Super Bowl XL: Remembering Pittsburgh's Greatest 9 Weeks Ever (the Conclusion)

Soaking in the Joy and Pageantry of the Steelers First Super Bowl Appearance in a Decade

The Steelers had just advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995, and the first memory that comes to mind from the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl XL was the final time I attended a taping of the Joey Porter Show. I didn't realize it would be the last time I would get to attend the show, but it turned out to be because it was canceled prior to the 2006 season, and Porter was out of Pittsburgh by '07.

• Anyway, the show, as always, was taped Tuesday night from the Firehouse Lounge in the Strip District.

The Lounge was really crowded this night. As I said before, the first time I attended a taping of this show, it was right after Pittsburgh defeated the Bears and started their drive to the playoffs, and the crowd was pretty sparse. However, on this night, my aunt and I could barely see the taping of the show because we were back by the entrance--the place was packed as Steeler fans came out strong to celebrate their team's AFC crown.

Porter was trying to do a "The Rock"-style wrestling promo about the Steelers road journey through the playoffs and how they conquered the "Candy ass" Bengals, Colts, and finally the Broncos on the way to the Big Game. Joey was having problems with his funny little rant and had to do several takes before he finally got it right. Peezy was known for many re-dos each and every show, and this one really took the cake as it must have taken him five or six tries.

This show was particularly interesting because Jerome Bettis was the special guest and many Steeler players showed up to honor him. Bettis would be returning home to Detroit for Super Bowl XL, and it would also be the last game of his remarkable career. I don't remember all the players that showed up that night, but Casey Hampton was one of them and I smacked him on the back as he walked by, and my hand just about disappeared. It was like touching a big, soft pillow.

Funny personal story: During the taping, I was in the bathroom taking care of business when a huge African American man came in and said, "Hey, have you seen my man's phone?" And I said, "who?" The guy, a Lounge bouncer, was referring to Bettis, who had misplaced his cell phone somewhere in the bar. I told him I didn't know Bettis was missing a phone. To this day, I wonder if they thought I found Bettis' phone in the bathroom and kept it.

• I didn't, in case anyone is wondering.

One of the reasons those nine weeks were so special to me was because of attending Porter's show and interacting with him, Hope, many of the guest Steelers, and of course, my aunt and the dozens and dozens of fans who embarked on the Lounge every Tuesday for some awesome Steelers-fellowship.

The Steelers Making the Super Bowl Was Awesome, but Their Opponent Seemed Rather Underwhelming

I was excited about the Super Bowl, but it was kind of weird that the Steelers opponent was Seattle.

Don't get me wrong, the Seahwawks were the number one seed in the NFC in 2005, but it just wasn't the sexiest of matchups. When you thought of the Steelers in the Super Bowl, you thought of their legendary battles with the Cowboys and even the Vikings, but the Seahawks? But beggars can't be choosers, and like Flozell "The Hotel" Adams once said, "A Super Bowl is a Super Bowl, even if it's played in Siberia."

The bookmakers must not have been too impressed with the Seahawks or the NFC because they installed Pittsburgh, the sixth seed from the AFC, as four point favorites.
The Seahawks fans didn't take too kindly to their team's lack of respect in this matchup and were actually pretty vocal on the message boards, especially craigslist, my message board of choice at the time.

According to Seahawks fans (at least the ones from Seattle), Pittsburgh was just a working class town with very little to be happy about other than our Steelers, and their team was going to destroy the Black and Gold so we could go back to living our miserable lives in our dreary city.

• Does the sun ever shine in Seattle? I digress.

As far as the trash talk from the participants, the only player from the Seahawks that made any noise was tight end Jerramy Stevens. During "Media Day," Stevens basically said that the heartwarming story of Bettis returning to his hometown to play in the Super Bowl would have a sad ending. As you might expect, the ever out-spoken Porter didn't take too kindly to this and used it for motivation.

Steeler Nation was concerned about the injury status of Troy Polamalu, who had an ankle sprain, and there was much speculation as to whether or not he would play in the game (he did play, in case you were wondering.)

Super Bowl XL Finally Arrives: The Steelers vs. the Seahawks at Detroit's Ford Field on February 5th, 2006

The Seahawks controlled the tempo for most of the first half, using underneath routes to wide receiver Darrell Jackson, who tied a Super Bowl record with five receptions in the first quarter. However, there would not be a sixth first quarter catch when, in the first of several controversial calls throughout the game, Jackson was called for pushing off of safety Chris Hope in the back of the end zone on what would have been a touchdown pass from Matt Hasselback and a 7-0 lead for Seattle. The Seahawks had to settle for three instead of seven.

• And yes, Jackson did push off.

As for the Steelers, they did very little on offense, going three and out on their first three possessions. Pittsburgh's offense didn't record its initial first down of the game until early in the second quarter on a third down pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Antwaan Randle El, and even that drive ended poorly as Roethlisberger was intercepted on a deep ball to Randle El.
The Steelers next possession, however, proved to be pivotal. Pittsburgh moved into Seahawks' territory but was facing a third and 28 from the Seattle 40 yard line, when Roethlisberger made, in my opinion, the most important play of the game, as he avoided Seattle defenders, scrambled to his left, stopped just short of the line of scrimmage, and heaved a pass down field to Hines Ward, which he caught inside the five yard line.

Three plays later, on third and goal from the one, Pittsburgh scored on Roethlisberger's controversial quarterback keeper. Everyone knows the story behind that play so I won't get into it. I'll just say that only the nose of the football must cross the plane of the goal line. Nothing more. The end.

• Halftime score: Steelers 7, Seahawks 3.

My uncle and I begin "Tailgating" in his Living Room as We Don't Watch the Stones Perform the Halftime Show

The Rolling Stones performed the halftime show, but I didn't watch it. I never do. Instead, my uncle and I had started on the beer that he had out on his back porch, and once the flood-gates opened, they didn't close for several hours.

Steelers Open Second Half of Super Bowl XL "Fast" and Furiously 

My uncle and I were feeling pretty good by the time Fast Willie Parker ran almost untouched for a Super Bowl record 75 yard touchdown on the second play of the third quarter. It really was a thing of beauty with perfect blocks by Alan Faneca and crew.

• Pittsburgh was now ahead, 14-3.

Pittsburgh Looks to Bury the Seahawks, but Big Ben Gives Them New Life

The Seahawks tried to answer on their next drive but came away with no points after kicker Josh Brown missed wide on a long field goal, which subsequently set Pittsburgh up in great field position.

Pittsburgh looked to put the nail in the coffin as they drove down inside Seattle's 10-yardl ine. However, on third down, Roethlisberger's very poorly thrown pass intended for Cedrick Wilson was intercepted by Kelly Herndon, who returned it 76 yards to the Steeler 24 yard line. Seattle capitalized on the miscue when Hasselbeck fittingly found Stevens for a touchdown pass on third down to pull the Seahawks to within four points, at 14-10.

