Stink, Stank - Stunk!
It was a pitiful beginning for a "Super Bowl" team on National TV Monday. And yet, there is perhaps a book to be written in what could be a dreadful trilogy - the final chapter to be played out this January in the playoffs...
Some foreshadowing was perhaps found in the remarks easily and casually coming from the team "Leaders"
just 24 short hours after the season was underway.
Faneca: "We got our butts kicked" - Aw, Does Little Cindy Loo Who need a drink of water?
Plax: "We got Whipped" - Are you afraid of something?
Ross: "BURP" - Too much roast beast for this slob.
Ward: "It was a learning Experience" - What are we still trying to figure out?
FU: "Live and Learn" - 15 yards on the Learning Curve is still no good.
And the Last, The Grinch, Billy Cowher: "We missed a very makeable FG"
Well, Thanks Bill, that's a huge vote of confidence for your new kicker. Why single him out?
Is he the only one on your team worth your time or does it just make you feel like a big man?
Just tape antlers to his head next time.
If this game meant nothing and one loss means nothing, think again:
...What started in low, began to grow - "We ARE THE CHAMPIONS"
Soon, the Patriot fans were singing "We are the Champions" - In The Third Quarter! - as if they too felt
that winning the Super bowl last year was not yet validated because of the fortune that fell their way.
The Grinch could do nothing - Patriots victory came - it came just the same.
Eenough of this.
Pittsburgh lost more than just a game, they lost the mental edge.
Should they face the Patriots again in the playoffs, one must wonder if they have the stomach for such a rematch.
Afterall, The main reason the Steelers beat out the Ravens last year was because they were not afraid of
Baltimore and Baltimore knew it. The Ravens did everything they could to intimidate the Steelers, but nothing worked.
Just two games and two defeats later against the Patriots, the Steelers have found themselves on their collective knees hoping
that the whipping will stop. Hoping never to play the Patriots again.
This should not be the attitude of a championship caliber team. Too much respect is being given and not enough anger and passion is being generated.
The expectations this year are still nothing less than a Super Bowl. Yet, should the Steelers face the Pats again, they would expect more of the same...
How can a team with such high aspirations sound so defeated physically and emotional after only one game? Where will the courage and leadership come from?Still Learning. More Questions that need answered.
Oakland comes to town Sunday - the Steelers better be a quick study or they may begin to question themselves right out of the Super Bowl.