The Pittsburgh Steelers have had all they can stand and they can’t stands no more…

A day after James Harrison was slapped with yet another ludicrous fine, his teammates are firing back.  And they’re not just speaking in the bland sound bites you typically hear from athletes. Nope, they’re taking aim directly at the corrupt dictator doing everything in his power (and many things which aren’t) to bring them down: Roger Goodell.

Hines Ward is one of the most intelligent, well-spoken players in football. That’s why President Obama named him to his Advisory Commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Hines sees the big picture and isn’t afraid to speak his mind.  I have no doubt Hines will be a Senator or Congressman some day.  But in the meantime, he’s reserving his verbal beatdowns for the idiots running the NFL.

Quoth Hines:

The league doesn’t care about us anyway.  They don’t care about the safety of the game.  If the league was so concerned about the safety, why are you adding two more games on?  You talk about you don’t want players to drink … and all you see is beer commercials.  You don’t want us to gamble, but then there are [NFL-endorsed lottery scratch-off games].

Ouch.  Hines just gave the Ginger Dictator the ass-beating his momma should have gave him.  I wonder if any of his bought-and-paid-for minions in the media will dare call him on any of these things.  My guess is they won’t because heaven forbid anybody question the precious NFL.

Oh and make no mistake, Hines reference to not wanting players to drink is a direct shot at Ben Roethlisberger‘s unwarranted suspension.  To enlighten the uninformed, Ben wasn’t suspended for banging some skank in a bathroom stall.  Ginger’s official statement when announcing the suspension didn’t mention that at all.  The league’s ruling was Ben was being punished for “being in the presence of and facilitating the ability of minors consuming alcohol.”  As if it’s Ben’s fault some dopey sorority chick decided to get bombed and the local hick bartender can’t stop staring at her boobs long enough to card her.

I used to think the NHL and MLB were run by two of the biggest fools in sports history but Ginger has them beat by a long shot.  Everything Hines said was true.  Even more, the NFL sells sex (stripper poles in Cowboys Stadium?) and violence (seen those DVD compilations of vicious hits?  They sell ‘em on NFL.com) in addition to the booze and gambling.  Yet if their players engage in any of those actions, they earn a letter from the Ginger Dictator.

Does anybody realize that if dogging a groupie while drinking a beer and then going out the next day and laying out a QB was frowned upon in the 70s, half of the Steel Curtain would’ve been suspended EVERY WEEK?

Hines isn’t the only one fed up.  LaMarr Woodley, on his fantastic Facebook page, is posting pro-Silverback photoshops in his album.  The human ATM one is my personal fave.  Everybody hates their boss but how many times have you seen a player openly goof on their assclown commissioner like that?  Mad props to Mr. Woodley for also standing up for what is right.

Oh and for the one or two mouthbreathing Raven fans who’ve decided to visit this blog before your annual gut-punch courtesy of Big Ben, even your boys are standing up for James Harrison.  Terrell Suggs, who has made his dislike of the Steelers well-known, had this to say yesterday:

Your guy over there, No. 92 [Harrison], I think he is red-flagged.  The referees are kind of looking for him.  Even if he breathes on a quarterback wrong, he might get a flag. …  I think they are looking at him more closely than they are everybody else in the league.

Suggs even stood up for Ben, who was roughed up while on the ground by dirty Bills players on at least two occasions a week after the league turned a blind eye to the criminal assault perpetuated by Richard Seymour.  Suggs noted:

The league has their favorites.  One being in Indy [Manning] and one being with that team up north [Brady].  Besides those two, everybody is fair game.  Like I always said, Carson Palmer got his knee hurt in 2005, but there was no rule made.  Then Tom Brady got hit in the knee and all of a sudden there is rule and possible suspensions, excessive fines.  It’s just getting ridiculous.

It’s pretty sad when I’m not only quoting Ratbirds on my blog but AGREEING with them.  At least for once they’re whining over a worthy cause.  See, you can use your powers for good.  When even those thugs can see the league has it out for the Steelers, you know something is terribly wrong.

So what about the man at the eye of the storm?  What has James Harrison have to say about the controversy surrounding him?

