Let's review here.  The Steelers are reeling from back-to-back losses, the latest to a Kansas City team who had no business being in the game with them.  Their star quarteback, Ben Roethlisberger, gets knocked out of the game with a slight head injury, slight enough that Ben was lobbying to go back in the game if the Steelers got the ball again.  But they don't get the ball and making matters worse, their capable back-up breaks his wrist.  Roethlisberger practices all week, good news since Charlie Batch is out, but post-activity headaches persist instead of going away.  Having to make a tough last-minute decision, the Steelers decide to sit Ben after his teammates have scattered.  A fifth-round quarterback with one NFL pass to his resume takes a few more reps during the week, but not nearly enough.  The team happens to be playing against it's most physical rival on Sunday night prime time.  Taken by surprise, star wideout Hines Ward, a veteran who has been playing long enough to remember when concussions did not preclude most players from resuming play, makes some disappointing comments in a national interview that fit in perfectly with this quirky perfect storm.  Capping off the pre-game week, Big Ben comes strolling out of the locker in full uniform, ready to hand off as the emergency quarterback if necessary.

Forty, 25, even 10 years ago players were getting concussions on the football field left and right.  Diagnosis and testing were light years behind where we are now.  Players were returning to play at their own discretion, and doing so quickly.  I can't imagine how many concussions Terry Bradshaw and the others of yesteryear sustained.  The official medical term back then was "getting your bell rung."  Teammates actually used to joke about it.  They called it different nomenclature like "the John Wayne Walk," depicting a guy staggering along.  The world was so much different not long ago.  Concussions were often "sissy" injuries.  Ten years ago, under the exact conditions, Big Ben would have been in the lineup Sunday, probably five years ago, maybe even last year

Today, modern medicine, combined with a society of political and behavioral perfection, has heightened awareness and heightened sensitivity.  That's really an interesting combination.  We know much more about head injuries.  Add to that knowledge the political correctness of acknowledging head injuries as being much more important in the game of life than in the game of football.  This puts players, in this case Ben, in the awkward situation of wanting to do the right thing health-wise, but in conflict of also wanting to do the right thing for his team and teammates.  What's the right thing to do?  Tell the truth to the doctor?  Or lie and take risks that once were unknown?  In some ways, the ignorance of yesteryear was bliss.

It is also interesting that the leaders in this rapidly-growing medical arena are none other than doctors with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Dr. Joseph Maroon is a world-renowned neurologist who happens to be one of the Steelers team doctors.  He developed the IMPACT test that takes baseline measurements of football players, and then uses that baseline information as comparison when any kind of head impact occurs.  The fact that the Steelers are in the forefront of this effort, and given national and international acclaim, probably puts them in a more conservative position when making decisions within their own organization.  Like the old saying goes, it's probably not a good idea to break federal law when you are hanging out in Washington.  Likewise, a player under the care of Dr. Maroon is not likely to error on the risk side.

Adding to the difficulty in grasping the rapidly-changing advances of head injuries is the fact that they are more often gray than black and white.  Broken bones and torn muscles, while certainly varying in degree, either are or aren't.  Concussions are more of a continuum measurement.  Helmets collide all the time without stopping to take neurological tests.  Only when the player shows any signs of that "bell-ringing" do the tests come into the picture.  What do you do when a player has an extremely mild concussion?  Probably let him play next week.  Each increment on the continuum makes it more difficult to evaluate playing or not playing, until you cross the line where you know a player should not play.

Ben was as close to the middle of that gray line as possible last Sunday.  Another inch on the positive side and he probably plays and the whole Hines Ward interview doesn't happen.   Another inch on the negative side and the Steelers know earlier in the week that Ben would not play.  The players know what is going on, the team prepares accordingly in practice and again, the Hines Ward interview does not happen.  Only because Ben's condition was in perfect straddle on the fence does the Ward interview ever happen.  Hines Ward is as "old school" as a veteran can get these days.  What he thought and believed is no different than most other players who played before the turn of the century.  His mistake was making his feelings public and putting his quarterback in a precarious situation. 

