Dissa 'n Datta

Is Michael Vick more a giver than a taker? Time will tell.

NFL -- All the talking heads are debating the new contract the Philadelphia Eagles awarded quarterback Michael Vick ($130 million, with $40 million guaranteed). We're not going to argue the merits of Vick as a QB (still questionable in our opinion, despite his dynamic success last season -- but is he a one-year flash?) or whether the 31-year-old ex-convict deserves the contract (he doesn't at this point, in our opinion, based solely on past/still-to-be-seen performance on the field).

• In the opinion of Joey Porter's Pit Bulls, Vick still needs to prove he is a great quarterback -- which means he has to win consistently over an extended period of time (more than one season), and lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Was Vick a one-year wonder for the Eagles? If so, that's a mighty big contract and a huge roll of the dice for the Eagles to have made.

• Like most Americans, we believe in second chances and stories of redemption. After all, Vick served his time in prison, and he deserves a second chance (which he's received). Granted, he was spectacular last season (although his team didn't make it to the Super Bowl). Now, he's been rewarded with this enormous contract -- $40 million guaranteed.
  

• All we hope he does something good with the money. A Suggestion, Then: If Vick is serious about showing that he is truly remorseful about torturing and killing dogs (pit bulls) as the leader of a multi-state dog-fighting ring, he might commit, oh, say, $10 million to establish a foundation dedicated to supporting worthy dog-shelters across the nation ... shelters such as the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania and Animal Friends. Shelters like this have very few resources and depend almost wholly on the efforts of selfless volunteers and generous donors. Vick could be one of those donors; he could redouble his visits to schools to speak to kids about dog-fighting, and he could make himself more visible in other efforts, such as ...
  

• Vick could underwrite and appear in nationally televised Public Service Announcements speaking out against dog-fighting and promoting the adoption of dogs in general, as well as fostering a better understanding of pit bulls as a breed.

• The Point here is ... This is an opportunity for Vick to prove he is more a giver than a taker. He's got his money. Let's hope he makes the most of it.
  

Steelers -- Shortly before last Saturday's game vs. the Atlanta Falcons, former Steeler punter Josh Miller, now a radio sports-talk show host on KDKA-FM, opined that Byron Leftwich had no business playing that night and that the Steelers should start Dennis Dixon in the second half -- and keep him in there for the rest of the game. Miller's supporting arguments were that (a) We already know what Leftwich can do; (b) Leftwich clearly is the No. 2 quarterback, so why risk injuring him in a meaningless pre-season game; and (c) This is the perfect opportunity to showcase Dixon in hopes that somebody may make a trade offer for him; otherwise, he would likely get cut anyway, given his status as the fourth QB on the depth chart.

• So, what happens? The Steelers played Leftwich, he broke his arm and now the team is likely to be without him for the rest of the season; or, the team has to hold a roster spot for him, just in case he recovers at some point (much) later in the season.

• This sucks. Josh Miller was spot-on.
  

Pirates -- The wheels have fallen off completely. Consecutive losses of 8-2 and 8-1 in Houston (the worst team in baseball) say it all at this point. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls just want the Buccos to have a strong September and finish ahead of the Cubs.

• It's a shame, really, that they lost so many close games they shoulda, coulda, woulda won had it not been for untimely bullpen blow-ups and various other ways to lose, including bad calls from umps (vs. Cincy at PNC Park recently and, most notoriously, the Jerry Meals call in Atlanta that gifted the Braves the "win" in that 19-inning game on July 26).

An Ill Wind Blows

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, all we can do is hope for the best.

Nobody, apparently, expects Irene to have much effect on Pittsburgh, but our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors in the path of the hurricane.

Trivial as it may seem against the backdrop of the natural disaster developing to the East, tomorrow night's exhibition game (glorified scrimmage) against the Atlanta Falcons at Heinz Field should be interesting. Most of the projected starters are expected to play the first half, or the bulk of it.

The coaches have some leeway to experiment, though, especially because of injuries on the offensive line and in the secondary. Fourth-year veteran (perennial hanger-on) Tony Hills gets a chance to show what he can do at a new position (for him), right guard, where he will start. The big guy from the University of Texas was drafted to play tackle but has done little so far in his NFL career, and this may be a make-or-break opportunity. Luckily for Hills, the Steelers currently have little depth on the offensive line, so he will get a good long look. Let's hope he does better at guard than he's done so far at tackle.