It’s starting to look like it’s OK to cheat, it’s OK to fight, but if you hit somebody too hard, we’re going to fine you a whole bunch. Maybe it’s because I play for the Steelers, who knows?

We know, James, we know.  It is because you play for the Black and Gold.  The Steelers players know it, the Steelers opponents know it, Steeler Nation knows it, even the media is beginning to recognize it.  It’s funny, there used to be a time when the Raiders were the rebels of the NFL.  But they earned that reputation through all sorts of underhanded and borderline criminal actions.  It looks like the Steelers are the new rebels, although just like in Star Wars, they’re on the side of good fighting against an evil Empire hellbent on bringing them to their knees.  And we all know how that story ends.

Roger Goodell's idea of a clean hit

And the feeling is mutual, I would imagine.

On Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro linebacker James Harrison received some bad news.  His appeal of the ridiculous fines levied against him was denied.  Shocking.  I, for one, totally see the fairness in fining James a cool $75,000 for laying out Mohamed Massaquoi with a clean hit but not fining Kurt Coleman (for stretchering out Austin Collie) or James Sanders (for cheapshotting Hines Ward) a single penny for their filthy actions.

According to NFL justice, James would be 67% less dirty (and richer) if he just just pulled up and sucker-punched his opponent like a cowardly little bitch…

Yesterday, the NFL slapped the Silverback with another $25,000 deduction from his paycheck.  Who didn’t see this coming?  He somehow escaped last week’s uncalled for personal foul for “landing with full body weight” on Oakland’s Jason Campbell.   The Ginger Dictator must’ve been distracted with planning his Thanksgiving feast.

But breaks are short-lived when it comes to the NFL’s persecution of the Black and Gold.  This week’s laughable personal foul for hitting Ryan Fitzpatrick square in the chest with a form perfect tackle did not escape their notice.  In fact, when the flag was thrown, I immediately pictured Goodell and his lackey in charge of punishments pumping their fists and high-fiving each other because they got another chance to stick it to the Steelers.

And stick it they did.  Right up the back door.  Without lube.  For those keeping score at home, James Harrison’s badassery has now set him back $125,000.  No other player, not even lowlife thugs who get into UFC-style brawls, have been fined even half that amount.

Instead of pointless meetings with Ginger or appealing unfair fines, James should just write a check for $180,000 and ask the league if a brother can get a discount for early payment.

This is why you can’t have nice things…

The Pittsburgh Steelers laid a 35-3 beatdown on the outclassed Oakland Raiders yesterday afternoon.  However, instead of talking about the Black and Gold’s finest effort of the season, we’ll probably spend the week discussing the pathetic events which occurred between plays.  This game was a travesty, a sham, a complete mockery of what we as NFL fans expect.  And I hold Roger Goodell, the NFL, and the Raiders responsible for this utter travashamockery of football.

We should probably begin with Raiders DT and lead thug Richard Seymour, who sucker punched Ben Roethlisberger after a 22 yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders.  Seymour was ejected for his Rampage Jackson-style right cross but that is not enough.  This was a criminal act the likes of which I have never seen on an NFL field.  The Ginger Dictator loves fining players for legal yet vicious hits in the name of protecting their safety.  How safe is it when you have goons like Seymour physically assaulting defenseless men after a play?

Seymour should not only face the stiffest fine ever levied but suspended for 2 to 3 games for his reprehensible actions.  In fact, I DEMAND IT.

As if the lousy sportsmanship wasn’t bad enough, the officials did everything in their power to ruin the game.  The Steelers set a team record with 14 penalties for 163 yards.  The Raiders as a team only had 182 yards TOTAL.  Ordinarily, I’d lay blame for this fiasco on the players and Mike Tomlin.   But I really have nothing to admonish them for since only about half those calls were legitimate fouls.

There’s a phenomenon known locally as Pittsburgh Paranoia.   It’s a feeling Pittsburgh sports fans have where they constantly feel leagues, networks, and especially the media either ignore or attempt to diminish our teams.  Usually I laugh at these conspiracy nuts even though there is a kernel of truth to their argument.  However, after yesterday, I’m fully on board with anybody who wants to argue the NFL is attempting to sabotage the Steelers.