One final element to this "perfect storm" is the fact that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has issued a series of statements, just this week, about the ever-growing attention being paid to concussions and head injuries.  These statements are the result of recent inquiries into this area by the U.S. Congress.  With Goodell's statements appearing daily, it is probably not a good idea for the defending Super Bowl quarterback to play in front of a national television audience after being removed from the game a week ago due to head injury.

What a crazy week to a roller-coaster year.  Hopefully the Steelers can nail down two wins in five days and put this mini-drama perfect storm to rest.

OK, there's nobody in the Nation who predicted the Steelers would be 6-5 and currently third in their division at this stage.  Last year the team was two games better with the most difficult schedule in recent league history.  This year, with a significantly lesser schedule (supposedly), the team has lost three in a row for the first time in the Tomlin regime.  The beauty of the NFL. So let's see what the Nation thinks is the reason (or reasons):

There are 32 football teams in the NFL.  They all share media revenues, have relatively equal stadium sizes, operate under a salary cap and thus, are all created equal.  Since the inauguration of the Super Bowl, at roughly the same time the old AFL and NFL merged into one structure, each franchise should have mathematically won a single Super Bowl, with 11 teams lucky enough to grab two Lombardis.  The Pittsburgh Steelers have won two by themselves in just the last four years.  They have won six overall, more than any other franchise. Thank you Steelers.

Since that merger in 1970, the Steelers have compiled 29 winning seasons. No team has done better, only one has matched (Miami) and most are far behind.  The Steelers have finished in the Conference Final Four 20 times.  No team has done better, only one has matched (Dallas) and most are far behind.  Pittsburgh has played for the Conference Championship 14 times.  No team has done better, only one has matched (Dallas) and most are far behind.  As a fan who enjoys the journey even more than the bottom-line destination, I am very thankful for that cornucopia of success.

The Steelers have had three head coaches since 1969.  Our friends to the northwest will likely hire their third head coach in 13 months.  Each of Pittsburgh's three coaches has delivered unprecedented success.  Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls, the only coach in NFL history to make that claim.  Bill Cowher followed with a 15-year career that delivered 15 home playoff games, an astounding one per season, and achieved the best record in the NFL during those 15 seasons.  Mike Tomlin is off to one of the best coaching starts in recent NFL history.  Each has hoisted at least one Lombardi.  Thanks Pittsburgh.

I want to win as much as anyone in Steeler Nation, but I know how hard that is to do.  I know that it is not an inherent birthright for the Pittsburgh Steelers, or any franchise, to succeed.  I know that with the spoils of a Super Bowl come the added weight of a bull's-eye target.  Division teams like Cincinnati, Baltimore and even Cleveland play Pittsburgh like no other team.  They want nothing more than to knock off the Steelers.  Even teams like the Kansas City Chiefs play the Pittsburgh Steelers as if it is their Super Bowl.  We need to fight that all season.  While being the champions is a hard position to defend, I am thankful that we are in that dubious position to begin with.

While I did nothing for the happenstance of being a fan of the team owned by the Rooney family, I am proud of that nonetheless.  People in stable positions aften take stability for granted.  If you think it is frustrating to figure out how to tackle kick returners or hold second-half leads, try being a fan of an owner who hires and fires general managers like bartenders, or perhaps yanks the team out of town when a more attractive suitor beckons.  There are four Rooney brothers who could have made better deals when selling their shares, but decided instead to be like their father and figure out a way to keep the franchise under the Rooney flag.  I am forever thankful for that.

Yes, we are 6-4 and no, the sky is not falling.  Last I checked those other guys are getting paychecks also.  Yes, we need to make changes and no, it won't be easy.  Those other guys are also among the finest football players in the world.  But I took a tour in my mind of every NFL city and asked myself where would I like to be if I could choose any franchise of which to be a fan.   I took into account past, present and future and all the trimmings surrounding a team to fall in love with.  My honest answer was the Pittsburgh Steelers, and for that I am eternally thankful.

