Why the NFL better not
miss any games
By Mike Batista
I'm not going speak legalese here.
The facts are that the NFL Players Association and the owners couldn't come to an agreement before Friday's deadline. Now the owners have locked out the players, the union has decertified and blah, blah, blah ...
It's too early to tell if we're going to lose any regular-season games because of this mess. But has anyone looked at a calendar and seen when the first Sunday of the NFL regular season would be?
If the NFL maintains its recent pattern of starting the regular season after Labor Day, there would be the Thursday night opener hosted by the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers (which I say through clenched teeth) on Sept. 8. Then the first Sunday of the regular season would be on Sept. 11.
That would be the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, the day known simply as 9/11. If the start of the NFL season is delayed by just one week, there would be no football on Sept. 11.
The first Sunday of a new NFL season would be a welcome diversion as America mourns the most solemn day in its modern history. Teams hosting games that day would have a chance before kickoff to honor those lost, thank those fighting for our freedom and celebrate the American way of life in a spectacular manner.
It would be a shame if stadiums were empty that day because of greed.
OK, so Polamalu was hurt
When I finally got around to reading Sports Illustrated's account of Super Bowl XLV, I didn't believe it when I read that Troy Polamalu was hurt during the postseason.
When he came back for the regular-season finale in Cleveland, he was all over the field in the first half. And even though he was largely a non-factor against the Ravens and Jets, I remember one play in which Polamalu was at least 20 yards downfield and ran all the way back to make a tackle near the line of scrimmage.
I didn't buy the theory that Polamalu was hurt. I just thought he had a bad Super Bowl.
Now, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that Polamalu was battling an injured Achilles tendon throughout the playoffs.
Of course I do need to employ a healthy skepticism here. This could be excuse-making. But the story uses unnamed sources, so this wasn't something Polamalu came out and announced himself. He's a private person and doesn't strike me as the type to make excuses.
But the revelation that Polamalu was injured doesn't make me feel any better.
Now I've gone from a "wtf?" mentality about Polamalu's disappearing act in Dallas to an "if only" mentality. A healthy Polamalu almost certainly would have been enough to tilt that tight Super Bowl in the Steelers' favor.
Considering how hobbled Polamalu was, it's amazing how close the Steelers came to another championship.
Damn.
Showing posts with label Super Bowl XLV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl XLV. Show all posts
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Starting Over
By Mike Batista
I can't listen to "Black and Yellow" anymore. It hurts too much.
The Steelers' loss to the Packers in Super Bowl XLV is like a painful breakup. And Wiz Khalifa's tune, adopted as an unofficial Steelers anthem during this thrilling season, reminds me of the good times that have come to an end.
After the 2009 season, it was easy to look forward to 2010 because the Steelers didn't even make the playoffs. But it's not so easy to look ahead to 2011, even if there is a season.
This is the first time since 2007 the Steelers have made the playoffs and lost.
When this happens, I think about how far they've come, and how they have to start over again.
The Steelers' 3-1 start without Ben Roethlisberger seemed like a huge accomplishment at the time, but from the vantage point of the Super Bowl, it doesn't seem like a whole lot.
The Steelers might have taken control of the AFC North with their win in Baltimore. But after playing in the Super Bowl, the AFC North seems like baby stuff.
Such regular-season highlights are like people on the ground when you're looking down from the side of a mountain. They look like they're the size of ants.
The Steelers almost made it to the top of that mountain. Now the climb has to start all over again.
By Mike Batista
I can't listen to "Black and Yellow" anymore. It hurts too much.
The Steelers' loss to the Packers in Super Bowl XLV is like a painful breakup. And Wiz Khalifa's tune, adopted as an unofficial Steelers anthem during this thrilling season, reminds me of the good times that have come to an end.
After the 2009 season, it was easy to look forward to 2010 because the Steelers didn't even make the playoffs. But it's not so easy to look ahead to 2011, even if there is a season.
This is the first time since 2007 the Steelers have made the playoffs and lost.
When this happens, I think about how far they've come, and how they have to start over again.
The Steelers' 3-1 start without Ben Roethlisberger seemed like a huge accomplishment at the time, but from the vantage point of the Super Bowl, it doesn't seem like a whole lot.
