Bubby Brister Turns 51 - Facts and Figures on His Time as a Steeler

Thanks to John Stiegerwald for tipping us off to the fact that yesterday was Bubby Brister’s 51st birthday.

“@colin_dunlap: Bubby Brister turns 51 today. We are all getting old.”One of my all time favorites.
— John Steigerwald (@Steigerworld) August 15, 2013

• What did we do without Twitter?

Although he was a native Louisianian like Terry Bradshaw, Brister could never fill the blonde bomber’s shoe. But he certainly did have fun trying.

Brister was as flamboyant as they come. He had a lot of raw talent, if he did lack the game smarts to make it work on the field. But he enjoyed every minute of it, and would have fit in with the likes of Bobby Layne.

Steelers Nation had a love-hate relationship with Brister and for many reasons. Here are some fun facts about Mr. Walter Andrew Brister:

• Paul “Bear” Bryant recruited him for Alabama, but Brister opted to play in the Detroit Tiger’s minor league system
• Like Joe Montana before him and Neil O'Donnell after him, Brister was a third round pick
• Long before Steelers Nation knew Kordell Stewart, Brister scored 6 rushing touchdowns in 1988
• The United Way once tapped Brister to headline one of its Steelers-oriented public service announcements
• Brister ranks above Terry Bradshaw in career completion percentage (52.5% vs. 51.9%)
• Once Bubby completed 15 consecutive passes vs. Detroit in 1989, then a Steelers record
• With the Steelers, Brister had 3 300 yard games, but not one of them came during his signature 1989 season
• Before Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace re-wrote long passing records, Brister had five 79 yard plus hook ups with Louis Lipps and Dwight Stone

Bubby Brister career in Pittsburgh saw his ups and downs, some fans wax nostalgically about him, others lament that Joe Walton ruined him, and some just hated him, but all can agree that Brister was never dull. Happy 51st Bubby and many health returns!

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If Rotator Cuff Surgery End It for Plaxico Burress, Here's Why He Went Out the Right Way

Monday August 12 was Plaxico' Burress' 36 birthday. Per Ed Bouchette's tweet, it’s also the day that he underwent what will likely be career ending surgery to reaper a torn rotator cuff.

Steelers WR Plaxico Burress will celebrate his 36th birthday today by getting shoulder surgery. Ugh.
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) August 12, 2013

If this is the end for Plaxico Burress then it is a real shame for him. It may not be much consolation to him, but Burress can at least know that he chose to distinguish himself on the way out.

Remembering Plex

If Plaxico Burress is glad to finish his career in Pittsburgh then he can thank the fact that Kevin Colbert does not draft scared for his arrival.

Colbert arrived in Pittsburgh in February 2000 on the heels of back-to-back 7-9 and 6-10 seasons that brought a long simmering feud between Tom Donahoe and Bill Cowher to a head. Kordell Stewart was the Steelers quarterback, and Stewart was finishing the “My Buddy’s the Cop” phase of his career.

• Conventional wisdom generally dictates drafting the best available quarterback is the smart (and safe) move for a general manager walking into that situation.

The Steelers had the eighth pick, and Chad Pennington was the top quarterback on the board. Colbert and Cowher took a pass, making Pennington the 2nd most famous signal caller the Steelers never drafted after Dan Marino.

Plaxico Burress was their choice instead. After a rookie season that was a wash, Burress had his breakout game vs. the Titans on Monday Night Football (after Hines Ward instilled some good game preparation habits into him), helped transform Tommy Maddox into Tommy Gun and gave the Steelers 4 good seasons before departing to New York, much to Ben Roethlisberger's chagrin.

Burress’ time in New York will be remembered for him quitting on a long route, a game winning Super Bowl catch, and of course the self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Burress to Go Out the Way They All “Should?”

After prison the Steelers and, more specifically Mike Tomlin, briefly courted Burress, but he opted for greener pastures with the New York Jets.

Out of football for much of 2012, the Steelers brought him in late in the season. A poor route led to an interception, spoiling his debut in the comedy of errors in Cleveland.

His stat sheet will only tell this his second stint in Pittsburgh yielded 3 catches. The video quality isn't so good, but here’s the last one he made:




That touchdown helped seal victory for the Steelers in the 2012 regular season finale vs. Cleveland.

If rotator cuff surgery does spell the end for Burress, his homecoming in Pittsburgh might not have gone as he wished, but Burress' final catch will always be a game winning touchdown.

Isn't that the way every player dreams of ending his career?

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Al Pacino's "Six Inches in Front of Your Face" Steelers Style....

On Any Given Sunday might not have been the best movie made about pro football out there, even if one of its characters was supposedly inspired by Kordell Stewart.

But Al Pacino’s “Six Inches” in front of your face is one of the better cinematic renditions of a half time locker room rally speech.

Caddy Lakis, an apparent Steelers fan, has taken the trouble of editing together a collage of great moments from Steelers history, and interspersing it with Pacino’s “Six Inches” in front of your face.



Complements to Lakis, who has paired some of Steelers Nation’s proudest and most poignant moments for an excellently choreographed video, including unearthed footage of a young Dick LeBeau, a heavy dose of James Harrison’s 99 interception return in Super Bowl XLIII, Hines Ward’s retirement speech, Charlie Batch’s difficult day in Cleveland, Antonio Brown’s fumble in Dallas, and much more more.

Enjoy!

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Aaron Smith, Willie Parker, Marvel Smith and Joey Porter Retire as Pittsburgh Steelers

There’s one thing that no one in Steelers Nation can deny. Kordell Stewart is a man of many talents. But no one would have predicated that nearly a decade after playing his last game in Pittsburgh, Stewart remains a Steelers trend setter.

At least that is how it seemed Friday night at Latrobe Stadium.

A number of weeks ago Joey Porter announced that he was going to officially retire as a Steeler. Kordell Stewart had inspired his decision, Porter discussed the issue with management and that they were happy to oblige.

How they were.

Joey Porter was joined by Aaron Smith, Willie Parker, and even Marvel Smith at a ceremony held before the Steelers annual night practice in Latrobe. The act is largely symbolic, as no “one day contracts” were signed, but the fact that these men desire to “go out as Steelers” reinforces the fact that Pittsburghis a special city, and the Steelers are a special franchise.

All four men made the Pro Bowl. Aaron Smith, Parker, and Marvel Smith were veterans of  both Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII teams and Porter played a pivotal role on the Super Bowl XL squad.

Of the four, Porter is the only one to wear another team’s colors.

