IX-A scary report has emerged from ESPN.com where they are reporting that if and when Bill Cowher decides to get back into coaching that Steelers G.M. Kevin Colbert will follow him to his new gig. Colbert has arguably been as important if not more important than either head coach Bill Cowher or Mike Tomlin in the two most recent super bowl victories.  If you don't think Colbert is important just look at his first round draft picks since he took over for Tom Donahoe in 2000:  Plaxico Burress, Casey Hampton, Kendall Simmons, Troy Polamamlu, Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, Santonio Holmes, Lawrence Timmons, Rashard Mendenhall, and Ziggy Hood.

X-After an outstanding preseason Stefan Logan made me think he could be one of the most electric return men in the league, but after almost an entire season, I am starting to realize he is nothing more than an average to above average return man. The sad part is it wasn't anything Logan did or didn't do that made me come to this realization, it was actually the insane punt return that DeSean Jackson had on Sunday night against the Giants.  Jackson looked like he was from another universe during that return as he tight-roped down the sidelines for a 72 yard punt return.  Jackson was taken in the 2008 draft only four picks ahead of our dear friend, Limas Sweed.  (Ray Rice was taken two picks after Sweed).

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IX-So the rumor started floating around yesterday that Troy Polamamlu is unsure if he will play again this season.  While I don't think this should surprise anyone, and I think their is a strong possibility that it could be true, that basis for the rumor was a comment made by Troy and he only stated that their is no definitive date for his return.  Ed Bouchette said he had heard nothing about Troy being done for the year on yesterday's chat, so it really isn't  definitive either way.  In other injury news Hines Ward and "Not So Big-Play" Willie Gay both think they have a shot at playing on Thursday, although the reports from inside the Steelers clubhouse is that both will likely miss the match-up against the Browns.

X-Want to see what Max Starks bought with his big money extension?  According to the Arizona Republic, Max Starks paid 2,050,000 dollars CASH, for a house in the Crest View neighborhood of Fountain Hills, AZ.  From a little detective work it looks like this is the house that Starks purchased which includes five bedrooms, five and a half baths, an outdoor BBQ and an infinity pool. 

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IX-The good folks over at Benstonium.com were kind enough to send me their newest Mike Tomlin press conference video in which coach Tomlin decides instead of unleashing hell, he is going to uncork some booze.

X- Yesterday's Mike Tomlin press conference was a day earlier than it normally is, but it was still full of lots of strong words that hopefully actually be followed up by some actual results on the gridiron come Thursday night.  Tomlin announced a few injuries in the press conference and it sounds like William Gay will be out for sure on Thursday, Troy Polamalu is very doubtful as well, and it's looking somewhat questionable if we will see Hines Ward this week.  Hopefully the decision on Hines Ward will be made prior to Wednesday so that Big Ben doesn't throw a hissy fit on national T.V. about Hines not playing.  Starting tailback Rashard Mendenhall is expected to play, but he is a bit dinged up with a swollen and sprained ankle but he is still expected to play on Thursday Night.

XIII- Mike Florio of profootballtalk  complains about how the Steelers and other teams are reporting their Injuries. The fact that Willie Gay suffered a concussion on Sunday certainly puts Pittsburgh in the spotlight on the concussion front once again. There are lots of stories and articles about former pro players who have suffered lingering long-term effects, and the Chicago Tribune frames a discussion on concussions by telling the divergent paths of former players Mike Ditka and John Mackey.

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Good afternoon Steeler Nation, today is the first game in Mike Tomlin's plan to "Unleash Hell" in December.   Let's keep this simple and short, every game is a must win.  Here we GO!

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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Many thanks to RickVA for this piece on the last five weeks of the 2009 regular season.  Rick provides a lot of reasons to be excited and to believe that the Steelers can make another run in the playoffs.  [DYM]

Hard times for the Nation. Set up by the October bounce back and an impressive Monday Night steamrolling of the Broncos to roar out the Bye week and begin November, our guys then take the rest of the month off. Actually, I need to take that back. What has been so frustrating with this team is that they have shown just as much creativity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this year as they did doing the opposite last year. Five defeats. Three having to go to overtime in order to get the job done. The remaining two each having to go to the 60th minute. Everyone contributes it seems: the franchise QB who has calmly engineered game winning drives with less time and much more at stake loses his mind and plays mad bomber for a quick four and out to end a ball game. Our best cornerback plays a pass brilliantly, comes down on his fanny and drops the ball with no one around him. Fumbles, missed tackles, interceptions, ruinous penalties, bizarre play calling all occurring at times and in ways that professional wrestling would have a hard time trying to convincingly choreograph. And, of course, what analysis worth anything can fail to mention the kickoff returns.

The good news, at least for me, is that there has developed a certain rhythm to all this so that most of the fans that I have been hanging around see the disaster coming from a long way off. This last week being the most creative of all. Ben can't play against the Ravens. Charlie's wrist is broken. All we have left is a guy who (it seems) hasn't played seriously since Pop Warner. Oh, no. We're screwed! The entire football universe agrees on this. Even Hines loses his cool. So we psychologically innocuate ourselves. 'At least we'll see what Dennis can do,' was the most common refrain. Then Dixon scores late, plays pretty damn well if you ask me and puts us ahead with six minutes left to play. What did he have to do that for? In spite of ourselves hope rises...and then the Dagger (largely self administered).

