Here come the felons, er, Ravens

For the second time in three weeks, the Steelers on Sunday will be facing a team coming off a bye week. Like their Sunday night game in Denver on Oct 19, this game, too, will be in prime time, on Monday night vs. the Baltimore Ravens. This time, however, the Steelers play at home, for what that’s worth (Heinz Field doesn’t seem to be one of the more daunting places for a road team to play).

Like the Broncos before them, who were coming off an embarrassing beatdown to the San Diego Chargers, the Ravens emerge from their bye week coming off a bad loss, to the Buffalo Bills. Immediately after that loss, the Ravens started sniping, woofing, complaining and finger-pointing – specifically, linebacker Ray “Scissorshands” Lewis complaining about the Ravens’ insufferably smarmy, egotistical head coach, Brian Billick, as well as the offensive play-calling and the lack of production on offense.

Lewis’s remarks prompted this observation by columnist Mike Rutsey:

“Ray Lewis is just about the last player in the NFL to be ripping anybody, considering the baggage he drags along, one that includes dead people.

“But there he was last week on his radio show throwing his coach, Brian Billick, under the bus for the plays he called in the final minutes of Baltimore's 19-14 loss to the Bills in Buffalo. With the Ravens facing second-and-one at the Bills' 49 with less than two minutes to play, Billick had Kyle Boller throw on each of the next three plays -- and all were incompletions. There were enough folks critical of Billick's choice. Lewis, though, shouldn't have been one of them.”

Others were also critical of Billick, according to the Baltimore Sun:

“Lewis' comments were inevitable … Even before Billick had a tough talk with his team immediately after the loss at Buffalo, there were quite a few Ravens second-guessing him.”

Hmmm ... players criticizing their coach? Finger-pointing and dissension?

Sounds like Cincinnati.

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Links ‘n at ...

• Over at SI/CNN’s FanNation blog, Andrew Perloff says,

“Everyone seems to think a New England-Indy AFC Championship Game is a forgone conclusion,” but, he advises, “Don’t overlook the Steelers.”

• If you plan to drive down the road transporting human heads in plastic bags, it’s probably a good idea to carry documentation. “And, perhaps, consider specifying that you don't want your head in a plastic bag in the back of a truck.”
• We knew this already, but Alex Rodriguez is a narcissistic weasel and his agent, Scott Boras, is a boorish cretin.

Going to That Big Rubber Room in the Sky

Rest In Peace, Porter Wagoner

Some folks drift along through life and never thrill
To the feeling that a good deed brings until
It's too late and they are ready to lie down
There beneath the leaves that scattered on the ground …

To your grave there's no use taking any gold
You cannot use it when it's time for hands to fold
When you leave this earth for a better home someday
The only thing you'll take is what you gave away

– "Fallen Leaves," by Porter Wagoner

Porter Wagoner, not to be confused with Joey Porter, died the other day at the age of 80. Porter Wagoner quit school in the seventh grade to later become a best-selling country crooner and TV star known for songs of heartbreak, an impressive pompadour and outrageous rhinestone suits.

He also was famous for collaborations with stars as diverse as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and James Brown. According to the The New York Times,

“Wagoner had 81 singles on the country charts, including 29 Top 10 records. His hits included “Dark End of the Street,” “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “Skid Row Joe” and “The Cold Hard Facts of Life.” He was famous for capturing straight up the raw emotions of people living tough lives, sometimes using his speaking voice in an old-time country technique called recitation.”

Also according to the Times,

“Wagoner recorded some of country music’s earliest “concept albums,” in which individual tracks combine in a thematic whole.”

“The lyrics in at least two of his songs came from spending time in a Nashville mental hospital. One, “Committed to Parkview,” was written by Johnny Cash about a Nashville institution in which both men had stayed. The song is part of an album Mr. Wagoner released last year, “The Rubber Room: The Haunting Poetic Songs of Porter Wagoner, 1966-1977.”

Courtesy of The Aquarium Drunkard, here’s a review of “The Rubber Room.”

Over the course of his career, Wagoner’s songs covered varied thematic concepts, including temptation, infidelity, redemption, living as a prisoner (metaphorically and literally), and other thematic touchstones. He recorded gospel as well as country.