In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks appeared poised to take the lead when it looked like they would have the ball first and goal after Hasselbeck hit Stevens with a pass inside the five yard line. But in yet another controversial call, Seattle tackle Sean Locklear was called for holding Clark Haggans on the play, and the Seahawks were pushed back. A few plays later, Ike Taylor came up with another one of his big postseason interceptions. During Taylor's return, Hasselback was called for blocking below the waste (another controversy), which added 15 yards to the end of Taylor's return and set Pittsburgh's offense up in prime position.

The "Gadget Play" That Brought "One For The thumb"

The Steelers capitalized when Randle El, a quarterback in college at Indiana, took a hand-off from Parker and threw a 43 yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward to give Pittsburgh a 21-10 lead.

Let the Super Bowl Celebration Begin

The Seahawks never really mounted another serious threat the rest of the game, and for the first time in 26 seasons, the Steelers were World Champions and finally had that "One For The Thumb."

Bill Cowher got the ultimate Gatorade bath, as Steelers fans filled the streets of Pittsburgh to celebrate. The South Side was jammed with fans partying it up all night long. Watching the celebration on TV,  I remember wanting to go out and drive around honking my horn but was also very drunk, and before I could do something really stupid, I thankfully fell asleep on my uncle's couch.

The Aftermath

I was feeling kind of crappy physically when I awoke the following Monday morning, but my heart was filled with joy--a feeling that lasted for several weeks and months afterwards.
The Steelers would go on to miss the playoffs the following season and many were calling their Super Bowl XL championship a fluke.

• However, that 2005 team was very strong.

Sure, the Steelers were a wildcard entrant, but they weren't your average, everyday wildcard team. Many people forget that Roethlisberger missed several games that season after undergoing knee surgery, and Pittsburgh was also without tackle Marvel Smith for several weeks. Pittsburgh was 11-5, a pretty strong wildcard record, and if not for those injuries, the team probably would have won 13 games and the AFC North that year.

• No. That Steelers championship team was far from a fluke. 

They were 15-1 in 2004 and made it to the AFC Championship game. Pittsburgh also had very strong playoff teams in '01 and '02 prior to Roethlisberger's arrival but could never get over the hump.

• The 2005 campaign just happened to be the year that Pittsburgh finally put it all together. 

The fact that Pittsburgh came out of the wildcard round (the beginning of a Super Bowl trend that has continued to this day) shouldn't tarnish things in the least. Plus, I think the fact that the Steelers returned to the Super Bowl three seasons later and walked away with a sixth ring in Super Bowl XLIII and then appeared in Super Bowl XLV two years later further adds to the legacy of that '05 squad.

What the championship Meant to Me as a Fan

As for me, those nine weeks defined what being a fan is all about. I was 33 years old at the time, but I felt like a little kid as everything about the period seemed so magical and even a little surreal.

• For years, I wondered if the Steelers would ever bring the City of Pittsburgh another trophy. 

Throughout the 90s and into the early 00s, the Steelers set themselves up countless times with premium seeds and home playoff games, only to leave fans depressed and disappointed.

• For Pittsburgh to finally bring home the Lombardi the hardest way possible just made it that much sweeter. 

The Steelers had to scratch and claw their way into the postseason, and if the official had kept his flag in his back pocket and not called holding on the Chiefs in Kansas City's late-season loss to the Cowboys, Pittsburgh wouldn't even have made the playoffs, and history would have been much different--every time I think about that, it gives me goosebumps (like the Chin said, it really is a fine line).

It's a time in my life that I'll always cherish and I don't know if I'll ever have that much fun following a team. It really was a wonderful time and something I'll never forget.
Go Steelers!!!!!!

Steel Curtain Rising Thanks Tony Defeo for sharing his memories. Read more of his work at Pittsburgh's Best Sports Blog.

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The Steelers Alameda Ta'amu Needs a Giant Game vs. New York... Assuming He Plays

While every year the fan complaints about “the drudgery that is preseason football” get louder, one inescapable fact remains unchanged:

• Every summer the much maligned rite of “preseason football” gives 45 young men a shot at a lifetime dream.

Think about it. With the exception of a handful of highish round draft choices, and NFL gives young rookies a brief, four game window in which the dream of “playing in the big leagues” becomes possible.

• And then that dream is over. And for most of the kids its over forever.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a sterling history with undrafted rookie free agents.

Heck Willie Parker and James Harrison set records in Super Bowls XL and Super Bowl XLIII respectively. Players like Dan Kreider, Ramon Foster, and Nate Washington show that the Steelers have found contributors at nearly every position area via the undrafted rookie free agent pool.

But for every Steve McLendon and every Kaydrick Vincent there are 44 or 45 Kyle Clements. (Clement was a member of the Steelers 2008 undrafted rookie free agent class, and his shot at NFL glory ended in injury after a few series in the Steelers first preseason game in '08.)

While the Steelers Saturday night match up at Heinz Field vs. the Giants is key for many of these nameless NFL wanna bes, its also critical for other, higher profile aspirants.

• Earlier, Steel Curtain rising profiled 5 Steelers fighting for their NFL lives this summer in Latrobe.

Of those five, perhaps no one faces a more daunting task than the Steelers 2012 4th Round Draft Pick Alameda Ta'amu.

• Alameda Ta'amu's story is well known to Steelers Nation -- for all the wrong reasons.

The Kevin Colbert traded up to get Ta'amu in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL draft, explaining that the move was necessary because Alameda Ta'amu was the true nose tackle in the draft.

Its gone downhill since then for Ta'amu. First he struggled in 2012's training camp, gaining far more noteriety for his walk to Walmart than anything he did on the field.

Then came Ta'amu's drunken rampage on the South Side.

Since then Ta'amu has done all the right things (save for a boneheaded rewetweet).

• But now he’s facing a rather unenviable situation.

Opening training camp on the Steelers PUP list, Ta’amu was activated only to learn that in a year he’s gone from promising 4th round draft pick to 4th on the depth chart.

Yet, the Steelers preseason game vs. the Giants could change all of that.

• And the irony is that Ta’amu might not even get to play

Ta’amu began Steelers training camp with a hamstring injury and was only activated days ago, and no word has been given on whether or not he will play.

• If he does, he needless to say he’s got to put in a strong performance.

If not, he find himself in the perverse position of hoping that Al Woods and Loni Fangupo prove that they’re not NFL nose tackle material.

Regardless of griping from some fans, the position battles that will occur in the final three quarters of the preseason game vs. the Giants are very important to the futures of these young men and the Steelers line itself.

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The Steelers Road to Super Bowl XL: Remembering Pittsburgh's Greatest 9 Weeks Ever (Part IV).

Still Feeling the Afterglow of the Steelers Upset at Indianapolis

I can't tell you how stunned I was at the time that the 2005 Steelers went into Indianapolis and knocked off the Colts. Up to that point in NFL history, most teams that had seasons like Indianapolis had in'05--flirting with perfection--usually went on to win the Lombardi trophy. I was pretty optimistic before the game like any fan would be, but even I knew that I witnessed something special.

