Dear Mike Tomlin, Please Sit Ben Roethlisberger This Week

This is one blogger's plea to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Please sit Ben Roethlisberger this week.

Current news has Ben's shoulder okay enough for him to play on Sunday, but it seems like his partially separated shoulder never fully healed despite the bye-week rest.

We welcome an always-dangerous Indy team to town, and their 4-4 record probably doesn't sit too well with the team and fans. Hell, they've been spoiled by success the past 6-7 years, so I'd assume that the .500 record through half the season isn't ideal.

For this, I think the Indy D (In-D? Sorry...) will come at whoever is under center for Pittsburgh. Our O-Line is primed to be exploited at any time. Now, I'm not saying I particularly fear what the Colts will throw at us, but if Ben's in the game...he's gonna get sacked.

There was a time when I thought we needed all healthy players to face Indianapolis. But now, I'm liking our chances against a weakened Colts team, especially with a full game lead over the fraudulent (in my opinion) Ravens.

Indy is going to bring pressure. Everyone we play is going to bring pressure. But my plea to sit Roethlisberger this week isn't due only to the possibility of Ben getting hit. It's to have Ben learn from Byron Leftwich.

WHAT?

There was a pretty telling quote in that P-G article above, which echoed a strong though flying through the minds of Steelers Nation after the win over Washington. Listen to Tomlin:


"[Leftwich] probably did do a better job of getting the ball out, and, no, it did not surprise me," Tomlin answered. "That is one of the characteristics of Byron Leftwich. He got the ball out pretty good in Jacksonville and the different places he has been. That's who he is. He is a quick decision-maker. He is an anticipatory thrower."


In no way is Tomlin wrong about that quote, despite it being prime for criticism. Ben hasn't been on the same page as his receivers this year, as seen from the countless overthrows and miscommunication between WR and QB on the routes early in the Washington game. Leftwich came in and made some good throws before receivers made their breaks, and I was pretty surprised. Here's a guy who admits that he still doesn't fully understand the Steelers playbook, but he anticipated well.

Giving Ben a week will not only strengthen his shoulder, but give him time to watch his backup do what the fans have been asking of Ben...rolling out of the pocket when needed and making quick, accurate decisions.

Oh, and maybe Ben will learn to throw the ball 400 MPH, too!

Pittsburgh Steelers > Washington Native Americans

Black and Golddust doesn't take too well to losses. Time for a little NFC East redemption.

Go Steelers!

[Unnamed] Steelers Pregame Show. Week 9

Big ups to Cotter for posting last week's show while I was outta state. This week, we taped early...and due to our collective worn-down-ness, we're probably a bit subdued.

Enjoy either way.

Go Steelers!

Here's the outtakes.



And us talking hockey.



Watch everything one more time at OFTOT.

John McCain Is Old Or A Liar

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate on the elderly that much. Sure, they're old, they don't understand new technology and they keep trying to give me that damn ribbon candy, but I gotta respect them for their contributions to this world. And even if those contributions are merely a bowl of Werther's Originals.

However, KDKA had a story, which I read on Deadspin, that said John McCain named members of the Steelers' defensive line when interrogated by the Viet-Cong as a P.O.W. Smart and cunning, throw out the first names you could think of, save your buddies' asses and confuse the shit out of the dirty foreigners trying to kill you and yours.

Be reminded that McCain was in Pittsburgh when he dropped that little information nugget. There's one problem. In his autobiography, McCain is quoted as saying he gave up another teams' names:


Pressed for more useful information, I gave the names of the Green Bay Packers' offensive line, and said they were members of my squadron.


That's from his 1999 book, Faith of My Fathers. Trying to win over the Steelers/Western PA vote, just like rival Barry Obama did a few weeks back?

ytownohio elaborates on Daily Kos about the KDKA story:


That's all well and good, but from 1967 to 1973 during McCain's imprisonment, the Steelers were just starting the process of assembling the great teams everyone remembers.

...

[The Packers claim] more sense since the Green Bay Packers of the '60s were nationally recognized. McCain's Steeler claim is at best false pandering and at worst a window into a easily confused 71-year-old man.


That makes a bit more sense. McCain has an event scheduled for Washington D.C. at the end of this month. If the story changes to him giving up Russ Grimm and the Hogs, we'll know something is fishy.

Sean Taylor Was Human, The MSM Wasn't Aware

(Pic ripped from the dominating BP at AA. Read his take on this as well.)

I briefly mentioned my distaste for the mainstream media's handling of the Sean Taylor tragedy in my MMCNY post (its at the very bottom). Before I ever got a chance to follow up my comment, Will at Deadspin beat me to the punch. He's right on with the argument. Read and learn.

I'm absolutely sick over the way the MSM is constantly bringing up every past wrong in Taylor's life, as if all his problems contributed to his death. Do we really need to be talking about his prior DUI, or his legal battles?

Here's an excerpt from ESPN's report about Taylor's passing:

[Taylor] had a drunken driving charge that was later dismissed. He skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium. He fired two agents. He didn't like his contract. He refused to return Gibbs' calls during the offseason. And he was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other on-field infractions.

In 2005, he was accused of pointing a gun during a fight over all-terrain vehicles near his Miami home, a legal battle that ended a year later when he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to probation.

Why the need to mention this? If something tragic happened to anyone of us, I'm sure our families would be devastated if the local newspapers peppered our obituaries with a bulleted list of every traffic ticket, college-party infraction or minor squabbles with the law. This is a time to reflect on Taylor's life, not a vehicle to point out that he wasn't perfect.

