Watch Tower: James Harrison Slights Ben Roethlisberger, Profaning the Terrible Towel and More...

The Steelers took to the field vs. the Titans looking to answer a lot of questions. Suffice to say, Steelers Nation didn’t get the answer it wanted. But that led to a lot of interesting stories for the Watch Tower to shine its light upon but ironically the biggest story had to do with the week to come.

Silverback Scales Big Ben?

For as big as the Steelers loss to the Titans was, perhaps even bigger news is the impending match up with the Bengals which of course bring James Harrison up against his former team.

• In both the Steelers and Bengals locker room both factions studiously avoided providing (almost) any bulletin board material. 

The “story” as told by the Post-Gazette, Tribune Review, and ESPN was that James Harrison held no grudges, that this is all part of the business.

At least that’s the line that Ralph Paulk, Scott Brown, and Ray Fittipaldo held to in their stories based on the weekly conference call with opposition players (Ray Fittipaldo in fact parlayed the interview into two stories.)

There was one rather glaring exception, and it was only reported by free lance reporter Jim Wexell. Harrison had no ill words for the Steelers, but he did slight their most prominent player, Ben Roethlisberger.

As reported by Wexell Harrison had this to say on his Steel City Insider site:

Harrison did punch one Steeler in the gut. "They had a rough one," Harrison said of the Steelers' last game. "They lost their best offensive player they had in Maurkice Pouncey."

To his credit, Wexell made no attempt to blow the quote out of proportion, but did remind readers of how Harrison ripped into Roethlisberger in his infamous Men’s Journal interview in July 2011.

• Regardless, Harrison’s comment offers real news value.

If he’s trying to snub Roethlisberger by default, then that’s news. And if he sincerely believes that Pouncey is the Steelers best offensive player, that’s also news.

One can only speculate as to why this angle of the story was completely ignored by rest of the Steelers press crops. An easy conclusion is that they succumbed to pressure from the Steelers PR office. But that makes little sense upon further examination, as Wexell himself is a correspondent for Steelers Digest.

Either way, Wexell deserves credit for reporting on something that his colleagues ignored.

Steelers Supposed to Suck, Yet Still “Underachievers”

Few pundits preseason pundits picked the Steelers to do anything, but few were as strident as SI’s Don Banks. In his annual prediction column, Banks was merciless when it came to the Steelers, predicting a last in the AFC North finish.

That made his Tuesday column all the more interesting, when he labeled the Steelers as one of the top “underachievers” of the NFL’s opening weekend.

• So if the Steelers are really supposed to be bad, then how can they be “underachievers?” 

Banks never addresses that. To be fair, he did list underachievement as one of the weaknesses heading into 2013 saying Injuries, age and underachievement will combine to produce Pittsburgh's worst season since the Steelers plummeted to 6-10 in 2003.

• Banks’ post-Titans critique also had its flaws. 

However, Banks all but declares the Roethlisberger era to be over in Pittsburgh.

• Lest accusation of homerism should let fly, both Ben Roethlisberger’s short term health and longevity are very much in danger.

But if the story on the Steelers in NFL week one was “underachievement” then Banks picked the wrong poster boy in Roethlisberger, as he managed a pretty good game with very, very little help.

Profaning the Terrible Towel

The Post-Gazette’s Dan Gigler brought a very important story to light in his Blog and Gold column, when he informed his readers that the Steelers are desecrating the Terrible Towel with logos from other teams.

• That’s right, you can now get your Terrible Towel with Steelers and Titans or Jaguars logos printed on it.

This is near blasphemy and Gigler deserves a shout out for reporting it.

Lolley-Le'von Axis...r

Veteran Observer-Reporter journalist Dale Lolley did a little bit of his own Watch Towerism this week by calling out the rest of the press crops over the handling of the Le’Veon Bell injury.

Le’Veon Bell of course is the Steelers 2nd round draft pick who was all but anointed as the next Franco Harris/Jerome Bettis on the strength of a strong training camp, only to fall prey to a lisfranc injury in camp.

This fact was reported widely in August, although the severity of the story quickly diminished as it became clear that Bell didn’t have a lisfranc tear, unlike Matt Spaeth.

Bell himself had told reporters that he might return by week two, but that story got cold water thrown on it. Regarding the press’ handling of this pattern of events Lolley observed:

From the beginning, I reported that Bell had a Lisfranc injury. And, despite what some were reporting, Mike Tomlin never said Bell didn't have a Lisfranc injury.
He only said Bell didn't have a Lisfranc tear like the one Matt Spaeth did and that they were hoping he would recover without surgery.
The initial estimates on his recovery - not from the Steelers, but by reporters - was six to eight weeks.
So now, a story is written saying Bell will be out another month. That would put him right in line with the six to eight weeks that was being reported from the beginning of this thing.

Kudos to Lolley for his effort to keep a story in context and to hold his friends and colleagues accountable, albeit without naming them.

Lolley also offered some level headed thinking both immediately after the Titans game and on the Monday afterwards.

Wallace Watch Starts

In the 1990’s the Pittsburgh Steelers “enjoyed” an annual tradition of off season free agent exoduses. Perhaps none were as intently watched as Mike Wallace’s decision to bolt to Miami for a cool 13 million per year.

• The Steelers made it very clear, very early they were not going to pay Wallace that kind of cash.

One of the reasons why was that Wallace resented having to share the spot light with the likes of Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.

As many fans know, Wallace’s Dolphins beat the Cleveland Browns, but Wallace was limited to one catch for 15 yards. Dan Gigler shared a Miami Herald article which painted a picture of a deeply disgusted Wallace who had to be consoled by the team’s general manager no less.

For their part, Behind the Steel Curtain also offered its own piece, comparing Wallace to Keyshawn "Will You Just Give me the Damm Ball"  Johnson.

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Watch Tower: Dissention in Pittsburgh Over Jonathan Dwyer? Plus Hail to the Chief, Art Rooney Sr.

Cut down day always brings a flurry of news around the NFL, this year things were more active than ever at the South Side as the Steelers 2013 Roster contained some surprises, giving the Watch Tower plenty to focus on. And it begins by shining its light on a story that wasn’t told.

Dwyer:  The Glory and Agony of 140 Characters 

The biggest cut that the Steelers made the release of Jonathan Dwyer. Dwyer was not only their season leading rusher, he was also the only healthy back.