The Steelers might have taken control of the AFC North with their win in Baltimore. But after playing in the Super Bowl, the AFC North seems like baby stuff.
Such regular-season highlights are like people on the ground when you're looking down from the side of a mountain. They look like they're the size of ants.
The Steelers almost made it to the top of that mountain. Now the climb has to start all over again.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Super Bowl XLV:
Packers 31, Steelers 25
Not your father's Steelers
By Mike Batista
I've watched my last Steelers game.
My last Steelers game before turning 40, that is.
If you're a Steelers fan younger than 40, you probably didn't really get a chance to witness the Steelers' dynasty of the 1970s. Or if you did, you probably couldn't describe the difference between a free safety and a strong safety.
A win in Super Bowl XLV would have provided this generation of Steelers fans with an experience similar to the glory days of the 1970s. I gladly would have accepted three championships in six years as a feat comparable to four in six years.
But these aren't your father's Steelers. They just don't make Steelers Super Bowl teams like they used to. In the post-Steel Curtain era, the Steelers sometimes lose the Super Bowl.
Out of miracles
A lot has happened since Ben Roethlisberger threaded the eye of a needle for the game-winning touchdown to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII. The Saints succeeded the Steelers as champions, and we learned (if we didn't know already) that Roethlisberger is not exactly a saint.
Even if Roethlisberger has changed his ways, here's why he still falls short of sainthood: You need two miracles to qualify as a saint. And there would be no second Super Bowl miracle for Roethlisberger.
Sure, it was great theater to see Roethlisberger again assigned the task of leading the Steelers the length of the field with two minutes left in the Super Bowl. But if you keep putting yourself in that spot, sometimes you're going to lose.
A lot has to go right for these epic, career-defining drives to come together. Like Thomas Edison's inventions, some of them just don't work out.
It wasn't a good sign when Mike Wallace, the Steelers' top receiver Sunday with nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, had no idea what he was supposed to do on second-and-five from the Steelers' 33. Roethlisberger had to throw the ball away. Then on third down Roethlisberger threw a ball that wasn't close to anyone. The grace of that winning drive in Tampa just wasn't there.
On fourth down, the Packers' sealed their championship when Tramon Williams broke up a pass to Wallace.
The final drive seemed doomed from the start when Keyaron Fox was called for a personal foul on the kickoff, dragging the Steelers from the 26 to their own 13.
Fox joined the Steelers in 2008 and contributed to their championship season as a special teams ace. Unfortunately, he seems to have gone bad. This wasn't the first time he's been flagged this season on a special teams play.
But it wasn't just Fox. Penalties were a problem all season for the Steelers, and they were a problem again Sunday. A blocking-above-the-waist infraction on Ryan Mundy set the stage for the Packers to take control of the game in the first quarter.
That penalty came on the kickoff after the Packers took a 7-0 lead on Aaron Rodgers' 29-yard pass to Jordy Nelson. It put the Steelers on their own 7. Roethlisberger threw the ball on the first play of the drive, but was hit, causing the ball to wobble in the air. It looked like Nick Collins was catching a fly ball in center field for the Brewers as he easily picked the ball off and ran it in 37 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Packers lead.
Mistakes, they had a few
Every Steeler is to blame for this mistake-riddled performance. But the penalties by the special teams muckers ultimately will be forgotten. Super Bowl XLV will be remembered by Steelers fans for Roethlisberger's two interceptions and Rashard Mendenhall's fumble.
Roethlisberger's second pick was a throw into double coverage. Jarrett Bush came up with it.
Troy Polamalu then tried to keep the Steelers in the game with his biggest hit of the night. Unfortunately, it didn't do much good because it came in the end zone after Rodgers completed a 21-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings for a 21-3 Packers lead.
I was obviously way off on my prediction of Polamalu being the MVP.
Polamalu hasn't done much in any of the three Super Bowls he's played in, even though the Steelers have won two of them.
The Steelers probably don't get anywhere near the Super Bowl without Polamalu's heist in Baltimore nine weeks earlier. The 2010 Steelers season hinged on that play. The Steelers needed a similar rescue in the Super Bowl.
