November Rain: Steelers Lose

20

24

Different Manning, similar result. If you're looking to place the blame on someone for this game, look no further than this douchebag:

Pregame

Run the Ball showed up for this game, so it was a good time for all of us in section 107.

Country "Superstar" Keith Anderson (who?) sang the national anthem. It was okay.
He's no Scott Blasey.

The Defense gets the honors of the introductions. Solid picture of Potsie here.

The Steelers won the toss and elected to receive. I thought they should have deferred, but I guess the thought was that they didn't want to fall behind early.

First Quarter

With Moore in the starting lineup, Gary Russell drew the straw with "Kick returner" written on it. He picks up a facemask penalty on his first return to set the Steelers up in good position. Just like the Divisional game in 2005, the Steelers come out throwing. And what do you know, they have success. Ward and Holmes get quick grabs, setting up a 3rd and 1 that Mewelde converts to get the ball across the 50. The Steelers take the opportunity to attack the worst run defense in the league and pound Moore at them for two 4-yard carries. On 3rd and 2, Arians goes to the air and Ben hits Holmes on a skinny post for 19 yards to get inside the red zone. The Steelers seem intent on getting the ball in Santonio's hands as they try an end around that goes nowhere. Ben hits Nasty Nate on The Crabtree Play to get the ball down to the 4, and it only takes Moore two tries to get it into the end zone. Huge opening drive.

7-0

Face Me Ike comes out with some solid defense against Reggie Wayne as Peyton takes a shot deep right off the bat. Addai gets 9 and 3 to pick up a first down and give the Colts some breathing room. Peyton goes deep again and Ike and Wayne execute the best tip-drill since Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. Wayne is able to waltz into the end zone to tie the game. Where was Ryan Clark on that play?

7-7

With the game tied, the offense needed to respond. The Steelers responded by going 3-and-out, adding the exclamation point of Freeney sacking Ben and forcing a fumble that we were lucky enough to recover.

After dodging the bullet of a potential turnover, Paul Ernster comes in for his first punt. He makes a decent kick that pins the returner on the sidelines, and a holding penalty on Indy forces their offense back.

Henry Paulson commissions a bailout package for the Colts next drive as Manning hits Dallas Clark on 3rd and 11 to prevent a 3-and-out and Addai converts a 3rd and 1.

Aaron Smith has seen enough and brings down Manning for an 11-yard sack. The Colts are further set back by a false start and Ike makes a great play to break up a pass intended for Wayne on 3rd and forever.

Moore goes nowhere on first down, but Ben and Hines hook up twice to convert, including a big 3rd and 8 connection for 22 yards to keep the drive alive. Moore gets 1 and instead of letting the clock run out on the quarter, Ben hurries up with a play, which ends up being an incomplete pass, forcing us into a 3rd and long to start the 2nd quarter.

Situational football: we suck at it.

Second Quarter

Ben finds Moore on a check-down and Mewelde scampers for the first down. With new life, Arians goes into his bag of tricks and the Steelers execute the worst successful flea-flicker ever. Moore almost throws the ball over Ben's head, forcing Ben to make a leaping catch and then just chuck the ball downfield with defenders hanging on him. On a drastically underthrown ball, Hines makes a great play coming back for it, and spins out of a tackle to get down to the 1.

Moore goes in untouched to get the lead back.

14-7

Patrick Bailey makes a huge special teams tackle. Anyone remember when a noname guy named James Harrison made the team by making huge special teams tackles? Bailey has a bright future ahead of him. Rhodes replaces Addai and picks up 4, then Manning hits Wayne for 8. Peyton throws three incompletions, two of which were intended for Wayne, but Ike was like a blanket. Punt.

With another chance to blow the game open, the Steelers go 3-and-out.

Lucky for us, we have the best defense in the league. Harrison comes up with a sack and Marvin Harrison is a little bitch afraid to catch the ball, forcing another punt.

After a 3-and-out, the offensive genius Arians comes out with the motif offense. Run-run-pass...except Mewelde Moore takes things into his own hands and picks up the first down. Ben converts the next 3rd down by hitting Spaeth for a solid gain to get the ball inside the 30. Moore carries for 1 then pulls in a short pass for 4 to set up 3rd and 5. An incompletion on 3rd down brings on Reed.

17-7

The field goal was nice, and having a 2-possession lead was good, but we knew we weren't out of the water yet. The Colts had a little over 4 minutes left, and you were just hoping that the defense could hold the lead until halftime. The Colts convert a 3rd and long on a perfectly thrown pass by Manning to Harrison. Ike was all over it, but Manning fit it in a spot where only his receiver could get it. Marvin puts a sick move on Deshea and gets wide open over the middle, but Manning is afraid of getting hit by James Harrison and throws it low, missing a wide open Marvin.