As a Grand Ole Opry fixture and its unofficial spokesman for more than 50 years, Wagoner invited James Brown to perform on the Opry in 1979. In addition to covering the country standards, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “Tennessee Waltz,” James Brown performed his own “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”

Apparently it didn’t go over well – Brown’s appearance generated hate mail.

Who dey say dey gon’ beat dem Bengals?

Who dey say dey gon’ beat dem Bengals?

Well, uh, let’s see … Beginning Oct. 1, 2006, New England, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Baltimore, San Diego, Indianapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh.

So far, this year, Cleveland, Seattle, New England, Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Since Oct. 1, 2006, the Cincinnati Bengals are 7-13.

Stick a fork in dem Bengals. The Bengals stink. Out loud.

The unhappy, dissolute, dissension-ridden band of malcontents, miscreants and recreants lack character, leadership and wintuitiveness, if that’s even word. Well, it is now, and the Steelers have it. The Bengals don’t.

Each team had only seven possessions throughout the game. In four trips to the red zone, the Bengals came away with only one touchdown. They settled. That’s all. They settled.

While the Steelers were scoring touchdowns, the Bengals were kicking field goals. And getting booed by their own fans in their own stadium, on a day when they had a record turnout.

The Bengals played not to lose. And that’s what losers do.

Let the second-guessing begin.

Cincinnati Post columnist Lonnie Wheeler:

“It's one thing to go down kicking and screaming. It's another to just go down kicking. A field goal, that is. On fourth-and-1. At the Pittsburgh 2-yard line. Late in the second quarter. Already down 14-3. There are, of course, reasonable explanations for head coach Marvin Lewis' decision. He considered it all considerably. First, he sent out the field-goal team. Then he called timeout to think about it. The assumption was that he had changed his mind. The assumption was wrong. Lewis was also wrong, in retrospect, and he admitted as much afterward.

“In hindsight,” Lewis said, “I guess we should probably go for it on fourth down there rather than take the points. But I don't anticipate that they're going to take the ball and drive it down and get a touchdown before halftime.”

Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh:

“Lack of confidence? It could possibly be that because, on fourth-and-one, why wouldn’t you go for it? He’s probably figuring, ‘Let’s get points on the board.’ But I don’t know. You guys can ask coach Lewis about that. It’s his decision. He’s the head coach.”

"We're 2-5, they're 5-2," said Houshmandezadeh. "Good teams get in the end zone, and teams like us kick field goals."

Losers.

Playing the Steelers is a Game for “Big-Boy Pads”? What NFL Game Isn’t?

On Bengals.com, Cincinnati defensive tackle John Thornton had this to say about Sunday’s game with the Steelers:

“We have to put on our big-boy pads. Two different teams. We run a no-huddle offense, they don't. We rely on turnovers defensively. They want to make you stop them. So we're going to have to put on our big boy pads this week and play big.”

Bengals.com also previews key matchups for Sunday’s game.

It looks like Steelers’ defensive end Aaron Smith will miss the game, but so will the Bengals’ venerable right offensive tackle Willie Anderson, against whom Smith would be matched. Smith has played in 117 straight games, by the way. If Smith doesn’t play, he will be replaced by Nick Eason, a fifth-year journeyman making his fourth career start. Anderson will be replaced at right tackle by Stacey Andrews, who will make his second career start at right tackle. So, it will be Eason vs. Andrews. Clash of the titans. A matchup for Big Boy Pads.

Nice of Willie Anderson to graciously compliment Aaron Smith:

“He's definitely a great, underrated player in this league,” said Anderson, who first played against Smith in Smith's rookie year of 1999. “Year in and year out he gets my Pro Bowl vote. He doesn't have the huge numbers the so-called ends have, but Aaron is one of the best in the business in my opinion.”

Who dey say dey gon’ beat dem Bengals? The people in Cincy are optimistic. Losers.

Non-football stuff ...

• Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in Pittsburgh yesterday and was conferred an joint honorary doctorate by CMU and Pitt. The Post-Gazette has this report on his visit to the stately Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside (great choir, by the way). The honorary degree was nice, but it was overshadowed, greatly, by what he had to say:

"Injustice and oppression isn't just evil, which it is.
It's not just painful, which it certainly is for the victim.
It's like spitting in the face of God."

• Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has thoughts of bombing Iran, and George W. Bush is talking about World War III.

• What was that you were saying, Bishop Tutu?

Honest! We didn't do it!! ... well, not this time, anyway.

A tip 'o the the hat to Sean over at Sean's Ramblings for pointing out another incident of pit bulls mauling a miniature horse to death -- and this one is just so wrong, even Joey Porter's Pit Bulls cannot condone it ... although we do have some experience in this area, and for an inside look at the thinking behind it we suggest reading MJD's "A Letter From Joey Porter's Pit Bull."

Sheesh, not that Joey Porter's Pit Bulls approve of that sort of thing, of course.

And, no, we're not re-naming this blog, "Michael Vick's Pit Bulls." Asshat.

Dem Again? Who Dey?

Who dey, indeed?

Entering Sunday’s game against the Steelers fresh off a victory over the stinking New York Jets, the 2-3 Cincinnati Bengals are claiming a newfound identity based on a bullheaded running game and a physical defense. Those two concepts are new to the Bengals, by the way.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are coming off a bad loss that brings into question their own identity as a football team, an identity that’s always been associated with … running the ball and playing physical defense.

Who dey? Steely McBeam wants to know, as does Ryan over at Heels, Sox & Steelers, along with the rest of Steeler Nation, including Adam over at Black 'n Gold Blog.

Other Stuff

• Did you know Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer sponsors something called the “Carson Palmer Cornhole Classic?” Really, he does.
• Dagger over at Post-Game Heroes lists some extremely interesting "Fun Facts" about last Sunday’s game in Denver. Good stuff.
  

California's Katrina

"Almost ablaze, still you don’t feel the heat
It takes all you got, just to stay on the beat.
You say it’s a livin’, we all gotta eat
But you’re here alone, there’s no one to compete.
If mercy’s a business, I wish it for you
More than just ashes when your dreams come true.
Fire! Fire on the mountain!"
– The Grateful Dead

Odd, last night, to turn on the TV news, flip through the stations and find the only news coverage of the California wildfires – a disaster of Biblical proportions – was on “Hollywood Access.”

Literally.

CNN, ironically, was broadcasting some pre-recorded “Anderson Cooper Planet in Peril Crap;” Fox News had Bill O’Reilly, characteristically ranting and railing about some “Mean-Spirited, Petty, Irrelevant Crap;” and MSNBC was broadcasting some “Inside Look at Prison Voyeurism for Whitebread America Crap.”

Meantime, “Hollywood Access” breathlessly reported how the fires are disrupting the production of movies and television shows (including – gasp! – “Dancing With the Stars” – the tragedy!) … and how the “stars” are scrambling frantically to save their mansions. It’s nice to know Mel Gibson, Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Principal, Sting, Tanya Tucker, Tom Cruise, Marie Osmond, Kiefer Sutherland, John Travolta, Torie Spelling, et al, ad nauseaum, are coping.

“In between commercials I was on the Blackberry trying to get updates from friends that are watching the news and [checking] online,” Spelling sighed.

Meanwhile, backstage at “Dancing,” Jane Seymour confided in Access, that if the fires hit her house, which they have been threatening to do, she would lose so much.

“If my house goes down I will lose — I don’t want to even consider what I would lose,” she said. “I would lose all my families memorabilia, I’d lose all my oil paintings, I’d lose, oh gosh, every costume from every movie. There is so much. When I was running out of the house I didn’t know what to take.”

It’s good to know that at least Hollywood Access, Entertainment Tonight and the Hollywood Reporter are on this story, even if the major news outlets had other priorities.

"You're doing a helluva job, Brownie."

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http://rimoftheworld.net/

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/22/southern-ca-wildfire.html

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

-----------------------------------

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?

Things NOT to do in Denver ...

Abandon the running game without giving it much of a chance against the league’s worst run defense.

and ...

1. Fumble the ball and have it returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
2. Throw interceptions.
3. Drop passes.
4. Allow the Broncos to convert 70 percent of their third downs into first downs.
5. Mismanage the clock while committing penalties during the last two minutes of the first half.
6. Commit two defensive offside penalties during the opposition’s last-minute drive to a game-winning field goal.

