Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers are everywhere. Even in Dallas as the above video shows. I love how the newspaper gave the entire family Cowboys jerseys (including, ugh, pink ones) to make it look like they follow the team. The look on Jason Witten‘s face when he walks into the kid’s room is hilarious.

One of the other cool things about Steeler Nation is how we take over other team’s stadiums. This Sunday, for example, I expect there to be a sea of Black and Gold amongst smatterings of red when we play the Kansas City Chiefs. After all, the Chiefs are a truly wretched franchise mired in yet another losing season. Fans looking to travel, ex-Burghers still loyal to their hometown, and the few intelligent Missourians (an oxymoron, I know) who’ve long since given up on their franchise will likely conspire to make this a home game on the road.

I just hope those outside of the ‘Burgh are careful because being a Steelers fan could be dangerous to your health.

Making the rounds of the internet has been this story about a Pittsburgh man who was in Chicago for the game against the Bears. Afterward, he got into a bit of friendly smack talking with the Bears fans at a local bar. Supposedly, this back-and-forth eventually escalated into a rather heated exchange. I’ll take a wild guess and say alcohol was involved. However, when the locals decided to buy the Yinzer a beer to put the issue to bed, things quickly went from bad to worse.

See, these upstanding citizens decided to slip something into his drink. Roofies most likely.  I wonder how many of these men were in a fraternity at Penn State.  Anyway, this incident tells us two things about Chicago. One, their fans are a bunch of scumbags. And two, if you’re a single woman in the Windy City, you should probably join Match.com.

Anyway, our ‘Burgh guy had a bad reaction to this spiked drink. He passed out and was rushed to the hospital. While there, his heart stopped FOUR TIMES. He was eventually stabilized but has been left blind and suffering brain damage. Mind you, this all was a result of a football game the Bears WON.

So please, Steeler Nation, continue to invade enemy territory. Continue to take over opposing stadiums. Continue to wave your Terrible Towels wherever you may go. Just be careful. The world’s a big ugly scary place full of bitter fans of shitty football teams. And that’s just Cleveland.

Don’t forget to post your guess in the first ever NPC BRLTCFB M&M Contest for your chance to win over a pound of customized Pittsburgh Steelers M&M’S.

The Baltimore Ravens descend upon Heinz Field once again this Sunday for the AFC Championship game. To say our rivalry just got kicked up a notch is like saying there have been a couple arrests made in Baltimore.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a number of rivals throughout the league. The Cowboys, the Titans, the Fighting Belicheats, and of course the Cleveland Browns. However, with the exception of the Brownies, we don’t play any of those teams twice a year every year. And Cleveland, well, geography may make us rivals but on the field the Browns haven’t been a threat to us in twenty five years. Which makes the fact the Ravens are easily Public Enemy #1 to members of Steeler Nation all the more ironic considering Baltimore would be Cleveland if not for a greedy little jagoff of an owner. Then again, who can blame someone for wanting out of Cleveland?

The True Rivalry as I like to call it basically was born in 1999 when Brian Billick became head coach of the Ratbirds. He, along with a couple guys named Lewis (Ray and Jamal), brought about an era of winning which culminated with a Super Bowl victory the next year. The following season, the Steelers dethroned the champs by eliminating them in the Divisional Playoff Round behind the brilliant play of a resurgent Kordell Stewart. Since then, bounties and on-field incidents have marred the games between these two teams as mutual respect has quickly turned to a healthy hatred. The Ravens returned the favor on the Steelers back in 2006 when they crushed us twice, ending any hope of defending our most recent championship.

You can read my analysis of our first two bloodbaths here and here. Not much has changed other than the continued development of QB Joe Flacco. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh seems to still have his young QB on a tight leash although to his credit Flacco has shown steady leadership you rarely see in a rookie. How much he can do, or is allowed to do, will be the story of the game. Also key will be the turnover battle. Baltimore was, frankly, outplayed by Tennessee last week. If the Titans didn’t make so many mistakes, they had the game in hand. QB Kerry Collins threw a stupid pick deep in Raven territory while RB Lendale White fumbled away another red zone opportunity. See what happens to people who stomp on the Terrible Towel, Tubby?

