Dear Ben –

You know, I love you.  You are a great quarterback. No one scrambles and extends a play like you do. No one finds the absolute spot where only Hines, Tone or Mike Wallace can get the ball quite like you do.  Each year I battle and argue and stand up for you saying you are, in fact, a top 5 quarterback with the likes of Brady and Peyton.  I wouldn’t want anyone else to be QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers…well, ummm, until maybe now. (Dennis, get your cleats out brother, your chance might be coming)

See Ben, here’s the dilemma – you are acting like a jackass.  Yes, I said it.  You go out, you party, you act like you are entitled and can take anything you want, but you aren’t thinking.  You aren’t playing smart.  I’m not saying you are guilty of a crime, everything is alleged at this point.

But I will say that last summer I stood by your story, I read the court documents, I said, “No way did he do this, no way.”  Yet here we are again.  Less than 12 months later.  Sure, there are some crazy women out there who do things for money or fame (see Tiger’s chicks) – but Ben, that’s where you have to be smarter.  You need to play chess, not checkers (as SG’s VC would say).

You need to think about the bigger picture.  The Rooney’s, Coach Tomlin, your O-line (sometimes) – they have your back – but they aren’t going to keep going through the same off-season drama every year.  And while you are still, in my opinion, a top 5 QB, there are few teams who will sign up for drama (Cowboys/Redskins can I get an Amen?).  You are too good to throw away your career on some woman who doesn’t have your best interests at heart.

I don’t know you, but I am going to give you the same speech I give to my son and his teammates: FOCUS. Girls will come and go.  Keep your eye on the prize.  You know you want another ring. So, stay focused.  You don’t need to be off playing frat boy and partying like you are a washed up QB – that is, unless you want to fulfill that little fantasy because that’s where you will end up.  And oh by the way, Steeler Nation will be PISSED if you throw away our dreams of another ring on something completely insignificant in the long run. Trust me on that.

I really can’t believe that you can’t find a nice young woman who would actually be supportive of your dreams and keep you focused and out of trouble.  I mean, you are a $100 million dollar quarterback!! Not that I am condoning those women who settle for the cash, but just pointing out you don’t need to be in a hotel room messing with the help nor do you need to be in a bathroom at a club in some town in Georgia none of us has ever heard about until yesterday with a college student. It just doesn’t make sense. In fact, why don’t you find a young woman who will inspire you to be a better man, who will adore you?

Get it together. Surround yourself with people who will keep you focused.

And for God’s sake, keep a freaking consent form and a condom in your back pocket AT ALL TIMES!

I wish I could say I wasn’t disappointed, but I can’t. I hope that these allegations are not true, but if they are, you have lost my support.

You are better than this. The Steelers are better than this. You owe it to Steeler Nation and to your teammates to stay focused and get it together.

Stay out of situations that can lead to things like this. Don’t make me have to explain to my son why our favorite quarterback is such a genius on the field and a complete idiot off the field. There are plenty of examples of that already in professional sports – don’t make the Steelers be part of that dialogue.

Please get it together. I expect more from you.

Love,

Steelergurl

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I’m bored.  No, really, I am really, really bored.  No football, nothing to look forward to and plan my Sunday’s around.  C’mon, don’t even act like the Olympics and Ice Dancing can hold my attention, you know better.  Even hockey, while a great game USA-CAN, was difficult because I felt totally WRONG cheering against Crosby.

*sigh*

So, hey  sports fans, yes, I took a bit of a hiatus over the last few weeks.  The snow was cold at home, so I headed to Miami with SGs Vice Chairman.  One of us got to attend the Super Bowl.  And no, that person was not me.  Ain’t that something? Don’t worry, I will make him pay for that for a loooooooong time!! (j/k VC)

Anyway, what’s been going on around the league?