Ack. Gack. Furball.

About that running game, the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac summarized it neatly:

“It didn't seem to matter that the Broncos had a run defense that not only ranked last in the NFL, it was easily on pace to be the worst in the franchise's 47-year history. By nearly 30 yards per game.

“It didn't seem to matter that the Broncos, after allowing just one team in the previous three seasons to rush for more than 200 yards, had allowed three of its previous four opponents to run for 200 or more yards.

“Or that the number of rushing yards allowed per game -- 187.6 -- was 75 yards above the league average.

“The Steelers, the best rushing team in the AFC, decided to ignore what appeared to be a overwhelming edge for them and elected to attack the Broncos through the air -- a decision that proved to be their downfall at Invesco Field.”

And this, also from Dulac …

“Willie Parker, the AFC's second-leading rusher, carried only three times in the first quarter and just 10 times in the first half -- a meager amount considering the Steelers' ability to run the ball and the Broncos' inability to stop the run. Parker finished with 93 yards on 21 carries, but this was a game in which the ineptitude of the Broncos' run defense would suggest he have that many carries by halftime, not the end of the fourth quarter.”

The decision to pass early and often seemed to work for a while but backfired – early and often:

“It didn't seem so bad when Roethlisberger threw 10 times and Parker had only three carries in the first quarter because the Steelers had a 7-0 lead. But when Roethlisberger was nearly intercepted by cornerback Dre Bly on second-and-3 on the next series, and then had to endure the first of two drops by Ward on third down, it started to become apparent that the pass, not the run, might be the choice of attack.

“When he was intercepted in the second quarter by linebacker D.J. Williams, the problems really began to mount. The Broncos turned the mistake into a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to running back Cecil Sapp and a 14-7 lead.”

The game turned for good on Roethlisberger’s fateful second-quarter fumble that was returned for a touchdown and had the Steelers playing catchup the rest of the way:

“On the next possession, the decision to throw really became an issue when Roethlisberger was sacked and stripped of the ball by defensive end Elvis Dumervil and defensive end Tim Crowder returned the fumble 50 yards for a touchdown. All of a sudden, the Broncos were up, 21-7, and the Steelers' greatest weapon -- their ball-control offense -- was negated.”

Foreshadowing, darkly ...

During a pre-game radio interview, the Post-Gazette’s lugubrious and laconic beat writer Ed Bouchette correctly and presciently opined that the Steelers would be well-advised to remember the December 2003 game against the Jets in New York, when the Steelers never tried to establish the run against a terrible Jets run defense – in blustery, wintry weather. In that game, Steelers QB Tommy Maddox finished the game with eight straight incompletions and was 16-of-38 for 137 yards. The Steelers lost 6-0 to seal their elimination from the playoffs.

As Bouchette said of that game, they out-coached themselves.

Which they would have been well-advised to remember as among the things NOT to do in Denver.

Footnotes:

• James Harrison’s offside penalty with 43 seconds left in the game gift-wrapped a crucial first down for the Broncos on their game-winning field goal drive. Harrison somehow managed not so much to line up in the neutral zone as to get caught shifting along the neutral zone in front of his defensive linemates, as the ball was snapped. Inexcusable. We’re betting Harrison gets called out “In the News” for that one.

• The Steelers missed defensive end Aaron Smith, who left early in the game with a knee injury. They missed him badly. Let's hope he returns soon.

• Speaking of defensive ends, the Broncos' Elvis Dumervil can play. Too bad the Steelers’ braintrust (Bill Cowher) didn’t draft him when they had the chance in the 2006 draft. They would have had to do some maneuvering to pull it off – the Steelers’ first three choices in the 2006 draft were Santo Holmes, Anthony Smith and Willie Reid. Dumervil was a late fourth-round pick (126^th overall). He would have been a perfect fit in the Steelers’ 3-4 scheme – a kind of Dwight Freeney Lite. It seems Dumerville is contributing a bit more to his team than some Steelers' players, like, oh, we don't know ...
  

• Willie Reid was on the inactive list for last night's game. The Steelers' 2007 first-round choice Lawrence Timmons also appeared to be inactive (even though he was not on the inactive list).

