FAN: Najeh's Car Dumped

I cannot believe for the life of me that the author of this story didn't say the car was "dumped". Still Avail, who will celebrate his wedding this weekend in the Crescent City sent me an email as soon as he saw it saying he couldn't wait to see what we'd come up with for this crazy story.

I got nothin'. I thought I might, but I don't. It's kind of sad actually. Dude had a decent career going, nothing special, but now he's chasing his stolen vehicle down the street watching it slam into 4 parked cars. The fact that the car is so old leads me to believe it's an old muscle car on hydrolics or something. I thought maybe after he caught him he would hold him down and shit in his face.

No such luck.

Well, Najeh, all I can say is I wish you would have taken your role as a Steeler a little more honorably. The city was ready to love you. You didn't want it bad enough. Had you shown the same ferocity for the goal line that you showed your Impala.....maybe you'd still be playing.

Good luck this weekend Still Avail. I will be in stinking Patriot's country this weekend so I have to hope my "PITT 6SB" license plate doesn't get my car spit on.

Steelers Dump Davenport

The Steelers went in the closet and dumped Najeh Davenport, clearing up the crowded backfield they put together. With Mendenhall and Melwelde Moore coming onboard since the end of last season, the roll (not toilet paper) Najeh never nailed down was up for grabs. He never did seem to move the pile the way the Steelers brass wanted him to. Hopefully this doesn't mean his career is down the crapper. If he could ever get that one night back, do you think he would change his actions?

What Happened To Our Defense?

I understand Ben, Troy and Hines didn't play today and they are three of our best players, but week after week, I am more and more upset by our defensive showing. When a 3rd string running back tears us apart like Mr. Ross did today, you have to wonder if it's our players, our player's psyche or our schemes? With the above players dinged and Aaron Smith, Marvel Smith and Willie Parker gone for the year, I really don't know how we will compete with Jacksonville next weekend. I can hear Jack Del Rio firing his troops up right now. If Musa Smith and company can hurt us - what will Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew do to us? If a rookie quarterback can drive the ball on us, what will the more seasoned Garrard do with even better receivers? If our coach is calling timeouts at 2:04 will he crack in his first playoff game? Should he have tried a second onside kick? Should he have challenged the catch in the endzone of the kickoff? He has not shown a keen ability yet at managing the "game time" decisions. I'm more than a little worried. I think we could have bounced Cleveland or Tennessee on talent alone. Jacksonville could very well come into our house as a slight favorite. I'm not giving up or turning negative - I'm speaking the truth. I'm worried. I think if you're not worried, your NFL IQ might not be as high as you think it is. I'm putting our chances of winning this game at 51%. Also, that 51% is based on Ben, Troy and Hines all playing. Some other thoughts:

I was looking for one bright spot today...one! I'm not sure I saw one. If I missed it, please fill me in. I guess you could say we covered kicks ok today.

I think Willie Reid will not make the team next year. With Rossum hurt, this was his time to get pissed off and show Steeler Nation why he was drafted so high. Well, you see how well that worked out. If he can't be a decent #5 receiver and we're forced to make Cedric Wilson field punts, cut him. Apparently we can add him to the list of good college receivers who can't play in the NFL.

Ike Taylor continues to aggravate me with his inability to catch.

Najeh Davenport looks like a different runner every week. He may be the most inconsistent player on the team. If he's not - who is? I have laid down the gauntlet.

Willie Colon and Keamoeatu are going to rack up a ton of penalties next year. Bank on it. I like a Steeler with a bad disposition, not one that has to push and shove every time they don't like the way they are handled.

I'm done complaining, more to follow this week.

She Better Watch Out

If the mother of Najeh Davenport's child knows whats good for her, she'll try to stay on his good side. Doesn't she know that if you mess with him, you get his mess? Najeh settles disputes with poops. He'll put one in your shoe for lack of better things to do. You don't agree with his logic? He'll drop one in your closet. When bad feelings linger, you'll find a gorilla finger. Ok, I'm done, this isn't going anywhere.

Things That Make Me Go "Hmmmmm"

Willie Parker is listed at 5-10, 209. I'm guessing that 209 is more like 201. Najeh Davenport is 6-1, 247. Local Pitt guy and childhood Steeler fan Kevan Barlow came in for a free agent visit last week. He's listed at 6-1, 234. If Barlow happens to come on board, that would give us three very diverse runners. Parker would still get the bulk of the carries, but having 2 bigger backs would be nice in short yardage situations. Alas, before we get too excited about bringing in Barlow instead of Verron Haynes (who they are still in contact with) look at these numbers: AVG first three years 4.1, 4.7, 5.1. Nice. AVG last 3 years: 3.4, 3.3, 2.8. Yikes! He was more of a role player in the beginning of his career and when asked to carry the load later, he faltered. Maybe a situation of sharing the load again would do everyone good? I'm on the fence about this one. To me, it looks like it may be an insurance policy for Parker. Having an experienced runner if Fast Willie goes down would be better than what's on the waiver wire at that point in time. If the price is right - I could be convinced.

The Dump Truck Cometh

People can be so clueless. I'll help out by letting everyone in on the "dirty" little secret. I just read something somewhere where the author thought it was cool that Najeh Davenport is being called "The Dump Truck" in Pittsburgh. He likened it to Bettis being "The Bus" because of their extra large stature. Well, in some regard, yes....but Paul Harvey needs to sit this guy down on a "stool" and give him the rest of the story. Najeh was once accused of - and he accepted several hours of community service to not have it on his record - defecating in a woman's shoe in her closet while in school. Wow. Usually people get upset when they get shit on the BOTTOM of their shoes. Get it now? Poop? Dump? Dropping the kids off at the pool? Deploying the troops? Bombing the Serbs? Laying some pipe? Get it? Ah, now it makes sense. Well, to whatever degree pooping in someone's shoe makes sense. Do you think he squatted? I often wonder if he meant to hit the shoe - or if he was just pooping in the closet and he didn't care where it landed. If he was really drunk, he may have thought it was the bathroom and the light was just burned out. One night when my friends and I first started drinking - a kid thought he threw up in the toilet in the middle of the night. As it turns out, he threw up in a big decorative wicker vase! Shit happens. If I was a real sportswriter....I'd write things like "he really squirted through the line there" and "he blasted that one right up in there". When he's having a bad day? "Man is Najeh stinking up the joint today". I could go on and on...."Roethlisberger flushed out of the pocket, he looks to dump it off to Davenport". See? This is easy.

Superb Roster Move

In one of the better roster moves during a season I've seen in a while from the Steelers, Najeh Davenport replaced the newly acquired Cobbs from the Patriots. Cutting Cobbs also saves us from owing the Patriots a conditional draft pick. Davenport was a monster a few years ago while replacing Ahman Green. He will surely take over the short yardage situations as soon as he can prove to the coaching staff that he is healthy after breaking his ankle last year. Hopefully....HOPEFULLY.....the signing of the big back will spell the end of Staley's tenure as a Steeler. I'm not sure what this means for Verron Haynes as Najeh is a proven power back that can run between the tackles. Haynes is a good soldier who who never complains and wants to contribute. I can't wait to see Davenport in action. Looking at all the big backs who were available this year, TJ Duckett and Ron Dayne included, I actually like Davenport better as he's never shown the softness that both Dayne and Duckett have ben accused of. I will say this - if Nate Washington continues to excel at WR, maybe we should have drafted Lendale White this year instead of Santonio Holmes, although White had softness issues also if I remember correctly.