• Nonetheless, he got a visit from the Turk.

The fact that Dwyer’s roster spot was in jeopardy was not a surprise in Steelers Nation. On the blogesphere, (or at least at Behind the Steel Curtain) several articles and many fan exchanges rested on the premise that the numbers game would dictate that either Dwyer or Isaac Redman would be a goner.

But among the professional press, the conventional wisdom was that Dwyer was safe, esp. in light of the injury to Le’Veon Bell, as Jim Wexell’s tweet indicates.

This is why #Steelers wouldn't have cut Dwyer. They can win with him as feature back.
— James C Wexell (@jimwexell) August 15, 2013

To be fair, the arrival of Felix Jones complicated the picture, but the move to cut Dwyer was nonetheless a surprise.

Shortly after the move became public, Mark Kaboly  of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review dropped a bomb via Twitter:

One last thing on Dwyer ... it wasn't the coaching staff that wanted him gone.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) September 2, 2013

In journalism speak, Kabloy had a scoop.

News of the front office overruling the coaching staff on a personnel selection, regarding a past and potential future starter, is a tremendous news coup for Kaboly. In fact, such a morsel literally screams for more.

• Yet none was forth coming.

Not in the regular Tribune Review, not in the Steel Mill Blog (which still remains inaccessible from the Trib’s main Steelers site – yours truly had thought the blog had gone dark and needed to find it by Googling it), not anywhere else.

To make matters worse, Kabloy himself seemed to validate the need for more information in an additional Tweet.

24 hours later and it still makes no sense whey #Steelers released Dwyer.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) September 1, 2013

• The Watch Tower agrees… or at least it makes no sense that a further explanation was given.

Kaboly obviously learned that Dwyer had supporters on the coaching staff, perhaps the entire coaching staff, but that they were overruled by someone else in the organization, and since you can rule out the business and scouting departments, that leaves the front office.

Which means that someone named Colbert and/or someone name Rooney spoke up on the issue. What happened?

• Did the coaches split and Colbert/Rooney provided the deciding influence?
• Were the coaches united, but a cap conscious Kevin Colbert, with backing from Rooney, overruled them?
• Or did Art Rooney II just pull rank?

We know from Bob Labriola’s tweets that coaches had concerns about Dwyer, but no matter how you slice it there’s a story screaming to be told there, and one that goes far beyond the confines of Twitter’s 140 characters.

5 Bars of Hail to The Chief

August 25 marked the 25th Anniversary of the passing of a legend, namely the death of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr.

The death of Art Rooney Sr. was a touchstone moment for me, as it coincided with my renewed following of the team (not very easy to do from suburban Maryland in the pre-internet era.)

And although his passing had little impact on the Steelers, clearly Pittsburgh lost some of its finest citizens then.

• Credit the Post-Gazette for remembering the anniversary.

It was entirely appropriate to do so and the Tribune Review did not run anything on the Chief. Neither did ESPN, nor did any of the other major fan sites.

• Yet the commemorative piece(s) were not without problems.

The article dealt with the way in which the five Rooney sons divided their father’s possessions, and then offered perspectives on how each of the five Rooney sons, Dan, Art Jr., Tim, John, and Pat, felt about that day and provided some insights into the relationships that the men had with their father.

• The real issue was with the Post-Gazette’s presentation of the articles. There was one article which told the entire story. And then there were five other articles on each of the Rooney brothers.

The problem was that the individual pieces on the Rooney brothers were written as part of a single story, and not intended to be stand alone pieces. So if you clicked on one of the individual links, such as the story on Tim Rooney, the stories were disjointed, making references to events in other stories.

The Post Gazette did later provide some clarifying text and a link to the main story, but that was only after several people complained via Facebook.

PG Takes Shot at SEO?

One possible reason behind the Post-Gazette’s decision to publish multiple articles on the Rooney brothers is to catch more search engine traffic.

• SEO, for those not familiar with the term, is the art of trying to get your pages to rank well on Google (and Bing, for what that’s worth) so that you get more visitors to your site.

While the Watch Tower has not (yet) done any comprehensive assessment of how the various major Steelers news sites fare in SEO, some cursoury analysis shows them lagging behind the competition.

Search rankings for major Steelers related stories are frequently dominated by the likes of Behind the Steel Curtain and the Bleacher Report.

The decision to break the Rooney stories up into multiple pieces, could be a step towards changing that, as could their decision to create a separate landing page for what has been a rather impressive series of regular season previews.

Post-Gazette Goof on Dwyer

While the Post-Gazette’s regular season preview coverage was generally very good, they did let one rather glaring error slip through in Ed Bouchette’s Five Keys piece as the screen shot reveals:

Jonathan Dwyer had been cut by the time this ran...

• The problem with this piece is that Jonathan Dwyer had already been cut by the time this article ran.

Its normal (and highly advisable) to write stories like this in advance of publication, but going back and making these corrections is also necessary.

Steelers Today Goes Dark?

Finally, the Watch Tower notes, and laments, what appears to be the passing of a long established, well written fan site Steelers Today.

Steelers Today has been around for several years, dating back to about 2006 if memory serves. While the site was known for long periods of inactivity during the off season, it had been active up until the NFL draft.

However, attempts to access it now reveal that the domain registry has expired, seemingly signaling that the days one of the more prominent fan-based sites has unfortunately come to an end.

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Watch Tower: Digging Out Discord in the Steelers Locker Room & for Whom the Bell Doesn't Toll

The Pittsburgh Steelers have concluded training camp and the preseason, the roster has been trimmed, the waiver wire scoured, and the Steelers 2013 roster has been set, meaning that the time of the year when the media enjoys its most unfettered access to the Steelers players, coaches and front office staff is winding down.

With all of that access, what do they do with it? Let the Watch Tower take a look.

Kovacevic Gets to the Bottom of of the Steelers 2012 Discord

As the Watch Tower was critical of Pittsburgh Tribune Review Writer Dejan Kovacevic last season and it is only just that the Watch Tower now recognize Kovacevic for penning on of the top stories of this preseason/training camp.

Locker room discord was a major under current to the Steelers 2012 8-8 season, and since then there’s been plenty of dirty laundry aired – you know, critiques of LaMarr Woodley’s commitment to training, comments from Antonio Brown about players more focused on stats than winning.