Joey Porter Still Needs a Hug

Ouch. FOXSports.com senior NFL writer Alex Marvez has a scathing column describing Joey Porter as a “thug” and “this season’s biggest free-agent bust.”

Worse, Marvez’s column follows the release by Fox’s Jay Glazer of a videotape purportedly showing Porter’s beat-down of the Cincy Bengals' Levi Jones at a Las Vegas casino last March. Ugly stuff.

The Steelers’ decision to let Porter test free agency was a no-brainer all along, and it looks better and better with each passing day. No offense, Joey.

By stark contrast, Miami’s front office (led by general manager Randy Mueller) looks worse and worse as the season unfolds with the Dolphins still winless after six losses. First, they signed an aging and in-decline Porter to prop up an aging and in-decline defense.

Then, to continue a recent history of poor drafting, the Dolphins way overspent the ninth overall pick in April’s draft on Ted Ginn Jr. They followed up that mistake by releasing quarterback Daunte Culpepper, now starting in Oakland, and signing the (brain) injury-prone Trent Green – with Cleo Lemon, for cryin' out loud, as the primary backup. Lemon, of course, is now the starter in wake of Green’s latest, potentially career-ending concussion.

Meanwhile, former Dolphins Sammie Morris, Heath Evans and Wes Welker are all making significant contributions to the 6-0 New England Patriots, and Welker’s eye-popping performance yesterday in Dallas punctuated what has already been a stellar season for him.

As for Joey Porter, his longtime foil/nemesis Kellen Winslow II had the last word after finishing yesterday's game with five catches for 90 yards in helping the Browns defeat the Dolphins.

Winslow, whom Porter has insulted repeatedly on and off the field, asked reporters, "Did he play today? I didn't see him."

Ouch.

Flying High

New England 48, Dallas 27. So, yesterday’s "game of the year" -- Patriots vs. Cowboys -- really wasn’t. The game of the year, that is.

That team from New England? Yeah, they're pretty good.

From the New York Daily News:

"The Patriots (6-0) have scored at least 34 points in every game this year and with 21 TD passes in six games, Brady is on pace to smash Manning's record of 49 TD passes in a single season.”

Brady's touchdown-to-interception ratio is 21-2.

Watching the Patriots dismantle the Cowboys in Dallas, one couldn’t help but wonder if the Patriots have any weaknesses. Sheer talent? Nope, not an issue. Hubris and overconfidence? Apparently not. Offensive line? Nope. Quarterback? Absurd. The defense? Nah.
Coaching? Very funny. The defense offense defense Patriots always seem to know what plays the opposition is running next (wink, wink).

Dallas’s secondary has been weak for a long time now, but still … the Patriots’ receivers look unstoppable, especially with that quarterback, behind that offensive line. Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth on the outside are more than enough, and then you have to account for slot receiver Wes Welker, who caught 11 passes yesterday for 124 yards and two touchdowns. And he's a terrific kick returner.

The Patriots’ matchup with the Super Bowl Champion Colts in a few weeks should be interesting, but right now the Patriots really do look unstoppable. Of course, that’s what people were saying about the Colts two years ago when a certain team from western Pennsylvania went on to win the Super Bowl. That was only two years ago? Wow, it seems a lot longer.

Dissa 'n Datta

• New England acquired Wes Welker from Miami on March 5 in exchange for second-round (60th overall) and seventh- round selections (238th overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft. With the 60^th pick of the draft, the Dolphins selected Samson Satele, center, Hawaii. Satele has started all six games for the Dolphins this season. With the 238^th pick, the Dolphins selected Abraham Wright, defensive end, Colorado. Wright apparently is not on the Miami roster.
  
• The Dolphins are 0-6, by the way, after losing to the Cleveland Browns yesterday.
• Speaking of the NFL draft and the Brownies, do ya think maybe Cleveland fans are maybe wishing their team had drafted Adrian Peterson with the draft’s third overall pick in April?
• Give Romeo Crennel’s squad credit, though. At 3-3, they look respectable, and first pick Joe Thomas could be a stalwart tackle in the league for years.
  
• Still, Adrian Peterson, man, Cleveland fans have gotta be thinking he’d look good in a Browns uniform about now. Peterson, who had 224 yards and three touchdowns, looked like he was channeling Gale Sayers during the game against the Bears yesterday.
  