The next day on craigslist, the fans from Denver were coming onto the Pittsburgh board and thanking the Steelers for allowing the Broncos to host the AFC Championship game.

• Much like the Colts and Pats fans from a week earlier, they were acting as if victory was all but certain and the AFC title game would be a mere coronation for the their team. 

And I can't really blame them. The Broncos were the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and the fans probably figured the upstart Steelers were out of miracles. After all, Denver had just knocked off the two-time champion Patriots, and the Steelers took care of the No. 1 seed. Another thing working in Denver's favor was the fact that no number six seed had ever made it to the Super Bowl. If the Steelers were in a similar situation, I would be feeling pretty good, too.

• At work, everyone was talking about the near-disastrous ending of the Colts' game and the almost miscarriage of justice because of the blown-call on the Polamalu interception that wasn't.

But what had some of the female customers just gushing was when Troy kissed his wedding ring as a tribute to his wife after he made what should have been the game-sealing interception. At that moment, Polamalu endeared himself to millions of women and was probably the most perfect man in the universe.

Tuesday evening, I went to yet another television taping of the Joey Porter Show at the Firehouse Lounge in the Strip District, and at that point, Steeler-mania was in full-swing and the place was jumping. In previous weeks, I was able to sit right near the front, but on this night, I was back by the bar, trying to watch it as best I could. This was the only taping I attended by myself since my aunt couldn't make it that night.

• I talked to some very interesting people, including a woman who had a home-made terrible towel that she made in the late 70's. That was neat to see.

Joey's Steeler-guests that night were Ben Roethlisberger and Chris Hoke. I'm assuming that Roethlisberger taped his interview earlier because he wasn't there when I arrived, but Hokey's interview was pretty insightful and funny. He commented on the playoff beards that all the "white guys" were growing for the playoff run. He seemed like a cool guy. It was a pretty fun night, all the way around.

• Of the three AFC playoff games the Steelers played, the AFC Championship game in Denver was the one I was most confident about, but that didn't stop me from being nervous. 

I had a right to be, of course, as that round of the playoffs was a real source of frustration for many years. The Steelers played in the AFC title game five previous times under Bill Cowher, all at home, and lost all but one time. And here they were on the road in Denver, a place where the team never played well, trying to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 10 seasons.

• For my money, losing in the round before the Super Bowl is even more frustrating than losing the Super Bowl. 

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but that's how I've always felt. Losing in the Super Bowl is like going to Kennywood on a rainy day. Sure, it sucks, but at least you get to go to Kennywood.

There is nothing worse than spending an entire week confident that your team will win and make it to the Super Bowl only to see those hopes and dreams hit a brick wall. I have a hard time watching the Super Bowl after the Steelers lose the AFC Championship game. The Super Bowl between the Patriots and Rams was one of the most exciting ever, and I missed most of it because I just couldn't stand to watch New England play in a game I thought the Steelers were locks to make.

But I was confident leading up to the Denver game because I thought the Steelers had the better team and the better quarterback. The Broncos' quarterback, Jake Plummer, was having an almost flawless season, rarely turning the ball over.

• But I knew if he was pushed and confused by Dick Lebeau and the Steelers defense, Jake "The Snake" he would be forced into turnovers. 

I commented to a friend of mine that Plummer would play like Kordell Stewart did in the 1997 AFC Championship game against the Broncos.

AFC Championship Game: Steelers Dominate Denver in First Half

The AFC Championship Game vs. Denver began as the Steelers got a field goal on their first drive, but not before I almost had a heart attack when Champ Bailey nearly picked off Roethlisberger on a third down pass to Hines Ward. Thankfully, Ward came to the rescue and caught the deflected pass before getting smacked by John Lynch. We had our first Nate Washington sighting on that drive as he made the first catch of his career, a key pick up on another third down. A few plays later, Jeff Reed kicked a 48 yard field goal, and the Steelers were in front, 3-0.

• On the next Broncos' drive, Plummer was hit by Joey Porter, who stripped him of the ball. Casey Hampton recovered and the Steelers were on their way.

Pittsburgh capitalized on the takeaway and made 10-0 early in the second quarter when Roethlisberger pump-faked a slant pass to Cedrick Wilson, who instead, turned it into an out and was wide open in the back corner of the end zone for a 12 yard touchdown pass. Bailey bit hard on the play and seemed to be stunned at the turn of events.

• After Denver made it, 10-3, Pittsburgh marched down field and went up, 17-3, on a Jerome Bettis tough, three yard touchdown run late in the second quarter that turned out to be the last one of the Bus' career.

Instead of just running out the clock, Denver decided to try and move the ball and Ike Taylor, of all people, intercepted a lazy pass by Plummer and Pittsburgh was poised to take an even bigger lead into the half.

Pittsburgh advanced the ball to the 12 yard line, and with time running out, Bettis inched up to the line right before the snap, took a quick hand-off and raced untouched for a score. Unfortunately, it didn't count because Ward was called for illegal formation.

Thankfully, Ward made amends on the next play when a scrambling Roethlsiberger threaded a pass through two Broncos' defenders and hit No. 86 in the back of the end zone with a 17 yard touchdown pass to put Pittsburgh ahead, 24-3, with just seconds left in the first half.

We were going nuts at my uncle's house. Just a year earlier, the Steelers were down, 24-3, to New England at halftime of the AFC title game and here they were on the positive side of the exact same score.

Steelers Play Rope-a-Dope with Denver to Start Second Half

Pittsburgh got the football to start the second half and a did a good job of burning clock on its first two drives but couldn't quite put the Broncos away. Denver's offense finally broke through and inched a little closer late in the quarter when Plummer hit Ashley Lelie with a 30 yard touchdown pass over a beaten Chris Hope to make it, 24-10, Pittsburgh.

But Pittsburgh's offense answered the Broncos' score by putting Reed in position to kick a 42 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Reed's attempt was successful, and the Steelers were sitting pretty with a 27-10 lead.

On the very first play of Denver's next possession, Larry Foote picked off Plummer, and Pittsburgh had the ball near mid-field. My confidence was at an all-time high. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't really capitalize, and when the Broncos got the ball back, they marched down field with the help of several penalties on Pittsburgh's defense--including a questionable pass interference call on Taylor--and got to within 10 points thanks to a Mike Anderson three yard touchdown run.

• At that point, I was pacing the floors, and almost fainted when Roethlisberger was nearly intercepted by Lynch on the Steelers subsequent possession.

Denver eventually got the ball back and had all the momentum.

Keisel puts Steeler Nation at ease

I had no need to worry.

It was fourth and 10 yards to go and precious few minutes left in the game. Plummer stepped back to pass and was almost taken down by Clark Haggans, who missed the often-elusive quarterback. However, Brett Keisel reached Plummer and knocked the football loose. To this day, I don't know who recovered the football, but like play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove exclaimed, "It didn't matter!"

