Friendly Fire from Steel Tank
Just a few shots and thoughts of the Steelers at the midpoint of the 2002 NFL Season:
-The Steelers are about where everyone should have expected them to be. A game out of the top spot in the AFC with the easy half of their schedule to go. One might have expected them to be 6-2, but they lost to a couple of gimmicks the first two games of the year but have since recovered. The gimmicks, New England and Oakland, have inadvertently fallen on their swords in a dramatic and humbling collapse. The Patriots may have righted their ship while Oakland looks a bit old, banged up and just plain tired. Still, the Patriots seem to be back to the gimmick offense by throwing 2 yard outs and screens and little else. Not too much genius and scheme involved in this - there is not a more overhyped coach then Belichick.
-The remaining schedules for all AFC East and West teams are somewhat brutal - this is excellent news for the Steelers. With only a couple of tough games left, the Steelers could quite easily finish 13-3 or 12-4. At worst, they will finish 12-5 and AFC North champs with a first round bye, but this would hardly be considered an accomplishment.
-Based upon the two facts above - the Steelers should finish strong and make it to the AFC championship game at the very least. They are dinged up a bit, but certainly do not have any serious injuries to contend with at this point. Therefore, the expectation is for the Steelers to be the front-runner to make it to the Super Bowl. There shouldn't be any excuses if they do not. Any easy second half schedule means easier games, probably fewer injuries, a better record and confidence heading into the playoffs. To clarify, 11-5 would be failure - 12-4 or 13-3 are very attainable and should be what the Steeler FO expects from coach Cowher and his football team.
-The recent fines for big hits and the ridiculous number of roughing penalties are taking away from the game and may unduely influence the outcome of a big game or a playoff game if the current climate continues. However, it will and needs to continue. The reason for this is simple - litigation. Unfortunately, the NFL must crack down on hits and behavior that could lead to injury and perhaps loss of life for the sake of league. The fact that the players choose to make a living by playing a violent sport doesn't matter. When people choose to smoke for 40 years and eat McDonald's and then request a kickback of tens of millions of dollars, the NFL has to consider it's burden of responsibility to its players. The league will continue to fine and continue to preach about hits to the head and players in vulnerable positions. The league has begun and will continue to tell the coaching staffs of every team to coach their players differently on how to tackle and hit. They must do this for the long-term finincial benefit of the league. It is not a matter of protecting the players, it is a matter of not appearing to protect the players and the cost of litigation that would follow. The days of the NFL promoting itself with big hits and jarring tackles is over. It wouldn't take too many disgruntled athletes and a few greedy lawyers to attack the NFL on charges that the league promoted the violence of the sport to the detriment of the players. Maybe this wouldn't bankrupt the league, but all good things come to an end.
-The NFL cannot admit this publicly, but should still be applauded for its efforts. When low-life's like Johnnie Cochran are around trying to oppress the NFL into ridiculous hiring practices and when a private club like Augusta National is being forced to admit women as members, is it any wonder why the NFL has taken this seemingly drastic apporach? Until legislation mandating tort reform is passed and the basic premise for the Amercian way of life is simply re-affirmed that people are free and responsible to choose what is right for their lives, businesses like the NFL must do whatever they can to minimze the risk of litigation.
-As much as some of these calls are absurd, Kudos to the NFL for having vision.
-Bettis is still fat and should not be considered the starter going into any game. Instead, Amos and Bettis should be given equal attention during practice and game-day. How much weight Bettis has gained the past two weeks is anyone's guess...
-Ward and Burress are approaching the top tandems in the league in skill and playmaking ability. They are an awesome duo right now and should get better as the season progresses.
-Maddox has started out well and is certainly better than Stewart. However, he is prone into making poor decisions and throws a flat ball into coverage too often. Much like Stewart, Maddox does not go through his reads and has never looked off a safety. He can be taught this with time, but it doesn't seem like he has even begun to learn this skill.
-Jason Gildon has been injured all season - there is no other explanaiton for his absence and poor play.
-Kris Brown sure does sound good right about now - then again, he missed two field goals this weekend. The FO did a great job of signing players this off-season, but their scouting department laid a huge fat goose egg where 32 year old Pederson is concerned. This KC castaway is the worst kicker in the leauge - in the meantime, the KC Chiefs picked up 42 year old Morten Anderson. Why would a team pick up an aged kicker like Anderson and get rid of someone much younger that could be their kicker for years? When the younger kicker has less of a future than the aged kicker.