Monday Morning Chrysler New Yorker

One of my biggest complaints about the Steelers is that we rarely finish teams off. Well...aside from Ben not rolling out of the pocket...and the O Line sucking...and Ben holding onto the ball too long...and...well, you get the point. Despite playing a better game than teams like last week's Giants, the Steelers allow the opposition to have a chance to get right back in it.

Not this week. 23 - 6 Steelers.

The defense more than accounted for an inadequate (and injured) Roethlisberger, and played the all-around game that we were hoping for last week. James Harrison, regularly playing on straight meth, must've given some to James Farrior, because dude was out of his mind.

And how good was it to have a guy like Willie Parker back?

Bah...don't let me spoil anything here. Wait for the rankings.

Ben. Outplayed by a 2-INT Campbell and Jacksonville and Atlanta castoff Byron Leftwich. Thanks for the sneak, but at what cost. Injuries suck, especially with the imminent schedule. Give it to your guys that are expecting to get hit. 2.75 of 5 helmets. 2.5 seemed too low, and I couldn't justify a 3.

Byron. Well that was refreshing. How, with the same O Line and Byron's 8 minute windup, did Leftwich appear to have more time to throw? Hell, big boy even rolled out a few times! Byron was an efficient asshole last night, only missing on 3 of 10 tosses with a TD somewhere in there.One helmet for every two seconds of that absurd windup. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Willie. As I said earlier, how nice was it to have him back? Notice how the offensive struggles happened in the 4 games that Parker missed. Having a guy like him on the field at all times really opens up the offense in ways we tried to dismiss. Big Ben needs Willie on the field more than he knows. 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets for Willie for coming back from injury, outplaying Clinton Portis and reaching the endzone.

D. Who to laud? Farrior, for being a part of EVERY FREAKIN' PLAY? Wooderson, for a combined 4 sacks? Lawrence Timmons, ready to establish himself as an All-Pro (yeah, I said it)? Troy, playing for his newborn and knifing in to disrupt play after play? Deshea or T Carter's picks? That was just an amazing all-around performance. And don't think I didn't see your punt block, Andre Frazier. You get love, too. 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets. The 'Skins did nothing after the two gimme FGs early.

Jeff Reed. Yeah, you're still 100% on the year for FGs, but don't think I won't rip you a new one for the missed extra point. That's just weak. 3 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Berger. How are we trotting this guy out there? How have we not had a backup plan? 25 yard punts won't cut it. Not even taking the time to give an appropriate ranking.

Indy next week, kids. They're aren't the same team from years past, but they're still capable of giving it to us. See you then.

AND GO VOTE!

Monday Morning Chrysler New Yorker

Despite the 38-10 win, I don't know if I agree with the use of the phrase "Steelers easily defeat Bengals." We were up 3 at half and the Bengals were within one score through 3 quarters. Without that 21-point 4th, we're looking at a headline along the lines of, "Steelers avoid letdown against Bengals."

Honestly, this bullshit is gonna catch up with us soon. We can't let inferior teams hang around with us even though we have the game dominated. The Bengals opened the game with 5 straight 3-and-outs. There's no reason that they should be within one score going into the final frame.

But on the bright side, the final frame happened. On paper, we have a 4-TD win going into a matchup with the Giants, who struggled with San Fran early. And really, if Byron Leftwich is in the game late, we're either way in front or way behind. And we were never behind yesterday.

So let's take a peek, shall we?

Ben. You know it's a good game when en doesn't really confuse you with his decisions. Sure, he tried to force a few throws, and his completion percentage wasn't pristine, but he took control of the middle of the field as well as the sidelines, and he went deep when it was given to him. However, defenses are going to catch on to the screens and passes to Mewelde in the flats real quick if you keep that up. 3.5 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Mewelde. Jeez, at the beginning of the year, I didn't think Mewelde Moore would be analyzed so much in this spot. And most of it has been positive! How 'bout that? He didn't crack the century mark last game, something I was hoping he'd do, but he more than made up for it this week. What did he put up, like a buck twenty with 2 rushing scores and a TD catch? Who needs Willie Parker? 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets!

