Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

The Steelers take on the New York Jets this Sunday at 4:15 PM.  The game will be played at Heinz Field, a venue where the Jets have never defeated the Steelers.

That’s right……never.  Not once.  Not in the seventies.  Not in the eighties.  Not in the nineties.  And not in the 2000′s.  Never.

And despite their 9-4 record, I don’t expect the Jets to break that streak this week.

There are lots of storylines that I could have looked at going into this game.  There’s the fact that both the Steelers and Jets are struggling offensively.  Both teams look like they’re allergic to scoring touchdowns.

There’s the fact that Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan is a bit of a flamboyant jerk, who has roots with the hated Baltimore Ravens.  Boo!!!!

There’s the fact that Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has been struggling lately, and Rex Ryan even contemplated benching him.

There’s the fact that the Jets have one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL, and come into the game averaging 143.7 yards per game on the ground, while the Steelers have the top rushing defense in the NFL and only allow 60.1 yards per game.  That should be an awesome match-up.

I could have written about how Steelers’ safety Troy Polamalu is coming off back-to-back defensive player of the week awards, and should play a key role in the game against the Jets.

But the reality is that there’s only one storyline that anybody cares about.  Two former Pittsburgh heroes are coming to town, and we all want to see them leave as goats.

Former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes makes his first return to Heinz Field as a New York Jet.  Steelers fans are a hospitable bunch, and I’m sure that Holmes will be greeted with cheers when his name is announced.

But let’s be honest.  Despite the cheers that Holmes will get, we all want to see him do badly.  We want the Steelers to beat his Jets, and we want Holmes to catch no passes against us.  In fact, some of us (including me) even want to see Ryan Clark or Troy Polamalu get a good hit on Holmes when he comes across the middle to catch a pass.

To be clear, I don’t hate Holmes.  I respect him for being the talented receiver that he is.  But I do resent that he never seemed to respect the fact that he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He didn’t seem to realize the honor that donning the black and gold is, nor did he seem to understand the expectations that go along with wearing those colors.

Instead, Holmes smoked so much weed that it got him shipped to New York…….for a fifth round draft pick.

So yes, I want to see Troy smash Santonio.  He only has to do it once.  After that, my vendetta against Holmes will be satisfied.

The other storyline that we all care about is seeing former Pitt Panther Darrelle Revis get burned by Santonio Holmes’ replacement Mike Wallace.

Revis seems to have allowed himself to believe his own press clippings.  He appears to actually believe the hype.  But I don’t.  And I think that a 40+ yard bomb from Big Ben to Mike Wallace is just the thing that Revis needs to bring him back down to Earth.  In fact, I’d love to see Wallace burn Revis for two or three 40+ yard plays.

The only thing that would be sweeter than that would be to see Revis fake a hamstring injury while being burned by Wallace.  That would absolutely make my day.

Petty?  Perhaps.  But at least I can admit it.  I want to see Santonio Holmes shut down, and I want to see Darrelle Revis get burned.  Is that too much to ask?

Oh yeah, and I want to see the Steelers win the game.  Can’t forget that.

I can’t possibly be the only one who wants to see those things, can I?  If there’s anyone else who was thinking the same things, please raise your hands.  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  Glad to see that I’m not alone.

Other Steelers news

Tight end Heath Miller, who was expected to play on Sunday, suffered headaches on Thursday that appear to be due to his recent concussion.  Miller is now questionable for Sunday’s game.

Today’s featured item:

Every Steelers fan (particularly those who don’t live in western Pennsylvania) needs to mark their territory.  After all, when opposing fans enter your home or work space, they need to know that they’re in Steelers country.  And what better way to announce it than with this Steelers country banner?

This 8 foot banner will make it clear to all who enter your abode that they are in Steelers country.  So whether you live in Pittsburgh, or Baltimore, or Dallas, or LA, or Paris, get your banner.  Because let’s face it, the entire Earth is Steelers country.

To order, simply click on the buy now button above.  Don’t delay.  Order now!  There’s still time to get your banner before the holidays.