Lets start with the Steelers.  C’mon Kevin Colbert, just throw that franchise tag on Big Snack. I know he doesn’t want it, but we need him.  So, like Nike – Just Do It. Do we have to wait until Thursday to see this happen?  Even better, what about a multi-year deal inked out?  I mean, not too long, he is ummmm, Big Snack and he is of a certain age…but still, we don’t have a great back up.  That said, I think that’s step one in our draft strategy…defense, defense, defense. We need to groom some folks.

Speaking of defense, we need some cornerbacks. CLEARLY we need some.  Deshea is an unrestricted free agent – and he’s the last of the well experienced.  Ike is good…Will Gay CAN be good.  But we need some depth.  While we’re on the subject of depth, let’s talk about Troysus.  Why did the Steelers end with a 9-7 record coming off the previous championship year? Well, big reason were injuries to starters, including that major nagging knee injury to Troysus from week 1.  While watching Troysus on the sideline for most of the season, and he looked very handsome with his little hair bun, I thought what happens if Troysus becomes injury prone and can’t play to the magnificance Steelers fans have come to expect and love?  Where do you even find safeties like that?  It’s not like they grow on trees. Then magically in the twitterverse, someone pointed me to Myron Rolle, a former FSU standout.  But see, it’s not just his athleticism that garners attention.  This kid graduated in 2.5 years with an overall 3.75 GPA in pre-med AND gave up going to the NFL to be a Rhodes Scholar where he’s been the last year.  

OK, I have to tell you, I am in love (not literally Vice Chairman, don’t worry).  The kid is smart AND can play football???

 I don’t even care if he’s not as good as Troy. I love him.  I want him to wear black and gold.  What do I have to do to make that happen?  *dials Kevin Colbert* Seriously, that’s a great story.  One the Steelers should be telling.  He’s smart boys and girls, really, really smart. I love him.

And just think, he could be coached and mentored by our very own Hall of Fame Class of 2010 coach Dick LeBeau.  This story just gets better and better, doesn’t it?

*fans self* I love football.

OK, just one other thing I am hoping my happy little readers can help me with -Ladanian Tomlinson released from the Chargers yesterday. Two things: first, no way he goes to Steelers. No way. I don’t care what Adam Schefter says.  Has someone forgotten that Rashard rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season?  And besides that, LT has been injury prone and quite frankly, age is an issue too.  Ummmm, why wouldn’t we just keep Fast Willie if we wanted a banged up, not so fast RB?  Just sayin’.  

Secondly, SGs handsome Vice Chairman thinks LT will end up with the Patriots.  Sure, LT wants to win, he said so himself…but so do the Pats.  I just don’t see it.  I don’t.  Unless LT is willing to take a big time pay cut, I can’t see the Pats grabbing him either.

What do you think?  Where will LT end up? Who agrees with VC that the Pats will try to grab him?

I’ll await answers while trying to negotiate what the winner of this little bet might actually win….*thinks*

SG is back

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Super Bowl Sunday – now over.

Parade in the French Quarter filled with elated Saints fans – fait accompli.

Now what?

It’s time now to think about the 2010 football season.  I will not go down the path of thinking the Steelers will get their 7th Lombardi…especially since if there was ever a season I thought there would be a repeat, it was this past season.  So, in order for my heart to not break again, I will just hope that the Steelers make adjustments (hello Secondary…hello O-line) and come back ready to rock and roll.

Obviously, healthy players make for successful outcomes.  Let’s not ever see a member of our beloved Steelers on the cover of a Madden game.  I blew that curse off last year thinking, “oh yeah, not Troy” psshhaawww. That curse is REAL!  Even Fitz didn’t have a stand out season last year.  So, that said, please agents, managers and SteelersPRGuy, don’t ever let a member of the Steelers show up on the cover of that game again!  Another big loss was Aaron Smith, though wasn’t talked about much.  And of course, Kemo off the O-line hurt a lot.

So now what?

The NFL Combine will take place February 24 through March 2 in Indianapolis.

The NFL Draft later this spring….

And of course, we can’t forget, will Favre return or not? That drama should take up most of the summer, at least through the beginning of training camp in August.

