The Pittsburgh Steelers held on to defeat the Miami Dolphins by a score of 30-24. At approximately the same time, the New England Patriots were experiencing a fourth quarter implosion of their own.  Bernard Pollard, Tom Brady‘s personal kryptonite, picked off an errant pass, setting up the score which brought the Houston Texans from 14 points down to a touchdown ahead. Later in the afternoon, the Steelers postseason hopes were officially finished when Oakland QB Charlie Frye was knocked out of their game against the Ravens and replaced by uber-bust Jamarcus Russell. All told, it wasn’t even close as only one of the four teams the Steelers needed to lose actually lost. Which means yesterday’s game against the Dolphins was an exciting if ultimately meaningless victory.

For the sake of posterity, I’ll offer a recap anyway.

The game began well for the Steelers.  As painful as this is to admit, Bruce Arians has devised mostly excellent game plans the past two weeks.  I have no idea what he was thinking the previous 14 weeks but it took him all this time to realize our offense needed balance (33 rushes vs 28 passes yesterday) and that short quick patterns like screens and slants weren’t a bad thing.  The first drive of the game was a perfect example of this as a quick out pass to Heath Miller went for 37 yards after a great catch-and-run.  Rashard Mendenhall (20 carries 94 yards) ripped off a 12 yard gain setting up a quick slant to Santonio Holmes for the TD.

Miami answered right back with Rickey Williams blasting right up the middle when the Steelers D parted like the Red Sea.  I’d like to blame this on the lack of Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel but both our inside linebackers got totally taken out on the play.  James Farrior has lost about three steps while Lawrence Timmons gets pushed around the field on rushing plays.  I realize they’re paying Timmons first round money and he’s been pretty good as a third down/pass rushing LB but next year they really have to give Keyaron Fox more playing time in the base defense.  At least he can play the run.

Anyway, the Fins also completed several 10 yard passes on that drive as our CBs decided to give every reciever an 8 yard cushion yesterday.   Literally, they were in full back pedal mode the second the ball was snapped.  It was ridiculous.  Chad Henne took advantage by tossing an 11 yard TD pass to tie the score.

Stefan Logan, who had a terrific day returning kicks, brought the ball back 30 yards to start the next drive.  Our special teams have been horrific this year but I think Logan has earned himself a job next season.  It took him about half the season to get going but he’s the best return man the team has had since Rod Woodson.   The Steelers scored a TD on this drive when two Dolphins collided with each other and Mike Wallace ran right by the trainwreck for a 54 yard bomb.

In the second quarter, Henne continued to take the ten yard chunks the Steelers secondary seemed happy to give him.  The drive stalled and they settled for a FG.  Fast Willie Parker, who chipped in with 91 yards on 12 carries in what may be his last game with the Steelers, started with a 12 yard gain.  After Ben Roethlisberger had a fumble reversed on replay, he tossed a screen pass to Mendy which netted 26 more yards.  As happened too often this season, the drive stalled at the Miami 6 as a short FWP run was followed by two incompletions. Skippy Reed kicked a FG to make it 17-10.

This set up a wild series of events.   Henne’s very next pass was picked off by Deshea Townshend.   That’s the first INT by a Steelers CB this season.   I repeat, FIRST PICK BY A  DB ALL SEASON.  If that doesn’t tell you how bad they’ve been, I don’t know what does.   On the Steelers first play following the turnover, Arians went insane.  He inexplicably called for a lateral and pass by the WR.  Now, I don’t have a problem with trick plays but the WR he chose to throw the ball wasn’t college QB Hines Ward or experienced halfback passer Mewelde Moore.   It was Santonio Holmes, who I don’t believe has ever thrown a pass in his life.   So of course ‘Tone throws a duck into double coverage which is easily picked off.