Addai picks up 11 on 2nd down to move the chains and Rhodes comes in and gets 7 more before the 2-minute warning. The Colts shoot themselves in the foot off the break by taking a false start penalty. Harrison gets pressure again, forcing a bad pass. Polamalu is all over Clark on the 3rd down attempt, forcing a punt that pins the Steelers inside the 10.

Let's set the situation: the Colts have 3 timeouts left. We have the ball 92 yards from the end zone. There's 1:43 left. They have a very good chance of getting the ball back before halftime. So what should we do? Run the ball 3 times to make them use their timeouts, then punt.

Moore runs for 1, Indy timeout. So far so good. Ben goes play-action and hits Spaeth with a fairly safe pass to set up 3rd and 2. Timeout Indy. A little risky, but okay, we got to 3rd and short. Arians calls the same play they ran earlier on 3rd and 2, the post to Holmes.

Ben underthrows it and Ratliff picks it off. And now, Indy has the ball, on the 30, with a minute and a half AND a timeout.

Manning looks deep for Harrison, but Gay and Carter are there. But Marvin comes back with a catch to move the ball inside the 20. Gonzo makes his first catch of the game for the Ponies to get it inside the 15. Manning throws and incompletion, but Deshea gets flagged for holding. giving them the ball inside the 10. After an incomplete pass, Rhodes dips and dives down to the 2, prompting the Ponies to use their last timeout to stop the clock with 9 seconds left. When the offense comes out, you KNOW they're going to throw. Everyone KNOWS they're going to throw. So what do we do? We play zone. Manning to Clark for an easy score.

17-14

Ben kneels to end the half. Giving up a score to the Ponies and having them get the ball to start the second half inspired a Tom Clancy book.

Third Quarter

Coming out of the half, you knew we needed more points. A 3-point lead wasn't going to hold. Manning hooked up with Clark and Gonzo to get the drive going. Gonzo pulls in another to get the ball near midfield. Manning keeps gunslinging and spreads the ball around to Wayne, Harrison and Garcon to get the ball inside the 30. Addai and Rhodes grind out a few more yards before Manning went back to the air and hit Gonzo to get the ball inside the 20. Peyton took a shot for Harrison down the sidelines on 3rd down, but Marvin wimped out when Tyrone Carter came over the top to lay a lick on him. Harrison stayed down to smell the grass, but walked off the field and came back on the next drive. Vinatieri knocked home a field goal to tie it up.

17-17

Gary Russell busts off a great return to get the ball out to the 40 and set us up with excellent field position. Ben comes out and hits McHugh for a few, the Moore comes back with a decent run to get to 3rd and 4. Ben finds Moore out of the backfield to pick up the first down and get the ball across midfield. Ben looks for Moore again, but it wasn't happening. Hines pulled one in for 5 yards, but couldn't come up with a catch on 3rd down, forcing a punt.

Addai gets stuffed by Harrison and the Deisel, but comes back with 12 yards on a short pass to move out of the shadows of the end zone. Polamalu blows up Addai on the next carry and Wayne can't pull one in on 2nd down to force a 3rd and long. When we needed to get off the field, Ike made a great move to try and break up a pass for Wayne, but did another Misty May-Traenor, tipping the ball up for Wayne to haul in. Ryan Clark was there this time to make the tackle. The defense responds by stopping Rhodes then forcing two incompletions intended for Gonzo. Deshea was hurt on the 3rd down play. Our secondary is dropping like flies. Punt.

After Moore lost a yard, Ben hit Spaeth for a big 12 yard gain to move the sticks. Moore was stopped for another short gain as the quarter expired.

Fourth Quarter

Ben comes out and hits Hines for 7 to get the ball near midfield and set up another 3rd and 2. Once again, on 3rd and short, we throw. Hines converts and picks up 17 to get the ball into Pony territory. After Moore goes nowhere because Arians hasn't learned that running on first down doesn't work, Ben and Nate hook up twice to get the ball down to the 20. Moore carries twice for 15 yards to get the ball down to the 5. Ben has to take a timeout after they can't figure out a play. Moore gets the carry on first and goal from the 5 and gets it to the 1. 2nd and goal from the 1. I wonder what play we're going to run? Maybe the same one we scored on twice before. The Ponies are ready for it. 3rd and goal. The offensive genius that is calls the same freaking play again. Stopped again. Probably the most disappointing field goal of the season.

20-17

You had that bad feeling that a 3-point lead wasn't going to hold, but you had faith in the defense. The defense responded by stepping up and forcing a 3 and out. Ike made a great play on first down to break up a deep pass intended for Wayne.

