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Leave YOUR Writing on the Wall! Send your postgame critiques, analysis, ranting and raving about the last game as well as your predictions, smak, & insults about our upcoming opponent. Whether your message is a simple "Go Steelers" or detailed, in-depth analysis, tell us what you think and we'll post it below.
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Steelers vs Bengals (29-21)
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Fan Poll |  |
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Who deserves the game ball for the Bungles game?
• Jeff Reed
• Kordell Stewart
• Hines Ward
• Jerome Bettis
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Scoring Summary
First Quarter
PIT - TD, Jerome Bettis, 1 Yd run (kick is good).
PIT - TD, Hines Ward, 64 Yd pass from Kordell Stewart (kick is good).
Second Quarter
PIT - FG, Jeff Reed 33 yd.
CIN - TD, Corey Dillon, 10 Yd run (kick is good).
CIN - TD, Corey Dillon, 2 Yd run (kick is good).
Third Quarter
PIT - FG, Jeff Reed 43 yd.
Fourth Quarter
CIN - TD, Matt Schobel, 20 Yd pass from Jon Kitna (kick is good).
PIT - FG, Jeff Reed 45 yd.
PIT - TD, Jerome Bettis, 24 Yd run (kick is no good).
Key Stats & Facts
• Kordell Stewart 22 of 26, 236 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int, 1 sack, 11 runs for 40 yds: Stew was very efficient and perhaps most importantly, protected the ball. After an outstanding start which including a 64-yard TD pass to Ward, I thought Kordell started playing WAY too safe (too many dink passes to the backs). But his late 37-yard strike to Ward down the middle was one of the key plays of the game.
• ZERO turnovers: It's been awhile since the Steelers protected the ball this well. A single turnover could've lost it for us (and DID lose it for the Bungles... their fumbled punt was the turning point of the game).
• Time of possession: Steelers 34:08, Bungles 25:52. The key stat, in my view. Our offense seemed too conservative at times and didn't execute well at others. But we had 3 drives of over 5-minutes, and anything that keeps our defense off the field is a good thing.
• Bungles 7 of 15 (47%) on 3rd down: This continues to a huge problem for the Steelers. Most teams win when they convert 50% of their 3rd downs. Fortunately, we were playing the Bungles. BTW, the Steelers were a paltry 3 of 11 on 3rd down (27%).
• 1 sack for 0 yards by our defense: We pressured Kitna occasionally, but one sack when a guy throws nearly 40 passes in a game isn't gonna get it done. Kitna did a good job of hangin in and finding the open man even when we did manage to get preessure on him. Overall, our D-line (along with usually one other blitzer) looked like slugs trying to rush the passer. We played the run well, but the pass rush was puny.
• Jeff Reed hit FGs of 45, 43 & 33 yards! Welcome to the team, Jeff! That missed PAT was a stinker, but 3 of 4 (with the only miss coming from 51) on that horrendous playing surface is outstanding!
• Not one carry for Amos Zereoue! This was a huge mistake in my book. To have a guy like that and not use him (other than for a few dink passes) boggles the mind.
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Steelers Offensive Leaders | |
PASSING |
ATT |
CMP |
YDS |
TD |
INT | |
Stewart |
26 |
22 |
236 |
1 |
0 |
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RUSHING |
ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Bettis |
22 |
79 |
2 |
24 |
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Stewart |
11 |
40 |
0 |
12 |
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RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Ward |
5 |
125 |
1 |
64 |
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Burress |
4 |
38 |
0 |
15 |
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Bettis |
2 |
27 |
0 |
15 |
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Bengals Offensive Leaders | |
PASSING |
ATT |
CMP |
YDS |
TD |
INT | |
Kitna |
39 |
22 |
298 |
1 |
0 |
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RUSHING |
ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Dillon |
19 |
60 |
2 |
10 |
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Neal |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Johnson |
7 |
152 |
0 |
55 |
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Dugans |
6 |
49 |
0 |
20 |
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Warrick |
3 |
47 |
0 |
36 |
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Key Defensive Players | |
DEFENSE |
T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
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Scott |
6-1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Alexander |
5-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Smith |
4-1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Washington |
4-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Bell |
3-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Key Defensive Players | |
DEFENSE |
T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
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Smith |
7-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Spikes |
6-2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Hawkins |
6-2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Simmons |
5-3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Williams |
2-0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Not Giving Up
The Fat Lady Ain't Singing
Article by McMillen & Wife
"Three or four plane crashes and we're in the Super Bowl!"
You know things are rough when you're using quotes from John McKay (late coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs) to describe the Steelers. But don't hit the panic button just yet.
Every football season has an ebb and flow, and to be sure, the Steelers are ebbing rather than flowing right now. We've been playing downright awful football at times over the last few games, especially on defense and special teams. It doesn't take a genious to see that if the playoffs started today, we'd be one game & out. But folks, the last time I checked, they don't hand out any silver footballs in November. And if there's one thing I've learned in recent years, it's that the landscape in the NFL can turn around very quickly and very dramatically.
What's the perfect compliment to any Terrible Towel?
McMillen and Wife's very own handmade
Steel City Soap!
(pictured above)
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Just ask the New England Patriots, who a year ago were floundering around at 6-5 at this exact same point in the season. At that time, they weren't playing any better football than our current Steelers, and NOBODY but the strongest of "homers" would've put money on the Pats even making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl.
Yet who was holding that silver football come February? Hint: It wasn't Kurt Warner, Kordell Stewart or Rich Gannon. We're not dead yet, people. Not by a long shot.
The win over Cincy this past Sunday wasn't pretty... I think we all can agree on that. But 'ya know what? I'll take an "ugly win" over a "pretty tie" ANY day.
