Ziggy Hood's comments after the game, as quoted in the Post-Gazette this morning speak volumes about him, about the Steeler team, about the Steeler organization, and about Steeler Nation.

Ziggy hasn't been the rookie getting all the headlines - that would be Mike Wallace, of course. But our first round draft choice has done everything that has been asked of him - and more. Denver was the first time he saw extended action in a regular season game, and he was a disuptive force in the Denver backfield. But rather than toot his own horn after his nationally televised debut, he showed Steeler class, Steeler humility and Steeler team spirit. The quote - in Gene Collier's column in the P-G literally stopped me in my tracks.

 

Here's the quote:

"I wake up every morning and thank God I play with people like this. It's not only the kind of players they are, but the kind of people. To be able to play on a defense with a tradition like this is just unbelievable. It's a blessing."

 

Wow. That's enough to make Coach Dad teary-eyed.

 

Thank you, Pledge Hood.  The future of Black and Gold House is strong. Somebody say amen!

Poll

Will Ziggy Hood be a clubhouse leader of this team, in the tradition of President James Farrior and Pledgemaster Hines Ward?

54%

Yes, absolutely

50 votes

41%

Still too early to tell

38 votes

3%

Don't think so, too quiet and self-effacing

3 votes

91 votes | Poll has closed

Now that Kirschke is out for the Denver game, it looks like the Steelers are down to their third-string defensive end, and it also means we're going to see a lot of two rookie defensive ends. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Okay, Aaron Smith is out, and his backup Travis Kirschke is out. And that leaves Eason and Kiesel as the starters. But this is Denver which - as we all know - is ten miles above sea level and where there is no oxygen at all. So the Steelers plan to rotate their defensive linemen a lot to keep them fresh. Or at least to keep them from dying due to lack of oxygen.

Ziggy Hood will be the backup on one side, and our man Sunny "Sonny" Harris will be the backup on the other. I'm really intrigued by this. Ziggy's been fine so far, considering that most rookies spend their first year on the bench, studying Coach Dad's playbook.

 

But, as a BTSC member, I firmly believe - as we all do - that Sunny "Sonny" Harris is the Next Great Thing, and may lead us back  to the Promised Land even before Isaac Redzone Redman. Monday night, we will see our two rookie defensive line draft picks bookending the Big Snack or Hokie. And with Denver likely concentrating on stopping Deebo and Woodley, we might get to see what the young pups can do.

Let's hope they play within themselves and avoid the rookie mistakes of enthusiasm. Traps and draws and reverses can kill rookies when their adrenaline is pumping. I just want to see Harris getting up and looking down over a fallen Orton....and I want to see that "after-the-sack glow" more than once.

With all the matchups everyone's talking about, I'm gonna be most interested to see how the two rooks handle themselves. We all know the 2009 draft was a good one. We may be on the verge of discovering whether it was a great one.

Good luck, rooks. I hope it's a night we long remember, and for all the right reasons.

The biggest regression this season has been kickoff coverage, and Stefan Logan hasn't exactly been the best gunner we've ever seen. The Cleveland Browns have just waived Anthony Madison, who was a real special teams ace last season.

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Blitz mentioned that the Redzone Channel is sponsoring BTSC for the rest of the season. This past Sunday, with the Steelers on the night game, I had a chance to watch a free sample of Redzone.

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Polamalu just told the Pittsburgh media – within the hour – that he will NOT need surgery, and will be back in three to six weeks. That all he needs for now is rest. He said that for an injury like his, this is the best possible outcome.

Smile. Take a deep breath. Exhale.

I’m convinced his off-season yoga training paid big dividends here, because his flexibility no doubt lessened the likelihood of a torn ligament.

Hopefully, they don't have to rush him back, because speed and quickness are the two top attributes that he brings to the table, and if Troy loses a step or loses that explosiveness, he's not Troy. We saw that a couple of years ago.

 

Yeah,, I know: it’s the best news any of us have had all day.

 

Most NFL franchises are businesses, some are teams. But the Steelers, at least this year, seem more like a fraternity. Those who were drafted - or signed as UDFA's (or FA's) - have been inculcated with fraternity lore, taught the history, the traditions, and what is expected of them.

Unlike most houses, there's more than one pledgemaster here. Hines is handling the wideouts. Aaron Smith and Kiesel are handling the new crop of defensive linemen. There's teaching and bonding going on every day. Do not underestimate the importance of this. On many teams, veterans fear the rookies who are there to take away their jobs. At Latrobe, veterans have been teaching rookies to carry on their tradition.

Ziggy Hood seems to be the Pledge Class President, the "golden pledge." He signed early, he was at the southside facility early to study films and keep in condition. He's been respectful of the brothers, sought them out and learned from them, and emulated their techniques. Know what the brothers like about Ziggy? Everything.

