FAN: Roethlisberger to Payton: Thank You

This story will hopefully grow some legs and take some heat off of Ben for a while. I like Sean Payton a little so I hope it's not true, but we need a diversion badly. I think Benny Boy should send him a little something as a small Thank You. I remember when 9/11 went down that one politician was going through the meat grinder over the missing Chandra Levy. Now I can't even remember his name. I wonder which story in the NFL knocked the Vikings party boat off the radar?

FAN: Roger Goodell Suspensions

Since not everyone knows all the players ever suspended by Roger Goodell, I thought I would post them here. Some people said he had to suspend Roethlisberger or it would be racism. Hmmmm. Let's look at the data first.

Roethlisberger 4-6 games Never charged with a crime

Vick went to prison for 21 months and only served a 2 game suspension as he was re-instated for the third game of the season after being released.

Chris Henry 8 games - arrested 4 times in 3 states including drug charges and one felony gun possession.

Marshawn Lynch 3 games for pleading guilty to misdemeanor gun possession shortly after being nabbed for a hit-n-run.

Tank Johnson 8 games for probation violation of a weapons charge

Pac-Man Jones 16 and 4 games Brawl and shootings at strip bar and fight with body guard

Donte Stallworth 16 games for DUI Manslaughter

Larry Johnson 1 game for hocking loogey on female in a club

Brandon Marshall 3 games for DUI and arrest for domestic violence

Bryant McKinnie 4 games for aggravated battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest

Fabian Washington 1 game for domestic battery

Fred Evans 2 games after while on probation already, battery of a POLICE OFFICER

Jerramy Stevens 1 game for extreme DUI 3x limit

Odell Thurman 4 and 16 and then some for various substance abuse and assault charges.

I don't know about you, but I think the suspension was a bit much and I am planning on doing one last post about it. The guy who went to prison for 21 months got reinstated after missing 2 games when he got out. Also notice Ben is the only person suspended without being charged of anything. How it would have been racist to only give him 2 games is beyond me. I think 2 games would have been more in line when you read these other suspensions. Get yourself on probation and then physically assault a police officer gets you two weeks. Nice. Now, the people all fired up about Ben (and I am mad myself, trust me, but I want fairness) got their suspension. I would now like every one of them to comment on the fairness of 4-6 games based on the list above.

Donte Stallworth got drunk and killed somebody behind the wheel of a car and he got 16 games. Ben wasn't even charged with a crime and got 25-38% of that. Let's be honest, if he jumped out of the bushes with a hood on at night and absolutely raped somebody - I'm still not convinced the punishment for that should be 38% of killing somebody. The fact that no charges were brought and they were both hammered and we don't know for sure WHAT happened leads me to believe as a logical person that it did not equal 38% of killing somebody.

I would barely have batted an eye had it been 2 games. If it's 4, OK, Roger, you made your statement. If it's 6, I think it's unjust compared to the previous suspensions. In fact, he may have been a victim of being overpunished just so it didn't seem like racism since the word was brought into the discussion before Roger ruled.

First it was a huge debate over whether he would even be suspended or should he be suspended. I don't hear a lot of people saying this was too little or too much. I hope the intent was to always back it down to 4 but to come strong with the potential 6 out of the gate.

FAN: Like He Never Left

The Steelers made a very smart move today resigning Byron Leftwich to cover any suspension Ben Roethlisberger faces to start the season. Look for Batch to retire after not making the team after serving as another arm in camp and instantly being hired as a coach. I worry about one thing....his slow delivery and our offensive line. Ben is always able to make one move that buys him a little time and then he stays upright when touched the first time to deliver. I feel Batch will crumble like a graham cracker crust if the O line doesn't step up.

