In the past hour I received the following message, with the Subject "Thanks and a Look Ahead," from <NFL@email.nfl.com>. Probably a bunch of us here received the same letter from Roger Goodell, if you're on the same NFL mailing list.

I love the way he claims that there are "fan complaints" about preseason. I'd love to know how many fans actually complain about that compared to, say, the inconsistency of penalty calls and fines. Even a young child knows the most important aspect of any game is that it has clear, fair rules. But this is precisely where Goodell has failed.

I have to admit he does make a good point about rookies being overpaid, and do believe that some of the changes to emphasize player safety are important to players as well as the league.

Other thoughts?

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When I saw this headline on the WPXI website, my immediate thought was, "Whew! I am soooooo glad that he's not our problem anymore." While I had my doubts at the time, the Rooneys and our coaching staff really seem to have made a good call on Holmes, especially after handing off the Jets' 5th-round pick to the Cardinals. Now we have BMac back, and landed Dwyer with the 6th round pick. With Holmes' recent behavior, the trade is looking more and more like a great move.

Story here.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Lou Spanos, who had been a defensive assistant for the past 15 years, is leaving to join the Redskins as their linebacker coach.

This would make the only coaching change (so far) on the defensive side. I have to admit I don't know from Lou Spanos. For those more in the know, what's your take on this change? Is this troublesome, good news, or something in between?

"The Chief" is a one-man show about Art Rooney. If you also live in Pittsburgh, check out this last opportunity to see a live performance (for free), after the jump.

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I'm not a fan of Bruce Arians -- miss the Whiz and all that. Also, I'm an academic and tend to parse words. So maybe I'm reading too much into how Bruce Arians speaks when he says:

I don't have a fullback. There's no fullback in my offense, there's never going to be one.

I have several problems with this quote:

1) We don't have a fullback. Our main running back wants one, and last month Bring Back Dan Kreider's post convinced me we run better with a fullback, so I think it's reasonable to question Arians' judgment. However, this isn't actually my main complaint, because as bad as Bruce Arians is, he has more football knowledge in his little pinky than I do in my entire body. And I'd need to recommend someone to come off the 53-man roster so that we can have a fullback, and this post isn't about the roster: it's about Bruce Arians.

2) He said: I don't have a fullback. Not: we don't have a fullback, our offense doesn't have a fullback, or the team doesn't have a fullback. And he said: my offense. To me this suggests that Arians, on some basic emotional level, doesn't work well with others. If I were reading this ungenerously, I'd say he's an egomaniac.

3) He said: there's never going to be one. To me this displays a distinct lack of flexibility in his thinking, the same lack of flexibility we see in his situational play calling. Never? Really? Even if the best available player when we draft happens to be someone we think would make a great fullback?

Now maybe BA is getting sensitive about people questioning his judgment, so he wants to emphasize that this is his team, not the reporter's, and by saying never he hopes to shut down further inquiry. But I can't imagine Tomlin or Lebeau talking about the team in the same way (if anything, Tomlin is overly fond of using "we"). If BA can't take some public criticism or if he is unwilling to admit when he has made mistakes, how will this offense improve?

By the way, the quote in context can be found here.

Being blessed to live in Pittsburgh, I'll be heading out to Latrobe for training camp. Because of my work schedule and other commitments, I'll probably go during a weekday during the first full week, stacking the trip with a visit to Idlewild.

Last year when we went, we couldn't find a place to eat. Or rather, we couldn't agree on a restaurant for two adults, a toddler, and an infant that provided better value than simply driving home and making a home-cooked meal, or going to a restaurant back in the city.

Any suggestions for restaurants and other fun places for families around Latrobe, besides training camp and Idlewild?