Bleacher Report - Pittsburgh Sports

Around the AFC North: Can the Pittsburgh Steelers Rebound?

TJ Jenkins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:24:45 -0500

Essentially this is going to be a new series, chronicling the AFC North games of the week. Now, as I am mainly focused on the Pittsburgh Steelers, there will be an emphasis on their games, but the other three teams in the North shall also be covered.

Let's get on to the matchups.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Detroit Lions

1 PM Sunday

If you'd of told me at the beginning of the season that the Bengals would be doing this good and in control of the AFC North, I'd of had you committed.

But, such is parity in the NFL, I've really got to give the Bengals and Head Coach Marvin Lewis credit. He's done more with this team than anyone could have imagine. He's went from the hot seat to the throne in a matter of a year.

The Bengals will come into this game with their defense playing great, leading the league in passes defended and ranked third in total assisted tackles. The unit is as cohesive as the Bengals have seen in years, led by linebacker Keith Rivers.

They've got an Pro Bowl caliber quarterback in Carson Palmer, a potential Comeback Player Of The Year in Cedric Benson and Larry Johnson running well for their offense.

They've accomplished something no one thought was possible—an undefeated AFC North record.

Matching up against the Lions is something that most teams do well and the Bengals are no different. Barring a collapse by this team, they'll emerge victorious. But the game isn't played on paper, it's played on the field.

Lion quarterback Matthew Stafford absolutely impressed me and a lot of the NFL fan base by his gutsy performance against the Cleveland Browns, including the winning touchdown pass he threw with no time on the clock in the fourth quarter. Did I mention that he did that with an injured shoulder?

Sure the Browns basically put him in the position to win that game, but he still had to throw that pass. Gutsy move by him.

When you've got a tough leader throwing the ball against you, you've got a problem to deal with. Players rally around those kinds of players, look at what Ben Roethlisberger has done with the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. They respect him, they'll play for him. The Detroit Lions have found the same thing in Stafford.

That being said, the Bengals are going to run over, around and through the Detroit defense. Palmer's going to be solely handing it off come the fourth quarter and Louis Delmas is more than likely going to lay someone out.

The Detroit Lions are in a sorry state, but so were the Oakland Raiders, anything can happen in the NFL, but I foresee the Bengals taking this one with ease.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Oakland Raiders

1 PM Sunday

The Steelers are hurting. There, I said it.

The team is hitting win or go home territory now, with virtually the only chance of them even sniffing the play offs is for them to win out. Even Hines Ward agrees with me. That's good company I think.

Oakland's a good mediocre team. They have beaten the Philadelphia Eagles and the Bengals, but those were more than likely flukes.

Bruce Gradkowski organized some last minute heroics to stun the Bengals and the Eagles were just off their game.

I do think that this is the perfect game to get the Steelers out of their three game losing slump though. No one on the Raiders offense worries me, and that in itself is a worrying though. Always gotta look out for those quiet ones, right?

Ben Roethlisberger will be back under center for the Steelers, although Troy Polamalu will still be out. That means more Tyrone Carter. Oh, what joy! Not to say that Carter is bad, but I'll take a one-legged Polamalu over Carter any day of the week and TWICE on Sundays.

The Raiders two biggest play makers on the defensive side of the ball are defensive end Richard Seymour and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The latter worries me more, even though the former guaranteed playoffs (cue Jim Mora).

There's a reason that quarterbacks don't throw towards Asomugha. It's because the man is an athletic machine. One of, if not the best, corner in the league. Most quarterbacks are scared (or perhaps wary is a better word?) to throw in his direction.

Roethlisberger...has no fear. I can see him attacking the young corner and doing it often as he'll more than likely be matched up against Santonio Holmes.

The Pittsburgh defense got to Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco five times last Sunday night, here's hoping that they can duplicate that against the Raiders. If they get pressure, they're a great team. If the defensive backfield sans the Hitman is forced to cover for too long, they'll give up big plays. That spells disaster for this team.

I hate to say it, but the Steelers special teams is once again going to be a deciding factor in this game. They've been absolutely horrid in coverage this year and despite the organization's best efforts to find more suitable players, nothing has happened for the better.

Corey Ivey was recently released and Anthony Madison was once again welcomed into the Steelers locker room. He was an absolute ace on special teams for us last year along with linebacker Keyaron Fox. Hopefully those two can take control of this group and get them to play with some pride.

I don't see any plausible way the team from Pittsburgh loses this one, but then again I said the same thing about the Kansas City Chiefs game.

Cleveland Browns vs San Diego Chargers

4:05 PM Sunday

This is another no-brainer in my opinion. The Chargers are on a roll lately and Phillip Rivers is playing like a man possessed. And probably the best thing about it all, is that since he's winning, there's less whining.

Not to say that Rivers isn't a great quarterback, in fact I believe that he's the second best quarterback to be drafted in 2004. Roethlisberger and his two rings are ahead of him, while Eli Manning is behind him despite his one Super Bowl ring.

LaDainian Tomlinson isn't playing like the LT of old, but he's still getting into the endzone, he has eight touchdowns this season, including five in the last three games. This may very well be his last year running the football in the NFL. If that's true, it's truly going to be an end to an era of running back domination.

To add an extra factor to this game, Tomlinson is just 55 yards away from tying Hall of Famer and former Browns back Jim Brown's NFL rushing total. It currently stands at 12,312 yards and at the time of his retirement, it was number one on the NFL's all time leading rushers list. Former Dallas Cowboys and future Hall Of Fame running back Emmitt Smith now holds the all time record.

To be perfectly honest, this is another that I don't see being close at all. I think the Chargers defense will use and abuse the Browns offense and quarterback Brady Quinn is without his starting running back Jamal Lewis. He's done for the season, and it likely spells the end to the former Ravens career.

Along with that, two key defensive players are out for the year on the Cleveland side of the ball. Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson and safety Brodney Pool are on injured reserve, leaving the tired out Browns defense without two starters.

Green Bay Packers vs Baltimore Ravens

8:30 PM Monday Night Football

The Ravens are coming off a win against their hated divisional rivals, the Steelers, on Sunday Night Football and now they're once again in the national spotlight.

The only difference is that instead of a first time starting quarterback, they're faced with one of the better ones in the league this time.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is currently fourth in the NFL for touchdown passes with 22 and third on the quarterback rating standings with a 104.9 rating. He's certainly in some elite company.

Joe Flacco is going to be throwing the ball against a very talented corner in Charles Woodson (is every corner named Woodson good, or what?) who is playing absolutely lights out this season.

The Packers are going to have to contend with Ray Rice out of the backfield along with the Ravens veterans receivers.

If you had the opportunity to watch that fantastic game against the Steelers, Rice absolutely man handled the Pittsburgh defense, showing teams once again that he cannot be covered in man-to-man by a linebacker.

James Farrior couldn't do it and I'm telling you right now that AJ Hawk can't do it either.

This is going to be the game of the week as far as the AFC North is concerned. Like the Steelers, the Ravens are fighting for their playoff lives, so expect them to attack first, then attack some more.

Rodgers is going to be seeing the turf quite a few times, hopefully he has a short memory for sacks and can manipulate the Ravens secondary for some touchdown passes to get him in rhythm.

Ed Reed is going to be the game changer in this one. The man is the best safety in the league. I've never seen a safety that can MAKE an opposing quarterback throw the ball in his direction by simply giving the receiver a little room to work with. He can do that because of his reaction speed and ball skills.

The crazy thing is that he's doing this all with a severe neck injury that could possibly end his career. That just goes to show his toughness.

I think I originally chose the Packers to win this one, perhaps because as a Steelers fan, I can use all of the Baltimore losses that I can get at the moment, but at the end of the day, I'll take the Ravens in this one.

Unlike the other games this week, it's not going to be an easy victory. They're going to have to scrape and fight for every inch. They'll rise to the challenge under the veteran leadership of Lewis and Reed though and gut this one out.

As always, TJ Jenkins' work can be found at both the Pittsburgh Pigskin Blog and the Sports Jabber Forums .

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Pittsburgh Steelers: Still Banged Up, but Looking Better

TJ Jenkins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:46:16 -0500

On the bright side of things this week, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to be ready come game time against the Oakland Raiders at Heinz Field.

According to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, his quarterback has not had any more post—concussion symptoms since the headaches he was suffering from during practice last week. He is expected to fully participate in practice on Wednesday.

With Roethlisberger back, it completely opens up the offense, as opposed to of the five to ten passing plays that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called for Dennis Dixon against the Baltimore Ravens.

The sad thing about that is that between the Dixon and Roethlisberger, Dixon is more mobile one, yet Arians will have absolutely no problem allowing Roethlisberger to roll out and throw on the run.

Don’t get me wrong, Roethlisberger is more or less unstoppable once he breaks the pocket. My sole problem with the decision of Arians is that he has issues playing to his player’s strengths and problems with minimizing their weaknesses showing.

Let’s just all hope and pray in our own ways, to our own Gods that Roethlisberger is able to play on Sunday and we don’t have to hear him tell us all that he’s having headaches after practice again. That would only serve to not only divide the locker room but would also take valuable snaps away from Dixon in a practice setting.

With Roethlisberger back, that’s one of two play makers in the game that the Steelers need. The other playmaker, Troy Polamalu, is not expected to play.

Tomlin is listing him as doubtful for the Oakland game and says that he is still a week or two away from being in playing shape. It makes sense to sit him against both the Raiders and the Cleveland Browns so long as the team has him in their defensive backfield for the games against the Green Bay Packers and for when the Ravens come to Pittsburgh.

Starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu is going to participate in individual drills in order to evaluate him for game day. He’s currently listed as questionable and with him out, rookie Ramon Foster will certainly benefit from the game experience.

Stefan Logan and Mewelde Moore are also both banged up. Logan separated his rib cartilage while Moore’s ankle is swelling. The two running backs will be limited but will more than likely play come Sunday.

Quarterback Charlie Batch’s recovery is going smoothly and Tomlin is hoping to have him back on the field in a couple of weeks. Pittsburgh fans are hoping that they don’t see him on the field in a few weeks, as of course want to see Roethlisberger.

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Steelers Having Tough Time Closing Out Games

Vicki Farries — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:04:02 -0500

3:55 in the fourth quarter, third-and-22 Baltimore on their 29-yard line

QB Joe Flacco passes deep down the middle to WR Derrick Mason for 17 yards to the Baltimore 46.

On a fourth-and-five Coach Jim Harbaugh took a gamble.

Flacco throws a short pass up the middle to RB Ray Rice (beating James Farrior) , for 44 yards to the Steeler 10 yard line.

Although the outcome was a field goal, the Ravens tied the score to send the game into overtime and eventually win the game by three.

Steelers are having a tough time closing out games.

With leads of seven points or better in the fourth quarter, the Steelers lost four games by three points.

At least two were subpar teams.

Then there are the ones they almost gave away, like Detroit and San Diego.

Now they have lost three crucial games to division foes, and chances of a wild-card berth are getting slim.

What happened to the team that was on the upswing with back-to back wins against Cleveland, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Denver Broncos?

The defense is giving up too many big plays. They are not putting away teams in the fourth quarter.

On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens drove 73 yards on nine plays to score in the first quarter.

And in overtime after the 26-yard interception, the Ravens were able to advance 16 more yards to set up the winning field goal.

What about the final two quarters and overtime against a very bad Kansas City Chief team?

The Steeler defense allowed QB Matt Cassel to finish with 248 yards and two touchdowns after a horrible first half passing for 35 yards on four completions.

How about the 21 points San Diego QB Phillip Rivers put on the board in the fourth in an attempt to snatch the lead and the win from the Steelers in Week Four?

The defensive backs are playing badly especially without SS Troy Polamalu.

It is especially true of the two corners, Ike Taylor and William Gay. (I guess a lot can be said about missing Bryant McFadden.)

Both Gay and Taylor are playing poorly and are giving up too many big plays.

Gay has been playing soft and allowing some easy plays.

Offenses no longer fear the “Big Bad Wolf” of the NFL.

With Polamalu out of the picture, offenses don’t have to worry about where he is or what he can do.

Now offenses can target the secondary at will. Without Polamalu, tackling has been dismal across the board, and it’s inexcusable.

FS Ryan Clark, always known as a very good tackler, has not been the same since he was pulled from the Denver game for health reasons.

The other missing link is DE Aaron Smith.

Although the defense has still not allowed a 100-yard rusher, they are still allowing big plays up the field.

LB James Farrior has been beaten twice by running backs, Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson and Baltimore's Ray Rice.

Remember December 30, 2001: 12-3 Pittsburgh Steelers were hosted by the 5-10 Cincinnati Bengals.

Offensive Coordinator Bob Bratkowski called plays for QB Jon Kitna, who with precision torched the two Steeler cornerbacks, DeWayne Washington and Chad Scott.

Bratkowski, a former Steeler receivers coach under Bill Cowher, hoped to fill the offensive coordinator position left vacant by Kevin Gilbride in 2001.

But Cowher elected tight ends coach Mike Mularkey for the job.

However, then-Bengals Head Coach Dick LeBeau, in need of an OC, offered the position to Bratkowski.

Although the Steelers defeated the Bengals earlier that season, Bratkowski had another attempt to get back at his former team in December.

Matching wits with his former colleague, defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, Bratkowski knew the deficiencies of the secondary and prepared a game plan to expose it.

The Bengals not only overcame a 23-10 lead in the fourth to tie, but took the game into overtime where they eventually won on a field goal.

It was that game that set up the torchfest the following year, when Tom Brady and the New Patriots and Rich Gannon and the Oakland Raiders lit up the Steeler secondary with 43 and 63 passing attempts, respectively, for 30 points each to win the first two games of the 2002 season.

History can repeat itself if the secondary continues with the poor play.

What is even more disgusting, our beloved defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has been nominated for Hall of Fame induction.

What a wonderful tribute to him to be presented to the Hall with another winning season commandeering a “great defense.”

There is definite uncertainty to where the Steeler defense will stand in the coming weeks.

The defense cannot depend on a few. On Sunday James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons will surely come with their A-game.

The rest must follow suit.

The Steelers play against another subpar team (3-8) Oakland Raiders.

Then they face the lowly Cleveland Browns, the Packers, and the Ravens at home, then finally Miami.

These next five games are crucial.

It’s not like the Steelers haven’t been down this road before.

The difference it’s 2009, not 2005 and the coach is Tomlin, not Cowher.

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Penn State's Bowl Situation

Allison Bail — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:55:53 -0500

With this weekend being the final weekend of the college football regular season, there is a lot of speculation of where Penn State will be headed. To start the year, a lot of Penn State fans had some high hopes, thinking either Rose Bowl or even possibly the National Championship game. After two Big Ten loses, both of those options became a thing of the past; however the Nittany Lions are still in line for a good bowl game.

Penn State is going to find itself in one of three bowl games. These three are the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl or Capital One Bowl. The Fiesta is somewhat of a long shot at this point, but it is still an option.

At this point, it his solely up to the committees of their own bowl games. The committees get to pick who goes to each BCS bowl game. It comes down to whether the bowl committees will pick either Penn State or Iowa.

While Penn State is the trendy pick due to the fact they travel well and will create tons of revenue, it will be hard for a bowl to pick them considering their loss to Iowa. This Sunday the bowl pairings come out officially, so until then we will be stuck waiting.

If none of the BCS bowls select the Lions, Joe Pa and the boys will be headed to the Capital One Bowl. There they will take on the LSU Tigers. This is not a BCS bowl, but this is still a very respectable bowl game.