What will help? A running game obviously! While Leftwich is in we need to become a run first team to take the heat off the rush. If we can run, we can win. If we can't run, Arians better have a TON of 3 step drop routes in. I feel much better with Byron in there than Dennis Dixon. This is most likely a blow to Double D's confidence but it shouldn't be. If the Steelers didn't have Super Bowl aspirations they could afford to let Dixon grow in the role as backup. However, the Stillers have as good a chance as any to win it all this year being only a year removed from their last trophy.

FAN: Roethlisberger Not Charged

Benny dodged a big fat bullet today. He's lucky his fat ass isn't going on trial...criminal trial.

I don't think he followed that gril to the restroom unannounced and pounced on her against her will.

I also think somewhere in the back of my head that something he did while in the restroom was probably way out of line - but not illegal. I don't even know what that means really.....but it's somewhere in the middle. Something along the lines of what Dog first raised. They started doing something consentual, he wanted more or "freakier", she didn't, he got pissed....verbally abused her....she felt cheap and used.....

I want these idiots acting like choir boys this year. I'm really getting sick of it. The only thing bringing back my interest in baseball is the Phillies rise to prominence and even that isn't enough to make me watch anywhere near regularly. Stroke and I have 11th row seats on the first base side Wednesday night so that's the first game I'll see this year. I swear if much more happens to the Steelers players - or should I say if the players continue to DO things - I'm out. I'll take my expendable income and spend it elsewhere. My NFL ticket package. My yearly pilgrimage with Stilladog to a game. My jerseys. My autographs. My dollies, er I mean my bobbleheads. I'll chuck it all and read more books.

A friend of mine at work who is a huge hockey fan made a good point today about Holmes. He said people like Holmes just take a spot at a college that a real student deserved and for what? It seems like every day on the si.com NFL blotter there is a player in trouble. Why not in hockey? Maybe the money is just too out of control for these thugs to handle. I know one thing right now. Write it down.....20 years from now in 2030, I will have more net worth than Santonio Holmes. When he signs his new deal it will be in the area of 5-7 million per year and it could have been much higher without the antics. My household makes less than 5% of that a year. I know in my BONES I will have more than him in 20 years. I know it.

FAN: Bulger Is Available

Well, for everyone saying we may need a bridge if something happens to Ben's legal situation - Marc Bulger was released by the Rams today. Not sure he'd do any better than Batch since Bath has been in the system forever, but he has more skill than Batch. He certainly would do better with a veteran team than Dennis Dixon even though DD looked promising last year. The good news is that I don't think any charges will even be brought against Ben. Maybe a civil case, but no criminal. Anyway, any thoughts on Bulger being Steeler if the price is right?

FAN: Roethlisberger's DNA Not Needed?

I'm so confused about the Roethlisberger incident. SI.com is now running a story that the police are no longer seeking Roethlisberger's DNA. I'm not quite sure what to make of this. All I know is, on the surface it sounds good for Ben. As Still A While said who tipped me, he is one lucky bastard if this eventually goes away. I happen to be firmly in Stilladog's corner with his prdering of events. Something happened that was consentual, it ended badly, she was drunk and/or embarassed and her friends convinced her something really bad happened or she didn't want to be seen as some celebrity bopper.

That's my guess and nothing more. I stand by my statements made here and on That's Church's website that if he is found guilty I will come down on him hard. If not, I chalk it up to I don't know what. I want to believe him and I want to like him but reading everything that I've read recently - it's hard to find any positives. John Steigerwald's post really paints him poorly and that's from a Pittsburgh journalist.

So, I don't think it means much since he admitted to sexual contact so we'll still wait and see. If no charges are filed, or charges are filed and he's innocent - what do we have? We have a QB who wins and is apparently a jerk. Is that bad? I don't know. Rex Grossman is prbably a swell guy, but he can't play football. If Ben sexually assaulted that girl, the game changes. I'm saying what if he didn't. I can live with a hard partying QB who wins even if he is a tool, and I'm not calling him a tool. I personally know someone who was at the PNH video shoot which starred Ben a few years ago. He told me the next time I saw him that he was an @$$hole, but I chose not to believe it because the guy isn't a Steeler's fan.