Pledgemaster Ward, who did such a great job teaching Pledge Holmes the virtues of the Steeler Way, is now busy working with Pledge Wallace. 'Nuff said.

There are some other very, very promising pledges.....and we have been impressed with the pledge class that rush chairman Colbert assembled....with probably half a dozen (or more) likely to become brothers this year...and several others remaining pledges on the practice squad.

The brothers - especially the seniors - can enjoy their easy camp. They're in shape. This gives them a break, but also gives the pledges and younger brothers more experience.

"Band of Brothers," they called themselves last year. And as they prepare to break camp, this band of brothers seems stronger, deeper, and closer than they were last year. They were the best house on campus last year, and it looks like they have a helluva pledge class.

It is St Patrick's Day, and - at this hour - President O'bama, wearing a green tie, is meeting at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen. It is the traditional holiday meeting between the leaders of the two nations.

And a piece of paper has just been placed in the bin in the White House Press Office, a news release announcing the President's nomination of a certain Daniel Rooney to be United States Ambassador to Ireland.

A White House correspondent with more than three decades on the beat just called me to confirm this most excellent news. (You get the news first at BTSC!)

Ambassador-designate Rooney must be confirmed by the Senate, which should be a formality, and then he will be "His Excellency, Ambassdor Daniel Rooney, Extraordinary and Pletipotentiary. "

But then again, Excellency has always been a watchword for him, and if anyone was ever extraordinary and plentipotentiary, it's been Daniel.

Great news for all of Steeler Nation, and sincere congratulations and best wishes to our Ambassor-to-be! Happy St Patrick's Day to all!

This was on the Steelers' website....and, as the brother of a man with Downs Syndrome...I am impressed that Dennis Dixon would do such a thing. I remember the day Franco and Rocky visted St Anthony's School for Exceptional Children in Oakmont....and know how often they visited the kids of Children's Hospital. And, of course, we all cherish Myron's great gift to the Allegheny Valley School. Life is about more than football, and it is great to see Steelers being role models and using their good fortune to help others.

Props to Dennis Dixon!!!! Quarterback Dennis Dixon lent a hand to help the family of a teenager who died several days after being hit by a car in Portland, Oregon.   Dixon, who played college ball at Oregon, held an autograph and photo session to help raise money for the family of Nathan Vredevelt. Vredevelt, who had Down syndrome, was attending a Portland Trailblazers game and wandered away, ending up outside trying to cross a busy highway when he was hit.    "After reading the story about Nathan, it really touched me, and I wanted to see what I could do to help out," said Dixon. "The community of Oregon has been really good to me, and I thought this was the least I could do to give my support to Nathan's family." 

 

So everybody had their breath taken away by Redskins owner Danny Snyder's hundred million dollar contract to Albert (Twelve games a year) Haynesworth.  OOOH!

Well, now the Boy Billionaire (as Myron once called him on the air) has released Jason Taylor after one season. Taylor missed better than half of that season with injuries, and declined to take a pay INCREASE in exchange for attending at least 25 of 39 off-season team related activities...or whatever they call it.

But in order to get Taylor in the first place, the Redskins traded aways a second round draft choice.

So now, this team - with an aging offensive line - has no Jason Taylor, no middle second round pick - and broke the bank and salary cap on one player.

The Steeler way - building from within - developing players - spending wisely and showing some loyalty and some love to the non-superstars - is the way to go.

And lurching from crisis to crisis, and perceived opportunity to preceived opportunity, like so many teams do, is the road to perdition - or maybe the road of Palookaville.

Don't worry if the Steelers aren't big players in the free agent big names market. It often is a fool's market. The Steelers don't subscribe to that mumbo-jumbo. They keep building from within, and the first rule is always: DO NO HARM.

 Free agents get to choose where they play.

The Steelers are the Champs. They are a model franchise. They have the most respected ownership in the league, maybe in all of sports. They have a charismatic young coach. There is unity in the locker room, and a Nation of fans that is legendary. Who wouldn't want to become a part of all this?

Of course, agents care first about the bucks, and the Rooneys spend theirs wisely -while fools like Dan Snyder overspend on over the hill free agents. Players care about the money, but everybody likes to go with a winner, and everybody would rather work for a good boss than a bad one.

My question is this: how much of an advantage do the Steelers have over other teams...if any.....and do you believe this will translate into a Steeler discount...where players - especially  free agents - will sign for less to wear the black and gold?

We all know that Steelers' players often restructure their contracts - and have taken pay cuts - to remain Steelers while keeping the team under the salary cap.

Do you see the hometown discount playing a factor in this off-season????