Toldja they read our blog.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, having evidently read John’s post on the city’s Roller Derby scene, were not to be outdone by the Wrecking Dolls having a player with the WWE-esque nickname of “Snot Rocket Science” so they went out and one-upped them by signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive end Anthony “Booger” McFarland.

I’d love to give you a scouting report on good ‘ol Booger but alas, he tore his patella tendon and missed the entire 2007 season. However, McFarland should still be somewhat familiar to football fans as he was a starter on two Super Bowl championship teams. He was highly regarded enough for the Indianapolis Colts to give up a second round draft pick for his services a couple years ago when it finally occurred to them that occasionally stopping the other team from scoring might be a better idea than simply hoping to score 55 points a game. Unfortunately, their high regard immediately plummeted to callous disinterest when he failed a recent physical.

Still, I like this signing for two reasons and since they are pretty insightful, I will share them with you.

1) McFarland probably still has some gas left in the tank. I know the temptation is to lump this in with the other Steeler Reclaimation Projects (see Barlow, Kevan) as doomed for failure but I’m not totally sure about that. McFarland played in Tampa Bay for defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Who was Kiffin’s defensive backs coach? Mike Tomlin.

This could very well be a case where McFarland took a bargain basement contract from an old friend with the hope that he can prove he can still play and thus earn a better deal from the Steelers or another team somewhere down the line. The NFL is a cruel, harsh place where dreams go to die. Kinda like Vegas. They don’t suffer cripples or invalids and if you can’t play, you’re thrown in the garbage heap with the rest of the trash. But every once in awhile, all you need is a little spackle, a little bondo, and a little TLC to transform that broken old lamp into an awesome bedpost/door knocker. Damn you, Ty Pennington!!

2) The Steelers need the depth. Last year, we pulled off the rarely done Defensive Hat Trick of leading the league in pass defense, run defense, and total defense. Then DE Aaron Smith went down. What happened? Well, that’s why I have his name listed in the Steelers MVP voting over on the right. We immediately surrendered 150 yards to the Jets’ Thomas Jones. Then we got gashed by some third string rookie making his first start for Cincinnatti whose name I can’t even be bothered to remember. Then, worst of all, came the 200+ yard wrecking that Jacksonville dumped on us.

It’s almost like the Steelers sometimes forget football is a contact sport. People get hurt. The 11 guys who start the season aren’t likely to be the exact same 11 who finish it. Some soldier inevitably falls along the way. It’s a game of attrition.

Now, I understand you can’t have 11 starters and then also have 5 back-ups as good as the starters. You simply can’t pay everybody. But the drop-off between starter and back-up doesn’t need to be quite that severe. With most teams, if the starter is an honors student, the back-up is in college prep. With the Steelers, our back-ups ride the short bus.

Last season, the law firm of Kirschke & Eason was an utter disaster. One player, albeit a great one, went down and our entire run defense collapsed. If McFarland can play at anywhere near his previous level, he gives us a very solid run-stopper to plug in whenever need be. Will be beat out any of our starters? Highly unlikely. But if injuries occur, and we all know they will, we won’t have to worry about our entire defense going down with them.

All in all, a very nice pick up by the Steelers. I know it gets frustrating that while other teams are in luxurious showrooms checking out the latest Audi or BMWs, we’re in the used car lot kicking the tires and hoping to make lemonade out of a lemon but you can’t argue with success. And there really aren’t many teams in the NFL better at managing, maneuvering, and surviving life in the salary cap era than your Pittsburgh Steelers.

September 27, 1992.

I was a senior in high school, eagerly awaiting my acceptance letter from Carnegie Mellon University. Between us, I firmly believe the extra 250 points the SATs give you for spelling your name correctly put me over the top. “Wayne’s World” kept me sane by repeatedly asking, “Are you mental?” Kriss Kross promised to make me Jump! Jump!

And for the first time in 25 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a new coach roaming the sideline. Emperor Chuck Noll had stepped aside and his successor was a fiery, spit-spewing, thirty-five year old former KC assistant with a lantern jaw that would make Jay Leno jealous. It was Bill Cowher’s first season as head coach and this native son of Pittsburgh made us all proud by getting the Steelers off to a 2-0 start.

In week three, we played the Green Bay Packers. The city, the team, and even I were on a roll and none of us were ready for the ride to end. We had every reason to think it would continue as the Majik Man, quarterback Don Majkowski, was injured the previous week, forcing the sorry Pack to turn to some nobody making his first career NFL start.

That guy’s name was Brett Favre. And not only did he start, he won. He threw for over 200 yards and two touchdown passes, handing the Steelers a crushing 17-3 defeat. Brett started the next week. Then the next. In fact, he went on to start 253 games in a row. Along the way he picked up three MVP awards, reached two Super Bowls (winning one), set a whole slew of quarterbacking records, and left us all with a number of memorable performances.

Yes, I’ve been critical of Favre from time to time. I do happen to feel this retirement should’ve taken place 2-3 years ago. Granted, he had a pretty damn good year last season but the last couple prior to that were so bad that nobody, other than the most ardent of Favre supporters (which apparently includes 98% of the media), saw them as anything more than him hanging around just to break a few records.

That said, he has had an incredible career, and those few bad years won’t diminish his prior accomplishments. He’s easily a top-10 all-time QB and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. While I’ve never been his biggest fan, or even a big fan, he has my respect. And I’m sure when September 2008 rolls around, we’ll all find it a little bit weird and a little bit sad to have an NFL season without #4 playing for the Packers.