If he is only guilty of being a jerk, suit him up and thorw him out there. I tend to believe most pro athletes probably are and they only change when the cameras are on them and they do charity not because they really want to but because they feel pressure to. Of course that isn't true of everyone, but I bet for every Troy, there are 25 jerkoffs. If our jerkoff can win two more Super Bowls, I'll keep him.

FAN: Local Yocal Butchers Accused Roethlisberger

Did anyone listen to that press conference? If "Roethlisberger" was said outloud 21 times, it was mispronounced 19 of them. The guy at the mic kept calling him "Rothlismenburg". The woman butchered it a few times as well. Don't yout hink before this clown goes in front of all those cameras for the nation to see he would have learned how to say his name correctly? It's not 2004. I thought everyone knew how to say it?

FAN: Ben To Crazy Woman, Suck It

I couldn't be happier that Big Ben told the crazy lady to piss off. After reading the emails, how could anyone think he was guilty of anything? I don't even know if anything else is worth commenting on.

FAN: Bumping My Poster

With the return of "Ginny" (who's bringing sexy back) to the blogosphere, I wanted to bump this back up to the top of our little corner of the world since we've been seeing visitors to our site like never before.

Come back often, we'll try hard to either inform you, make you laugh or piss you off.

FAN: Roethlisberger Defense Just Got Easier

The truth is starting to come out. How long before she drops the civil suit? The thing is, when things like this start to take hold, the news isn't as exciting and it gets lost. People remember the accusations - not the truth.

FAN: Roethlisberger Rapist?

Ok, before we all pile on too early about this story, lets please hope it ends up more like this story from a few years ago. It's going to be very hard to prove a year after the fact and both can claim their own side to the story. I need to wait for more details to come out. All I can say right now is that if it's not true - I feel bad for the Rooney family that they can't even enjoy the entire off-season after winning it all. Everybody was just starting to forget about the helmet incident and now this. Let's also remember the entire Duke Lacrosse witch hunt which cost kids an entire season was completely fabricated. If he's found guilty, I'll have plenty to say. If the girl tried to extort money or had consenual sex and was then mad about being rebuffed - it's pretty lame. Sigh. Look, Roethlisberger isn't nearly as Hollywood as a Matt Leinhart or Tammy Brady, but he also isn't invisible ala Drew Brees. I think it would be very good for his career to settle down and get married and have a kid. I want my franchise quarterback serious about the next 10 years.

FAN: The Immaculate Drive

After a week of soaking it all in, there are still good stories coming out about the final drive of the Super Bowl. Peter King wrote a good article (for once) and gave credit all the way around - but still takes a shot at an anonymous Steelers fan in an airport, stinking Bostonite that he is. I think the thing I enjoyed most this week was watching Showtime's Inside the NFL which dedicated the entire hour to the big game. NFL Film's version was shown and then dissected. I read all the things Holmes supposedly said leading up to the final catch but you get to relive them in realtime thanks to NFL Films. As soon as Fitzgerald scored, Holmes started screaming they needed to "dare to be great" and exclaimed "I dare to be great". He walked over to Ben and told him he wanted the ball before going out on the field. Then, it seemed like he was reminding him before every snap. They interviewed Holmes in his house and he seemed very gracious and humble. He talked about kid's choices and wanting to be a role model, but something about him just tells me if offered a big rolled fatty at a party he'd take it in two seconds. My only issue with Showtime's version of the HBO staple is Warren Sapp. He says such stupid things you have to wonder about his IQ. Phil Simms said that the extended halftime was good for the Cardinals because it allowed them more time to get over the shock of the potential 14 point swing due to James Harrison's pick six. Good point. Sapp chimed in that he thought it was better for Pittsburgh because Harrison needed more time to rest after the return. Huh? It was a 100 yard dash, not a 5k. If he thinks the extra 10 minutes of Super Bowl halftime allowed Silverback to be his normal self in the second half, he's dumber than I originally thought.