Senior Andrew C said “it would be very nice to see us make a BCS game like the Orange Bowl, but I just don’t think it will happen. Personally I think we don’t deserve it over Iowa, considering they did beat us.”

I would have to agree with this quote. Sure I want to see us make the best possible bowl game, but imagine looking at it as an Iowa fan. The Hawkeyes came into Happy Valley and beat Penn State, so obviously they clearly deserve it over the Nittany Lions. The fact that Penn State might get the bid due to the fact of revenue to me is just unfair. I hate to admit but Iowa deserves it.

With all this in mind, I think when it’s all said and done, Penn State will be taking on LSU in Orlando for the Capital One Bowl. This should be a very good game, as both schools are big time college football programs. Also both teams have very strong defenses, which should make for a good low scoring football game.

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Dennis Dixon: A Different Quarterback with a Different Skill Set

Vicki Farries — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:17:13 -0500

The Steelers had a decent chance with time left in the first half to get into field goal range to close in on that seven–point deficit.

Nineteen seconds left in the first half and down 14-7, the Steelers on their 40, hand off to RB Carey Davis for a one yard gain.

They needed twenty yards for a field goal to end the half.

Instead they play conservative and run out the clock.

In the third quarter No. 3 QB Dennis Dixon puts the Steelers in position to earn a field goal to make the score 14-10.

Gaining confidence as the game went on Dixon gave the Steelers the lead in the fourth quarter.

6:32 left in the fourth quarter, 3rd-and-5 on the Baltimore 24, Dixon thinking on his feet, rushes for 24 yards to score his first NFL touchdown.

It was a perfect call against that Raven blitz.

TE Heath Miller was used more for blocking to prevent an all-out blitz but Dixon did much better against the blitz than when the Ravens were in the zone four-man rush.

Dixon did well in a tough spot, a hostile environment.

He showed poise and control of the offense. He played faked extremely well.

For a No.3 quarterback, Dixon’s performance was solid.

Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians called a horrible game.

He did not do what makes Dixon special which was getting him out on the field and allowing him to take advantage of his athletic ability.

Dixon has a different skill set from QB Ben Roethlisberger.

Arians kept Dixon in the confines of the traditional offense designed for Roethlisberger.

Why could there not have been designed runs, quarterback draws and option plays?

As we saw, Dixon was more effective in getting outside the pocket.

In his first start, Dixon worked everything inside the pocket on a normal down and distance.

As Dixon got more comfortable, we saw him move around the pocket, around the edge, surveying the field, making plays.

Arians could have called some of those designed runs, quarterback draws and option plays that could have open up the offense. But he didn’t.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported on game day, some Raven officials were worried about the Steelers putting in something that would allow Dixon to run around.

They weren’t sure how to handle that but the Steelers never tested them.

Arians should have put Dixon in position to be able to do something to change up the offense, giving the Ravens a different look.

Instead, as reported Arians ask Dixon what 15 plays did he feel the most comfortable and designed the playbook around those plays.

It only stifled the talent instead of unleashing it.

It was not all Arians play calling that lost the game; it was in fact the defense giving up the lead in the fourth quarter.

It could have been Dixon’s first NFL game win.

The (6-5) Steelers are preparing to host the (3-8) Oakland Raiders this Sunday.

Coach Tomlin reports that Roethlisberger has not suffered any more headaches from his last concussion since last Friday and intends to suit up for Sunday’s game.

After what I have seen of Dixon against a really good defense in a hostile arena, he should be the one to start on Sunday at home, in friendly territory.

The most recent report is that Dixon may see more action after his performance on Sunday, even if Roethlisberger is able to go.

Roethlisberger should sit out at least one more week to improve his condition.

We all know what it is like when he rushes back on the field less than one-hundred percent—the outcome is not good.

The Steelers can ill-afford to lose a fourth game in a row and against another sub par team.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Vs. Baltimore Ravens: A Report Card

GridironFans.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:55:30 -0500

The Steelers had yet another battle in front of them standing between them and the wildcard spot. Again the Steelers came up short, for the second week in a row the Steelers lost a overtime game. Not only has it 2 heartbreaking losses, but 3 in a row and the Steelers are now sitting at 6-5 looking up at the competition.

The Report Card

Quarterbacks

Dennis Dixon did as good as you expect with one day notice and making his first ever NFL start. He did have several close turnover calls but ultimately did what was asked of him. The Steelers try to run the ball to setup the playaction for Dixon and it worked well in the first half. Dixon hooked up with Ward for a good chunk of yardage and on the very next play he hit Santonio Holmes for a deep strike and a touchdown to tie the game up at 7.

Late in the game Dixon sprung to the right and showed off his legs as he raced up the sideline for an easy touchdown. The Ravens really had Dixon figured out in the 2nd half and the zone coverage left Dixon confused. Dixon threw the interception that led to Pittsburgh's loss in overtime, but kudos to him for playing his heart out. B

Runningbacks

Mendenhall got more carries then he has in the previous weeks due to the fact that Roethlisberger was out. Rashard carried the ball 24 times for 95 yards and broke off a few big runs gashing through Baltimores defensive line. He has been protecting the ball better, Parker had a couple of runs and showed the burst he's been lacking. That's two weeks in a row he's taken advantage of the opportunities he's had while in the game. Carey Davis had a nice run on a 3rd down draw picking up the first down. Mendenhall also caught two balls for 20+ yards, Moore again had no receptions. B+

Wide Receivers

The receivers knew with Ben out that the ball wouldn't be spread around as much as usual. Santonio Holmes led the way with six grabs for 74 yards and his first touchdown since Week One. Holmes is used alot in this offense but we haven't even scratch the surface of getting Santonio involved and seeing what he can bring to the table. Ward had three catches for 47 yards, and Mike Wallace had no production—he was open on a beautifully thrown deep ball by Dixon that he let slip through his hands. Holmes A Ward B+ Wallace D

Tight Ends

The tight ends didn't really get involved, Miller had one catch for two yards, and only had one man to beat for several more yards and a first down. Instead of trying to plow through the defender or try to shake him, he just fell to the ground—disappointing to say the least. The tight ends got involved alot in the blocking game and did a fair job overall. C

Offensive Line

The offensive line did a good job of giving Dixon time for the most part, there were too many penalties and not enough pancakes. The run blocking did open up several holes. Ramon Foster did a good job in pass protection and played well on run calls unless he was asked to pull. He's definitely no Kemoeatu when it comes to pulling from the guard position—he was too slow. Starks had a false start, and there was an unnecessary hold negating a HUGE Dixon run in the 1st quarter. Overall, the line gave a winning effort. B-

Defensive Line

Where did the run defense go? This is what I expected it to look like when we first lost Aaron Smith, but we wait until crunch time to shit the bed when it comes to stopping the run? I don't know if the Ravens just dominated us in the trenches or what, but I was alot happier with the efforts of Eason/Hood on the line as opposed to Kirschke. Who knows though, maybe the same thing would have happened without Kirschke in the game. This is the worst the line has played this year. It all starts with their push and it just wasn't there. D

Linebackers

Again, the linebackers are the strength of this team. We go as far as they take us and this week they took us right into another loss. Why would Farrior be expected to cover Ray Rice in single coverage in regulation and in overtime. He's 72 years old and he got worked like he was 172 years old. He's too slow and no good for coverage—what was Lebeau thinking? To his credit, Farrior did record six tackles and had a huge sack on the last play of regulation.

Timmons was all over the field and he recorded two sacks and forced a huge fumble. Harrison added four tackles, but played much stronger then that containing the whole right side of the field. Woodley added seven solos and a sack. He continues to get beat to the sideline though and I feel like I could shake him—he's giving up big plays in open space by failing to make the tackles. Ultimately, this leads to losses.
Timmons A+ Harrison A Woodley B- Farrior C-

Defensive Backs

This crew looked lost all night. Whether it was William Gay getting used all game, or Ike Taylor not being able to keep up with Derrick Mason who is one of the slowest guys he faces all season. Ike Taylor simply got abused and damn near had to cheat on every play thrown his way to make the stop. He was flagged for it at the end of the 4th quarter and it nearly cost us the game.

William Gay also struggled in coverage but did punch a ball lose during regulation which was recovered by the Steelers. Ryan Clark again showed that he couldn't cover William "The Fridge" Perry if we needed him too. He may be able to lay hits but that's about all he does—he doesn't impress me. Tyrone Carter played the best out of the crew staying very disciplined and playing well against the pass and run. Taylor D Gay C Clark F Carter B+

Special Teams

You've got to be kidding me, the special teams woes continued this week. Thank god for the little yellow fabric or this crew would all be cut. The punt coverage was just terrible, and the kick coverage wasn't too much better. Every time I watch it looks like the other team is going to return the kick/punt all the way. I've never seen a coverage team look so bad. On the flip side Logan had some good returns of his own in the punt/kick game and he's slowly but surely becoming very dangerous. Tomlin you need to fix this. D

Offensive Coordinator

I actually understood what Bruce Arians was trying to do this week, which is more then I can usually say—but I still don't like the conservative playcalls. Sure this was Dixons first start and he needs to manage the game, but at the same time you need to score to win and Arians never gave Dixon the real freedom to show us what he's got. The run to set up the playaction worked well though as it always has with Pittsburgh and works even better with Ben in the lineup. I hope we get back to that. C+

Defensive Coordinator

Cam Cameron was winning the chess match all game against Dick Lebeau. The defense lost another game for us and it all goes back to Lebeau. As I ranted about earlier, the man to man was just stupid—Farrior on Rice? Now, it's not Lebeau's fault that some people can't do their job but it all starts with the coaching, This defense has only played to about 20% of their potential.D-

Head Coach

It was Tomlin's decision to hold out Roethlisberger from Sundays game after an independent doctor suggested he not play. Tomlin agreed and no one will blame him—Ben's health is more important than one game. What I will blame Tomlin for is three straight losses and an offense that was far too conservative on Sunday. If you want to be run happy, great, we need it. But not on 3rd & long—we are not the Carolina Panthers, so please stop. Tomlin said "we will unlesh hell in December." Well, you better because you've dropped the ball so far this season. Tomlin is one of those guys who is hard to dislike, but alot of people are questioning him as of right now. D

Player of the game

Dennis Dixon

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The Verdict: Steelers Coaches Failing in Critical Situations

Joseph Sirimarco — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:50:49 -0500

Well, concerning our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers I think that we can honestly say (with apologies to Oliver Hardy), "That's another fine mess you've gotten yourselves into."

But don't blame Dennis Dixon for the loss to the Ravens. He played as well as could be expected given the circumstances, maybe even better. Yes, he made one big mistake, and some would-have-been-disastrous near misses. But admit it, he played far better than any of us expected.

Nor should we blame the players exclusively. Yes, execution is important (obviously), but so are strategy and tactics. The perfect execution of a bad play-call will still result in failure.

On Monday, the coaches, on offense, defense, and special teams, failed the team in critical situations. And this is not a problem that was confined to the Ravens game.

The coaches have been failing the team in critical situations all season.

Offense

Situation: Late in the fourth quarter against the Ravens, about 1:35 remaining in regulation, 3rd-and-13 to go, two timeouts remaining. The offense lines up in shotgun formation and runs an inside handoff to Mewelde Moore on a sweep wide to the left, gaining two, maybe three yards.

Why run this play? There was little or no chance that this play was going to work well enough to get the first down. It appears that Arians conceded a tie game at the end of regulation.

On that "drive,” the offense went three plays and out, using only 22 seconds and leaving the Ravens with 1:29 to try to win the game (which they almost did). Arians didn't even try to get the offense into position for a field goal attempt.

Why? Why would you not give your offense every chance to win the game?

(And, by the way, the same thing could be said about the end of the first half, when Arians chose not to try to get the team into field goal range.)

Situation: Overtime, 2nd-and-10 to go. Dixon throws 25+ yards downfield, even though Heath Miller is open five or six yards to the right, with at least 15 yards of open field ahead of him (because all other receivers and their defenders were far downfield).

Why didn't Dixon throw to Heath? He could have, but he’s an inexperienced quarterback so this isn't surprising. An inexperienced quarterback is more likely to try to execute the primary play rather than to check down to a secondary option.

This makes me think that the primary play was to Mike Wallace or another receiver 20-40 yards downfield.

Then, on 3rd-and-10, another pass 25+ yards downfield is called.

Why? Why would anyone in their right mind call for two shots that far downfield when what is really needed is ball control and a sustained drive to achieve the best field position possible while at the same time keeping the opponent's offense off of the field?

In the same situation in the second Cincinnati game, Arians used the exact same strategy and it failed. Arians even admitted later that it was probably a mistake.

What possible reason could he have to believe that such a strategy would have any better chance of succeeding when it failed previously with the first string quarterback going against a worse defense? Arians apparently does not learn from his mistakes.

I thought that, for the most part, Arians called a decent game against the Ravens, considering the situation the team faced. However, in critical situations where astute thinking was needed, Arians failed again. This failure was not limited to only this game, it has occurred time and again all season.

Last season, in critical situations when Ben took command of the offense, the team succeeded more than it failed and against a much tougher schedule. When Arians retained command, the team faltered in critical situations more often than it succeeded.

I can only conclude, once again, that Arians fails the team when he is needed the most.

Defense

Lest anyone accuse me of bias against Arians and the offense (although, truth be told, I probably am), Dick Lebeau and the defense are not immune to blame, either.

In four of the five Steelers' losses, the Steelers were leading in the fourth quarter, but the defense could not hold the lead. Often the defense used soft pass coverage or minimal pressure on the quarterback in an attempt to prevent the big play, only to have the opposing offense beat them with a gaggle of little plays.

And, of course, sometimes they gave up the big play anyway.

In the recent Monday night game between New Orleans and New England, the New Orleans defense blitzed all-out very often, bringing as much pressure on Tom Brady as possible. This usually required single man-to-man coverage by the secondary, but it worked rather well.

New England had receivers open much of the time, but Brady didn't have the time to get the ball to them.

Why didn't the Steelers do this more often against the Ravens? Flacco had an injured ankle that reduced his maneuverability, and he is not an exceptionally mobile quarterback anyway. Yet the Steelers didn't bring the pressure in critical situations, even after it proved to be successful when it was used.

Situation: Fourth quarter, about 3:40 remaining, Ravens with possession, 3rd-and-22 to go. All the defense needs to do is keep the Ravens from getting enough yards to consider going for it on fourth down. Stop the Ravens here and the game is probably over.

The defense had been blitzing Flacco in the second half, sacking him several times and causing him to throw the ball hastily several more times that resulted in incomplete passes.

Did the defense blitz? No. Three players rushed the quarterback, generating absolutely no pressure.

Did the defensive backs play tight on the receivers, or even anywhere near the receivers? No. The linebackers and cornerbacks were 10 to 12 yards away from the line of scrimmage, and the safeties were far downfield.

Why? Why not blitz a linebacker or two to pressure Flacco? That tactic was working, why not continue it? Why give the receivers room to run wherever they want to run? Why not play close to them and hit them at the line of scrimmage to delay or alter their pass routes?

Situation: On the very next play, 4th-and-5 to go, 3:31 remaining. Stop the Ravens here and the game is definitely over.

We all know what happened next. Ravens running back Ray Rice goes in motion to James Farrior's side of the field, turns upfield at the snap, cuts inside and catches a quick pass directly in front of Farrior, then causes Farrior to lose his jock strap and everything else on the way to 44-yard gain that gave the Ravens the opportunity to kick the game-tying field goal.

Cincinnati used the exact same play in the first game against the Steelers in nearly the same situation. Farrior got beat, Cincinnati continued their possession and scored the winning touchdown shortly thereafter.