But it never came.
Troy a hair out of place
With the Steelers down by 18, I started to worry that this would turn into one of those vintage 1980s and early 1990s Super Bores, when the Goliaths of the NFC annually dominated the AFC's best offering. There hadn't really been a Super Bowl blowout in eight years. Were we due for one?
The Steelers didn't allow that to happen.
When facing a big deficit in the first half, the first thing you want to do is get points on the board before halftime. The Steelers did just that. A 37-yard pass to Antwaan Randle-El put the ball on the Packers 40 and sparked a touchdown drive that culminated in an 8-yard TD pass to Hines Ward.
That made the Steelers' halftime deficit a manageable 21-10.
Then in the second half the officials decided to start calling penalties on the Packers. Five of their seven penalties came in the third quarter, including a face mask on a punt that gave the Steelers the ball at midfield.
From there they ran the ball five times, Mendenhall twice, Isaac Redman twice and Roethlisberger once. Mendenhall took it in through traffic from the 8 for a touchdown, cutting the Packers' lead to 21-17 with more than 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Steelers made it a game again.
I would rather have not seen the Steelers burn two timeouts in the third quarter, having more than one timeout might have come in handy on the final drive. It was also hard to watch Shaun Suisham attempt a 52-yard field goal. Did anyone really think Suisham was going to make that?
Polamalu looked like he could have had an interception with about two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. Had he been a couple of steps to his left, he might have picked off a third-down incompletion right around the Steelers' 20 with room to run. Even though the Packers were forced to punt, Polamalu had his head in his hands at the end of that play. Like most of the night, he was out of position.
Despite all that, the Steelers' defensive muscle in the third quarter forged a field-position advantage.
With the Packers pinned at their own 13 late in the period, the Steelers forced a three-and-out. On the punt, the Packers were penalized and had to re-kick from their 8. The Steelers were in business at the Packers' 41, and Mendenhall ended the third quarter by picking up eight yards.
Fourth-quarter flop
Many Steelers players participated in the universal football ritual of holding up four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter, a signal that if you want to win the game, this is the time to do it.
Mendenhall didn't get the message. He got the ball again to open the final quarter, and Clay Matthews popped it loose. Desmond Bishop (not Bishop Desmond) recovered the fumble.
The Packers, who didn't turn the ball over in the game, scored for the third time off a Steelers turnover. Rodgers threw an 8-yard TD pass to Jennings, making it 28-17 with 12 minutes left.
Starting with the AFC championship game, Mendenhall played like a top-tier running back for seven quarters. He ran for just 63 yards in the Super Bowl, but at a clip of 4.5 yards a carry. Finally it seemed that Mendenhall would be the guy to provide the Steelers with a productive, clock-grinding ground game in the coming years. But that fumble again planted some seeds of doubt.
So it was back to disaster recovery for the Steelers. And recover they did. They got to within a field goal halfway through the fourth quarter when Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Wallace and followed that with a pretty option pitch to Randle-El on the two-point conversion.
Ziggy Hood sacked Rodgers to start the ensuing possession, and the Packers eventually were staring at a third-and-10 from their own 25.
Momentum once again belonged to the Steelers.
That's when Rodgers showed why he's the Super Bowl MVP.
He threw to Jennings up the middle for 31 yards. Polamalu might have made his biggest impact of the night when he got his hand on Jennings' leg to stop him. It likely prevented a touchdown.
The Packers ran the clock down and got to the Steelers' 5. But the Steelers defense had enough fight left to hold them to a field goal and give Roethlisberger a chance to win it.
But as a new generation of Steelers fans has learned, you can't win 'em all.
Packers 31, Steelers 25
Not your father's Steelers
By Mike Batista
I've watched my last Steelers game.
My last Steelers game before turning 40, that is.
If you're a Steelers fan younger than 40, you probably didn't really get a chance to witness the Steelers' dynasty of the 1970s. Or if you did, you probably couldn't describe the difference between a free safety and a strong safety.
A win in Super Bowl XLV would have provided this generation of Steelers fans with an experience similar to the glory days of the 1970s. I gladly would have accepted three championships in six years as a feat comparable to four in six years.