FAN: Warren Sapp is a .....Well, Sap

We're done. We're going to lose the Super Bowl. It's over. Why you ask? Didn't you watch Showtime's Inside The NFL tonight? Warren thinks the team isn't focused. Why? Because Kurt Warner got off his team plane in a suit and looking focused. Ben Roethlisberger got off his team plane holding a camcorder. Now, while I agree with Pittgirl's assessment today at haveagoodsandwich.org, what in the heck does it have to do, Warren, with how a game will turn out more than a few days away? What a giant (and I mean giant) idiot. Every person to the man on the panel tried to get him to elaborate and he raised his eyebrows like "how dare you challenge me" and said "that's your quarterback right there, that's your quarterback....and he's got a camera....looks to me like he's on vacation." Go ahead, take a long silent pause here to think about how ridiculous pregame coverage has become. Ladies and gentlemen, we're not debating how healthy Hines Ward will be. We're not debating if Larry Foote will leave the field so Troy can slide down further in the box. We're not discussing if Fitzgerald will be a decoy and Boldin will have a monster game. We're not discussing if the Steelers are aware Warner has been sacked on blitzes only 8 times all year. We're not discussing if the best way to throw Warner off kilter is to hold up his receivers at the line for 1 full second to screw up the timing. We're discussing how Ben Roethlisberger chose to exit the plane. Stay tuned for the second half of our broadcast ladies and gentlemen, as we'll get hair coloring tips from Skippy Reed. What if the poor guy's mother said "Ben, what's it like getting off the plane and seeing the throng of people waiting to see the team?" I'm being drawn into it, I'm trying to pull a Covey.....I'm looking for the unknown "what if....." that makes sense of it....Ugh!

Hey Colts, Here Ya Go

Well, Benny served up today's game on a silver platter. There is no other way to describe it. Without those two picks, and a lucky ass tip (two for that matter) the Colts may not have been in the end zone all day. The defense has to be really frustrated. They easily played well enough to win. Even though my team lost, I have to say, the most troubling thing about today for me was seeing Boomer Esiason for the first time in a long time. I'm trying to watch less and less panel shows and updates and I've been doing OK so far this year. I've added a lot of free hours (well, not really) to my Sundays by only watching a little of the Football Night in America show. I didn't even watch it tonight. However, when I turned on the HiDef to watch the Stillers, I turned it on a few minutes early and Boomer looked as if he swallowed a small child earlier today. His face is so bloated! What the heck? His head looked like a pumpkin for Christ's sake. I hope he's healthy and I'm not making fun of a medical condition. I guess that's what old age does to you. He looks like shit.

Weiners and Bergers

Ok, so as it turns out, we're going to be alright. I don't see a scenario where the Steelers don't make the playoffs, but I've been wrong before......once. And we all know I hate 99% of NFL talking heads (could Clayton be the exception?) so I didn't even turn on my TV until 8:00 PM on Monday night, and that's because I thought the game started at 8:15. As the roundtable started talking about Ben and the number of times he's been hit this year, Cris Carter opened his big, stupid mouth. He started talking about Ben and how he's been dinged the past couple of years and how they gave him $100 million and his shelf life might be short because if the beating he takes. More on that after this..... He then said he misses a couple of games per year and if he misses 3 games a year over 10 years that's 30 games. Wow. Good job, Einstein. Except you might want to check your facts. Any idiot listening to this drivel now thinks Ben misses 3 games per year. A quick glance at nfl.com is all it takes to see that he has missed exactly 0, 4, 1, 1 and 0 games due to injury in his 5 seasons so far. Six games out of 4.5 seasons is ridiculous in today's day and age. Which brings me back to the other point I wanted to make. Yes, the Eagles and Giants combined for 13 sacks. I'm guessing 3 of them hurt. No "bone crushers". I can't remember him getting rocked to the point where his head snapped violently more than once. This isn't Jeff George getting sacked repeatedly, this is a freaking monster. He also saod that he's been hit from the blind side a lot this year. What? Do they have editors who watch this stuff and report back to them like ESPN used to have "Stat Boy" on PTI? Rarely has he been sacked without seeing the guy coming. It's usually a guy coming free off of a scheme right in his face.....and he usually eludes the first player and then gets hit because he refuses to take a sack. And I use "hit" reluctantly because he usually just gets wrapped up and tackled. The only other point I wanted to make on the game was the sheer numbers Steeler Nation brought forth. Holy God did Daniel Snyder have to shit a brick when he saw that. Especially considering many were in the good seats! Redskins fans must really suck to sell their tickets with a team doing well. What a bunch of losers. If that game was at Heinz, there may have been 1,000 people dressed in red, probably less. I once went to a Houston Oilers game at Three Rivers and I swear to God I saw exactly two Oilers fans. Two. That is not a lie. 2.