By this point, victory was all but assured. However, I'm sure the ending of the Colts' game was still fresh in every fan's mind (I know it was for me), so nobody had stamped their ticket to Detroit just yet.

The Steelers eventually moved the football inside the 10 yard line, and during a break in the action, Cowher called over Bettis and had this smile and expression on his face. I couldn't read his lips, but I'm guessing what he was telling the Bus was something like, "We're riding you to the end zone, Bussy. Please don't torture us like you did last week."

After a couple of Bus rides, it was third and goal inside the five yard line. Instead of giving it to Bettis once again, it was a bootleg, and a four yard score by Roethlisberger to give Pittsburgh a 34-17 lead and assure a trip to Super Bowl XL.

When Roethlisberger scored, I jumped up and said, "We're going to the Super Bowl!" It was one of the best moments of my life, and I mean that in all sincerity.

Despite the few nervous moments in the second half, it was one of my all-time favorite Steelers games. It was nice to see the AFC Championship game be sort of a blow out with very little suspense.

Feelings of Euphoria in Pittsburgh, Steelers Nation

The feeling that I had the rest of the evening was euphoric. Something happens to you when your favorite team wins a game like that. You have this urge to get in your car and drive around so that's what I did. I found myself at my sister's house in Avalon, and my brother in law, a Broncos fan, was still talking trash and trying to remind me of the Broncos' back-to-back Super Bowl titles in '97 and '98. But he couldn't hurt me that night. I was in Heaven.

Ok, this concludes part four. I hope you all enjoyed it. Stay tuned for the conclusion!

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A Fan's Memories of the Steelers Road to Super Bowl XL: The Greatest Nine Weeks Ever (part II)

The 2005 Steelers four game season ending winning streak left me pretty pumped up for Pittsburgh's wildcard playoff game against the Bengals at Cincinnati. More than anything, I wanted to see Pittsburgh beat the Bengals in their place and knock them out of the the playoffs. Let's face it, the Steelers were the sixth seed and no team seeded that low had ever made it to the Super Bowl, but if Pittsburgh could knock out the Bengals, that would be pretty sweet.

Meet the Underdog '05 Pittsburgh Steelers

That week, leading up to the game, I remember reading some article online about how teams that had to scratch and fight their way into the playoffs on the last day of the season never really did that well in the postseason.

• The article provided statistics to back up those claims. 

It was pretty standard knowledge for most die-hard football fans, such as myself but still kind of sobering. Every now and then, wildcard playoff teams did make runs, and a few even went all the way to the Super Bowl. And the '80 Raiders, '97 Broncos and 2000 Ravens actually won the championship coming out of the wildcard spot.

But, mostly, wildcard teams made an early exit from the postseason because, number one, they normally play against superior opponents, and two, it's very hard to win on the road in the NFL, especially in the postseason. The '85 New England Patriots were the only team (up until that point) to be the last seed in a conference and win all of its playoff games on the road and make it to the Super Bowl--the shufflin' '85 Bears blew-out New England, 46-10, in Super Bowl XX.

The Tuesday before the game, I went to yet another taping of The Joey Porter Show. James Farrior was Joey Porter's guest that week and my aunt's friend went nuts because she thought Farrior was hot. There was a local comedian/dj named "Freedom" that always sort of mc'd each show and was in charge of getting the crowd excited or telling people to be quiet. In-fact, he often held up a sign that said "quiet please" but on this particular night, the sign read "quite please" which I thought was pretty hilarious.

During a break in taping, Freedom tried to get the crowd riled up for the playoffs, but the people weren't too excited. He said, "Doesn't sound like you're ready for the playoffs!" And he was right, my aunt and I were still able to get pretty decent seats in the Firehouse Lounge. It wasn't really crowded at all and Pittsburgh, in general, didn't seem too thrilled about the upcoming playoff matchup.

Steelers fans are generally pretty football savvy and, perhaps, they read the same online article that I did about wildcard teams. Although, from what I've seen over the years, fans usually temper their excitement when a team is seeded low, but then hop on board if the team starts to do well, which would be the case later on.........IN A BIG WAY!

Anyway, back to the show. Joey would often have non-Steeler guests on his show, and Pittsburgh's own Monte "Mason" Clay, the WBC and/or WBA and/or IBF Featherweight champion of the world (I can't remember) made an appearance that night.

When Clay and his entourage came through the crowd at the Lounge, there was a huge guy with a couple of belts on his shoulder, and I thought he was Clay, but duh, featherweights are small, and Monte was the little guy walking in front shaking hands--he looked like he was nine years old. After Clay's spot on the show, the night ended with a performance by some local musical duo. Apparently, Joey thought they were a hip-hop group because he tried to introduce them with this make-shift grill (or is it grille?) in his teeth.

The mouthpiece kept falling out and Joey needed about five takes in-order to get it right. I just thought it was funny that Porter thought these guys were all about hip-hop because when they performed, it clearly wasn't hip-hop. In-fact, during the interview he had with them, one of them tried to point this out, but Joey didn't seem to catch-on.

Steelers vs. Bengals in the Wild Card Round of the '05 AFC playoffs

As I've stated, the Steelers were the sixth seed in the AFC and the Bengals, the AFC North winners, were seeded third and were the home team for this game.

I watched the game over my uncle's house which was usually the rule for me for Steelers games in those days. A couple of his neighbors were there, as well, so it was one giant party.

The game started off in controversial fashion as Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was knocked out after being hit in the knee by Steelers defensive lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen during a long pass conversion to Chris Henry early in the first quarter. Palmer suffered a serious knee injury and obviously had to leave the game.

The scrappy, gutty Jon Kitna replaced Carson, and after Henry also had to leave the game later in the drive with a serious injury, the Bengals settled for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. I remember saying that it was probably the most costly field goal drive in the history of the postseason. Cincinnati was not done. Running back Rudi Johnson scored on a 20 touchdown run later in the first quarter, putting the Bengals ahead, 10-0. I was kind of worried at that point.

I mean, the Steelers last playoff game was a beatdown by the Patriots in the AFC Championship game the season before and here they were getting outplayed again. However, Pittsburgh's offense started to come to life at the end of the first quarter and eventually mounted a drive that ended with a screen pass to Willie Parker who took it in for the score. Pittsburgh was now down, 10-7, and I was feeling pretty good about things.

The Bengals drove down the field again, and just when it looked like they were going to have to settle for a field goal attempt, Troy Polamalu was called for a personal foul and Cincy had new life. The Bengals eventually scored a touchdown, and Pittsburgh was down by 10 points once again. Late in the half, Roethlisberger hit Cedric Wilson on a long pass play and suddenly, the offense was threatening again. Jerome Bettis tried his patented running back option pass to tight end Jerame Tuman but threw it at his feet. The lack of execution didn't hurt the Steelers because Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward on a slant for the score and Pittsburgh was back in the game, only down, 17-14, at the half.

