Still crazy after all these years

… but the "philosophical" problem started almost a decade ago  Former Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter was blunt in assessing why the Steelers are on the cusp of missing the NFL playoffs this year. And, he says, it has to do with “philosophy” that went against what the Steelers — and successful teams — do. Now an ESPN commentator, Carter said this, “So, the philosophy that the Pittsburgh Steelers adopted is that we’re going to be a team dominant by our quarterback and our wide receivers. [But] it’s not a winning philosophy. And it’s definitely not the Pittsburgh Steelers style. Where you play, the stadium you play in, that field — it’s not a style that I think you can win championship football with.” Carter pointed out that the problem is that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is about to throw for 5,000 yards for the first time. While that sounds impressive, he explains that allow Roethlisberger to join the ranks of those who have thrown the ball in th...

... their problems, Santa, start at the top Dear Santa, I know that you will be quite busy tonight, and I know that this is a last-minute request, but if you could find a way to do this when flying over Western Pa. tonight I would appreciate it. You see, the entire area is despondent because its favorite football team, hoping for a chance at their seventh Super Bowl, will probably be staying home this year — absent a miracle of Immaculate Reception proportions. However, you should not blame just the players. I have been writing on my blog all year that December could be the cruelest month for the Steelers — sort of a T.S. Eliot reference — but hoped that I would be wrong. And then, just when we were terribly despondent because of losing to probably the worst team in the NFL, we defeated the best team of the 21st Century, the New England Patriots, last week. All of a sudden, we were psyched. And then, despite playing the team with the best record in the league, we were leading them, 3...

... they could miss the playoffs -- or have a losing season Just a few weeks ago, I was an eternal optimist. However, that “eternal” adjective is often elusive when it comes to my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. And especially when it comes to Tom Brady and the Patriots, who invade Heinz Field today. We have been especially woeful against them. Winning streak — and then disaster If you go back to some earlier posts on this blog, I had laughed at those fans who were predicting that the Steelers would win 13 games this year. I was arguing that the team’s schedule in 2018 was tougher than many thought. In addition, I argued that they were lucky last year as they had to come back late in games against weak competition to build a 13-3 record — only to lose to the Jags at home in the first round of the playoffs. Still, I did not think that they would tie the Browns in the season opener, though I warned that it might be a tougher game than they were anticipating. A 1-2-1 start was depressing...

… Kyler vs. Tua In the 2017 race for the Heisman Trophy, the coveted award that is awarded to the top college football player, one player was way ahead of the field. Then the running back was held to 44 yards rushing in a one-point loss, and suddenly he was relegated to the sidelines. Certainly, Saquon Barkley’s performance in the NFL this year has demonstrated that he was probably the best player last year in college. But that one game, followed by another one, cost him the big prize. 2018 race could turn on one bad game Earlier this week, an ESPN story placed the quandary of the voters this week very succinctly: “Can an entire season's worth of production be undone during the course of a single game?” That refers to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his lackluster performance in the Southeast Conference championship game against the University of Georgia. ESPN called the game the “worst performance of Tagovailoa's career.” Tua was just 10-of-25 passing for 164 yards wi...

… Pats, Cowboys just one game away Take away the horrible no-calls by officials as they blew a 16-point lead in their loss to the Chargers — their third at Heinz Field this year — instead, it was a gnawing sensation that this was not a team that will compete for a Super Bowl this year. The real problem for Steeler fans, though, is that they realize that the chances of winning another one in the Roethlisberger era appears to be diminishing. Much of that has to do with the fact that the team is aging, though that may not be readily apparent at looking at their roster. However, the area that is key for their success is not their quarterback — it lies with those who must protect him and must block for their running backs: the offensive line. That is where the aging is of the most concern. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva is 30, though he has played just four years. Beside him is guard Ramon Foster, who is 32 and has played for ten years. Center Maurkice Pouncey is 29 and has nine years o...

… weak schedule dooms Bulldogs What the 2018 conference championships pointed out was that anyone of the top four could win the national title. The Crimson Tide, which won all of its SEC and out of conference games, looked very vulnerable in charging back from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat SEC-East champ Georgia. In fact, if the Tide had not received a very big break when it fumbled into the end zone and then recovered it for a TD — one that overruled the call on the field — the title game would have gone into OT instead of being a 35-28 win by the Tide. One team that hopes to knock off the Tide, Clemson, looked very sloppy at times against Pitt, which was a 27 1/2-point underdog in the ACC title game. While some have questioned Notre Dame’s inclusion in the Final Four since they do not play in a conference, the truth is that Clemson fans might be very worried about the Fighting Irish in the national semifinal. After the first quarter, the Tigers were very sloppy. They are talent...

