Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Monday Morning Hangover...(Part 2)

I was happy about a lot of things after the Steelers Sunday night clash with the division rival’s the Bengals. For one, Hienz field held up pretty well considering it was another rainy night here in the Burgh, two, the offense finally looked like it was clicking, especially after the last two outings which were below average, and finally, we put the Bengals out of there misery once again. Also, I can’t forget about the defense, they played a heck of a game making the Bengals offense look mediocre at best.

The first drive started off kind of rough as the Bengals marched the ball down the field, eventually scoring on a Rudi Johnson TD. Hey good job Rudi I wasn’t even sure if you were still playing on the Bengal’s cuz you have been doing a whole bunch of nothing all year long. Little did they know this would be the first and last trip that they would be making to the end zone on that cold wet night. Allowing that first TD must have fired up the team because after that play our D clamped down hard on Carson and company. Rudi was held to only 34 yards on 14 carries a meager 2.4 yards a carry. Also the pressure put on from LeBeau and the front 7 seemed to rattle Palmer as he was forced to attempt 44 passes because of the failure to establish any proficient ground attack. There were no fancy TD celebrations by Ocho Stinko this week, as he and Douchemanzada were both held touchdownless (I make up words I do what I want) on Sunday night. I still believe that at least 50% of the reason Ike Taylor got that contract was because of his ability to shut down #85 on the Bungals. Does he ever score on us? Our research department says Chad hasn’t scored on us since 2003 ironically enough the same year we drafted Ike, maybe I do know what I’m talking about.

(Pic from emptythebench.com)

Please tase him, brah!!!

The Steelers offense snapped out of its funk this week putting up 24 points on the board. Ben overcame a couple early int’s and ended up having a pretty good game, passing for 184 yards and 2 TDs with 2 int’s. It is good to see the big man actually running the ball a little more often these days. Early on in the year, such as in the Broncos game, it seemed like the defense was sitting back in the zone almost daring him to run, but he was hesitant to make it happen. Instead he would try to hold the ball and try to make a play happen with his arm instead of his feet, which resulted in a loss for the team. Nowadays, Ben is still looking to throw but he is a little more confident tucking the ball and taking off running, as he did on a TD run in the 2nd quarter Sunday night.

Even though Santonio has been out with an injury it is good to see that the chemistry between Ben and Hines is the best it’s been since the Super Bowl season. Hines is finding open space in zone coverage and he is also still not afraid to go across the middle; like when he was completely lit up by Madieu Williams and Leon Hall and he sprung to his feet flexing his bicep and smiling as always. Ward got 2 TD’s Sunday passing John Stallworth with 64 TD’s to become the franchise all time leader in TD catches. Not only that but Hines also holds Steelers records for receptions, with 705, and an impressive 143 game streak with at least one catch. I love Hines as much as every other Burgher but I was a little skeptical about how we would hold up after getting his big money contract. Someone needs to give me a slap for that one because it seems like Hines has been working even harder ever since getting paid your can tell he wants another ring.

(Pic from pittsburghlive.com)

I don't get these from sitting around petting kitty cats...

Another year goes by and once again the Steelers get the pleasure of crushing the hopes and dreams of all those bums that root for the Bungals, what a beautiful thing. No wonder their fans hate us so bad we end this team’s season on an annual basis. I would probably hate us for that too! I’ll give them this much, at least they didn’t make up a bunch of excuses for losing after the game like the Ravens did. I’m not sure if anyone has heard yet, but next week we play against the Patriots. Personally I am glad the Ravens pooped the bed last night because I want the Steelers to be the team that rains on the Pats parade. Don’t worry, I’m already cooking up a top ten list that involves the team everyone loves to hate. See you’s then…

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