So, let’s play a game (because I am bored and it’s the off-season)…

Who do you think will be the top four teams at the end of the 2010 season?

Pick the two teams in each conference who will be vying for a trip to the Super Bowl.

There will be prizes for the person who picks the right teams. Ready. Set. Pick.

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It’s funny how things can change in a year.

Just this time last year, I was wearing black and gold all weekend still in shock that the Steelers had played the season the way they had.  This year I’m still shocked at how they played, but not quite the same way as last year.  I’ll lead the Steeler Nation huddle to cry over the season I thought was the best opportunity to repeat.  We’re still reigning champions until tomorrow.

As I sit back now, polishing the six Lombardi’s we have, it’s exciting to see the “Who Dat” Nation experience their first trip to the Super Bowl.  I’m not anti-Colts, but Peyton has a ring.  I also have a soft spot for the city of New Orleans.  Way back when Steelerboy was a baby, we spent some time in New Orleans, and believe it or not, despite New Orleans being known for the partying that goes on in the French Quarter, it was a great time with a 2-year-old.  And we went nowhere near the quarter.  Then I watched some friends go through so much in the aftermath of Katrina-the city still is rocked by the hurricanes (Rita too) years later.  It’s somewhat an emotional connection to the Saints, if you will.  I wouldn’t say I am a “fan” in the true sense of “fandom” but I definitely have a connection to the city and to the fans and their love of the team.  Maybe it’s better said as an understanding, one Nation to another.

I’ll quote Mike Tomlin here and say, big plays win big games.  If you asked me who I think should win the game tomorrow, I would say the Colts.  But at the end of the day, all it takes is one big play by someone with some passion to turn the tables.  I think the Saints have proven they have the passion.

It’s going to be a great game.  Looking forward to it – and hope that if anyone takes over the title of champions, it’s also a team in black and gold.

Let’s go Saints!

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Four teams left – Saints, Vikings, Jets and Colts.

I like the Saints.  Having been to New Orleans this year on a football Sunday, I know how the city is still rocked from Katrina and Rita along with a tough economy and high unemployment.  That doesn’t really have anything to do with football, but I can tell you that the city loves their team.  I witnessed fans with passion comparable to that of Steeler Nation jump on Drew Brees car, believe it.  They need something positive and why not a winning team?  Plus, it’s pretty hard to not like their team.  They play with heart every week.  Brees leads the team in his military style chanting before each game – plain and simple, they have heart.  I’m cheering for them.  I hope they win it all quite frankly.

Vikings.  Well, I pretty much already said my peace about that division.  But bottom line, while Favre is a Hall of Fame quarterback, but I really can’t even begin to fathom what the media hype would look like if he goes to and/or wins a Super Bowl again.  I’m just O-V-E-R it.  And HIM.  So, no, can’t support the Vikings.

On the other side, I have this slight affinity towards the Jets – and no, (directed to you Jenks) not because Sanchez is cute.  More because of Alan Faneca.  He’ll always be a Steeler to me.  And quite frankly, we miss him. We should not have let him go.  The line was so much better…maybe over time he’ll be replaced (let’s hope anyway) but for now, I miss him. I guess my Steeler loyalty runs deep because that’s really my only reason, other than they also have a great defense.  If you read my blog regularly, you know about my inner linebacker.

I also like the Colts (or as Mary says, her husband Peyton).   I have seen a ton of blogs – specifically from Bleacher Report – arguing which team Steeler Nation should support and why.  I kind of find it amusing because none of them are for one team more than another.  And now that the Ravens, Cowboys and Bengals fans are all on the couch with me, I have no real affinity towards hate (other than Favre) of one team or another.