But these aren't your father's Steelers. They just don't make Steelers Super Bowl teams like they used to. In the post-Steel Curtain era, the Steelers sometimes lose the Super Bowl.
Out of miracles
A lot has happened since Ben Roethlisberger threaded the eye of a needle for the game-winning touchdown to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII. The Saints succeeded the Steelers as champions, and we learned (if we didn't know already) that Roethlisberger is not exactly a saint.
Even if Roethlisberger has changed his ways, here's why he still falls short of sainthood: You need two miracles to qualify as a saint. And there would be no second Super Bowl miracle for Roethlisberger.
Sure, it was great theater to see Roethlisberger again assigned the task of leading the Steelers the length of the field with two minutes left in the Super Bowl. But if you keep putting yourself in that spot, sometimes you're going to lose.
A lot has to go right for these epic, career-defining drives to come together. Like Thomas Edison's inventions, some of them just don't work out.
It wasn't a good sign when Mike Wallace, the Steelers' top receiver Sunday with nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, had no idea what he was supposed to do on second-and-five from the Steelers' 33. Roethlisberger had to throw the ball away. Then on third down Roethlisberger threw a ball that wasn't close to anyone. The grace of that winning drive in Tampa just wasn't there.
On fourth down, the Packers' sealed their championship when Tramon Williams broke up a pass to Wallace.
The final drive seemed doomed from the start when Keyaron Fox was called for a personal foul on the kickoff, dragging the Steelers from the 26 to their own 13.
Fox joined the Steelers in 2008 and contributed to their championship season as a special teams ace. Unfortunately, he seems to have gone bad. This wasn't the first time he's been flagged this season on a special teams play.
But it wasn't just Fox. Penalties were a problem all season for the Steelers, and they were a problem again Sunday. A blocking-above-the-waist infraction on Ryan Mundy set the stage for the Packers to take control of the game in the first quarter.
That penalty came on the kickoff after the Packers took a 7-0 lead on Aaron Rodgers' 29-yard pass to Jordy Nelson. It put the Steelers on their own 7. Roethlisberger threw the ball on the first play of the drive, but was hit, causing the ball to wobble in the air. It looked like Nick Collins was catching a fly ball in center field for the Brewers as he easily picked the ball off and ran it in 37 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Packers lead.
Mistakes, they had a few
Every Steeler is to blame for this mistake-riddled performance. But the penalties by the special teams muckers ultimately will be forgotten. Super Bowl XLV will be remembered by Steelers fans for Roethlisberger's two interceptions and Rashard Mendenhall's fumble.
Roethlisberger's second pick was a throw into double coverage. Jarrett Bush came up with it.
Troy Polamalu then tried to keep the Steelers in the game with his biggest hit of the night. Unfortunately, it didn't do much good because it came in the end zone after Rodgers completed a 21-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings for a 21-3 Packers lead.
I was obviously way off on my prediction of Polamalu being the MVP.
Polamalu hasn't done much in any of the three Super Bowls he's played in, even though the Steelers have won two of them.
The Steelers probably don't get anywhere near the Super Bowl without Polamalu's heist in Baltimore nine weeks earlier. The 2010 Steelers season hinged on that play. The Steelers needed a similar rescue in the Super Bowl.
But it never came.
Troy a hair out of place
With the Steelers down by 18, I started to worry that this would turn into one of those vintage 1980s and early 1990s Super Bores, when the Goliaths of the NFC annually dominated the AFC's best offering. There hadn't really been a Super Bowl blowout in eight years. Were we due for one?
The Steelers didn't allow that to happen.
When facing a big deficit in the first half, the first thing you want to do is get points on the board before halftime. The Steelers did just that. A 37-yard pass to Antwaan Randle-El put the ball on the Packers 40 and sparked a touchdown drive that culminated in an 8-yard TD pass to Hines Ward.
That made the Steelers' halftime deficit a manageable 21-10.
Then in the second half the officials decided to start calling penalties on the Packers. Five of their seven penalties came in the third quarter, including a face mask on a punt that gave the Steelers the ball at midfield.
From there they ran the ball five times, Mendenhall twice, Isaac Redman twice and Roethlisberger once. Mendenhall took it in through traffic from the 8 for a touchdown, cutting the Packers' lead to 21-17 with more than 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Steelers made it a game again.