Dan Gigler of the Post-Gazette reported that Jerame Tuman, a back up tight end from the Super Bowl XL squad, was also in attendance as was former Steelers running back and running back’s coach Dick Hoak.

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Watch Tower: Calling Out Mike Florio, Revisiting Mike Tomlin and Kordell Stewart, and Taking Our Own Medicine

NBC Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio attracts attention to himself. Last month Florio drew the ire of Steelers Nation by taking Mike Tomlin’s William and Mary Hall of Fame induction speech and twisting it so far out of context they it was unrecognizable.

Fellow scribe Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtainimmediately pounced as did Steelers Depot and Dan Gigler of the Post Gazette’s Blog ‘N Gold. 

• Coolong decried Florio for character assassination. Initially I thought Coolong was too harsh.

Then I watch Tomlin’s speech (click here for the full video) and now I question whether or not Coolong was harsh enough.

But the purpose of Watch Tower’scritical eye is to analyze and understand what drives the coverage that the Steelers get in the press. 

• So the Watch Tower went right to the source:  Mike Florio himself.

I sent Florio a message, asking if he’d read the full text of Tomlin’s speech or viewed it (Florio quoted passage, citing Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column).

I inquired if he weighed the context of Tomlin’s and if he’d sought comment or clarification from Tomlin or the team. One imagines that Burt Lauren, Steelers Communications director, would take Florio’s call. Finally, I asked Florio if he really did want to insulate that Tomlin condoned attempts to injure players.

The response from Florio?

Nothing.

• Despite repeated attempts, Florio chose not to respond.

The professional press criticizes bloggers, often rightly, for hiding behind anonymity as they poison the well of public discourse.

But the fact that Florio put his name beside his attacks fails to make him any better.

He could have responded to my inquiry in several ways. He could have defended his work, offered a mea culpa or even dismissed the question with a hearty “who the hell are you?”

Instead, he chose silence.

• And for that, the Watch Tower calls out Florio as a coward.

If you’re going to make scandalous charges about one of the classiest individuals in the NFL Mike, then man up stand behind what you write.

Kordell the Best Between Bradshaw and Ben?

Kordell Stewart surprised Steelers Nation yet again with his “retirement.” Stewart generated more controversy than perhaps any man to wear the Black and Gold and his decision to call it quits 10 years after leaving the team drew a variety of responses.

None were more puzzling, however, than Ron Cook of the Post-Gazette.

Reflecting on Stewart’s career Cook concluded, “He was the Steelers' best quarterback between four-time Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw and two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger.”

Two paragraphs later Cook doubled down:

Stewart once predicted he would make the Hall of Fame. He fell considerably short, but he was better than everyone on this list: Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Scott Campbell, Bubby Brister, Steve Bono, Todd Blackledge, Neil O'Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Jim Miller, Kent Graham and Tommy Maddox. They are the other Steelers quarterbacks who followed Bradshaw and preceded Roethlisberger.

• Cook makes a bold claim.

The Watch Tower takes no issue with Cook’s opinion, he’s entitled to it and there’s an argument to be made to support. But successfully making such an argument requires marshaling evidence that Kordell was better than Neil O’Donnell at least, and perhaps Tommy Maddox.

Cook doesn’t do that. He probably didn’t have the column space, but his piece would have been far more interesting if he had.

Mike Tomlin’s Contract

Ron Cook also revisited Mike Tomlin’s contract renewal in arecent column.

Earlier this year he suggested that Tomlin might resent Art Rooney II’s forcing him to fire Bruce Arians so much that he’d decline to renew his contract. Regular readers will remember that the Watch Tower took issue with Cook then for not backing his analysis up with any reporting.

Cook mentioned the Arians firing, but took a different direction and in doing so raised the possibility that Steelers Nation will get an answer to a long-unanswered question.

Cook reasons that market dynamics dictate a significant raise for Tomlin, in the range of what it Bill Cowher could have commanded in 2006.

• Many believe that Cowher simply because the Steelers would not pay premium dollar for a head coach.

Personally I’ve always felt that the Steelers probably would have met his price had he indicated that his future was in Pittsburgh. But we never got to find out because Kaye Cowher was already in the family’s newly purchased home in North Carolina, hence the Rooneys declined to open their check books.  

If Cook is right we could find out just how ready the Rooneys are to pay top dollar for a coach in a few weeks.

Love for Troy Smith, No Love for Mewelde Moore

The Steelers lost Mewelde Moore when he signed with theColts and decided to part ways with Troy Smith. You’d figure that Moore’s departure would merit more attention than Smith.

That was not the case, at least in Pittsburgh’s to leading dailies. News, let alone a story, about Mewelde Moore’sdeparture was no where to be found on either website save for a brief mention in Seth Rorabagh’s “Morning Links” column on PG Plus. 

• In contrast, Smith's departure drew short stories in both the Tribune Review and Post Gazette.

 Moore’s departure was widely forecast, but he was an unsung hero in the Steelers 2008 Super Bowl season and deserved more of a send off. Nonetheless, the lack of coverage was fitting as in 2008 the press largely ignored Mewelde Moore until injuries forced him into the line up (click here for that story.)

Steel Curtain Rising Takes Its Own Medicine

The Watch Tower bright lights do not discriminate, not even when it comes to its home site.

When news broke that the Steelers planned to keep Marcus Gilbert at right tackle I jumped to the conclusion that meant they were therefore were by default (given that they won’t be so dense as to start Jonathan Scott or Trai Essex there) handing the job to second round pick Mike Adams. 

• As it turns out, Marcus Gilbert did see time at LT during OTA’s and word also circulated that the team might give Max Starks a look.

Two pitfalls of the internet are haste in getting “content” on a page can lead to sloppy judgment and that nothing generates hits like a negative headline.

So be it. Yours truly fell prey to both of those and I duly accept my comeuppance.

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Tomczak to be Pittsburgh (Power) Offensive Coordinator

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mike Tomczak is returning to coach offense in Pittsburgh. No, he’s not joining Todd Haley's staff, but will rather join as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Power, the Steel City’s arena football team.

Bill Cowher and Tom Donahoe brought Mike Tomczak to Pittsburgh in 1993 where he played as a back up, and occasional starter, from 1993 to 1999. Tomczak cut his teeth in Chicago as a starter/backup for  Mike Ditka and then played for several teams before arriving in Pittsburgh.

In fact, Tomczak can boast to his grandchildren that he was the only AFC Central quarterback to defeat the Steelers during Cowher’s inaugural season.

The name “Mike Tomczak” generally draws ire in Steelers Nation, but he did stabilized the backup slot during Neil O’Donnell and Kordell Stewart’s starting tenures.

