SB Nation User Blog: Fahey

We said what we said...

Fahey — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:23:31 -0000

I can't believe Tomlin started Ben just two weeks after a concussion; we all saw how he played two years ago after a concussion. Clearly, Byron Leftwich should've been given the start.

We should immediately trade Willie Parker; he's lost his big play ability and can't establish a respectable ground game.

The offensive line will never get us through a playoff game.

Woodley's hit the wall for his first year starting; hopefully he'll last longer next year, but now he's just out of gas.

Arians can't put together a decent game plan to save his life. Tomlin should be fired for having the audacity to have a better record after two years than the previous two Steelers' coaches.

I don't understand why they keep putting Holmes back on punt returns ... he's just gonna muff it and lose the special teams battle ... save him for receptions.

Where ya at RE & Beerman? I haven't heard from ya since that game against the Colts...

A tip of the hat to Baltimore

Fahey — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:27:39 -0000

I loved watching the Ravens stomp the Boys in the final game at Texas Stadium. Word on the street is that when the schedule was in the planning stages, Jerry Jones was given his choice of which AFC North team to face in this final game. In choosing between Cincy and Baltmore he decided he didn't want to face Palmer, TJ, & Chad Johnson. Once again his pure football prowess on display for the nation to see. The two longest rushing touchdowns from an opponent ever at the stadium! Fabulous way to finish out Irving's tenure as the home of a glorified fantasy roster ... good for numbers, never for wins.

Even though it helps out Baltimore, at least I can respect the way Baltimore plays. The Dallas Cowboys are just shiny like a disco ball, and look like they smell of imitation leather and cheap motel sex.

Remembering An Oscar Worthy Performance: PIT vs. TEN. Divisional Playoffs 1/11/2003

Fahey — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:25:24 -0000

I asked Fahey if he would retell this painful story for BTSC. I'm not sure I've ever been so angry during a sporting event. I really respect Jeff Fisher and the job he has done in the National Football League, but this one game will forever taint my image of the franchise. Many thanks to Fahey for the fine story-telling. I can't wait for Sunday. - Blitz-

*****************

In looking back to last week we see a game in which our team won, and rightfully won, but a game that will be remembered as one with a controversial call. In looking to next week, our team faces a staunch opponent, one we might see again in the postseason, and a joint-history that contains a story of a downright bad call. As far as degrees of judgment go, I'll take a controversial call over a bad call on any given gameday.

Let's take a quick look.

"For a game to be decided on that call is ludicrous. And for me to have to explain to an official what's reviewable and what's not? That's wrong. Fine me if you want. That's the truth." - Bill Cowher

But we'll get to that. It's difficult to figure out where to begin. We could begin with the preseason, in which the divisions and conferences were once again realigned, and a new playoff format devised. Or we could begin with the preceding weekend, in which a resurgent Wild Card Cleveland came into Heinz Field and pushed Pittsburgh for 57 brutal minutes, until a lucky dropped pass forced a punt, and a rag-tag group named Maddox, Burress, Ward, Fuamatu-Ma'afala, and Tuman drove a bit over half the field to assure the Steelers of one more weekend, a lost weekend in Nashville.

Or we could begin by mentioning that Nashville's a fantastic town.

But a town of heartache: cheatin' women, dead dogs, & cars up on blocks ... old Nashville that is, before the glitz of pop co-opted roots country as a money-market driven derivative of a once-noble form. A town of heartache and loss. A town where thousands have tried to better their luck and strike the bigtime, and a town where thousands have failed.

The Tennessee Titans won their division in the 2002 season, and gleefully waited for Pittsburgh to brave the Volunteer State on January 11, 2003 to see which team might earn a chance to fight for the conference title.

The most recent images of Steve McNair are of a broken-down man struggling to keep his body together while under center. It's often forgotten that he served wonderfully as Steve "Air" McNair (no relation to Michael Jordan) for the Tennessee Titans, with a young, powerful & fast Eddie George taking handoffs.

This one was a tight, hard-hitting game that sidelined Plaxico Burress and Kendrell Bell and Eddie George: the kind of game the two teams have played since the former Houston Oilers were a constant postseason rival in the late 1970s. Each team had exactly 324 yards at the 2-minute warning ... an intense game: even Maddox and Jeff Fisher once had to be separated before a melee ensued. (Although personally, if it came to throwing haymakers, I'd put my money on Fisher ... I'd imagine the old highway patrolman moustache packs a pretty mean jab & hook)

Scoring drives were traded equally, and throughout the course of regulation the box score was split pretty evenly:

o TEN - McNair 8-yard run (Nedney kick) TEN 7-0
o TEN - George 1-yard run (Nedney kick) TEN 14-0
o PIT - Ward 8-yard pass from Maddox (Reed kick) TEN 14-7
o PIT - field goal Reed 30 yards TEN 14-10
o PIT - field goal Reed 39 yards TEN 14-13
o PIT - Zereoue 31-yard run (Reed kick) PIT 20-14
o TEN - Wycheck 7-yard pass from McNair (Nedney kick) TEN 21-20
o TEN - Kinney 2-yard pass from McNair (Nedney kick) TEN 28-20
o PIT - Ward 21-yard pass from Maddox (Burress pass from Ward) Tie 28-28
o PIT - field goal Reed 40 yards PIT 31-28
o TEN - field goal Nedney 42 yards Tie 31-31

And then into overtime. When you watch your team go into overtime you know your odds of turning off the television happy are the same odds as the coin flip. That's provided the game's called fairly, and the odds are permitted to exist as odds:

Dewayne Washington was beat twice on two big pass plays and the Titans seemed almost as surprised as the audience to find themselves standing within range of a game-winning field goal.

