FAN: Steelers Titans Game Thoughts

My chronological thoughts from the game:

Pop acts completely blow live. Completely. When your music is mostly over produced, why even try? I mean Fergie is fun to look at and maybe she can sing a little....but how could you tell? I would rather hear the song on the radio than watch that snooze fest. Tim McGraw wasn't any better. Blech.

What is with Al Michaels hair? His top front reminds me of me below the waist in 9th grade.

Two huge Special Teams plays in the first five plays of the game. Logan's return and Danny's punt and the cover. Long overdue.....both.

Neither Ed Reed or Bob Sanders can make the play in the backfield that Polamalu made coming from where he started from.

We wuz robbed on the Polamalu PI call. Not even close.

Holmes TD looked too easy, didn't it? Then again, so was the subsequent Titans score.

After Ryan Clark got beat he really messed up. Instead of getting under control and getting his man down on the ground, he went in all crazy and let him go and he went for another 15 easy yards.

Jesus Christ, Jay Leno overload. How on Earth can you take a 30 year old girl seriously on a commercial who says she's been waiting all summer for him to return? Really?

Willie Parker up the middle on their first 3rd and 1? WTF? Are you kidding me? You don't prove you can run up the middle on 3rd and short against the Titans with your small back. There's more.....especially on a night when you're averaging about .3 yards per rush! No way Ben called that play. The retard did.

Through three quarters, Collins is impressing me. He's the Marty Schottenheimer of quaterbacks.

I'm not sure I'm buying what the Steelers are selling about continuity on the O line. They aren't showing me much. If I was O Line, I wouldn't want to watch this game tape tomorrow.

I didn't miss John Madden. Shrug.

Mewelde Moore may want the ball more than Willie Parker and Mendenhall. Still, why do we have to prove we can run for it? How about play action or something...anything else? Please!

Hines should have had two hands on that ball.

Did you see Hines Ward kill Fuller in an OT block?

The fact that we can win that game with that pitiful excuse for a running game is amazing. They need to send the O-Line out to a bar to get into a fight. They need attitude to run the ball.

You Can't Ice A Psychopath!!!!!

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.

Slanted Stuff Santonio Holmes and Reefer

I get mad at dip-shits. Really mad. Dude, smoke all the pot you want, I don't care....just don't do it in your moving vehicle. Now we go into the Giants game, a yardstick game, without arguably our most explosive player. Nice. Why these guys do this, I have no idea. Stupidity I guess. I wonder if Santonio knows who Bam Morris is? he of trunk laden with reefer. Santonio has a trunk of another nature I guess. One only need Google images to get that joke. Dude, if you mess up you will be out of Pittsburgh......but then Dallas will sign you so I guess it doesn't matter.

Peyton manning had staph....ouch! That's what ended my favorite Steeler of All-Time's career....Greg Lloyd. Staph is nothing to mess around with. I think they should just cut off his leg.

The Ravens are a bunch of classless thugs. Classless. Class-less. Suggs used the word "bounty" in a radio interview. I can't wait until the next game. I guess they are fine with losing and "acting" tough.

Plaxbacks - I keep having them. Santonio should follow those stories as well.

Is CutWillieReid.com Available?

Will this be the year Willie Reid stops sucking up a roster spot? Historically the Steelers have carried five wide receivers on their roster. The flunker, I mean flanker, from Florida State was supposed to be our new Antwaan Randle El in the kicking game when ARE bolted for the Redskins a few years ago. Willie was a high draft pick and hasn't shown me bubkiss yet. He is either hurt, or just plain ineffective. With the signing of Mewelde Moore and the drafting of Mendenhall - we have more options to look at for the return game. Also, Jeremy Bloom may blossom after a full camp given the shot. He's a burner, but much like Reid will be a liability in the passing game. It's a damn shame we can;t return a punt or a kick worth a squat since before ARE's last year. Maybe it's time to have open competition and have every starter and backup with any kind of experience catching kicks back there. If Parker were more durable, I'd even consider that. Can you imagine shortening the field by 8 more yards after every change of possession? Anyway, with all the bodies in camp, let's look at who your opening day WRs will be - in order:

1. Santonio Holmes - yes, Hines is the heart and soul of the team since Bettis retired, but this is going to be Santonio's breakout year.....as long as he keep his clothes on.
2. Hines Ward - Nuff said.
3. Nate Washington - coming along fine. Needs to squeeze more balls. No comments, you know what I meant.
4. Limas Sweed - a 2nd round pick is not getting cut.....he will be on the team.
5. As far as I can tell, this spot is open to either Jeremy Bloom or Dallas Baker. Baker is 6-3 206 and already has time on the practice squad. Bloom is a burner who returns kicks for a living. Since Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth are already monster targets and Sweed was added to the mix, I wouldn't be surprised if Bloom makes the team. However - with the Passing Game getting more important every year, maybe they'll keep 6. Who knows? I see another monster rookie on the roster by the name of Micah Rucker out of Eastern Illinois. Dude is 6'6" 221. They gave him Weegie Thompson's old #87. I can see a play on the 2 yard line consisting of Miller, Spaeth, Sweed, Baker and Rucker. Doesn't matter, Benny'll get sacked.

Steelers Playing Sick

Well, it's really too bad there aren't 20 games in the regular season, because if there were, I think we'd be going to the playoffs. The Steelers have now won 5 out of their last 6 and the last 3 by a combined score of 84-13. It really makes you angry now to go back and think about some of the ways they lost earlier games. Some random thoughts from the game: Brett Keisel in his 5th year is showing that maybe he should have been starting 2 years ago instead of just now. Kimo always played the position well, but never had the sack numbers Brett is putting up. I was almost mad at Cowher for putting Holmes back out on the field after his fumble - now I'm glad he did. What a return. The other thing that surprised me about that return was the reception Santonio got when he came to the sidelines after the return. He must be well liked on the team because EVERYONE came over to him and the score was already a blowout. That told me something and it made me glad to see how the team responded to him after all the trouble he had at the beginning of the season. I've never thought of DeShaun Foster as a power back and to see him run over Anthony Smith and bounce off DeShea Townsend like a pinball was weird....especially after seeing Smith lay the wood to numerous players this year. How about that Kuhn? I was lobbying hard for him in the beginning of the year to make the team. He looks like a player. Davenport is very inconsistent as the big man in our rushing attack. On one play he looks like he can't be brought down and on another, he goes down easily in the backfield. I haven't quite figured him out yet. Not sure if the DumpTruck is the answer to the Bus yet. Will update playoff scenarios after tomorrow night's game between the Bungles and Indy.

Young Steelers Are Impressive

Much like last week, I continue to be impressed by the younger Steelers who simply dominated the Browns last night for the 20th time in 23 games and the last 7 straight. Willie Parker carved them up for a team record 220 plus yards on the ground. Ben looked sharp as well and moved around superbly in the pocket. Anthony Smith brought the wood and had two tremendous hits, almost breaking somebody in half. Collinsworth actually made me laugh when he referred to his playing days saying once the Steelers were up, they didn't care about interceptions - they were trying to send people to the hospital and taunting you and laughing at you while they were doing it. Nate Washington continues to develop and makes me wonder again....did we make the right selection in the first round this year? How much better than Nate is Santonio Holmes? Imagine for a second that we passed on Holmes and took LenDale White. We would have our big back - and maybe...just maybe....we would have won 2 of the games where Holmes fumbled away punts or kickoffs. Holmes has better numbers than Nate, but he's also had more opportunities. Time will tell. I'm not rooting against Holmes, I'm just trying to decide if our receiver situation warranted a move up in the draft and a first round pick.