Steelers - Jags Guest Post : The Dog Weighs In

Game Recap By Still A Dog:

Big Ben gave us a gutsy 300-yard, 3 TD performance. James "Silverback" Harrison and LaMarr Woodley caved in the Jags pocket in a classic pinser movement. But as I reflect on last night's win in Jacksonville it's the unsung and taken for granted players that made it happen for us.

To start, those guys are Aaron Smith, Darnell Stapleton, and Chris Hoke. Linemen all. You all will remember how our defense crumbled when Smith did not play at the end of last season. And last night you saw how effective Dick LeBeau's defense can be when Aaron Smith comes to work and does his job. Everything Le Beau does with his safeties and linebackers is predicated on rock solid line play. If the line play is weak, all his fancy schemes and stunts are just French pastry.

And that leads me to the next guy who is taken for granted, Chris Hoke. Hoke has filled in time and again for Fat Casey Hampton. When Fat Casey is out of breath Hoke comes in, when Fat Casey is hurt, Hoke comes in, when Fat Casey is in Tomlin's doghouse, Hoke comes in. And in the last two weeks Hoke has more than filled in for Casey Hampton. He has clogged the middle AND made plays in run stop and pass rush that I dare say I haven't seen Hampton make recently. So if strong line play is essential to Le Beau's defense it is Hoke and Smith that are the reason the talking heads are telling you what a great tackler Troy Polamalu is. I don't even think Troy's the best tackler on this defense let alone the NFL. But John Madden (once a Raider always a Raider) is just a windbag anyway. Hoke and Smith do give us the ability to play Polamalu in some unusual situations that an offense is not prepared for.

And on offense, Darnell Stapleton. I watched his play carefully last night and he is better than Kendall Simmons hands down. Why this man was riding the bench when that putrid Simmons started the first 3 games, I'll never know. But I was very pleased with Stapelton's play. He sealed the lane twice which sprung Mewelde Moore on long runs. And it was not his man that got to Big Ben, not once that I saw. And speaking of other things offensive line related that I don't understand, when Marvel Smith went out why did Trai Essex come in? I thought for sure we'd see Max Starks at LT. He finished the season there last year and did a decent job. We pay the man 7 million dollars but we never see him except as a Tight End in the goal line jumbo package? Have we not all seen enough of Starks and Essex to know which is the better Tackle??

I'm starting to take Jeff Reed for granted too. But those who have lived with lesser kickers know how many gray hairs those guys can put on your head... right Still A. Dad? Reed has simply become "money" on his kicks. It's easy to take him for granted but he is mucho important to this teams success.

And finally, a big hats off to Still A Fan for gushing over the signing of Mewelde Moore. He was so excited when we got that guy I was dumbfounded. I knew very little of Moore's work in Minnesota and did not see a great deal of value in the signing. Yes, we definitely needed a punt returner. But I did not see the man running the ball from scrimmage much. On punt returns, I was happy to just see Moore able to catch the ball which was an improvement over the last couple years of special teams play. But I had no idea he'd do so well as a pass catcher and runner out of the backfield! He is a "shifty" back. Where Willie Parker relies on pure speed, Moore has more moves than a pole dancer in Vegas. Combined with Parker for speed, and Dump Truck (in lieu of Mendenhall) for power, he is a great compliment RB to have. And Fan was justified in his exhuberance at the signing.