The 2003 Academy Awards were fairly predictable, with Oscars going to:

Best Movie: Chicago

Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, The Hours

Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago

Best Actor: Adrien Brody, The Piano

Best Supporting Actor: Joe Nedney, Kicker, Tennessee Titans

As Nedney's kick failed to split the uprights Dewayne Washington slid along the grass toward the spot of the ball like a baserunner sliding into second on a short outfield pop. Attempting a block in the manner all special teams members are coached to attempt a block. Nedney took two plain-as-day steps into Washington, so that his ankle was ever-so-slightly brushed by a shoulder pad, and proceeded to hop, flop, twist & spin his way down onto the ground as though a sledgehammer had just been applied to his kneecaps.

Washington was flagged for running into the kicker, and Nedney had flopped his way into another kick. Jason Gildon attempted to call a timeout before the new kick, but the referee informed him he didn't have any.

They did have a timeout, and the scoreboard accurately portrayed said timeout, as a matter of fact it portrayed BOTH timeouts the Steelers still had. Postseason overtime is different from regular season overtime, and the umpire of this particular match first didn't grant the TO, and then later (to cover his own ass) told the referee that the TO request came after the snap.

Needless to say, Nedney was given a nice little gift from the officiating crew, and successfully put a final score of 34 - 31 on the board.

"There is one thing that is going to stick in my mind and that's the ref took that. Let it come down to us losing the game and not the ref losing the game for us." - Joey Porter

Milliseconds after the "game-winning kick" Cowher rushed onto the field and got millimeters from referee Blum's face. Spitting and chinning, but ultimately knowing that at this point it was too late ... that there might be a Fed-Ex package from the league the next morning explaining and apologizing for the bad calls and mistakes, but that no Fed-Ex package would get them any further in the postseason.

The Steelers played terribly the following season, and it became readily apparent that Maddox had peaked, or that the league had figured out how to contain and beat him. And in 2004 we entered into the contemporary edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And so looking to Sunday, and the impending date with the Titans, all I can offer is that I've disliked these guys since they were the Oilers. And grew to dislike them even more in the Glanville days of coaching the team to cheat and steal. And grew to outright detest them since watching Nedney pirouette his team into the Conference Championship.

I don't want to offer too much in the way of predictions and analysis as other posts have already wonderfully covered those topics and I've already spent enough time looking back. But I will offer the following (though it will certainly echo what others have already said): Pittsburgh seems to be peaking at the right time in the season, while Tennessee seems to be in a bit of a mid-stumble. If both of those facets continue you and I will be doing a lot of cheering this Sunday. I've got faith in the Black & Gold to pull off two more wins and keep the playoffs in Pittsburgh. And if we cross paths with Tennessee again in the postseason, we'll wanna do that at Heinz Field. As said, Nashville's a town of heartache & loss.

Postgame Thoughts / Pregame Thoughts

Fahey — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:31:06 -0000

Every season good teams win games they're not supposed to win. That's what makes them good. That's why the Colts and the Giants each have a W next to their game against Pittsburgh. That's why Pittsburgh has a W next to its game against Dallas.

This game was one that on paper was evenly matched, and I think many people (myself included) simply guessed that whoever scored last would walk out victorious.

Both defenses were incredible. Both offenses showed up occasionally. I can think of numerous Steelers games this season that are like going to a Neil Young concert: he's gonna kill you with boring, new songs that continue to fall flat, but soon enough he'll break out some tracks from Harvest and you suddenly remember why you paid the ticket price. Many first half performances are just substandard nailbiters ... close, but not that edge-of-the-couch kinda close. More of a ‘why can't you just score?' kinda close. It's in the ability to finish, to close the game out in the 3rd & 4th, that we see the greatest hits ... we see the promise that we know is there and that we've been expecting since the very first mini-camps and OTAs.

The double-standard of fandom is thus enacted: Romo, a very talented QB, is stifled by the dominant Pittsburgh defense. We credit the D with the W. Roethlisberger, a very talented QB, is stifled by the dominant Dallas D. We complain and insist that the O has not yet found its identity. There are repetitions and variations within each game plan, and the process as a whole is just that: a process. It's a living, moving being until the final whistle, and all we can do is hope for improvement on every snap, every play, every quarter, every game, every week, and every season. We can hope that as the banged up offense continues to practice and continues to get healthy that each week will offer us an improvement of that process, and an improvement of the cohesion/unity necessary to win the way Pittsburgh wins.