Tomczak's Shining Moment as a Steeler
 

His brightest moment came in 1994, Bill Cowher opted to sit Neil O’Donnell due to nagging injuries. With Tomczak starting, the Steelers won two crucial AFC match ups vs. Miami and Los Angeles.

How Tomczak won those games was more important, however. Entering 1994, Eric Green still looked like he might redefine the tight end position. But as the year wore on it became clear that Green wasn’t going to reach his potential. O’Donnell insisted on forcing the ball to Green anyway.

History will remember Tomczak serving as the successful “game manager” in those two contests, but his real contribution was to show O’Donnell he had weapons in the form of Yancey Thigpen, Ernie Mills, Andre Hastings, and Charles Johnson.

For those unacquainted with those names, Thigpen, Mills, Hastings, and Johnson were the “Young Money” of their day. It’s true that neither Hastings nor Johnson ever lived up to their promise, and injuries hampered Thigpen and Mills development.

Nonetheless, the Steelers passing offense was at its most potent in 1994 when Green was on the bench and the four wide outs were in the game. The tendency that would carry over into 1995 and ultimately Super Bowl XXX, with the 5 wide receivers and the Kordell Stewart as “Slash” phenomenon, all began with Tomczak’s two starts.

Good Luck Mike

Tomczak in many ways seems like a natural coach. He served as sideline confidant to Jim McMahon and Jim Harbaugh in Chicago, helping them weather the “Ditka’s in Your Face Syndrome.” He also served as a mentor, for whatever good it did, to Kordell Stewart.

Many thought that when Tomczak retired Bill Cowher would bring him back as a quarterback’s coach, and Tomczak always seemed interested in coaching.

Well, he never got to join Cowher’s staff, but he will get a taste of coaching pro football in Pittsburgh.

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Understanding the Rise, Fall, Resurrection and Ultimate Undoing of Kordell Stewart

Kordell Stewart has officially retired as a Pittsburgh Steeler. That’s a strange thing to say for someone who threw his last pass for the Steelers in December 2002 and left the NFL in 2005.

Yet this is a fitting ending.

Few, if any Steelers had as long and strange of a trip as Kordell Stewart. Steel Curtain Rising takes this opportunity to offer a look back at the oft entertaining, always controversial quarterback who made “Slash” a household word in Steelers Nation.

Click on the links below to either relive a moment of Kordell’s glory or look back at this times of struggles.

1995: “Slash” Fuels Rally to Super Bowl XXX
1996: Warning Signs or Just a Sophomore Slump for Kordell?
1997: Kordell Stewart Defies Gravity, Rises to Glory
1998 and 1999: "My Buddy's the Cop who..." - Steelers Nation Shows its Ugly Side
2000 and 2001: Kordell Follows the Flight of the Phoenix
2002: Understanding Kordell's Undoing
2012:Slashes Don’t Die, They Just Fade Away….

1995: “Slash” Fuels Rally to Super Bowl XXX"

Pittsburghselected Kordell Stewart in the 2^nd round of the 1995 NFL draft. With Neil O’Donnell, Mike Tomczak, and Jim Miller ahead of him everyone expected Stewart simply stand in street clothes clipboard in hand on the sideline.

Steelers lost Rod Woodson and Neil O’Donnell in the 1995 opener. By mid-season back to back losses to the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals had sent the Steelers reeling.

Bill Cowher made changes. John L. Williams and John Jacksonreturned to the lineup. Carnell Lake shifted from safety to corner. Erric Pegram started in place of Bam Morris.

And, on a third and long situation, Kordell Stewart lined up under center. 16 yards later he’d converted a key third down, and a Steelers rally began that only ended in Super Bowl XXX.

Stewart’s role grew. Already used as a decoy in multiple receiver sets, during the next week vs. Chicagohe got his first catch – for 27 yards.

A week later, he zig zagged through the backfield throwing his first pass, a 2 yard touchdown to Ernie Mills vs. the Cleveland Browns.

The next week he tore through the Cincinnati secondary for an amazing 71 yard touchdown vs. the Bengals that put the Steelers ahead for good. How impressive was this catch? Take a look (available as of 5/2/12):

And so went 1995 for the Steelers. Kordell Stewart only ran 15 times, only caught 14 balls, only threw 7 passes with one touchdown in each category.

• Modest but sufficient stats for Kordell Stewart and the “Slash” phenomena take Steelers Nation in force. 

He could do no wrong. But that would change….

1996: Warning Signs or Just a Sophomore Slump for Kordell?

Many expected Kordell Stewart to size the reigns in the 3 way quarterback derby Bill Cowher convened at Latrobe in the summer of ‘96.

Kordell failed to distinguish himself and after quickly benching Jim Miller, Cowher turned to Mike Tomczak. Stewart remained “Slash” and if he improved at receiver, he often seemed hesitant and tentative under center where he’d previously been cocky and confident.

After stabilizing the team during early and mid-season, Mike Tomczak began to find the limits of his abilities. As injuries mounted and the playoffs loomed Cowher sought for a weapon to compensate.

• The weapon’s name was Kordell Stewart and the season finale vs. Carolinawas instructive.

With the Steleers behind late in the first half Kordell came into the game and immediately put the team ahead with an electrifying 80 touchdown scramble.

Kordell stayed in, but couldn’t complete passes. Any passes, unless you count 2 interceptions. The defense kept it close, and on the final drive Kordell found his rhythm and was an end zone drop away from a successful comeback.

Cowher employed a similar strategy for the playoffs. Vs. New England in Fog Bowl II he was an utter disaster throwing 10 passes with no completions…..

1997: Kordell Stewart Defies Gravity, Rises to Glory

Bill Cowher named Kordell Stewart his starter for the 1997 season and the roller coaster ride was on.

Statistically Kordell’s play in 1997 failed to impress. But he did something more important than put up pretty stats – he won, often in dramatic fashion.

Week 5 vs. Baltimoregave an early example. I sat in the stands at Memorial Stadium and Kordell looked cluelessly threw three interceptions, one worse then the next. With the Baltimore up 24-7 at the half, Ravens fans joked that “Kordell is our most valuable player.”

• But a different Kordell rallied Pittsburgh to victory in the second half, throwing three touchdown passes and scoring another on a 70 yard scramble.

Week 15 vs. the Broncos told a similar tale.

As John Elway was toasting Donnell Wolford, Kordell was erratic and threw an interception that Denverquickly turned into a touchdown. A side line reporter revealed that Bill Cowher told Mike Tomzack and Mike Quinn to “talk to Kordell and get him to calm down.”

• Kordell didn’t calm down.