Farrior has been beaten time and time again in similar passing situations all season. He never was a great pass defender and with pass-catching machine Ray Rice on the field, could anybody even think that Farrior could cover him or anybody else?

Why was Farrior even on the field in that situation? Why is James Farrior EVER on the field in such passing situations?

At the most critical times, when the defense needed to be tough and aggressive, they were soft and passive. This has happened before. The first game against Cincinnati, the defensive screw-ups in late in the fourth quarter and in overtime against Kansas City, and probably other times as well.

Lebeau failed the team when he was needed most. And how it hurts me to say that, because I'm a huge Dick Lebeau fan.

Special teams

There is no need to say much about this. The failures are self-evident and well documented. Mike Tomlin has changed personnel (a panic move, in my opinion), but the performance still has not been all that good. The performance against the Ravens was not disastrous as in other games, but it was still below par, even after taking Baltimore penalties into account.

Something has changed since last season. The Steelers' special teams were the best in the league last year. They started this season with the same personnel as last season, except for Anthony Madison, yet the performance has been absolutely atrocious.

Tomlin could hire an entire team's worth of Steve Taskers for his special teams, and they would still be bad. (For those of you who don't know who Steve Tasker is, he happens to be one of this year's finalists for the NFL Hall of Fame, in the special teams category).

As I noted in a previous article, in three of the past four seasons Bob Ligashesky-coached special teams have been near the bottom of the NFL for performance. This is not a personnel problem. This is a coaching problem.

Ligashesky has failed the team when he was needed most.

Conclusion

All too often the coaches have made ill-advised decisions in critical situations this season. They have taken unnecessary risks when unwarranted, and haven't taken risks when reasonable to do so.

They have failed to take full advantage of their players' abilities or to use strategy or tactics that are normal but would be unexpected by opponents. They have failed to exploit weaknesses in opponents that other teams have successfully exploited.

With teams such as Detroit or St. Louis that don't have all that much talent, you can blame the players. With teams such as the New York Jets that have talent but are inexperienced, you can blame the players.

But not with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have a lot of talent and a lot of experience. It is up to the coaches to use it properly, and they are failing to do so when needed most.

Read more Pittsburgh Sports news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Week 13: Picks and Predictions.

Nick Signorelli — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:34:21 -0500

Overall 101-45

Last Week 12-4

It just dawned on me that there are only four weeks left to the NFL season. Why is it that the regular season goes so quickly, but the off season seems to take FOREVER?!

Here is to hoping that someone starts a league that actually plays during the NFL off season, so at least we will have some real football to watch.

Five Star Picks of the Week!

Oakland @ Pittsburgh

Mike Tomlin said after the loss to the Ravens, "We will unleash Hell in December," and that starts with the Raiders. Roethlisberger is supposed to play, although they said that last week too. If the Steelers are going to make a playoff push, it is going to have to start NOW.

Steelers win 27-9.

Houston @ Jacksonville

Every one was asking two weeks ago if Houston was for real. They answered no. Now, everyone is asking if Jacksonville is real. The answer?

Texans win 28-27.

Philadelphia (-5) @ Atlanta

I really don't want to hear about Mike Vick returning to Atlanta, because honestly, he probably wont see more than five snaps at the most. Turner and Ryan are both still fighting the injury bug, and the Falcons don't have enough to keep pace with the Eagles.

Eagles win 31-13.

Detroit @ Cincinnati (-13)

I hate games with such a high point spread, but come on already. Detroit beat the Browns after the game was over, and Cincy is considerably better than the Browns.

Bengals win 31-14.

New Orleans (-9) @ Washington

I really am shocked. The Saints pounded the Patriots by 21 points, and they are only giving nine to the Redskins? I am amazed.

Saints win 37-17.

St. Louis @ Chicago (-8)

The Rams are just what Jay Cutler and the Bears need to start rebuilding confidence. Other than Steven Jackson, the Rams have nothing, and it shows.

Bears win 17-6.

San Diego (-13) @ Cleveland

I have said before I hate to bet against the home team when they are getting more than 10 points, but this is a Chargers team that has no problem scoring in the 30's, and a Browns team that has problems scoring in the 3's.

Chargers win 38-9.

San Francisco @ Seattle

There is no line in this game as of when this article was written, so there can be no upset. Neither team is very good, but I am going to have to go with the 12th man, and go with Seattle.

Seahawks win 14-13.

Minnesota @ Arizona

As of posting this article, there is no line for this game. With the Saints beating the Patriots, the Vikings are going to have to try and keep from adding to their one loss to lock down a top two seed in the NFC playoff field. Arizona is playing OK, but that will not be good enough to stop Favre and company.

Vikings win 27-24.

Dallas (-1.5) @ New York Giants

I am so torn on this game because New York is playing SO bad, but at the same time, I look at the calender and since it is December, I don't know if Dallas can win a football game.

Dallas wins 21-17.

New England (-5) @ Miami

After being throttled by the Saints, you can be sure that the Patriots are going to come out and prove they are better than the beat down at the hands of the Saints.

Patriots win 31-14.

Upset Specials

Tennessee @ Indianapolis (-7)

The Titans are playing an inspired type of football no one thought they would be able to play. Vince Young has brought life back to this franchise, and I don't think the Colts can contain him. Besides, can two teams really go 16-0?

Titans win 24-17.

New York Jets (-3) @ Buffalo

After starting the season on fire, the Jets have cooled off dramatically. Mark Sanchez is banged up, and the Bills are playing hot since firing Dick Juron.

Bills win 23-20.

Denver (-5) @ Kansas City

After spanking the Giants on Thanksgiving night, the Broncos are still alive in the playoff hunt. If they can escape the Chiefs in Kansas City, they can keep the lead on the number five playoff seed. Denver wins, but it is closer than most people will think.

Broncos win 24-21.

Tampa Bay @ Carolina (-6)

Tampa Bay is one of my least favorite teams, but yet, I keep picking them to upset other teams. I don't get it either, but for Carolina to be giving six points, with Jake Delhomme having a broken finger on his throwing hand is a little too much for me.

Carolina wins, but does not cover 21-17

Baltimore @ Green Bay (-3)

Two hot teams playing for their playoff lives. Aaron Rogers has not seen a defense like the one the Ravens have, and he struggled with the Bengals.

Ravens win 20-17.

Read more Pittsburgh Sports news on BleacherReport.com

NFL 2009 Week 12 Wrap-Up

Bobby Lewis — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:17:38 -0500

There are just five weeks left in the regular season and the best team in the league has clearly established itself, while others are scrambling to get a playoff spot. This is the time of year when one team gets ridiculously hot and goes into the playoffs on fire. The final part of the season will let us know who that team is this year.

Green Bay (7-4) def. Detroit (2-9), 34-12: Predictably, the Pack destroyed the Lions. The biggest question coming out of the game was why in the world was Matthew Stafford left in the game? He was clearly in pain, and should have been pulled after the game got out of hand.

Dallas (8-3) def. Oakland (3-8), 24-7: Another predictable Thanksgiving beatdown. Oakland had their opportunities but could not take advantage. The Cowboys are now in position to all but eliminate the Giants from playoff contention next week.

Denver (7-4) def. New York Giants (6-5), 26-6: The Giants looked pathetic in the first half. Denver controlled all of the action, and the G-Men looked like they just wanted to get out of Denver. It's time for Giants fans to accept the fact that this is just an average team that got off to a great start due to a soft schedule.

This was also a huge win for Denver. Prior to this victory, their season looked to be unraveling. Now they have the inside track to a playoff spot.

Atlanta (6-5) def. Tampa Bay (1-10), 20-17: The entire complexion of this game changed when Matt Ryan went down, but Chris Redman was able to hold everything together and get his team a much needed win. Josh Freeman played well enough to win, but Redman threw an almost perfect pass for the game winner.

Buffalo (4-7) def. Miami (5-6), 31-14: Well this was certainly unexpected. A very early turning point came when Ricky Williams threw an interception in the end zone. That seemed to give Buffalo a confidence boost that Miami could never match. This loss is a huge blow to Dolphins' playoff hopes.

Cincinnati (8-3) def. Cleveland (1-10), 16-7: Not an overly impressive victory for the Bengals, but it got the job done. This game was relatively close in the second half, but then the Bengals showed why they are where they are, and the Browns did the same.

Tennessee (5-6) def. Arizona (7-4), 20-17: When Arizona downed their last punt at the Tennessee one-yard line, I thought the game was over. Vince Young proved me wrong with an excellent drive that saw him use his arm more than he did his legs. He and Chris Johnson have gotten this team back to respectability, beating a very good Arizona team in the process.

Seattle (4-7) def. St. Louis (1-10), 27-17: All this game did was reinforce my theory that you should never trust a team that starts Kyle Boller.

Minnesota (10-1) def. Chicago (4-7), 36-10: Chicago barely put up a fight. While the Bears got into the fetal position, the Vikes continued their spectacular play, keeping pace with the perfect Saints.

New York Jets (5-6) def. Carolina (4-6), 17-6: Jake Delhomme's nightmare season continued in the Meadowlands with another forgettable performance. This loss almost certainly eliminates the Panthers for the year, while the Jets did just enough to stay in it in the AFC.

Philadelphia (7-4) def. Washington (3-8), 27-24: The Eagles were very fortunate to get out of this with a win. Washington's underrated defense did all they could to stop the big plays they gave up in their first meeting this year, and the offense played a pretty clean game, but Donovan McNabb and Co. engineered a second half drive that got them out of a slump and propelled them to the win.

Indianapolis (11-0) def. Houston (5-6), 35-27: Houston will never get to the next level if they can't shut the door. Granted they lost a lead to the Colts, but they still collapsed—and it wasn't just the defense. The offense kept giving the ball to Indy in horrible spots.

The issue for Indy is whether or not they can keep coming from behind like this. Teams better than Houston may make them pay if Indy finds itself in a similar situation.

San Diego (8-3) def. Kansas City (3-8), 43-14: This is how most expected the Chargers to play all year. As they ready themselves for the stretch run they need to dominate bad teams like this. They put on a great performance, bringing the Chiefs back down to Earth.

San Francisco (5-6) def. Jacksonville (6-5), 20-3: Great all-around performance for the Niners. San Fran picked Jacksonville apart all day, and the Jags couldn't get anything going. The Niner offense played a very crisp game with Alex Smith playing the best he's played in a while.

Baltimore (6-5) def. Pittsburgh (6-5), 20-17: This was a must-win for the Ravens considering the circumstances. They were facing a third string quarterback on a division opponent that beat them three times last season. The Steelers still almost won, but with the loss, they may need to win out to get into the playoffs.

New Orleans (11-0) def. New England (7-4), 38-17: The Saints put on an offensive clinic against a decent defense and pretty much dominated this very high profile game. At one point, the Pats cut New Orleans' lead to 24-17, and in what seemed like two minutes, the Saints pushed the lead back to 14 and the game was over.

New Orleans' defense also deserves a ton of credit. Tom Brady looked uncomfortable, and they basically eliminated Wes Welker from the game. There were times when the Pats looked lost on offense. Think about that for a little while.

Top 12 Teams (Last week's ranking)

New Orleans Saints (1): There was a slight question as to whether or not they were the best team in the league prior to Week 12. The question was erased after their convincing win over the Pats. Next week: at Washington (3-8)
Indianapolis Colts (2): They had to come from behind again, but the most important thing is that they won. Next week: vs. Tennessee (5-6)
Minnesota Vikings (3): The way they completely overwhelm bad teams is amazing. Next week: at Arizona (7-4)
Cincinnati Bengals (5): As long as they don't have a meltdown, the AFC North is theirs. Next week: vs. Detroit (2-9)
San Diego Chargers (8): They are finally starting to play consistently. Can they keep it up against good teams? Next week: at Cleveland (1-10)
New England Patriots (4): Looking bad against a great team is nothing to be ashamed of, but the defense looked really, really bad. Next week: at Miami (5-6)
Arizona Cardinals (6): They played well enough to win with their backup QB in, so they don't fall very far. Next week: vs. Minnesota (10-1)
Dallas Cowboys (9): Not an impressive performance, but this isn't the BCS so all that matters is the win. Next week: at New York Giants (6-5)
Philadelphia Eagles (10): It's time for them to play more consistently, which will be difficult if DeSean Jackson is out for a few weeks. Next week: at Atlanta (6-5)
Pittsburgh Steelers (7): Dennis Dixon played very well, and was not the reason for the loss. They should be fine if they can get healthy in time for the Green Bay game. Next week: vs. Oakland (3-8)
Green Bay Packers (11): They handled their business on Thanksgiving. If the offense can play the way they did against Detroit, they can beat any team. Next week: vs. Baltimore (6-5)
Denver Broncos (NR): Their most recent win could have been a season-saving one. They finally looked like the same team that started the season at 6-0. Next week: at Kansas City (3-8)

Team to Fall Out of the Top 12

Houston Texans: The way they played in the second half was deflating. They know how to beat bad teams; now they need to figure out how to beat the great ones.

That'll do it for this week. Picks for Week 13 will be in on Thursday afternoon.

Read more Pittsburgh Sports news on BleacherReport.com

What Hines Ward Really Meant To Say

Brian Lutz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:52:09 -0500

Has this Hines Ward-Big Ben controversy-that-probably-isn’t-a-controversy got your head spinning? Mine, too.

Not only do I still not know what Ward was talking about when he decided to give an informative monologue on head trauma, but also I’m pretty sure Hines doesn't know either.

Ward, who has no formal medical training, shared his musings about concussions without bothering to edit them. Or put them in complete sentences. Or consider what the ramifications would be. Instead of remaining in his bald head, they came out of his mouth, in front of a national audience.

He wanted to clear things up about his comments, which created a firestorm even before Bob Costas took his make-up off. Take it away, Dr. Ward.

What Hines said: “I could see some players or teammates questioning, like, it’s just a concussion.”

What Hines meant: “Sure, at some point, some players or teammates could question someone getting a concussion. But that doesn’t happen on the Steelers. We are a close-knit team full of veteran guys and leaders.”

Hines really hasn’t said anything here. He creates his very own hypothetical situation, which includes a hypothetical locker room. He never once says this is happening in Pittsburgh. Why? Because it isn’t. He was talking about something different, as he later clarified, about who has and has not played with a concussion.

What Hines said: “I’ve played with a concussion before.”

What Hines meant: “After laying out many unsuspecting defensive backs and linebackers with huge blocks, I’ve stayed in games despite being a little woozy or maybe not smiling for a few seconds here and there. But I’ve never been formally diagnosed with a concussion; I may have been embellishing a little there.”

Again, no disrespect here, just rambling thoughts. Roethlisberger has played with a concussion before; many others have as well. Nobody’s calling anybody out, and there’s no outburst.

What Hines said: “It’s almost like a 50-50 toss up in the locker room. Should he play? Shouldn’t he play? It’s really hard to say.”

What Hines meant: “As to who has or has not played with a concussion, it’s probably 50-50. Ben’s a tough guy and I’m sure he wants to play. Unfortunately, it’s up to the doctors and not him, so it creates a tough situation.”

This is where Hines starts to tread water, although he’s still talking to himself about some imaginary locker room, I think. Also, he’s not really thinking about what he’s saying, instead of focusing on how good he looks in his rustic red blazer-blue button-up shirt combo.

What Hines said: “I’ve been out there dinged up; the following week, got right back out there.”

What Hines meant: “I’ve come back from hits before, but Ben took a particularly brutal knee to the head. Nobody knows how he’s feeling except him.”