With a little over 6 minutes on the clock, this was the time when a long scoring drive would have sealed the deal. Instead of running the ball and winding the clock, Arians throws a wide receiver screen to Holmes for a loss of 3. Still convinced we need to throw, Ben hits Hines over the middle for 9 yards to get to 3rd and 4 as the clock winds under 5 minutes. When a safe play would have been smart, Ben throws over the middle for Holmes and the pass gets picked off, giving the Ponies excellent field position for the second time in the game.

Can anyone stop the Colts offense from 30-yards out? I doubt it. Rhodes picks up 9 on first down, then gets stopped on second down, but is able to pick up 6 on 3rd and 1. With a first down at the 17, Manning goes play action and hits Rhodes on a flare out of the backfield for an easy touchdown down the sidelines.

24-20

The Steelers got the ball with 3 minutes left. Flashes of the Jacksonville game played back through your head as you hoped we could pull it off. You felt better after Ben hit Hines for 7 then converted a 3rd and 3 with a big pass to Spaeth with 2:22 left. You would hope that 22 seconds would be enough time to get a play off in a no huddle offense. But Ben can't pull it off and the refs blow it dead at 2 minutes.

Out of the break, Ben hits Spaeth again for 5 yards. As the clock runs, Ben doesn't get the next snap off until 1:34 when he hits Moore on a short pass to get across midfield. Once again, Ben takes forever to get the play off and throws an incompletion for Holmes. The Ponies got called for offsides, so we caught a slight break there. Ben goes back to Holmes for 4, but Dallas Baker can't pull one in on a slant that would have put us in great position. On 3rd and 1 Moore carries for 3 yards, forcing us to use our 2nd timeout with 48 seconds to go.

With the ball on the 32, the Steelers were within striking distance. But Max Starks got called for a holding penalty then gave up a sack to Dwight Freeney, forcing us to use our last timeout.

On 2nd and 27 from midfield, Ben hits Baker along the sidelines and he is able to get out, but only gets to the 43, forcing 3rd and long. Ben dumps one off to Mewelde who scampers for 16 yards with 28 seconds to go, but goes down in bounds and the clock winds...and winds....the Steelers rush up to the line with no timeouts left and the clock running. Hines and Holmes to the left, Baker and Washington to the right. Ben gets the snap off with 1 second left, he rolls to the right and chucks it downfield....

Washington goes up and gets his hands on it....

No dice.

Game.

Players of the Game
Offensive Game Ball: Hines Ward- 9 rec 116 yds
Defensive Game Ball: Aaron Smith- he was all over the place in run defense. He is unblockable.


Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game
Passing on 3rd and short

We've been doing this all season, and we did it last year too. I have no idea why we feel the need to throw on 3rd and short. We threw two interceptions this way today, and it's not going to get any better. Fire Arians now.

Final Thoughts

• It's painfully obvious now: in order to move the ball, we have to get it to Hines or a tight end.
• This team was completely unprepared for this game offensively.
• Where was the pressure on the quarterback? Where was the creativity from LeBeau? He played it safe so as not to give up the big play, which we still gave up.
• If Marvin Harrison doesn't have 4 drops, we get killed.
• Fire Arians now.
• We are the worst team in the league at running screens and draws.
• Did it really take us 1 minute to run 2 plays after the 2-minute warning? Have we even practiced our 2-minute offense?
• 3 points in the second half doesn't cut it.
• Ben throws 42 times against the worst run defense in the league. Who is making these offensive play calls?

John's Week 9 Power Rankings

High Five


8-0

The Titans know how to win, whether it be ugly or convincingly. That is the sign of a great team. If Tennessee can get by the Bears this week, only a home date with the Jets stands in the way of a 14-0 start before the Steelers come to town. The passing attack is still non-existent, but the running game and defense are among the best in the NFL. Since Kerry Collins does not provide anything special through the air, I would switch to Vince Young, who can at least make plays with his legs.

Next Up: @ Chicago (5-3)



7-1

Next Up: @ Philadelphia (5-3)

6-2

Next Up: vs. Indianapolis (4-4)



6-2

Next Up: @ Oakland (2-6)



6-3

Next Up: vs. Dallas (11/16) (5-4)

Just Missed: New York Jets


Dive Five


0-8

It started with no defense before evolving into a lack of a running game. Now, the Lions have no quarterback. While the winless boys from Motown certainly turn in horrid-looking performances each week, there record does not reflect their recent improvement. The Lions have lost their last 4 contests by a total of 21 points. A couple of plays here and there and this squad would be 1 game back in the NFC North. The best part about this year's team is that it is so bad, no matter who the team takes in the first round, that player will be an improvement over whoever currently occupies the depth chart.