Another big thing will be what happens on the injury front. The Titans’ RB Chris Johnson was ripping off big gains early on. When he went down, the momentum dramatically shifted. In the first Pittsburgh-Baltimore battle, players were going down left and right. Since things can be altered dramatically with one play, let’s hope the Steelers can stay on the field. As it stands now, S Troy Polamalu and C Justin Hartwig are the only players dinged up. Hartwig seems good to go. Everybody seems to think Polamalu will be fine come game time but he clearly didn’t look like himself last week so let’s hope a week of rehab was enough and nothing happens to exacerbate the injury further. On the Ravens side, CB Samari Rolle and LB Terrell Suggs, two of their better defensive players, are hurting. Rolle is apparently a definite out but Suggs seems to want to give it a try although playing with a badly separated shoulder would likely limit him to being a 3rd down pass rusher.

Of course, Tennessee didn’t have their two best defensive players when they creamed us a few weeks back so even if neither one plays, don’t assume that means our offense is going to samari roll all over them.

Mike Tomlin makes his first appearance in an AFC Championship game. Previous coach and this site’s inspirational founder Bill Cowher was 2 for 6 in Championship games over his 15 year tenure. Interestingly, one of those wins came against the Indianapolis Colts lead by QB Jim Harbaugh, the brother of our opponent’s coach. Now it’s time to see if Tomlin’s regular season hocus pocus can turn the Cinderella Ravens back into pumpkins and send the Steelers to the fancy Ball in Tampa.

Revenge is a dish best served cold or, sometimes, wet. Playing in a steady downpour, the Pittsburgh Steelers crushed the New England Patriots 33-10 in their most dominating win of the season. The almost biblical rainstorm drenching the field was oddly symbolic as if the heavens above were trying to wash the rotten stink of Bill Belichick from the landscape of the NFL.

Make no mistake, this was the Steelers finest performance of the year. The Massholes, as is their modus operandi, will come up with 101 reasons why this game shouldn’t count but considering most of them weren’t aware they had a team until 2001, ignore their excuse-making. Why just last week those same dimwits were throwing their franchise QB overboard while anointing Matt Cassel the Chosen One. If that doesn’t show you the amount of ignorance we’re dealing with, Cassel’s sloppy and inept play should. Whatever terribly run franchise, I’m guessing the Detroit Lions, that empties the bank to sign this guy is going to be really disappointed when they discover their shiny new sports car is a lemon.

Cassel was coming off two 400 yard passing performances which led to the ridiculous level of hysteria surrounding his play. That those performances came against mediocre Miami and Jets (watch as everybody jumps off that bandwagon this week) defenses seemed to escape the no-nothing talking heads who are, you know, paid to analyze football. Granted, the Steeler defense isn’t your typical defense. It’s an unrelenting machine. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

Where to begin with the beautiful violence displayed on Sunday afternoon. Defenders stormed in on Cassel from all angles, finishing the game with 5 sacks. James Harrison cemented his place as the BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN FOOTBALL adding 2 more sacks to his league leading total, both of which caused fumbles. LaMarr Woodley chipped in with one of his own while Casey Hampton, moments after being flagged for a ridiculous holding call, showed why you do not piss off the Fat Man by promptly squashing Cassel on the next play. Troy Polamalu was all over the field, dropping back and blitzing, culminating in a nice tip-INT to ice the game. Lawrence Timmons, who should be starting at this point, made a sweet pick out in coverage.