• It was all Pittsburgh from that point on.

Things started out fine for the Bengals as they took the second half kick-off and drove into Pittsburgh territory, only to botch a field goal attempt and give the Steelers great field position. Pittsburgh immediately capitalized on the mistake when Ben threw deep to Antwaan Randle El for what appeared to be a touchdown.

The officials called it incomplete (why Bill Cowher didn't ask for a review is beyond me), but it didn't matter because the Bengals were called for defensive pass interference on the play, and the Steelers had the ball at the five yard line. A play or two later, a couple of Bengals took a Bus ride as Bettis plowed into the end zone to give Pittsburgh its first lead of the game, 21-17--a lead they would never relinquish. When Jerome scored, I jumped up and screamed and looked over at my uncle's neighbors and said, "In-case you didn't know, that was my playoff scream."

Cincinnati continued to do nothing on offense, and near the end of the third quarter, Pittsburgh looked for a knock-out blow. With the ball at Cincinnati's 43, Randle El took a hand-off on an end-around play only to stop and lateral it back to Roethlisberger, who then threw deep down field. Initially, I thought he was going to Hines and it appeared to be overthrown, but nope! Wilson was there, wide-open for the score and Pittsburgh was now up, 28-17, and we all went nuts in my uncle's living room. Speaking of going nuts,  it was funny seeing and hearing the Steelers fans cheering right there in the middle of all those quiet Bengals fans at Paul Brown Stadium.

The Steelers continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, and with the help of a Farrior interception and a Bettis long run, they tacked on another three points for a 31-17 lead. Polamalu finished things off with an interception late in the game and scared the crap out of everyone by lateraling the ball back to Chris Hope instead of just taking a knee.

• It was Cincinnati's first playoff game in 15 years, and I'm sure it didn't go as planned for the players and fans.

After the game, the Bengals players and fans cried that the only reason Pittsburgh won was because Kimo knocked Palmer out. Last time I checked, Carson didn't play defense, and the reason the Steelers won that game was because they were more physical than the Bengals. Congratulations on winning the 2005 AFC North Division, Cincinnati. When I say "Who Dey?" You say, "We Dey!"

AFC 2005 Divisional Playoffs - Steelers vs. Peyton Manning and the Colts

It was now onto Indianapolis for the Steelers, where they would have to face the number one seeded Colts. The Colts won their first 13 games in 2005 and, naturally, there was talk of them going undefeated.

Even though that didn't happen and even though Tony Dungy rested most of his starters over the last few weeks of the regular season, the Colts were still heavily favored to beat Pittsburgh and go on to win the Super Bowl. And if it wasn't Indianapolis, it was going to be the two-time defending champion Patriots.

The Steelers weren't really considered much of a factor by anyone outside of Pittsburgh. In-fact, when all the so-called experts previewed the four playoff games during the week, most were conflicted on the Seahawks/Redskins, Bears/Panthers, and Patriots/Broncos, but just about everyone agreed that Peyton Manning and the Colts would have their way with Pittsburgh much like they did in Week 12 of the regular season.

The Tuesday before the game, I went to yet another taping of the Joey Porter Show. When I arrived at the Firehouse Lounge, my aunt asked me if the little black guy that Porter was interviewing was Alan Faneca, who was going to be one of Joey's special guest Steelers that night. For those of you who do not know, Faneca is not a little black man, he's a huge white guy. The little black dude turned out to be Steelers defensive back Tyrone Carter.

It was a fun night in the Strip, and the Lounge was a little more crowded than the week before, as my aunt and I had to stand farther back. You could see the excitement on the faces of everyone, and I could tell they were really pumped about the upcoming game with the Colts.

No city supports its team like Pittsburgh supports the Steelers. My store deals with this baker in Baldwin, and towards the end of the regular season when the Steelers went on their playoff run, we started ordering Steelers helmet cakes, Terrible Towel cakes, black and gold rye bread and other Steelers pastries. Right around the week of Steelers/Colts, people started calling in orders for special Steelers cakes for playoff parties they were having. The cakes kinda looked like birthday cakes but with player names and numbers, and I could just picture people standing around these cakes singing, "Happy Steelers playoff game to you. Happy Steelers playoff game to you. Happy Steelers playoff game to Steeler Nation. Happy Steeler playoff game to you!"

I'm sure you know of craigslist--my sister is obsessed with that site. I think about 94% of her furniture was purchased on craigs. I like Craigslist myself, but I mainly go on the "rants and raves" message boards where people talk and argue over just about any subject that you can think of.

During playoff weeks, however, this board is invaded by smack talkers. The week leading up to the Colts playoff game, Indy fans would come over to the Pittsburgh boards and talk trash, and we obnoxious Steelers fans would go to their boards and talk trash. Even the Patriots fans joined in, and the most unreal thing was seeing Colts fans and Patriots fans argue over who was going to win the AFC championship game the following week. Both had decided that their teams were going to win their "tune-up" divisional playoff games that week. I had never seen such brashness in all my days.

The Indy fans were a little more gracious than the cocky New Englanders, but both had completely written off the Steelers and the Broncos. It didn't matter to the Pats fans that their team was a wildcard team heading into Denver, they were the defending champions, and their boys could do no wrong.

• If there is one fan-base I cannot stand, it's the Patriots fans. 

Before pretty boy Brady came along and before Belichick became this defensive genius (perhaps illegally), the Patriots were behind the marathon and the Strangler in terms of importance in the metro-Boston area. But after they won a few Super Bowls, suddenly everyone jumped on the wagon, and the Patriots were the greatest ever.

Towards the end of the week, Roethlisberger and Porter both made remarks that had everyone talking. Big Ben said the Colts were a great team and their B+ game was good enough to beat Pittsburgh's A game. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that was basically what he said. I guess he was going out of his way to praise the other team much like Joe Paterno did when he acted worried about facing Central Carolina.

Porter, on the other hand, took the exact opposite approach by stating that the Colts were a finesse team that didn't like to play physical. This had the fans angry and the media members wondering why Joey would say such a thing and "wake the sleeping giant."

It really irritates me when people say stuff like that. Not what Porter said, but how people think that words really matter that much. "Oh no, Joey's talking smack, the Colts might try now." Words mean absolutely nothing, and if a player is looking for motivation via trash talk, he's in trouble. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm guessing the prospect of winning the Super Bowl was more than enough motivation for the Indy locker room.

That concludes part two of my four-part story. Check back soon for part three....

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A Fan's Memories of the Steelers' Road to Super Bowl XL: The Greatest Nine Weeks Ever (Part I)

The first half of the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers regular season was going along much like the previous one, when Pittsburgh finished 15-1 with rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger before losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

Even though Roethlisberger was out a few weeks after having minor knee surgery, Charlie Batch filled in just fine in beating a pretty mediocre Green Bay team on the road and the miserable Browns at Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh was 7-2, and the playoffs seemed like a sure bet.