Next Up: vs. Jacksonville (3-5)



2-6

Next Up: vs. Carolina (6-2)



2-6

Next Up: @ Arizona (5-3)



2-6

Next Up: @ N.Y. Jets (5-3)



2-6

Next Up: @ Miami

Just Missed: Kansas City Chiefs

Ian's Week 9 Power Rankings

After this past weekend's round of games, coming up with a set of power rankings might take longer than Obama does to pick his cabinet. Since everything else this week was about the election, here's my electoral version of the power rankings.

Parties in Power

The Audacity of Hope

Tennessee is good, but they're starting to show some cracks in their armor. They have been able to run the ball against relatively weak run defenses the last few weeks. But let's not forget their rushing game was held to 76 yards against Minnesota and 47 yards against Baltimore. Due to the fact that neither of those teams have an offense that can be considered "dangerous" Tennessee's defense was able to keep them in games. By the way, how good is Chris Hope playing right now? He has 3 interceptions and a sack in the last 2 games.

Yes We Can

The Giants might be the most balanced team in football with a good defense, a strong running game, and a dangerous passing attack. They now have a 2-game lead in the NFC East with a big matchup against the Eagles this week. The Giants are proving last year was not a fluke and are looking like the best team in the NFC right now. Personally, I think they're more balanced than Tennessee because their passing game is much, much better than the Titans.

Change We Can Believe In

The Steelers finally got that elusive win against an NFC East team. The defense is playing the best it has since the Super Bowl run in 2005 showed once again that running teams do not fare well against the Steelers. They totally shut down Clinton Portis and came up with two interceptions and seven sacks. The big story of this season has been the ability of backups to step in and perform at a high level. When Parker went down, Mendenhall and Moore were there. Leftwich looked like a starting quarterback when he had to come in for Ben. Jared the former sofa mover played well in his first game at long snapper. And the Steelers finally cut the cord with Mitch Berger, bringing back Paul Ernster to be their punter.

Believe

Carolina is playing great right now and comes off their bye week with cakewalk games against the struggling Raiders and Lions. They'll be sitting pretty at 8-2 when they head to Atlanta on Nov 23rd. John Fox has his team playing well right now and they look to be the second best team in the NFC. The problem is they're playing in one of the best divisions in the league, so they're going to need a great effort down the stretch to hold on for the division title.

A Leader Who Can Deliver Change

The Cardinals learned how to win on the road, and in resounding fashion. Anquan Boldin is having a Pro Bowl year and he looks like he didn't miss a step after coming back from injury. The Whizard of AZ made a good choice going with Warner, who has ignited the dangerous Cardinals passing game. They might lock up this division before December. The November 23 matchup with the Giants is looming large on the horizon.

Just Missed: Philadelphia Eagles

Planning for the Future

More of the Same

Another week, another close loss for the Lions. They've been playing better and Daunte Caulpepper could add a spark to their offense. But their defense is downright awful. Their matchup against Jacksonville this week is the last team on their schedule that is below .500. Then again, Cincy beat Jacksonville last week, so I guess anything is possible.

Twelve Houses

...or the approximate amount of money Oakland wasted on DeAngelo Hall's signing bonus. The Raiders played one of the worst offensive games in NFL history last week, thereby jumping the Chiefs. 77 total yards of offense? Are you kidding me? This team needs new ownership in the worst way.

The fundamentals of the [team] are strong

Herm Edwards had better be telling the management something they like to hear if he wants to keep his job. Give this team some credit, they've played tough the last few weeks against the Jets and Bucs. Maybe Tyler Thigpen was the answer all along? Ironically, this team has gotten better since Larry Johnson's debacle. Maybe LJ was holding the team back. They're still racing Oakland to the bottom of the division.

Real America

Now that they're off the shnide, will we see Carson Palmer again? I doubt it. Their matchup with the Chiefs in Week 17 looks like it's going to decide the worst team in the AFC, and maybe even the #1 draft pick. Erin did what he needed to do for this team to win, but they still have no running game and no offensive line.

Bridge to Nowhere

Where is this team going? They come off their bye with a showdown against division-leading Arizona. In all likelihood, they're going to get killed. If it's any consolation, Seattle and St. Louis are also terrible, so they're still in the running for the #2 spot in the division.

Just Missed: St. Louis Rams

Week 9 Recap

After apparently falling off the face of the earth, I'm finally back. Extreme thanks goes out to Ian (again) for keeping the blog running while I've been absent. Now on to this week's recap.

Best Game of the Week: Green Bay at Tennessee - Once again, the Titans found a way to win, this time in OT after Rob Bironas atoned for missing a field goal at the end of regulation.

Most Disappointing Game of the Week: Dallas at N.Y. Giants - This was an easy call as the Cowboys demonstrated for the third consecutive week that they feel a playoff berth should be handed to them. Despite the loss of Romo, there may be more talent remaining on this team than on almost any other two NFC squads combined.