Instead he exploded to throw to touchdown strikes to Yancey Thigpen and rushing for two more as the Steelers won.

A week later in New England, Kordell was at it again.

A late Drew Beldsoe interception gave the Steelers a chance to tie a game they’d never led. Kordell helped convert a 4^th down on this drive, threw a touchdown and then completed a pass for a successful 2 point conversion which tied the game. Pittsburghwon, and secured a bye in the playoffs.

Although the 1997 playoffs ended with the Kordell’s 3 interception loss vs. the Broncos in the AFC Championship, the sky seemed to be the limit for Kordell. 1998 and 1999 revealed Kordell’s limits to be much closer to the ground….

1998 and 1999: "My Buddy's the Cop who..." - Steelers Nation Shows its Ugly Side

1998 and 1999 were dark times for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While the Steelers wisely refused to overpay to free agents Yancey Thigpen, John Jackson, and Carnell Lake, their draft picks and free agent replacements proved woefully inadequate.

• The line couldn’t block for Jerome Bettis
• Receivers couldn’t get open
• The secondary became a sieve (anyone remember Travis Davis?)

Below this lay a simmering feud between Bill Cowher and Tom Donahoe.

Most of this was lost, however, on Steelers Nation.

• For many, the Steelers problems boiled down to two words:  Kordell Stewart.

Stewart indeed struggled mightily.

Ray Sherman was clueless when it came to using Kordell’s athleticism, and Kevin Gilbride sought to transform him into a pure pocket passer.

At times Kordell looked beyond lost. The long ball, which had been his specialty, disappeared completely. Check down passes of 6 or 7 yards routinely landed at players ankles.

Stewart resisted taking responsibility. He got benched in Tampa. He cried. He finished 1999 as a wide receiver, with Cowher banning him from quarterbacks meetings.

Things got ugly.

• Kordell received death threats
• Fans poured beer on him
• He began playing better on the road than at Three Rivers Stadium
• Racist comments circulated
• Rumors about his personal life surfaced

No shortage existed of people ready to assure you “My buddy’s the cop” who found Kordell in some supposedly unsavory and illegal situation.

Further complicating the situation was the huge contract that the Steelers, in a show of confidence, had given Kordell following the 1998 season.

Salary cap realities tied the Steelers to Stewart.

2000 and 2001: Kordell Follows the Flight of the Phoenix

With the 8^th pick in the 2000 draft the Steelers had their choice of quarterbacks. Yet Kevin Colbert and Bill Cowher optedagainst selecting Chad Pennington.

Instead they brought in Kent Graham who won the job in preseason. The Steelers nonetheless started the 2000 season 0-3 and things seemed to go from bad to worse when Graham injured himself on a late Friday afternoon.

The Steelers were heading to Jacksonville, where once again Kordell would rise from the ashes.

• With their backs to the wall, Kordell led the team to victory in a game that set the tone for the entire decade. 

Kordell did it again the next week vs. New York and two weeks later replaced an ineffective Kent Graham. He led comeback victories vs. Cincinnatiand came off the injury cart a week later to rally the team vs. Oakland.

The Steelers were eliminated on tie breakers during the season’s final week that year, but had recovered their mojo. Many players can claim credit for that, but perhaps none more than Kordell.

The 2001 Steelers took the NFL by surprise, finishing 13-3. Kordell had a Pro Bowl year and was voted team MVP, having picked up the slack when Bettis fell injured late in the season.

The Steelers made it to another AFC Championship and they lost again with Kordell throwing another 3 interceptions.

But the loss was not his fault. The Patriots offense shredded the Steelers defense in the first half, while their defense stuffed the Steelers running game. Steelers special teams gave up two touchdowns and that simply proved to be too much for Stewart to overcome.

2002: Understanding Kordell's Undoing

Kordell Stewart’s first and second passes of the 2002 season were intercepted and quickly converted into points by the New England Patriots in what would become known as the “Dread the Spread” game.

The next week vs. Oakland Kordell played better but was still unable to lead a comeback.

The following week Stewart again struggled as Pittsburgh found itself locked must win situation vs. the Cleveland Browns. Late in the 4^thquarter Cowher needed a spark and sent in Tommy Maddox and the Steelers won.

• After the game Cowher seemed to indicate that Stewart would start the next week, but he shifted course, naming Maddox as “the starter.”

A few weeks later when the Steelers played the Colts and the game was broadcast on ESPN Deportes reporter Raul Allegre dropped a bomb, telling his Latin American audience:

Hablé con Bill Cowher sobre Kordell Stewart, y él me dijo que no quisiera cambiar a su mariscal, pero sentí que tendría que hacerlo, porque Kordell Stewart había perdido la confianza del resto de los miembros del equipo.

In a nutshell, Cowher told Allegre that he didn’t want tobench Kordell but felt he had to because Kordell had lost the confidence of the rest of the locker room.

• And therein lies the key to the rise and fall of Kordell Stewart:  Confidence.

Success in the NFL at quarterback involves many factors, but none are perhaps more important than confidence and mental toughness.

Ben Roethlisberger once remarked that the true test of toughess for a quarterback was the ability to shrug off throwing 3 interceptions in a playoff game and comeback to play well enough to give your team a chance to win.

Kordell Stewart lost whatever swagger he had as a swashbuckling Slash that allowed him to lead numerous comebacks.

To tap an overused metaphor on this site, when Kordell could rely on instinct and athleticism, he defied gravity with a uncanny cartoon character like ability. 

• But twin sets of triplet interception AFC Championship performances forced Stewart to look down. And like the Road Runner, Kordell fell.

Most quarterbacks are finished when they lose their confidence.

Kordell, after enduring a particularly cruel two-year purgatory, rebuilt his confidence and earned a second chance to knock on heaven’s door, only to fall short a second time.

Bill Cowher couldn’t afford to give him a third chance because the only thing that allowed Kordell to return to relying on instinct, was removal of the pressure of the starting job.

If you want proof, consider that when Tommy Maddox got injured in 2002, Kordell Stewart played some of his best football ever, nearly rallying the team to victory in Tennessee, and going 22-26-236-0-1 with another forty yards rushing the next week vs. Cincinnati.

• Those were arguable his best two games as a passer.

He followed a similar pattern in Chicago, playing his best when coming off the bench.

Slashes Don’t Die, They Just Fade Away….

As someone whose heart was rooting for Kordell even when his head said he was done, I wished him success after Pittsburgh, and thought he’d enjoy a successful run as a backup.