Rookie Marcus Gilbert, the second-round draft pick from the University of Florida, will start at the critical left tackle spot, which is the blind-side of our right-handed QB. Let's hope Big Ben survives. Gilbert supposedly reported to camp out of shape and then sustained a hamstring injury, primarily because he was out of shape. Not a good first impression.

And, the Post-Gazette reports today that he will be lined up opposite the Falcons' John Abraham, one of the better pass-rushing veteran defensive ends in the NFL:

"Should he start, Gilbert will line up against Abraham, who ranked fifth in the NFL with 13 sacks and was named All-Pro for the third time in 2010."

In the secondary, veteran cornerback Ike Taylor will miss this game with a broken thumb, so we should see plenty of Keenan Lewis and, perhaps, rookie free agent Donovan Warren, who has played well so far this pre-season (he led the team in tackles last week vs. the Eagles).

Warren has a bit of a pedigree. He came out of the University of Michigan (early) a year ago and spent time on the Jets' practice squad before being released after last season. A poor man's Jonathan Joseph (also from Michigan)? That wouldn't be bad. This is the kind of out-of-nowhere player that gives us cause to watch pre-season games.

Anyway, Warren appears to have a legitimate chance to make this squad -- possibly at the expense of Bryant McFadden, who is due a reported $2.5 million in salary. Hampered by a hamstring pull, McFadden's barely practiced this camp, and, as they say, "You can't make the club in the tub."

Of course, that begs the question of who would start in place of McFadden, who has been a solid pro during his time here. Keenan Lewis? Possibly. William Gay looks like a career nickel back. Crezdon Butler and Cortez Allen simply aren't ready to get much playing time -- by all accounts, they're too raw. Not much depth, but this Donovan Waren character has looked good so far. There's certainly room for improvement at the cornerback position.

Food for thought, as reported by The Sporting News:

"(Steeler) Cornerbacks accounted for only five of the team’s 21 interceptions last season and have just 13 picks over the past three years. The Steelers pass defense struggled last season against elite quarterbacks as Drew Brees (305 yards), Tom Brady (350) and Aaron Rodgers (304) combined to complete 88 of 126 passes (70 percent) for 959 yards and eight touchdowns. The opposing quarterbacks’ passer rating in those three games was 137.6, 64 points above Pittsburgh’s regular-season average."

Granted, the salary cap dictates that the team can do only so much. But still ... there's room for improvement on both the offensive line and at the cornerback position.

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And then, as if we didn't have enough to worry about, there's this story to contemplate, for no particular reason ...

Toilet break at ex-wife's house leads to charges

Friday, August 26, 2011 -The Associated Press

GIRARD, Pa. -- A northwestern Pennsylvania man is jailed on charges he took an unwelcome toilet break in his ex-wife's home.

Police in Girard say 24-year-old Nathan Wingerter broke into his ex-wife's home on Aug. 1, threw her photo identification cards into the toilet and then defecated on them. Police say the woman walked in to find Mr. Wingerter on the toilet.

The Erie Times-News reports that police issued a warrant for Wingerter and arrested him days later in Painesville, Ohio. He was returned to Erie County to face charges of burglary and criminal mischief on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Shakin' 'n Quakin'

Greetings from earthquake-ravaged Pittsburgh. As you can see from the photo, the devastation was incalculable. Cleanup continues. It may take days, or weeks, to set things right.

Meanwhile, the plucky Pirates plundered the Milwaukee Brew Crew this afternoon. How's that for cheesy sportscaster-speak, eh? Rookie Aaron Thompson looked sharp. Like he belongs. Hey! Signs of hope are welcome always.

Even as we quake and shake.

One for the Pit Bulls

Coda

Here is how Rich Hoffman, columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, described how the Steelers' offense bludgeoned the Eagles' so-called "Dream Team" in the second pre-season game last night at Heinz Field:

"A runaway semi, painted black with gold trim, splattered the Eagles' defense all over the turf at Heinz Field last night: 14 carries and 71 yards for the Steelers' first-team offense in the game's first two drives. In a game that the Eagles were losing by 21-0 at halftime and 24-14 at the end -- a game of unlimited lousiness for the Dream Team -- this physical domination stood out most of all."