And while the issue has been discussed by the press, Kovacevic went right to the leaders of the defense, Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu and addressed the issue and got both men to speak candidly about the dissension that infected their ranks in 2012.

• If you haven’t read Kovacevic’s column yet, do so. 

The role of the credential press in the digital age has been a focus of the Watch Tower lately, and its lights have not shied away from exposing some of the Steelers press corps recent failings.

But Kovacevic’s column shows once again just how fundamentally important it is to have seasoned reporters who have the relationship and the credibility to get straight talk out of players.  This bud’s for you Dejan.

Another Piece of the Todd Haley Puzzle Falls into Place

By now, for all of the talk in 2012 to the contrary, everyone knows that Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley had a rocky relationship last season.

• But apparently the Steelers signal caller wasn’t the only one on the outs with the new offensive coordinator.

And Steelers Nation has Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to thank for adding another key variable to the equation.

In writing about the maturing of the Roethlsiberger-Haley relationship, Ed Bouchette offered this:

Relationships with fellow offensive coaches and players never warmed up, and neither did the offense. Things seem to have changed a year later. Ben Roethlisberger, who called it "growing pains," opened training camp by saying he and Haley see more eye-to-eye. [Emphasis added]

One of the question marks that surrounded Haley’s arrival in Pittsburgh was his ability to work and play well with others. So the fact that he might have rubbed coaches the wrong way is nothing extraordinary.

But this is the first time that the Watch Tower is aware of that any journalist has reported that Haley had difficulties with his fellow coaches, and Bouchette deserves credit for reporting this fact.

A Word on Contracts

Kevin Colbert told KDKA News during the Steelers preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers that there were no on-going negotiations for contract extensions.

That fact in and of itself might not mean much, because the Steelers, while not negotiating contracts during the season since 1993, have been known to make 11th hour signings days before the first game.

• The question of who is eligible for an extension has been banded about greatly during camp and preseason.

But Dale Lolley of the Observer Reporter went out on a limb and predicted that the two most likely players to get extensions were Brett Keisel and Ryan Clark. Kudos to Lolley for having the guts to take a swing at a ball that’s barely within the strike zone.

Steelers Radio Goes Live in LATAM

Ed Bouchette shared some important news for Steelers fans in the very corer of the world where Steel Curtain Rising is written:

If you're not in radio distance, you can hear #Steelers games at http://t.co/UfOfVCIJbb free. There is one hitch http://t.co/07YL36wC0V
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) August 10, 2013

As Bouchette explained on Shuila, the Steelers began broadcasting their games live on the radio in Spanish via their website.

The team has a huge following in Mexico and their games have been broadcast in Mexico for at least a year.

• But now radio broadcasts will be carried throughout Latin American cast via the Steelers website.

The broadcast team does a good job and is clearly knowledgeable of the game (which is a plesant treat, during the Steelers 2010 road victory over Baltimore, one of ESPN’s Spanish commentators confused Dante Stallworth with John Stallworth. Several times he claimed that Dante was a former Steelers, until Raul Allegre finally corrected him.)

One element which the production can improve on is filling in the commercial gaps. During the Steelers loss to the Giants, instead of airing commercials there was dead air time – leaving anyone who stopped by the site at that time to wonder if they were indeed broadcasting the game.

• Absent commercials, they could have provided additional commentary, or provided free publicity to American football clubs in Latin America, such as the FAA (Argentine American Football league).

Listening to a football game on the radio doesn’t compare to baseball on the radio, but this is a wise marketing move for the Steelers.

Are the Steelers Injury Problems Really Worse?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been ravaged by injuries during the last several seasons. But its been an open question as to whether the Steelers are better or wrose off than the rest of the league.

Basic statistics such as starter games lost to injury are not available to the public, leading Art Rooney II to cite one number and a columnist of the Dallas Morning News to calculate another.

PA-VA Steeler from Behind the Steel Curtain took the matter into his own hands (full disclosure, I also writer for BTSC). Using the best available research, the BTSC scribe compiled the Steelers injury totals for the entire Mike Tomlin era and compared them with the rest of the league.

• Steel Curtain Rising’s editorial policy is not to steal the thunder of another writer, so you’ll need to check the piece to see the conclusion.

But the Watch Tower doesn’t need to spill the beans to call out BTSC for sedding light on dearly deserves it.  And again, the Watch Tower asks, why has the credentialed press not pursued this story more aggressively?

Bragging Rights for a Paper Champion?

BTSC also earns kudos for its film analysis of Brian Arnfelt. No one on the press talked about him, but as their film review reveals, he is one kid who really took advantage of his time on the field.

While Brian Arnfelt did not survive the Steelers final cut, he did make the practice squad. Scott Brown, whom ESPN recently poached from the Tribune Review, made mention of Arnfelt after he’d made the practice squad.

But BTSC singled this kid out first, and if he develops into to another one of Kevin Colbert's undrafted rookie free agent steals, BTSC will have “bragging rights.”

Watch Tower Gets Some Competition?

Again, the Watch Tower finds space to single out BTSC, this time for doing a Watch Towerish piece of their own. While not strictly Steelers related, Christopher Carter, rightly called out the NFL for pressuring ESPN to pull out of a documentary on concussions.

• The NFL has gone on the offensive regarding concussions this off season, which they have a right to. 
• Steelers.com has in fact published many well researched articles on the subject.

But the NFL’s only fooling themselves if they think that pressuring broadcast partners to kill projects like this will some out make the concussion issue “go away.”

For Whom the Bell Doesn’t Toll

Finally, without a doubt, the hottest Steelers story in July and early August was the emergence of second round draft pick Le’von Bell. Both the professional press and fans making a pilgrimage to St. Vincents have been at a loss to describe how good Bell has looked.

Mike Tomlin has long been loathe to anoint starters, but there was little surprise when Gerry Dulac reported 3 days before the Steelers preseason opener vs. the Giants that Bell would run with the starters.

On the morning of the game, Ed Bouchette declared:

A new era that harkens back to an old one could begin at Heinz Field tonight when the Steelers play the New York Giants in their first exhibition game.

• Bouchette then went as far as to compare Le'Veon Bell's preseason debut to that of Franco Harris….