Not Surprised - Jags Are For Real

My goodness, what a defense. I think we have more talent on our team and Ben was rusty - but we got beat last night. In my old age, I can look at this game and not get that upset. I think if we played them at home tomorrow, we would win. The thing is - they've now beaten us two years in a row. Should we face them in the playoffs, they won't be intimidated by us at all....not one little bit, nosireebob. All we need to do is beat Cincy next week and we're 2-1 and looking OK. I don't want to be 1-2 but it's very early in the season and we knew we had a killer schedule coming out of the gate. Some things I noticed last night: maybe Ben should have sat and they would have had a long time to prepare a plan for Charlie (good point Dog!), we can't seem to tackle those short hitch passes very well when it's 1-on-1. Ike got beat by that against Miami and DeShea was getting schooled last night. Santonio looked confused at least twice last night, especially on the one pick. Not much pressure. No running game. At least we covered punts and kickoffs. Can't say the defense played poorly, but i was surprised at the lack of good tackling from Ty Carter. Troy is hurt and banged up, but Carter took bad angles and missed several tackles - the one surely giving up the 2nd field goal. Chidi time? It's not even that the offense played terrible, it's just that Jax plays the same aggressive in-your-face defense that we do. I would have bet the farm that we could muster more than 26 yards on the ground. I'm not going to panic though. Let's give Ben a full week of healthy practice and come after those "Who Dey?" guys. Remember, all we need to do is make the playoffs. Heinz hasn't been kind to us at home in January!

Is Holmes A Punk?

An interesting tidbit I read today on www.steelerslive.com (which is operated by a newspaper) quoted Big Ben as saying he placed several calls to Santonio Holmes after he was drafted and none of them were returned. He said the first time he spoke to him was on Friday and all he said was "Hi". How much sense does that make? Furthermore, if Ben came out and said this to the press, does it mean anything? Santonio has been working out with Hines Ward so hopefully Hines will rub off on him a little and he'll end up being a keeper. I'm starting to wonder:

A. Whose draft pick was it? Cowher's or Colbert's?

B. Was it contentious?

C. If it was Colbert's pick and Cowher didn't agree with it, could that be why all the speculation has come out since the draft about Cowher returning after his contract is up?

I've always waited to see the #1 picks perform before I throw judgement around, but this kid isn't doing anything to endear himself to the fans. I can't think back to the last #1 pick that irked me before Holmes. I can't think who the last long holdout was, but certainly nobody comes to mind when thinking about all the little things this cat has done already. Thank goodness they're all small things.

Holmes Hurts Himself

After Santonio Holmes signs his first contract with the Steelers, I can't wait to see how it slots between the picks around it both this year and last year. I'm thinking even though his scrapes with the law were minor - The Steelers may still get a benefit from them in the form of a slightly lower contract for his draft position. Speaking of which - they may need to get some verbiage in there about his off field behavior. Not sure how the Ben contract will shake out - but since the Steelers backed him and didn't criticize him for his crash, maybe now would be a good time to sign him also. Maybe he feels a tad guilty right now and would take slightly less himself. I'll tell you what - should they repeat as Super Bowl champions this year, they are in HUGE trouble with both Ben and Troy's contracts coming up. I think it would be idiotic to try to redo both of those deals in the same off-season...but what do I know?

Santonio Holmes Statement

"I understand that being a Pittsburgh Steeler carries along with it the demands for responsible behavior off the field," said Holmes. "I want to apologize for the negative attention that my arrest on Monday has brought upon the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, especially in light of my previous arrest in May."

".....but if that bitch acts up again you can betchyo' ass Imma knocker right back down"

Well, Ok, you caught me......I added that last part myself.

Holmes causing me to have Plaxbacks!

Wait a minute...I think I already posted this a few weeks ago. Check this link. Damn, I did. C'mon Santonio! One of the things I like about the Steelers is that they tend to draft character guys and release them if serious trouble starts - or at minimum - not resign them. Don;t make us feel this way.....we like good citizens. Two arrests in 2 months is not good and Mr. Rooney will call you and let you know that.