Ward is starting to say things he shouldn’t be saying. Costas looks like he’s loving it, too; I’m sure the same goes for Mark Madden.

What Hines said: “Ben practiced all week. He split time with Dennis Dixon. And then to find out that he's still having some headaches and not playing and it came down to the doctors didn't feel that they were going to clear him or not—it's hard to say.”

What Hines meant: “Ben practiced all week. He split time with Dennis Dixon. And then he had some headaches, but he really wanted to play. He even pleaded with Coach Tomlin at the last minute, but the doctors said 'no.' That’s a tough situation for anybody.”

Now Ward is really starting to ramble, and it’s kind of understandable. He was as stunned as anyone to hear Ben wasn’t playing, and he really didn’t know what was going on. Really, he shouldn’t have been saying anything about such an internal matter.

What Hines said: “Unless you're the person. ... I've lied to a couple of doctors saying, 'I'm straight, I feel good' when I know that I'm not really straight. I don’t think guys really worry about the future when they’re playing currently in the NFL.”

What Hines meant: “Well, Ben never puts himself above the team. We know if he was all right, he would play. Even after the doctors said he shouldn’t play, he still wanted to. You can’t play in this league without being physically and mentally tough. Guys generally have no regard for their future when they’re playing.”

By this point, Ward has thoroughly confused everyone, so let’s see what he had to say after the game, when it was determined that his comments were about to cause a minor stir.

What Hines said: “Finding out your starting quarterback was not playing until Saturday, it was shocking.... Me calling him out or whatever, that wasn’t my intention.”

What Hines meant: “I’m still mad about the time Roethlisberger said in the offseason that the Steelers should get a tall receiver. What’s wrong with six-foot-tall receivers like me and Santonio? We both have Super Bowl MVP trophies, right? How many does Ben have?”

*Whoa, whoa…let’s turn that mic off for a sec…

What Hines really meant: “I never meant to call out anyone. I was just saying what I thought, like I always do, and my comments came across as misunderstood because I was a little intimidated by Bob Costas. We were all a little worried because coach Tomlin didn’t say right away that Ben wasn’t starting, and then he baffled everyone even more when he made Ben the third QB. But I know Ben would be in there if he could.”

Glad we got that all straightened out. Really, this little mini-controversy that is actually not a controversy is that last thing the Steelers need at this point, and it will be over soon. Ward recently posted a long apology on his Facebook that makes just a tiny bit more sense than his initial comments.

Nevertheless—turning to actual football for a minute—I agree with Mike Prisuta, who said that the Baltimore loss should be a uniting force for the team. They turned in a valiant effort Sunday night against a very good team fighting for its life. If they can play that well on the road with their third-string QB against a desperate opponent, then, hey, there’s no reason they should lose any of their remaining five games.

Roethlisberger will be back—if Dr. Ward clears him—and, eventually, Troy Polamalu and Chris Kemoeatu will return. The Raiders and Browns are the next two opponents on the schedule. And, say what you want about this Steelers team, but they haven’t even gotten close to playing their best game yet. If they ever do, the team can beat anyone in the league.

But they need to stop beating themselves first. And please, keep Hines at least 100 yards away from Bob Costas at all times.

Read more Pittsburgh Sports news on BleacherReport.com

Mike Tomlin: Elite Head Coach or Jon Gruden?

Todd Fleming — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:53:33 -0500

How many times do we hear that a team hired a young coach looking for the next Mike Tomlin? It is almost a weekly occurrence while watching a game that features a young coach.

After winning a Super Bowl in his second year, Tomlin became something of a rock star celebrity coach and is constantly credited for influencing another franchise’s hiring decisions.

I like Mike Tomlin. He exudes confidence. He seems like a first rate guy and has connected very well to the players. He gives superb press conferences and I liked the tone he set after this week's loss, which is an important job of a head coach.

He has had plenty of success in his early career. And, like his predecessor, he certainly looks the part.

But, to me, the praise heaped on him and the lack of criticism directed at him seems to be out of proportion. I am not convinced he is as good of a head coach as most people give him credit for at this point in his career.

I’m concerned that he might be the equivalent of Jon Gruden, a young coach who took over a very talented roster, connected with those players in a way his predecessor no longer seemed able to do, and led them to a Super Bowl win before backsliding to a very average career before ultimately being replaced.

I hope that couldn't be further from the truth, but I, at least, think it is a real possibility.

So, what accounts for what I believe has been over the top praise of Tomlin?

There are a few factors that account for it.

For one, the hiring was made by a nearly lionized Dan Rooney who is almost universally loved across the NFL, and sportswriting, community.

Very few people were willing to point out that he was taking a chance on a young and largely unproven coordinator, turning away from what appeared to be a more qualified candidate, at least not in a critical way. The reaction would have been a whole lot different if the hiring was made by Al Davis.

Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. That will always result in a fair share of praise and it was certainly something to be celebrated. It was Tomlin's team and he certainly deserves plenty of credit for it.

But, the sportswriting community tends to overvalue the “now,” without looking at other potential trends.

We see that trend each week as sportswriters overreact to the games of that week. I think that same trend happened with Tomlin.

Another factor to be considered is Tomlin's youth. I think this has shielded, or at least dampened, some potential criticism he may have otherwise received.

That can at least partially explain the fact that Steelers’ fans almost universally despise offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, but very few are willing to even benignly criticize Tomlin.

Some of the play-calling has been bad. That is undeniable. But, the complete absolvement of responsibility for Tomlin is not natural. He is the head coach and should shoulder some of the blame if the fan base is unhappy with the playcalling.

Does he not have some input into the game plan? Ultimately, if I hire an employee who can't do the job and then refuse to try and replace him, who is more at fault? I don't think Arians should be replaced midseason, but if he is not replaced before next season, regardless of how the Steelers' finish, it will be a bad sign of things to come.

I mildly question the decision of Tomlin not to replace Bruce Arians in the off-season. I know it is tough to replace a coordinator after a season in which you win the Super Bowl, but I think he should have made that tough call.

Normally, a head coach takes a fair amount of criticism if the locker room appears to be fracturing, as may be happening with the Steelers. Those stories are frequently overblown so it is hard to tell.

Still, it is a media narrative and Tomlin has not been criticized for it.

There are a few reasons that I fear Tomlin's early success could be temporary.

For one, I have not been enamored by the drafts in the Tomlin era. This is my biggeset area of concern.

I realize that the ultimate responsibility for the draft rests with Kevin Colbert, but I refuse to believe that Tomlin does not have significant input into that process.

During his first draft, when it was clear that the offensive line was already showing signs of decline, the Steelers drafted linebackers with the first two picks, which appeared to be a position of relative strength. Both of those players, Lawrence Timmons and Lamarr Woodley, look to be very good and have promising careers ahead of them.

But, that still struck me as a misguided way to spend those draft picks. Last year’s draft was equally perplexing, when the Steelers drafted a running back and wide receiver, leaving their offensive line unaddressed and allowing the defensive line to get one year older without putting adequate replacements in place for grooming.

This year’s draft inspired a bit more confidence for me. At least the picks lined up with very clear needs and it is hard not to be excited about the prospects of third round pick Mike Wallace. I know there is debate about drafting the best available player versus drafting for need.

But, even at that, teams avoid obvious needs over a stretch of time at their peril. And, no matter how good of a coach you have on the sidelines, he will not be able to overcome a string of bad drafts.

Secondly, there have been a lot of questionable decisions made by Tomlin over the course of his young career. There have been a few times where he hasn’t thrown the red flag where I thought it was warranted.

Perhaps the biggest head scratcher for me dates back to his first playoff game. With the Steelers coming back against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he elected to go for two. Very good call.

But, then a holding call moved them back ten yards making a conversion highly unlikely. Instead of kicking the extra point, he elected to still go for two.

After thinking through likely scenarios that could play out, I was screaming at the TV to kick it. It was a terrible decision and it may have cost the Steelers that game. The Steelers lost by one.

All coaches make mistakes, and every young coach is going to make his fair share of them. No coach should be judged based on one mistake.

But, if it starts to become a trend, it becomes a point of concern.

It has not reached the point of a trend yet, but there is enough evidence for at least some concern.

Tomlin did make a good choice in keeping Dick LeBeau on his staff. A lesser coach might not have made that decision.

LeBeau may be the best defensive coordinator in the history of the game. He is that good. He had a huge hand in last year’s success, more than is typical for a coordinator.

But, ironically, it is partially because of the presence of LeBeau that I am not as completely sold on Tomlin as a coaching giant just yet.

LeBeau is a once in a lifetime coordinator. Any head coach is going to look a heck of a lot better with LeBeau running the defense. Just think back to the Bill Cowher years. Cowher was a completely different coach when he had the luxury of having LeBeau at his side.

Because of LeBeau and the defense’s prowess last year, the Steelers won a Super Bowl largely in spite of their offense. That is the type of thing you can expect to happen about once every millennium.

The genius of LeBeau may be partially responsible for the Steelers’ loss to the Ravens. It was a potentially LeBeau-inspired defensive scheme by the Ravens, with the defensive lineman dropping into the throwing lane, that resulted in the interception that secured the win.

It brought flashbacks of the call that resulted in the James Harrison interception in last year’s Super Bowl, except my jubilant cheers were replaced with an understated groan.

Let me end by saying that I’m not anti-Tomlin. I think he is already a good head coach, but so was Jon Gruden. For that matter, so was Brian Billick. He may prove to be a superb coach in the long run and I certainly hope that is the case. I don't think he has met that threshold yet.

This sentiment has nothing to do with this weeks loss. Losing at Baltimore with a third string quarterback cannot be laid at the feet of the coach. It is a minor miracle that the game was so close with the Steelers almost winning it.

But, I think it is too early to declare Tomlin the second coming of Vince Lombardi and some of the over the top praise should be dampened. Tomlin deserves at least some of the criticism that is being reserved exclusively for Arians.

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AFC Playoff Breakdown: All the Seeds and Who Is Going to Miami

Nick Signorelli — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:29:17 -0500

With a chip on their shoulder the size of the UPMC building, the Steelers are preparing for their final push to the playoffs. As Mike Tomlin stated, "We will unleash Hell here in December."

Put to the side everything that has happened to this point in the season, because at this point, none of it matters—AT ALL!

The Steelers sit at 6-5, but in control of their own destiny. Pittsburgh's shot at winning the AFC North is bleak at best, but If they can win their next five games, they will be in the playoffs.

The playoff picture for the AFC is as follows.

Denver Broncos: 7-4

Remaining games: @ Kansas City, @ Indianapolis, Oakland, @ Philadelphia, and Kansas City

The Broncos will lose at least two of these games, likely against the Colts and Eagles. That will leave them at 10-6. Pittsburgh holds the tiebreaker over the Broncos, so if they finish with the same record, Pittsburgh will finish ahead of them.

Baltimore Ravens: 6-5

Remaining games: @ Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, @ Pittsburgh, @ Oakland

The Ravens have two games that will determine their playoff chances—Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Both games are on the road, and they will have a hard time making it out with two wins. If Baltimore wins one of those games and takes care of of the teams they should beat, they make the six seed. However if Baltimore manages to win at Green Bay and at Pittsburgh, they will claim the five seed. Baltimore also holds the tiebreaker over the Broncos.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-5

Remaining games: Oakland, @ Cleveland, Green Bay, Baltimore, @ Miami

Like the Ravens, the Steelers have two tough games left. If Pittsburgh loses to Green Bay, and beats the Ravens, they would be the six seed; if they win them both, they will be the five seed.

Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-5

Remaining games: Houston, Miami, Indianapolis, @ New England, @ Cleveland

Jacksonville has the hardest remaining schedule of all the teams left fighting for the final two playoff spots. With games against New England and Indianapolis, they will have to win the other games to even have a chance. Miami and Houston are both trying to stay respectable, but if they lose one of those, their playoff chances are over.

My Prediction

Pittsburgh finishes the season on a five-game winning streak. Their two toughest games will both be in Pittsburgh, where the hometown crowd will make it like a playoff atmosphere. Baltimore beat the Steelers in overtime without their two best players (Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu), and they should both be back by the time these two games are played.

Baltimore will win each of their remaining games except their matchup away at Pittsburgh. At the end of the season the fight for the final two playoff spots should look like this:

Pittsburgh, 11-5

Baltimore, 10-6

Denver, 10-6

Jacksonville, 9-7

This puts Pittsburgh as the five seed, and by virtue of the tiebreaker, Baltimore gets the six seed.

Playoff Matchups

The Indianapolis Colts, with a three-game lead over the Bengals and Patriots, will lock down the top seed within three weeks.

Even though the Bengals currently have a one-game lead over the Patriots for the two seed, the Bengals still have to play the Vikings and Chargers, who are both battling for playoff position. New England has an easier schedule and should win out.

The Patriots get the two seed.

The three and four seeds are going to be determined by the head to head game to be played in San Diego against the Bengals. San Diego still plays at Dallas and at Tennessee, so I think it is fair to say they will split those two games, leaving the Bengals and Chargers with basically the same record, other than their head to head match up.

San Diego gets the three seed and the Bengals get the four seed.

Wild Card Weekend

Steelers @ Bengals

After being swept this year by the Bengals, the Steelers are going to have to go to Cincinnati to play the Bengals for a third time. This will also be the second time the Bengals have made the playoffs this decade, and both games will be against the Steelers.

With the injury bug behind them, Pittsburgh will beat the Bengals, 31-20.

Ravens @ Chargers

Baltimore will then travel to San Diego to play the Chargers. Terrell Suggs will return healthy, and the Ravens defense will be as potent as it was before. With the offense coming back around, the Ravens shock the Chargers 27-24.

Divisional Round

Steelers @ Patriots

New England has smashed their weaker opponents and had a hard time against the better ones. Playoff football is what these two teams live for, and they are two of the best in the postseason this decade, having won five of the eight Super Bowls since 2000.

New England's defense was torched by the Saints because they are young, inexperienced, and have no real leaders on the team. In a high-scoring battle, the Steelers win 33-30.

Baltimore @ Indianapolis

There are some teams that just do not play well against others, and Peyton Manning and the Colts always have a hard time with the Ravens. The Ravens' blitz comes from everywhere, and it always brings problems to the Colts.

The Ravens will shock the previously unbeaten Colts, and the corks will pop in Miami as the AFC half of the undefeated teams falls, 17-13.

AFC Championship Game

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

The first time in NFL history that a team that did not win its division will host the AFC Championship game. For the second straight year, the Ravens and Steelers will battle for the AFC Championship.

In another knock down, drag out battle, the Steelers will just have too much for the Ravens in Pittsburgh, as the Steelers win 27-24 to return to the Super Bowl.

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Steelers Band Wagon Is Leaving the Station: If You Want Off, Get Off!

Nick Signorelli — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:35:12 -0500

There are two types of Steelers fans. Those that are the REAL fans, and those that are the bandwagon hoppers.

Those that are the real fans, are some times unrealistic. They believe that the Steelers are un-beatable. They believe that no team can even compete with them. They believe that position by position, there is not a team in the NFL that can even come close to matching them. And if the Steelers lose, well, it was someone else's fault.

These ARE real fans, because of dedication, and blind love, the Steelers are the only team. Love them or hate them, they are the real deal.

Then there are those other real fans, that can look at the negative, and turn it into a positive.

We (and I include myself in this category) can see that there are negatives with the Steelers three game losing streak, but can also see the silver lining in the clouds. We see the potential of the team, and know that we still have a chance to make the playoffs.

It was hard watching the game Sunday night against the Ravens. The Steelers lost, plain and simple. There are no excuses.

Troy Polamalu wasn't playing. So what?