Miami answered with another drive which pretty much summed up how utterly pathetic our secondary has been this year.  On a 2nd and 20, Deshea watched Henne complete a 24 yard pass in front of him.   Later on 3rd and 12, Will.i.am Gay was five yards off the WR when he caught a 21 yard pass.  A snap launched over Henne’s head took the Fins out of FG range.  Mister Woodley, who’s been an absolute beast the last half of the season, put an end to this nonsense by sacking him for the second time in the drive.

The third quarter started with WVU’s Pat White assuming QB duties for an injured Chad Henne.  White showed excellent poise in throwing every pass directly at his receiver’s feet.   Meanwhile, Mendy was busy ripping off another long run (36 yards) to set the Steelers up at the Miami 6.  Big Ben scrambled out of danger and connected with Heath at the back of the endzone for a TD.

Before the quarter expired, a scary moment occurred when White scrambled toward the sideline trying for a first down.  He collided helmet-to-helmet with Ike Taylor and took the worst of it.  While Ike seemed to suffer no ill effects, White lay motionless on the turf for several minutes.  He was given the backboard and cart treatment.  Thankfully, medical reports are he only suffered a concussion and has full movement in his extremities.

A good punt return by Logan and a 26 yard pass interference call on an attempt to Holmes set the Steelers up at the Miami 11 as the dreaded fourth quarter began.  Once again, the Black and Gold failed inside the red zone and settled for a Skippy FG.  Still, up 27-10 with less than a quarter remaining seemed to put this one in the bag.

But we know better, don’t we? Tyler Thigpen entered the game and the Steelers D promptly set about making him look like the second coming of Dan Marino.  Two long passes added to a pass interference penalty on the useless Gay moved the ball to the Pittsburgh 16.  A tricky reverse totally fooled the defense allowing WR Brian Hartline to reach the endzone almost untouched.

Following a three and out by the Steelers, Miami marched right down the field for another touchdown.  This drive, engineered by Tyler Thigpen by the way, lasted all of three plays and went for 67 yards.   Yes, Tyler Thigpen went 67 yards on THREE PLAYS.   Both our corners and safeties pretty much stood by helplessly as TT moved the Fins down the field with ease.   The 17 point lead was down to 3 in about three minutes of game time.

On the Steelers next possession, more disaster struck when Big Ben was sacked and fumbled the ball.   Joey Porter recovered the fumble which was bad enough.  To add injury to insult, Peezy landed on Ben’s arm when diving for the loose ball.  Ben managed to finish the game with his arm hanging limply at his side in between every play.  Nice of him to finally show some guts although we could’ve used this new found courage about six weeks ago against the Ravens.

Miami had the ball at the Steelers 21 and it appeared a tie was imminent.   Thankfully, Tyler Thigpen WENT ALL TYLER THIGPEN and forced a terrible throw into double coverage.  Ryan Clark put a period on his Steeler career with a well-timed INT.   The Steelers were still backed up on their 2 yard line and needed to make some plays to at least make Miami work to get back into FG range.

Ben bravely completed a few passes to move the chains.  Then FWP gave Steeler Nation a farewell present in the form of a 34 yard run.  Several plays later, he scored an 8 yard TD which would’ve been the best way to end his Black and Gold career but the score was nullified by a holding penalty on Hines.   Still, his heroics set up yet another FG which all but put the game out of reach.

The game officially ended when Face Me Ike intercepted a desperation throw by Thigpen.  Yes, I can’t belive I just typed those words either.   The only time I use the terms IKE TAYLOR and INTERCEPTION in the same sentence, the word “dropped” is usually sandwiched in between them.  Figures the secondary, although mostly playing a terrible game, would still wait until week 17 to come up with some turnovers.   Where was this at ten weeks ago?

Of course, I could say that about a lot of things.   The 2009 season will long be remembered as one of the more frustrating in Steeler history.   From the high of a 6-2 start to the low of a five game losing streak against the dregs of the NFL, it was definitely a year of extremes.  What makes me shake my head is the fact Baltimore, Minnesota, San Diego, and Green Bay are all in this year’s playoffs and all were beaten by the Steelers.  I don’t know what to think when we may have defeated this year’s Super Bowl winner yet couldn’t defeat the lowly Cleveland Browns.  Hopefully, next year the team gets a few of their personnel issues sorted out and comes back more focused and more importantly hungry for another championship.

