpy foot.  It was a heroic effort by Ben, one which exemplifies why he’s an idol to Steeler fans the world over.  Mendy added a 22 yard run to get the team into FG range.  Can Suisham pull off a clutch 48 yard kick?

He can!  Suisham was gold yesterday.  The knock on him was he choked under pressure but there was precious little evidence of that yesterday.  As painful as it is to admit, he was our most consistent offensive weapon.  Suisham was a perfect 4 for 4 and they were hardly gimmes, drilling kicks of 45, 46, 48, and 41 yards.

On the ensuing kickoff, Leodis McKelvin was pushed out of bounds after a 26 yard return.  Keyaron Fox decided to pull a few punk cards and was flagged for another personal foul.  So tack 15 more yards on to that.  The penalties were once again out of control, costing the Black and Gold a cool 107 yards on 10 hankies.  Unlike last week when the Oakland based referee was clearly corrupt, the Silverback PF was really the only one I felt undeserved.

Anyway, gifted with great field position, the Bills passed their way to the Pittsburgh 26.   Willie Gay finally made a play, stripping the ball on away from Jackson but the Steelers couldn’t pounce on it.  Two plays later, Steve Johnson batted a pass up in the air and Troy Polamalu, who played his second fantastic game in a row, came down with the INT.

The Steelers managed a couple first downs, forcing Buffalo to burn through all their time outs and the two minute warning.  On third down, Emmanuel Sanders caught a 17 yard pass for the game sealing first down.  Wait for it…

FLAG ON THE PLAY!  Kemo nabbed for holding, one of the four penalties he committed yesterday, almost every one of which wiped out a big play.  Instead of first down on our 39, we’re third and long from the 10.  Naturally, the Steelers don’t convert on the re-do and are forced to punt.

With the penalty switching field position in Buffalo’s favor, setting up a FG in 46 seconds with no time outs suddenly became very realistic.  Two big passes and the Bills drilled home a 49 yarder to send the game into overtime.  An overtime which will long be remembered by Bills fans as one of the most painful experiences since the Music City Miracle.

Buffalo won the toss so the Steelers kicked off.   McKelvin blew by our coverage and was gone had he not tripped over his own man.  HIS OWN MAN!  That’s Dodged Bullet #1.

Starting at the Pittsburgh 48, our D manned up and forced a punt.  The ball was downed at the 4.  Two runs by Mendy netted short gains.  On third down, Ben dropped back and looked and looked and YOU’RE IN YOUR OWN END ZONE, YOU IDIOT!   He was sacked about four inches away from a safety.  Dodged Bullet #2.

Standing in his end zone, Danny Sepulveda uncorked a rocket which McKelvin fumbled backwards.  Even though four Steelers swarmed to the ball, a Bill somehow managed to come out with it.  While recovering the fumble would’ve been nice, the big punt along with the muff turned what would have been excellent field position at mid-field into a Buffalo drive beginning at their own 35.  Dodged Bullet #3.

A pass and a draw by Jackson netted 26 total yards.   From the 50, Fitzpatrick went for broke with a bomb in the end zone to the speedy Johnson.   Johnson torched Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor as Fitzy lofted a perfect pass right into his waiting arms.

And he dropped it.  Just flat out dropped it.  Dodged Bullet #4.

The deflated Bills punted two plays later.  Ben converted a huge 3rd and 8 with a 17 yard strike to Mike Wallace.  Then Mendy and Issac Redman (who also ran well yesterday) took turns slicing through the Buffalo defense.  A  draw play to Redzone on 3rd down netted 7 yards to the Bills 22.  Suisham banged home a 41 yarder and the Steelers won a game they had no right winning.

Poor poor Buffalo…

The Oakland Raiders continued their run of ineptitude last year, going 5-11 to extend their streak of 11 loss seasons to seven.  Of course, one of those five wins was against a reeling Pittsburgh Steelers.  That wasn’t the first time a defending Super Bowl champion Steelers team suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Raiders.  In 2006, the Black and Gold lost to an Oakland team which would win only two (TWO!) games that entire season.

That was then, this is now.  I don’t know how many virgins (assuming you can find one in California) the immortal Al Davis sacrificed to please his dark master but some sort of mystical forces have conspired to make the Raiders one of the NFL’s most surprising teams.  No word on whether Count Al will make the trip to Heinz Field this Sunday.  I hope he does because I’m kinda curious if he sparkles in the sunlight.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. RAIDERS OFFENSE

The Raiders finally cut bait on Jamarcus Russell, the biggest draft bust in history.  Jason Campbell brings respectability back to the quarterback position.  Campbell never lived up to what Joe Gibbs saw in him and it seems the change in scenery  has done him a world of good.  His numbers aren’t great (7 TD-5 INT) but he’s been coming on in recent weeks with 5 of those touchdowns over the past three games.