Ben Roethlisberger was injured, back up Charlie Batch was too? Who cares!

Chris Kemoeatu not playing hurt the line. Big deal!

The fact is, every team in the NFL has injuries that they have to deal with, and a team is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Then there are the bandwagon hoppers. Those that were quick at the beginning of the season to say how great the Steelers were, and were getting ready for their second run to the Super Bowl. Now that the bumps in the road are shaking the bandwagon, many of those hoppers are falling off.

The Steelers now sit 6-5, and in the midst of a battle for the wild card spots. All of you bandwagon hoppers, now is your chance. You don't want to be a Steelers fan when the chips are down? We don't need you!

I can make exceptions for kids, but even my eight year old daughter said that we would lose playing without Polamalu and Roethlisberger.

But it is those of you that insist in taking joy in the fact the Steelers are down right now. And this article is dedicated to you.

Instead of going after specific people in this article, which is what I started doing, I am going to back off of that approach. All I will say is, if you are someone that calls themselves a Steeler fan, regardless of your belief that the season may be over, stop delighting on that fact.

If you think this season is over, that is your opinion, and that is all it is, an opinion. The Steelers showed four years ago when they won Super Bowl XL, that we can win, as long as we make the playoffs, and that is where this team is headed.

If you want off the bandwagon, hop off now! Again, the Steelers don't need you.

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Tuesday Morning Running Back Week 12: Steelers Are Resilient in Defeat

Dan Pieroni — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:34:11 -0500

I feared the worst for Steeler country on Sunday night.

It was bad enough having to go to Baltimore at 6-4 and face that vaunted Ravens defense.

Even worse, Big Ben was injured, and they had to rely on a youngster that had thrown only one NFL pass prior to Sunday, to lead their offense.

But as inexperienced as he may have been, Dennis Dixon did a pretty good imitation of Ben Roethlisberger.

He showed a pretty strong arm on a 33-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes, and even ran one in himself, giving Pittsburgh a brief lead in the fourth quarter.

However, Dixon's potentially magical night came to a screeching halt, as rookie linebacker Paul Kruger intercepted him in overtime, propelling the Ravens to victory six plays later on a Billy Cundiff field goal.

Even without their leader, the Steelers showed punch.

Now, with five games left, it is crunch time for the defending champs.

It doesn't look easy, with games against the Packers and Giants looming, but with a top-ranked defense and a never-say-die attitude, the Steelers can, and probably will, make a push to defend their crown.

Elsewhere in the NFL this week:

Speaking of the Ravens, I went to see The Blind Side this weekend. It's pretty good, if you're willing to overlook the typical sports movie cliches and the fact that they made Michel Oher look stupid for half the movie. At the very least it was an engaging story and Sandra Bullock was fabulous.
The Jets proved to be resilient in surviving a Mark Sanchez injury scare and getting a lucky bounce on a pick by Darrelle Revis to beat the Panthers.
Ho hum, another fourth quarter rally by the Colts orchestrated by Peyton Manning while the Texans put a dent in their playoff hopes.
I know it may not be because of him directly, but I do think that Vince Young deserves some credit for comeback player of the year since he inherited an 0-6 football team from Kerry Collins and has rolled off five wins in a row.
I think the Bears relied too much on a soft-zone defense to bottle up Adrian Peterson. That allowed Brett Favre to torch them down the field with long passes. Hey Lovie Smith, didn't you hear? Brett Favre may be 40, but he's playing like he's 25.
What were the odds that the Bengals would run the table in the NFC North, and Larry Johnson would find redemption, even a month ago?
Turnovers always kill, especially against a good defense. Kansas City found that out the hard way in their loss to the Chargers.
Credit the Bills for finishing strong in scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins. But I have to wonder, did Dick Jauron hold TO back? He seems to have found his groove.
I know they beat the Rams, but the Seahawks have a right to be thankful for their first road win of the season.
Another team that should be thankful is the Falcons. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner both went down with injuries and they still kept their season alive because they were playing the woeful Bucs.
A year ago, the Eagles were ready to ship Donovan McNabb out of town. Now, they're singing his praises as a leader as his vocal support helped spark a rally against the Redskins.
The Broncos out-gained the Giants in the first half 213-38. They had a statement to make and they made it against the Giants.
How bout them Cowboys? The good news is their offense dominated the Raiders and they are still atop the NFC East. The bad news is that December has not been kind to them, especially in the Wade Phillips era.
The Lions have now lost six in a row on turkey day. Leave it to the NFL to showcase a perennial turkey on Thanksgiving day.
Everyone says Drew Brees was the hero of the Saints win over the Patriots. Not this boy. Mike McKenzie was the true hero to me because his first-half pick of Tom Brady killed any Patriot momentum, and he broke a potential touchdown pass to Randy Moss that could have put the Patriots behind by only a touchdown in the third quarter. That my friends was a game-breaking performance.
I'll talk to you next week, Have a good one.

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Ravens-Steelers: Dennis Dixon Asked To Work Overtime, but Clocks Out Early

TJ Jenkins — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:30:11 -0500

Wow.

What a game.

Let me start this off by saying congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens and their fans. Well-played game, as games in this series always are. Both teams played their hearts out and really dug deep within themselves to put forth their best efforts.

Moving on from that, let's take a look at how the Pittsburgh Steelers played.

Might as well start with Dennis Dixon, right?

Now, if you had the opportunity to join me and some friends of mine in the Live NFL Game-Thread at Sports Jabber, then you may have seen my frantic dismantling of Dixon's play directly after the interception he threw to Paul Kruger in overtime that set up the winning field goal.

Let me chalk that up as a heat-of-the-moment rant that was full of both Tommy Maddox comparisons and expletives.

To put it lightly, I was mad that we had lost a very winnable game and perhaps even more mad that the game had to be placed in the hands of a quarterback making his first NFL start.

To be honest with you, prior to that interception, Dixon played fantastically. He made plays with both his feet and his arm and truly shocked most, if not all, of Steeler Nation.

He was only called upon to throw the ball 26 times and responded well, tossing one touchdown on a perfect pass that saw Santonio Holmes sprint to the end zone.

He also rushed three times for 27 yards and a touchdown that was greatly aided by Mewelde Moore's vicious block to seal the edge for his quarterback.

The biggest issue with Dixon isn't really an issue with Dixon himself. It's with Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians. (I know what you're thinking: another Arians rant.) He absolutely refused to roll the speedy quarterback out of the pocket, even though Dixon's release point is a prime target to get knocked down at the line of scrimmage.

Think back to Dixon's college days. He played at Oregon, a team renowned for their speed and their execution of the spread offense.

Arians' excuse for not running him more? He was wary of injuring the young starter due to the lack of depth at the position.

The sad thing is that as paper-thin as the excuse is, it's passable and won't make a lot of people think twice.

While on the subject of running the ball, the Pittsburgh ground game looked good again. Rashard Mendenhall put up a 95-yard performance, spinning all the while.

In fact, I'm not sure that he knows that he's allowed to make a move besides spinning, which adds to his tendency to fumble the ball. Not to say that I have a problem with his running style per say, he's just not what I expected him to be. He's still an upgrade over Willie Parker though.

The Pittsburgh defense is what concerned me the most, however. Including an uncharacteristic mistake by Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau.

There is absolutely no excuse to have James Farrior playing man-to-man coverage on Ray Rice, Baltimore's leading receiver. It was an absolute disaster as Rice finished with 155 total yards from scrimmage against the generally tenacious defense.

Tackling is becoming a concern for our cornerbacks as well.

Ray Rice shook the check off of the entire defense's Nike's on fourth down that would set up the field goal to send the game into overtime. William Gay absolutely must improve his tackling.

Ike Taylor having no ball skills is really starting to irritate me as well. The man is an excellent cover corner, but even shadowing Holmes last year before training camp didn't help him increase his interceptions. He currently has a grand total of zero this season.

Ryan Clark and DeShea Townsend both also could have had an interception, but couldn't make a play on the ball.

That being said, the defense did pretty well and I'm just magnifying mistakes.

They got to Joe Flacco five times, forcing three fumbles.

Lawrence Timmons is showing us all why the coaching staff was confident enough to allow Larry Foote to walk to Detroit. He's a special player that is going to continue making an impact in the middle of the Steelers defense.

Timmons is surprisingly fast for a linebacker and there's always the option of moving him outside once James Harrison calls it quits.

The Steelers came into this game with viewers expecting an easy Baltimore victory. Many were expecting to be watching something else come halftime, but Dixon and company made it a game, and perhaps we found something special in the former Duck.

As I've said, great game on both sides.

Time for the defending champions to look ahead to the Oakland Raiders, grit their teeth, and push on, in the true fashion of Pittsburgh Steelers football.

As always, TJ Jenkins' work can also be found at both the Pittsburgh Pigskin Blog and the Sports Jabber Forums.

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Talor Battle's 32 Points Help Penn State Win Big Ten/ACC Challenge Opener

Ben Jones — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:07:05 -0500

First off: Penn State’s 69-66 win makes them the first Big Ten team to win three straight games in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, so congratulations to the squad for making a bit of history.

Let me just say that this is the first time I have taken a breath in about a half hour. If there is one thing Penn State basketball gives you, it’s a strong cardiac workout.

In fairness to the Lions, however, they played the best defense of the young season and started the second half with a 28-11 run, building an 11-point lead with seven minutes remaining.

The shooting was finally on the mark in comparison to the terrible showings on the road at the...Charleston Classic? I don't even remember; I’ve blocked that from my mind. Either way, it looks as though the Lions have gotten over their shooting woes on the road, or at the very least have started to gain the confidence that they need to succeed this season.

Before I go any farther, let me say once again that Talor Battle is having a special season so far. Already he has scored 25 or more points three times this season, including tonight’s 32-point performance, a career high at that.

So what can we take from this victory? For whatever reason, I always have three keys to the game, so let’s have three things to take from the game.

The offense and defense can function away from the BJC

I guess that pretty much is a wordy way of saying that the team is learning how to win on the road. That may seem rather simple to say, but considering that the past five to 10 years of Penn State basketball aren’t exactly littered with epic road wins, you’ve got to start small and work your way up.

Regardless of how Virginia finishes out their season, Penn State will be able to say they went on the road and won against an ACC team with a good crowd on national TV. Even if it doesn’t boost the SOS in the long run, it can help the confidence level when you’re playing tough ones against the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State later on down the road.

The shots are starting to fall

While the percentages aren’t where they can be, they stayed well out of the 20-30 percent range that they had been previously on the road this season.

Maybe the most important shots falling came from Battle, who although he has had several 25-plus-point games this season is getting them mainly from shooting a lot of shots. Tonight, however, Talor was his old self, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and pushing his PPG to 20.1.

Chris Babb has yet to find his shooting touch again, and while that is a cause of some concern for Lions fans, all great shooters come back around, even in the deepest of slumps. In short, don't give up on Babb; he’ll find his shot and start raining the threes again.

If there is one positive out of him missing, it is that he isn’t afraid to shoot. The belief that the slump is just a shot away from being broken can be a big help in actually getting out of the slump.

Defense/Rebounding

Early on this year a lot of talk came from Jeff Brooks’ size and how he wasn’t getting enough rebounds for how big of a body he had. Tonight Jeff posted a nine-rebound game and added eight points to the mix. Andrew Jones and David Jackson both added seven rebounds. Jones finally caught up to Battle, and they are now both tied for first on the team in total rebounds with 42 this season.

The defensive effort coming out of the second half against Virginia was by far the best effort that the Lions have shown this year. It is starting to look like these guys are figuring out the type of effort that it takes for a team to win a big game.

All in all, this game was exactly what this team needed—a win on the road against a solid team and proof to themselves more than anything that they can win games. Closing out games will be the next issue addressed on the list, but minus a few mistakes, there is only so much you can do against a player who is hitting threes from everywhere trying to pull a Tracy McGrady .

I’m sure those things will be addressed in practice as they are needed. For now, however, we can enjoy the win and look forward to the trip to Temple this Saturday.

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Pittsburgh-Baltimore: Steelers' Dixon Shines in First Career Start, Loss

Nick Poust — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:50:17 -0500

Ex-Oregon Duck and current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon , who was informed he would start his first career game against the Baltimore Ravens not two days before game-time, dropped back 30 seconds into the second quarter, spun to his right in order to avoid the oncoming run, set himself, and then NFL touchdown" target="_blank">rifled a tight spiral 20 yards down field to receiver Santonio Holmes. The Steelers star receiver shook off a defender then out-sprinted him to reach the corner of the end zone.

Dixon pointed to the heavens and celebrated with his teammates, something that was routine during his four years at Oregon.

With the Ducks, he was extremely versatile; a gifted, tall, lanky athlete at 6′3″, 200 lbs., he was as deadly with his legs as with his arm. In 2007, his senior season, he was a Heisman Trophy candidate, throwing for 2,136 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Late in the year he tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament against Arizona State, but after being cleared to play two weeks later to face Arizona, his knee buckled dropping back to pass, ending his Heisman Trophy chances and squashing any chance Oregon had to play for a National Championship.

Dixon was a twig physically throughout his career in Oregon, when he entered Steelers camp after being selected in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and on this night, during his starting debut.

Still, with the ACL-tear in his past, Dixon played with the poise and composure he possessed with the Ducks. Against a watered-down, but still aggressive Baltimore defense, his offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called some pretty simplistic plays—slants, hitches, all within 10-15 yards—but as Dixon completed those, Arians' confidence grew in the 24-year-old, and he let him take a few shots down the field. One of note was his gunned pass to Holmes that tied the game.

On Pittsburgh’s next drive, he completed five of his seven attempts, but one, an 18-yarder to Holmes, was called back due to a holding penalty. Earlier in the contest, another extremely positive play was spoiled because of a holding penalty.

On Pittsburgh’s second possession, Dixon dropped back on a 3rd-and-5 at his own 45-yard line. He couldn’t find an open receiver, so he took off, evading and juking a couple of defenders while scrambling downfield for a 31-yard gain. However, whistles blew and the referee announced Justin Hartwig had held a Ravens defensive lineman on the play. Instead of a first down on Baltimore’s 24-yard line, the Steelers were left with a 3rd-and-13 on their 35-yard line, which they failed to convert.

Still, his run was foreshadowing. With six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Steelers behind by three, 17-14, the Ravens blitzed on a 3rd-and-5.

Pittsburgh’s drive was fueled by a fumble recovery at their own 46-yard line, and Dixon led his team down to the Baltimore 24-yard line to set up a moment he will remember forever.

Taking into account the Ravens blitz, and the fact that the left side of the Steelers line was receiver-heavy, he took the snap, easily evaded the rush, bootlegged to the left, and immediately scrambled upfield. Arians drew up a play, on third down no less, trusting Dixon’s legs and it worked.

There wasn’t a Raven in sight after receiver Hines Ward decleated the closest defender, and Dixon sprinted into the end zone , holding the ball in his outstretched right hand as he reached pay dirt. This same play happened time and time again at Oregon, and now on the biggest stage—the NFL.

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows; in overtime, he made his lone mistake.

At the 50-yard line five minutes in, Dixon tried to find Holmes on a quick slant. Holmes slanted as diagrammed, but multiple Ravens hovered over the area. Dixon finally showed signs of inexperience, zeroing in on Holmes without seeing 23-year-old defensive end Paul Kruger fly in, tracking the play all the way.

Kruger intercepted Dixon’s pass and ran it back 26 yards, setting up a game-winning field goal by Billy Cundiff five plays later.