I’m already counting the days.

At last!  After 25 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally had one for the thumb.

And they did it the hard way.

Things started badly as both Duce and Bus were hurt in the preseason.  That meant starting RB duties fell to a 2nd year undrafted free agent by the name of Willie Parker.  Fast Willie introduced himself by rushing for 161 yards in his first game.  He added 111 more in his second.  The heir apparent to Bettis was finally found.

Still, the team struggled.  Big Ben battled injuries necessitating two starts from his backup, Tommy Maddox.   The team lost both games with Maddox playing terribly.  An overtime loss against Jacksonville saw him throw two interceptions during regulation then fumble a snap in overtime when the team was in game winning FG range.  The defense forced a punt so Maddox took matters into his own hands by throwing his third INT, a Pick Six which ended the game.

Steeler fans dumped garbage on his lawn and taunted his two young children after that game in what was the only time I was ever embarrassed to be a member of Steeler Nation.

As of week 13, the Steelers were 7-5 and on the outside looking in at the playoffs.  The team then reeled off four straight wins beginning with a defeat of the Bears where Jerome Bettis clobbered supposed All-Pro LB Brian Urlacher. They finished the season 11-5 which was only good for the sixth seed.

I’m sure we all know what happened next.  Kimo von Oelhoffen went Kobra Kai on Carson Palmer, sweeping the leg and tearing his ACL.   The Steelers beat the #3 seed Bengals to move on to the #1 seeded Colts.  They thoroughly outplayed Indy but only Big Ben making The Tackle on Bus’s monumentally ill-timed fumble kept Indy from taking the lead.  Karma balanced things out when Indy’s kicker missed the game tying FG.   The Steelers then traveled out to Denver and knocked off the #2 seeded Broncos.

In Super Bowl XL, Pittsburgh faced the NFC’s #1 seed, the Seattle Seahawks.  The signature play was provided on FWP’s 75 yard TD run early in the second half.  However, MVP honors fell to Hines Ward, who caught 5 passes for 123 yards and a TD thrown by the best QB on the field that day, WR Antwaan Randle El.  After fourteen long years, Bill Cowher finally won the big one.

Jerome Bettis announced his retirement following the game, a fitting conclusion to the career of one of the all-time greatest Steelers.

2006

The year got off to a bad start when Ben Roethlisberger was sideswiped by some nearsighted old bat while riding his motorcycle.   Ben suffered life threatening injuries because he was too stupid to wear a helmet.  His entire face had to be reconstructed with screws and Elmer’s Glue.    To add insult to injury, a week before the start of the season, he also underwent an emergency appendectomy.

More controversy raged during the preseason when Bettis, in his new role of NBC commentator, mentioned that Cowher told him he wanted to retire after winning the Super Bowl.  Evidently he felt he owed it to his players and the Rooneys to come back and defend the title.   However, he was burnt out from 15 years of coaching and with a new deal not on the horizon, it became more and more apparent this was his swan song with the Steelers.

The team won their first game with Charlie Batch filling in capably.  Then they rushed Ben back for a Monday nighter in Jacksonville.   Ben looked horrible and despite a superior defensive effort the team lost 9-0.  Between the appendix operation and brain damage from the motorcycle accident, Ben was a shadow of himself most of the season.  They also lost to a Raiders team which would only win two lousy games that year.  At 2-6 at the mid-season point, hopes for a Super Bowl repeat were gone.

Still, the team rallied like champions and went 6-2 down the stretch.  Playing the last few weeks under Cowher’s mantra of “Misery loves company,” they provided a little of that misery to the Bengals in the final game of the season.   Cincy needed to win to make the postseason while the Steelers had no motivation but to send their coach out a winner.  Which they did thanks to a 67 yard TD in OT by Santonio Holmes.