The Steelers chalked up a "W" in the face of some pretty real adversity.
It was bad enough that our star QB and starting center were sidelined. That we fielded a defense comprised largely of backups to backups was even worse. That guy wearing #95 out there sure as hell wasn't Greg Lloyd! It was friggin' Mike Jones who was in for the injured John Fiala who was in for the injured James Farrior. That same Mike Jones was taken for a 4-yard piggy-back ride into the endzone by Corey Dillon in the first half, and it was Mike Jones who perhaps spotted a pretty girl while gazing into the crowd as he was burned for Cinci's go-ahead TD pass in the 4th quarter. Hope she's "the one," Mike.
What's more, Jones (who was only re-signed this past week) was actually calling our coverages out there. Ludicrous! Somebody please explain to me why a veteran like Gildon who's been with the team for 9 years isn't more qualified to make the calls than a guy who's been with the team for less than a week! Yeah, I realize Jones played on the team last year and knows the system, but he actually had an instance where he was mistakenly barking out OAKLAND's defensive signals. It boggles the mind!
Look, I'm not trying to tear down Mike Jones. He did make a huge play on special teams on the Houshmandzadeh fumble (even if it was dumb luck). I'm just pointing out that had Farrior (who is also our signal caller on defense) or even Fiala been in there, the aforementioned Cinci TD's might never have happened.
The rumors of our demise are greatly exagerated.
While it's true that we're not playing particularly well right now, our prospects are not nearly as bleak as some of you folks are making them out to be. Like everyone else, I came away from this game feeling pretty disgusted. But I was just as relieved. We desperately needed this win (especially since Cleveland upset the Saints), and while the form left much to be desired, I have yet to see any points awarded for style in the NFL.
Ultimately, our struggles in this game should've come as no surprise. If you read my pregame comments, then you know that what happened Sunday was just about exactly what I predicted. When you've got a bunch of inexperienced players and/or reserves (like Hope and Jones and Bailey) running around out there on defense because of injuries, there are going to be breakdowns. It's never a good sign when I keep seeing different numbers out there, looking at Sandy and saying, "Who in the hell is that?"
Getting healthy will go a LOOONG way towards getting us back where we need to be.
Enough. Time to hand out some game balls:
Kordell Stewart: Stew played it way too safe (scared?) at times, but I'll give him credit for protecting the ball. The one time Stew did go for the gusto was huge... his 37-yard laser beam to Ward late in the 4th was the nail in Cinci's coffin.
Jeff Reed: If not for that botched PAT, Jeff's name would be penciled in on my will. What a great feeling to have our kicker actually make two Fgs over 40 yards! Hell, over 30 yards for that matter!
Dan Kreider: This guy had one helluva game. Yeah, he had some nice little catches, but what impressed me was his blocking. I don't think he missed his man all day, and he had several devastating blocks including on Jerome's big TD run.
Hines Ward: He does it week in and week out. My kingdom for a 45-man roster full of Hines Wards.
Jerome Bettis: Way to shovel the dirt on O.J. Simpson.
The game bags go to:
Mike Jones: For reasons mentioned earlier. Yeah, he recovered the fumble. But MAAAN, did he stink it up otherwise. Pray he does better if he sees acton next week. Hopefully, Farrior will be back and we won't have to worry about it.
Brent Alexander: Yeah, he had a few nice plays including a bat of a pass at the goal line late in the game. But Brent was repeatedly out of position when it came time to make tackles downfield. This guy takes WAY too many bad angles for a starter. Yeah, Chris Hope also looked completely lost at times, but hey, he's a rookie.
Chad Scott: Like Alexander, Chad came up big on that final goal-line stand. But he was also beaten like a drum all day, including being burned for a 55-yarder to set up Cinci's go-ahead score. And when he did have his chance at a pick, it bounced harmlessly off his numbers.
Our front seven: Pass rush? What pass rush? I feel a little guilty dogging out our secondary without pointing out that they're getting ZERO help from our linemen & linebackers. To their credit, these guys are still among the best in the league in stopping the run. But we rarely pressured Kitna, and even when we did, we still gave him just enough time to find the open man. This is our greatest weakness, and until we figure out how to deal with it, we're gonna continue to struggle against the pass.
Chukky Okobi: Chukky is kind of an afterthought, but I keep hearing that this guy is playing well in place of Hartings. I sure didn't see much evidence of it Sunday. He was standing alone and bewildered following several stuffed running plays. In fact, our entire line seemed to implode a couple of times. Not sure what's going on with our running game lately. It's not what it should be.
The bottom line: The team needs to put this one behind them. We won, folks. Because it came against Cinci, it almost feels like a loss. But we DID win the game. In my view, the Steelers are suffering from a bit of a confidence problem right now. A win in Jacksonville will be the just the shot in the arm we need.
And a loss could be a lethal injection.
Until then, bruthas & sistas!
Tim McMillen
Webmaster, McMillen & Wife
Mac & Wife is Hosted and Sponsored by Pittsburgh's Finest!
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Fan Smak & Analysis
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The following articles are listed in the order they were received (with the most recent entries at the BOTTOM). This isn't a "guestbook" format... I read and manually insert every message, so you may not see your submission show up immediately. Thanks a million for your comments, people!
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Author: Your name here!
Comment: Coming soon!
Leave YOUR Writing on the Wall! Send your postgame critiques, analysis, ranting and raving about the last game as well as your predictions, smak, & insults about our upcoming opponent. Whether your message is a simple "Go Steelers" or detailed, in-depth analysis, tell us what you think and we'll post it here.
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Author: Your name here!
Comment: Coming soon!
Send us your comments!
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