Steel City Jim

We left on Sunday for our trip to Sarasota. Two and a half days and 1,265 miles later we arrived at our destination ... or so said our lady friend in the Garmin GPS. We took a longer route this year, going west to Columbus, Ohio, and then heading south. This enabled us to make a little visit to Chattanooga, which enjoyed very much. It reminded us of Pittsburgh as it sits on a river (Tennessee) and mountains surround it.

Being in the car on Sunday I heard most of the Ravens-Patriot game on the radio. I kept expecting Tom Brady to pull away with some brilliant passing. But I have to think the Ravens' defense kept him pretty much in check. In the meantime, Joe Flacco was connecting on big plays. I got into the motel just as Flacco threw to Lee Evans in the end zone. Had Evans held on to the ball, it would have put the Ravens up by four points and probably out of reach of Brady to get a TD to pull it out. But Evans allowed a second stringer to knock the ball out of his hands. Wow, what a bonehead play by Evans!

Then the Ravens had just enough time for Billy Cundiff to kick a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime. It was a chip shot. Cundiff pulled it to the right. Game over. It reminded me of Adam Vinatieri missing one for the Colts against the Steelers a few years ago. This enabled the Steelers to go on and eventually win the Super Bowl. It's great when it happens FOR your team. It's sickening when it happens AGAINST your team.

I saw parts of the Giants-Niners game. This one came down to a Niner fumbling a kickoff and the Giants kicking a field goal to win it. What a close game! In fact both of them were. Either team could have won. Eli Manning was something. He took more thumpings than Ben Roethlisberger does in an average game. But he kept coming back, extending plays, and completing clutch passes. Tremendous effort.
Hey, those Harbaugh boys are some kind of coaches. Ran into a guy at the motel breakfast on Monday morning. He's from Michigan and knows the Harbaugh family. He said John (Baltimore) is a nice guy. He wasn't as complimentary words Jim.

Baltimore fans, I completely understand your agony. I've been there. Giants fans, I totally comprehend your joy. I've been there.

So, now we have Brady against E. Manning. That's too close to call.

I have been listening to NFL radio in the car. The biggest question of the day, besides who will win the Super Bowl and who will coach Oakland, Miami and Tampa Bay, is what the Colts should do about P. Manning and the $28 million he will get this year if they keep him. $28 million! How can they afford that when he's 100 percent OK? And how can they justify paying him that when his future is cloudy, to say the least? I know he's a star, an icon, but football careers end, and think Peyton is through.

I am now thinking that the Steelers have a lot of decisions to make before long. One is whom to hire as offensive coordinator. Among other things, this guy has to get along with Ben. Bruce Arians did. But apparently the brass wasn't satisfied with his play calling and overall coaching. They also have to decide which of the old guard to retain (James Farrior, Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke, Hines Ward, etc.) and which to let go. Finally, they have to make draft decisions. One positive thing about not going to the Super Bowl is that they have an extra three or four weeks to plan. I think they need this extra time to get their heads on straight. It could also be a blessing to give the players some additional time off to heal and rest.

There were some great games over the weekend. I didn't see the Saints-49erss game as I was at a gathering. But throughout dinner, guys were checking their iPhones for scores. In that game the scoring was going back and forth almost by the minute. When the Saints took their first lead of the game at 24-23 with 4:01 left in the fourth quarter, I thought Drew Brees would cap it. But it didn't happen.

You have to say something about Jim Harbaugh. He came from the college ranks to what we thought was a so-so team. He changed the whole thing around and now the 49ers will vie for the NFC Championship -- at home. Wow!

Another wow game was the Giants upsetting Green Bay at Lambeau. I never saw that coming. I don't like Tom Coughlin. But, face it, his guys play all out for him and they made Green Bay look like a bunch of bunglers. Did you ever see so many dropped passes? Whether the bye week or the offensive coordinator's son's death had something to do with it, I don't know. But the Giants are in and the Packers are out.

I fully expected the New England rout of the Broncos. Tom Brady and his supporting cast are on another planet. Bill Belichick actually used a tight end, Aaron Hernandez, as a runner back Saturday. The guy thinks of everything. He's got to be the greatest game planner ever. Tim Tebow's pact with the devil ran out. Finally, I thought Baltimore would win, setting up the Patriots-Ravens AFC finale. But they struggled mightily against an improving Texan team ... with a third-string QB.

If you don't think home-field advantage in the NFL is just that, a huge advantage, just review all the playoff games thus far. Of all the games played to date only one visiting team emerged victorious, the Giants. Every other visiting team lost.