To Baltimore to face the stiffest challenge yet. Stiffest in terms of what's at stake. Stiffest in terms of, clearly, the biggest division rival who all of a sudden is playing great ball, and knows the Steelers as well as the Steelers know them. The only difference between their records is from Pgh's win over them early in the season, early as in before the Ravens caught fire and rallied. I'll grant the shit-talkers this: the quality of opponents the Ravens have beaten is not in the same echelon as those left beaten by Pittsburgh. That of course means very, very little. Ray Lewis is a professional wrestler back there ... and though I laugh every time I see him, his defense is doing exactly what Pittsburgh's defense is doing: undoing the opposing offense and keeping their offense in the game.

My early, off-the-top-of-my-head assessment of keys to victory is quite simple: Pittsburgh's linebackers need to remind Joe Flacco that he's a rookie. A great rookie ... right there with Matt Ryan as far as Rookie of the Year awards go, but a rookie nonetheless. Unravel him and make him hear footsteps every time he's under center. Of course Ben's been susceptible to the same type of pressure, and so there's going to be a need for a solid running game, and a mistake-free passing game. Ben seems to be feeling a bit better, and so I agree with others on here who have called for some scripted roll-outs and bootlegs. 2 or 3, just enough to remind Ben of who he is and where his strengths lie. If he has success early with the occasional improvisational passing route, it'll make him much, much tougher to deal with if and when the game's on the line.

Back to the Dallas game to get two items off of my chest: 1) Hines Ward, 1 reception for 2 yards. What the hell? Do I even need to explain why that pisses me off? I think that clearly explains why Pittsburgh trailed until the end of the game. 2) on that TD to Owens. First of all, it was great improv from Romo ... fantastic scrambling, and TO stayed alive along the back of the end zone. They both did great work to get that one. My only question is why Harrison initially dropped back into pass coverage. Not on a goal line, not when you've held them without touchdowns, and not when your strength is making big sacks in moments like that. Not to question General LeBeau's call or anything, but that just seems to be the time and place 92 earns his paycheck.

And back to next week. Between now and then expect the media to continue Pittsburgh's ascent up the Power Rankings. This ain't college dude / those rankings mean nothing. We watched a tough game, and the team we love walked away with the W ... we'll all spend some free time watching highlights, reading write-ups, thinking happy Steeler thoughts, agreeing with pundits we normally despise ... but it's time to be wary of every opponent and of every week. Especially when it's a divisional opponent with a real chance at a postseason spot and a real desire for revenge pumping through its little purple heart. A win this week is not required for another divisional crown; that trailhead can be reached via the scenic route as well.

In any case, as said they've gotta run that ball. And they've gotta make Flacco flaccid.

Prediction: Steelers 20, Ravens 10.

Statistics, Cassel, Defenses, and Ramblings...

Fahey — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:50:12 -0000

I've read some good takes on New England, and specifically on Cassel as he's the story in New England this season. I've read some good takes on Pittsburgh, and specifically on its suffocating defense as that's the story in Pittsburgh this season. By all accounts, this Sunday's game is pretty evenly matched, and could easily go either way.

Statistics. Once again, I work in finance, so I spend the vast majority of my waking hours going over numbers, statistics, averages, percentages, spreadsheets and flowcharts. Crunching and double checking, applying and reserving, releasing and analyzing. And I can offer a blanket metaphysical belief: statistics mean nothing. Well sure, they mean certain things ... but those meanings are quietly reserved for the aforementioned spreadsheets and flowcharts. While certain real world implications might apply, I am not yet ready to commit myself to a faith in stats. As far as football goes, stats are for two purposes: fantasy football, a wonderful marketing game that the NFL loves as it sucks countless stat-nerds into the NFL brand and product (I as well have a team so no judgment intended). The second purpose is as a contract bonus option throughout team rosters in order to avoid paying players the number they're told up front ... players are sold on this idea of a team sport, "it's all about team; it's all about the win; it doesn't matter how," but at the same time they're then told that they'll make X dollars, but X plus Y dollars if they achieve statistic A, B, and C. A double standard between front offices and the general labor force ... as in any corporation.

I offer that lengthy look at numbers as I've heard numerous times that Cassel hasn't faced a defense remotely as tough as the Pittsburgh group, an opinion I share. Similarly, that his "strength of schedule" has had him tossing balls against teams primarily with losing records. That's what the numbers say. Just as the numbers once said sub-prime mortgages were a beneficial contribution to a growing economy.

There was an ancient Greek philosopher named Zeno who proposed a theory of an arrow shot from a bow: that it could never reach its target. Why? Well first the arrow must travel half the distance between its origin and its endpoint. But it then has to travel half the distance from the midway point to the target, but then half the distance from there to the target, and half the distance from there to the target, and so on ... an infinite number of distances that can be calculated by a continuous division by two. If there are infinite measurable distances that the arrow must travel, it will never arrive at its target. Zeno's argument was not to propose that an arrow never reaches its target; his point was to demonstrate that absolute, infallible logic can be used to reach entirely incorrect conclusions.