However, things began to take a turn for the worse in Week 11 when Batch was unable to go and Tommy Maddox had to take the helm at quarterback against the very ordinary Ravens. I don't know if any of you remember, but '05 wasn't the greatest year for Tommy Gun. Earlier in the season, he had to fill in for Roethlisberger against the Jaguars and proceeded to throw three interceptions, including the back-breaker in overtime as the Steelers lost and Maddox may or may not have had garbage thrown on his lawn.

Maddox didn't fare much better against the Ravens, and Pittsburgh lost, 16-13, in overtime with some help from a fluky interception off of Hines Ward's cleats near mid-field. The following week, the Steelers traveled to Indianapolis to play the then undefeated Colts on Monday Night Football. Roethlisberger was just coming back from his surgery, but neither he nor the Steelers defense had an answer for Indianapolis as Peyton Manning and the boys had their way with our Black and Gold.

The Steelers were 7-4 and one game behind Cincinnati in the AFC North, heading into their Week 13 match up at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh whipped up on the Bengals earlier in the season at Cincinnati, and I figured the team would do the same thing at Heinz field and tie the Bengals for the lead in the division which essentially would put the Steelers one game ahead because of the head-to-head tiebreaker they would hold. Didn't happen.

It was a pretty good game, but the Bengals eventually won by a touchdown and held a two-game lead with just four to go, all-but clinching the AFC North. At 7-5, not only did Pittsburgh's chances at the division look pretty weak, but because of a very poor record in the AFC, its chances at a wildcard looked bleak at best.

• Things weren't looking good at all for Steeler Nation.

'05 Steelers Rally to the Playoffs Begins!

Then.........the fun began!

There was no doubt the Steelers had to win their last four games to even have a chance to make the playoffs, but they were in a dog-fight for the last two spots with the Jaguars, Titans, Chiefs and Chargers. The only tiebreaker advantage Pittsburgh held was over the Chargers because of a last-second victory earlier in the year.

The rest of the teams had the Steelers dead-to-rights, and the Chargers were still one-game up on Pittsburgh, tiebreaker or not. I'm always pretty optimistic about my Steelers, but even I had very big doubts about them getting into the postseason.

The Tuesday night after the Bengals loss, my aunt asked me if I wanted to join her at the Firehouse Lounge in Pittsburgh's Strip District for the weekly taping of the Joey Porter Show. I turned her down. I wasn't in the mood for any Steelers celebrating. As far as I was concerned, they were pretty much dead in the water in terms of any postseason hopes.

Onto the game against the Bears. The Steelers played their best game in weeks as they manhandled the supposed toughest team in the NFC. The game was most notable for a play in which the Bus, Jerome Bettis, ran over Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher during a short-yardage touchdown run in the snow at Heinz Field.



It was fun to see the Steelers win, but their playoff hopes were still pretty sad.

Later that evening, I was shocked to hear that San Diego lost at home to the Dolphins. "Wow, a piece of the puzzle," I thought as I watched the Chiefs go up against Dallas later that afternoon. I haven't been a Cowboys fan in years, but you better believe I was that day. Trailing, the Cowboys had the ball first and goal late in the game. Dallas' offense didn't get anywhere on the first three downs, and after a fourth down pass fell incomplete in the end zone, I thought, "Oh well, at least the Chargers lost and the Steelers gained a little bit of ground in the playoff picture."

• Wait a second!

There was a flag for defensive holding against Kansas City, and the Cowboys had new life. Dallas eventually scored and went on to win. Not only did the Steelers win and break their three game losing streak, but the Chargers and Chiefs both lost and suddenly, within a span of six hours, Pittsburgh's playoff hopes went from last rights to new life.

A couple of days later, I did join my aunt at the Lounge for another taping of the Porter's show, which was hosted by Peezee himself, with former Steeler Chris Hope and Jon Burton of Channel 4 Action Sports acting as co-hosts. The show was taped on Tuesdays and aired on Friday or Saturday nights on WBGN.

It was like a poor man's Jerome Bettis Show with sub-par production values, but being at a taping was always a ton of fun. The place wasn't too crowded my first night there. I was able to sit right behind the cameras beside my aunt and her friend. Joey always had at least one special guest Steeler each show and Antwaan Randle El was the guest that night. Afterwards, the fans all gathered around the guys for autographs and pictures.

In-fact, my aunt's main purpose for attending these shows was so she could get as many autographs as she could on a Steelers shirt that she would eventually give my uncle. I've never been an autograph seeker, but it's like a knee-jerk reaction when you're around a celebrity of any kind.

For some reason, you feel compelled to ask them to sign something. Randle El disappointed most of the crowd by skirting out of there pretty fast after the show ended, but Porter and Hope stuck around to sign stuff and have their pictures taken. When Hope finally came my way, I said, "Hey man, could you sign my hat?" as I shoved it in his face. And he said, "where?" My hat was this Steelers tossel cap, with very little room for writing, except on the logo, so that's what he signed.

• It was a pretty cool night.

The Steelers were in even better shape the following week after they dominated the Vikings and Kansas City lost again, this time to the Giants. The Chargers won, becoming the first team to defeat the Colts, but as I said, the Steelers owned the tiebreaker over San Diego.

I went to another taping of the Joey Porter Show that following Tuesday, and the crowd was still pretty small despite the Steelers' playoff chances looking a lot better. The thing I remember most about that night was Porter, the crazy but lovable linebacker, recounting an argument he had with someone from the Vikings and describing it with the help of the f-word before catching himself and apologizing to the audience. Joey's guest that night was fellow Steelers linebacker Larry Foote.

Things Begin to Fall into Place for the '05 Steelers

Heading into Week 16, Pittsburgh was now one-game up on the Chiefs, who were playing San Diego at home. The Steelers were in Cleveland on Christmas Eve to play the Browns. While Kansas City knocked off the Chargers, 20-7, Pittsburgh pounded the Browns, 41-0. I didn't get to see the game because I was working, but I did have it taped for me, and I've probably watched that beat-down a dozen times.

Speaking of beat-downs, the Cleveland game is probably most noteworthy for being the contest in-which a Browns' fan ran on the field and was snatched and flung to the ground by future Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison.

• With one week left in the season, the Steelers were 10-5, and a game-up on both Kansas City and San Diego.

The Jaguars were basically in with the fifth seed, and the Chargers were eliminated, thanks to the loss in Kansas City, and now it was down to the Chiefs and Steelers for the last seed in the AFC. On a side note, I didn't go to the Joey Porter show that week. I don't remember why, but it was the only one I missed after the Steelers started their historic run.

Despite Pittsburgh having a one-game lead over the Chiefs, if the two teams finished the regular season tied at 10-6, Kansas City would get into the playoffs, based on a better conference mark. That Saturday night, the Chargers played Denver in a meaningless game for the Broncos who already had the AFC Western Division clinched as well as the second seed in the playoffs.

