Man, this ain't good, either

One of Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls’ favorite authors, Raymond Chandler, wrote this description of Santa Ana winds:

“Those hot dry winds that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. ”

— Raymond Chandler, Red Wind

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Sadly, Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls gotta agree with ol' Raymond ... and we must agree also with MJD, who wrote on "The Debriefing" on AOL Fanhouse that …

"I wanted to take a second and wish the best to those people
in Southern California whose homes
are, you know ... engulfed in flames right now.
May your local firemen be brave and strong, may all your stuff
be flame-retardant, and may the wind die down quickly,
or at least shift in the direction of a homeowner you really hate.

"And may someone, if they have the time and inclination
in this time of tragedy, please
see if you can't frame Norv Turner for arson."

Just as regrettably, we must agree with MJD, once again, on his contention that ...

“When you lose to Denver, even if it is on the road,
you get removed from the ‘Upper Echelon
of the AFC’ category, and your resumé goes
back into the ‘needs further review’ pile.
I don't make the rules. That's just the way it is.”

So, as disappointed as we are that the Steelers seem to be relegated to second-tier status, with two losses in their past three games, we've always maintained the nothing happens in a vacuum. With that in mind, yes, the Patriots-Colts storyline is a compelling one.

Everybody's speculating whether the Patriots can go undefeated. It says right here the Colts have just about as good a chance to go undefeated.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls don't do power rankings -- pointless -- but our feeling is that the Colts remain the top team in the NFL, notwithstanding the Patriots' apparent invincibility. After all, the Colts also are undefeated at 6-0, and the Colts still are the reigning NFL champs. Until somebody knocks off their crown, they’re the champs. And, if anything, their defense is better than it was last year – even as the team at 6-0 is somehow flying under the radar, if that’s possible, given all the attention afforded the Patriots. Bob Cook wrote a good piece about this on MSNBC.com: “Smashmouth Colts quietly dominant”

That Nov. 4 matchup between the Colts and Patriots will be interesting, to say the least.

Also compelling is the Patriots-Dolphins storyline. All those guys from the undefeated '72 Dolphins squad must be looking balefully sideways at one another and saying, "Eh, I dunno, this may be the year." Maybe the worst part for them is, they positively, absolutely know that the 2007 Dolphins have ZERO chance of knocking off the Patriots – even though, as division rivals, the teams play twice – and even though last year’s Dolphins did, in fact, defeat the Patriots. Sunday's 49-28 thrashing by the Patriots of the Dolphs seemed to be Bill Belichick’s way of stating all this emphatically. It’s as if Belicheat were trying to make a statement: "Neither you nor the ghosts of the undefeated '72 team have any chance of stopping us." Prick. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto, columnist for the San FranciscoChronicle, noticed this too: “Just winning isn't enough for Belichick's Patriots”

Meanwhile, in ironic symmetry, the 2007 Dolphins appear to have just as good a chance of going 0-16 as their division rival Patriots have of going 16-0. Personally, we'd rather see the Dolphins go 0-16. That would be fun.

Dissa ‘n Datta
Over at AOL Fanhouse, J.J. Cooper evaluates the Steelers’ offensive line. Maybe offensive line coach Larry Zierlein should have spent less time watching video, and more time watching film? If you know what we mean, wink, wink. Just sayin'.

Non-football stuff …

• Let’s all celebrate 50 years of Frisbees!
• Mother Nature remains HOT and getting hotter!
• Of course, all this doesn’t stop Bully Pulpit Blowhard Glenn Beck from gleefully exulting that “a lot of people who hate America” are losing homes in the California fires.
• It’s hot down South, too, and awfully dry.
• Well, if we’re going to have unfiltered sunlight all the time, we might as well make good use of it.
• Speaking of hot, an ill wind blows in California, and this ain't cool at all.
• These ill winds bode no good:

“The etymology of the word is Santana winds from the
Spanish vientos de Satán (or the winds of Satan,
Sanatanas being a rarer form of Satanás).
The orignal word is drawn from a native language of unknown origin.