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Troy Polamalu scored as many touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals’ entire offense did.  So did LaMarr Woodley.  Both intercepted Carson Palmer passes and returned them for touchdowns in the Steelers’ 23-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Steelers defense put on a truly dominant performance against the Bengals.  They held the Bengals to only 190 net yards total.  Of those, only 34 came on the ground.

And as if his “pick 6″ weren’t enough, Troy added another interception in the 4th quarter just for good measures.

Unfortunately, Troy’s first interception also left him limping for the rest of the game.  Hopefully, it is just a minor injury, and won’t effect him further.

As effective as the defense was, the offense was equally impotent.

Once again, the Steelers’ offense was unable to score a touchdown.  The Steelers have only scored 2 touchdowns in their last 30 offensive possessions.

It has become the norm to see the Steelers get into their opponents’ red-zone, only to have them settle for a field goal.

A good example of this happened in the end of the second quarter.  The Steelers had the ball at the Bengals’ 5 yard line.  They attempted consecutive pass plays, and both almost resulted in interceptions.  Finally, they settled for a field goal.

Same thing happened in the third quarter.  The Steelers had the ball on the Bengals’ 19 yard line.  They attempted 3 consecutive (unsuccessful) pass plays, and then settled for a field goal.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m very happy with the performance that Shaun Suisham has turned in since replacing Jeff Reed.  Suisham has been perfect since joining the Steelers.  However, the Steelers seem to be on a collision course with the New England Patriots in the playoffs.  They will not be able to beat the Patriots if they can only score field goals.

The Steelers have three games remaining, and two of them are at Heinz Field.  Moreover, two of the Steelers’ remaining games are against teams with losing records (the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns).  The only game they have remaining against a team with a winning record is next week’s game against the New York Jets.

The Steelers have a very real possibility of finishing the season at 13-3 or 12-4.  They could potentially receive a first round bye in the playoffs.  However, unless they can find a way to score touchdowns instead of field goals, the Steelers’ playoff run might not be very long.

Fortunately, we have 3 games remaining to fix the problem.

Here we go Steelers, here we go!!!!

Today’s featured item:

What could possibly be better than having your bedroom decked out in black and gold?  Get your this Steelers bedroom set that includes bedding and drapes.

Please note that this set is a queen size bed.  Sets are also available for full size or twin size beds.  Make sure that you order the appropriate size for your bedroom set.

Don’t delay.  Order now!  There’s still time to get your set before the holidays.

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The holidays are just around the corner, and there’s still time to find the perfect gift for your favorite Steelers fan.

So, what does every Steelers fan want?  Millions of dollars?  No.  Diamonds?  No.  Luxury cars?  No.  Love and happiness?  No, silly!

Steelers fans want Steelers gear!  And they want Steelers gear that’s on sale!

Right now, all Steelers jackets and sweatshirts are on sale for 15-40% off.  That’s right, 15-40% off!!!

Click on the links below to order your Steelers gear now.

This weekend only, all Steelers jackets and sweatshirts are on sale.  Click on the links above to see the HUGE assortment of Steelers stuff that’s on sale. Then hurry up and order, because the savings only last until Sunday.  The Steelers jacket that you’ve been dying to have will never be cheaper.  Get it before the sale ends!

At this time last year, I would have been really excited about this game.  After all, the Bengals were in first place in the AFC North, and were on their way to sweeping the division.  Unfortunately, that was then, and this is now.

Right now, it’s pretty hard to get excited about a game with the Bengals.  Sure, we’d all like to see the Steelers put a few hard hits (that they’d probably get fined for) on Cincinnati’s duo of loud-mouthed wide receivers.  But it would be nice to be excited about a division game for reasons other than wanting to see Ocho Cinco and T.O. get clobbered.

The Bengals have a 2-10 record.  That’s exactly the same record as the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.  They look more like the Bungals than like a team that swept the AFC North last year.  But how did the Bengals fall so far so fast?

The problem with the Bengals is that they’re not doing what brought them success in the first place.  Last year, the Bengals won by playing “Steeler football”.  That’s right, they copied the Steelers.  They ran the ball and played tough defense.

