Nice Pick, Cowher » touchdown tommy

A Steeler Decade In Review (Part 2)

chris — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:13:05 +0000

2005

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!

Hating On Cleveland Is Way Too Easy

chris — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:30:40 +0000

I hate the Browns.

Being born and raised in Pittsburgh, the mere mention of the name “Cleveland” has made my blood boil for as long as I can remember. I hate Cleveland. My father hates Cleveland. My three uncles, two aunts, four cousins, and sweet grey-haired grandmother all hate Cleveland, too.

The damn thing is, I don’t know why.

Don’t yell at me and don’t threaten to revoke my membership to Steeler Nation. Just hear me out. All our lives we’ve been conditioned to hate Cleveland. We’ve been told they’re the mortal enemy. We’ve been told the Browns and the Steelers are one of the great rivalries in all of sports.

Well, let’s look at some other great rivalries. Red Sox-Yankees. Lakers-Celtics. Ohio State-Michigan. Maple Leafs-Canadiens. Hmmm… You know what they all have in common? The rivalry usually involves two equally prestigious franchises who are competing for a championship. The Yankees prevented the Sox from reaching the Series and prolonged the Curse until recent years when the tables have turned. OSU and Michigan often stood in each other’s way of a #1 ranking. The Lakers and Celtics met in the NBA finals five times. Toronto and Montreal dominated the NHL for over a decade, trading Lord Stanley’s Cup between themselves.

What championship has Cleveland ever cost Pittsburgh? When have the lowly Browns ever stood in the way of our mighty Steelers? How are they even remotely considered to be on the same level? I can’t remember one crucial game between the two teams which was won by the Browns. Oh, they gave it a shot a few years ago in a Wild Card playoff game but the rifle-arm heroics of QB Tommy Maddox prevented any disruption in the natural order of things.

I once read that the Pittsburgh Pirates are desperate to get the Cleveland Indians declared their “natural rival” so they can be sure to play them every season. I don’t understand this at all. I mean, I understand there are only so many cheap bobbleheads and 80’s hair bands they can bring to PNC Park to entice people to go and watch what is laughingly called a major league baseball team but why would even the most diehard yinzer fall for this? What is there to hate about the Indians? They’ve admittedly fared better than the Pirates in recent years but that’s like challenging a group of retarded kids to a chess match and then bragging when you beat them. And it’s not like the Indians have really accomplished much of anything recently. Their last World Series win was back in 1948 and they haven’t made it to October since 1954. At least the Buccos can say they won titles in 1960, 1971, and 1979.

Cleveland doesn’t have an NHL franchise and we don’t have an NBA team so we’ll call that a push. Except their Cleveland Cavaliers have been around since 1970 and won a grand total of ZERO titles while our Penguins have won twice. Technically, the score in professional basketball championships is actually Pittsburgh – 1 Cleveland – 0 as the Pittsburgh Pipers won the ABA (American Basketball Association) championship way back in 1967 and might have won it again in 1969 had they signed sharpshooting free agent point guard Jackie Moon.

The more I think about it, the less sense this whole “rivalry” with Cleveland makes. The Steelers won 5 Super Bowls and made the playoffs 12 of the last 15 years. The Browns are among only a handful of NFL teams to never appear in a Super Bowl and didn’t even have a team 12 of the last 15 years. Their franchise was moved to Baltimore, a city known as one of the most crime and drug-infested in the entire country. How bad is your city when that seems like an attractive alternative? We’ve had a line of great quarterbacks from Terry Bradshaw to Kordell Stewart to Ben Roethlisberger. They’ve had Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, and Charlie Frye. We had the Emperor Chuck Knoll. They had Bill Belichick and his entire A/V Club of Doom and still couldn’t win anything. We have the Terrible Towel and the most loyal fanbase in the entire NFL. They have a bunch of drunken buffoons in latex German Shepard masks. About the only thing we have in common is neither team has cheerleaders. For the Steelers, it’s a statement that our fans don’t need anybody enticing them to cheer. For the Browns, it’s due to the simple fact you can’t find 12 attractive women in Cleveland.

You may read this article and think I’m being overly harsh on Cleveland. You may even think some of these shots are of the cheap variety. However, that is honestly not my intent. I’m not trying to bash the people of Cleveland. Lord knows living there is enough of a cross to bear. No, the purpose of this post is to actually put the rivalry to rest. Sure, it will still be fun to play (and beat) them twice a year but let’s not do it with hatred in our hearts. We should save that for those who really deserve it.