I would rather have not seen the Steelers burn two timeouts in the third quarter, having more than one timeout might have come in handy on the final drive. It was also hard to watch Shaun Suisham attempt a 52-yard field goal. Did anyone really think Suisham was going to make that?
Polamalu looked like he could have had an interception with about two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. Had he been a couple of steps to his left, he might have picked off a third-down incompletion right around the Steelers' 20 with room to run. Even though the Packers were forced to punt, Polamalu had his head in his hands at the end of that play. Like most of the night, he was out of position.
Despite all that, the Steelers' defensive muscle in the third quarter forged a field-position advantage.
With the Packers pinned at their own 13 late in the period, the Steelers forced a three-and-out. On the punt, the Packers were penalized and had to re-kick from their 8. The Steelers were in business at the Packers' 41, and Mendenhall ended the third quarter by picking up eight yards.
Fourth-quarter flop
Many Steelers players participated in the universal football ritual of holding up four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter, a signal that if you want to win the game, this is the time to do it.
Mendenhall didn't get the message. He got the ball again to open the final quarter, and Clay Matthews popped it loose. Desmond Bishop (not Bishop Desmond) recovered the fumble.
The Packers, who didn't turn the ball over in the game, scored for the third time off a Steelers turnover. Rodgers threw an 8-yard TD pass to Jennings, making it 28-17 with 12 minutes left.
Starting with the AFC championship game, Mendenhall played like a top-tier running back for seven quarters. He ran for just 63 yards in the Super Bowl, but at a clip of 4.5 yards a carry. Finally it seemed that Mendenhall would be the guy to provide the Steelers with a productive, clock-grinding ground game in the coming years. But that fumble again planted some seeds of doubt.
So it was back to disaster recovery for the Steelers. And recover they did. They got to within a field goal halfway through the fourth quarter when Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Wallace and followed that with a pretty option pitch to Randle-El on the two-point conversion.
Ziggy Hood sacked Rodgers to start the ensuing possession, and the Packers eventually were staring at a third-and-10 from their own 25.
Momentum once again belonged to the Steelers.
That's when Rodgers showed why he's the Super Bowl MVP.
He threw to Jennings up the middle for 31 yards. Polamalu might have made his biggest impact of the night when he got his hand on Jennings' leg to stop him. It likely prevented a touchdown.
The Packers ran the clock down and got to the Steelers' 5. But the Steelers defense had enough fight left to hold them to a field goal and give Roethlisberger a chance to win it.
But as a new generation of Steelers fans has learned, you can't win 'em all.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Super Bowl XLV:
Sing Us a Song Tonight
By Mike Batista
Ben Roethlisberger just can't stay out of bars, can he?
According to TMZ, Big Ben was spotted at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Fort Worth Wednesday (Correction: Tuesday) night singing "Piano Man."
Let's hope Billy Joel doesn't press charges.
Apparently, Roethlisberger was nice to everyone at the bar and tipped $200 on an $800 bill.
Think he figured out the math by himself?
Perphaps Roethlisberger should have taken a shot at singing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," because redemption seems to be the theme this week as Roethlisberger prepares for Super Bowl XLV.
Only Roethlisberger and the women he was with really know what happened on that March night in Milledgeville and in the hotel room in Nevada.
Roethlisberger wasn't charged in either case. All we know is that whatever happened, it wasn't cool. And it unleashed a chorus of stories in the Pittsburgh area about Roethlisberger's treatment of women, and people in general.
It was clear Roethlisberger had a lot of growing up to do.
There have been signs this season that Roethlisberger is starting to change his ways. Just the fact that he paid the bill at the bar shows that he's turning a new leaf. He used to skip out on bar tabs.
Roethlisberger won this year's Chief Award for media cooperation. That's not something Pittsburgh writers would have considered him for in the past.
Earlier in the week, when Roethlisberger remarked about Steelers and Packers fans covering Dallas in a sea of yellow, he even seemed slightly effeminate.