Yup, that about sums it up. The Steelers manhandled the Eagles. Notorious dog-torturer/killer Michael Vick threw three awful interceptions while looking confused and off his game the entire time he played.

Steelers' radio announcer Tunch Ilkin astutely observed that Vick seemed to be "looking for James Harrison all night long." And, indeed, he did. Harrison was in the Eagles' backfield often, but Vick had almost no pressure on him at all on two of the picks he threw.

That didn't stop Vick from making excuses after the game, when he said he felt "pressed" to get the ball off. He just made bad throws. Watch the video replays of those three interceptions. Vick, who had a QB rating of 13.9, was pressured only on the wildly off-target third pick, the interception by Troy Polamalu.

Nothing against the Eagles, who have a good team. It was merely a meaningless pre-season game, one that will be forgotten as soon as the regular season starts. We just don't like Michael Vick.

Last night, Vick appeared to be a fraud of a quarterback, which is apropos since he also appears to be a fraud of a person. Vick, who pled guilty to felony charges, still is unconscionably trying to rationalize and excuse his role in the dog-fighting ring he led.

As Michael J. Darnell (MJD), noted in his always-terrific Shutdown Corner blog on Yahoo! Sports, Vick continues trying to make himself out to be "some kind of innocent victim in the whole sordid episode."

Darnell cited Vick's quote in GQ Magazine:

"Some of us had to grow up in poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods, and we just had to adapt to our environment. I know that it's wrong. But people act like it's some crazy thing they never heard of. They don't know."

In response, Darnell wrote:

"As William Burroughs once said about another matter, this is a thin tissue of horse[bleep]. There are obviously thousands and millions of people who have to live in poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods, and a great many of them manage to wake up every day and avoid the temptation to fight, torture, electrocute, and kill dogs."

People will say, "Vick did his time. We should forgive and forget." Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, whatever. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls would be more forgiving, if only Vick stopped making excuses and trying to rationalize why he tortured and killed dogs, and why he financed and spearheaded a sizable dog-fighting operation.

As it is, Vick stands today as the face of the Eagles. For us, he is a tough guy to support, so we hope Philadelphia's so-called Dream Team (Vick in particular) has a nightmare season. Karma's a bitch.

This is a great weekend to visit your local Animal Shelter. Just visit. Or volunteer. Or adopt a dog ... even a pit bull. Pit bulls are cool.

Steelers-Eagles "Exhibition" Game Tonight

First off, Happy Birthday to the late, great Roberto Clemente. The Great One would have been a youthful, robust and passionate 77 today. Arriba, Roberto!

Now, on to lesser matters. The Steelers host the Philadelphia Eagles tonight for a pre-season exhibition game glorified inter-squad scrimmage. Hopefully, it will be more entertaining than the doleful yawnfest in Washington last Friday.

Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls used to enjoy pre-season games much more than we do now. Nevertheless, it can be fun to watch young players -- particularly undrafted free agents -- who show a flash of promise. Fast Willie Parker was one of those guys. And we distinctly remember watching James Harrison chase down a running back for a loss on an outside pitch, blow up another play up the middle aaand … promptly get cut by Bill Cowher, in all his talent-evaluation genius.

Luckily for the Steelers and us fans, another “genius,” the Ravens’ Brian Billick, also cut Harrison -- can you imagine James Harrison and Ray Lewis in the same linebacking corps? -- so Harrison eventually worked his way back onto the Steelers roster.

Tonight, we’ll be watching the secondary with interest, and also the offensive line. Four cornerbacks -- veteran starters Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden, second-year backup Crezdon Butler and rookie Cortez Allen -- will miss tonight’s game with injuries.

As a result, we’ll see guys like Keenan Lewis, rookie third-rounder Curtis Brown, undrafted rookie Donovan Warren and maybe even newly acquired corners Kevin Dockery and Macho Harris (ya gotta get a kick outta that name), who arrived only yesterday following the unlamented release of disappointing wide receiver Limas Sweed.

Too bad Sweed couldn’t put it together. The opportunity was there for him. He just dropped the ball, literally, too many times. On the offensive line, Tony Hills, of all people, will get playing time at guard, of all places. This may be the last chance for Hills to showcase what he can do.