All of that is background to state that Cassel has been learning and has had aggregate success along the way. Perhaps it's not impressive that Cassel and the Patriots laid a thrashing on Denver, a team with no defense to speak of, but those are the games that build confidence and help young players grow. You can't expect a young quarterback to face Pittsburgh and pick apart the defense, but you can from time to time expect a young player to learn the playbook, the routes, the reads, and the speed of the game along the way, against weaker defenses, and to show up prepared when he finally does go up against a top-tier D. For example, the presence of Limas Sweed in the game against Cincinnati. Many have expressed disappointment in Sweed, but just as many have expressed the patience necessary for him to grow as a professional player. It's in games against the weaker opponents where someone like Sweed is given an opportunity to contribute, learn, and grow. What he learned with his special teams mistake, as well as what he learned with his great catch during a late-game drive are both necessary building blocks to help him have more success later on. He can't be expected to be a star receiver until he learns how to be one, and can only learn how to be one by taking advantage of opportunities and learning from them.

For a Steelers fan I'm certainly offering a lot of contextual praise for Matt Cassel. Look, some stats are great as talking points; for example, Ben will end the season with the highest number of wins after five years as a starting quarterback, ever. Great. He's in phenomenal company, and that means that as a team, the Steelers have had a great 5 years. That doesn't mean he's going to go out and win every game for you. On paper, the Steelers had beaten the Bengals before either team walked onto the field last Thursday, but until the final whistle blew not a thing on any one of those papers held any meaning whatsoever. On paper Cassel has never faced a defense like he will on Sunday, but until the final whistle blows that means jack shit.

Some folks have debated my praise and surprise of young Matty Cassel due to certain statistics. All I'm saying is that the game and the stats are two very different beings. This particular game could be tight, and honestly my biggest concern is simply home field advantage for the Pats. All 5 remaining games are ‘big games' as far as the Steelers and the postseason are concerned. With New England this week and Dallas the following, I do believe it's important for the Steelers to win at least one of them. To demonstrate to the stat-nerds in the media that Black & Gold can beat up on other playoff-bound teams. To finish the final 5 games at least 3-2 and go into the postseason with momentum, emotion, and faith.

Ultimately, of course I'm hoping to see Cassel sacked 10 times, picked off at least 3, and held with no first downs. I'm just saying don't overlook the guy just ‘cause he's not Tom Brady. He can throw the ball, and he's got one of the finest groups of receivers out there ... all of whom are playing every game with their postseason on the line. And honestly, I do believe that the Steelers will win this game, but not handily: I'm guessing by either 3 or 7. But those are stats I'll look at after the game. That's when the math matters ... it's all about execution and momentum when the big guys are on the field.

Quick Thoughts

Fahey — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:50:12 -0000

Pacman Jones has been reinstated, but won't be allowed to return until Dec. 7 ... when the Cowboys face Pittsburgh. Last time we had a similar situation as this, with Ricky Williams, the D knocked him right back out of the lineup. Here's hoping for a repeat.

I've thought long and hard about the season, and clearly I'd like Pittsburgh to win the Super Bowl. However, if that doesn't happen option two on my wishlist is for the Titans to go undefeated all the way. Just think about how much that would piss off the Colts and the Patriots ... with all the hype they get year after year about going undefeated, and with last year especially in mind ... if the Titans were to go straight through without a defeat it would end the yearly countdown, and it'd knock all the hyperbolic statements about the Pats right out of the media's lexicon. When the Pats or Colts are 10 - 0 everyone's jibber-jabbering about their chances ... the Titans are 10 - 0 and everyone's talking about who's gonna beat 'em. The TVs love the sexy teams; it'd be nice to see a physical, smashmouth, running team with a great D do it first. Or second ... the same way the 72 Dolphins did.

Of course I'd really prefer them to be undefeated and suffer their first loss to Pittsburgh, but as said ... this is option two if my first wish-of-a-scenario doesn't come to fruition.

The Steelers, Big Ben, And A New Sense of Place

Fahey — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:09:54 -0000

Bumped. This is a decidedly engaging and worthwhile read so come back to it if you're short on time. It's quite lengthy, though not oppressibly or unnecessarily so. Many thanks to Fahey for taking the time to share. - Blitz-

*****

As I have been a bit on the aggressive side in responding to negative attacks on Big Ben, I offer the following story of peace, football, and personal experience. It might grow rather long, and so I apologize if I monopolize your time. It also might offer some insight into my fervent defense of Ben.

My wife's uncle moved from Pittsburgh to Berkeley, California in the summer of 1974. He had been a fan of the Steelers since the days when fans of the Steelers were fans of the Pirates. That's not a baseball reference. He had waited and waited, watched the L's pile up, and maintained his support. When a work opportunity opened up for him on the other side of the country he packed his things and left his home; the team he had loved so much, and that had continuously let him down, then went on to win its first Super Bowl within months of his move, while he watched 3000 miles away from the city he never forgot. The Steelers went on to win three more rings before he had returned to Pittsburgh in the late 80s.

There are many years I could recount between then and now, but I'll fast forward to the Neil O'Donnell era, the era that gave many of us new hope. Most of us thought we had our field general; #14 however, gave Super Bowl 30 away. Absolutely gave it away. And in the process gave Dallas cornerback Larry Brown MVP honors, the first cornerback to ever receive said honors. And not the corner you'd expect to win it playing on a team with Deion Sanders.