Unfortunately, regardless of how the Steelers perform over the next month, the experience is likely to be hellish for many of our legions of fans. My late father used to have a bizarre definition of what he saw as a fair fight; "You have a gun or a knife while the other person doesn't have a damn thing." In other words, no drama. Get a strong early lead, don't let it drop beneath eleven as the sacks and other statistics pile up. We haven't had many games like that this year (perhaps Cleveland or Denver) and I wouldn't bet any significant money that we'll have many or any more. Can we make the playoffs? Can we prevail in the playoffs? Absolutely! One of the things that has made this year rather unique is that Pittsburgh has not appeared to be outmatched in any of it's games, even last week's match up starting our third string QB. On the other hand, be honest now, would anyone be shocked if we made the Raiders or Browns look like the 2008 Steelers? So, all that talk about feeling blessed, thankful and so forth that folks like myself, Maryrose, Blitz and others have been preaching is gonna be put to the test this December. A word of caution; its one thing to watch with morbid fascination how such a talented team can let victories slip through their fingers in the early fall, even November, is one thing. It will be quite another to watch a season slip away in a similar manner.

Take proper precautions this holiday season. Make sure that sharp objects and the breakables are locked away. Stock up on heart medicine, liquour, drugs, whatever helps you get through it all and enjoy the show. As for me, stubborn optimist that I am, I, like Tomlin, am a big Gladiator fan and I actually think that the guys will play to their potential at least once this year and will unleash some hell this month. Whether it can be sustained into a January run will be the big mystery. But if they could wouldn't that be glorious?

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IX-While the Raven's did get a huge victory over the Steelers on Sunday, Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun says that the five sacks on Joe Flacco in the second half of Sunday Nights game leave much to be concerned about for the heavily praised unit. Although Michael Oher had a huge movie released (Grossed 40+ million at the box office) he was brought back down to earth on Sunday night by Lamar Woodley who had another breakout game with two sacks and constant pressure on the uni-browed one.

X-In preparation for the big game this Sunday the raiders have decided not to play any "D" and are fielding an "efensive unit" that is expecting Ben Roethlisberger to play this weekend.  The article also reminds me that the Steelers will be facing Bruce Gradkowski for the third time as a starting Quarterback in the NFL.   Below is Gradkowski’s stat line in the first two match-ups.

Dec. 3, 2006 (20-3 loss): 20 of 34 for 175 yards, no TDs, 3 INTs, 5 sacks

Dec. 28, 2008 (31-0 loss): 5 of 16 for 18 yards, no TDs, 2 INTs, 3 sacks

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IX-The Raven's finally get a prime-time match-up in their house this season and the Baltimore Raven's marketing department must brought in a team of marketing geniuses to think up their brilliant strategy of creating Raven's Rags.  The Raven's will give out 70,000 of the purple and white towels that will be plastered with the Under Armor logo (a sponsor), and the rags will also benefit the Wounded Warriors foundation, an organization that raises money for wounded veterans.  It's obvious the Raven's organization doesn't want a national audience seeing a sea of Black and Gold like the Bronco's and Chief's organizations learned the hard way.

X-James Walker of ESNP AFC North pulls out his list of the "AFC North 2009 All-Injury Team", and the Steelers have a few players on the squad including Big Ben, Lawrence Timmons, and Troy Polamalu to name a few.  In all the talk of the Steelers coaching staff needing their livelihoods taken from them, and the lack of hunger from the squad it is interesting to think about how many key injuries the Steelers have had this season at inopportune times.  Certainly the standard of expectation doesn't change but that doesn't mean that a lack of depth, experience, and pure athletic ability hasn't hurt the Steelers this season.  But if you feel even the slightest bit bad for the Steelers, go check out the injuries the Buffalo Bills have suffered on their Offensive line this season, and for those who like to punish themselves by watching a Theisman-esque leg break, check out this youtube clip of Eric Wood's injury from Sunday. 

XIII-Speaking of the Buffalo Bills it looks like former Steeler head coach Bill Cowher has been contacted regarding the possibility of taking over for Dick Jauron in Buffalo.  Early reports are that Cowher isn't interested in a considering a coaching position until at least the NFL season is over.  It was also reported that the Bills are willing to offer in the range of 10 million dollars per season to "The Chin" for his services.  The Bills also scooped up some old Steeler talent yesterday by signing former first round draft pick Kendall Simmons.

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More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

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*Before most of us even had time to sit down and make it through the first beer of the afternoon, the special teams unit put the Pittsburgh Steelers in a quick seven point hole by allowing their fourth kickoff return of the year. Mike Tomlin showed earlier in the week that he was trying to do more than just pay lip service to the season long problem.  However, the addition of Donovan Woods in place of Arnold Harrison proved not to be the answer, at least not right away.  Jamaal Charles took the opening kickoff to the house for a quick 7-0 lead for the home Chiefs. What's next personnel wise, if anything? The Steelers did plenty else wrong to keep the Chiefs in the game before they capitalized in overtime and took down the defending champs, but once again, without that special teams blunder, the Steelers probably don't even find themselves in a close game late in the game. I wonder what Mike Tomlin plans to do to fix this unit that has consistently let inferior opponents hang around.

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Wow, credit goes to the Chiefs for hanging around and being in the position to win the football game, but the Steelers beat themselves this week with costly turnovers, poor play calling, and another huge special teams gaffe.  This team has some major work to do if they intend to make any sort of push toward the playoffs.  Next week we face a hungry Baltimore Ravens team that is 5-5 so let's take the next few hours to vent our frustrations and the crew here at BTSC will attempt to put together some content while we mourn this horrible, horrible loss.