"It takes a ‘devil wind’ to wreak havoc and destruction on a community and fire crews in the manner in which this fire persists.
Combine this ‘Devil wind’ with the literal phenom of
a firestorm, and a dangerous situation exists
across the Los Angeles basin, including in
Malibu and Topanga. Add near 100 degree temperatures,
no sleep, little food, water and no break and fire crews are suffering.”

In all sincerity, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls extend our best wishes to the people of California.

This is California's Katrina.

Be safe.

Oh-oh, this ain't good

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Aaron Smith likely will not play on Sunday against the Bengals.

Circumstances of the Game

“Circumstances of the game dictated …” blah, blah, blah.

Well, what else would you expect the coaches to say?

Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls like Mike Tomlin and Bruce Arians well enough, but we gotta call bullshit on this one. The fact is, you, the coaches – specifically, your play-calling – dictated the circumstances of the game.

When it works, great. When it doesn’t work, guess what? You’re going to get second-guessed. So, let’s continue the second-guessing that began among Steelers faithful, media, pundits and impartial observers immediately after, if not during, the game.

Granted, the first series worked just fine, thank you very much.
After the first series, the rest of the first half, eh, not so great.

Who Dey?!!
What the Steelers brass perpetrated Sunday night is especially unfortunate, given the juxtaposition with the commitment to the run exhibited just this past Sunday by their very next opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals.

Yes, the Bungles.

Let that sink in for a second.

The Bengals – the Bengals! – demonstrated more of a commitment to the run on Sunday than did the Steelers, who were on the road (crowd noise) against the worst-ranked run defense in the NFL – a Broncos defense, by the way, that was shaping up as an historically bad run defense (the worst in the 47-year history of the franchise).
That’s just wrong.

Entering Sunday’s game against the Jets in disarray with a 1-4 record (6-12 since Oct. 1, 2006) and amid continuing turmoil in the locker room, the sputtering Bungles – never known as a running team – apparently finally recognized that for all their glorious aerial fireworks, hey! they weren’t winning games. They finally recognized that what they’d been doing all this time simply wasn’t working.

So, with backup running back Kenny Watkins Watson starting in placed of injured starter Rudi Johnson, the Bengals took this opportunity, against the struggling Jets, to run the ball. In a game the Bengals trailed for much of the afternoon (23-10 in the third quarter), offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski kept calling Watkins' Watson's number.

"We were committed to running the ball; and we chose not to be denied," said Bengals guard Bobbie Williams.

What a concept! At the end of the day, the backup journeyman Watkins Watson had rushed 31 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns (which, in one day, matched his total of three touchdowns in his six-year career). The Bengals team: 41 carries, 177 yards.

By comparison, the Steelers’ Willie Parker had 21 carries for 93 yards, and Najeh Davenport had two carries for six yards. Together, the Steelers two running backs had a total of 23 carries ... vs. a total of 41 carries for the Bengals.

While we’re at it, let’s compare the Bengals/Steelers yards per carry (ypc) averages:

• Watkins Watson: 4.2 ypc with a longest gain of 12 yards.
• Parker: 4.4 ypc with a longest gain of 27 yards.

Yet the Bengals kept giving Watkins Watson, a career backup, the ball in a game the team absolutely had to win. The Steelers showed no such commitment to Parker, an established star and one of the league’s leading rushers.

Keep in mind the Bengals were down by a 23-10 score in the third quarter, yet somehow, despite these “circumstances,” managed to run the ball 41 times.

How it Unraveled
In the first quarter of the Steelers’ game against the Broncos, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called only three running plays against 10 passes. Ben Roethlisberger threw on the first three plays and six of the first eight.

