Football
As was hoped and expected last week, the offense came out its slumber and put big points on the board as the Steelers jumped all over Tampa Bay and made a statement that they are going to be reckoned with as the season moves along. Charlie Batch started and threw three touchdown passes (two to Mike Wallace and one to Hines Ward), Rashard Mendenhall rushed for another and the icing on the cakes was Brett Keisel’s 79 yard interception return for a touchdown. This is what the team and the offense needed to cure the woes of the first two weeks.
While it may stir a minor controversy, Charlie Batch has to start this week versus the Ravens at Heinz Field. Despite two interceptions, he did nothing to warrant being returned to the bench. This week is the key game of the first four. It is the first division game, at home, and will set the tone for the division and the rest of the season. These two teams simply do not like each other. While there is grudging respect, I think both teams would rather have a street fight where anything goes than play a football game.
The deciding factor could very well be how the Steeler offense attacks the Raven defense. Led by Ray Lewis, who is no longer the player he once was, this defense is getting long in the tooth and is without safety Ed Reed. While the Steeler defense is also on the older side, there is enough young blood to balance it out. Lawrence Timmons is now playing out of his mind and could very easily outshine the aforementioned Lewis in this battle of wills and war of attrition.
At this point, the Steelers were expected to be anywhere from 0 – 3 to its present record of the 3 – 0. Given the fact they are undefeated speaks volumes of the character and leadership of this team and the strength of the coaching staff led by Mike Tomlin. He has been criticized for how he has handled the quarterback situation. Why? There was no blueprint for this and he handled it the best way he could. Not much more could have been expected of a coach who had four quarterbacks on his roster, lost one to suspension and two to injury, resigning one they had released last week, and starting a player who was likely to be cut had no one gotten hurt. Now, I want the geniuses (talking heads and fans) and to tell me how he was supposed to handle that?!
This game is going to be played at a loud venue after two weeks on the road and the last game before Ben Roethlisberger comes back from his suspension. It will also be the last game before the bye week. So, there will be two weeks off between games and a hungry quarterback itching to return after not being seen or heard from (by design) for a month. There is not much hope for a Ravens team that had a hard time putting away a sorry Cleveland Browns team last week.
This will be an emotional and psychological battle, to be certain, but the Steelers just have too much momentum going into this game not to lose. It might end up being more lopsided than the experts think. This was the second game that was in question during the Ben suspension, the Titans being the first, that could have put the Steelers at risk. No more. The Steelers are coming home to take care of business before the break and the return of Ben. Steelers 31, Raven 10.
Week 4
Pick of the Week, Washington over Philadelphia (Season, 1 - 2)
Upset Special, NY Giants over Chicago (Season, 1 - 2)
The Pitt Panthers dropped a badly played game a week ago Thursday night against the Miami Hurricanes after I picked them to dispatch the U back to Miami. This is one of those times you wished you weren’t wrong. But, based on the things I have heard and read regarding this program, it’s time to shed some light on this situation.
First, Pitt is not going to be in any kind of position to ever compete for a national championship. They are in the wrong conference for that. The Big East football conference was formed due to the success of the basketball conference by the same name. By and large, the teams of strength from this conference are Cincinnati, West Virginia, and supposedly Pitt. But that isn’t saying much. Of the six power conferences, the Big East is the sixth and by far the weakest.
This program was on the skids back in the early 1970s before Johnny Majors was hired to turn it around. Then, in 1976, it won the last of its nine total national championships. Most probably don’t know Pitt has won nine titles, while the higher profile programs get most of the attention. Add to that Majors left in 1977 to coach at his alma mater Tennessee and was replaced by Jackie Sherrill. He left for Texas A&M and was replaced by the late Serafino “Foge” Fazio. Fazio was fired and was replaced by Mike Gottfried. Gottfried was let go and replaced by Paul Hackett. Hackett was fired and replaced by Walt Harris. Harris stated before he “left” that he took the program as far as it could go. He was replaced by Wannstedt, who recruited the kids he needed to run the program he felt was necessary to bring it back to prominence, which took all of the last five years. The bigger problem has been lack of support by administration.
That is the real story. If coaches are constantly being released and replaced by other coaches, there is no cohesiveness, stability, and continuity in the program. Pitt very well could have had its heyday back in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. The program could very well have gone as far as it could, but no one wants to listen or believe it. Much like Notre Dame, the glory years are long gone, as there is a new era in college football, even though it is still dominated by many of the name programs like USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State, and the like.
I saw this coming years ago and no one wanted to believe it. Well, now, the proof is in the pudding. You can build a wall around the WPIAL to keep the local kids here, but that isn’t enough to build and sustain a program. You need to recruit in Florida and Texas to get the blue chip recruits, and those kids have plenty of options at their disposal. It is very possible, and likely, that Pitt, Notre Dame, and other schools of that ilk could very well have celebrated their last national championships. Kids want to play where they are going to get exposure and their best shot at possibly proceeding to the NFL. Yes, there are kids from Notre Dame and Pitt who have gone onto pro careers. But those programs are in the wrong place to compete in today’s college football landscape.
Both schools have been heavily pressured by the Big Ten to join its conference and it might not be a bad idea to do so. If Pitt joined the Big Ten, it would likely have a chance to reprise its rivalry with Penn State. That would make the locals, and all of Pennsylvania, not to mention the alumni, very happy.