…By the time it was all said and done, it was the debut that never was, as Mike Tomlin made Bell a scratch due to knee soreness.

The Watch Tower does not want to single out Bouchette on this one, as the entire Pittsburgh press crops was caught flat footed on this one, in spite of the fact that these reporters are living, working, eating, and sleeping along side the Steelers franchise while at St. Vincents.

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Watch Tower: Right or Wrong, ESPN's Chadiha Simply Fails to Understand the Steelers

ESPN’s Jeffri Chadiha recently weighed in on the Pittsburgh Steelers prospects for 2013, and Steelers Nation will not like his conclusions. In a nut shell Chadiha says that the Steelers are destined for a downswing on the level that epic franchises such as the Redskins, Cowboys, and 49ers experienced.

Chadiha projects the Steelers as a third in the AFC North with 8-8 likely their best possible outcome. Chadiha’s overall argument has some merit. He could in fact be right. But the Watch Tower is more interested in deconstructing how Chadiha builds his argument.

ESPN’s Chadiha on What Ails the Steelers - Offense

The base of Chadiha’s argument for the demise of the Steelers can be summed up in two sentences:

The offense has quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a ton of questions. The defense is old and missing key performers from a unit that led the league in total yards allowed in 2012.

Right off the bat, the Watch Tower finds bones to pick with Chadiha’s methodology. Taken at face value, his breakdown of the offense appears to be correct, on defense, not so much.

• So just what are those questions the Steelers face on offense in Chadiha’s eyes?

The first two specifics that Chadiha’s cites are these:

It has been years since Roethlisberger has taken snaps behind an offensive line that could be described as sturdy and it's anybody's guess as to how well he'll coexist with offensive coordinator Todd Haley this season.

On the issue of the offensive line, Chadiha is right. The last time Ben Roethlisberger had a quality offensive line in front of him was 2007…

…And while Steel Curtain Rising has been beating the drum, the fact is that the Steelers have done quite well instead of offensive line deficiencies, particularly in Super Bowl XLIII.

• This is the first instance of Chadiha being (potentially) right, but through no fault of his own.

Offensive line remains an issue. The issue however is more one of health and depth rather than quality. Chadiha fails make that argument, and ignores the fact that the Steelers have invested heavily in building a high quality offensive line in the form of Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Ramon Foster, Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams.

Chadiha is on firmer ground when it comes to the Ben Rothlisberger-Todd Haley relationship but only slightly. As the Watch Tower pointed out, the press saw lots of smoke there in 2012, only to have Ben and Haley say all the right things, which worked fine until Bob Labriola of the Steelers Digest outed them after the season.

• But Chadiha ignores what have to be at least a dozen stories detailing how Haley worked constructively with his coaches and players to open up the offense.

It would seem that any argument for the Steelers demise that’s based on the Roethlisberger-Haley relationship would have to take those developments into account. Chadiha doesn’t.

Chadiha also talks about the Steelers dismal 2012 running game and the loss of Mike Wallace and now Plaxico Burress.

• Again, these are potential issues, but he also ignores potential remedies. 

As Steel Curtain Rising has argued, the performance of the Steelers running game in 2012 was directly proportional to the health of the offensive line. In this respect Chadiha’s in good company – everyone else is also missing this.

Mike Wallace will be missed, but Chadiha ignores the fact that Wallace’s attitude has been at issue, and that he’s largely developed into a home run or bust type player.

Furthermore, there are other arguments Chadiha could use in his favor but fails to do so. The Steelers will open the season with David Paulson as their number 1 tight end. Emmanuel Sanders has a lot of potential, but his health has been suspect.

As for losing Plaxico Burress, Burress could have contributed, but he was projected to be a 4th or 5th receiver at best, and was no lock to make the team.

Deconstructing ESPN’s Chadiha on What Ails the Steelers – Defense

The bulk of Chadiha’s argument on the defensive side lies in the perceived age of the defense. Its as if Warren Saap’s “Old, slow and done” pronouncement has been recited enough to somehow take on an air of truth – facts be dammed.

In this respect, Chadiha focuses on the age of the Steelers secondary and ignores tendencies elsewhere. As Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review pointed out in may, the average age of the Steelers starting defense is projected to be at 29.3 years, almost two years younger than its 2011 predecessor.

• And such analysis doesn’t factor in likely increased playing time from younger players such as Cameron Heyward, Jarvis Jones, Shamarko Thomas, Al Woods and possible Marshall McFadden.

Perhaps the biggest potential liability facing the Steelers defense is how they’re going to compensate for the absence of James Harrison’s run stopping ability is one that Chadiha leaves untouched.

Deconstructing Jeffri Chadiha ESPN -- National Media's Failure to Understand the Steelers

All of these flaw’s in Chadiha’s methodology lead to one larger, and more fatal, flaw in his overall approach. Chadiha just doesn’t get how the Steelers operate. After detailing the franchise’s legendary stability and success he goes on to observe:

That level of success is the major reason it's so hard to envision their impending demise now. They've always beaten the odds. They've rarely stayed down for long. Just when it seems they've lost one too many key performers, another unheralded contributor steps up his game. This team seemingly can do no wrong at finding players to fit most pressing needs.

The Steelers have been so good in this department that they've never had to go on a spending spree in free agency. The coaches simply waited for their draft picks to grow up, step in and live up to expectations. But that formula will not be as reliable this coming fall. There are too many holes for the Steelers to fill. It's hard to believe they can be that fortunate at every position requiring an upgrade.

This team actually needs to get back to its roots before it ever can become championship-caliber again… [Emphasis added.]

There are a couple of issues here.

Have the Steelers always beaten the odds? Well, they’ve been better than many, but what about 1980’s? Sure, they never quite hit bottom the way say the ’88-’89 Cowboys did, but the period doesn’t exactly serve as an example of Steelers excellence (Steel Curtain Rising’s beloved 1989 Steelers not with standing.)

Indeed, one of the issues weighing down the Steelers in ‘80’s was their unwillingness to part ways with aging veterans and an inability to keep drafting and scouting aligned.

• Note, these Steelers have taken pains to avoid that.