That was not to be. Kordell held a clipboard for two years in Baltimore, but threw no passes. As late as 2009 or 2010 Steelers Digest reported that Stewart held out hope that his phone might ring.

• It never did.

So he decided to seek closure in the place where his long, strange NFL odyssey began, and by his account he found it. Good for you Kordell. Good luck and Godspeed in retirement.

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Todd Haley Presents New Playbook to Steelers

The NFL’s true “off season” might be fast approaching, but Todd Haley is already at work presenting his new offense to Steelers coaches and players.

While its way too early to draw conclusions, the early reactions are something to take note of.

Ben Roethlisberger suggested that to understand the new offense, he might need the Rosetta Stone. Emmanuel Sanders confirmed via Twitter that more than 90% of the offense had changed.  

In interviews Todd Haley, while making it clear he was going to install his own system, also let it be known that he didn’t expect too the changes to be too profound. He emphasized that he broke into the coaching ranks with Bill Parcells, whose playbook was similar to that of Ron Erhardt.

The late Ron Erhardt, who served as Steelers offensive coordinator from 1992 to 1995, established many of the fundamentals that have guided the Steelers on offense since then.

That’s What the All Say, Isn’t It?

Of course this is not the first time we’ve heard that the Steelers offense has been radically changed while remaining consistent with previous incarnations. 

It’s true that Ray Sherman was basically asked to come in and run the Steelers existing offense in 1998, and the results were disastrous. Kevin Gilbride was in a year later and given a much more free hand. Yet Gilbride insisted that because of his ties to the “Tom Coughlin/Bill Parcells coaching line” that his play numbering system would be similar.

Similarity or not, Kordell Stewart and the rest of the players had a difficult time with an offense that required quarterbacks and receivers to read the pre-snap coverage and make automatic adjustments to routes at the line of scrimmage. 

Its Like Learning a New Language

One of the more disturbing things coming out of Ed Bouchette’s article was “For Roethlisberger and the rest of the veterans on offense, it's like learning a new language....”

The Steelers have had experiences with new offensive coordinators who’ve tried to come in and change the language. And it didn’t work.

The experience of course was with Joe Walton in 1990, who came in and completely changed the offense from technique, to play calling, to vocabulary.  That did not sit well with the players, who resisted, most notably, Bubby Brister, who actively resisted.

That prior experience is certainly not one that Haley is doomed to repeat. 

While players admit it’s a change, all of them remain upbeat. And Todd Haley is known for tailoring his offense to the strength of his personnel, as opposed to Walton who insisted on attempting to force a system that ill-suited his players' talents.

Apparently some talk radio hosts in the Pittsburgh area are already starting to fan the flames of a supposed rift between Roethlisberger and Haley. As the site Nice Pick Cowher has pointed out, such reactions are totally unfounded at this point.

The evolution of the new offense and all the change it implies, nonetheless remain a story to keep an eye on.

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Hines Ward Portrait of a Pittsburgh Steeler, 1998-2011

It happens, apparently, about once a generation.

So it was with Franco Harris.

So it was with Rod Woodson.

And so it is apparently with Hines Ward.

The Pittsburgh Steelers today announced that they will release Hines Ward. Another Steeler Hall of Famer will finish his career elsewhere.

Who knows what fate awaits Ward with his new team?

Franco finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks, and looked every bit the washed up running back doing it.

Rod Woodson first went to San Francisco, which confirmed that his days as a shutdown corner were over. But San Fran was only the first stop, as he moved to Baltimore where he made the switch and played All-Pro Caliber football as a safety. He would later finish his career with the Raiders, we he also played at a high-level.

It is fitting perhaps that this move comes on February 29th, a day that is only repeated once every four years.

Any use a team would be lucky to draft a player of Ward’s caliber and quality once every four years.

From Afterthought to the Mainstay of an Offense

The Steelers drafted Hines Ward with their third 3rd round pick of the 1998 draft. They apparently thought that Chris Conrad (an OT who blossomed into a total bust) was better than Ward.

On the day he was drafted ESPN commentators immediately speculated that he was to become the next “Slash” due to his experience playing quarterback, running back, and wide receiver in Georgia.

Ward saw no such action with the Steelers, although his first claim to national fame came as a rookie on Monday Night when he completed a pass to Kordell Stewart.

Absent Yancy Thingpen and with Charles Johnson’s development waning, wide receiver became a glaring need for the Steelers in 1998.

• Few fans, professionals, or even coaches realized that the Steelers had their answer already on the roster.

Hines Ward only caught 15 passes as a rookie, nothing special to the untrained eye. But the astute observer could see that Ward not only led the team in yards-per-catch but also in special teams tackles.

The Steelers nonetheless used their next two first round draft picks on wide receivers. But it was Ward who would survive to lead the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl XL where he won MVP honors.

Linebacker in an Wideout’s Body

Mike Tomlin said on more than one occasion that Hines Ward was sort of line a linebacker trapped in a wide receiver’s body. That’s because Ward gave everything he had on every play.

• No one was spared his punishing blocks,
• No errant ball flew uncontested,
• No extra yardage was sacrificed to the safety of the sideline

Absent the athletic gifts that Lynn Swann or John Stallworth had, but Hines Ward made up for with his dedication, preparation, and hustle. Hines Ward was also a leader and a play maker. Whether the quarterback was Kordell Stewart, Mike Tomzack, Tommy Maddox, Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, Byron Leftwich or Ben Roethlisberger, when the game was on the line and a catch simply had to be made, Ward was likely the intended target.

Georgia Bulldog in Winter

One of the sad truths about sports is that time eventually robs a player of his skills. And, for the past several summers in Latrobe, some reporter would always say, “This is the summer that Hines Ward began to slow a step.”

Ward proved them wrong year-in-and-year-out. Even during the 2010 season, when his production dipped, Ward continued to make catches that counted, and had the Steelers won Super Bowl XLV, Ward most certainly would have been the team MVP.

Alas, father time caught up with Hines Ward in 2011. He continued to start in spite of Anthony Brown’s rise, and while he was still catching balls, Ward wasn’t quite the same. (For an in depth look at Hine’s Ward 2011 season, click here to read Georgia Bulldog in Winter.)

An injury during the Ravens game was followed by a benching, and by his ultimately successful quest to reach the 1000 catch mark with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bitter, but Necessary Medicine

The Steelers decision to part ways with Hines Ward is a bitter one but ultimately a necessary one. During the latter part of the 2011 season, Ward did not look the same. He had difficulty getting open and worse yet, seemed to have even more difficulty catching the ball with any degree of consistency.