The glory years have gone and it might be high time to get with the times. Otherwise, Pitt may have to be content to play for eight or nine wins a year and a minor bowl game. This is just a sign of the times. This is a program problem, not a coaching problem.
While it may stir a minor controversy, Charlie Batch has to start this week versus the Ravens at Heinz Field. Despite two interceptions, he did nothing to warrant being returned to the bench. This week is the key game of the first four. It is the first division game, at home, and will set the tone for the division and the rest of the season. These two teams simply do not like each other. While there is grudging respect, I think both teams would rather have a street fight where anything goes than play a football game.
The deciding factor could very well be how the Steeler offense attacks the Raven defense. Led by Ray Lewis, who is no longer the player he once was, this defense is getting long in the tooth and is without safety Ed Reed. While the Steeler defense is also on the older side, there is enough young blood to balance it out. Lawrence Timmons is now playing out of his mind and could very easily outshine the aforementioned Lewis in this battle of wills and war of attrition.
At this point, the Steelers were expected to be anywhere from 0 – 3 to its present record of the 3 – 0. Given the fact they are undefeated speaks volumes of the character and leadership of this team and the strength of the coaching staff led by Mike Tomlin. He has been criticized for how he has handled the quarterback situation. Why? There was no blueprint for this and he handled it the best way he could. Not much more could have been expected of a coach who had four quarterbacks on his roster, lost one to suspension and two to injury, resigning one they had released last week, and starting a player who was likely to be cut had no one gotten hurt. Now, I want the geniuses (talking heads and fans) and to tell me how he was supposed to handle that?!
This game is going to be played at a loud venue after two weeks on the road and the last game before Ben Roethlisberger comes back from his suspension. It will also be the last game before the bye week. So, there will be two weeks off between games and a hungry quarterback itching to return after not being seen or heard from (by design) for a month. There is not much hope for a Ravens team that had a hard time putting away a sorry Cleveland Browns team last week.
This will be an emotional and psychological battle, to be certain, but the Steelers just have too much momentum going into this game not to lose. It might end up being more lopsided than the experts think. This was the second game that was in question during the Ben suspension, the Titans being the first, that could have put the Steelers at risk. No more. The Steelers are coming home to take care of business before the break and the return of Ben. Steelers 31, Raven 10.
Week 4
Pick of the Week, Washington over Philadelphia (Season, 1 - 2)
Upset Special, NY Giants over Chicago (Season, 1 - 2)
The Pitt Panthers dropped a badly played game a week ago Thursday night against the Miami Hurricanes after I picked them to dispatch the U back to Miami. This is one of those times you wished you weren’t wrong. But, based on the things I have heard and read regarding this program, it’s time to shed some light on this situation.
First, Pitt is not going to be in any kind of position to ever compete for a national championship. They are in the wrong conference for that. The Big East football conference was formed due to the success of the basketball conference by the same name. By and large, the teams of strength from this conference are Cincinnati, West Virginia, and supposedly Pitt. But that isn’t saying much. Of the six power conferences, the Big East is the sixth and by far the weakest.
This program was on the skids back in the early 1970s before Johnny Majors was hired to turn it around. Then, in 1976, it won the last of its nine total national championships. Most probably don’t know Pitt has won nine titles, while the higher profile programs get most of the attention. Add to that Majors left in 1977 to coach at his alma mater Tennessee and was replaced by Jackie Sherrill. He left for Texas A&M and was replaced by the late Serafino “Foge” Fazio. Fazio was fired and was replaced by Mike Gottfried. Gottfried was let go and replaced by Paul Hackett. Hackett was fired and replaced by Walt Harris. Harris stated before he “left” that he took the program as far as it could go. He was replaced by Wannstedt, who recruited the kids he needed to run the program he felt was necessary to bring it back to prominence, which took all of the last five years. The bigger problem has been lack of support by administration.
That is the real story. If coaches are constantly being released and replaced by other coaches, there is no cohesiveness, stability, and continuity in the program. Pitt very well could have had its heyday back in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. The program could very well have gone as far as it could, but no one wants to listen or believe it. Much like Notre Dame, the glory years are long gone, as there is a new era in college football, even though it is still dominated by many of the name programs like USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State, and the like.
I saw this coming years ago and no one wanted to believe it. Well, now, the proof is in the pudding. You can build a wall around the WPIAL to keep the local kids here, but that isn’t enough to build and sustain a program. You need to recruit in Florida and Texas to get the blue chip recruits, and those kids have plenty of options at their disposal. It is very possible, and likely, that Pitt, Notre Dame, and other schools of that ilk could very well have celebrated their last national championships. Kids want to play where they are going to get exposure and their best shot at possibly proceeding to the NFL. Yes, there are kids from Notre Dame and Pitt who have gone onto pro careers. But those programs are in the wrong place to compete in today’s college football landscape.
Both schools have been heavily pressured by the Big Ten to join its conference and it might not be a bad idea to do so. If Pitt joined the Big Ten, it would likely have a chance to reprise its rivalry with Penn State. That would make the locals, and all of Pennsylvania, not to mention the alumni, very happy.
The glory years have gone and it might be high time to get with the times. Otherwise, Pitt may have to be content to play for eight or nine wins a year and a minor bowl game. This is just a sign of the times. This is a program problem, not a coaching problem.
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