I clearly remember the entire day: it was warmer than expected, and running many pregame errands (i.e. beer & snack runs) on every corner there was a group of people grilling or eating what had recently been grilled, holding "honk if you believe" signs ... each of which received numerous insufferable honks from yours truly. Neil was more than ‘good enough' I thought, and I was absolutely certain that Greene, Lloyd, Kirkland, and Woodson would stop any semblance of offense from Big D. Ultimately, Pittsburgh walked away from the game with 50-some more yards of offense than Dallas, had held Emmitt Smif to under 50 yards, had 10 more first downs than Dallas, and O'Donnell -who leading up to the game had the fewest interceptions per pass ratio- was not eventually franchised as expected, but through terrible play had earned his free agency where he signed a big deal with the Jets, and continued to fail meeting expectations.

He eventually ended up with the Bengals, but during a 3-13 1998 season (still better than their current season) tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to beat the Steelers, and later in 1999 as McNair's backup in Tennessee filled in and beat the Steelers in week 17. He was always much better when throwing the ball to the players lined up opposite Pittsburgh. I've also heard rumor that Cowher contacted O'Donnell after Maddox went down, as Coach Chin wasn't quite ready to deal with a rookie Roethlisberger.

There's not much to say about Jim Miller and Mike Tomczak. They were there. Miller never played a full game. Tomczak occasionally stepped in as Kordell Stewart was inconsistent at best.

Mr. Kordell Stewart probably could have been one of the most dominant wide receivers or outside running backs the league had ever seen, but for whatever reason, perhaps due to his position in college, he was always listed as a QB. As said, inconsistent at best, though when Mike Mularkey was calling plays Stewart's game drastically improved. I honestly wonder how Stewart's career would've gone had the Steelers used him exclusively as a receiver, but maybe they learned their lesson with him and used those lessons to more effectively use Hines Ward. That said, Stewart followed the precedent set by O'Donnell: play a good enough season to get the team somewhere interesting, and then blow it on the national stage.

(To address rumors, etc. before they end up in the comment section, if Stewart is gay I only wish the league and the fans were open-minded enough that he and any and all other gay players could be open about who they are. It's a travesty that the active players in the NFL who are gay are forced by social conditions to keep the truth quiet. Rest assured, there are certainly a number of gay players who are active on team's rosters, but they're forced to live in secrecy because of the uneducated, the ignorant, and the prejudiced.)

And so Stewart is benched for old Tommy Maddox. UCLA star, journeyman backup, insurance salesman, Arena League hero, XFL pioneer and MVP, and finally the man to unseat Kordell's spot under center. After college Maddox did jack shit, despite all the hope and promise he had brought with him from his PAC-10 days. Pittsburgh gave him one good year ... or perhaps he gave Pittsburgh one good year. He showed the world that he had an arm, and gave us all another glimpse of success. Or he proved something to himself. Perhaps his one phenomenal season was nothing short of psychological peace for himself, to put his years of wandering and wondering to rest, to get the football out of his system in order to move on with his life. It was good in that it gave Pittsburgh what it needed to release Stewart; it was bad in that Maddox, after years and years of trying, has relegated himself to the one-shot wonder chapters of NFL history.

The Draft. I was never interested in Eli; I'm a lot like Blitz in that for some unexplainable reason I despise all things Manning. Most of us knew Colbert and Cowher were going to draft a quarterback, and after watching footage of the three frontrunners, I vastly preferred Roethlisberger over both Eli and Rivers. I thought, however, that he would sit a year and learn under Maddox before taking the reigns. I did callously remark during preseason, during a standard preseason discussion with my father-in-law, that maybe Maddox would get knocked out of a game and we'd get to see what Ben was all about. He replied "Well, he needs to learn on the bench for awhile; he's the quarterback of the future." Standard stuff ... I would've said the same thing were someone at that time to say what I had said. Week 2 against Baltimore and we all knew the future was now. 14 straight wins until an AFC championship loss, which I believe was Ben's first loss since his sophomore year in college.

In the summer of 2005 my wife and I were looking to settle in California. I had decided to go back to graduate school, and after teaching some summer school classes and saving up whatever money we could, we found ourselves in Oakland, CA ... a gritty, but very independently minded, artistic, and interesting place. By the 4th week of the season, Steelers on a bye and a 2-1 record I remembered the story my wife's uncle had told us, of moving to the Bay Area the summer before the Dynasty began. I figured my wife had some of that same blood flowing through her veins, and I loved the way the Steelers were playing. I also had some time off, and we were looking to get out of town on a short vacation. It had been awhile since we'd spent any time in a desert, and so we spent some time in some barren wastelands, watching lizards and sweating, a lot of sweating. As it came time to leave I mentioned that Las Vegas would only be about an hour out of our way and I'd like to place a bet. A small bet, but that early in the season I was given 100 to 1 odds on picking a Super Bowl winner. I figured $100 wouldn't be too bad to lose if it came down to it.

If you're near a calculator you'll see that I was handed $10,000 for that little guess of an investment.