As Dejan Kovacevic of the Tribune Review noted, Ward’s final regular season carry, a 5 yard loss on a shovel pass, seemed to punctuate just how deep into decline Ward had slipped.

Yes, perhaps with an off season of rest and a finer understanding of his new role Ward could have come back and contributed in 2012.

But the Steelers are barely at or under the salary cap, and they perhaps are already mortgaging their future. They simply can’t afford to reserve precious salary cap and roster space that might allow them to secure Mike Wallace’s or Jerricho Cotchery’s future with the team.

Teams never easily “replace” leaders like Hines Ward.

Hines Ward's absence will create a void on the field, in the huddle, and in the locker room that could take season's to fill.

Following the Emperor Instead of The Bus

On the day he retired, Chuck Noll observed that it would have been great to win the Super Bowl and call it a day with a tremendous hurrah! But it didn’t happen that way.

Moments like these make you appreciate just how lucky Jerome Bettis was to go out on top.

Unfortunately for Ward, he follows the path trod by The Emperor instead of The Bus.

Hines Ward’s exit is necessary in a football sense, but nonetheless bitter medicine indeed because Hines is every bit the portrait of a prototypical Pittsburgh Steeler.

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Watch Tower: Conspiracy Theories on Hines Ward, Kordell Stewart, and Russ Grimm

The Watch Tower was quiet during much of 2011. Rest assured lack of time and not lack of motive explains the absence. Unfortunately the long layoff means a lot will go uncovered, but those are the breaks. The media has given us plenty to chew over, and the Watch Tower first shines its light on the Hines Ward situation.

Having It Out for Hines?

Steelers Nation knew the day would at some point, and the juncture was reached in 2011 when Hines Ward lost his starting job. It was a sobering moment to be sure, but one that came with a captivating back story.

Writing on PG Plus, Ed Bouchette was the first to note Ward's demotion, commenting on Ward’s lack of play at Cincinnati, and discounting Mike Tomlin’s denial that Ward had dropped on the depth chart, reminding readers that Tomlin had spun the same line about Randel El a year earlier.

A few days later, Bouchette wrote an impassioned post on PG Plus strongly criticizing the Steelers coaches for not having the decency to inform Ward of his benching prior to the fact. Bouchette continued the full court press with the Ward story throughout the season, although he did appear to shift his tone when it suited him, observing on November 16th that:

It's not wrong that he lost his starting status or has been dropped to No. 4 or even No. 5 on the depth chart. But someone owed him at least a heads-up that it was going to happen and maybe even an explanation as to why. [Emphasis added.]

The “Dean” of the Steelers press corps is pretty consistent here. However, writing on December 21st, Bouchette, discussing Ward’s quest to get break the 1,000 catch mark, flatly changed his tone charging “They're not even giving him the chance.” It would appear that Bouchette, it was in fact wrong that Ward was now the 4th or 5th wide receiver.

It only took Bouchette another sentence, however, to drop a bigger bomb shell when he asserted:

It seems to me, someone has it out for him.

Going from not giving a player his due to actively trying to keep him from breaking milestones is a huge leap, and one which Bouchette made without offering any type of reporting or indirect reporting to support such a bold assertion.

The season’s final two games made it quite clear in fact, that the Steelers were going to try to do everything to give Hines Ward is 1000 catches, in fact if memory serve, Mike Tomlin even went into the finale having informed the TV broadcast team that this was his intention.

Bouchette’s bravado looked quite foolish, at this point.

Dale Lolley to the Rescue

However, in his post season write up, veteran Washington Observer scribe Dale Lolley scooped the competition with this:

There are some on the coaching staff who don't want Ward back. In fact, one member of the staff didn't want him back in 2010.

Lolley then went on to explain that management put its foot down and insisted that Ward be welcomed back, and predicted (as did Bouchette) that they will do so again in 2012.

This is a tremendous piece of reporting by Lolley (why he put this in his blog and not his paper is mind boggleing). If Lolley’s right, and there is every reason to suspect he is, someone on the Steelers coaching staff really does not like Hines Ward, because Number 86 caught 95 catches in 2009.

The said coach is also more than a little stupid, because Ward followed that up with 59 catch effort in 2010, scored a key touchdown in the playoffs vs. the Ravens, and would have been the Super Bowl MVP had the Steelers defeated the Packers.

Dale Lolley of course didn’t divulge who that coach is – he couldn’t lest he lose every friend he has in the locker room, but in responding to a reader’s comments he did offer that:

As for the coach who wanted to cut him, let's just say it was somebody who had some say in those things, but not the final say.

If nothing else, Lolley is, most likely, telling his readers that Mike Tomlin is not the one who has it out with Ward. That would leave the other offensive coaches. It wasn’t Scotty Montgomery, who joined the staff as wide out’s coach in the spring of 2010 ,and likely would have no standing to make such a bold claim.

Randy Fichtner is also an unlikely candidate, if for no other reason than one of the enduring images from the horrid loss at Cleveland in 2009 was Fichtner comforting Ward on the sidelines. So I guess that leaves us with Bruce Arians, although that’s only a guess….

Bouchette Beats a Dead Slash

During the 2011 off season season the Watch Tower took exception with Ed Boucette’s insistence that Bill Cowher showed too little patience with Kordell Stewart (click here to read.)

Bouchette, apparently couldn’t let it go. But while the first case was a clash of opinions, Bouchette followed up with some statements that were flat out wrong.

Comparing Kordell Stewart to Tim Tebow, Bouchette offered this:

He [Kordell] would start the next five seasons at quarterback, off and on, even though Cowher and his offensive coordinators did everything they could to find someone else, such as that big walruss Kent Graham, a Kevin Gilbride favorite. [Emphasis added.]

Just how does Bouchette conclude that Cowher and his coaches “did everything they could to find someone else…?” Reality fails that statement. After his awful 1998 season, the Steelers, with Cowher’s assent, gave Kordell a new, lucrative long-term, contract.

In the 1999 draft the Steelers made attempt to move up to take one of the five quarterbacks taken before their first round pick. Kordell’s 1999 season was worse than his 1998 season, yet the Steelers passed on the chance to take Chad Pennington during the 2000 NFL draft.

And after a strong, but not spectacular 2000 season, the Steelers again opted to allow Drew Breees and Quincy Carter to remain on the board, taking Casey Hampton and Kendrell Bell instead during the 2001 NFL draft.

Ed Bouchette is entitled to his opinions about how the Steelers coaches mishandeled Kordell Stewart – he’s right to a certain extent and he's got plenty of facts on his side – but he’s not entitled to ignore basic facts that happen to be inconvenient to his argument.

Did the Steelers Snub Russ Grimm?

