Good News for the Steelers

The best news for the Steelers this young off-season comes out of Baltimore.

Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is now head coach of the Denver Broncos. Not only is Kubiak departing the Purple Browns, he's also taking two of Baltimore's assistant coaches with him to Denver. Good news for the Steelers and everybody else in the AFC North.

Kubiak's departure hurts the Ravens. Badly.

Continuity in a coaching staff is important, and Kubiak was the best offensive coordinator Baltimore has had in years. Guided by Kubiak, the Ravens scored 409 points, their most ever. Working with Kubiak, Flacco had his most productive season: 27 touchdowns and 3,986 yards passing. Under Kubiak, the Ravens ramped up their running game with Justin Forsett, who hits free agency after his breakout season in Baltimore -- another hit to Bawlmore.

Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh might hire somebody every bit as effective as Kubiak, but there's no guarantee. There's going to be a period of adjustment not just for the new coordinator, but for Harbaugh and, especially, Joe Flacco, whose fragile psyche will be asked to adjust, once again, to a new coordinator -- his fourth in four years (Cam Cameron, Jim Caldwell, Kubiak and the next guy).

Yup, this is good news for the Steelers and an unwelcome development for the Purple Browns. At least for the moment, Kubiak's departure must be causing some considerable consternation and hand-wringing in Owings Mills and the surrounding cesspool that is Baltimore.

How Deflating

LeGarrette Blount, in the locker after walking off the
field before the end of the Steelers-Titans game.

LeGarrette Blount. Deflated footballs.

Of course.

Of course the quitter shitheel Blount was the hero of the day for New England, after he trampled the Colts for three touchdowns and 148 yards on 30 carries. It's tough to see a guy like that succeed after he was such a shitstain in Pittsburgh, but give BilB Bellicheat Bellichick credit for one thing: He knows how to game-plan.

Everybody knows the Colts are weak against the run, so Bellichick gave Blount 30 carries.  No brainer, right? Yeah, except we see time and again that offensive coordinators stray from game plans and so rarely commit to the run in today's NFL.

Speaking of committing to the run, the Seahawks deserve credit for staging a Conference Championship comeback win for the ages. How did they do it? They ran the ball. Even when they were down by 16 points at halftime.

Commitment to the run.  It's kind of refreshing to see.

"The time is always right to do what is right."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.