Top Performance: Aaron Rodgers - 22/41, 314 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. In a losing effort, the Packers' QB kept them in it all game long, somewhat figuring out the Titans' vaunted defense on the road.

Playoff Shapers
N.Y. Jets over Buffalo
Miami over Denver
N.Y. Giants over Dallas
Indianapolis over Green Bay


With at least 8 games in the books for every team, it's time to look at what we've learned:

* The Giants are for real, but the NFC East will not get both wild card spots.
- Washington in, Dallas out

* The Lions are 21 points away from being 4-4, while 8-8 will win the NFC North.
- Kyle Orton has always been a favorite for me

* The NFC South is the best division in football. Who do you root for?
- Go Falcons, but the Saints pull it out

* The NFC West is the worst division in football. A win this week gives the Cards a 5 game lead over the 49'ers, arguably their toughest competition.
- Bye-Bye cry baby Holmgren

* Miami is the least disappointing team in the AFC East, but who is the best?
- The Jets should be running away with this division

* The Steelers should finally be considered legit contenders.
- Baltimore's best win was @Miami

* Will the AFC South get a wild-card team? What happened to Jacksonville?
- No, and they were overrated to begin with

* K.C. is only 3 games back in the AFC West.
- Will the real Chargers return following their bye week?

* Either Matthew Stafford (Detroit), Knowshon Moreno (Cincinnati), or Tim Tebow (K.C) will be the #1 pick.
- Tebow shouldn't go this high, but he might.

* Finally, I know it's extremely early, but is anyone else getting pumped for the Week 16 match-up with Tennessee. We're talking possible AFC Championship Game preview, home-field advantage possibly on the line, and this used to be a fierce rivalry. I can't wait.

Thanks again Ian!

Defense Wins Championships: Steelers WIN

Since I'm at home watching this game, I'm going to liveblog it as I watch. What will this mean for you? Well, it might be a little more boring and have a limited perspective because I won't be able to see singular events

6

23

The pregame show on WTAE was awful. If anyone else sat through that in anticipation, I feel your pain. Decent analysis by Sally Wiggin about the Redskins lack of "big" wins. She's right. All their games have been close. Let's begin the political ad count.

WTAE screws up the audio feed from ESPN to start the game. Brilliant. No political ads yet. Holy shit I forgot how terrible Kornheiser and Jaws are at sports commentary.

The Redskins run out of a giant puffy helmet surrounded by cheerleaders. We don't need that in Pittsburgh, our team is our flare. We get some extra incentive to root for the Steelers as they let us know that the "Redskins rule" will prove that Obama will win the election if the Redskins lose.

After what seems like a pregame show that took forever, we finally get things started. Washington won the toss and elected to revieve.

The Steelers try an onside kick to start the game. Why? That was stupid. The last time we tried to do that to surprise a team, it was against Indy on Monday night in the Super Bowl year. That didn't turn out so well. Portis gets stuffed on first down. Ike brings down Cooley short of the sticks on 2nd down to bring up 3rd and short. Harrison stops Portis on 3rd and Suisham comes in for the field goal. Hey, we held them to 3 and out and they still got 3 points.

0-3

Parker gets stuffed on 1st down and Ben is forced into a quick pass on 2nd down which falls to the turf. The Skins tip a pass at the line on 3rd down and it falls into the hands of a lineman. Interception.

Campbell goes deep for Moss, but Ike is there to break up the pass. After a short pass on 2nd down, Troy breaks up a short pass intended for El. Suisham hits another one from just over 40.

0-6

Kathy Dalkemper dominates the commercial break by ripping Phil English a new one. Two PA incumbents also try to defend their seats (Murphy and Murtha).

Parker dashes for 8. Ben hits Nasty Nate for his first completion on 2nd and short. Parker gets 4, but Ben can't hit Holmes on a slant. And on 3rd and long, you know what happens.

Ben gets sacked. Lob Wedge punts.

Campbell to Moss for 10. Portis dashes for a big run, but then gets stuffed. Nick Eason comes up with a big sack of Campbell to force 3rd and long. Washington takes a timeout so that we can get some ads.

Fear tactics from the RNC fill up this commercial break.
Ad count: Fear 2, Hope 0

Jason Altmire gives us a break from the fear mongering.

Farrior bats down the pass on 3rd down. Touchback.

Holmes drops a ball then Parker goes nowhere. Another 3rd and long. Incomplete pass. Lob wedge manages a 28-yard punt. Why is he still kicking?

Portis gets a few. Alexander comes in and gets a few more. Campbell takes another timeout and Ike comes up with another big play against Moss. The Redskins have a real punter who drops one inside the 10.