Despite the interception and the loss, Dixon gave the Steelers a great chance to win in his first real action as a quarterback in the National Football League. Head coach Mike Tomlin praised Dixon for his efforts. “I like his demeanor throughout it all. He made some plays. I thought he represented himself relatively well.”

Within his comments, there is the sense that he expected more. Even against a stingy Ravens defense, coming in having thrown just one pass, there were higher hopes for Dixon, a testament to how much Pittsburgh thinks of the former Duck.

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Hines Ward: Why His Comments Are As Wrong As They Are Unnecessary

Joe M — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:00:09 -0500

I get it. He's frustrated. He doesn't like losing. He probably thinks that if Ben was in the game, they might have won. I mean, they almost won it with Dennis Dixon. Dennis Dixon! His mechanics are so bad, my dog covered his eyes every time that DD dropped back to throw.

The Steelers lost too many games this year and the frustration is mounting for Hines and the team. Perhaps, the most frustrating aspect of this season has been the margin of their defeats. They've had the lead so many times and just let it slip through their fingers.

It's time to shore up the defense. It's time to find a way to win out. It's time to re—establish the ground game. Most importantly, it's time for Hines Ward to just shut up. Throwing your quarterback under the bus on national television is stupid.

Suggesting that he should lie to the doctors because you have made that stupid choice in the past is worse. Maybe Ben should buy some weed and stash it in his SUV because that's what the other star wide receiver did. Risking another head injury for one game is silly.

Even if Ben isn't under serious head trauma, it makes Hines look bad. Everyone still remembers the temper tantrum he threw when Ben was asked what he wanted in the draft and he responded by saying a taller receiver. We all kind of ignored that one, figured he was just venting but this time, there can be no ignoring.

Hines needs to be sat down and talked to like the bad teammate he was on Sunday night. He might make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. He may go down as the greatest Steelers receiver of all time. I hope that he does.

Today I just hope that he shuts up and apologizes for throwing a teammate under the bus when it was none of his business.

The doctors made a decision. Hines didn't like it. Until he goes to Med School and gets his degree his opinion is as relevant as his feelings about quantum physics. He just needs to shut up and do his job.

Part of that job is leading the locker room. I hope that two Super Bowl victories in the last few years hasn't made him a prima donna. Pittsburgh is a tough resilient city. So is their football team. They can recover from this loss but first one of their leaders needs to man up and admit he made a bad mistake. He lacked loyalty. Shame on him.

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Pittsburgh Steelers: Rusting from the Inside Out

Brian Carson — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:12:56 -0500

The Super Bowl hangover has officially arrived in full force for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It started as a light wind, but now rampages at category five hurricane status.

Who would have thought that 11 games into the 2009 season the Steelers would be 6-5 and fighting for their playoff lives?

Who could have predicted the defense would consistently play flat late in games, the locker room would be in turmoil, and festering anger and frustration would cause the ultimate team player to call out his star quarterback on national TV?

This is the sad state the defending champions are in.

Let's not sugarcoat this. If the Steelers don't get their act together soon, like right now, the playoffs are history.

Pittsburgh has lost three straight games and is close to sliding free-fall down the slippery slope.

The rest of the team should heed what DE Brett Keisel said after the loss to the Ravens last night:

"We've got to win out. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. We've got to win out in order for us to be playing in January."

A tall order.

Can it be done? The schedule says yes.

The Steelers can right the ship in a hurry with Oakland (3-8) coming to town this week, and a road date with Cleveland (1-10) following. That should put them at 8-5.

Home dates with Baltimore (6-5) and surging Green Bay (7-4) will be tough before closing out the season on the road at Miami (5-6).

Beating the Ravens and Packers would put Pittsburgh in pretty good shape for a playoff birth, but mark my words, it won't be easy by any stretch. They can't afford to lose focus or have a letdown. The Kansas City game proved that much.

The locker room is in disarray. There can be zero argument against that now. Not after last night.

The seeds of discontent were sewed last week when LB James Harrison stated he felt they weren't playing together as a team. The word of division in the locker room spread. Coach Mike Tomlin downplayed it in his weekly press conference.

Just when Tomlin thought it blew over, Hines Ward went and threw grease right on the fire. Ward, the heart and soul of the Steelers, called QB Ben Roethlisberger out, and on national television to boot.

Speaking with Bob Costas on a taped portion of the NBC pregame show, Ward talked about the locker room being "like a 50/50 toss-up" over whether Roethlisberger should have played last night despite a concussion from seven days earlier.

"It's almost like a 50/50 toss-up in the locker room: Should he play? Shouldn't he play? It's really hard to say. I've been out there dinged up; the following week, got right back out there. Ben practiced all week. He split time with Dennis Dixon. And then to find out that he's still having some headaches and not playing and it came down to the doctors didn't feel that they were going to clear him or not—it's hard to say. Unless you're the person [himself]. ...I've lied to a couple of doctors saying I'm straight, I feel good when I know that I'm not really straight.

"This game is almost like a playoff game. It's almost a must-win. I could see some players or teammates questioning, like 'It's just a concussion. I've played with a concussion before."

Wow! Strong words indeed.

Ward attempted to downplay his comments after the game, but the damage has been done.

Words can cause as much, if not more, pain than physical abuse. No matter how much the doctors try and spin it, the all-time franchise leader in every receiving category implied that Roethlisberger wasn't tough enough to play last night. In essence, according to Ward, Big Ben let the team down.

And notice he said the rest of the guys are 50/50 on the issue. That sounds like a divided locker room to me.

Tomlin needs to get these guys on the same page in a hurry or the season could be lost.

Injuries, coupled with tension and frustration, have spilled over into their on-field performance.

For the fourth time this season, the defense couldn't hold a lead in the fourth quarter. Don't blame Dixon's pick for the loss. He played a decent game under the circumstances. It was the defense, or lack thereof, that let Ray Rice and company rip them up in overtime.

This squad was made of tough, Pittsburgh steel last season, and they won their sixth ring because of it. This year that steel is rusting due to injuries and internal strife.

Now, with the season on the brink, only Tomlin and his staff can repair the damage and get the Steelers back on track.

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Hines Ward Didn't Get the Memo on Concussion Safety

Paul Preibisius — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:59:12 -0500

I realize that as a fanbase we want our heroes to "gut it out" whenever they can, especially when the playoffs are on the line.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are teetering and needed this game to stay at the top of the wildcard race. So when one is hopeful Big Ben can play, it is understandable. However, the severity of a concussion is not a matter to be glossed over.

I appreciate Hines Ward as a feisty tough player. As a non-Steeler fan, I really don’t see him as a Bill Romanowski (or even Albert Haynesworth) when it comes to cheap shots and "dirty" play, despite his being voted as such.

However, his quotes in a pregame interview were out of line and his tough guy image/approach may have stepped a bit far this go around.

In a pregame interview with Bob Costas, here are some of the things Ward stated (a little long but I wanted to make sure "out of context" was not as easily applied):

"This game is almost like a playoff game. It's almost a must-win. I could see some players or teammates questioning, like 'It's just a concussion. I've played with a concussion before,'" Ward said to Costas, in an interview taped Saturday at the team's Suburban-Baltimore hotel as a prelude to the Steelers-Ravens game.

"It's almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room: Should he play? Shouldn't he play? It's really hard to say. I've been out there dinged up; the following week, got right back out there. Ben practiced all week. He split time with Dennis Dixon. And then to find out that he's still having some headaches and not playing, and it came down to the doctors didn't feel that they were going to clear him or not—it's hard to say. Unless you're the person [himself]…I've lied to a couple of doctors saying I'm straight, I feel good when I know that I'm not really straight."

It is great to want to be a competitor and win. Yet I can’t help but feel that the comments were a little disingenuous. It's not surprising that he thinks that way, but that is not laundry that should be aired out in an interview. It undermines a quarterback who was attempting to play and held back by doctor clearance. He did not pull himself.

Not one of the three quarterbacks suffering concussions last week played in this weekend’s games. They are even discussing the possibility of barring a quarterback from entering the following week’s game after a concussion-type injury.

I realize Hines Ward is a competitor and his team is about two games behind where they likely expected to be at the outset of the season. Yet why put undue pressure in the locker room, and risk a division in the locker room, just when they need to band together and fight for a wildcard berth?

Public opinion is also hinged on quotables. He risks half the Steeler fan base by blaming Ben for this loss should they fall just shy of the playoffs, and also risks pitting another big piece of Pittsburgh against himself for potentially divisive comments.

Yes, many players go out and lie about injuries, and some tough it out to try and give their team what they need. Many players also gut it out, get hurt worse, and miss more games than if they would have if they sat when they originally needed to.

One would think you would (at least in the court of public opinion) try and support the guy who has led you to multiple Super Bowls and wish him a speedy recovery. I would certainly prefer that to making the wildcard, then trying to get by without Big Ben as he stares woozily from the sidelines.

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Steelers Report Card/Week 12: Headaches Extend Beyond Final Score

Paul Ladewski — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:59:07 -0500

Here’s my take on the Steelers’ 20-17 overtime defeat against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night:

1. In terms of chemistry and leadership, this team isn’t in the same zip code as the one of a year ago. But who would have thunk that team captain Hines Ward would be part of the problem?

In an NBC television interview, Ward claimed that the locker room was divided about whether Ben Roethlisberger should play one week after the quarterback had suffered the third known concussion of his career. According to the report, Roethlisberger wanted to play despite exercise-induced headaches late in the week, but on the recommendation of medical personnel, head coach Mike Tomlin wisely decided against it. The inference was that Roethlisberger should have kept his mouth shut and played the game, which Ward likened to a playoff encounter.

Look, I admire Ward and his competitive spirit, but if I made a list of players in the league most likely to turtle in a big game, Roethlisberger might be the last one on it. That Ward of all people would throw the QB under the team bus kind of makes me wonder if he has taken too many blows to the head himself.

2. No head coach talks a better game than Tomlin, who promised that his team would “unleash hell in December” after the game.

What Steelers World wants to know is, why didn’t the defending champions unleash hell in October and November? Even purgatory would have been nice.

3. Linebackers Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley combined for 12 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble, but one monster game doesn’t atone for so many forgettable ones at the start of the season. It only makes them worse, in fact.

4. The inability of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to make the necessary adjustments reared its ugly head again. Emergency fill-in Dennis Dixon played a solid first half, but the Ravens defense read him like a book in the final two-plus periods.

Dixon is not a drop-back passer, so why make him into one? His legs are his greatest asset at this point, but he wasn’t allowed to use them on draws, bootlegs and the like. Dixon and feature back Rashard Mendenhall excelled at the option play in college and the Ravens would have been hard-pressed to defend against it.

5. Because there was no proven back-up available, it was important to keep Dixon in one piece. But given the choice between a healthy back-up quarterback or a 7-4 record, I’ll take the 7-4 record and worry about who plays quarterback later.

6. Before the season, there was a concern that the d-line had grown a bit long in the tooth. Sure enough, the Ravens ran the ball down its throat for 132 yards on only 29 carries. That’s 4.6 yard per attempt.

Nosetackle Casey Hampton and ends Brent Keisel and Travis Kirschke played like they were 30-something years old, probably because they were 30-something years old.

7. Farrior and nickelback Deshea Townsend have been frequent targets on third-and-medium situations this season, so it came as no surprise that the Ravens would pick on one of them on the biggest play of the game. Required to cover Ravens feature back Ray Rice by himself on fourth-and-5 late in the fourth quarter, Farrior was toasted for 44 big ones.

James Farrior versus Ray Rice? I’ll be the last guy to tell defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau what to do, but he may want to rethink that one.

8. Want another bad matchup? How about cornerback William Gay versus wide receiver Mark Clayton? Clayton caught so many balls (a dozen for 129 yards), I thought Lenny Moore had made a comeback.

9. Halfback Willie Parker was born 40 years too late. If he had played at a time when guards weren’t the size of tackles, his 4.3 speed would have been hell on sweeps and pitchouts, which have been phased out of professional football practically.

10. Oh, to be a fly in the mind of Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt when he looks at the standings and sees his former team in third place with a lousy 6-5 record.

You know, the guy who was the most qualified candidate to become Steelers head coach three years ago.

The grades:

Offense regulars

WR Hines Ward: C

Weekly grades: B/B/C/B/A/A/D/A/C/B/C

Season average: B

LT Max Starks: B

Weekly grades: B/F/C/B/C/C/C/A/C/D/B

Season average: C

LG Chris Komoeatu: DNP

Weekly grades: D/C/B/A/B/B/B/C/D/B/DNP

Season average: C+

C Justin Hartwig: B

Weekly grades: F/C/B/A/B/B/B/A/D/B/C

Season average: C+

RG Trai Essex: C

Weekly grades: C/B/C/B/D/D/C/C/F/C/C

Season average: C

RT Willie Colon: B

Weekly grades: D/B/C/A/C/C/A/A/F/D/B

Season average: C+

TE Heath Miller: C

Weekly grades: A/B/B/A/A/A/A/C/C/D/C

Season average: B

WR Santonio Holmes: A

Weekly grades: A/D/F/C/B/A/C/A/B/B/A

Season average: C+

WR Mike Wallace: D

Weekly grades: B/C/A/B/B/B/A/A/D/D/D

Season average: C+

QB Ben Roethlisberger: DNP

Weekly grades: A/B/A/A/B/B/B/B/D/A/DNP

Season average: B

RB Rashard Mendenhall: B

Weekly grades: C/B/INC/A/A/D/D/A/C/A/B

Season average: B

RB Mewelde Moore: D

Weekly grades: B/C/C/A/B/B/B/B/B/C/D

Season average: C+

RB Willie Parker: C

Weekly grades: D/C/B/DNP/DNP/D/INC/INC/INC/B/C

Season average: C

Defense regulars

LE Travis Kirschke: B

Weekly grades: C/B/C/C/B/B/B/DNP/DNP/DNP/B

Season average: C+

NT Casey Hampton: D

Weekly grades: B/B/B/C/B/A/C/A/B/A/D

Season average: B

RE Brett Keisel: C

Weekly grades: A/B/C/B/B/A/A/A/B/B/C

Season average: B

LOLB LaMarr Woodley: A

Weekly grades: D/D/D/D/C/B/B/B/B/A/A

Season average: C+

LILB James Farrior: B

Weekly grades: B/A/C/B/C/A/A/B/B/B/B

Season average: B

LILB Keyaron Fox: B

Weekly grades: A/A/C/C/B/D/A/A/F/C/B

Season average: C+

RILB Lawrence Timmons: A

Weekly grades: DNP/B/B/D/B/A/B/DNP/B/A/A

Season average: B

ROLB James Harrison: B

Weekly grades: A/B/A/A/A/B/A/A/C/A/B

Season average: B+

LCB William Gay: F

Weekly grades: C/C/B/B/B/C/D/C/B/D/F

Season average: C

RCB Ike Taylor: C

Weekly grades: C/B/A/A/B/D/B/C/A/A/C

Season average: B

SS Troy Polamalu: INC

Weekly grades: A/DNP/DNP/DNP/DNP/A/A/A/INC/DNP/DNP

Season average: A

FS Ryan Clark: C

Weekly grades: B/B/A/B/A/B/B/DNP/A/D/C

Season average: B

Special teams regulars

PK Jeff Reed: A

Weekly grades: B/F/C/A/B/B/D/B/C/B/A

Season average: C+

P Daniel Sepulveda: B

Weekly grades: A/A/A/A/B/B/B/A/A/B/B

Season average: B+

KR Stefan Logan: C

Weekly grades: B/D/A/C/B/B/B/C/C/B/C

Season average: C+

PR Stefan Logan: B

Weekly grades: C/C/C/F/C/INC/C/B/B/B

Season average: C

Coaches

HC Mike Tomlin: C

Weekly grades: B/C/D/A/C/B/B/A/D/F/C

Season average: C+

OC Bruce Arians: C

Weekly grades: C/D/C/A/B/A/C/B/F/C/C

Season average: C+

DC Dick LeBeau: B

Weekly grades: A/B/C/B/B/A/B/A/A/A/B

Season average: B+

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Penn State Nittany Lions: What They Need to do to Win the Big Ten-ACC Challenge

Ben Jones — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:20:05 -0500

In an event that hardly seems like a challenge anymore for the ACC, the Big Ten finally has a shot to win it and flex their basketball muscle. Penn State has a chance to be the first team in the Big Ten to win three straight in the contest if they can pick up a win against the Virginia Cavaliers who are currently 4-2 coming off a win against Cleveland State.