Finally, I am thankful for being a proud member of Steeler Nation, the greatest fan base on the planet.  Game after game after game the television announcers make a concerted effort to point out how many Steelers' fans invade enemy stadiums.  Hines Ward scores a touchdown and it doesn't take him long to find a black and gold "86" in the end zone to give the ball to.  Opposing players take umbrage over being visitors in their own house.  Where else does that happen, in any sport on any level?  America's Team is not some self-proclaimed moniker that hs no substance.  America's Team shows up every Sunday in every stadium throughout the land.

Thanks also to Blitz and Shake and all the contributors to this site.  You have added a touch of spice to my life.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. 

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Browse more photos »

One game short of the mid-season mark, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves with a 5-2 record and tied for the lead in the AFC North Division with Cincinnati.  Stopping to reflect during the bye week, the glass is definitely more full than empty.  Steeler Nation yearns so much for perfection, sometimes it harpoons whatever shortcomings the latest game delivers.  Utopia would have the Steelers passing for 375 yards, rushing for 175, shutting down opponents defensively and not committing turnovers every single game. 

The NFL is not Utopia.  Last I checked, those other guys get paid handsomely, have full coaching staffs, high-tech facilities and don't buy into the Steelers having their way all the time.  We've lost fourth-quarter leads, given up kickoff returns, missed field goals, dropped passes and at times not blocked or tackled very well.  These maladies are a part of life in the NFL.  While we cannot insist on avoiding them, we can hope that shortcomings can be corrected as opposed to having insufficient personnel.  I believe the former as opposed to the latter and thus, hope springs eternal.

Continue reading this post »

Most of Steeler Nation already believes that Hines Ward has earned his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Outside the Nation, the ballot box is not so stuffed.  In fact, you'll find many who debate that more work needs to be done.  I have been in more than a few cat fights with rivals who hate us, hate Ward, and refuse to give Hines his due.  So be it for the moment.  Their time is running out.

Continue reading this post »

Yeppir, the Denver Broncos have cut their punter, Brett Kern, and signed Mitch Booming Berger to the roster.  The Broncos are the Steelers next opponent.  Josh McDaniel has transformed the likes of him Kyle Orton and Ryan McBean, but my guess is he'll walk on water before he turns Berger into Ray Guy.  It will be fun having him punt to us Monday Night, November 9.  Imagine having Brett Kern as your punter?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4596638

Those who have seen my bits and pieces around here know that the two most important games of any season, in my opinion, are Cleveland Browns #1 and Cleveland Browns #2.  I lived though the 60s and remember about 100 games with those folks.  I am on Cloud 9 right now because we beat the Cleveland Browns and did so for the 12th consecutive time. 

Anyhow, I can't help trolling over to their site and when I see something that I don't like, I pounce on it.  A few of those guys made a deal over the fourth down measurement, mysterious indeed, without referencing the hold during Cribbs' TD run or the Hines Ward touchdown or the Mendenhall-when-is-the-play-over strip, etc.  So I pointed out the overall officiating, not just the one play that went against the Browns.  Needless to say, I got ambushed pretty good.  Johnny_S came to the rescue and I want to thank him.  When it comes to the Browns, I'm like a teenaged Hatfield wandering into the hangout saloon of the McCoys.  I usually get the snot beat out of me.  One time my man Blitz came in with guns blazing.  This time Johnny_S dragged me out of there.  Thanks brother.  Together we all eat. 

PS, when do we play the Browns again?