No bitching about Arians this week. Makes me wonder how much input Roethlisberger had in the play calling. I venture that Big Ben called a lot more of the game than we know and than we've seen to date.

We got a bye week now which we desperately need at this stage of the game. I hope everybody heals up and we can make a run from here. I am very pleasantly surprised at the team so far. As with everything else, time will tell.

Career Leaders

Wow! A story about our own little Benny. Looks like he's growing up just fine. Now, if we can just protect him long enough to have a 10 year career.

Turnpike? More Like Turnstile....

Well, the Steelers suffered their first defeat of the season yesterday in magnificent fashion. A lot of people were saying the offensive line problems were fixed. Right, and Mike Tyson is now a babysitter. Much like Tyson would eat the small children, the Steelers offensive line looked a little like Niagra Falls yesterday. Defenders were rushing in and putting him on the carpet before he finished his backdrop. Phil Freakin' Simms was saying after the 4th or 5th sack that he should start thinking about getting rid of the ball instead of taking the sacks. Are you kidding me? Was he watching the same game we were? Ben had ZERO chance to get rid of those balls. Maybe on a few of them, but not when Phil suggested it. So, what was it? What was the cause? Let's assume they change nothing before halftime and try to make the adjustments there. Did they try to give him help? Yes. Did it help? No. Why didn't it help? Because they rushed from every angle possible and always seemed to bring someone free. I don't know how you're supposed to drop back to pass when a guy that is starting out 8 feet from you is running forward full speed without a guy even touching him at you. You can't do it. Had we been able to run the ball, it would have helped, but we couldn't do that either. Draws to slow it down? No way. No time. They would have taken the handoff themselves. Our defense played well also, but it's been a long time since I've seen our offense so handcuffed. Ben got hit often, but I still think we hit McNabb harder. So, we had the entire halftime to adjust and we really didn't. Their defensive line is about twice as talented as our offensive line plus they had better schemes. I saw a guy run right past Hartwig (who full on blocked another guy) but what I saw was a lack of communication before the snap where he didn't point to him or scream out "who has this F'er right here?" before snapping the ball. These are things our centers of the past did. Anyway.....other things I noticed...... Anthony Smith should just be cut. He's a low class idiot and we don't need players like him. At some point he's going to cost us the ball and/or 15 yards at a critical juncture. The Eagles punter took the wind out of our sails at least 3 times, maybe 4. When kicking from the endzone, I got excited as I thought the prospect of getting the ball on the 50 might spark the offense. Not. I think he kicked it to the 28 or something. Nate Washington could have caught a pass that he had 2 hands on to sustain a drive after halftime. Jeff Reed showed me distance I didn't know he had. The announcers were crucifying the Steelers for not kicking the FG late needing two scores, but what they failed to point out in their enjoyment of pointing it out - was that the clock was running and we were out of timeouts. It would have taken a lot of time to run the offense off.....bring the FG unit out.....set....kick...... I think in effect he was licking his wounds and already thinking about The Ravens. I'm not faulting him for not kicking the FG in that situation. I think at minimum 20-30 seconds would have been needed....IF they even got it off before being called for delay of game. Oh, I also think Ben did not ground that ball. He had a guy in the area and it was batted without a chance to get to the line. However, his knee was hitting at the same exact time so you have to think Fatboy Reid would have seen that and challenged it as well. I was glad to see the teams talk after the game. It seemed to me they had a lot of respect for each other. I don't mind losing a close game to a good team on the road. We just need to get our heads out of our asses and fix the O-Line problem for the Ravens and Giants and other teams with a rush.