Yesterday, though, I did have a conversation about the Colts rookie coach who has not received a lot of attention from the media.  That sways my vote slightly – though not enough to say I am on the Colts bandwagon.  But I will say this…Jim Caldwell deserves some attention.  He was an assistant coach at Penn State (my alma mater) and he served under Dungy both in Tampa and with the Colts.  Clearly Coach Dungy is an amazing man – he continues to mentor and make people great (Coach Tomlin also served under Dungy at Tampa, remember?).  Caldwell has worked hard and is one of the few African American head coaches in the league.  He’s quiet.  And from what I can see, he is humble and a good leader.

If I decide to jump on the Colts bandwagon, it will be for him.

But let’s see how it all plays out.

Looking forward to the games tomorrow – even if my team won’t be represented.

(on another note, the Steelers are getting representation at the Pro-Bowl, Woodley and Ben both recently added to the mix…as they should have been in the first place! They join Harrison and Big Snack)

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So it took me all week to get this post up because I am a cry baby who is still disappointed that the Steelers aren’t there.  Not saying they deserve it, because they certainly do not…but still, this doesn’t happen very often.  And by THIS, I mean the Steelers NOT in contention for a championship.  Disappointment ensues.

Regardless, here we are.  I’m going to fire up Steeler Nation a little, and Steelergurl’s Pop will dial the phone when he reads this, but I am going to support the AFC North this weekend.  I actually gained a lot of respect for the Bengals by watching Hard Knocks this summer believe it or not. Thank you HBO.  Marvin Lewis is a caring and compassionate coach.  I respect what he’s trying to do in Cincinnatti.  I’m also, believe it or not, an Ochocinco fan.  For those of you who just see him as a loud mouth show off, look again.  He’s done so much for football fans this year.  I personally have seen him give away tickets, take people to lunch (Including my fellow Steelers fan Shawneen), take fans on shopping sprees, play folks online on Madden etc.  He’s no trouble off the field – he expresses love for his family and specifically his grandmother.  Ocho doesn’t care about the fines, he cares about having fun-he’s just a big kid, but harmless, that is unless you are a corner on an opposing team!

On the other hand, the Ravens are so much like the Steelers you have to respect them.  Seriously Steeler Nation, it’s true.  And Ray Rice is a one man force.  I’m impressed with his game and the ability of the Ravens O-line to create a gap for him to run.

I think it could come down to an AFC North battle for the AFC Championship.  Granted, someone’s got to take care of San Diego, but could happen.  That would say a lot about the AFC North overall.  Because while the Steelers were down this year, they are far from out.  Don’t think that 2010 will see a meltdown in the same way as happened this year.  I expect changes in personnel, coaches and attitude to make a world of difference. Not to mention having everyone healthy (Troy) will affect how the game is played.

I’m going to go with my picks – Bengals and Ravens for this weekend.  Make it happen.

On the NFC side, as long as the team at the Bowl is NOT the Dallas Cowboys, I don’t care who it is.  I can’t even begin to fathom the Cowboys possibly having the same number of Lombardi’s as my Steelers.  I feel sick in my stomach just thinking about that.  So, NFC (Eagles) please take care of Romo and the boys.

Everyone enjoy wildcard weekend. The season is coming to an end as quickly as it began.

xoxo, SG

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Here we are, last week of regular season play.  Back in August when I went to Steelers training camp, I certainly did not think the Steelers would be fighting for their playoff lives – but here we are.  Still, if the football Gods deliver and the Steelers make the playoffs, I predict this is where the real hell will be unleashed.  Looking back at the season, out of the 7 losses, only two were by more than 3 points and none were more than a single TD.  This means that the games were close and quite frankly, many of them were lost in the second half breakdown.  Knowing the Steelers the way I do, I would venture to say that wouldn’t happen in a playoff scenario.  Think 2005 improbably Super Bowl win from a Wildcard slot – all road games and still did what had to be done.  Remember the BOOM! Yeah, we need to see some BOOM!