A Penn State win would not only set a new Big Ten record, it would be a crucial win for a team that is looking for its first win on the road. In order to come away with the W there are a few things the Lions will need to do.

Defense

So far this season when the Lions focus on defending the lane, they have left the outside shots too wide open; when focusing on the outside the inside becomes weak.

The key for the Lions' success will be finding a balance on defense that works. Another aspect to this will being able to stop UV for a possession or two if the Lions fall behind and restore positive momentum. Playing better defense will also help with rebounds and finding an inside presence, more or less what we talked about here

Don't Look Around, Just Shoot

While it may seem silly, a big part of tonight’s game is just playing your game regardless of where you are.

For whatever reason the Lions have had serious issues with shooting on the road whereas they’re shooting the lights out at home. If they’re going to win on the road at all, let alone in the Big Ten-Acc Challenge they’re going to need to improve their on-the-road shooting.

Play to Your Skill Level, Not Theirs

This was a problem that the football team had this year at times, and if the Lions are going to win on the hardwood it’s going to take not playing down to teams. Skill-wise this team has the tools to be 6-0 right now but a few mental lapses and playing down to other teams' skill levels has hurt them in two games so far.

This very well could be the most important game of the Lions' young season, a win on national tv against an ACC team could go a long way to helping everyone forget the early season struggle. The team has a lot of talent and depth, it’s just about putting all the pieces together.

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Matt Cooke Hit With A Two-Game Suspension, But Where Is The Consistency?

Sergey Zikov — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:22:29 -0500

Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins demolished the New York Rangers 8-3 at the Mellon Arena. It was the largest goal total the Penguins had put on the board since a 9-2 obliteration of the other New York-based team that dated back to nearly a year ago.

Although, through the first two periods, the game was very tight. The Rangers had even made it a 4-3 hockey game early in the third period, thanks to a goal by defenseman Michal Rozsival.

But that spun out of control quickly for John Tortorella's men.

About midway through the period, Ranger agitator Sean Avery made a run at Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, looking to take off his head. Avery however, was unsuccessful as Crosby saw him coming at the last moment and was able to duck out of the way. Crosby skates away unharmed as Avery scowls at his failure.

Shortly after the Penguins scored their sixth goal of the game, third liner Matt Cooke put a bruising hit on forward Artem Anisimov, who lost his helmet and saw the birds for a few moments. Cooke was promptly and properly given two minutes for interference.

Except that was hardly enough for the Rangers.

First, Donald Brashear attempted to knock out Cooke when he came out of the box, even though the linesman was between the two.

Next, Ryan Callahan decided to drop the gloves with Cooke, having the two removed from the ice for the remainder of the game.

But finally, but not surprising at all, Avery jumped an unexpecting Ruslan Fedotenko and started throwing punches, putting the Penguins on the power play for the final seven minutes of the contest.

After the game ended, many people figured that in the new NHL, Cooke might be assessed a suspension for the hit. They were exactly right.

Today, the NHL suspended Cooke for two games, for a "deliberate check to the head area". The suspension was also given because Cooke is a repeat offender. That means he will miss the rematch on Monday with the Rangers and then the game on Thursday night with the Colorado Avalanche.

When watching the video of the hit, there are three things that stick out.

1. Cooke does not take strides before making contact with Anisimov.

2. The initial contact is made between Cooke's left shoulder and Anisimov's right.

3. Cooke's elbow comes up after contact is made, dislodging Anisimov's helmet.

While it is also true that Cooke caught Anisimov in an awkward position, the Ranger forward is paying absolutely no attention to what is going on around him. He passes the puck over to Christopher Higgins a second before Cooke arrives, but gets distracted by watching his pass.

But regardless, you can debate for years whether he deserved the suspension. Simple fact is, that he has been suspended for what could be considered a "dirty" hit in the past and this hit caught the opposing player up high, whether he intended it that way or not.

Two games is not a big deal and it was the right decision.

But with that choice, it raises more questions about consistency than the actual hits. These type of plays have happened numerous times in the NHL this season. Whether the motive was the same or the player had a history of dirty play, one thing remains the same - they all hit a vulnerable player up high.

In the exact same game, Sean Avery had not one, but two suspendable offenses. His first was the attempted head shot at Crosby, second by attacking Fedotenko.

Does that not warrant a suspension, just because Crosby had the awareness to avoid the headhunting Avery? Does that ask the question, "If Crosby did take the hit, had his helmet dislodged and saw the birds, what would have happened to Avery, a sure repeat offender himself?".

A few days ago, Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta drilled Jared Ross of the Flyers.

Ross was behind his own cage, taking the puck from Ray Emery. But taking an extra second to do so, Kaleta took advantage and hit him from behind into the glass. As you already guessed, he was suspended two games for the hit. Sure, it was a hit on an unsuspecting player in an awkward position.

Except only one thing. Kaleta was on the receiving end of nearly the same exact boarding foul two days earlier in Washington. He had spun around to make a pass and was leveled face-first into the boards by Alex Ovechkin, who was promptly given a game misconduct.

But no suspension for Ovechkin.

I don't feel like Mike Richards' hit even needs mentioned at this point as just about everyone in hockey is more than aware of what happened.

The fact is, they are all shots up high, whether there is an intent or not. They are illegal and could have caused an injury in any of the cases. But suspensions were not given in all of them.

Let's get some consistency.

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2009 Steelers: The Non-Closers Lose a Tough One To Ravens

Chris Staaf — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:52:46 -0500

If the season ended today, the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers could sum up their season in three words: failure to close.

In Glengarry Glen Ross , Alec Baldwin's character says, "ABC: Always Be Closing." These Steelers failed to close once again, losing a tough one to the Baltimore Ravens 20-17 in overtime.

For the fourth time this season, the Steelers blew a fourth quarter lead and lost the game. The Steelers, now at 6-5, are pretty much just fighting for a wild card spot which they still could not earn even if they win out and finish 11-5 a la the New England Patriots last season. It is a possibility that the Steelers and Steeler Nation needs to come to grips with quickly.

Some observations from tonight's game:

The Good

1. Dennis Dixon played OK given the situation. Yes he did throw the back-breaking interception to Paul Kruger in overtime and just looked lost in OT period, but you have to give the second-year QB his due. He played within himself. He did not take any sacks, and got rid of the ball quickly whenever he could. He also flashed his quickness and foot speed which made him a Heisman candidate in 2007, scoring on a 24-yard run.

Dixon has shown to be a capable backup, but Steeler Nation will obviously want their franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger to come back as soon as possible, likely next week at home against Oakland. It is good to know what the Steelers have in Dixon. So expect Charlie Batch to be put on injured reserve within few days.

2. Bruce Arians called the best game of the season. Yes, even in a loss, Arians did his job well and should not face too much criticism this week. His play-calling protected Dixon and had 38 run plays to 26 pass plays, a great combination for an inexperienced QB.

Rashard Mendenhall got 24 carries for 95 yards against a tough Ravens defense, and the Steelers as a team rushed for 153, which is admirable even in a loss. Arians should definitely stick with this philosophy even when Roethlisberger comes back. It will protect Roethlisberger from unnecessary contact and help the team control the clock more efficiently.

3. The kickoff coverage was much better Sunday night because, well, they did not give up any returns for touchdowns. All sarcasm aside, the Steeler coverage unit held Ravens return man Ladarius Webb to 21.3 yards per return, which for them is phenomenal. Chris Carr got loose on a punt return once for 34 yards but other than that, the Steelers also did their job efficiently.

The Bad

1. The defense was not great tonight. Let's get one thing clear. This Steelers defense is not the 2008 Steelers defense. Tonight they gave up two long touchdown drives in the first half before finally clamping down on Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense in the third quarter and part of the fourth quarter. The tying FG drive by the Ravens? 10 plays for 84 yards, something that has become usual for these Steelers defenders this year.

This Steelers defense played their hearts out tonight, but let's give credit where credit is due. Ray Rice is a star running back and he made the Steelers look silly in the game-tying drive, easily beating James Farrior on the gutsy 4th down catch with 3:31 to go in the game.

In OT, Rice drove the ball all the way down inside the 12 yard line after Kruger's interception return was stopped at the Steelers' own 28 yard line. The Steelers knew who was getting the ball but it did not matter. They came into tonight's game as the best run defense in the league. Tonight that number meant nothing. 132 yards rushing against the No. 1 ranked rush defense is inexcusable no matter who is not playing or who is playing.

2. Cornerbacks Ike Taylor and William Gay were not good tonight. Gay has been picked on by opponents all season and tonight was no different. The real surprise was Taylor, who is usually a very good cover man, getting beaten consistently by Derrick Mason. Tonight Taylor was beaten for a touchdown and was flagged for a pass interference.

Gay, a free agent at the end of this season, will likely just play out his contract with the Steelers and will not be asked to come back for 2010. With Deshea Townsend at age 34, the Steelers will need to draft another cornerback, or groom 2009 draft picks Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett to eventually take over. Given how little Lewis and Burnett have played this season, it remains to be seen if they are the long-term future or if they are just in Steel City for another year.

The Verdict

Was this loss a sign of things to come? Now with three losses in a row, the Steelers are in a deep hole in the AFC playoff picture. They might as well forget about playing at Heinz Field in January, because barring a Denver Broncos -like collapse by the the Cincinnati Bengals, the division is lost.

Like 2005, the Steelers need to win out to ensure a playoff berth. The best things about the Steelers right now are these things: One, they have made playoff runs before. Two, wins against the now surging Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, and even the San Diego Chargers will loom large if it comes down to tie-breakers.

But enough of that.

While this Steeler team is no doubt talented, they don't look like a team trying to attain a common goal like last season. There seems to be no real fire inside this team, almost like they are content with last season and just want to play out the string this season.

I think that the month of December will show how important Mike Tomlin is to this team. For the first time in his three seasons in Pittsburgh, Tomlin is facing the reality of not making the playoffs. Some Steeler fans have questioned Tomlin's leadership and coaching calls this season.

Bill Cowher cemented his legend in Pittsburgh in December 2005 and January 2006 by leading the Steelers to nine consecutive wins, including four straight wins in the playoffs. Before 2005, Cowher was just a good coach. After 2005, he was a great coach who could go to the Hall of Fame when he officially retires.

While last season Tomlin was the toast of the town, but the NFL is a fickle business. Tomlin can shut up the remaining naysayers if he can lead the Steelers to wins and a deep playoff push this year, especially in the first real moment of crisis in his coaching career.

The Steelers need to take care of their own business and not worry about what the Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, or anyone else is doing. Troy Polamalu will likely not be back this Sunday against the Raiders or next Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns. While he makes the Steelers a better team, one man should not make an entire defense.

The remaining schedule sets up favorably for the Steelers, but this is the same team that could not close out a 10 point lead against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bottom line, the Steelers need to close out games. If they don't, they will be watching football during the playoffs, not playing in them.

Next game: December 6 vs. Oakland Raiders @ 1 pm Eastern

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Steelers-Ravens: Arians Tries To Fit Square Peg Into Round Hole

Lee Heisler — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:49:36 -0500

Well, the Steelers gave the Ravens a better game than most people thought they would.

The defense made a few big plays, yet gave up a few big plays. The worst part was, once again, Bruce Arians and his play-calling. Several calls puzzled me, but what else would you expect from Arians?

The thing that upset me the most was that Arians tried to make Dennis Dixon into a pocket-passer. The Ravens are a tough enough defense to go up against, but even tougher when your offensive coordinator tries to make you into something that you're not.

Why didn't Arians use some more moving pockets and bootlegs to give Dixon a pass/run option, enabling him to use his athletic ability? The one time that they did it, it resulted in a big play touchdown.

Arians makes the players fit into his system, instead of forming his offense around the strengths of the players. That is a sign of a poor coach. All Arians had to do was take a look at how the Titans changed their offense while transitioning from Kerry Collins to Vince Young.

Granted the Steelers didn't have a whole week knowing that Dixon was going to be the QB, but "good" coaches should always be prepared and have their teams prepared.

There should have been an offensive package put in to utilize Dixon's strengths "just in case," but the Steelers didn't.

Thus far this season Arians has stuck with the empty backfield set that has failed much, much more than it has succeeded. It's really done nothing but hurt the Steelers and their franchise QB.

Arians has made the Steelers a one-dimensional team numerous times this season by becoming pass happy. He's made poor play-calls in the redzone or short yardage situations all season, which takes points off the board.

He's become enamored with calling the long pass, even when that's what teams are protecting against. He refuses to max protect when needed, see the games against the Bengals this year and the game against the Eagles last season.

And tonight he refused to maximize Dixon's talents by using rollouts, moving pockets, or any plays with pass/run options.

It's to the point now where I'm losing respect for Mike Tomlin. He has to step in and do what's best for the team, even if it means stepping on peoples toes.

If Tomlin continues to stand by and do nothing but talk and cut fringe players on the roster I've got one word for you...spineless !

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BCS Rankings Week 14: Penn State and Virginia Tech Back in the Picture

Dan Kelley — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:33:56 -0500

A handful of losses among last week’s top 12 have shaken things up in the BCS picture, and provided a few teams with added hope for a BCS bid.

A blowout loss to Oklahoma dropped the previously 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys down to No. 16, and out of the BCS picture entirely.

Additionally, losses by Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech this weekend have hurt each team’s chances for an at-large bid, and will put more pressure on them to win their respective conferences. The Yellow Jackets will have to beat Clemson in the ACC championship game next week, and the Panthers have an end-of-season meeting with No. 5 Cincinnati to decide the Big East champion.

In order to be eligible for an at-large bid into one of the BCS bowls, a team must finish the season ranked in the top 12 of the BCS poll. With the losses, both Penn State and Virginia Tech have been pushed into eligibility, taking the 11th and 12th spots respectively.

Another bit of intrigue added to the picture thanks to Oklahoma State’s fall, is that the Fiesta Bowl could feature a battle of two at-large bids. The Big XII champion is typically selected to participate in the Fiesta Bowl, but Texas is likely headed to the BCS Championship, and no other Big XII member is eligible for an at-large.

If the projected conference champions hold up, then Florida and Texas will play in the BCS Championship, the Rose Bowl will see Ohio State and Oregon face off, Alabama will host the Sugar Bowl, Georgia Tech will host the Orange Bowl, and the Fiesta will have to pick two teams from among the remaining automatic qualifiers, Cincinnati and TCU, and the eligible at-large teams.

With this scenario, the at-large teams to be chosen from for all remaining bowl bids will be No. 6 Boise State, No. 9 Iowa, No. 11 Penn State, and No. 12 Virginia Tech.

However, this situation is hardly settled.