Parker rips a good one to get out of the shadow of our goalposts. Parker gets a few more, then Spaeth and Washington drop passes in tight coverage. Lob Wedge punts.

Campbell hits El short, then Portis gets undercut by Polamalu in the backfield to end the quarter.

Where were Hines and Heath that quarter? 0 passes in their direction.

Second Quarter

Harrison and Farrior team up for a HUGE sack to start the 2nd. Holmes shows some grit on the punt return.

Parker carries twice for 8 yards to set up 3rd and short. On 3rd and 2, Arians makes a terrible play call by trying to throw a swing pass off a draw. Moore drops it, but he would have been hit for a loss by Fletcher anyways. Lob Wedge punts...again. Still no looks for Heath or Hines. The coaching staff is losing this game for us.

Ike has tight coverage on Moss again as the pass flies out of bounds. Aaron Smith stops Portis on 2nd down and Harrison comes up with another HUUUGE sack on 3rd down. Props to Farrior for getting pressure and forcing Campbell out of the pocket. The Steelers get called for a block in the back on the punt return to set them back even further.

Hines picks up a pass interference call to finally get us some field position. Ben almost gets sacked and throws an incompletion. Ben goes deep for Holmes on 2nd down and the ball goes right through his hands to set up another 3rd and long. Ben takes a timeout to set things up. Hines makes a huge grab on a crossing route and uses his legs to pick up the first down for our first 3rd down conversion of the night. Parker hesitates and picks up a few. Spaeth pulls one in and sets up 3rd and short. At least Ben was under center for this one, but once again we throw on 3rd and 2 and Ben gets pulled down around the line. Reed knocks it through.

3-6

Our boy Patrick Bailey gets his name called on national TV by coming up with a special teams tackle. Campbell underneath to Cooley on first down and Portis converts on 2nd down. After an incompletion, the Skins get called for holding. Deshea gets a hand on the ball to break up the pass and force 3rd and long. Campbell throws a short pass but it's nowhere near the sticks, forcing a punt.

Ben almost throws another pick, but we dodge a bullet with a drop. Parker makes some sick moves to get away from a tackler in the backfield and gets 6 yards. Hines gets whalloped over the middle and can't come down with the ball. Lob Wedge punts......again.

Moss pulls in a short pass, Hampton stops Portis behind the line to force another 3rd down. Farrior comes up with a huge tackle to hold Cooley short of the sticks to force another punt.

THE STEELERS BLOCK THEIR FIRST PUNT SINCE 2006!!!! Andre Frasier with some awesome extension to get the block and Willie Gay picks up the ball and goes down at the 15. FINALLY we get some field position. That's the first punt block since James Harrison blocked one against Carolina on Dec 17, 2006.

Ben takes too much time on first down and gets pulled down as the clock ticks down to 2:00. Starks gets called for holding to negate a solid Parker run. Ben hits Holmes on a slant to get good yardage then Ben hits Hines with a bullet to get down to the goal line. The Steelers take a time out hoping the booth calls for a review, but no dice. Washington isn't ready and takes another time out as the clock stands at 35 seconds. Ben takes the snap and falls forward into the end zone for the TOUCHDOWN. Reed nails it to give us a 4-point lead.

13-6

With no timeouts and 25 seconds left, Washington comes out looking to throw. But it's Teddy Roosevelt time as the Big Stick Policy comes through for a HUGE sack to end the half.

First Half rundown: 11 punts, 7 sacks (Steelers 4, Redskins 3), Parker outrushing Portis 45-36.

Halftime

Obama rocks his interview talking about needing playoffs in college football. A president who doesn't like the BCS? I'm all for that.

McCain talks about limiting steroids. Snore. Standard answer from a Washington senator where they held hearings on steroid use. McCain shows some humor by using a Berman line, then goes into his standard "country first" stuff. Berman rips him by saying "we certainly know that." To close out the interview, McCain quotes Casey at the Bat, a poem about failure...ironic.

Third Quarter

Bad news as Ben is still in the locker room getting x-rays on his hand. Byron comes in to fill in and hands off to Parker for 5. Parker again for 3 then Najeh pounds for a first down. More bad news as we find out Heath is banged up as well. Byron shows off his rocket arm and launches on downfield and hits Nasty Nate for a HUGE gain of 50 yards. Word from the sidelines is that Ben's shoulder is injured. Parker gets 3 then Byron can't hook up with Holmes in the corner of the end zone. Byron pump fakes as we all hold our breath as the pocket collapses and then hits Moore with a rocket to get the ball down to the 1. Power I formation and Parker slams it into the end zone. Reed hooks one wide on the extra point. What just happened?! That was the first extra point he's missed since December 28, 2003 at Baltimore. Ouch.