August 25, 1988.  Arthur Joseph Rooney, founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, died following a stroke he suffered, fittingly, in his office at Three Rivers Stadium.  He was 87.  At Rooney's mass at St. Peter's Church, a friend remarked that it would be a shame if any Catholic in Pittsburgh needed a priest that day, since they were all at the Chief's funeral.  Rooney had a special bond with priests.  In fact, he almost became one.  In his late teens, Rooney qualified for the U.S. Olympic boxing team.  He turned down the opportunity to go to the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Begium because of his religious studies.  A man he defeated both before and after the Olympics, Sammy Mosberg, won the Gold Medal for the Americans.

Rooney's calling in life, however, was to become an entrepreneur.  He was a sports promoter, an outstanding minor league baseball player and was an extraordinary racing handicapper.  In 1933, he bought a franchise into the National Football League for $2,500.  He named his team the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It was common during the Depression days for an NFL team to be named after the city's Major League Baseball team.

Continue reading this post »

BTSC is grateful to Steelers legend Rocky Bleier, who gave us an hour of his time to recall the worst day of his life, exactly 40 years ago today.  Thanks also to Dick Hoak, Bleier's position coach, for chipping in as well.  Bleier is a very humble man.  Many of his words did not come easy.  But the truth is, the Rocky Bleier story is a classic example of human will and perseverance.  On the 40th anniversary of his fateful day, let's raise up our glasses to a member of our proud past, Rocky Bleier.  For those who would like to read a great book, Rocky teamed up with Terry O'Neill to write "Fighting Back," a great education in Steelers history and human achievement.

  


August 20, 1969.  Robert Patrick Bleier, a member of the U.S. Army's 196th Light Infantry Brigade, was not thinking about the days when he was the captain of the Notre Dame football team.  He was not reminiscing about the epic 1966 battle at Michigan State when he led the Irish in rushing in a 10-10 stalemate that sealed the national championship for Notre Dame.  He was not remembering that January day in 1968 when he was drafted in the 16th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Bleier, stationed in Hiep Douc in South Vietnam, had more pressing matters at hand.  Bleier's C Company had been beckoned to rescue B Company after an ambush by the North Vietnamese Army.  The fighting escalated and Bleier found himself in trouble.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped back to the top of the main page as Woodson' induction ceremony draws ever close. Many thanks to maryrose for the typically outstanding post. - Blitz- (Michael B.)

If you sat down and made a depth chart of the all-time NFL team, you could easily argue a case that Roderick Kevin Woodson could be a first-team player on that team.  As we close in on the moment when Woodson is about to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility, Steelers fans can chalk up another great day in the life of one of their legends.  Woodson will become the 23rd Steeler to be inducted and the 18th to be inducted as a primary Steeler.  Let's raise up our glasses, Steeler Nation.

Prior to the 1987 NFL Draft, Steelers Head Coach Chuck Noll and his defensive coordinator, Tony Dungy, would not allow themselves to drool over Woodson, since Pittsburgh had the 10th overall pick.  Woodson was projected to go in the top five.  When Dungy asked Noll if he should visit the Purdue campus in the spring of 1987, Noll told him not to bother.  The Cleveland Browns, with that fifth pick, took a guy named Mike Junkin and surprisingly, Woodson fell all the way to 10.  The Steelers could not get to the podium fast enough to take the cornerback and return specialist out of Purdue.  Woodson played in Pittsburgh for 10 seasons.  He played seven more years in San Francisco, Baltimore and Oakland.  He played in three Super Bowls for three different teams, including the 1995 Steelers.

Woodson never played offense, yet amazingly scored 17 touchdowns in his career.  His 12 career interceptions returned for touchdowns is an NFL record, as is his 1,483 yards returning interceptions.  Woodson's 71 career picks ranks third all time.  He was an All Pro performer eight times and made the Pro Bowl 11 times.  With an incredible nose for the ball, Woodson recovered 32 fumbles, including one for a touchdown.  Woodson scored at least one touchdown in 12 different seasons (did I mention he never played offense?), and intercepted passes in 16 of his 17 seasons, the only shutout being the year he missed to injury.  He racked up more than 7,000 return yards in his first eight seasons.  These are staggering achievements.

Continue reading this post »