Florida and Alabama still have to play the SEC championship game, which will essentially earn the winner an automatic bid to the BCS Championship Game.
Texas still has to beat Nebraska in the Big XII championship, and will steal an at-large bid if they should lose and allow Nebraska to take the conference’s automatic bid into the Fiesta Bowl. A Longhorns loss would also allow TCU or possibly an undefeated Cincinnati into the BCS Title Game.
Cincinnati could also steal an at-large bid, if they were to lose to Pittsburgh this weekend. The Panthers can tie Cincinnati by beating them, and would get the Big East’s automatic bid with the tie-breaker, leaving Cincy 11-1 and likely still eligible for an at-large bid.
Georgia Tech and Clemson will play the ACC Championship for the league’s automatic bid. However, if the Yellow Jackets lose, neither team will finish in the top 12 so it’s the automatic bid or nothing for both teams.

The picture could look drastically different by next week, with several BCS conferences still up for grabs. Whether you're in the extreme minority that loves the BCS, or if you hate it like everyone else, you have to be excited for what should be some spectacular football this weekend, with plenty of BCS eligibility still left to be decided.

Here's this week's BCS poll in it's entirety:

1) Florida (12-0)

2) Alabama (12-0)

3) Texas (12-0)

4) TCU (12-0)

5) Cincinnati (11-0)

6) Boise State (12-0)

7) Oregon (9-2)

8) Ohio State (10-2)

9) Iowa (10-2)

10) Georgia Tech (10-2)

11) Penn State (10-2)

12) Virginia Tech (9-3)

13) LSU (9-3)

14) BYU (10-2)

15) Pittsburgh (9-2)

16) Oregon State (8-3)

17) Miami (9-3)

18) USC (8-3)

19) California (8-3)

20) Oklahoma State (9-3)

21) Houston (10-2)

22) Nebraska (9-3)

23) West Virginia (8-3)

24) Stanford (8-4)

25) Utah (9-3)

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Steelers Historical Strong Defense: White, Green, Holmes, Greenwood

Damali Binta YAEL — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:22:50 -0500

During the same years the Pittsburgh Steelers were building "The Steel Curtain," America was building a defense for dropouts and push-outs in urban schools.

Those years saw the high school dropout rate for African-American males climb to an alarming high. There was a crisis because of a lack of presence of role models. Organizations like the National Urban League got involved in education, mainly to help reduce the dropout rate in urban communities.

Defenses needed to be built in American education. Young men needed to be herded off the streets and back into the classrooms. The legislation that would fund the dropout prevention programs, which was America's defense for an emerging problem, was called the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA).

As the project director of a Houston Area Urban League ESAA project, I was told to hire four strong men who could help find the dropouts and encourage them to return to high school, and to identify those who were potential dropouts.

I found four good men to implement the project. One of them, I distinctly remember, was a relative of Dwight White, a defensive player with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The name of Dwight White's relative was Bob White, and he had been a probation officer. He was perfectly suited for the job.

The other man I hired was an ex-U. S. Marine who wanted to help young people.

Mr. White constantly talked about his relative Dwight. I was curious and Mr. White would share with us, the experiences of Dwight White, "Mean" Joe Greene, Ernie Holmes and L. C. Greenwood.

Each NFL player stands out in my mind for a different reason.

Dwight White stood out because he was the relative to a man who worked as a counselor in the program I directed.

"Mean" Joe Greene stood out because of his performance on the football field and his name.

Ernie Holmes stood out because he attended Texas Southern University, and he was known for his intensity on the playing field. His name stands out in my mind even more now because he fathered one of the promising young mathematicians in the United States, Dr. Rod Holmes.

There were really four outstanding defense players with the Pittsburgh Steelers at that time. I made no connection with the fourth player.

Here is what an interesting chapter in history looks like in 2009. Ernie Holmes who passed away, at 59 years old, in a car accident somewhere between Houston, Texas and Beaumont, Texas is the father of a young mathematician who has made history.

I work with Ernie Holmes' son.

Dr. Rod Holmes, the second African-American man to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Houston, must have put up a powerful defense to negotiate his way to the end of a historical accomplishment.

He was mentored by Dr. Willie Taylor, the first African-American man to receive his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Houston.

Is it possible that the wisdom of his father, the great defensive player with "The Steel Curtain" rubbed off on the son, Dr. Rob Holmes?

The determination, persistence, and passion you need for football is also needed in intellectual endeavors. Perhaps the powerful attributes of the father were passed on to the son, giving him the coping skills to wedge forth and get a Ph.D. in one of the most challenging areas in mathematics, functional analysis? I think so.

Does the tradition of building and having a powerful defensive team continue in the current Pittsburgh Steelers team? Probably so.

Traces of genius stood out in the career of Ernie Holmes. In one quote we see:

"Holmes, drafted out of Texas Southern, was part of a defense that held Minnesota to 17 yards rushing and 119 total yards in the 1975 Super Bowl. The Steelers won their first title, 16-10. They were back a year later, beating Dallas 21-17 for the championship.

"The 1976 Steelers defense was one of the best in NFL history, shutting out five opponents -- three in a row -- during a nine-game, season-ending winning streak. The Steelers allowed only 28 points during those nine games, an average of slightly more than a field goal per game.

"He was devastating and would just destroy the opponent across from him," Russell said. "Sometimes I had to remind him to tackle the guy with the pigskin. He was a brilliant player. He played all with his heart."

"He used his head, too. Besides "Fats," he was also known as "Arrowhead" because in 1974 he shaved his head, leaving only an arrow-shaped pattern of hair on his skull.

"I asked him, 'What the hell did you do that for?'" longtime Steelers director of communications Joe Gordon said. "We were getting ready to play the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. He said, 'That's to point me to the quarterback.'"

What stands out is the comment "He used his head" and "he was a brilliant player."

So, the four men who often bragged about the brilliance of L. C. Greenwood, Joe Green, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes were good role models. Perhaps they saw the merit and power of a good defense.

And, the four men who took part in "The Steel Curtain" set a model in place for those times by being one of the best NFL defense squads in NFL history.

Out of that pool of talent was birthed one of America's promising mathematicians. It looks like Dr. Rod Holmes inherited the brilliance and heart of his father. It is no small feat to be one of the few African-American men to get a Ph.D. in functional analysis.

Brilliance can be in the genes, however, it may manifest itself in different ways. Ernie Holmes showed his on the playing field while his son shows his in intellectual pursuits.

Now there is a story telling about what Ernie Holmes did, and how he approached Gene Upshaw of the Oakland Raiders. Holmes forewarned Upshaw that the Steelers defense was, let's say, stronger and more fierce than the Raiders.

Well, a game is coming up on Dec. 6. Is there a "Ernie Holmes" making his way to a "Gene Upshaw"? Is the Oakland Raiders team being forewarned about the tactics and strength of the Pittsburgh Steelers?

A historical encounter is captured in this quote:

"To motivate his teammates, Holmes purposefully strayed into the Raiders' warm ups to tell star lineman Gene Upshaw before the January 1976 AFC Championship Game what the Steelers would do to him and Oakland.

"The Steelers went on to win 24-13. But at a team Christmas party, Holmes surprised everyone by dressing up like Santa Claus and handing out toys."

It's 33 years later. In 2009 is there a Steelers defensive player who will "stray into the Raiders' warm ups" and tell the Raiders' star lineman what the Steelers will do to him and Oakland on December 6?

I conclude by saying that out of the personal heritage of Ernie Holmes has come an outstanding young mathematician, Rod Holmes.

More broadly, then, we can say that out of the franchise heritage of both the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Oakland Raiders should come forth with a "Ernie Holmes" and a "Gene Upshaw."

Who will win the game on Dec. 6, 2009? I will leave it up to you, the readers, to give predictions.

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ATTENTION NHL: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin Are Hitting Full Stride

Sergey Zikov — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:47:26 -0500

Take it to headquarters - "Air Raid, Mellon Arena."

This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. We need your undivided attention.

For the first six weeks of the season, the names Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have gone missing at the top of the NHL's point leaders, for various reasons. Crosby's wingers have been disappointing to say the least, with Chris Kunitz on the Injured Reserve and Bill Guerin only bothering to show up to the rink once every fortnight.

As for Malkin, he's been on the shelf himself, having missed a couple weeks with a bruised shoulder.

A rather shocking occurrence, as it's been some time since one of those two names hasn't been at the top of the scoring race for the Art Ross Trophy. But honestly, you didn't expect Nos. 71 and 87 to give up their chase for the scoring crown that easily did you?

On Saturday night, there was a full-fledged air raid at the old Mellon Arena, triggered by Captain Crosby's performance. The Penguins' marketing team couldn't have done a better job choosing the game with the New York Rangers to be "Hat Night", and no sooner were the hats passed out, they rained back down to the ice.

Crosby and Malkin are hitting full stride, as the Rangers found out the hard way in an 8-3 annihilation.

Crosby completed his fourth career hat trick, second of the season, and finished the night with five points after dishing out primary assists on Malkin and Max Talbot goals. Malkin, who put up less gaudy numbers, still finished with a goal and an assist. Both of the points came even-strength with Crosby.

For the record, the point explosion has Crosby vaulted right into the mix of the scoring race with 30 points, good enough for sixth place. Malkin has points in six straight games and 11 total in eight since his return to the lineup on Nov. 14.

But it's not how the point totals, it's how and when the two-headed monster are producing.

Sidney Crosby has his limitations as a goal scorer. He knows that and is completely fine with that fact. Most of his goals will come from around the net mouth, off deflections or rebounds. Many players would call these "garbage" goals, but a goal is a goal no matter how it finds it's way to the net.

However, he can not score from anywhere on the ice, like an Alexander Ovechkin may be able to do.

But, as the constant professional that he is, he is always looking for ways to improve his game. With the assistance of Sergei Gonchar, who happens to have a darn effective slapshot himself, Crosby has worked diligently to improve his slapper. While he has yet to score with the shot, he has made opponents respect it, dropping back on the power play to block it.

This has opened up what seems like acres of space on the ice for him.

In the last couple games alone, he has scored three times from range with an accurate snap shot, none more apparent than his hat trick goal. Taking a pass from newly returned defenseman Alex Goligoski , Crosby wound up for a slap shot, freezing a Ranger defender in his steps to give himself the extra time and space to measure up his dart of a wrist shot.

And that's not even mentioning his play on Malkin's goal. Working with his bread and butter behind the cage, he outmuscled Matt Gilroy, relieved him of the puck and flicked it out for No. 71 to poke home.

He may not be the most complete goal scorer, but the NHL's most complete player is still adding new pieces to his game.

As for Evgeni Malkin, many speculated that he may not be at 100 percent even after coming off the injury. Which in reality, isn't a fair thing to say.

Since returning, Malkin's stat line looks like such: 4 goals, 7 assists, +8 rating, 32 shots on goal. Does that sound like a slump? Just because Malkin has not utterly dominated a game like he did in the Eastern Conference Finals, doesn't mean he is in a slump or less than 100 percent.

He's got 11 points since returning and only two of those have come on the power play. In each of his first three NHL seasons, Malkin has registered 40, 40 and 41 points on the man advantage, a mark he is well short of matching on his current pace.

However, the Penguins power play looked 40 times more dangerous on Saturday night with a full compliment of players on the ice.

Not only did the unit score twice against the Rangers, it would have scored four or five had it not been for the solid early play of Steve Valiquette .

Malkin will no doubt be leading the power play into December, as his role has improved. Earlier in the season, he would be stationed on the right half wall, with the option to shoot or pass. Now, he has been moving all over the ice, from down low, to the point, to flying across the middle. Opposing penalty killers have no idea where he's going next.

They say knowledge is power. Lack of knowledge is a major disadvantage in hockey.

For good or better, the two-headed monster of Crosby and Malkin is starting to click on all cylinders. Don't blink, or they might just be leading the league in scoring once again.

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Gameday Gallery: Pittsburgh Panthers at West Virginia Mountaineers

John P. Wise — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:03:08 -0500

Friday night's game in Morgantown was the 13th on the OGS tour this season, and the first that was decided on the game's final play.

And there I was, indecisive and unprepared about how to shoot Tyler Bitancourt's game-winning field goal as time expired.

If you've been following my project this season, you know I don't come from a photography background, but along the way during my 15-year news career, I figured it might be smart to pick up some shooting skills, as well as a decent camera and lens.

So while I still have some work to do to lens like a serious pro, I think I'm getting better at at least thinking like one. When it became clear the Mountaineers were calling their last two plays with field position in mind, and setting up the decisive field goal, I hurriedly looked around for an angle different from where everyone else would be shooting from.

The only thing I had time to do was climb 10 steps up one of the portals into the stands and ask an usher if I could shoot from there, between the 10- and 15-yard lines.

As the teams traded timeouts, I fished around my camera bag for my widest lens—18mm—but it's not a great lens and after I finally got the 200mm off and put the wider lens on, the teams were lining up so I hurriedly pointed the camera and fired away.

In my frantic effort to set up the shot, I'd put the camera on Program mode, assuming it would give me the largest aperture setting. And as you can see by this Photoshopped picture , that was not the case.

Anyway, I did at least like one thing about the picture: Pitt wideout Jonathan Baldwin, whose 50-yard touchdown reception tied the game just a few minutes earlier, shows a vertical leap worthy of a look from Jamie Dixon, efforting albeit unsuccessfully to block Bitancourt's kick.

That was just one picture, and it turned out to be a learning experience, as much of this tour has. Here's the rest of the Gameday Gallery .

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Penn State Football: 2010 Recruiting Class No. 3 in the Country

Allison Bail — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:10:37 -0500

Penn State's football program currently ranks third in the nation for it's 2010 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com .

The only two schools the Nittany Lions trail are Texas and Alabama.

Penn State is eleven spots ahead of any other Big Ten teams, as Michigan is ranked 14th, and currently has 14 4-star commits as well as 6 3-star commits.

The recruiting class is highlighted by two 4-star QBs who are ranked in the top seven in the country.

The 7th overall QB is Pennsylvania’s own Paul Jones. Jones is from McKees Rocks and plans on enrolling at Penn State in the spring to gain an extra semester to work with the team, something many recruits do across the country.

The other quarterback is Robert Bolden.

Bolden is from Orchard Lake, Michigan and he is ranked 2nd in the country. He is a dual-threat quarterback, meaning he can run and pass. He ran a 4.5 40-yard dash, which is very quick especially for a quarterback. It has also been quoted that he has the strongest arm of any recruit this year.

It will be very interesting to see what happens next year for the starting quarterback spot. Since Kevin Newsome has a year under his belt, I’m sure he will be given the first chance.

However, I’m sure these freshmen will be chomping at the bit to get in there. I think it is a wide open race, but someone needs to step up to win the job.

Khairi Fortt is another name that is at the top of Penn State's list.

Fortt is a 4-star recruit from Stamford, Connecticut and is ranked 2nd among outside linebackers across the nation. Fortt, and linebacker Mike Hull, will keep up our strong tradition here at Linebacker-U.

Hull is also a 4-star recruit from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Penn State is still not done with recruiting this year. The Nittany Lions are currently pursuing the 2nd overall running back Marcus Lattimore.

Lattimore is from Duncan, South Carolina, and he was very impressed with the Nittany Lions and the campus on his latest visit, the weekend of the Ohio State game. He still hasn’t made his final decision, but this would be huge for the future if we land this kid.

It’s great to see so much success in the recruiting aspect of the program. These are the future stars of Penn State football, and by the looks of it the future is very bright.

Success starts with recruiting, and it’s good to see athletes from all over are recognizing us and want to become Nittany Lions. As our success on the field continues, it will do nothing but help our success with recruiting.

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