Words can’t describe how dominate this defensive performance was. The only score the feeble Patriot offense could manage was when they started at the Steelers 14 after a Ben Roethlisberger interception. They had 5 total yards in the 3^rd Quarter. They didn’t convert a third down until late in the 4^th. They had 122 rushing yards, about double the 66 which Pittsburgh had been allowing, but that’s misleading. For some reason, the Steelers went to a weird Cover-2/prevent type D late in the first half and the Pats used draws to rip off 55 yards on two runs. Ike Taylor continued to establish a reputation as an elite Shut Down Corner by limiting WR Randy Moss to 45 measly yards.

Of course, the most memorable play occurred in the third quarter when S Ryan Clark, who missed last year’s game, made sure the Patriots knew he was there by attempting to behead WR Wes Welker. The hit was like something out of “The Longest Yard” but without benefit of a highly trained stuntman. Clark was flagged for a personal foul despite the fact Santonio Holmes was lit up on almost an identical (unpenalized) play last week as the NFL continues their march toward turning into Flag Football. Clark will undoubtedly receive a fine from Fuhrer Goodell because, well, the NFL hates the Steelers. Members of Steeler Nation should start a fund for Ryan as I don’t know about you but that hit was totally worth something to me.

On the flip side, the Steeler offense actually showed a spark of life today. I’ve been monitoring the poll I have going on and I’m sad that so many people swallow what the media feeds them without examining the evidence. The offensive line is not a great unit by any means but they are far from the main culprit behind our woes. Big Ben was sacked only once against a pretty decent group of pass rushers while the running game piled up 161 yards which shows you they are a capable if unspectacular unit.  Injuries to the backfield, Ben holding on to the ball way too long, and our idiot Offensive Coordinator dialing up 30 yard pass plays in the face of jailbreak blitzes are a much bigger problem than any shortcomings along the line.

Case in point this game. Notice how the Steelers have began utilizing the bunch formation (when all the receivers are packed about 5 yards off the line) in order to facilitate a short, quick-hitting passing game. Notice how the TEs like Heath Miller, who led the team with 4 catches for 60 yards, have become a bigger part of the offense. Notice the commitment to the run as the Steelers have settled into a three pronged running attack with Mewelde Moore featured in the 1^st half, Willie Parker (showing good speed but questionable cutting) in the 2^nd half, and Gary Russell in short yardage situations. All these things combine for an offense which controls the clock, keeps downs and distances manageable, and keeps the defense off balance enough to prevent them from pinning their ears back on the pass rush.

Again, the Massholes will no doubt whine that Moss dropped a potential TD pass along with several other key throws during the course of the game. I counter by noting the Steelers left several TDs on the grass themselves. Santonio is playing like a man who doesn’t want to be here much longer as he dropped not one but two potential TDs and his loafing on a play almost led to an INT. If rookie Limas Sweed can blossom into a solid #3, he could be squeezed out with the rise of Tiffin Thunder Nate Washington, who has emerged this season and can be counted on for at least one or two big catches per game, although he did drop what would’ve been a back breaking bomb late in the game.

The Bungles bent over and grabbed their ankles for those pesky Baltimore Ravens so the Steelers maintain their slim one game lead in the division. The Purple Birds have the Washington Redskins next week at home which is a tough one to predict because on one hand the Skins are fighting for a playoff spot but on the other hand they haven’t played very well in recent weeks. Meanwhile, our old buddies the Dallas Cowboys come into town also fighting for a playoff spot. In any case, it’s looking more and more like the week 15 showdown in Charm City is going to be the tipping point for the entire year. If the Steelers can continue to play at the level they displayed this week, nothing short of a Silverback launching long snaps can stop them.

Told you their cheerleaders were really hot.

Unfortunately, the enduring image for the San Diego Chargers won’t be sexy California blondes but rather hobbled quarterback Phillip Rivers gallantly gutting out a torn MCL while trying to drive his team down the field during the waning moments of the AFC Championship game against the undefeated New England Patriots.