But first, the Steelers need to win against the beat up Dolphins.  Ricky Williams might play, but he’s got a bad shoulder and he was taken out of the game last week.  Williams is a big threat, he’s had more than 1000 rushing yards this season and has 11 TDs. However, the Phins O-line is also beat up.  Even if Williams does play, he will need a little help with blocking and creating a gap – and the line just might not be able to hold off the Steelers defense.  That said, the biggest challenge the Phins need to think about is the Harrison-Woodley smack down duo.  Both have more than 10 sacks on the season and they will be aiming their sights at Chad Henne.  The Phins focus more on the running game and rush for approximately 142 yards per game compared to the Steelers 106 yards.  The Steelers secondary might actually be able to handle covering the Phins WRs Devon Bess and Greg Camarillo have combined less yards than Santonio.  Still, this team can’t be taken for granted.  They are unpredictable in how they are going to play, so the Steelers need to come out focused and ready to do the job.

Besides, I can’t even begin to tell you the expletives that will roll from my tongue if the Steelers lose AND the football God’s deliver by making sure those teams who need to lose do lose.  I would be beyond pissed and will hang up my terrible towel until August.  In fact, you will probably hear me screaming “Let’s go Pens” and ignoring football. Yes, I did say that.  (How much I really mean it is another question altogether)

So, what do the Steelers need to do to win this game.  First, the defense is going to have to be tight on the Phins running game.  Prior to last weeks win against the Ravens, the Steelers had not allowed a 100 yard rusher in more than 30 games.  Second, the secondary needs to make sure that there aren’t options over the middle and close off the receivers.  Troy practiced this week, but I hope he doesn’t play.  I think the Steelers can beat Miami without him this week and he’s of more value healthy and ready for IF/When the Steelers make a run in the playoffs. 

Secondly, the offense is going to have to make sure there are points on the board in every opportunity.  Red zone conversions – let’s get them.  Move the chains.  That’s the bottom line.  Involve receivers, run the ball and make some plays to Heath.  Do what we need to do. There are so many times when I think the play calling is suspect – let’s mix it up and make sure we aren’t predictable AND that when we’re 4th and goal there is a TD vs settling for a FG.  Points are points, but clearly, we’ve lost by a FG in 5 of 7 games.  A TD would make those a check in the W column vs. a check in the L column.  And we’ve met our quota of Ls, that’s for sure. 

Ben needs to revisit the pass game from Green Bay and Rashard’s running game from Denver.  I want to see good, smart football tomorrow.  Especially because it might very well be the last game of the 2009 season I get to cheer for my team.  Not to mention that my girl Shawneen is going to her very first Steelers football game this weekend in Miami - and for that reason alone, the team should get a win. 

(For @Inkognegro) Here we go Steelers, Here we go!!

Let’s get it this time….and run the tables if luck is on your side.

*raises glass* And Happy New Year, Steeler Nation – let’s hope 2010 brings a much better football season.

PS – how many of you remember the last time the Steelers played the Dolphins? It was 2007’s Mud Bowl at Heinz Field and was won in the last 20 seconds by a Jeff Reed field goal 3-0 Steelers.  Probably one of the most boring and most disgusting (muddy, sloppy) games I have ever witnessed.

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Both James Harrison (DE) and Casey Hampton were selected to represent the Steelers at this year’s Pro-Bowl.  Both have had an okay year.  Congratulations to both of them for being selected. 

As you can probably tell, this doesn’t excite me so much.  I would have rather  seen Benbe selected- that would definitely say something.  After all, he’s thrown more than 4,000 yards this year and didn’t even play one full game due to the concussion. 

While the Steelers have struggled, especially 4th quarter defense and on special teams, the offense has had some shining moments led by the franchise quarterback. 

I guess we should appreciate that anyone was selected at all since the season hasn’t been all that great but I still make the argument that Ben is one of the best QB’s out there.  Not only does he have the rings, but now he has some supporting stats.  I’ll stick with my argument – top 10 for sure, but top 5 in my opinion.

But in the meantime, let’s congratulate Harrison and Big Snack for making the Pro-Bowl team.