That was a desultory affair at PNC Park last night, with the Pirates losing to the Cardinals, 7-2. Bleah. Too bad. After winning the first two games of the series in exciting fashion -- and probably burying the Cardinals’ flickering playoff hopes in the process, the Pirates reverted to their late-July form and thudded back to earth.

Enjoy the game tonight. With any luck, while he's in Pittsburgh, Michael Vick will get bit by a pit bull.

Photo courtesy of Clemente Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Cattching Cotchery

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls are lukewarm-not-enthused about the Steelers signing former Jets receiver Jericho Cotchery. We would have been happier had the Steelers gone with Tyler Grisham.

It's not just that Cotchery's production has gone downhill since 2007, when he had 82 catches for 1,130 yards. Last season, he had just 41 catches for 433 yards. Not so great. Hall of Famer Chris Carter -- who knows something about playing wideout in the NFL -- said this morning on ESPN's "Mike & Mike Show" that Cotchery had a lot of drops last season and has lost some speed the past few years.

Cotchery had been unhappy with his diminished role in New York and had requested his release. His role in Pittsburgh? Good question. He probably will get most of his playing time out of the slot-receiver position, but he projects to be the fifth receiver on the depth chart. If he was unhappy with his role in New York, how is he going to be happy being fifth on the depth chart in Pittsburgh?

Mike Wallace certainly is going to line up on one side pretty much full-time. You'd figure Hines Ward will get a lot of playing time, even though this may be his last year. Emmanuel Sanders would be next in line, with Antonio Brown also getting more and more playing time, as the season progresses.

All four receivers are better than Cotchery -- when they're healthy.

What really concerns us about this deal is the possibility that the Steelers signed Cotchery solely because Emmanuel Sanders' foot injury may be more serious than is being disclosed.

We're worried about the Steelers in general, and they haven't even played their first pre-season game. We'd been rooting for rookie running back Baron Batch, who was tearing it up at camp before he tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament [knee]) on Wednesday. Batch was showing every indication he "gets" it -- he even had the crusty veterans "oohing and ahwing"with his blocking, running, catching and kick-returning. It appeared Batch was emerging as the third running back behind Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, and possibly edging out Mewelde Moore and definitely bumping an apparently our-of-shape Jonathan Dwyer off the roster.

Batch is an easy guy to root for -- just read his blog entry titled "Detour," which he wrote on Wednesday shortly after he sustained the injury. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls wish Baron Batch all the best for a full recovery and a return to the team next season.

As for this season, we have worries, as always. Four AFC teams in particular worry us, in this order: the San Diego Chargers, the New England Patriots, the New York Jets, and the Baltimore Ravens.

This may be San Diego's year to finally break through. They seem to underachieve every year, but this may be their year. That's a team to watch.

Confirmed, we're still here.

Sorry for the uncharacteristically lengthy absence. We're still here, as noted in the prior post about The Rapture.

A few idle thoughts:

• We like the signing of Derek Lee. He's not the player he was in his prime, but he's still better at this point than Lyle Overbay. Too bad for Lyle, but he just wasn't hitting, at all. At least he hit a home run in his last game on Sunday. Then Derek Lee comes in and hits two home runs in his first game as a Pirate.
• Good for Plaxico Burress. That prison sentence seemed awfully harsh for shooting himself in the leg. It was stupid of him to carry a loaded gun (especially with the safety off), but still. We have a feeling he is great shape and motivated. He should be a great fit for the Jets. Naturally, we don't want the Jets to beat the Steelers, ever, but we're glad to see Plex landed on his feet.
• We're NOT enthusiastic about the acquisition of Ryan Ludwick. He hasn't hit all year, and he simply is not a good defensive outfielder. He certainly isn't a good fit in left field at PNC Park.
• The Steelers sure have been quiet. It would have been nice if they'd been able to pick up Namdi Asomough, but they seem confident in their young corners. Hopefully the two draft picks will contribute. And the Eagles would be smart to keep Asante Samuel. He's a terrific cover corner, and if the Eagles don't want him, he sure would look good in a Steelers' uniform.
• We have a feeling Carson Palmer is trying to pull a Brett Favre. Kudos to Bengals' owner Mike Brown for standing up to Palmer. On the other hand, maybe Palmer is sincere in his plans to retire. After all, as he said when all this started, he has made about $80 million throughout his career.
  

That's all for now. We'll try to be more regular with our postings.