16-6

"We can choose hope over fear."
Ad count: Fear 2, Hope 1

Portis goes nowhere on first down. Woodley drops the Big Stick Policy on Campbell and brings him down for the 5th Steelers sack of the game. Campbell is rattled and throws an incompletion on 3rd down. Punt.

With the ball near midfield, the coaching staff craps on itself. Parker goes nowhere on first down. Nate gets the ball on a reverse on 2nd down and loses a handful of yards. Terrible play call. On 3rd and 17, they call a draw play to Moore who loses 4 more yards. Lob Wedge punts 37 yards. Once again when we have the chance to put the game away, the offense stalls, mainly because of terrible playcalling.

RNC fear-mongers strike again.
Fear 3, Hope 1

Campbell hits a short pass then Ports grinds out a few to get to 3rd and 1. The Skins go play-action to Cooley to get their first first down of the half. Hoke stops Portis, but he comes back on a screen pass to pick up 16. Deshea makes the first pick of Campbell on the season off a tipped pass and we go to commercial to give the Skins some extra time to think about challenging.

Surprise, surprise, Washington challenges and we go to another commercial. I think it was a reception...and I'm right! Steelers ball!

Washington brings the heat against the not-so-mobile Byron and brings him down. Parker eludes a defender in the backfield and dives for 3. Byron rockets a pass to Holmes on the sidelines to pick up the first down on an out-route. Parker bounces it outside for 8. Moore gets tripped up in the backfield to set up 3rd and 4. Byron goes back to Moore on the outside with a solid throw on the run to pick up the first down as the quarter expires.

Fourth Quarter

Do or die time here. With a 10-point lead and our lead in the division on the line, we need a solid quarter.

So far, Portis has 48 yards rushing and Campbell has 80 yards passing. Stellar performance by the defense thus far.

Byron goes play action and looks deep and as the pocket collapses, flicks one out to Moore who has no one around him and has free space to run for 25 yards. Moore carries for 2 to get it down to the 20. Byron looks for Holmes at the front corner of the end zone, but can't hook up. Byron's not used to the system, so he calls a time out. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite us. Another strike from the Byron to Hines for the first down to get down to the 7. Moore plows forward to the 5. Byron sees the defensive back sitting back off of Holmes and hits him on the hot route and Holmes rocks the Superman dive into the end zone to get inside the pylon for the TOUCHDOWN. Reed knocks it through.

23-6

Rearview Mirror ad.
Fear 3, Hope 4

Campbell hits Portis on a short pass that he turns upfield and takes it into Steelers territory inside the 40. Campbell looks downfield, but is forced to dump it off, but Portis gets rocked and drops the ball. Campbell tries to go deep for Devin Thomas, but Ike is all over it and Thomas has no shot. As a bonus, the Skins get called for holding, so it's 2nd and 20. Aaron "Aero"Smith doesn't let Campbell step up and gets the Steelers 6th sack of the night on a 4-man rush. On 3rd and loooong Cooley pulls one in to get to 4th and 9. The Skins elect to go for it and the Steelers send the heat forcing Campbell to throw it away. But Farrior gets called for roughing the passer on a weeeeak call.

With new life, the Skins throw a WR screen to Thomas, but Willie Gay blows it up and stops him in the backfield. Campbell throws too high for Cooley and the Steelers force another 3rd and long. Cooley snags one on a slant route and turns it upfield to get the first down and get inside the 10. Washington gets their first shot in the red zone all night and has no idea what to do, so they call a timeout, leaving them with only 1. Campbell has nowhere to go and throws a swing for Portis that is dropped. Portis gets down to the 6 on a draw. Campbell scrambles and it gets called a touchdown, but Tomlin challenges...and wins! Campbell was down at the 1, as replay clearly showed. The Redskins elect to go for it and with the leading rusher in the NFL, Campbell goes play-action but James Farrior makes a diving play to break up the pass.

The motif offense makes an appearance with the ball on the 1. Parker almost gets stopped in the end zone, but spins out to prevent the safety. Parker dives out for another yard. Leftwich throws incomplete for Holmes to stop the clock with 5:27 to go. Lob Wedge pops one up out of the end zone and El makes a move but gets tripped up at the 30.

Portis catches a short pass and gets the ball near the 20. Cooley pulls one in off of no-huddle to get the ball down to the 14. Willie Gay comes up with a tipped pass then applies some heat on Campbell to force 3rd down. The Steelers bring the heat off the corner and Campbell flips it over the top of the blitz to Portis but Tyrone Carter is there. The Skins try to go for it on 4th down, and Lawrence Timmons is all over Campbell to rack up the Steelers 7th sack of the night. What a performance by the Steelers defense.