Holmes Causing Me To Have Plaxbacks

Plaxbacks are flashbacks that only involve the antics of one Plaxico Burress - former first round draft pick and starting wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plax was recently back in the news for being one of 2 Giants to not appear for their "voluntary" camp. He pulled the same thing with the Steelers and also had run-ins with the law to go along with his bad attitude. Santonio Holmes was recently arrested during Urban Beach Week for disorderly conduct. From what I've read, the cops are extra sensitive that week and arrest people the second it looks like they aren't going to obey their orders or question them. Santonio was asked to get back on the sidewalk (I guess in a harsh tone) and asked the officer why he was using such a harsh tone. Bad idea. For the second time in his young life - he was arrested for disorderly conduct. I think the charges were dropped when he was a freshman at OSU (boosters in the right places?). Anyway - I want to cheer for this guy and have him be the eventual go-to-guy. Coach Cowher stresses to his players not to put themselves in a position where trouble is likely to occur. They are targets....and I don't mean targets like Peezey's buttocks....but targets for all sorts of trouble. Americans like to see their heroes fall and there will be people that bait athletes into acting out so they can potentially sue them to get settlement money. Santonio needs Hines Ward to sit him down and talk to him during camp. The Rooneys are generally known for staying away from "trouble" players and not resigning them or pursuing them in free agency. Let's hope Mr. Holmes gets on the right page quickly. He got a good start by acting humble and apologizing. Now go catch 75 balls and make us forget this even happened.

Santonio Is Going To Miss Much

The NFL passed a new rule few years ago that says draft picks cannot practice with their new teams until after their school's graduation. Santonio Holmes former school, Ohio State, does not have graduation until mid June! Most other players will be wih their teams by mid May. Missing the first mini camps will absolutely put him at a disadvantage. Hopefully he's going to immerse himself in the playbook and show up hungry. The NFL should really have a "hard" date so all rookies can begin the same day. Just my opinion, but as usual, a good one.

I'm Not Impressed

After letting the '06 draft marinate for a while, I have to say that I'm not very impressed by the Steelers picks. I think I said earlier that I'm OK with Santonio Holmes at #1, even though it may be 2-3 years before he busts out - but the rest of the draft looks pedestrian to me. Holmes could well take over the #1 WR position which would allow Ward to be the possession type receiver that he is. However, with Miller and Ward needing balls and the propensity of this offense to run, I still wonder if a drive blocking OL would have been a better choice. The second pick wasn't even on other team's radars and the third pick seems like a special teams pick. From reading the write-ups of the rest of the lot, unless they get coached up, it doesn't seem like any of them will be starters anytime soon and they might not even make the team. The center is supposed to be tough but lacks speed, size and athleticism. I will say this, the Steelers have done a superb job in the past of drafting who they want regardless of draft grade and teaching them the system. Hopefully, 2 or 3 of these guys will pan out. When you win the Super Bowl and don't lose too many players, there aren't a lot of spots to be won on the team anyway. I just can't remember the last time I've read/heard so much about a pick being out of alignment like I have with the #2 pick. According to most draftniks, there were plenty of other choices at this slot for a safety. Hopefully they saw something in this kid that nobody else did. I realize you can't coach speed and he's fast, but the reports on his tackling don't really describe him as a Steeler type player.

Trading Up Again

The Steelers traded up today to take Santonio Holmes in the first round with the 25th pick which they acquired from Denver for their 1st, 3rd and 4th round picks. In reality, since we had four 4th round picks - the cost wasn't that steep. I'm glad they took Holmes instead of Moss, but I really didn't expect them to take a receiver. Man, was I wrong. They took ANOTHER receiver in the 3rd..and he's a smurf...but should be a great punt/kick returner. That's why I like Holmes instead of Moss with the first pick. I didn't want the "Moss type" receiver who tends to be a little small and soft. Also, with Hines not getting any younger, it will be nice to have a 1st round stud ready to take over when Hines hangs them up. Big Ben deserves a stable full of weapons. All that being said, I still think Quincy Morgan could have started at the #2 receiver position! I guess they really liked this kid to trade up for him and look what happened the last time they traded up for the first pick (Polamalu). So "Yikes!" we now have way too many receivers on the squad. Will Cedrick Wilson find himself unemployed at the end of camp? The 3rd pick of the day, Reid probably assures Lee Mays will not make the team in camp. I don't know what they're going to do with Sean Morey. They resigned him and I love his tenacity on Special Teams. If we continue to run the ball well next year, can you imagine trying to scheme against a running attack of Willie Parker, Hines Ward underneath, Holmes going long and Heath Miller running down the seam? Wow. More on the draft after I have time to digest it all. I've already read some complaints from some boards I read about the 2nd pick. His official draft write-up suggests he won't be drafted but signed as a free agent! That's certainly not very comforting. Hopefully next year with the defense still signed and skill players on offense - we'll go back to drafting trench warriors.