In 2009, the Bengals had one of the best defenses in the NFL.  They were ranked #4 in the league, which was even higher than the Steelers defense was ranked.  They allowed their opponents less than 100 yards/ game rushing (98.3 yards/gm), and were stingy with points allowed (18.2 points/game).  But this year, their defense doesn’t seem to be able to stop anybody.  They are currently ranked 20th in the NFL, and they are allowing 26.8 points/game.  Moreover, their once stingy run defense is now ranked #24 in the league.

Not only has Cincinnati’s run defense declined, but they’ve changed their offensive philosophy.  In 2009, they were a running team, led by running back Cedric Benson.  They ran the ball 32 times per game, and averaged 128.5 yards/game on the ground.  But this year, the Bengals have abandoned the run.  They are ranked 26th in the NFL in rushing, and are only running the ball 25 times per game.  Because of the decline in rushing attempts, they are only averaging 92.3 yards/game on the ground.

So what caused this change in offensive emphasis?  My guess is having two diva wide receivers has forced them to become more of a passing team.  After all, T.O. and Ocho are not going to allow Carson Palmer to hand the ball to Cedric Benson all day long, while they act as decoys.  Nope, not gonna happen…..even if it would be better for their team.

While becoming a passing team has been detrimental to the Bengals, it may actually prove to be a benefit against the Steelers.  Steeler Nation knows that the Steelers simply can’t seem to stop anyone’s passing offense.  We have only one cornerback; Ike Taylor.  All of the rest of them seem to be completely useless.  Sure, Bryant McFadden and William Gay make an occasional big play.  But do you want to rely on either one of them to consistently stop T.O.?  I didn’t think so.

Unfortunately, the Steelers’ cornerbacks may be the deciding factor in this game.  T.O. had a monster game last time we played the Bengals.  The Steelers can’t allow him to do that again.

The other factor that may cause problems for the Steelers is injuries.  The Steelers’ offensive line has been hurting all season long.  They just can’t seem to stay healthy.  The Steelers have managed to win despite the injuries to the offensive line, but how long can they keep that up?

I predict a Steelers win over the Bengals, but don’t expect it to be easy.  AFC North games are never easy, and the Bengals do have receivers who can cause the Steelers headaches.

The Steelers will win 24-17, and go to 10-3.

Here we go Steelers, here we go!

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Repent, for the end is near!

Apparently, an asteroid must be on a collision course with the Earth.  After all, most Steelers fans thought that the world would end before the NFL would fine another team the way they’ve been fining the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But in a miraculous move that either signals the beginning of fair fining practices by the NFL, or the end of life as we know it, the league actually fined two Baltimore Ravens players.

Jameel McClain, the thug who almost took off Heath Miller’s head long after the ball had sailed past the defenseless Miller, was fined $40,000 by the NFL.

While the fine does provide a small bit of vindication, it still doesn’t help to ease the insult of knowing that no flag was thrown on the play.  Steeler Nation is fairly unified in their opinion that had that hit been thrown by James Harrison, not only would a flag have been thrown, but Harrison would have been suspended for the remainder of the season.

The fine also does little to heal the concussion that Miller suffered due to the hit.  Nor does it alleviate the problem that the Steelers will have this week if Heath Miller is not cleared to play due to the injury.  The Steelers are already without backup tight end Matt Spaeth, who is also recovering from a concussion.  That leaves them with only one healthy tight end, David Johnson, on the roster.

Separately, the NFL also issued a $15,000 fine to Ravens’ lineman Haloti Ngata for his hit to the face of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.  Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose on the play, and left a trail of blood as he left the field after the play.  Yet, like the hit on Miller, no flag was thrown on the play.

I have been a consistent voice in protesting the league’s seemingly unfair treatment of the Steelers.  The Steelers are a very visible team.  They are known for playing a physical brand of football.  So perhaps Roger Goodell felt that making an example of the Steelers was the most expedient way to get all 32 teams to abide by the new rules.

But whether it was expedient or not, it simply isn’t fair.

Nobody would ever argue that player safety isn’t important.  Frankly, I never want to see another player take a blow like Heath Miller took on Sunday.  But the NFL needs consistency in how they execute the new rules, and in how they levy fines.  So far, it has looked anything but fair.

Hopefully, these fines on the Ravens are the beginning of a move towards equal treatment by the NFL.  But I’m still going to go out and buy a telescope.  That asteroid might be getting close.

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