** Now that the Steelers are finished, I have had a chance to ruminate a bit. To wit, I am fascinated with the NFL etiquette standard that states that you can never use injuries as an excuse for losing a game. Thinking about the Steelers at the end of the 2011 season limping into the playoffs, it was virtually impossible for them to win anything. The Steelers clearly lost the game of attrition this year. But woe betide anyone having the temerity to bring up injuries to anyone in the Steeler organization. It's kind of like Obama trying to blame Bush for the economic mess Bush left him with. And he did. But six months into a new administration, the current president owns the economy, past, present and future. No excuses.

** Tim Tebow is a prime candidate for a strong political career if he wants it. Think of it ... he's extremely religious and this appeals to a lot of people, particularly in red states. He was a quarterback, which exudes leadership, and he played football, demonstrating his willingness to be a "team" player. Finally, he has name recognition beyond belief and he'll be extremely wealthy when his career ends. Anyone want to run for Congress, Senate, a governorship, or even the presidency against him?

** I agree with Robin Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Joe Paterno was not a victim in the Penn State mess. When Penn State President Rodney Erickson came to Pittsburgh last week to address a town meeting of some 600 alums, it appears that the vast majority of them took him over the coals for the manner in which the Penn State Board treated JoPa. People have to get their heads on straight. You don't go to a university, or shouldn't go, because of the football team and its coach. You go to a university for an education. I think people get their values mixed up. Some people think that the main part of a university the fraternities and sororities. You go to XYZ university, not ramma jamma gooma.

I was prepared to write the epitaph of the 2011 Steeler season. But I had it slotted for next Monday. I thought the Steelers would be able to squeak by Denver and reach their Waterloo in Foxborough. But something happened on the way ...

I wasn't very optimistic about the Steelers going too far in this year's playoffs. While all teams suffer bumps and bruises along the way and players have to suck it up this time of year, the Steelers were pretty devastated with injuries, some of which precluded players from playing at all. Starting in training camp, they lost Willie Colon for the second year in a row. With the offensive line questionable at best, Colon was the rock upon which this year's hopefully improved offensive line was to be built. Because they thought so much of Colon, they cut Max Starks. It was only in the third or fourth week, with the offensive line performing so poorly that they swallowed their pride and brought Starks back. He proved to be invaluable.

They also lost Aaron Smith for the umpteenth time. Then, a series of mishaps occurred and they knew they were without Maurkice Pouncey and Rashard Mendenhall on Sunday in Denver. Early in the game they lost Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel. Another stalwart, LaMarr Woodley, was hopefully over his hamstring injury. He started but didn't last much beyond the first series. To add to the problem, Ryan Clark was declared ineligible because his sickle cell trait prevents him from playing in high altitudes.

Finally, we were aware that Ben Roethlisberger was much less than 100 percent with his high ankle strain. The fact is that it's impossible to replace all these guys, particularly in the playoffs and in a hostile environment.

The Steelers' strategy was to prevent Tim Tebow from running the ball, thereby packing up front and daring him to pass. The fact is that either Tebow's passes were awfully errant or right on the money Sunday. It was the latter that killed the Steelers. It should be pointed out, too, that the Steelers never laid a glove on Tebow the whole game. He seemed to have foreever to get the ball out. So, we have to take our hats off to Tebow. He did what he had to do, both, as it turned out, running and passing.

I must say that the Steelers, despite their impoverished lineup, played gallantly. Roethlisberger even ran the ball on a couple of occasions. Issac Redman gained 121 yards on 17 carries. Some early obvious drops hurt drives and they had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. But we'll certainly savor the comeback in the fourth quarter to tie the score at the end of regulation. And we'll remember how Ben almost got them within field goal range before time ran out.

In all, I must say that as one Steeler fan, I am relieved that the season ended Sunday. I know all the cliches about how any team can beat any another on any given Sunday. But, realistically, I cannot see how they would beat the rested Patriots in Foxborough next Sunday. So, the season ended a week earlier than expected. It means an extra week of rest before training camp begins, an extra week for all the guys to heal, and an extra week to plan for the draft. It's healthy given all the mishaps of 2011, and it's on to 2012.

** New Pitt head coach Paul Chryst has most of his assistants in place. That's progress. I see where there's much criticism about the hiring of Bill O'Brien at Penn State. I think it is impossible to predict the success of a new coach. He may be terrific, or he could be a bust like Charlie Weis. Anyone taking over that job from JoePa is going to have a rough time. It just may be that it will take several head coaches at Penn State until they finally settle on a real successor to Joe. Time will tell.