2007

Little known defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin was introduced as the Steelers new head coach.  He immediately established his authority by refusing to let Casey Hampton practice or play until he lost weight.  The veterans may not have liked him but he certainly got their attention.  After the team faded badly down the stretch, some players grumbled it was a result of such a tough training camp.

Boo hoo.

The defense lost a ton of swagger when Joey Porter was released during the preseason.  Peezy was a controversial and colorful character but he was also a ferocious linebacker in the true Steeler tradition.  Of course his replacement, James Harrison, was no slouch either.  In fact, had Joey not gotten thrown out of a game against Cleveland in pregame warmups, Silverback may have never gotten a chance to show the NFL what he could do.

The team roared out of the gate to a 9-3 record.  Then safety Anthony Smith issued his infamous “guarantee” that they’d beat the Patriots.  Tom Brady responded by torturing him for two long TD passes then talking trash.   Smith got burned the next week as his big mouth wrote checks his meager abilities couldn’t cash and the team quickly lost two straight.

Things went further downhill when DE Aaron Smith was lost for the season.  When he went down, the Steelers run defense went right along with him.   Meanwhile, FWP broke his leg in the second to last game of the year.   Parker was leading the NFL in rushing at the time and losing him pretty much wrecked our offense.

The team was one-and-done against Jacksonville.   They fell behind early but mounted a comeback which was repeatedly sabotaged by Tomlin’s boneheaded insistence on going for 2 pt conversions.  Still, who knows what would’ve happened if the refs hadn’t missed about four holding penalties on David Garrard‘s first down scramble that set Jacksonville up to kick the winning FG.   The NFL director of officials apologized for the botch job after the game.   But I thought the calls always went the Steelers way?

2008

Since we’re only one year removed, I’ll spare you a detailed recap.  Suffice it to say, this year featured one of the best single season defensive efforts in history.  Dick LeBeau and his men were either first or second in every major defensive category.  Time and time again, Blitzburgh would create a big turnover or stop the opposition cold in their tracks.  Combined with clutch last-second heroics from Big Ben, the season was about as exciting as any you’ll ever see.

Unfortunately, one very important member of Steeler Nation wasn’t here to see it.  The year began on a sad note when the great Myron Cope passed away.  The man who invented the Terrible Towel was surely looking down with an emphatic “YOI!  DOUBLE YOI!” as the Steelers tore through the hardest schedule given any team in the past 30 years.

In the playoffs, the Steelers faced the Ratbirds for a third time.  Three wins against our most hated enemy is nice enough but doing so for the right to play in the Super Bowl made it all the sweeter.   In the big game, the Steelers faced the man who was their offensive coordinator in Super Bowl XL.   Ken Whisenhunt and his Arizona Cardinals were a surprise entrant but they were a worthy opponent.  The two teams played what is widely regarded as the most exciting Super Bowl ever.  Only a last minute toe-dragging catch by MVP Santonio Holmes ensured that the season end on a high note.  Get it, HIGH note?

2009

Which brings us to this year.  Of course, no post Super Bowl off-season is complete without some Ben Roethlisberger drama.   This time, it came in the form of a rape accusation by a cowboy hat wearing desk clerk out in Reno.

To further incur the Football Gods wrath, the folks at EA Sports put Troy Polamalu on the cover of their video game.  The Madden Curse struck immediately as Troy was injured in the Steelers very first game.  He came back briefly but this season has been a total write-off as far as he’s concerned.

Still, this squad got off to an excellent 6-2 start.  Then the wheels fell off.  Losses to three of the worst teams in the league mixed with a sweep by the Bengals.  Ben was concussed in an OT loss to KC.   Hines Ward went on national tv and called his QB a sissy.  Tomlin issued threats and ultimatums which his team ignored.  The defense couldn’t hold a lead while the offense repeatedly failed in the red zone.  Ryan Clark accused the 400,000 fans who came to cheer him on just 10 months earlier of being “fairweather.”   Losses mounted until the streak reached five straight.  Only a slight rebound toward the end of the year has kept the team’s slim playoff hopes alive.