WRs. I couldn't break these guys up. Nate (more on him coming later today), continues to impress with his newfound hands, Hines made some tough catches, Limas Sweed finally started representing for the '08 draft class, and Santonio had a monster game despite being held under 100 yards. This was the first game this year that I actually felt comfortable with the Ben-to-Santonio element. With the running game clicking, the WR corps took advantage of the weaker secondary. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Wooderson. I'm gonna look like a biased jerk with the good grades this week, but that's what you get with a 28 point win. Wooderson didn't miss a step during the bye, either. Both had 2 sacks (giving Wooderson a 4-sack-game), and Woodley forced and recovered the same fumble. Silverbback woulda had another sack, if not for a holding call on the Bengals O-Line. I'm at the point where I'm expecting multiple sacks by each guy every game. That's gonna suck when I'm disappointed by a 1.5 sack game outta Wooderson. 4.5 outta 5 helmets.

Farrior/Timmons. There were playing like they were the same age. Timmons looked like a vet, and Farrior was playing like a kid trying to impress. 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

It sucks when you live in NYC, and the team you love is about to play the Giants. Blue everywhere. Time to keep the momentum, Pittsburgh!

Leave Ed Hochuli Aloooone

Look, I’m a big critic of refs/umps, but the criticisms of Ed Hochuli of late are going a bit far.

The guy admittedly blew the San Diego call. There’s no denying that, and Hochuli manned up and took responsibility. You can’t go back and replay those critical moments of the game…it’ll go down forever as a massive mistake. But now, everyone seems to be piling on the once-proud ref after every missed call. That, my friends, is not fair. Each missed penalty is not because Hochuli has lost a step over the past few games. That San Diego call didn’t shape his future.

Those of us who call ourselves Steelers fans know all too well about blown calls. Hell, I fully expect an official referee apology every offseason, because it seems like the calls we complain about are understandably not in our favor during the season. The Polamalu interception in the Colts playoff game the year we won the Super Bowl? The blown holding call on David Garrard’s million yard scramble on 4th down to win last year’s playoff game? One of the calls changed the outcome of the game, the outcome of the season, the other didn’t. We got public apologies on both.

Even this year. Gene Steratore and Ron Winters, in successive weeks, called questionable roughing penalties on LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison respectively when both OLBs hit Joe Flacco and Garrard as they released the ball. Harrison openly criticized Winters after the Jags game and was fined for it. However, you’d be hard pressed to find a Steelers fan who will fervently watch each future game called by either ref, waiting for them to mess up again so we can post their email addresses and let the uninformed masses have at them.

I don’t even like the fact that I had to bring up the Woodley and Harrison (Wooderson for short, all right all right all right) calls because it might come off as complaining. I’m always focused on the next game, but the bye week allows me to reminisce on how we’ve been wronged, and how it isn’t right to hate on the ref forever. So let me have this one moment.

Before this season, Hochuli was the model of muscle-bound consistency. Now, everyone wants to over-analyze each call he makes or misses. That's weak.

Leave the guy alone and let him focus on the game, will ya?

Monday Morning Chrysler New Yorker

Don't get me wrong, I'll take the 26-21 win. However, we can't expect to always come out on top in these close games that need OT or a late 4th quarter score to win. Ben has proved to be fantastic late-game QB, but it sucks to routinely have to lean on a late push to secure the W. How about putting a team away early, no?

Example: The Steelers (save for the Mathis INT...gross) dominated the first three quarters of play, only to find themselves 6 points up on a team that should've been down a few scores. Then, only a minute into the 4th, we're losing. Look, Cotter and I predicted a 100% season for Jeff Reed, but the more we keep asking for FG after FG, the higher chance he has of missing one. The second quarter, we put up a touchdown and two FGs. Two touchdowns and a kick or, dare I say, three touchdowns and the game is over. Stalled drives will only over-work Reed and kill the perfect prediction.