Indeed, it wasn’t until Dan Rooney fired his brother Art Rooney Jr. that the Steelers drafting improved. (If you think that is a stretch, the firing occurred in late ’86 – Chuck Noll drafted Rod Woodson in 1987 and Dermontti Dawson in 1988 in addition to players like Hardy Nickerson, Merril Hoge, and Greg Lloyd.)

The other issue is Chadiha’s interpretation of the Steelers attitude towards free agency. He claims “[the Steelers] never had to go on a spending spree in free agency.”

Really? The Steelers had multiple times when they could have opted for wholesale rebuilding via free agency in the mid and late ‘90’s, the ‘00’s, and even in this decade.

• They never have gone on a free agency spending binge because it goes against the philosophy of the franchise.

The fact that Chadiha simply misses or doesn’t get this really cuts into his credibility as a commentator on the team.

One final criticism of Chadiha. He ends his piece saying that the Steelers need to get back to their roots, implying that it is not something in the offing, when a large part of the Steelers offensive plan going into 2013 is to take advantage of the tendency to build defenses to protect against the pass by running on them.

• Now the Steelers aren’t exactly announcing this strategic shift on their home page, but if a blogger in Buenos Aires with no direct access to sources can learn this, so should a reporter from a network with a billion dollar contract to cover the NFL.

In the final analysis, Chadiha’s predictions for gloom and doom in Pittsburgh in 2013 could turn out to be right. The Steelers have little to zero margin for injury on the offensive line and perhaps the secondary. A number of other things must work exactly as planned.

But Chadiha’s methodology and understanding of the franchise is so flawed that if he is right, the Watch Tower will say he is right be accident, and will award no bragging rights.

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Watch Tower: ESPN Poaches Scott Brown from The Tribune Review

In depth coverage of individual NFL teams has long been the province of the big daily newspapers, a tendency that shows little trend of breaking as the internet reaches its second decade.

• ESPN, however, has never been shy about its ambition to break that trend.

Over the last several years, ESPN has been launching its own mini-sites directed at individual cities. ESPN Chicago, ESPN New England, ESPN New York etc….

Back in 2009 or so ESPN made a run at the Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette. At the time Dulac alluded to this in an on-line chat, and later Ed Bouchette was quite explicit.

• ESPN didn’t get Bouchette or Dulac, but they did get the Tribune Review’s Scott Brown.

Scott Brown joined the Tribune Review in 2006 and covered the Steelers as their main beat writer until 2012, when Allen Robinson took up those chores and Brown departed to cover Penn State – although the move was apparently one that Brown requested.

• Either way, Brown now has a bigger stage to show his talents.

While Brown was the junior man on the Steelers beat, the Watch Tower noted several times when he out hustled Ed Bouchette. Two that quickly come to mind are:

• Taking Stefan Logan’s chances to make the team seriously early in 2009 training camp when Bouchette wrote him off without a second thought
• Informing readers that it was Flozell Adams who approached the Steelers and not the other way around in 2011 after Willie Colon's injury

Scott Brown’s duties covering the Steelers will begin tonight, with his preview of the Steelers-Redskins game.

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Watch Tower: Are the Renegade Steelers the NFL's Next "Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine?"

The Pittsburgh Steelers opened training camp as a team looking to fulfill a host of needs and the press has done its best to keep Steelers Nation up to speed covering a wide range of topics, giving the Watch Tower ample subjects on which to shine its light.

Renegade! BTSC On-Line Pre Season Magazine Subdues Traditional Press

Sports publications ramping up coverage at the start of NFL training camp goes back decades – who can forget the early 80’s Sports Illustrated commercials that ran in early July talking about “a time when hands are taped and protected…”

The mainstream Pittsburgh media has been no exception, but this year they were outfoxed by Behind the Steel Curtain and its “Renegade” on line magazine, featuring 26 articles in 26 hours (which didn’t quite reach that goal to a technical snafu.)

In case you're missing it: #Steelers preview posts every hour today to celebrate training camp, and they're all here: http://t.co/JpMC0PagAD
— BTSC Steelers (@btsteelcurtain) July 26, 2013

What’s more amazing is that the 26 articles were written almost entirely by site editor Neal Coolong, despite the fact that he’s got one top Steelers blogging staffs at his disposal (full disclosure, I also write for BTSC.)

When asked about why he undertook such an ambitious project, Coolong explained, “…I go big or I don’t go at all.” Beyond that, Coolong expressed a desire to produce coverage that offers readers something different than other sites provide.

For example, he intentionally chose video highlights on the Steelers 3rd round pick Marcus Wheaton that underscore his likely role in Todd Haley’s offense, as opposed to trying to ride the “Marcus-Wheaton-is-Mike-Wallace” coat tails.

Similarly he took a more sober, but substantive look at 2012 first round draft pick David DeCastro, opting to review video highlights that show DeCastro’s struggles in the Steelers losses vs. Dallas and Cincinnati in addition to highlights that show some of his promise.

• Likewise, in his piece of Jason Worilds, Coolong chose to focus on what he considers the under covered story of Worilds struggles with injuries as opposed to the unenviable task of replacing James Harrison

While Coolong declined to provide specific numbers, he did say that traffic was good, although perhaps not necessarily better than it would have been had he opted for a more conventional approach.

• Regardless of traffic, it is BTSC’s unconventional thinking that the Watch Tower salutes

With respect to the traditional press, both the Tribune Review and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured stories pushing the yin vs. yang nature of this Steelers training camp.

Allen Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review wrote that the normal crush of national media and talk about Super Bowl expectations was absent at St. Vincent, but then contrasted that with quotes from Larry Foote and Ryan Clark who of course vowed that the Steelers would prove the critics wrong.

Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette attempted to weave a similar piece together drawing upon his drive to Latrobe, quotes from various Steelers, and a reference to ground hog issues St. Vincent’s have been having.  The Watch Tower has long recognized Collier as one of the nation’s wittiest and most insightful sports writers, but whatever he was trying to do in this article quite frankly did not work.

Ray Fittipaldo Joins PG Beat Staff… Then Disappears

Post Gazette Fittipaldo has done occasional pieces on the Steelers since OTA’s in 2010, providing Steelers Nation with some of their first insights on Jonathan Dwyer, for instance.

At the opening of Steelers training camp, Ed Bouchette announced that Fittipaldo was now working the Steelers beat full time for the Post-Gazette. Fittipaldo then did the opening day a video with Bouchette (where he looked a tad bit uncomfortable on camera.)