The enduring image of the San Diego Chargers for any diehard member of Steeler Nation will always be slow-footed cornerback Tim McKyer getting beat like a drum on a 4^th quarter touchdown bomb which would propel SD to their one and only Super Bowl appearance.

The years following that appearance weren’t kind to Charger fans. The team finished with a combined 23-57 record before the arrival of Marty Schottenheimer. In fact, the organization was such a joke that consensus first overall pick Eli Manning decided that he’d rather play in cold, tumultuous New York over sunny San Diego.

Schotteheimer turned around the organization, going 47-33 in his five years with the team. But his own personal Waterloo, his inability to win in the playoffs, did him in. The Chargers wound up firing Schottenheimer despite coming off a 14-2 season. They wound up hiring Norv Turner who took them to the aforementioned Championship game.

This season has been a run of bad luck for the Chargers. They lost star DE Shawne Merriman before the season even started. Steroids are bad for you, mmmkay? Then they began the year 0-2 but should’ve won both games except for a miracle final play TD against the Panthers and a blown call against the Broncos. The team rebounded slightly before playing a couple real stinkers and rolling into Pittsburgh riding a two game losing streak. They’re coming off a bye week, though, so we’ll see if they’re gearing up for a stretch run or it’s just a continuation of what looks to be a lost season.

STEELER DEFENSE vs. CHARGERS OFFENSE

Norv Turner was the Offensive Coordinator for Jimmy Johnson on the great Dallas team of the 90’s. He runs a similar offense here. It’s a long pass pattern offense that loves to use superstar TE Antonio Gates on deep jump balls. WR Vincent Jackson has the Michael Irvin role while Chris Chambers takes the Alvin Harper spot. This is the type of personnel that Turner excels with as he has a great TE, one big possession receiver (Jackson), and a burner that goes deep (Chambers).

People expected a break out year for Rivers after the legendary tough guy performance last year against the Patriots. That being said, he had an 81 QB rating in his last 26 starts going into this season. That’s not horrible but it doesn’t exactly denote elite QB status. Rivers’ problems occur with his footwork, particularly if he’s forced to move a little and throw the ball at the same time. But when he has a clean pocket he has as strong and accurate of an arm as there is in the league.

The cavalry is on its way in the form of one Mister LaMarr Woodley, who will return after his one week sabbatical. That should help the Steelers generate a bit more pressure. The Steelers actually did a good job against Manning last week but he was smart enough to adjust by calling quick-hitting routes and getting rid of the ball quickly on 3 step drops. Rivers is young and prone to mistakes so a lot of this game will ride on how he reacts to the enormous pressure Blitzburgh can enact on a QB.

The story of the team, though, is as Ladainian Thomlinson goes, so go the Chargers. After setting the TD record two seasons back, he had a tough year last year. Through week 12, he had only had two games of 90+ yards rushing. He turned it on for the stretch run, as weeks 13-16 saw him break out for 546 rushing yards on 6.6 yards a carry. Like many heavy duty featured RBs, he gets nicked up a lot and injuries have limited him this year. The team misses Michael Turner, who provided great relief and a nice change of pace. They do have Darren Sproules, a lightning bolt who has had some good games for them this year. Still, no team runs on the Steeler D and I don’t see this week being any different.

Of course, throwing the ball will be a viable option. Two thirds of the Three Amigos will be riding pine nursing various injuries. With both Bryant McFadden (broken arm) and Deshea Townshend (hammy) out, the unfortunately named William Gay will get his first start opposite Cement Hands Ike Taylor. Anthony Madison will likely be the nickel corner although it’s possible newly signed Fernando Bryant could see action. You know times are tough when we’re reduced to playing table scraps from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rivers has thrown the ball effectively this season and if he can’t complete passes against this patchwork secondary, he really does deserve to be called Marmalade.