If San Diego would have somehow won that game, Pittsburgh would have clinched that last playoff spot before Sunday's games were even played based on some weird three-way tiebreaker, involving the Chiefs. It didn't happen, though. The Chargers lost, and after celebrating New Year's Eve, I sat down with my uncle to sweat out Pittsburgh's season-finale against the Lions at Heinz Field. The Chiefs played the Bengals in a meaningless game for Cincy, and Kansas City won, 37-3.

'05 Steelers Seal the Deal - Road to Super Bowl XL Opens!

The 5-10 Lions didn't go quietly, as Pittsburgh only led, 21-14, at halftime. During the break, my uncle was watching Tommy Boy, and I, being a nervous wreck about the game, was off to the side doing karate moves and wound up catching my foot on the back of his chair and fell on my butt. The thing I remember most is looking up and seeing my uncle and little cousin laughing hysterically. You talk about bringing Chris Farley back from the dead.

Anyway, that game turned out to be the last regular season and home game for the Bus, and he finished it off in style by scoring three touchdowns in a 35-21 Steelers victory.

• Pittsburgh was in the playoffs with the sixth seed in the AFC, and I was relieved.

This concludes part one of my story. Join me next time for part two.

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Legrusky Gets No Love... In Pittsburgh at Least

Kevin Colbert might have an uncanny knack for uncovering previously overlooked gems in the form of undrafted rookie free agents. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin likewise have an ironclad dedication to giving these guys a fair sake on the fields of St. Vincents.

• But the Steelers can be downright unsentimental when it comes to showing these men the door.

Fast Willie Parker made Super Bowl XL the Steelers to lose. Willie Parker left Pittsburgh without a contract. James Harrison was asked to take less, and when he balked James Harrison found himself playing for far less money for the Cincinnati Bengals.

In that sense Doug Legursky finds himself in good company. Legursky cracked the Steelers roster in 2009 as an undrafted rookie free agent, and one year later he was starting for them in Super Bowl XLV.

• He returned the following year to start 10 games as part of the continuing carousel on offense line.
• He suited up and started 3 more in 2012, and was proving himself to be an excellent 4th interior lineman.

But that wasn’t enough for Tomlin and Colbert, as Legrusky has come to terms with with Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain is calling “Steelers Northeast” aka the Buffalo Bills, who also employ former Steelers cast offs Kraig Urbik, Chris Scott, Corbin Byrant, and Frank Summers aka Frank “The Tank” Summers.

• In a move that only adds to the irony behind the story, to make room for Legursky, the Bills waived Greg Lloyd Jr., son of the Steelers legend Greg Lloyd.

Steel Curtain Rising will have more to say about the Legursky defection later, but for now we’ll simply say “Thanks Doug. You came through when we needed you. Best of luck to you in Buffalo, as long as it doesn’t come at Pittsburgh’s expense.”

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Joe Greene Retires as Steelers Scout with One for Each Thumb

Six Super Bowl rings will apparently have to be enough for Pittsburgh Steelers Legend “Mean” Joe Greene who yesterday announced he was retiring from his front office position with the Steelers scouting department.

It was no less than Greene himself who coined the phrase “One for the Thumb,” and when he did so a fifth Super Bowl seemed very much in reach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Greene continued playing into his mid-30’s, at the time this was a very mature age for the NFL, in pursuit of the additional hardware but was forced to retire with a bare thumb in after 1981.

Greene of course got a second shot at getting “One for the Thumb” in 1987 when Chuck Noll asked him to rejoin the Steelers as defensive line coach. Greene perhaps whiffed the possibility when he helped Noll make his story book run the playoffs with the 1989 Steelers, but alas they came up short.

Following Noll’s retirement, Greene was given serious consideration for the head coaching job, but Dan Rooney and Tom Donahoe ultimately decided to go in a new Direction with Bill Cowher.

No longer employed by Pittsburgh, Greene’s shot at the elusive “One for the Thumb” seemed to end, as went on to coach Don Shula’s last defensive lines in Miami, and then worked for the Arizona Cardinals until a coaching change cost him his job in 2003.

Joe Greene Comes Home, Makes Good on “One for the Thumb”

Greene however did not stay on the unemployment line for long. Dan Rooney offered him a job in the Steelers scouting department, where Greene began work in 2004 as Kevin Colbert’s “Special Assistant/Pro and College Personnel” where he focused on scouting college talent in the Southwest as well as pro talent, according to the Steelers media guide.

When he returned to Pittsburgh, the Steelers were coming off a 6-10 season, and Pittsburgh Shock Jock Mark Madden lambasted the move as “Window Dressing” designed to disguise a off season of horrendous free agent moves such as the decision to sign Duce Staley (and eventually draft Ben Roethlisberger).

• The next season the Steelers went 15-1 and a year later they won Super Bowl XL

...Ah, perhaps Mr. Madden would like that one back.

By 2005 the term "One for the Thumb" had fallen out of favor with Steelers management if not the fans, but Joe Greene nonetheless finally got his fifth ring for Super Bowl XL and later earned a sixth for Super Bowl XLIII.

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Watch Tower: Scab Referee, '87 Strike, Todd Haley, and More...

Steel Curtain Rising’s Watch Tower has been quiet for a while, mainly because there’s a lot going on in life. No issue has dominated the news as the replacement referees have, so that’s where the Watch Tower first shines its light.

AP, ESPN Ignore the 4th Time Out Awarded to Houston vs. the 1989 Steelers

Regular readers know that the 1989 Steelers are near and dear to Steel Curtain Rising. So what could they possibly have to do with the replacement refs?

Well, the biggest news flub early on by the scab refs was the 4th Time Out they awarded to Seattle in their loss to Arizona in week 1. However, the Associated Press article that ESPN ran was more problematic:  Refs Error in Arizona Third of its Kind.

ESPN Inaccurate on 4th Time Out

The article discusses the extra timeouts the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens got in 2003 and 2009 respectively. But to read the headline and story, those were the only times such errors occurred in NFL history.

It happened at least once before, on December 3rd 1989 in Three Rivers Stadium when the Houston Oilers got an extra time out on a touchdown drive in a Oilers 23-16 victory over the Steelers. Chuck Noll protested and fired off an apology letter to the league, which admitted the error, not that much could be done about it….

Seattle Seahawks Fans Can Shut Up Now

Of course the biggest news relating to the scab refs was the highway robbery in the form of a Seahawks touchdown instead of a Packers interception.

That blow call generated a lot of Sound and Fury (not to mention a quick agreement between the NFL and its officials), but no one had a more astute observation than my good friend Tony Defeo on “Pittsburgh Best Sports Blog” where he contrasted how Seahawks fans are fine with this blow call, but still whine about Super Bowl XL.

Is there a living soul in Steeler Nation who isn’t sick of hearing the Seahawk’s unending excuse making for losing Super Bowl XL? To listen to them, you’d think that Willie Parker’s 75 yard run came on a questionable call.