It’s looking like the decade will end much like it began.   With the Steelers on the edge of greatness, searching for that missing player or two that will put them back into serious championship contention.

Still, two Super Bowl championships in four years and multiple playoff games made this an exciting time to be a Steeler fan.  Without a doubt this was the best decade for the Black and Gold since the 1970′s.   I’m sure we appreciate this team giving us memories we’ll carry for a lifetime.  Here’s looking forward to more yet to come!

]]> http://nicepickcowher.com/2009/12/31/a-steeler-decade-in-review-part-2/feed/ 2 http://nicepickcowher.com/2009/11/13/a-thin-line-between-love-hate/ http://nicepickcowher.com/2009/11/13/a-thin-line-between-love-hate/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:20:55 +0000 chris http://nicepickcowher.com/?p=1759 I don’t want to like Chad Johnson.  But sometimes, I can’t help it. This year, HBO featured the Cincinnati Bengals on their Hard Knocks series.  The show was pretty much mind-numbingly with two exceptions.  The first being whenever owner Mike Brown or his equally clueless daughter (who, inexplicably, negotiates contracts) were demonstrating how ineptly they [...]

A Thin Line Between Love & Hate - Nice Pick, Cowher - Nice Pick, Cowher - A Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

How awesome is that commercial?  I’ve watched it four times in the past hour and still wanna see it again.  Something had to make up for that ridiculous Ben Roethlisberger auditions for ”American Idol” ad which aired last season.   The greatness of Troy Polamalu aside, I’m not prepared to declare it the best Steeler-related commercial ever however.  No, not Mean Joe giving the kid his jersey either.   My favorite will always be, you guessed it, “Nice pick, Cowah!”

Watching Steeler commercials on a continuous loop must mean only one thing:  BYE WEEK.   Yes, this is that one week a year us Pittsburghers dread, the Steelerless Sunday.  I was going to do a run down of the week’s games and offer some of my always insightful analysis but then I realized “who cares about other teams?”  I’m sure football fanatics and degenerate gamblers are salivating over the sexy Miami Dolphins-Houston Texans match-up but I can’t really muster up any interest.  When you’re used to drinking fine champagne, a can of PBR doesn’t entice you (although it works wonders on coeds from Pitt, frat boys must save a bundle on roofies).

Anyway, before I resume my regularly scheduled posting habits next week, I thought I’d just post a few a news items of interest to tide Steeler Nation over until then.

–Gene Collier, who I believe has been a columnist since I was in 3rd grade, wrote about Santonio Holmes’ hometown. Readers of this blog know I covered the story and posted an awesome video on this subject THREE MONTHS AGO.  Way to stay hip and current Post-Gazette.  Seriously, though, watch the video (and comment).  It’s one of the best segments I’ve ever seen.

–Speaking of Santonio, the reason for his sudden disappearance last week was evidently because he got kicked in the junk. Of course, you have to read between the lines in the always family friendly P-G.  Landed on someone’s shoe = kicked.  Lower abdominal region = junk.  If anybody saw the pictures of Holmes taken this summer by his girlfriend groupie ho, you’d know what a major catastrophe this could’ve been.

–Also in junk-related news, did anybody hear about Browns TE Kellen Winslow being sent to the hospital for “undisclosed reasons?” Turns out the undisclosed reasons were swollen testicles. They really better start Brady Quinn because now his boredom is affecting the whole team.

–Mister Woodley is not pleased.  I implored you to vote for a Steeler Sweep in the weekly NFL awards and we did not get the job done.   Big Ben won Offensive Player of the Week and Mike Tomlin won Coach of the Week but LaMarr Woodley came up short in his bid for the Defensive Award. He will no doubt take his anger out on the Cincinnati Bungles next weekend.  By the way, check out the list of past Defensive winners.  Mister Woodley and Troy won back-to-back weeks one and two and then J-Peezy (Joey Porter) took it in week three.  Blitzburgh defense is truly a wonderful thing.