• Why does anybody kick to Devin Hester?
• The Bengals? Pee-yoo! The Bungles stink out loud.
  

Joey Porter Needs a Hug?

Well, at least that's what Kellen Winslow II ("The Soldier") says here and here.

Mother Nature is HOT!

Just ask the Seattle Seahawks. It was witheringly HOT at Heinz Field on Sunday.

Today's high temperature: 80 degrees. It's Oct. 9. October ninth. Eighty.

But there's no such thing as global warming. I know, because Sean Hannity says so. So does Rush Limbaugh. They know.

Friday is Blog Action Day.
http://www.blogactionday.org/

Not to quibble, but ...

It may appear unseemly to take issue with just about any aspect of the Steelers’ thorough beat-down of the Seattle Seahawks ... but that won’t stop Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls!

Following the Special Teams debacle against the Arizona Cardinals, we hoped to see marked improvement on Special Teams play.

And we did.

First, Jeff Reed’s only kickoff of the day, to start the game, produced a touchback, which is the best possible outcome short of a fumble recovery. Plus, the tackling of the coverage units seemed better, as the Steelers did not allow a return touchdown, so we made progress there.

In the first quarter, however, for what it’s worth (seven points), it took a flying tackle by punter Daniel Sepulveda to bring down the speedy Nate Burleson, who otherwise almost certainly would have scored a touchdown if not for Sepulveda’s effort. Because of Sepulveda’s heroics and willingness to actually, you know, tackle, Burleson’s return was “limited” to 22 yards.

Can you imagine Chris Gardocki making that tackle? Didn’t think so.

What really bothers us is this: The Steelers committed two more penalties on Special Teams. Granted, this is a big improvement over the six in Arizona the previous week, but still …

In the first quarter, Willie Reid was flagged for an illegal block above the waist on a punt by Sepulveda. In the third quarter, Ike Taylor incurred the same penalty, only to outdone when Allen Rossum muffed the punt. He recovered the ball, but that didn't stop him from fumbling later, after a seven-yard punt return in the fourth qurter. Arnold Harrison recovered the fumble, so all is forgiven.

But not forgotten.

Those kinds of mistakes tend to get swept under the rug following a win, but they are there nonetheless. They need fixed.

We’re not suggesting there are endemic problems on the Steelers’s Special Teams …but there are too many penalties, long returns by opponents and near-misses to suggest that there isn't ample room for tightening up the play of the Special Teams units – especially for cutting down the number of penalties.

Bob Ligashesky, are you listening?

Dissa ‘n Datta

As for other penalties on Sunday, sheesh, three holding penalties on one drive, and the Steelers’s still managed to overcome them by converting third-and-long situations and scoring a touchdown. Very impressive, but three holding penalties on one drive – at home – is inexcusable. Holding calls at home are frowned upon, to say the least.

At one point, too, Cedric Wilson was lucky he didn’t get flagged for taunting, just as Nate Washington was lucky he didn’t get flagged for clipping on Najeh Davenport’s 45-yard run in the first quarter. Plus, Anthony Smith is lucky he wasn’t thrown out of the game for flying at Matt Hasselbeck’s knees in the second quarter, when Smith was flagged for a late hit.

We're almost surprised Mike Holmgren and Seahawks' fans aren't whining about the officiating.

In any case, we expect Coach Mike Tomlin covered all these penalties and near-misses in “The News.”

No Excuses

Time of possession tells the tale of this game.

Time of possession totals for the game: Steelers: 40:15; Seahawks: 19:15.

After the first quarter, the Steelers had the ball for 35:12 compared to 9:48 for the Seahawks. The Seahawks had the ball for less than eight minutes in the second half.

The second half started with a Steelers’ 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ate more than 10 minutes off the clock. Following the ensuing kickoff, the Steelers’ defense held the Seahawks ran to three-and-out in 1:31. The Steelers offense took over and mounted a 13-play, 85-yard scoring drive that at up more than eight minutes.

Game over, essentially.

“It was hot out there,” Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill said. “But they were on the same field we were and in the same heat we were, so it was no excuse. I had to come in and miss a series until I got the fluids to get back out there.”