STEELER OFFENSE vs. CHARGERS DEFENSE

San Diego runs a 3-4 but they use a 1 gap scheme instead of the standard 2 gap schemes that most 3-4 teams use. Ted Cottrell was their D-Coordinator, a career 4-3 Cover 2 guy, he proved a poor fit as the once mighty SD Defense struggled out of the gate. He’s been replaced by Ron Rivera, who is less tentative than Cottrell and more eager to blitz and stunt than simply drop their athletic LBs back in pass coverage.

If Luis Castillo can stay healthy, he’s a potential All Pro defensive end. He has a tenacious motor and great strength. Igor Olshansky is a pure power guy that stops the run, but doesn’t do a whole lot in rushing the passer. Jamaal Williams is still good, but noticeably lost a step last season. He’s about 350 pounds and is usually a factor rushing the passer which is unique for a guy his size.

I just wrote a lengthy article dissecting the Steelers offensive woes so I’m not going to belabor the subject. The P-G alleges that Pothole Willie Parker is FINALLY going to grace us with his presence this Sunday. I have to say, he picked a great team to return against. If his shoulder or knee is still gimpy, the Charger D will definitely give him a few love taps to test it. There probably won’t be many long gainers but I still hope we return to the grinding running attack that’s been our hallmark utilizing a two-headed monster of FWP and M Squared (Mewelde Moore).

QB Ben Roethlisberger finally lowered himself to practice like some Arena Football scab so we’ll see if actually taking reps and working with your wideouts enables one to play better. The Charger defense will be coming after him so if any of his numerous injuries aren’t bugging him now, chances are they will by halftime. The bad news is he’s facing a pretty good pass rush, the good news is SD has been vulnerable to the pass all season. They’ve had several major lapses in coverage so chances are plays will be there to be made. The only questions are can Ben make these plays and if he doesn’t, what will be his latest excuse for not doing so? Promises to play better and taking all the heat for losing a game are both admirable but there’s an old saying about talk and the fact it’s relatively cheap even in these poor economic times. Time to step up, big guy.

San Diego has been one of the great mysteries of the 2008 season. Going into the year, they were one of the odds on favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. They stumbled out of the blocks and have yet to gain their stride. Then again, last year they were 5-5 at the mid-way point and had crowds chanting “Marty” before they turned everything around. Of course, this required an easy schedule and an incredibly weak division to do it.

On the flip side, the Steelers are 1-2 in their past three games and after playing twice over the next 5 days they begin a stretch where they play four games against teams with a combined record of 38-10. If this team is truly a playoff team, never mind a championship contender, we’re all about to find out very very soon.

That’s a Lionel Richie reference, son.

You know, ‘cause he kinda looks like Nicole’s dad. Too old for you kids? I’ll try to be a little more hip.

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

And I feel fine.

What could possibly have a member of Steeler Nation thinking about the end of the world? What catastrophe could turn a person’s outlook so bleak? What disaster would lead to such depths of despair?

QB Ben Roethlisberger was seriously injured in last night’s 23-6 victory over the Washington Redskins. Preliminary reports are he fully separated his right shoulder on a goal line dive at the end of the first half. He rushed to the locker room, hip checking a defenseless and slightly anorexic Redskin cheerleader in the process, then stood on the sidelines for the rest of the game, his right arm hanging limply at his side. Ben’s a tough guy who plays through a lot of pain but I’m pretty sure he’s missing at least one game considering he couldn’t even lift the arm above his waist when congratulating teammates.

And you want to hear something crazy? I don’t care.

Backup QB Byron Leftwich came on in relief and to say he looked good is a colossal understatement. Whereas other poorly run franchises have lost their star QBs and had to trot out the inept likes of Brad Johnson or Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Steelers turned the reins over to a guy who not only can play but play well. I have no idea what the 31 other GMs in the NFL were thinking when training camp rolled around with Leftwich out of work but that explains why a lot of lousy teams continue to be lousy year after year.