Of course, no one is asking Roethlisberger to start dating men as part of his transformation. He's still allowed an attraction to women. And despite what happened or didn't happen in Milledgeville, at least one woman is attracted to him. Apparently Roethlisberger's getting married, too.
But these are all baby steps. I need to see more.
Has Roethlisberger donated to any women's causes? Has he volunteered at any women's shelters? Considering the sketchiness of his dealings with women in the past, it would be nice to see Roethlisberger acknowledge women's issues beyond just wearing pink during games in October.
Perhaps Roethlisberger's already done that in private. If that's the case, good for him. I was in a community service fraternity, Epsilon Omega Psi, at Emerson College (our colors were black and gold). Our advisor told us that it's only a good deed until someone finds out about it.
Maybe marriage will lead to fatherhood for Roethlisberger. If that happens, being a father will be the most important job he ever has.
Raising a child would go a long way toward proving that he's a changed man, a lot more than raising another Lombardi Trophy.
Not that Roethlisberger has to have kids. You need to be ready for that. An onrushing linebacker can be a picnic compared to a dirty diaper.
What I'm saying is that Roethlisberger's redemption process extends far beyond the field, and far beyond Super Bowl XLV.
Sing Us a Song Tonight
By Mike Batista
Ben Roethlisberger just can't stay out of bars, can he?
According to TMZ, Big Ben was spotted at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Fort Worth Wednesday (Correction: Tuesday) night singing "Piano Man."
Let's hope Billy Joel doesn't press charges.
Apparently, Roethlisberger was nice to everyone at the bar and tipped $200 on an $800 bill.
Think he figured out the math by himself?
Perphaps Roethlisberger should have taken a shot at singing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," because redemption seems to be the theme this week as Roethlisberger prepares for Super Bowl XLV.
Only Roethlisberger and the women he was with really know what happened on that March night in Milledgeville and in the hotel room in Nevada.
Roethlisberger wasn't charged in either case. All we know is that whatever happened, it wasn't cool. And it unleashed a chorus of stories in the Pittsburgh area about Roethlisberger's treatment of women, and people in general.
It was clear Roethlisberger had a lot of growing up to do.
There have been signs this season that Roethlisberger is starting to change his ways. Just the fact that he paid the bill at the bar shows that he's turning a new leaf. He used to skip out on bar tabs.
Roethlisberger won this year's Chief Award for media cooperation. That's not something Pittsburgh writers would have considered him for in the past.
Earlier in the week, when Roethlisberger remarked about Steelers and Packers fans covering Dallas in a sea of yellow, he even seemed slightly effeminate.
Of course, no one is asking Roethlisberger to start dating men as part of his transformation. He's still allowed an attraction to women. And despite what happened or didn't happen in Milledgeville, at least one woman is attracted to him. Apparently Roethlisberger's getting married, too.
But these are all baby steps. I need to see more.
Has Roethlisberger donated to any women's causes? Has he volunteered at any women's shelters? Considering the sketchiness of his dealings with women in the past, it would be nice to see Roethlisberger acknowledge women's issues beyond just wearing pink during games in October.
Perhaps Roethlisberger's already done that in private. If that's the case, good for him. I was in a community service fraternity, Epsilon Omega Psi, at Emerson College (our colors were black and gold). Our advisor told us that it's only a good deed until someone finds out about it.
Maybe marriage will lead to fatherhood for Roethlisberger. If that happens, being a father will be the most important job he ever has.
Raising a child would go a long way toward proving that he's a changed man, a lot more than raising another Lombardi Trophy.
Not that Roethlisberger has to have kids. You need to be ready for that. An onrushing linebacker can be a picnic compared to a dirty diaper.
What I'm saying is that Roethlisberger's redemption process extends far beyond the field, and far beyond Super Bowl XLV.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wait 'til next year ...
on dynasty talk
By Mike Batista
As the Steelers head down to the Big D for Super Bowl XLV, the "D" word is being thrown around.
A lot of yinzers and honorary yinzers are saying that if the Steelers beat the Packers in Dallas for their third championship in six years, they'll be a dynasty.
Would they currently be the model franchise in the NFL?
Yes.
Would they make a case to become America's Team and rip that accolade from the Cowboys right in front of Jerry Jones' plasticized face?
Yes.