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According to the NFL, the Steelers clinch a playoff spot:

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This weekend made me question what kind of fan am I?  Because let’s be real, there are a number of types of football fans out there – from the belligerent drunk who thinks the Steelers are still going to win championship number 7 this year, depsite all the challenges to those who don’t really have anything to say about their own team but can name every single reason why your team is overrated, terrible, or why the coach is an idiot.  Then there’s where I think I fall – I just love the game.

Sure, I have those teams I can’t stand at all (Dallas Cowboys) and those who I want the Steelers to beat, but have some level of respect for (Patriots, Giants and even Cincinatti) and then the other, the rival who I love to hate but at the same time recognize as a mirror image of my own team (Ravens).  I’m a huge fan, but I am also the first to jump on my team when they aren’t playing to the level I think they should be.

So, yesterday, the Steelers were very lucky.  Lucky that penalties (11 of them for 113 yards) held the Ravens back from putting the butt-whooping on the Steelers, especially in the second half.  In fact, the Ravens had a much better offense and Ray Rice did exactly what everyone knew he was going to do – run all over the Steelers defense. Rice carried the  ball 30 times for 141 yards and broke the Steelers 33 game streak of holding a rusher to under 100 yards.  It’s not a surprise, really, is it Steeler Nation?  On the other side, Rashard rushed 17 times for a whopping 36 yards.  Yup, that’s a problem.

That game wasn’t so much about the Steelers beating the Ravens as it was the mediocre showing of Steelers on both sides of the ball and the Ravens making major mistakes that cost them the game.  I’m not sure what happens from one week to the next – the Steelers get going and have huge momentum like the 500 yards Ben threw against Green Bay and then they come out yesterday for one of the biggest games of the season and they seem, well, average.  Hey Steelers, average doesn’t get you to championship #7.

Both teams should use their tight ends more.  Both Heath and Todd Heap are real receiving threats yet, it seems like it’s rare when they are used in a true offensive scheme on a regular basis.  Yesterday, Heap had 2 catches for 37 yards  and 2 TDs. In other words, the catches he made were huge for the Ravens and put points on the board.  Heath had 3 catches for 35 yards, no TDs.  Wish there were more plays geared to get Heath the ball, especially when we’re in a 3rd and 6-8 to go kind of scenario.

Both teams receivers spent a lot of the day locked up in coverage.  Mason was able to make some big plays for the Ravens and pulled in 7 catches for 77 yards.  The Steelers got some great plays out of Santonio who caught 5 balls for 86 yards and 1 TD.  Mike Wallace, who is going to be a great receiver, had 3 catches for 83 yards.  As always, the go to guy in clutch, Hines Ward had 4 catches for 37 yards but was able to move chains when the Steelers needed it – that’s the play you need and expect from a veteran.

I’m not sure what’s going on in the locker room at Heinz Field, but when your star quarterback throws more than 500 yards one week and then comes out and throws a few stupid balls into the air and ends the day 17 for 33 with 259 yards, you have to scratch your head and ask whether Ben ate his Wheaties yesterday or not.  He wasn’t totally off, but wasn’t totally on either.

Perhaps I am just spoiled and expect too much from these guys.  Ryan Clark lashed out at the media during the losing streak and said it’s not realistic for us to expect them to play at such a high level week after week, year after year.  Maybe he has a point, after all, do each and every one of us perform at high levels for our work every week and every year?

On the other hand, IF the football God’s are working in the Steelers favor, it’s going to take that high level of performance to make it anywhere past the first round IF they even make it into a wildcard slot in the first place.  And it’s going to take high levels of performance from the offense, the defense AND special teams.  Usually we end up with peanut butter, no jelly or kool-aid, no sugar.  So, let’s see how they intend to play this week against Miami and IF the Steelers are lucky enough to make it into that wildcard slot, how they decide to end their season. 

The Eagles helped out a little yesterday by beating Denver, but Indy gave it up to the Jets – in other words, the AFC wild card race is a big giant cluster. 

Guess we’ll see if I get another month before I am forced to actually watch hockey or not!

Go Steelers!

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