This match-up will be an interesting test for the Steelers D.  Some people like to parrot what they hear on TV or the radio about “the NFL is a passing league, you must throw the ball 55 times a game to win!” which is utter stupidity.  Every team is different and you win by doing what you do well and minimizing what you do bad.  There is no “magic formula.”   Case in point is the Raiders.

Oakland has averaged 25 rushes per game and over 100 yards per game over the last 5 games.   They are 4-1 over that span.  Meanwhile, the Steelers have been throwing a lot more over the past three games, losing two of them.  The Raiders recognize they aren’t an explosive offense and don’t try to be something they’re not.  Too bad Bruce Arians doesn’t follow their example.

Speaking of offensive coordinators, a large part of the Raiders improvement can be traced to Hue Jackson taking over playcalling duties from head coach Tom Cable.  He’s simply decided to put the ball in the hands of his best player, the Reggie Bushesque Darren McFadden.   D-Mac is a multi-purpose threat averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 10.1 yards per reception.  He is backed up by bruising Michael Bush, who could probably start for many teams.

Last week, the Patriots exposed how lousy the Steelers secondary is.  This week, Tom Cable has already said they aren’t going to try copying their example.  Of course, this may be classic coach misdirection.  If we know that they know that we know they aren’t going to pass then they may actually do the opposite of what we thought they said we thought they weren’t going to do.

The Raiders may not have much choice since their top receiving threats WR Darius Heyward-Bey, WR Chaz Shilens and TE Zach Miller are all nursing injuries.  The Steelers are suffering a rash of injuries, as well.  Troy Polamalu hasn’t practiced with a strained achilles tendon, which may explain his steep decline the past few weeks.  Brett Keisel is still hampered by a hamstring while his backup, Nick Eason, has been sick with a mystery illness.  The good news is defensive MVP Lawrence Timmons has practiced and is expected to play.

Since Aaron Smith went down, we’ve been wondering if the run defense would go along with him.  The Patriots, Bengals, and Saints aren’t running teams so those weren’t the most stiff of tests.  Well, this week we play the 2nd best rushing offense in the NFL.  The Steelers rush D is still ranked #1 overall.   Something has to give.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. RAIDERS DEFENSE

This match-up also presents some interesting questions.  The Raiders defense was so lousy, they traded next year’s first round pick to the Patriots for 31 year old Richard Seymour.   Then they went out and spent their first two picks on Rolando McClain (8th overall) and Lamarr Houston (44th) in an effort to bolster last year’s 29th ranked rushing defense.  It worked so well, they’re now ranked 24th.

On the flip side, CB Nnamdi Asomugha has battled injury but remains one of the best corners in the league.  Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson are the unfortunate duo who get picked on because teams stay away from Nnamdi.  I’m sure a lot of people are saying, “Who?”   Fair question but they, combined with a strong pass rush from Seymour and emerging star Tommy Kelly, are doing something right because the Raiders have the 2nd best pass defense in football.

Which is why I say this is an interesting match-up.  The Raiders strength is secondary, their weakness is stopping the run.  Since Ben Roethlisberger‘s return, the Steelers have steadily moved away from running the ball to the point Rashard Mendenhall, once the league’s second leading rusher, had only 11 carries for 50 yards last week.  Chris Kemoeatu has practiced and is expected to play which means with the exception of Max Starks, our starting offensive line should be back together.

Kemo is a much better run blocker than pass blocker.  Ditto with Flozell Adams.  Same with Trai Essex.  This is why the line looked so impressive in opening up gaping holes for Mendy while allowing few sacks the first month of the season.  The offensive playcalling emphasized their strengths (rushing) and tried to downplay their weakness (pass blocking).  Things have gone awry the past few games as Bruce Arians has attempted to bring his Flying Circus back into town.

Bottom line:  this week we have an offensive line that is good at run blocking for a very good running back facing a defense that is fantastic against the pass but struggles against the run.  Naturally, I expect Arians to roll out his empty backfield four wide set on the second or third play of the game.

Last week, I said that game was the tipping point for the entire season.  I won’t make any grand proclamations this week.   All I’ll say is nobody wants to relive the nightmare that was 2009.   A loss to a Raiders team that is very much improved over the Raiders we lost to last season and it will be deju vu all over again.