However, kudos to Jeff Chadiha for only briefly mentioning Taylor's early immaturity as a way to show how much he grew in the past few years. Articles like this show that you can mention Taylor's problems without reading off a laundry list of offenses and altercations.

And I'm not just picking at ESPN. Every news source felt the need to mention every run-in with the law or questionable decision.

Taylor wasn't perfect. I challenge anyone to prove that they are.

The MSM handled this poorly. To say the very least.

R.I.P. to Sean Taylor, the human.

Monday Morning Chrysler New Yorker

Quick summary: Keisel nearly pulled a Kimo, Todd Collins dissected the starting D, LaMarr Woodley and Deshea Townsend are on a mission, Carey Davis is a beast and Conner Hughes is making Jeff Reed look over his shoulder (which he probably already does, in order to take Motorola Razor-cameraphone pictures of the top of his fanny). Steelers squeak past the 'Skins, 12-10. Eat it, MattyG.

I needed to get that out, because I would've forgotten it otherwise.

I spent most of the game disgusted, because the combination of Jason Campbell/Todd Collins made the new Steelers D look like a Pop Warner team. Sure, Deshea and LaMarr brought some pressure, and Troy Polamalu looked good, but either the coverage was terrible, or the Redskins are going to convert 3rd downs at a record pace this season.

Despite completion after completion (mostly to Chris Cooley), the defense stepped up when needed, especially evident on Woodley's sack to force a Redskins punt. Todd Collins, however, hit Brandon Lloyd to put The Redskins up, 7-0.

The offense continued the recent cold streak, and used ill-timed Washington mistakes to sustain the most successful drive of the night, a 15 play drive that resulted in a field goal to end the first half.

Charlie Batch and Brian St. Pierre kept the team in the game late, allowing Connor Hughes (who?) to kick 3 fourth quarter field goals to defeat the home team and up the preseason record to 2-1.

Now...let's nitpick.

Ben Roethlisberger. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on the potential captain being critiqued in a good many MMCNYs. This was our first chance to see him play for more than a drive, and I'm still left with a good many questions. Why couldn't the team convert from the 3 yard line at the end of the half? Ben finished 8 for 12 with 87 yards, so on paper, Ben looked decent. When Tomlin felt the team was "out-tempoed," he let Ben go no-huddle, which resulted in the first team's only points. However, it should have been 7 and not only 3, so I'll give Ben 3 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Willie Parker. Not much to say. 4 yards on 4 carries. He says he's healthy. I believe him. 3 of 5 helmets.

Wood and Timmons. Lawrence got his first taste of the NFL. LaMarr got his first sack. We must remember that Timmons is a rookie, and his progress will come. Woodley has just shown a rather quick adjustment to speed of the NFL version of the game. Timmons has a bright future, and its unfair to label him a bust. He will come around and turn some heads. Woodley is already starting to do that. 4 of 5 combined motorcycle helmets for the duo.

Todd Collins. It's gotta be tough to be Mark Brunell, especially when Todd Collins gets the nod when Campell goes down with a knee injury. Then , the journeyman responds by hitting on 10 of his 13 attempts for 74 yards and a score. And this was mostly against the first team defense. Collins gets much respect, and 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Connor Hughes. Won the game. 3 of 3 motorcycle helmets, for obvious reasons.

Carey Davis. He needs to make the team. Didn't get any carries, which still leaves me scratching my head, but did catch 3 balls for 17 yards. The Steelers could use that little 5.7 yards per catch that Davis brought last night. Plus, dude is hittin' some people in the mouth on special teams. If he keeps making standout special teams tackles, Tomlin will recognize and the carries will come. I gotta give him 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets. Some of his greatness is below:

Preseason legend in the making?

Feel free to point out any of your own observations/critiques/personal favorites.

Fast Bill to Debut His '07 Skillz Against Redskins

I'm sorry. I truly am.

I needed to apologize for not being able to post yesterday, which included the absolutely rare omission of a tiny horse of the day. Internet access has been shaky at best for the past several days, and yesterday included no internet. At all. I'm hoping it doesn't kick out while I'm writing this, because at this point, I've prepared myself to expect anything.

But I'm back. And so is Fast Bill. Appropriate timing, #39.

Fast Bill's 10-day absence was felt by a much larger audience than my small sabbatical. However, Parker will make his preseason debut against the Redskins on Saturday night.

"I think I'm ready now," Parker said after going through a full afternoon practice. "I'm 100 percent. It's the other things I need to work on, like the plays. I'm trying to get that back in my memory bank."

Parker wanted to play last week, but was held out for preventative reasons. His acceleration was down, and I don't fault Tomlin for holding him out of an extra game.

With Fast Bill in the lineup, I have to say that the Skins have no chance (take that, MattyG). My buddy is a huge Skins fan, and he went to college with me at St. Vincent. Nothing like a Skins fan (or any other fan, for that matter) at Steelers training camp.

I'm anxious to see what kind of RB depth chart Tomlin uses. Bill will be playing approximately 20 snaps with the first team. Najeh is sure be up there, with Verron Haynes and Kevan Barlow also filtering in. Gary Russell looked strong last week, and Carey Davis proved himself the week before. Will Davis see more playing time this week? Or will Iron Mike reward Russell for his 6.2 yards per average against the Pack?

Good to have you back, Bill. You presence will add another dynamic element to the offense (who needs to rebound after last week).