• It started to unravel with the Steelers’ second possession: On first down, a Willie Parker run gained seven yards. On second-and-three, Roethlisberger was nearly intercepted on a deep throw down the middle. On third and three, an apparently rusty Hines Ward dropped a pass.
• Next series: Roethlisberger completed a four-yard pass to Holmes. On second down, Roethlisberger threw an interception.
• Next series: After gashing the Broncos for 37 yards on four consecutive runs by Parker and Davenport, Roethlisberger, lining up in the shotgun on third-and-four, misfired deep downfield to Ward.
• Next series: Roethlisberger threw another interception. The Broncos scored on the ensuing possession to make it 14-7.
• Next series: Roethlisberger, lining up in the shotgun, takes the bad snap, fumbles as he gets sacked, and the Broncos return the fumbled ball for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

All in All
Pass-play calls in the first half resulted in three sacks, two drops, two interceptions, one holding penalty and the crucial fumble return for a touchdown that gave the Broncos life and put the Steelers in a hole too deep.

The Steelers’ coaches would argue publicly that “poor execution” – a botched snap – led to Ben Roethlisberger’s game-turning fumble and the subsequent return for a touchdown.

Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls would counter that the botched snap and fumble would never have occurred if the Steelers had simply called a running play there instead of:

Lining up in the shotgun, on the road, in a noisy stadium full of drunken, rowdy fans, on primetime Sunday night television, against a well-coached Broncocs team coming off a bye week, against a team that was emotionally charged after a pregame flyover and ceremony commemorating two of their players who died in the offseason.

Anyway. The way to quiet a road crowd early in a game is to get the lead, hold it, and establish the run. Pound the ball. Take the crowd out of the game, and keep your foot on the throat of the defense.

But no-o-o-o …
Instead, by lining up in the shotgun in that situation, the Steelers created a set of elements primed for a colossal breakdown.

The crowd noise necessitated a silent count … which made it tough for the linemen to hear … which led to the guards and tackles appearing slow to get off their marks when center Sean Mahan abruptly bounced the ball at Roethlisberger’s feet as he was looking downfield to read how the linebackers and secondary were setting up ... which, in turn, forced Ben to scramble for the ball at his feet, as Marvel Smith missed a block while Elvis Dumervil speed-rushed inside Smith and seized Ben as he was struggling unsuccessfully to control the ball.

Fumble. Touchdown. Game momentum changed.

And that’s when the “circumstances of the game” changed for good or, rather, ill. Ironically, in the second half, the Steelers ran the ball as many times as they passed – and almost pulled off the comeback win (except for the defense breaking down on the last drive, but that’s another story).

Our point? None of this would have happened, if the coaches had simply called a running play on the play where Roethlisberger fumbled. In a noisy stadium, etc, etc., etc.

Back to our original post-game comments by the coaches (“Circumstances dictated, etc. … “). “Just not enough opportunities when you turn the ball over and get down 14 points,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

Tru-dat, but they would never have been down by 14 points, if they had committed to the run early and often.

As Tunch Ilkin observed on Stan Savran’s SportsBeat last night, “Since when do the Steelers let the opposing defense dictate what they do on offense?”

Since when, indeed.

Hey! Guess what?
The Steelers go on the road again on Sunday. Against a still-desperate Bengals team that seems to have been suddenly invigorated by a newfound commitment to the running game.

We wonder if the Steelers will show a similar commitment – and whether they have learned their lesson, or will outsmart themselves once again.

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Post-Script Addendum: After writing the above post, Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls got curious and wondered what others are saying about the Bengals’ Newfound Running Game. This should be interesting, considering the Steelers’ pride and longtime success in preventing opposing running backs from gaining 100 yards. Here's a quick round-up:

• Cincinati Post: Running attack shows new fire
• Newsday: Who the Heck is Kenny Watson?
• Cincy Jungle: Run, Run, Run
• Cincinati Enquirer: Maligned Run Game Delivers Win
• The Sports Network: Are Bengals Off and Running?