Would they be a dynasty?
No.
Hold the boos, please (but I'll gladly accept any booze).
I have to stand by my original theory on this one.
In the past I have written that a dynasty is not formed until a team wins three championships in four years or four in six years. That ensures back-to-back titles. If you can't repeat as champions at some point, you're not a dynasty.
This means the Steelers need to win this Super Bowl and the next to become a dynasty.
After winning Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers didn't even make the playoffs the following year, handling success like Gerald Ford handled the stairs coming out of an airplane.
And look at how long Ford was president. Nothing dynastic about him.
The Steelers of the 70s were a dynasty by virtue of their four championships in six years.
The Patriots, who won three out of four Super Bowls from 2001-2004, were the NFL's last dynasty. And that dynasty has fallen to ancient ruins.
There is currently no dynasty in place in the NFL. Who says there needs to be one?
Comedian Bill Maher said the NFL's socialist concept of trying to keep every team competitive is the reason the league is so wildly popular in capitalist America.
That's not really conducive to a dynasty.
Whether they win or lose Sunday, the Steelers are the only team to reach three Super Bowls in the past six years. The Colts are the only other team to reach two.
The Steelers are closer than any team to being a dynasty. All they have to do is win Sunday, and avoid any Ford-like pratfalls next season.
on dynasty talk
By Mike Batista
As the Steelers head down to the Big D for Super Bowl XLV, the "D" word is being thrown around.
A lot of yinzers and honorary yinzers are saying that if the Steelers beat the Packers in Dallas for their third championship in six years, they'll be a dynasty.
Would they currently be the model franchise in the NFL?
Yes.
Would they make a case to become America's Team and rip that accolade from the Cowboys right in front of Jerry Jones' plasticized face?
Yes.
Would they be a dynasty?
No.
Hold the boos, please (but I'll gladly accept any booze).
I have to stand by my original theory on this one.
In the past I have written that a dynasty is not formed until a team wins three championships in four years or four in six years. That ensures back-to-back titles. If you can't repeat as champions at some point, you're not a dynasty.
This means the Steelers need to win this Super Bowl and the next to become a dynasty.
After winning Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers didn't even make the playoffs the following year, handling success like Gerald Ford handled the stairs coming out of an airplane.
And look at how long Ford was president. Nothing dynastic about him.
The Steelers of the 70s were a dynasty by virtue of their four championships in six years.
The Patriots, who won three out of four Super Bowls from 2001-2004, were the NFL's last dynasty. And that dynasty has fallen to ancient ruins.
There is currently no dynasty in place in the NFL. Who says there needs to be one?
Comedian Bill Maher said the NFL's socialist concept of trying to keep every team competitive is the reason the league is so wildly popular in capitalist America.
That's not really conducive to a dynasty.
Whether they win or lose Sunday, the Steelers are the only team to reach three Super Bowls in the past six years. The Colts are the only other team to reach two.
The Steelers are closer than any team to being a dynasty. All they have to do is win Sunday, and avoid any Ford-like pratfalls next season.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
No dirty birds
By Mike Batista
Get your popcorn and butter ready. Part III of the latest Ravens-Steelers trilogy is coming to a theater near you. This time, the Ravens won't be doing the Steelers' dirty work. This movie will contain graphic violence.
But we'll get to all that later.
The Steelers enter the playoffs with a 12-4 record and a No. 2 seed in the AFC.
Sound familiar?
It's the same record and seed the Steelers had in 2008.
The parallels between the 2008 and 2010 Steelers don't end there, however.
Consider:
Even without them actually playing, the 2010 playoffs haven't gone quite as well for the Steelers as they did two years ago.
In the 2008 wild-card round, the Chargers beat the Colts, one of the teams that beat the Steelers, then lost to the Steelers in the divisional playoffs.
The Ravens earned a date with the Steelers in the AFC championship game by upsetting the Titans, another team that beat the Steelers in 2008.
The Cardinals reached Super Bowl XLIII by beating the Eagles in the NFC championship game.
So on their way to winning Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers were one round away from facing three teams they lost to in the regular season.
The Chargers, Ravens and Cardinals did the Steelers' dirty work for them in the 2008 playoffs, and the Steelers thanked them all by beating them.