With leading receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes sidelined, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stepped up by completing 18 of 22 passes for 206 yeards, one touchdown and a 120.8 passer rating. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over. And, while the total number of yards passing is not impressive, he kept drives going with clutch throws. Roethlieberger took three sacks, but he eluded the grasp of Seattle defenders numerous other times.

“He’s talented in there, he’s big and very good at avoiding people – so if you don’t wrap him up, you’re not going to get him down,” Seahawks defensive tackle Craig Terrill said. “He just has the good awareness that the best quarterbacks have in the pocket. You never want to be on the field that much. You need to have some three-and-outs. You need to have some turnovers, and we didn’t have either one.”

While the Seahawks’ defense couldn’t get off the field, the Steelers’ defense had no such problem. It limited star running back Shaun Alexander to 25 yards on 11 carries, and Seattle’s offense managed just 144 total net yards.

“I always wondered what the best defense was that could face us,” Alexander said. “It was a good offense.”

Granted, the Steelers’ defense benefited from the gross disparity in time of possession, but it did what it needed to do, too. This defense has the look of something special.

Bullshit

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino’s explanation of the President’s veto of a bill that would provide $35 billion over five years for children’s health insurance – essentially Medicaid for children of people who can’t afford health insurance:

“In a time when they (legislators) think that they want to increase funding for children's health care, they're actually wanting to pay for it with a cigarette tax, which includes – people who smoke are usually – the majority are in the low-income bracket. And so they're raising taxes on something to pay for a middle-class entitlement. "

This, on the heels of approving an additional $190 billion a year for war?

Gotta call bullshit on this one.

Unconscionable, indefensible, unfathomable and offensive.

The picture above, by the way, was taken earlier this week at the Steelers' practice facility on the South Side.

It shows Troy Polamalu with a Make-a-Wish Kid.

Polamalu sustained torn cartilage, rib cage, during last Sunday's game in Arizona. He may play against the Seahawks this Sunday at Heinz Field.

Miscellany

• It occurs to Joey Porter's Pit Bulls that we may start seeing less and less of Cedric Wilson and more and more of Willie Reid. Let’s hope Reid is up to the challenge.

• Can we please stop hearing this Sunday’s game against the Seahawks described as a "rematch" of Super Bowl XL? Same franchises, two different teams.

• Since Seattle appeared in Super Bowl XL, the Seahawks’ roster has undergone a major overhaul. Gone are 10 of Seattle’s 22 starters in that Super Bowl, along with 28 of 53 players on the roster at the time. The list includes four starters on offense and six on defense.

• Most significantly, perhaps, Seattle has two new starters at safety, and they’ve added heft and speed on the defensive line, with Patrick Kerney and Darryl Tapp, and at linebacker with marquee free-agent acquisition Julian Peterson.

• On offense, Deion Branch is the Seahawks’ new number one, go-to receiver. When he was with the Patriots, the one-time Super Bowl MVP absolutely torched the Steelers, among others.

• The Seahawks have also added tight end Darryl Pollard, who is 35 years old but reportedly catches everything thrown his way … which, of course, makes him a big improvement over the departed and unlamented Jerramy Stevens, aka Joey Porter’s Bitch. Anyway, by any measure, the departure of Stevens is addition by subtraction.

• Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls do NOT Have a good feeling about this game. It’s worrisome. That's from a purely football-vibe perspective.
  

On the other hand, the story of CMU Professor Randy Pausch is downright inspiring and may serve as motivation for the Steelers on Sunday. We recommend you visit Professor Pausch's homepage and watch his "Last Lecture" video or read the transcript.

Reversing the Field?

Thanks to Jody DiPerna of Pittsburgh’s City Paper for soliciting the opinion of Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls, among other Pittsburgh sportsblogglers, for her City Paper column this week. Jody sought input on which players from opposing NFL teams we respect, admire or even like. You can read her column here.

Since, of course, Jody had to make room in her column for the opinion of others, we thought we’d share the contents of the note we sent in reply to her solicitation, which follows below:

Hi. I am the sports writer for Pittsburgh City Paper and was working on a column about NFL players or coaches that Steelers fans actually like. I find that I often am venting about teams or players that I hate. The Patriots, Ray Lewis, yada, yada, yada. So, this column is a bit of a change of pace.