• The funny thing is, during the week since, Fittipaldo’s bye line has appeared only once.

Its way too early to make anything of this, but it is peculiar to say the least.

Meet Sanders the Steelers New Stud Speedster, Deep Threat

Emmanuel Sanders gave Steelers Nation one of the most interesting stories during the Steelers 2013 off season. First Sannders had an offer with New England. Then he didn’t (or at least Sanders didn't sign New England's offer sheet). Then Sanders did sign it. Then the Steelers were going to let Sanders walk. Then, with Ben Roethlisberger's support, the Steelers matched the offer and kept Sanders.

• And now Sanders is a Steeler again (and wants to stay one apparently.)

The Watch Tower chronicled the Sanders story, and observed that most of the professional press was of the opinion that the Steelers should let Sanders walk and take New England’s third round pick.

• Those arguments had some merit, but they do add irony to some of the early lead stories on Sanders.

Jim Wexell offered an excellent free piece on his subscription site Steel City Insider, titled “When Did Sanders Get So Fast.”

Dejan Kovacevic wrote a piece titled “Call Sanders the X-Factor” and discussed how Sanders had taken over Mike Wallace’s slot as the “X” receiver. The Tribune Review's Steel Mill Blog also focused on Sander's as a downfield threat.

The Steelers the NFL’s New “Lean Mean Fighting Machines?”


The clip is of course from the timeless ‘guy movie’ Stripes.

The movie was released just as the Super Steelers were entering their decline, but if press coverage is to be any guide, the 2013 Steelers have taken John Candy’s “Ox” character’s mantra as their rallying cry.

A quick (and very unofficial) survey of press stories shows that no more than four focus on or at least detail weight loss on the part of the Steelers.

• The Tribune Review told us about how Isaac Redman dropped 10 pounds and has seen an immediate difference in his running style.
• Ed Bouchette tells us that Jonathan Dwyer lost between 25-30 pounds in the off season (now why did Dwyer let his weight go up so much, again?) 
• Gerry Dulac wrote a story on how Cameron Heyward is tying his hopes of winning a starting job to weight loss.
• Dulac also dutifully told us about how Marcus Gilbert also shed extra pounds on coach’s orders.

Kudos to Dejan Kovacevic for tying it all together and saying what some fans suspected -- last season too many Steelers were out of shape.

At this point it might be apt to include another clip for Stripes, the one where Bill Murray’s character inspires “Ox” to victory in a mud wrestling match with the “Lean Mean Fighting Machine” mantra, but that clip is not on YouTube and this is a family site.

And perhaps it wouldn’t quite be fitting, as Ed Bouchette did do an article about Steve McLendon’s use of ballet al la Lynn Swann, where he also observed that McLendon "officially" gained 40 pounds from his rookie listed weight of 280....

Steelers Salary Cap

John Clayton, former Pittsburgh Press and current ESPN writer, gave Steelers Nation some hope following the 2013 NFL Draft, when he told fans that the Steelers were more or less out of the woods in salary cap trouble. Happy story, right?

• Not so fast.

Behind the Steel Curtain has done two salary cap pieces taking issue with Clayton’s conclusion. The first went as far as to suggest (citing a Yahoo! article) that the Steelers might need or want to reduce their 2014 salary cap burden by parting ways with expensive veterans, such as Ryan Clark and/or Brett Kesiel.

And BTSC threw further cold water on Clayton’s argument, by providing some analysis that suggest that the NFL’s upcoming TV contracts won’t do much to lift the salary cap – filling in the gaps on what has been a greatly under covered story, both nationally in Pittsburgh.

Steelers Special Teams History Under the Microscope

Bob Labirola did a feature on the Steelers history with special teams in the recent Steelers Digest. One interesting nugget to come out of the story was on Bobby April’s departure.

When Bobby April left Pittsburgh for New Orleans after Super Bowl XXX, word was that he found Bill Cowher too demanding. Labriola sheds a little light here, asserting that the April-Cowher dispute was over who got credit for calling the surprise on-sides.

Not sure what the issue is here, as one NFL Films clip clearly showed April suggesting it to Cowher, Cowher agreeing, and radioing Chan Gailey about the decision.

• Labriola’s article is good, but the Watch Tower has two bones to pick.

First, there is an error, as Labriola claims that errors in the Steelers 1987 finale vs. Kansas City led Chuck Noll to hire his first special teams coach. Unfortunately the ’87 Steelers finished their season with a home loses vs. Houston and Cleveland (I remember listen to the latter game on the PA Turnpike -- it was my introduction to Myron Cope.)

Second, Labriola does a good job of singling out some of the higher profile speicla teams breakdowns in Steelers history, but ignores the quality special teams the Steelers enjoyed under George Stewart, Ron Zook, and Kevin Spencer.

If you're interested in learning more about the Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde nature of the Steelers special teams (sniff, sniff, if you've read this far you probably are,) then click here for Steel Curtain Rising’s article on it.

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Watch Tower: Doing a Double Take on Tomlin's Coaching Changes, Plus Heyward vs. Hood

The NFL press credential unlocks access to a world that fans only dream of visiting – the NFL locker room. Many argue that social media diminishes if not eliminates the need and role of the traditional press.

• There’s some truth there. 

The internet, YouTube, blogs, streaming video, Facebook, and Twitter connect players, coaches, scouts, front office staff, and owners with fans in ways that Joe Gordon, Steelers Communications director during the Super Steelers era, never dreamed of.

• Yet a press credential remains invaluable. 

Simply because it gives accredited members of the Pittsburgh Pro Football Writers Association daily access to those self-same players, coaches, and scouts.

Yes can Steelers.com picks and chooses post-game quotes that Twitter, Facebook, ESPN.com, FOX Sports quickly recycle. Sure, Art Rooney II can change the spin of a story by using a video interview to explain that he didn’t mean the Steelers offense needed to run more just that it needed to be able to run better.

• These mediums have their impact, but they also have their limits.

And that’s because beat reporters establish build relationships players and coaches. They make small talk by the water cooler and in the lunch room. They’re privy to numerous 60 second “off the record” 1-1 elevator rides, parking lot exchanges and, yes, urinal conversations.