No such luck this time.
If the Steelers want to get to Super Bowl XLV, they'll not only need to handle the Ravens again Saturday at 4:30 at Heinz Field, they'll have to find a way to beat the Jets or Patriots in the AFC championship game.
The Ravens gave the Patriots a better game than the Steelers this season, taking them to overtime before losing in New England. There was a lot of talk about the Ravens hopefully offing the Patriots so the Steelers wouldn't have to face them.
But the Ravens don't want to be the Steelers' errand boys again. When the Jets' win locked them into a matchup against the Patriots next week, all the Ravens had to do was beat the Chiefs Sunday to earn a ticket to Pittsburgh. The Ravens want another shot at the Patriots just as much as the Steelers. Only one of them will get that shot.
The Steelers better be ready.
By Mike Batista
Get your popcorn and butter ready. Part III of the latest Ravens-Steelers trilogy is coming to a theater near you. This time, the Ravens won't be doing the Steelers' dirty work. This movie will contain graphic violence.
But we'll get to all that later.
The Steelers enter the playoffs with a 12-4 record and a No. 2 seed in the AFC.
Sound familiar?
It's the same record and seed the Steelers had in 2008.
The parallels between the 2008 and 2010 Steelers don't end there, however.
Consider:
- In both seasons, the Steelers finished with convincing wins over the Browns. They closed 2008 with a 31-0 win and beat them 41-9 last Sunday.
- In both seasons, all four of the Steelers' losses came to playoff teams. They lost to the Eagles, Giants, Colts and Titans in 2008 and the Ravens, Saints, Patriots and Jets in 2010.
- In both seasons, the Steelers lost their last game in October to the defending Super Bowl champion. They lost to the Giants on Oct. 26, 2008 and to the Saints on Halloween this season.
- In both seasons, the Steelers lost at home to a New York team.
- In both seasons, one of the Steelers' losses ended with an incomplete pass into the end zone that could have won the game. In 2008, a Hail Mary fell short against the Colts. This season, they attempted a game-winning pass from the Jets' 10-yard line as time ran out.
- In both seasons, the Steelers not only went 6-2 in the first and second half of the season, they went 3-1 in each quarter of the season.
- In both seasons, they allowed the fewest points in the NFL, 223 in 2008 and 232 this season.
- In both seasons, they won a game by one point. They beat the Chargers 11-10 in 2008 and the Dolphins 23-22 this season.
- In both seasons, they essentially won the AFC North by winning in Baltimore in December, 13-9 in 2008 and 13-10 this season.
- In both seasons, they lost convincingly to the top-seeded team in the AFC. They lost 31-14 to the Titans in 2008 and 39-26 to the Patriots this season.
Even without them actually playing, the 2010 playoffs haven't gone quite as well for the Steelers as they did two years ago.
In the 2008 wild-card round, the Chargers beat the Colts, one of the teams that beat the Steelers, then lost to the Steelers in the divisional playoffs.
The Ravens earned a date with the Steelers in the AFC championship game by upsetting the Titans, another team that beat the Steelers in 2008.
The Cardinals reached Super Bowl XLIII by beating the Eagles in the NFC championship game.
So on their way to winning Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers were one round away from facing three teams they lost to in the regular season.
The Chargers, Ravens and Cardinals did the Steelers' dirty work for them in the 2008 playoffs, and the Steelers thanked them all by beating them.
No such luck this time.
If the Steelers want to get to Super Bowl XLV, they'll not only need to handle the Ravens again Saturday at 4:30 at Heinz Field, they'll have to find a way to beat the Jets or Patriots in the AFC championship game.
The Ravens gave the Patriots a better game than the Steelers this season, taking them to overtime before losing in New England. There was a lot of talk about the Ravens hopefully offing the Patriots so the Steelers wouldn't have to face them.
But the Ravens don't want to be the Steelers' errand boys again. When the Jets' win locked them into a matchup against the Patriots next week, all the Ravens had to do was beat the Chiefs Sunday to earn a ticket to Pittsburgh. The Ravens want another shot at the Patriots just as much as the Steelers. Only one of them will get that shot.
The Steelers better be ready.
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