We hosted the Super Bowl party that year, as at least half of the folks in the Bay Area are Midwestern transplants, our friends all agreed that we'd do rotating parties based on if someone's team was playing. We had people from Iowa, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland, Oregon, Arkansas, and Denver at our place. Many of these people thought that a Super Bowl party was more party than Super Bowl. Not so. Yes you can move around and talk, but the game is center stage and if you start distracting me and my guests you're in trouble. This is my game. I've waited 26 years to be here again. And so on. My wife and I were drunk by the time Willie busted out the longest rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history. He busted it out two seconds after one of the fellas from Iowa said, "Well, it's tight; I'd say the next big play wins it."

As you know, unless you're 3 years old, the Steelers did win it; my wife and I actually cried. It was the complete cycle, a precedent set by her uncle and one that continues now with my daughter. If she finds herself grown and wandering around the country in search of the same answers I myself wandered after, and if that is coupled by a long dry spell from the Black & Gold, she will have been raised to know that if she moves to the Bay Area in a summer following a good season, the next season will give her another Super Bowl victory.

The moral of the story might be the absence of a clear moral. Our time and our lives are not linear, but consist of interweaving webs of influence and multiple narratives. The Steelers are not the most important thing in the world to me; hell, they're probably not even in my top 10. I'm very busy; I work in finance and publishing; I have a beautiful daughter, a beautiful wife, and a fantastic mutt of a dog; I love long fixed-gear bicycle rides, hiking large mountains and alongside rivers; I regularly find myself at independent art galleries and poetry readings; I play the banjo, the guitar, and the mandolin; I tell the change in seasons not by the calendar but by watching populations of different bird species as they migrate in and out around the nearby lake.

Though born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA I never felt it was my home, only that home was an abstract idea that required an endless search. But throughout these different narratives, each of which threads somewhere through the makeup of who I am, Steelers football has always been one of the many lineages I carry with me. Maybe it's always a matter of timing, or context, but I truly feel that it was the draft pick of #7 that the Steelers reaffirmed their commitment to lifelong fans, like myself and many others on this board, who have since found themselves thousands of miles away from the city we knew we had to leave in search of something else, taking with us a little bit of labor politics, maybe the love of a like-minded traveler, and our reciprocal commitment to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Postgame Thoughts

Fahey — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:17:54 -0000

I have posted this as a fanpost as it doesn't fit the criteria for a ‘doom & gloom' thread. There are some keys to yesterday's game that resulted in a loss, despite winning many aspects of the game until the final few minutes.

Troy's dropped INT, even more so than Ike's tip-turn-Wayne-TD, was the biggest miss on the defensive side of the ball. If he held on he would've taken it back to the end zone and the Steelers would've been up by 17 at the half.

Ike's tips were heartbreaking, but in most cases those balls hit the ground. Both were lucky, lucky, lucky grabs by Wayne. 9 out of 10 times those are incompletions with credit granted to great defensive plays.

3 interceptions. The first pick, all on Ben. If he doesn't have the shoulder strength to thread the needle with a bullet, late in the half, with a 10 point lead, throw that ball into the stands. On the other hand, if he makes that toss and the Steelers march down the field for another score, the game's essentially over at the half ... it was a gamble, and we've all lost a gamble or two. The second pick, miscommunication and no timing ... basically, the problem is that these are the types of things established in practice, and Ben's been too sore to practice which knocks out the all-important chemistry portion of a QB/WR relationship. Third pick, doesn't count ... a hail mary will end up picked most of the time.

Follow-up on that: both of the drives that resulted in interceptions, I was sitting in front of the television (the Raiders game was blacked out, so I actually got to watch a Steelers game on local Oakland, CA television) speaking to my dog, my daughter, and my beer ... saying over & over again, "run the ball", "run the ball", "run the ball" (with an occasional adjective beginning with F preceding the word ball). I would imagine many of you had the same repetition going on. I understand the desire to let your franchise QB try and answer his critics, but those drives, more than any other drives in the game, should have relied on the run.

The opposite of the previous statement: we have all previously criticized Arians for calling three straight passing plays on the goal line, and he responded by calling three straight running plays on a day when the Steelers didn't establish a dominant running game. Capable and occasionally effective, but not even close to dominant. Variation, Mr. Arians, variation. Run, play-action, run ... or run, run, play-action ... or pass, run, play-action ... and so on. If we had, as mentioned, established dominance on the ground, pound it in and continue the dominance, but as that was not the case, the situation called for a variation of approaches in the search for one that works.

Guys who dress, don't get their numbers called all that often, but stepped onto the grass yesterday: I'm talking Spaeth and Baker. For some reason I usually view Spaeth as a guy who drops passes; he held on yesterday, but simply doesn't have the forward-lean and nose for the down marker that Heath has. He stepped up, but a few more yards after each grab would've been incredibly helpful. Dallas Baker cost the Steelers their final timeout by not holding onto a perfect pass. Left them in 3rd and 1 and a quick run to pick up the 1st, which required a timeout to kill the clock ... a timeout that would've been much more useful before the ‘hurry-up 5 seconds left to set and chuck it at the end zone'. With the aforementioned shoulder and timing hang-ups, the team really needed to stop and regroup before the final pass ... set a play and put all remaining focus into the last gasp of hope.