You gotta hand it to Bill Belichick.   Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand the MILF-chasing, sneaky videotaping (thankfully, those hobbies don’t overlap) stone face.  But you have to appreciate his ability to spin straw into gold.  This is actually a rebuilding year for the New England Patriots as they attempt to inject fresh talent in to a team which has only a few remnants remaining from the glory teams of the past decade.   And, yet, they don’t seem to miss a beat, winning the AFC East last season and posting a 6-2 record thus far in 2010.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. PATRIOTS OFFENSE

Coming off knee surgery, Tom Brady took a while to get back into the swing of things last season but rebounded to post one of his usual fantastic stat lines.   This year, not even his ridiculous Bieber-hair has interfered with his ability to get the ball where it needs to go.  A 14/4 TD-INT ratio puts to rest any worries that Tom Terrific is slowing down.   One concern, however, is a sprained foot which kept him out of practice this week.   Not that Brady has ever been mistaken for a Slash but the ability to slide around the pocket to buy the extra second or two may be something to look for when he faces the Pittsburgh Steelers hellacious pass rush.

WR Wes Welker, coming off a serious knee injury, remains one of the best slot receivers in the league.  Although without Randy Moss stretching the field and keeping the defense from clogging the middle, Welker’s numbers have declined sharply (36, 24, and 25 yards in the past three games).  Part of the slack is expected to be picked up by the returning Deon Branch and second year player Brandon Tate.  Although the Pats best receiving threats have been rookie TEs Aaron Hernandez and Woodland Hills alum Rob Gronkowski.

Shockingly, the Patriots actually rank higher in rushing offense (15th) than passing (17th).  The running back position is a motley crew of misfits.  Oft-injured Laurence Maroney has been shipped out of town in favor of a two-headed monster consisting of Benjarvis Green-Ellis and little Danny Woodhead.   If you watched HBO’s fantastic Hard Knocks this year, you’ll remember Woody as a Rex Ryan favorite.  The 5’8 195 runt has become a New England cult hero because he embodies all the qualities Massholes hold dear (ie:  He’s white).

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Belichick takes a page from his own book and comes out throwing the ball 35 consecutive times like he did in a memorable Monday Night game many years back.  The Browns held them under 70 rushing yards last week while the Steelers remain the top ranked rushing D.  On the flip side, our pass defense continues to slide down the standings on a weekly basis.  Gay covering Welkah or B-Mac giving one of his patented 8 yard cushions to Branch is the stuff nightmares are made of.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. PATRIOTS DEFENSE

Remember all that nice stuff I said about Billy boy in my introduction?  Well, despite my puke-inducing praise, one fact remains.  The current Patriots defense is garbage.  GARBAGE.

They’re 29th in total yards allowed, 29th in passing yards per game, and 21st in rushing yards per game.  We should’ve seen this coming after the Ravens absolutely humiliated them 33-14 in last year’s playoffs.   But the point was more than driven home last week when Browns RB Peyton Hillis gashed them for 184 yards while Colt McCoy directed a steady attack without throwing a single interception.  Belichick is reloading the defense but it’s very much still a work in progress.

The fly in the Steelers’ ointment is half the team is in desperate need of Tiger Balm.  The offense was decimated by injuries last week.   Heath Miller is battling a gimpy knee.   Mewelde Moore and Issac Redman were both concussed last week but have been cleared by team doctors.  Of course, one bell-ringing hit and Jon Dwyer is a step closer to toting the rock.

Naturally the biggest concern is an offensive line which has been left in shambles.  Max Starks has a herniated disk in his neck which requires season ending surgery.  The Steelers haven’t said exactly what their plan is for Sunday night but I have to think they’ll either move Flozell Adams back to his original LT position or insert Jonathan Scott who started there for Sean Kugler’s Buffalo Bills.  Personally, I’d leave the Hotel on the right side because they’ve been generating great push in the running game.

But wait, there’s more!  Chris Kemoeatu has a double whammy knee/ankle sprain which in his own words is “not good.”  Meanwhile, Maurkice Pouncey is battling a bruised tibia.  Mike Tomlin was hoping both would be good to go but it sounds like only Pouncey is expected to play.  If the line can hold it together with scotch tape and Bubble Yum, Ben Roethlisberger and the offense should have plenty of opportunities against a fairly porous defense.

One final note, I don’t usually mention special teams since I like talking about real football players.  However, Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski has a bum hip and is done for the year.  They’ve brought in former Bungle Shayne Graham to handle FG duties in his absence.

The Steelers were 6-2 at the mid-way point last year and we were saying, “Who cares how you win or how many injuries you have?   We’re 6-2!”   Then we fell into an epic swoon where we lost five straight games against some of the most pathetic teams in the NFL.  I hate to put too much emphasis on one particular game but I feel this is the tipping point for the entire season.  Win this game and I’ll feel a whole lot better about our chances going forward.  Lose or even have another 4th quarter like the one against the Bengals and the alarm bells will continue to grow louder.