I was hoping to get some feedback. Are there players that you root for despite the uniform? Coaches? And, if you are able to articulate it, why do you pull for those players?

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls' list of "likeable players" mostly overlooks star players, because, well, most of them aren't all that "likeable." There's a distinction, we suppose, between star players (Peyton Manning) whom everybody knows, and marquee players (Marc Bulger), who are very, very good players but seem to maintain a relatively low profile. We like Marc Bulger. Peyton Manning? ... eh, not so much.

We like the ironic names, "Guy Whimper," left tackle, NYG, and "Richie Incognito," guard, Rams. After all, if you're an offensive lineman, you're not likely to whimper much, and you generally want to remain incognito. Also, any guy named "Rocky," as in Rocky Bernard, Seattle, and Rocky Balboa Boiman, Colts. Nicknames are good, too, such as offensive linemen Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack (Seattle) and Flozell "The Hotel" Adams (Dallas). Also on the radar: Pretty much anybody with a Samoan name (Lofa Tatupu, for example), but we're not all that enamored with hyphenated last names (Maurice Jones-Drew; Tully Banta-Cain) … make up your mind already! Although "Carl-Johan Bork" is kind of a cool name. Speaking of names, we wonder what Pacman Jones is doing these days?

More to the point, there are players whose play Joey Porter's Pit Bulls admire, and then there are opponents we just like. These include Steelers' alumnae like Antwaan Randle-El and Kimo Von Oelhoeffen although, realistically, we realize they're gone forever. So, let's start with Defense, which is where everything starts with the Steelers:

Somehow, we can't bring ourselves to actually, you know, "like" any of the ragamuffin rogues from Cincinnati and Baltimore, but we do like and respect at least one player on the Browns -- yes, the Browns! -- linebacker Camerion Wimbley, who would be welcome in Black 'n Gold. Coincidentally, he was Lawrence Timmons' predecessor at Florida State. Great name, and Wimbley can play.

As for veterans, we like Bob Sanders, safety, Indianapolis Colts. A little undersized, gritty and fierce. Linebackers A.J. Hawk, Green Bay, and Ian Gold, Denver, always show up, and on the D-line, Kansas City's Jared Allen and San Diego's Igor Olshansky are both crazy and bring a lot of energy to their respective teams.

Not much of a track record with the following young players, but they've all looked impressive so far, although a couple of them are on injured reserve already: On the Buffalo Bills, Paul Posluszny sure stood out early this season until he broke his arm. Another rookie inside linebacker, San Francisco's Patrick Willis, looks like the real deal and should be a force in the league for years. Ditto his teammate, second-year playmaker Manny Lawson, who, like Posluszny, is now on IR. Another rookie, Jack'ville's Reggie Nelson, a safety, already is in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year. In Dallas, rookie linebacker Anthony Spencer, the 26th overall pick in April's draft, has supplanted last year's first pick, Bobby Carpenter, as the starting strongside linebacker in the Cowboys' 3-4 defense. By the way, for the record, before last April's draft, JPPBs made the case for the Steelers to draft either Spencer or Nelson. It will be interesting to watch how their respective careers play out in comparison to that of Lawrence Timmons.

On offense, let's start with some skill-position players:

At wideout, although he's a rookie, the Colts' rookie Tony Gonzalez is a guy we always liked when he played at Ohio State and looks like he fits right in on the Super Bowl champs' offense. Also, we like the Bills' Lee Evans, although he flew off the handle and fecklessly incurred back-to-back 15-yard penalties in this season's Game 2, against the Steelers. Still, he'd look good in a Steelers' uniform. The guy's big, fast, rangy and productive.

At fullback, JPPBs always liked Seattle's Mack Strong, and not just because he has the perfect name for a fullback. Also, the Jaguars' Greg Jones has a vanilla name, but he can play. On the O-line, Philly's veteran Jon Runyon is a beast.

On Special Teams, ya gotta love Devin Hester, Chicago's kick-returner extraordinaire. Is Fred McAfee still around? Apparently not.

Coaches: San Francisco's dapper Mike Nolan wins sartorial style points. I've always liked some of the special teams coaches for the manic zaniness -- Bobby April, etc.

Cheerleaders? Love 'em all.