… should this be outlawed? Last Sunday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield refused to shake hands with Coach Hue Jackson after his team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals. Why? Jackson was the coach of the Cleveland until he was fired on Oct. 29. The Bengals immediately hired him as a special assistant to the head coach. Jackson won just three games out of 40 as head coach of the Browns, two of them this season. Mayfield was upset because Jackson knew the system that the Browns were using, and it was a slap at them after asking them to play well for him. This sort of things goes on with players all the time. Landry Jones to the Jags -- for two weeks On Oct. 31, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed former Pittsburgh Steelers backup QB Landry Jones, two week before they played the Steelers. Why would they sign a player the Steelers had given up on after training camp after trying to make him a decent backup QB for five years? Because he knew the Steelers’ playbook very well, so wh...

… the fake FG was great, though Sometimes, you hate being right, and that is the case when I predicted what happened in the Steelers loss to Denver yesterday. Now, I am worried about the woeful Oakland Raiders since we cannot beat sub-.500 teams on the road. I have already conceded a loss to the Saints in New Orleans, but still have hope at home. However, what I had said earlier in the season — the December schedule is brutal — still holds: The Chargers, Patriots, and Bengals are all at Heinz. While everyone, myself included, was optimistic about the Steelers postseason hopes after the way we decimated the Carolina Panthers on a Thursday night a few weeks ago, that hope has now dissipated and reality has set in, which is closer to despondency. So, what went wrong? As the quote in the headline notes, Tomlin was happy with everything except the four turnovers — which were killers. How can he say he was pleased despite the fact that his team had 527 yards and the other 308 and lost? Or,...

… road games w/Broncos and Raiders are worrisome  When you are trying to establish yourself as a Super Bowl contender, your franchise QB should not drop from a perfect rating of 158 one week to 65 the next. That is the inconsistency that has been bothersome for the Pittsburgh Steelers all year. After playing so well and looking like a Super Bowl contender against a good team, the Carolina Panthers, the Steelers looked like the Cleveland Browns again, as they did when they tied them in week one, when they traveled to Jacksonville last week. The Steelers did not deserve to win that game, but pulled it out. They play down to their competition, particularly on the road, which is why road games against weaker teams like the Broncos today and the December matchup with the hapless Raiders are so concerning. This should be the year when they could beat the Patriots in Pittsburgh. I realize that Roethlisberger has beaten Brady only once, in 2011, but the Pats this year are not the Pa...

 … careful what you wish for Penn State fans wax hot and cold on their feeling about James Franklin, who is in his fifth season as head coach of the Nittany Lions. On the plus side, Franklin has built the Lions back into a national power after the horrible slide after the Jerry Sandusky case became public. Franklin has compiled a 44-20 (69 percent) record thus far, not including today’s game. He won a Big Ten championship in just his third year in 2016, and probably should have been in the CFP instead of Ohio State — whom they defeated — that year. They have had back-to-back 11 win seasons and could have a 10-win season and top 10 poll finish with a win over Maryland today and a win in a bowl game. In addition, he has demonstrated that he is a great recruiter, putting together top classes that have built the Lions back into a national power. For instance, running back Saquon Barkley, a Franklin recruit, was the second player picked in this year’s NFL draft. His current 2019 clas...

… but Dec. schedule still tough The ESPN story today by Jeremy Fowler explained why the Steelers’ fans have so much more reason for optimism than they did two months ago. Entitled “Why the Steelers have Super Bowl shot without Le'Veon Bell,” Fowler outlined the reasons for the optimism of the Steelers at this juncture of the season. The humbling defeat of the Patriots by the Tennessee Titans Sunday by three touchdowns added a dimension that really helps the Steelers since they have been the obstacle in recent seasons. Now with three losses, the truth is that the Pats will be hard-pressed to earn the number one seed in the AFC as they have so often in recent years. Second, the report by ESPN and the NFL Network that running back Le’Veon Bell will never sign a tender this year adds a feeling of stability to the team. While some thought that Bell would be a welcome addition, he would have been a distraction. The report indicated that Bell had indicated that he would not report a...