But as I said...we're 4-1 going into the much needed bye. When the schedule was first released, I'm sure you, like me, were complaining about the early bye and how the Steelers always seem to get stuck with that same scenario, forcing the team into tons of consecutive late-season football games, pending a deep playoff run. Now, with the injuries to the guys, the bye seems to have come at the right time.

So, who did what?

Ben. He's still an enigma. We talked about Rashean Mathis in the damn pregame show...I don't know why Ben would look his way AT ALL during the game. Baseball pitchers regularly pitch around the guys who bat well against them, Ben needs to do the same when playing the Jags. THROW TO WHATEVER SIDE OF THE FIELD MATHIS ISN'T ON! Other than that unfortunate early pick, Ben looked sharper than the past two games, so there's that. 300+ yards and 3 TDs will quickly make everyone forget the pick, but not me. Why? Its the exact same play as all the other Mathis picks. Ben is pressured and throws an ill-timed pass off his back foot to the right side, only to see dreadlocks flying down that same sideline for a pick 6. I thought about giving Ben a 4, but he only gets 3.5 out of 5 helmets.

Mewelde Moore. I don't know why Gary Russell was in the game late leading up to that final score. Russell had played well to that point, but Moore had exceeded anyone's expectations. Plus, he finished with 99 yards, so it woulda been nice to see him top 100 with this crack O-Line and RB corps that we currently have. I liked the pickup when we first got Mewelde for this exact reason. The guy isn't a fall-forward-for-two-yards guy like Najeh...he'll actually look good picking up 10 yard clips. A perfect 5 of 5 helmets, because you didn't see him getting anywhere near the century mark.

Bruce Arians. Anyone else get physically sick when he starts talking to Ben? He tried to make some adjustments...throwing to Heath more than once, allowing Mewelde to run it outside...but he still reverted to form early and often. I texted Cotter after the half with this: "That last Arians drive inside the 5: Run up the middle into the pile? Check. Fade pass to the corner of the endzone? Check. So predictable." Sure, I saw a lot of predictability from teams like the Cowboys yesterday, but Arians does nothing to disguise his plan. Last week I gave him 1 helmet. I'll bump him up to 2 of 5 helmets this week.

Wooderson. This is my new Bennifer/Brangelina name for Woodley and Harrison. Plus, I love Dazed and Confused. The two guys are a perfect match on the outsides, so I can't look at them as anything but a tandem. Each week they do something that gives me goosebumps. Woodley's shoestring sack (last time I type that phrase) was awesome, and Silverback came through with yet another forced fumble. Everyone needs to stop calling Harrison "one of the best pass rushers in the league." He's gotta be at the top with how he puts up sacks (last time I type that phrase also) week after week. He's a half sack (gross, again) behind John Abraham for the league lead and is tops in the NFL in forced fumbles. And Woodley's only in the first half of his second year. I fear for the safety of the rest of the league. 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets for Wooderson. That's why I love these OLBs. I get older...they keep putting up the same play. All right, all right, all right.

Santonio. I can't quite understand why he's taken a step back in performance this year. After last season, it looked like '08 was Holmes' year to break out. Hell, I felt crazy confident in my second round fantasy pick of Holmes, but he's just under-performed all year to this point. I can't tell if the blame falls solely on him, or if opposing DBs are really intent on keeping him from destroying them. Sure, he's had nice plays here and there, clutch grabs from time to time, but nothing that screams consistency. Those 65 yards were good last night, but he, not Nate Washington, needs to be the one putting up nearly 100 with a score. I'll give Nate 4 of 5 helmets for last night, but Santonio gets a 5 game, cumulative 3 of 5 motorcycle helmets.

Heal up this week, guys. It doesn't get any easier the rest of the way.