Credentialed Steelers press writers have an excellent feel for what gets said in private, behind closed doors, when the tape records and cellphone cameras are put way.

The Watch Tower has long suspected that many if not most of the Steelers press corps writers frequently know a lot more about the stories than reaches the light of day.

• And that’s what makes our first case so interesting.

Revisiting the Sean Kugler, Amos Jones and Scotty Montgomery’s “Resignations”

Steelers Nation knows well how Mike Tomlin said his coaching staff would be back in January 2012 after the Steelers suffered their playoff “Tebowing” in Denver only to have Art Rooney II pulled rank and fired Bruce Arians.

• The move drew a firestorm converge, and the attempt to pass it off as a “retirement” made the Steelers look bush league.

Mike Tomlin started the Steelers 2013 off season off with three coaching changes, which collectively got less coverage than the Arians fiasco.

Perhaps that was a mistake, because it appears there was a story behind the story...

• ...Depending on who you listen to.

But this plot takes an interesting twist. This is no case of local rivals peddling competing stories or even of the local press vs. the national press. No, this time the Watch Tower shines its light on divergent stories coming from the same publication….

Bouchette vs. Dulac with Blog Posts at 30 Paces….

In just two days in mid February PG Plus readers got a treat that gave them their money’s worth for a month.

On Monday the 11th, Ed Bouchette directly suggested that the resignations of Tomlin’s assistants were less than voluntary. And in doing so, he reported several interesting new facts.

Bouchette characterized Amos Jones move to Pittsburgh West, aka Arizona, as a “side ways move” and pointed out that Jones joined the Steelers as an assistant and only got the special teams coordinator job due to Al Everestt’s mysterious firing.

Although he doesn’t report any new facts, but reminds readers that Jones didn’t get the job after Bob Ligashesky got fired in 2010, and suggests that Tomlin either told him he would be demoted or suggested he find a new job or be fired.

Scottie Montgomery’s departure is Bouchette’s next target, and hits the bull’s eye with some new facts. Bouchette begins by reminding us that the Duke PR department was nebulous about what Montgomery’s new duties would be, and that a move from Pittsburgh to Duke is hardly a step up the career ladder. Then he delivers the goods.

We were told that Montgomery did not exert enough control over the wide receivers the past season and, with Hines Ward no longer around, the students ran the classroom and became more undisciplined. Their performance on the field certainly would back that up.

Although Bouchette does not mention this, the hiring of Richard Mann provides further evidence to support his claim. Anyone who saw his draft day press conference could easily see that Mann exudes and air of “Been there, Done that.

Bouchette closed by taking a look at Sean Kulger’s decision to accept the head coaching job at UT El Paso, suggesting that he might have at least been motivated by a philosophy class with offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Haley’s new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell has in fact installed a new, run blocking scheme.

So here we have an inside story from the Dean of the Pittsburgh press corps telling us that Tomlin’s coaching changes were as much about house cleaning as they were climbing the career ladder. Case closed, right?

Not so fast.

• Only a day later Gerry Dulac penned another PG Plus story telling a very different tale.

Dulac began by attacking the notion that the changes were a case of “rats leaving a sinking ship” and went as far as to state:  “And none were made because of any conflict or dissatisfaction with Coach Mike Tomlin.”

Dulac pointed out that Kulger’s chance to return to his alma mater was simply “too good to pass up.” In discussing Amos Jones move, Dulac reported that Jones got more money and a longer contract than was presumably available in Pittsburgh.

In discussing Montgomery’s return to Duke, Dulac says:

But Montgomerie [sic] was said to very friendly with Tomlin and, according to one assistant coach, was reluctant to leave Duke the first time to join the Steelers.

Bouchette vs. Dulac Who to Believe? 

So here you have two reporters for the same publication, telling very different stories based upon what they see from behind the scenes on the South Side. Who to believe?

Of all of the moves, the departure of Kulger’s appears to be the most straight forward. He got the chance to return to his roots, and presumptively would have stayed in Pittsburgh had that opportunity not surfaced.

There’s likely truth in both men’s rendering of Amos Jones’ departure. Jones quiet likely could have stayed in Pittsburgh, but only in his old role as a special teams assistant.

In the case of Montgomery, the Watch Tower is prone to believe Bouchette. The wide receiving corps was supposed to be Pittsburgh’s strength last year, but "Young Money," aka Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, and Emmanuel Sanders, played more like a penniless group of receivers, much to Ben Roethlisberger’s chagrin.

• There is one thing that both Bouchette and Dulac agree on, one that is perhaps a little disturbing for Steelers fans. 

In discussing Montgomery’s move, Bouchette observed this “If Tomlin – or someone above him – didn’t force Montgomery out, his move to Duke is a strange one indeed.”  Dulac went a step further, and finished his article suggesting:  “Of course, sometimes what Tomlin wants and what actually transpires are two different things. Just ask Arians.”

While the idea of Art Rooney II involving himself in Mike Tomlin’s staffing decisions  isn’t in and of itself bad, one would hope that Art II would emulate macro-manager Daniel Rooney and not micro-manager Daniel Snyder.

Which Way is Heyward Heading?

One of the the most important story lines at Steelers training camp in St. Vincent’s will be the development of Cameron Heyward, the Steelers 1st round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Cameron Heyward’s limited contributions as a rookie drew good reviews, however opinion of his second year development remains split.

Ralph Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review wrote a feature-length article admonishing Hewyard to “step it up” commenting that:

The Ohio State product begins his third season amid a cloud of uncertainty.
He isn't likely to supplant Ziggy Hood or Brett Keisel in the starting lineup, but he can dictate how much playing time he'll get — and how his future will be shaped.

To back up his argument, Paulk cites any number of statistics on Heyward’s production, and quotes Heyward himself discussing how he’s fallen short of his goals.

However, Kyle Curry of the Pittsburgh Sporting News also ran an article on Heyward last week citing statistics that show Hewyard out performing Ziggy Hood on a snap-by-snap basis, and he informs that Ed Bouchette is reporting that Heyward has a chance to replace Hood in the starting lineup.
Heyward’s development, and the press’s coverage of it will be interesting to see.

Smizik on Wallace

The final off season installment of the Watch Tower would not be complete without comment about retired Post-Gazette columnist turned blogger Bob Smizik’s criticism of Steelers salary cap management and free agent decisions.