One Down, Fifteen To Go

Ok, so I borrowed the image from Pittgirl.......sue me. I know it was the Texans, but my God. We looked unstoppable. Ben was 13 of 14 and sat out the 4th quarter. Nice game. Fast Willie Parker was fast, and a little beefier(?) on the power runs. I'm not sure what I was disappointed about, but this is what I liked in no particular order. I liked Ben getting the ball out quickly. He was quick and decisive. I liked seeing Willie take the corner a few times....he didn't lose the speed when he got hurt last year. I like seeing Lamar Woodley doing his best Greg Lloyd impersonation. I liked seeing Timmons getting in there as well. We have six LBs who can start on any team in the league. I liked the spot on the 4th and 1 on the Shaub sneak (he he). I liked Tomlin's reaction to that play as well. He reminded me of a young Bill Cowher. I think I fell asleep in the 4th quarter at some point due to waking up at 5 AM and running 11 miles starting at the ass crack of dawn, then laying in a hot tub for an hour followed by cleaning out a flat stone patio in preperation for re-sanding it after the game.....why do I mention that? I'm wondering if I missed Limas Sweed? I wanted to see him and I didn't. To continue - I loved the kick coverage. Gay and that other running back did a wonderful job getting down and not allowing the guy to make a move on them.

What didn't I like? The announcers. Randy Cross is horrible. I swear he called Ben "Roethlisberg" a few times. They also say things out their asses that Steeler fans know to be untrue. In a nutshell, they suck. I didn't like seeing Ike Taylor get picked on early. I don't think he's the shut down corner we thought we had a few years ago. He's solid, no more, no less. I wasn't crazy about Anthony Smith making the team this year. Maybe he'll wise up and be more of a thinker this year. Other than that, you can't find many bad things to say. Take it in stride, it was the Texans, but it sure feels good to get week 1 out of the way with a win. Cowher had a knack for slow starts and I hated that aspect of his tenure. Maybe we can get out 2-0 with the Brown Underwear Stains next week.

In The "Line" Of Fire

SI sent out their annual football preview issue today. They had six regional covers and wouldn't you know Donovan McPuke graced our cover. Right....what? How about Ben? If you want to sell copies on the newstands, there has to be data that would back up a Roethlisberger cover over McNabb. Anyway, I digress. Still A Dog wants football. Let's talk football. In the issue, they go into the key for some team's success. Of course, they talked about the Steeler's Offensive Line. Thing is, I wasn't sure if they meant Offensive - like opposite of Defensive - line......or if they meant Offensive - like "F*ck me their line play is simply offensive "- line. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say it's the first choice. They are still listing Starks as a backup, so there's a front office screw up right there. Remember, he's getting paid like, zillions of dollars this year. Ouch. They call Colon a mauler on runs. Hmmmm. How about pass protection? They protect Ben like Marino's lines used to run block. Exactly! The thing that worries me, and they mentioned it, and The Dog mentioned it....we haven't invested a high pick on a stud hog in some time. They mention the Defensive Line as a strength of the team. Look how old they are though! Where is the future? With Parker and Melwelde Moore already in the fold, unless Mendenhall is special, I hardly see how someone getting his number of touches can replace our future lines. I'd like to be proven wrong on that and have him break out, especially on kick returns. And speaking of kick returns, they rated our Special Teams a solid B. Jeff Reed must have brought that average up all by himself, because if you take the FG unit out of the equation, I thought they sucked big donkey.....ears. I swear those guys just throw darts and mix and match what they are saying. One thing I did get excited about was all the talking they did about Lamar Woodley. Kevin Greene has taken a liking to him and took him under his wing, teaching him about rushing from the outside. I can't wait to see him in action this year. The talk about Woodley also boned up a piece of history when it said The Steelers haven't had consistent pressure on the QB since the Lloyd/Greene days. Interesting. I bet Jason Gildon and Joey Porter would have something to say about that.