QB Controversy. So Ben doesn't have what it takes to toss a 65-yarder at the moment. Big deal. JaMarcus Russell has the strongest arm in the league but can't win a game to save his life. As I've grown older my eyes have begun getting much, much worse, so my bosses replaced my old computer monitor with a 19-inch HD digital flat-screen which makes my job much easier. It's up to Ben's coaches to put together a game plan that takes into account his current abilities. We've seen the small-ball dink & dunk game win a high percentage of games dating back to Walsh's time as an O-coordinator in Cincinnati (working with his QB at the time, Ken Anderson, who happens to be Ben's current QB coach). The roster is full of good-to-great receivers who will gladly play the possession & clock game, and there are tight ends who will grab those 6 or 7 yard tosses, and one who blocks as well as a lineman. I might as well let this lead into a new paragraph...

Game Planning: As said, the Steelers don't have a hyper-dominant run game, and Ben's shoulder can't handle the field-length bombs, and so the offensive coaching staff has got to take context into account when mapping out these games. If Ben's shoulder is going to ache terribly in the second half, it's imperative that Pgh. controls the clock and the ball early. Not just the first drive or two, but that for the majority of the first half the Steelers are able to successfully monopolize time of possession, wear out the opposing defense, and put points on the board, and it appears as though the only way to accomplish this at present is with the so-called dink & dunk game.

A quick, related side-note: I'm fairly certain that most of the people on this board calling for Ben to sit on the bench and for Byron to get under center are no older than 22, and have been paying attention to the minutiae of professional football maybe as early as the end of the Neil O'Donnell era, but more likely since the implosion that was the Kordell Stewart experiment. Except for Beerman, who I believe isn't close to old enough to drink, or at the very best is a subpar thinker living somewhere outside of Butler, probably under some power lines, but clearly nowhere near a book, or a newspaper, or any decent example of composition. Is Ben's play currently worth $100 million ... well, I have a pretty difficult time imagining anything that's worth $100 million, to be perfectly honest ... I'll probably have a financial debate with myself as to whether or not I can afford to cough up the $6 to grab a burrito for lunch, or if I should save the money and eat what I have in my office. The answer of course is no; his play is a bit off. The answer to that, of course, I've already addressed as a responsibility of the coaches to plan around and accommodate. When I look at Arians' game planning and management, in relation to Ben's health and abilities, I see numerous incongruities.

Tomlin has the same record as Cowher did at this point in his career. The only difference that I see between Tomlin and Cowher's approaches is that Tomlin has put a little too much trust in his offensive staff. I've read reports that he's beginning to take back a bit of control over that aspect, but regardless he ought to make sure that all game plans are built around an injured QB who will be very sore by the end of the game and a 3rd-string running back. Playing those two does not concede the game, but it does require a different game plan than earlier in the season.

Understand as well that Indianapolis is playing every game with their season on the line. They have no chance of winning their division, and are now playing for a wildcard spot. This was not a game that was a given win for Pgh. in the least, and if you honestly thought we'd be undefeated at this point, well I would submit that perhaps you pay a little too much attention to an over-hyped media and the highlight reel marketing tools of the NFL brand. Give Indianapolis credit for making the plays they needed to in order to win the game. Yes, Ben made some uber-costly mistakes, but it's not all on him. That's another element of $100 million ... part of that paycheck is to step up and shoulder the blame for losses. Pgh. dropped 3 interceptions; the Colts caught 3 interceptions. That statistic alone is enough to tell me who most likely won the game. If you look at Indy's wins this year, I think you'll see that they've benefited from well-timed interceptions: ends of halves / ends of games. They've never been a blitz-happy defense, but one that prefers to apply pressure with its front four, and drops into a seldom-penetrable secondary.

This loss makes the division a bit trickier for the Black & Gold, but we do hold the win over Baltimore. Next week it's San Diego, and they're in a similar situation as Indianapolis. A record not where most thought it would be and some big injuries among some big names. I think we win it. Baltimore has NY & Philly coming up; Cleveland has Buffalo next, and the Bills are in must-win mode. Now is not the time for alarms ... 6 - 3 is not too bad at this point in the game, and ultimately I think we'll have to wait until week 12 is over before we have a decent forecast as to how the postseason might shape up. That's of course assuming the Steelers don't lose every game between now and then.

During preseason many of us were predicting a 10 -6 record, and most seemed pleased with that prediction. I think right now it'll end up being either 11 - 5 or 10 - 6 and I think they take the division. (I think Baltimore goes 9 - 7 and Cleveland goes 5 - 11, at best 6 - 10). I also say start Ben again against San Diego, and let him rest the following week, starting Byron against Cincinnati. And run the fucking ball against San Diego. If there's a lead with a few minutes left and you have the best defense in the league, run the fucking ball.

Sorry for the length of this one; I got started and just couldn't stop.

Postgame Thoughts

Fahey — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:02:09 -0000

There's something psychological that occurs when a starter goes down; everyone looks around and realizes that he's gonna have to step it up a notch, and it seems to increase the importance of individual accountability. Everyone stepped up when Byron stepped in, and they all played the way we all knew they could play.