Let’s start at the beginning. Head coach Mike Tomlin began the game with an onside kick which went doubly awry as we didn’t recover and were offside on the play. That set the ‘Skins up on our 40.  I’m not really a fan of crazy gambles although in this case I applaud Tomlin’s call. When you have such a devastating force as the Blitzburgh Defense at your command, you can take a few chances. Indeed, Washington went three and out then kicked a chintzy FG for a quick lead.

This pattern continued throughout the first half as the Steeler D just absolutely stifled the vaunted Redskin offense. QB Jason Campbell was under duress every time he dropped back. Every one of our LBs and DE Aaron Smith had a sack, finishing the game with a season high 7. RB Clinton Portis, who had been averaging over 5 yards/carry this season, was stuffed like a fat kid on Halloween, finishing the game with a meager 51 yards (22 of which came on one bad play). Other than TE Chris Cooley being open on dinky-dunk short check down stuff, the WRs were blanketed all game.  At halftime, the Washington offense had amassed a whopping 71 total yards.

Which would’ve been great except our offense only amassed a whopping 71 total yards. To be frank, our offense in the first half was atrocious. Remember how I said our showings against the Eagles and Giants were bad? Next verse same as the first. Big Ben looked completely confused and out-of-sorts today. He had happy feet and never seemed comfortable with what he was doing. He’d miss wide open receivers, he’d shuffle back and forth unsure of whether to run or stay put, he made several poor throws (one of which should’ve been a Pick-6) and he’d hold on to the ball too long when given time. Only his touchdown plunge which came after a blocked punt by special teams ace Andre Frazier kept the first half from being a total loss.

But the offensive crappiness can’t all be placed on Ben’s sore shoulders. When he did manage to get the ball to the WRs, they kept dropping the passes. I’m not sure when this allergy to pigskin started but it contributed to Roethlisberger starting the game 1 for 9. Worse yet was our playcalling. I know bitching about O-coordinator Bruce Arians is getting old but so are his horrific game plans. Pothole Willie Parker finally returned to the field and looked good, made his cuts, and showed that burst he’s known for. Awesome except for the fact Arians seemed intent on passing every down instead of establishing any sort of running game. He’d give Parker a carry and unless he broke a 8-9 yard gainer, it was pass pass and then pass some more. Establishing a running game means giving your star RB more than 10 scattered carries per half, Arians.

Then the second half began and it was like a totally different team in Black and Gold emerged from that locker room. With the backup QB in there, Arians was forced to focus more on the run. This made the D cheat up more to counter Parker and opened up the Tiffin Thunderbolt Nate Washington for one of his patented Long Bombers. Leftwich was coolly efficient as when he felt pressure he either stepped up and fired or stood in the pocket and absorbed the hit in order to deliver the ball down the field. Say what you want about his Carlos Zambrano-like delivery, the man has a cannon. With FWP and Mewelde Moore providing ground support and Lord Byron firing bullets all over the field, the offense finally clicked.

Two nice drives capped by TDs put the game out of reach for the overmatched Redskin offense.  Our defense held them to 200 total yards, at least 1/4 of which was gained during garbage time.  Honestly, it was like bringing an Uzi to a knife fight.  Best of all, our secondary picked off Lionel Jr. twice, finally putting an end to his Zero INTs streak so whatever terrible announcers work the game next week can shut up about that one.

Obviously, we’ll all be glued to the news and papers awaiting word on the severity of Ben’s injury. We owe a lot of this year’s success to his heroics and I wouldn’t for a second want to diminish his ability or what he means to our team. However, I think if he’s hurting and that is going to limit his effectiveness, then he should be willing to step aside for a week or two, get himself healthy (or healthier) and not come back until he can play up to his usual level. It’s pretty clear that Byron Leftwich is capable of filling in more than adequately and I don’t know about you but 100% of Lefty appears to be vastly preferable to 50% of Big Ben. Tomlin had the guts to call for the fake punt, let’s see if he has the grapefruits to do what Bill Cowher was never willing to do: tell Ben Roethlisberger to take a week off for the good of the team.

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