It's a raw, cold morning in Pittsburgh. The weather suits my mood. I feel pretty good about the Steelers making the playoffs. But I don't feel that great about how they won their last game in Cleveland, and I don't feel optimistic about how far they can go in the playoffs given that they will not get a bye week and they will be on the road.

Sunday's game was played in a gale of swirling winds and snow. The Steelers took the field with a badly ailing quarterback, among other dings. What they were not figuring on was the loss of their best runner, Rashard Mendenhall , who went down with an apparent ACL tear. (See you in training camp, buddy.)

The Steelers won 13-9, hardly a blowout. But they possessed the ball for almost 40 minutes to the Browns' 20 minutes. They just couldn't get the ball over the goal line except once. Admittedly, with the windy conditions, the thrown balls were fluttering all over the place. But they coughed up the ball twice, in successive series, on fumbles. In all, it just wasn't pretty.

There were three positives in this game. Hines Ward was able to make his 1,000th career catch. The problem with these kinds of records is that they are such a monumental achievement that they inevitably happen at the tail end of a career. (Remember the infamous Iron Man record, Baltimore fans?) Ward is all but finished. He had a very diminished role with the Steelers this season. I think giving him passes in the final game was his going-away present.

Antonio Brown, one of the most surprising sixth0round draft picks in Steeler history, went over 1,000 yards in passing yards and 1,000 yards in returns. This is an NFL record. Finally, Ben Roethlisberger escaped without further injury to his ankle. This was a minor miracle.

So, now it's off to Denver and Tebow Land. Aside from the fact that it's an away game, I think the Steelers have a good chance of winning this game. I have faith that Dick LeBeau, the Steelers' ageless defensive coordinator, can dial up some defenses that will make Tebow's head swim. The Steelers will have to make sure they have Tebow contained, however, as I am less concerned about his passing than his running. But it won't be easy, either.

The Steelers have but two healthy running backs, (unless Mewelde Moore can come back from injury), Isaac Redman and John Clay. The former can move the ball, even if he fumbled twice Sunday in Cleveland. But to spell him, they have Clay who is the rawest of rookies. He only came off the practice squad last week.

It kind of reminds me of years ago when both Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier were both out of action for a playoff game in Oakland. The Steelers only runner that day was the easily forgotten Reggie Harrison. This was the 1970's, when the Steelers and Raiders were supreme rivals. The Steelers held their own for a half, but Ken Stabler and the Raiders annihilated them in the second half. The killer is that even if the Steelers beat the Broncos next Sunday, they will have to play in Foxborough the next week. I know that the Steelers beat the Patriots this season in Heinz Field. But that game won't mean a thing against a rested Tom Brady in Foxborough. Oh well, let's take it one week at a time. What other choice is there?

From where I am sitting, I would have to say that the AFC championship will come down to the Patriots and Ravens. That would be a tough one to call. The Pats have the passing game. But the Ravens have the diminutive Ray Rice who is past the line of scrimmage before opposing defenses can pick him up among all the trees surrounding him. By then it's too late. Ask the Bengals.

As for the NFC, San Francisco and New Orleans are terrific, Atlanta ain't bad and the Ginats are peaking at the right time. But then there is Green Bay who seem to have a dynasty in the making. If you just go by quarterbacks, it will come down to Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. I think Green Bay's supporting cast is a bit stronger, but we'll see.

Did you note that the Jets benched Santonio Holmes on Sunday after he fought with a teammate? Holmes is one of the more gifted physical specimens in pro football. But from the neck up, he's garbage. That's why it wasn't all that difficult for the Steelers to part ways with him. His counterpart, Plaxico Burress, is another head case. He's another former Steeler. It didn't take long for these guys to implode. Teams that take on jerks like this are just asking for trouble.

I'll be watching Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Their offensive coordinator, Paul Chryst, is the new Pitt head coach. I hope he does well against Oregon and for Pitt. Pitt's basketball team is in the toilet with a three-game losing streak. That's unusual for a Jamie Dixon team. But I don't see it turning around this season.

Indianapolis has the first pick in the draft. I think they should take Andrew Luck if he checks out as the very best QB in the draft. Even if Peyton Manning comes back, how long can they depend on him? And it wouldn't be such a bad idea for Luck to watch Manning for a while before taking over.