... Dan played hardball in 1984, good lesson for today “The Steelers are cooking. So why potentially mess with a recipe that's working  by introducing  an ingredient that could ruin the whole meal?” USA Today, Nov. 9, 2018 For the first three+ decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers were not a major business focus of their owner, Art Rooney, Sr., who earned his fortune through race tracks throughout the U.S. He founded the original franchise in 1933, but was not a hard-core CEO. His heart was often most predominant in his business decisions with the Steelers, unlike his approach to the race tracks. However, in the 1960s, Art Sr. decided to turn over the day-to-day operations of the Steelers to his son, Dan. The eldest son first became the personnel director and then de facto CEO as Art moved to the sidelines. Dan's first coaching decision, Bill Austin, was a disaster, but fortunately, he quickly reversed course. Dan sat down with his father and decided on a rock-s...

 … he does not disrespect the military  When I first questioned why New England Patriots Coach Bill Bellichick was not wearing the military green colors or anything else that every other coach in the NFL is to honor veterans for their service, my initial reaction was that it had to do with his arrogance. To a point, that was correct, but it is a little more complicated based on his answers earlier this week. This part of his comments initially upset me. "Honestly, I don't think what sweatshirt I wear is that important." That immediately sets up a disdain for the military, but for Bellichick, the military is important. He was raised in a military environment, but he was not crazy about honoring veterans in the way that his fellow coaches did. Background of Bellichick and the military Bellichick’s father, Steve, was a World War II veteran who coached football for 34 years at the U.S. Naval Academy. Steve Bellichick served four years in the U.S. Navy, from 1942 until 19...

… holdout may actually hurt his signing numbers Adisa Bakari is not one of the marquee sports agents in the U.S. However, he has been one who is somewhat controversial right now in his quest to secure a $17 million a year contract for Steeler running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell is the founder and CEO of TSGE (The Sports & Entertainment Group), a firm that represents current NFL football players and some boxers. Bell is the only very big name that Bakari represents, but he also has 42 other NFL players, according to his company’s website. Included in that group are Tyrod Taylor, the current backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, and Matt Forte, a former running back for the Chicago Bears and New York Jets. According to a story in Sporting News about Bakari and his agency, Bakari and Jeff Whitney have a background as executive compensation lawyers and litigators. The story also notes that most of the NFL players that it represents come from historically black colleges and unive...

… many positives since woeful 1-2-1 start At the start of the season, I was concerned that the AFC-North teams were playing the NFC-South teams in the cross-over games. That meant facing QBs like Drew Brees, Cam Newton, and Matt Ryan … along with a Bucs team that was supposed to be improving. However, as the season has turned out, the Falcons, who should have won the Super Bowl a few years ago, have really regressed, and the Bucs, who were impressive with wins over the Saints and Eagles in their first two games, have regressed and lost five of their last six. Still, that means that the Steelers have to deal with a much tougher schedule in the second half of the season than in the first. We do not have two games against the Browns in that span. Nothing close. December is not a favorable month The Steelers will have to face the first of the tougher QBs when the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton come to town on Thursday night. The Panthers have been inconsistent, having incredibly lost...

… Lions are a 13-point underdog to Michigan Penn State football fans are still upset with James Franklin over his team blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight+ minutes of the Ohio State game — at home. Then, he followed that with a loss to Michigan State, which pretty much shattered all of the dreams of the PSU fans for a playoff berth this year. However, Franklin has an opportunity to make that up to the Nittany Nation faithful, to earn a sense of semi-redemption. However, as his team enters the Big House in Ann Arbor, they are 13-point underdogs to the Wolverines. Long-shot at best. So, what are the positives and the insurmountable for Franklin today? How good is Michigan — and the Big Ten? The question about the Wolverines is just how good they are. The conference itself does not have an undefeated team now. The Wolverines lost to a Notre Dame team in the opener, one that is still undefeated. However, there are questions about how good that Fighting Irish team is, too. Then, Mi...

… many reasons to emulate Many contemporary young fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers do not know the story of Rocky Bleier. He is not a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, so his inspiring story is often lost four decades later. It should not be forgotten. Most do, however, understand the inspiring story of James Conner, the former running back from Erie McDowell High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Despite about a half-century difference in their ages, the two running backs have some striking similarities in their lives — and some interesting differences. First, one similarity is the fact that both are/were running backs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Second, the most striking one is that they both understand the meaning of adversity, and they demonstrated tremendous fortitude in confronting that. In either case, their lives are worth exploring. Rocky, the Fighting Irishman from Appleton, Wisconsin Rocky Bleier grew up above his parent’s bar in Appleton, a city of about 75,000 pe...