• Mike Wallace, as everyone knows was one of the top available free agents, regardless of position and was expected to command at least 10 million per year and he eventually got closer to 12.

Keeping Wallace, in Smizik’s view was essential for the Steelers, and the retired scribe all but implied that the Steelers needed to do what was necessary to keep him. And in the same breath, he slammed the Steelers for being so tight against the cap that they couldn’t make an offer.

• That’s right – slam the team for not writing Wallace a blank check in one breath, while slamming them for salary cap problems in the next.

Sounds like the same guy who criticized the Steelers for drafting Rashard Mendenhall without taking Willie Parker’s feelings into account, and then complained when Mendenhall wasn’t getting more carries early in ’08….

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Watch Tower: Coverage Lapses Call into Question Role of Daily Newspapers in the Digital Age

Regular readers of Steel Curtain Rising’s Watch Tower know the column has been particularly harsh on the mainstream press lately. While the Watch Tower’s purpose is to cast a critical eye on the Steelers press converge, that doesn’t mean such commentary needs to be negative.

• In fact, in many cases that Watch Tower has been quite complementary. 

But there’s a pattern of non-coverage of important stories emerging here, and one that deserves deeper discussion.

Add Moorman to the List

Recently the Watch Tower took aim at both the Post-Gazette and Tribune Review’s decision to completely ignore Doug Legursky’s defection to the Bills.

And for good reason, the decision to let Legursky leave could come back to haunt the Steelers given the need to protect Ben Roethlisberger. The motives behind the Steelers decision deserve to be discussed.

• Unfortunately, this non-coverage is not an isolated example.

Former Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl Punter Brian Moorman signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on April 30th. The news was picked up by a mix of professional and fan based sites, ranging from Behind the Steel Curtain to NBC’s Pro Football Talk.

However the news first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in May 25th. In an ironic twist of word smithery, Ray Fittipaldo lead’s went like this:

The under-the-radar signing for the Steelers this off season came two days after the draft ended and barely made a ripple in the news cycle…. 

Was Fittipaldo attempting to make amends for his paper’s omission a legitimate news story, or was it just coincidence?

Steelers Nation will probably never know, but the issue raises some very relevant questions as to the purpose and role of the sports pages of the traditional dailies in the internet age.

If A Free Agent Leaves But The Papers Don’t Covers It, Does It Make A Sound?

The Mooreman’s signing is only the latest in a series of news stories that have gone un or under covered by either the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and/or the Tribune Review.

• Last year Mewelde Moore signed with the Colts with only a brief mention in PG Plus.
• Steve McLendon was wooed by the Packers, which was reported by the Post-Gazette, but the decision to resign him was not, save for something on PG Plus. 
• The Tribune-Review ignored the McLendon story, save for a brief mention on Twitter
• Doug Legursky’s departure went uncovered by both dailies
• Isaac Redman’s decision to sign his restricted free agent tender went unreported, save for mention on Twitter by the Tribune Review’s Mark Kalboy
• News of Mooreman’s signing appeared in the Post Gazette almost a month after it happened, the Trib ignored it completely

While much of this non-coverage involves free agent signings it extends to other areas. For example, the major dailies all dutifully reported the decision to put Justin King on injured reserve. Information on the nature of his injury was absent. (Granted losing Justin King in June isn't quite like losing Willie Colon.)

Former Steelers coach Bill Austin passed away earlier this off season. While the Tribune Review’s Alan Robinson wrote something on his death, the Post Gazette published a Bloomberg News article written by someone else who listed Ed Bouchette as a contributor.

There’s a pattern here.

Trying to Find Rhyme or Reason

Let’s give the devil his due, and discuss possible reasons for why these stories got no coverage, because they do appear to be deviations from editorial policy.

For example, the potential and then actual departures of Will Allen and Ryan Mundy were fully covered by the major Pittsburgh dailies. Both moves were legitimate news involving minor players.

• In contrast, however, both Moore’s departure in ’12 and Legursky’s loss in ’13 arguably represented losses of more significant contributors. 

One possible explanation is that both Allen and Mundy’s departure’s occurred in heat of free agency, where as Moore and Doug Legursky left after the draft during the NFL’s only true off season when attention ebbs.

• While that fact may mean decreased public interest in the stories, it does nothing to make them less newsworthy.

Similar (potential) explanations exist for the non-coverage of Isaac Redman and Steve McLendon’s signings. Both occurred days before the NFL Draft, an event whose coverage has taken on monstrous proportions of its own.

• But again, does this justify non-coverage? 

Hardly. Losing McLendon would have all but forced the Steelers to draft a defensive lineman in the first or second round.

By a similar token, reports indicated that their were at least some parties on the South Side who were concerned that Bruce Arians would attempt to lure Isaac Redman to Pittsburgh West. Had Arians done so at the last minute the Steelers almost certainly would have lost “Redzone Redman.”

The fact that this possibility went off the table when Redman signed his tender was news. It deserved coverage.

What Is the Role of a Daily?

Steelers fans of course had myriad other means to learn of this information, via Twitter, fan sites, ESPN and sports talk radio.

But if that is the argument/explanation for not covering stories like that then the counter question becomes quite caustic:

• What is the purpose of the sports section of a major newspaper?

Most dailies (at least the Pittsburgh dailies) don’t offer the types of in depth analysis pieces that you find on fan based sites like Behind the Steel Curtain (full disclosure, I also write for BTSC).

Presumptively the reason is because they feel their focus should be on more traditional “news” stories that can be tied conversations with the newsmakers themselves.

That’s a defensible position from a purely journalistic perspective, although one that is likely not a sustainable digital age strategy for two complimentary reasons. First, fan bases’ appetite for “content” on their favorite teams remains nearly boundless. The second relates to the bottom line – profitability and page views go hand-in-hand in the digital world.

• But the traditionalist journalism argument completely falls flat when dailies simply begin ignoring legitimate news stories. 

Because if the dailies fail to make themselves “one-stop-shops” supplying all of the basic news about a particular team in an objective format (as opposed to team websites) then fans both can and will stop visiting their sites….

…The Watch Tower very much wants to see traditional newspapers make the transition to the digital age, and in that vein it suggests that the editors of the Post-Gazette and Tribune Review have a little soul searching to do.

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