I don't think Arians changed the offensive game plan all that much, especially when looking at the 50-yarder to Nate to open the half. I think they went ahead with the normal adjustments, and who knows if Ben would've had the same success or not had he not been injured. I think the game plan stayed the same, but I've got to admit, Big Byron is healthier than I thought. His legs looked a bit wobbly by the end, but he played like he'd never been injured. His delivery is still strippable/fumbleable, but the line gave him as many seconds as he needed ... which isn't always the case (goes back to the team stepping up when their leader went down).

Tomlin was the man. Great challenge. LOVED the anger at the end with the helmet-to-helmet call on Farrior. I know Kornhole & Jaws reiterated, and I'll agree, that the call was perfect, right outta the rule book ... but it wasn't a bad hit and it gave their O another chance. Not a chance to win, but why take your foot off the gas at that point in the game. Put on a national demonstration that just because you play in the NFC East doesn't mean you can't get taken behind the woodshed & stomped all night. And I love a coach who has the same anger, expression & passion as his D.

The onside kick to open things up, no biggie ... I think a number of teams try it at least once a season - sometimes it works / sometimes it doesn't - and after those 3 and the 3 from the lucky INT, the Skins disappeared. I personally feel that the onside kick is much more likely to have success if attempted when it's not expected ... give it a shot if you've got the D to mop up if necessary.

Arians, Arians, Arians. I really don't think he's terrible; I just think he doesn't understand full offensive management. He could probably go back to working as a receivers coach or a tight ends coach with great success. Again, I'll give him credit as well as Leftwich for the second half, but maybe the continuous shit Ben gets into will be enough to snap him out of his "put Ben back there & have him toss a 12-step-drop touchdown bomb every snap" mentality. When you've got $100-million watching from the sidelines, the people paying that money are gonna give you a real long & hard performance evaluation.

The future. If the D brings this same intensity next week, let Ben rest up and let Byron run the same playbook. We've all already seen the best that the Colts have to offer, and that was 2 or 3 years ago ... they're on the decline, Peyton "9 for 10 in first half commercial spots" Manning is shaky, and their D is only built to help sustain a lead (i.e. can't stop the run). Plus I want Tomlin to beat up on Dungy. Edge him toward retirement, grasshopper.

The future again. I don't know what's in store for Byron beyond this season ... if the Steelers bring Batch back, or where Dixon's progress will be. But if Leftwich is no longer with the Black & Gold in 09, I hope last night's performance was enough to earn him a starting job for a good team. As long as it's not a rival team.

Post-game Thoughts

Fahey — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:11:45 -0000

I had this game chalked up to 50-50 in my head, and so I was prepared for a loss, but not such a heartbreaking one ... one where Black & Gold "won" the game all around, but lost as a result of a few plays.

Offense: Easy enough observation: too slow on a number of occasions, FAR too many penalties, & ineffective pass protection. I'm in agreement with a number of people who have blamed a certain percentage of sacks on Ben's propensity to hold onto the ball ... today, however, the line got beat. Plain and simple, the line got beat.

Refs: called a fair game. Did not disagree with a single call.

I'm getting into Nate Washington. Digging what the guy's been bringing onto the field. And youngster Limas Sweed is showing some promise; it was nice to see him come up with some plays when given the chance. We'll know if the 2nd round pick was a success in two years.

I don't know the statistics exactly, but I'm fairly sure that with a certain turnover differential defeat is guaranteed.

The Defense did what was expected of it. I had hoped for a couple of early sacks to unravel Eli, but he's had a consistent O-line for awhile now. The D held; the Offense just didn't contribute enough to the game.

The coaching was solid. I think a bit more of the hurry-up at times might have proven more effective, but ultimately it was still turnovers and penalties that sapped the offense of any potential.

Long snappers: I'm an Anarchist-minded non-voter. Given up on the larger, dominant political spectrum. But if you are a voter, and you happen to be one of those people who takes issue with immigration and allows immigration (both legal & illegal) to influence your vote, here's my opinion. Long snappers are illegal immigrants. They make the least amount of money, the minimum amount of money ... you don't know their names, you don't know their numbers, you know they exist but you look the other way and assume, comparatively, that when you go to sit down on the shitter, that it'll be clean ... someone making the minimum was there to wipe it off for you ... We've played through D-line & O-line injuries, RB injuries, WR mistakes, & QB injuries ... but the very base, the hardworking anonymous fella we all took for granted was the one whose injury pushed us over the edge.

Like the current mortgage bailout ... the supposed "weakest" members of this Capitalist society --those who couldn't qualify for a standard mortgage -- were the ones it took to usher in emergency/temporary Socialism.(?) Good thing nobody ever told the Soviets that all it takes are folk with bad credit to bring this all down.. We'd all be wearing red.

Anyway. I have no idea what the dude's name is. And I don't hold him to blame in the least. But ultimately it's the working people, those we seldom see or interact with or cheer for that --in a game of inches-- can either secure or undo the ultimate goal of the players and the fans.

The Steelers still control the division, and the two losses are to the NFC East. At this point what this means is that all that matters is how they respond next week in Washington. The Skins are playing as good a game as anybody right now.

It's time for the Offense to decide if it's gonna be good or bad for the rest of the year. Just make up your mind, man.