Now that the Watch Tower has thrown Bouchette under a bus over Kordell Stewart, let’s give the man credit for some truly excellent reporting.

As most Steelers fans know, there was initially some confusion over who would succeed Bill Cowher, with conflicting reports that the job had been offered to Russ Grimm and Mike Tomlin.

Art Rooney II explained afterwards that he had gotten as far as discussing prelimary contract numbers with Grimm, but insists that no offer had been extended.

And that’s where the story stood for four years.

Russ Grimm was portrayed in the press as disappointed at not getting the job, but said all of the right things leading up to the Steelers game vs. Arizona in 2007 and again repeated all of the right things before Super Bowl XLIII.

However, prior to this year’s Cardinals game, Bouchette added something that was potentially explosive to the mix:

He [Russ Grimm] believes he was told by Art Rooney that the job was his after Bill Cowher quit. He even had a part to celebrate. Later, he was told that it wasn't a done deal and then that Mike Tomlin was hired. Bitter doesn't describe it. He is the Cardinals line coach and assistant head coach, just as he was in Pittsburgh.

Still pretty innocuous stuff, although the news of Grimm having held a party and his bitterness (in contrast to public statements) are new news.

Later on, responding to a fan’s question, Bouchette dived deeper:

Grimm believed all along the job was his because, in my opinion, they led him to believe it. Now it comes down to specifics. Those close to Grimm say Art Rooney told him "Congratulations, you are the new Steelers coach" and Grimm and his friends and family celebrated. However, the Rooneys insist that he was never told that and what he was told he misinterpreted.

The “’Congratulations’” quote amounts to an impressive, and unprecedented piece of reporting. Clearly it Bouchette’s sources are 3rd and 4th hand, but he takes the story farther than it’s ever been and in doing so he delivered the goods that make PG Plus worth the 17 Argentine pesos it costs monthly to subscribe.

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Steelers Current Plight No Justification for Changing NFL Playoff Format

The conversation took place on New Years Eve 1997. Ironically, it was in Cincinnati, in Clifton, on a balcony overlooking towards the city’s downtown area. The participants were myself and a good friend named Greg, and two innocent bystanders, Dave and Melanie who had zero interest in the topic at hand.

The topic was the NFL playoffs. The 1997 the Pittsburgh Steelers had secured the second seed and a first round bye in the playoffs.

The Denver Broncos had also secured a playoff berth, but as a Wild Card, by virtue of twin losses to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Steelers were 11-5, the Broncos 12-5. My friend Greg, a Columbus native was a football fan without strong rooting loyalty. I can’t pretend to remember his exact words, but they went something like this:

I am not sure who I am going to back this year. I mean, I like the Steelers, I like Kordell Stewart, I love Bill Cowher, but I can’t shake the fact that they’ve got a first round bye that they don’t deserve.

My retort was, of course they deserve it – they’re division champions. Greg fired back, calling into question the NFL’s playoff format, going so far as to say that if the Steelers were to win the Super Bowl that year, their victory would be tainted, because they got an unjust advantage over a team with a better record.

So the argument ensued, with my friend Greg even accusing me of, what in Spanish we would say is “Double Discourso” which is to say, hypocrisy as he insisted, “Come on, you know that if the situation was reverse, and the Steelers were a wild card with a better record than a division champion, you’d be agreeing with me.”

No, I wouldn’t, I stood firm.

Well, 1997 was a long time ago (makes one feel less old to throw out the year than to calculate the number of years).

And, barring a major upset in the Queen City, the Steelers will find themselves in the very same place – having to go on the road against a division winner who has a worse record than they do.

Divisonal Play Should Mean Something

While this fact is unfortunate, especially given the Steelers tremendous difficulties on the road, I nonetheless stand pat behind the NFL’s current playoff format.

My argument then and now is simply this: If you’re going to have divisional play, division titles should mean something. In addition to fostering natural rivalries and helping the league forge an indentity, divisional play provides an excellent crucible for classifying teams.

A home playoff game is a big deal not only to the team in question, but to the community. This is particularly true for small and mid-sized markets, where a home playoff game can mean millions of more dollars for local merchants, restaurants, and hotels.

In a competitive sense, home field does provide an advantage, but not an overwhelming advantage. As there are times when a team struggles at one point during the season, gets its act together enough to qualify for a Wild Card and makes a successful run as the ’05 Steelers, ’10 Packers and ’97 Broncos did.

The two top dogs in the AFC North are the Steelers and the Ravens. Both teams are similar, both in terms of talent, style and, this year, on the field performance. Both the Steelers and the Ravens have been strong home teams, but weak road teams.

It is fitting then than the right to host a home playoff game will fall to the team that performs the best in its final game on the road.

Hopefully, although perhaps not likely, that will be the Steelers. If not, so be it, the Steelers had their shots at locking up the division without neededing help and they fell short. Everyone in the organization is well aware of that, and the NFL should not be asked to alter its playoff format as a consequence.

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Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Francisco 49ers History

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers represented the Gold Standard for excellence in the 1970’s and the 49ers dominated the 1980’s. Time of course robbed history for a definitive match up between Titans of separate decades.

Nonetheless, the two franchises have played some memorable games, which we recount here. Click on the links below to relive a specific game, or simply scroll down to read them all.

1984, Chuck Noll & Mark Malone vs. Bill Walsh & Joe Montana I
1987, Chuck Noll & Mark Malone vs. Bill Walsh & Joe Montana II
1990, Rod Woodson vs. Jerry Rice I/YES, Kickoffs ARE Live Balls, Mr. Foster
1993, Rod Woodson vs. Jerry Rice II
1996, You Can’t Spot the 49ers 16 Points
1999, The Solar Flare, Before a TOTAL Eclipse
2003, Tommy Gun Misfires
2007, Make that 3-0 for Mike Tomlin...

Chuck Noll & Mark Malone vs. Bill Walsh & Joe Montana I"
Steelers 20, 49ers 17; October 14, 1984, Candlestick Park

Is there a more celebrated Steelers victory of the 1980’s? Who can say, but no matter what, this game nearly tops the list. The year was 1984, and the 49ers were steamrolling the league. In fact, were it not for one game, the 49ers would have been perfect.

This would be the first time that the duo of Chuck Noll and Mark Malone would square off against Bill Walsh and Joe Montana, and this game shows you why we play games instead of leaving the contest to Madden-like computer simulations. The Steelers matched San Fran with tough defense with smart ball control to keep the 49ers off balance the entire day, and in the process added the lone blemish to the 49ers would-be perfect season.