Even now, some 12 hours later, I can feel myself slipping into a boiling rage over the grossly inept display of officiating.  The Steelers were called for two personal fouls on absolutely clean sacks, one of which negated a pick-six.  James Harrison, after clocking Jason Campbell, was flagged for coming down “with his full weight on the QB.”  So that’s a penalty now?  What about 3/4 body weight?  Or 1/5?  How much weight is permitted to touch a precious QB before a flag is thrown in this increasingly pussified game of football?  It was a form-perfect hit.  What’s he supposed to do?

The Ginger Dictator should just issue a press release saying, “James Harrison is no longer permitted to touch any quarterbacks under penalty of fine and/or personal foul.  Sorry, I just don’t like him or the Steelers.  In fact, if he scowls at the QB in a threatening manner, I may penalize that, too.”  It’s pathetic.

When the Steelers weren’t being called for phantom personal fouls, they were getting flagged for phantom pass interferences.  Ike Taylor, who was the man denied his pick-six, got flagged for PI on a ball that overshot the receiver by about 20 yards.  I could go on and on and on but I don’t know what to say.  This was the most atrociously refereed football game I’ve ever seen.  The league should be embarrassed.

Let’s talk some positives.  Sean Kugler continues to work miracles with the offensive line.  The starting group of Flo-Foster (starting for a benched Trai Essex)-Pouncey-Kemo-Scott was fairly impressive, keeping Ben clean and providing a nice pocket.  Meanwhile, the vaunted run D the mouthbreathers from Oakland who invaded my blog raved about was getting gashed until injuries to our already banged up O-line started piling up.  If this group can get healthy come playoff time, we might have something.  That’s a big IF, though, as Scott and Kemo were both hobbled leading to super-sub Essex entering at various points.  Then there was Pouncey, who was replaced by Legursky after re-injuring his gimpy knee early in the second half.

Big Ben was brilliant.  Of course, a late scratch of Raiders star CB Nnamdi Asomugha helped.  But this was the Ben we expected once he returned from his unfair uncalled for suspension.  Quick, decisive, and pinpoint accurate, the offense was firing on all cylinders after a few rough drives to start the game.  Ben completed 18/29 for 275 with 3 passing TDs and one 16 yard TD scramble.  I particularly enjoyed the 16 yard FU touchdown to Issac Redman with a little over a minute left in the game.

What was most impressive about the passing game was the variety of targets utilized in the attack.  Ben hit eight different receivers, six of whom had multiple catches.  Naturally, Mike Wallace had the big game (3 catches but 116 yards!   52 of which came on his lone TD.) but rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders (whose leaping 22 yard TD catch was sweet) finally made some plays.  Hines and Heath were dependable safety valves, as usual.

On the flip side, the run defense was fantastic.  They held the Raiders to only 61 total yards on the ground, lowering their yearly yards against average yet again.  At the rate they’re going, this may end up being statistically the best rush defense in NFL HISTORY.  Harrison, when he wasn’t being unfairly persecuted, had a monster game, posting five tackles, two sacks, picking off a pass and forcing a fumble.  Ike Taylor also forced a fumble in addition to the pick-six he was denied.

Shaun Suisham made all his extra points so I have nothing to comment on in that regard.  Got a good laugh at the crowd roaring on his first PAT.  Enjoy the love while you can, Suissy.  We’ll be ready to run you out of town as soon as you shank a 35 yarder with the Steelers up by 20 in the fourth quarter.

I’m torn on what to take from this game.   There is the positive of our team playing tremendously on both sides of the ball which is negated by the fact the Raiders are a pathetic team.  I’m sorry, I truly gave them too much credit in my preview as it’s clear they beat up on a bunch of bottom-feeders and in reality aren’t in the same class as the league’s top tier teams.  Then we have the positive of being able to wash the taste from last week’s debacle out of our mouths.  Which is countered by this game being a debacle of a different sort, albeit one which ended well.  I guess at the end of the day that’s all that matters.