As Tony succinctly  concluded, “Seahawks fans need to be very quiet now.”

It’s mildly ironic that Defeo would make such an observation, because in early August, he wrote an excellent tongue and cheek article in Behind the Steel Curtain panning the possibility that scab refs could do much worse than the regular season refs by invoking the interception that Troy Polamalu had stolen from him in the 2005 AFC Divisional playoffs thanks to incompetent use of instant replay.

If you don’t remember the play, check it out here, but do it while you can (available 9/29/12). With the official lockout settled, Goodell now has the time to unleash his YouTube police:


Replacement Refs, What about Replacement Players?

Whether it was editorial coincidence or editorial competition, last Sunday the Post Gazette and Tribune Review featured dueling stories recounting the 1987 players strike.

Both articles were fairly general. Both pointed out that John Stallworth caught his 500th pass from a scab quarterback. Bouchette reminded us that the Steelers refunded tickets, unlike other teams, and that for a time admitted that their sellout record had been broken, although they claim otherwise today.

Robinson went further back, discussing both the ’87 and ’82 strike, and unearthed a story of Steve Courson and Gary Dunn hearing WTAE rebroadcast a Steelers game from a previous season while in the car, and racing back to Pittsburgh thinking a deal had been reached and that they were missing a game. My, how did we live without cell phones and the internet….

Both men wrote good stories, but both left one of the juiciest quotes on the table. It was Christmas time in 1987, and I was sitting with my father and grandfather in some second story waiting room in an office off of Brownsville Road in Carrick, thumbing through the year end edition of Pittsburgh Magazine, when I saw, if memory serves, this priceless gem:

“Yeah, Malone threw one too. But he missed.”

The caption read something on the order of, “A fan recounts striking Steelers pelting Ernest Jackson’s van with Jelly doughnuts as he cross the picket line.”

Mark Malone started all 12 of the 1987 Steelers non-strike games and finished the ’87 season with a 46.7 passer rating….

Haley Holds Court

No off season topic generated as much noise as the decision to fire Bruce Arians and replace him with Todd Haley. Haley returned to Pittsburgh with a checkered past and was known as one who often had trouble working and playing well with others.

The Steelers press office has taken a very proactive approach to diffusing the issue. In PG Plus, Ed Bouchette has lamented several times that under Mike Tomlin the Steelers have been reluctant to grant media access to assistant coaches.

That has not been the case this year. By all appearances, during training camp the press had free access to Todd Haley, and he’s been interviewed regularly since the season started.

While the Watch Tower certainly does not have the time to do any sort of formal count, one is not needed to see that Haley was quoted during training camp more often than Tomlin himself.

The big issue was how would Ben Roethlisberger and Haley co-exist. There’ve been a number of attempts to extrapolate on some of the things Roethlisberger has said to indicate tension. But so far the story has gained no traction.

Part of it is because Ben has immediately shot down such talk. But keeping Haley in front of the microphones also lends a ton of credibility to Roethlisberger’s denials.

It’s still early, but score one win for the Steelers PR team.

Carson Palmer Gets the Last Laugh

This had no impact on the game itself, but both the Post Gazette’s Blog and Gold and Behind the Steel Curtain ran profiles on Carson Palmer’s past, and often miserable, experience vs. the Steelers.

The Steelers play former players all of the time, but Palmer was a little different, in that he’s the first ex AFC North QB to face off against the Steelers in another division. And of course Palmer got the last laugh in the Raider’s victory.

Steelers Problems with Stringing Three Strong Seasons Together

Prior to the season, the media never tired of reminding Steeler Nation that the Steelers have trouble putting three strong seasons in a row. Steel Curtain Rising blasted already blasted this on the merits its preseason analysis.

Its understandable that the press would mention this recent tendency, but sometimes things go too far. Case in point, in his preseason predictions, Alan Robinson mentioned this tendency twice in his 5 arguments against the Steelers winning the Super Bowl.

Ben No Longer a Game Closer? + Timmons Troubles

No one is a better come from behind artist than Ben Roethlisberger, right?

Dale Lolley points out that Ben Roethlisberger failed to rally the Steelers against Oakand, and that in the last two seasons, he’s only done that once.

While I think this is more of a coincidence than anything else, Lolley’s the first person in the Pittsburgh press corps to make this observation, and it is a story that bears watching.

Lolley also came up with some interesting stats on Lawrence Timmons.

[Woodley] was still better than Timmons, who had three tackles. In fact, after recording seven sacks and four forced fumbles in 2009, Timmons has five sacks and two forced fumbles - in the past two-plus seasons.

That hurts. Do numbers lie?

Not exactly, but for all of his splash plays in 2009, Timmons was inconsistent. In contrast, he played extremely well in 2010, even if he lacked the “Splash” plays.

However, Lolley is dead on in concluding that right now the Steelers aren’t getting their money’s worth out of Timmons.

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Jerome Bettis, Kevin Greene, and Bill Cowher Headline NFL Hall of Fame Ballot

Its only September, but the Pro Football Hall of Fame has already announced its list of eligible candidates for its 2013 class. Could this be another Black and Gold strewn summer in Canton?

It certainly is possible as several high-profile Steelers lead the lists. The Steelers best shot is Jerome Bettis, who played in the NFL for 13 years and retired after Super Bowl XL. Currently Bettis remains 6th on the list of All Time NFL rushers.

The Steelers next shot is likely former Head Coach Bill Cowher, who coached in Pittsburgh from 1992 to 2006, a span where the franchise won more games than any other NFL franchise. During that time Cowher only had 3 losing seasons, earned 8 AFC Central/AFC North division championships, 10 playoff appearances, two AFC Championships, and of course Super Bowl XL.

Gary Anderson is likewise eligible. Anderson of course played for six different NFL teams, but kicked in Pittsburgh from 1982 to 1994.

Kevin Greene only played 3 of his 15 NFL seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was in the Black and Gold that Greene first won national acclaim. The Steelers also give Greene his only Super Bowl appearances, which came in their losing effort in Super Bowl XXX. Greene, a member of the Dick LeBeau coaching tree, did get a return trip to the Super Bowl, serving as the linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV.

Art Rooney Jr.'s name once again is appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot. Often overlooked, Art Rooney Jr. is Dan Rooney's younger brother, and directed the Steelers scouting department and had a HUGE hand in drafting the players that would from the Super Steelers, who went to the mountain top in Super Bowl IX, Super Bowl X, Super Bowl XIII, and Super Bowl XIV.

Rooney Jr. probably will not make it in -- but that is a crime. He deserves induction into Canton, alongside his brother and father.

The HOF list also includes one strong Pittsburgh connection. Buddy Parker, who coached the Steelers from 1967 to 1954, appears on the list.  Parker was below .500 with the Steelers, barely, but did win two NFL Championships while coaching the Detroit Lions.

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