• For more on this game see One Sunday in October and #12 in the Steelers Greatest Non-Super Bowl Wins in History on Behind the Steel Curtain. Also see the Steel Curtain Rising's Chuck Noll vs. Bill Walsh series.

Chuck Noll & Mark Malone vs. Bill Walsh & Joe Montana II
Steelers 30, 49ers 17; September 13th, 1987, Three Rivers Stadium

Joe Montana finished the 1987 season with a 102.1 passer rating. Mark Malone finished the 1987 season with a 46.6 passer rating. And although Montana did outplay Malone on this fateful day, it wasn’t enough.

Rookie cornerback Delton Hall, linebacker Mike Merriweather, and veteran cornerback Dwayne Woodruff all picked off Montana’s passes. Delton Hall, who won the Steelers rookie of the year award only to fade, opened the game with a 50 yard fumble return to put the Steelers up by 7. Mark Malone only completed 9 of 33 passes, but one of those was for a touchdown to tight end Preston Gothard (who?). Ernest Jackson, Walter Abercrombie, Frank Pollard, Harry Newsome teamed to rush for 184 yards and a rookie named Merril Hoge caught his first NFL pass for 27 yards.

• With this win, Chuck Noll passed his mentor (and Walsh's mentor) Paul Brown on the NFL's all time win list

Rod Woodson vs. Jerry Rice I/YES, Kickoffs ARE Live Balls, Mr. Foster
49ers 27, Steelers 7; October 21st, 1990, Candlestick Park

The 49ers entered the game at 6-0 looking every bit the team en route to a 3 peat, while Pittsburgh entered with a 3-3 record, looking every bit like the team suffering from a hangover following the Steelers storybook 1989 season.

Joe Montana was on fire that year, but the Steelers came with a secret weapon – the NFL’s number one defense that had only given up 3 touchdown passes in 6 games. The Steelers felt they could win this game, if only they could avoid mistakes….

…And mistakes the Steelers made. Although Rod Woodson and Thomas Everett intercepted Montana twice, Joe Walton’s offense failed to capitalize. Barry Foster ‘forgot’ that uncaught kickoffs are live balls, setting up an easy San Fran TD, and a Charles Haley strip sack of Bubby Brister set up another. A 49er’s interception would stop any chance of a Pittsburgh comeback.

• In their first face off, Rod Woodson held Jerry Rice to 3 catches for just 31 yards.

Rod Woodson vs. Jerry Rice II
49ers 24, Pittsburgh 13; September 5th, 1993, Three Rivers Stadium

After taking the league by storm in 1992, the NFL scheduled what was to be one of their marquee match ups of opening day by pitting the Steelers vs. the 49ers on opening day at Three Rivers Stadium. With Neil O’Donnell on the sidelines with tendonitis during the first half the 49ers built up a 17-3 lead.

Neil O’Donnell came off the bench to get Pittsburgh back in the game narrowing the score to 17-13, before Steve Young connected with Brent Jones for a touchdown, making the Steelers regret that Chuck Noll cut tight end whose sin was to be a better pass catcher than run blocker.

• In his second match up with Rice, Rod Woodson held him to just 78 yards, but 2 of Rice's 8 catches were for touchdowns…

You Can’t Spot the 49ers 16 Points (and Expect to Win)
49ers 25, Steelers 15; December 15th, 1996, Three Rivers Stadium

It was a tricky time for the Steelers. Already with 10 wins and the division title in the bag, a first round playoff bye remained in their grasp…

…But Mike Tomzack was faltering as the team’s starter, and injuries had ravaged the team all season. The Steelers gave up a quick touchdown, and then a safety to spot the 49ers 9 points. If memory serves, another turnover set up the 49ers next score, putting the Steelers in the hole 16-0.

The Steelers rebounded scoring 15 with touchdowns from Jerome Bettis and Kordell Stewart. But it was not enough as the 49ers also scored a Terrell Owens touchdown and kicked a field goal.

• In their final match up, Rod Woodson again held Jerry Rice under 100 yards, although Rice did score a touchdown with one of his 8 catches.

Solar Flare, Before a Total Eclipse
Steelers 27, 49ers 6; November 7, 1999, Candlestick Park

After watching the 49ers both beat them 3 straight times and beat them to one for the thumb this was supposed to be the one that Steelers fans had been waiting for. And on paper it was. The Steelers jumped to a 17-3 first half lead on the strength of Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward touchdowns and a field goal. The Steelers dominated the score board winning the game 27-3.

After a 2-3 start, the Steelers had now won 3 straight to improve to 5-3. All looked well but… the 49ers Charlie Garner rushed for 166 yards. The following week Kordell Stewart’s fumbled snap led to the upset at the hands of the expansion Browns.

• The ensuring quarterback controversy would dominate the news, but the failing defense, as Joel Steed’s knees gave way, was one of the under reported stories of the Steelers 1999 meltdown.

Tommy Gun Misfires
49ers 30, Steelers 27; November 17, 2003, Candlestick Park

Tommy Maddox had been the 2003 version of Tebowmania having gone from out of football, to the XFL, to resurrecting the Steelers 2002 season. Alas, 2003 was not as kind to Maddox, as the Steelers pass defense struggled, injuries decimated the offensive line, and Cover 2 defenses frustrated Maddox. The ’03 Steelers had gone 2-1 before losing five straight. By the time they were 2-6 they mounted the “win a game, lose a game” see-saw.

Unfortunately, the Steelers trip to San Francisco came on the downside of that see-saw. San Francisco opened a 14-0 lead at the end of the first half, and the Steelers feigned making go at it by scoring the first touchdown in the second half, but the 49ers would score 20 unanswered points until Tommy Maddox hooked up with Randel El for a final, face saving touchdown.

Make that 3-0 for Mike Tomlin...
Steelers 37, 49ers 15; September 23, 2007, Heinz Field

Just two weeks earlier Steelers Nation had no idea about what to make of Mike Tomlin, the man who leapfrogged Russ Grimm to succeed Bill Cowher. By the time the 49ers arrived at Heinz Field, Tomlin was already 2 and 0 and notched his third win at San Francisco’s expense.

What stands out when looking at the stat sheet is that role players made all of the splash plays for the Steelers that day. Allen Rosseum got his 15 minutes of fame as a Steeler with a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Jerame Tuman caught the only touchdown pass, and Najeh Davenport ran for 39 yard touchdown, while Bryant McFadden had a 50 yard pick six.

On defense the story was a little different, as then starter Bryant McFadden had a 50 yard pick six and veteran James Farrior and rookie LaMarr Woodley both sacked Alex Smith.

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