Parker carries twice and Washington uses their last time out to force the Steelers into a 3rd and 9. On a defensive offisides, Leftwich goes downtown, but it falls incomplete. Leftwich is sacked on 3rd and 4 and Lob Wedge punts and El hops around then goes out of bounds as the Steelers bear down on him.

The Skins get the ball with 2 1/2 left and go to the air. Thomas pulls one in for a short gain, then an incompletion stops the clock just before the 2:00 warning. Portis picks up the first down on a short pass as the clock ticks down to 2:00.

Campbell hits El over the middle, then Devin Thomas before throwing an incompletion with a minute to go. El catches one in front of Deshea on the sidelines and scampers out to stop the clock. Cooley pulls one down to get to the 14, but can't get the second one as Troy bats it down. Campbell throws one underneath, but the Steelers have seen enough of it and Tyrone Carter jumps the route for the Steelers second interception of the night.

Victory formation.

Game.

Players of the Game:

Offensive Game Ball: Byron Leftwich
He came in when Ben went down and had a great game. He looked like a starting quarterback. Great to know we can rely on him when we need to.
Defensive Game Ball: James Farrior
We could have given this to Woodley or Harrison who wrecked havoc all night, but Farrior was just all over the place tonight. Farrior had 13 tackles and half a sack. Great game.

Honorable Mentions:
LaMarr Woodley- 2 sacks and general pressure all night, he's looking like a Pro Bowl linebacker.
Ike Taylor- great coverage on Moss and other recievers all night
Deshea Townsend- came up with the first pick of Campbell this year.
Andre Frazier- blocked punt!
Willie Parker- 70 yards and a TD against a pretty good defense. Solid first game back.


Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game
Jeff Reed missing an extra point. Ouch

Final thoughts:

• Heath and Ben getting hurt...hopefully they're not out too long.
• The Redskins didn't have the ball inside the 20 until the 4th quarter.
• Portis: 13 carries, 51 yards. So much for the "MVP" talk.
• Our defense is getting better each week. That's scary.
• We gave the Redskins a short field twice (failed onsides kick and interception) and that was the only points they scored.
• According to the "Redskins Rule" we saw before the game....

Believe.

Game Day 12

With a little over 2 hours until the Steelers face off with the Redskins, I have to admit that this game is the last thing on my mind right now. Tomorrow might be the biggest day of our lives. With the nation's current financial situation, tomorrow's election might very well be the most important election since 1932.

With that being said, it is fitting that the Steelers play tonight in Washington.

Pennsylvania is a swing state. You can bet there will be a blitz of political ads on tonight.

If you don't have cable, the game is on WTAE in the Pittsburgh area.

If you're not in the Pittsburgh area, go to a sports bar.

Redskins rundown:

Clinton Portis is a leading candidate for league MVP right now. Jason Campbell is playing out of his mind. Antwaan Randle El is a weapon. Santana Moss is dangerous. Their defense is good. This is going to be another good game.

For those of you who might remember, I picked the Redskins as my NFC Super Bowl team before the season started.

This is a dangerous team. But we have some things going for us as well.

Clinton Portis is good, but look at the other runningbacks we've contained this year:
- Brandon Jacobs
- Jamal Lewis
- Willis MaGahee
- Fred Taylor/MJD

If Washington is going to beat us, they're going to do it through the air. With Ryan Clark out, this presents a bit of a problem for our secondary. We're going to have to create some turnovers against a team that doesn't turn the ball over much.

On defense, Washington probably has the best safety tandem in the league. This is a very good team that is going to be tough to beat.

We get Willie Parker back, but hopefully Mewelde will still get a few touches to provide some balance.

He hasn't failed us yet in enemy territory, so we're calling on the King to lead us into battle.

Don't doubt the King of Gondor. He's 2-0.

Worst performance by an NFL team...ever?

People in Oakland have seen some bad football since their Super Bowl run.

But I don't think they've ever seen anything this bad.

Stats from today's game vs. Atlanta:
First downs: 3
Total Net Yards: 77
Total Plays: 34
Rushing: 11 attempts, 67 yards
Passing: 6-19, 10 yards
Sacks: 4 for 21 yards
Time of Possession: Atlanta 45:15, Oakland 14:45

Are you kidding me? Oakland didn't even have the ball for a quarter of the game. Absurd.
3 first downs? 10 yards passing?

Steelers fans can complain when their team is bad, but we never hit a low like this one. This is the lowest offensive output since Cleveland was held to 26 against Buffalo in 2004.

If we ran a Raiders blog, we would shut it down after a game like that.

Week 9 Preview

Best Game of the Week: Pittsburgh at Washington

Most Intriguing Game of the Week: Green Bay at Tennessee

Worst Game of the Week: Oakland at Atlanta

Upset of the Week: St. Louis over Arizona

Watch out for: Kyle Orton

Stay away from: Ryan Grant