–James Harrison was fined $20,000 for suggesting the officials should be fined for their atrocious performance in the Jacksonville game.  Hines Ward was also slapped with a $5,000 fine for unnecessary roughness in the Baltimore game.  The rub?  He was never flagged for unnecessary roughness.  So evidently Roger “See No Evil” Goodell can see evil and can even see evil on videotape but it has to be three weeks after it occurred and when the officials who are standing two feet from the plays saw nothing at all.

Have a good weekend, or at least as good as it can be without a glorious Steeler victory, and I’ll be back next week with my regularly scheduled smack talk.

That about sums up last night’s “game” against the Dolphins. As much fun as pulling for a 0-0 tie or watching a punt land on the ground and get stuck like a lawn dart was, there’s no way professional football should be played on a piece of shit like Heinz Field. I’m no grass growing expert, but 11 games in 7 days in late November in the Northeastern United States couldn’t possibly end well, even without the downpour. I hope Roger Goodell really comes down on the Rooneys about this fiasco, just like the league slapped down the Patriots a few years ago over their shitty field conditions for a playoff game against Indy. Then again, knowing that paragon of righteousness and fairplay, Bill Belichek, they probably Bull Durham’d the field on that one. But we’ve known for YEARS that Heinz had the worst surface in the league and yet all they do is talk and discuss and plan and never actually DO anything to fix the problem. They can grow fungus in outer space and hair on Cy Sperling, they can’t plant decent grass in Pittsburgh?

At this point, I would offer up some analysis of the game last night but given the conditions, I’m not sure we can really learn anything from that performance. Joey Porter played a great game for the Fins, almost single-handedly trying to will them to victory. His shouting “You still love me” over to the Steelers sideline was pretty funny. I kinda missed ‘ol J-Peezy for a few minutes there…at least until James Harrison absolutely OBLITERATED John Beck on a sack/fumble play and I realized we’re just fine at linebacker, thank you very much.

I wonder if Dolphin fans would’ve been content with a tie? Technically, they’d still have a winless season, but it’s better than nothing. Cam Cameron seemed pretty intent on testing that theory as his ultra-conservative offensive calls pretty much ensured the entire game would be played at about mid-field. Don’t get me wrong, our defense played well but it helps when the other team doesn’t even appear to be trying to score. In fact, I think they called more plays which went horizontally down the field than vertically. And I got a good chuckle out of the Worst Commentators Ever™ hyping Ted Ginn as an electrifying return man. I could sure feel the electricity when he’d wave his hand frantically to signal for a fair catch.

Offensively, what can I say? Willie Parker had about 85 yards to go over 1,000 for the year. A fine accomplishment but once again he didn’t really bust anything or make the home run play we’re used to him making. Obviously, the field probably killed any ability to cut back or whatever. Hines Ward had his best game of the season, which is what you expect from a possession receiver in a game like this. Ben played okay, the interception to Porter was a terrible throw and a couple sacks were caused by him holding the ball way too long, one of which killed a nice drive we had going on early in the game.

As for the line, oh, you wonderful line you. Again, it’s hard to really tell much but we did surrender another 5 sacks to a team that only had like 12 coming in. Sean Mahan turned his back to me more times than the cheerleaders in high school which tells me he’s still getting blown by like a fat orange pylon. Seriously, did Chukky Okobi tell Mike Tomlin he loved him in “Jerry McGuire” on the first day of training camp? How bad could he possibly of been if Mahan beat him out? Heath Miller got two really costly holding penalties which looked to be because instead of out running a route, Tomlin is now holding him back as an extra pass blocker. Keep our best red zone threat at the line because we can’t protect our quarterback. Great.

Anyway, so ends the saga of Sod Bowl I. My only regret was we don’t have a scoring system like they have in the CFL because a game like this deserves to end with a final score of 1-0.