Steelers Bengals Postgame
The Steelers let a pathetic team in the Cinci Bengals march up and down the field all day Sunday en route to a 3-point victory in overtime. Never before has the ineptitude of Billy Cowher shown through so brightly as it did against the Bengals. If Cowher was so concerned about Dick Lebeau having a head coaching job next year then maybe Cowher should resign so the Steelers can get Dick. Because that�s exactly what Bill Cowher must have been looking for yesterday � allotta Dick!
Bill got his all right � the slow sweeps to Fu did nothing to bother the Cinci defense. The soft defense was just what the doctor ordered for the Cinci offense lead by John Kitna who, just a week prior, was having heated words with one of his wide receivers during the Raven game. What does Cowher allow Kitna to do? He allows Kitna to stand in the pocket the entire afternoon and throw, throw, throw:
68 passes � only 2 sacks!
410 yards passing � one interception!
544 yards of offense � no pride, no respect and no killer instinct!
Wow � Embarrassing is not strong enough a word � shameful is more to the point. I would had rather found myself naked and drunk with the words of resentment and revulsion written upon my chest than had found myself in a Steeler uniform Sunday.
Do you think Mike Martz � a man with cunning and killer instinct would have let the Rams loose such an easily winnable game? NO � Martz would have had his Rams up 50 points at halftime and he never would have relented. The Steelers and Bill Cowher are back to their old tricks � just stay in the game, let�s not offend anyone or embarrass anyone or cause anyone to loose their job.
I�m not sure if Cowher and Dick Lebeau met before the game in some deep, darkened closet, but if they did � I hope Lebeau screwed Cowher as good and hard as Cowher screwed the Steelers and the City of Pittsburgh Sunday.
Make no mistake � this loss matters. It is a clear indication that the coaching staff on this team still lacks any kind of killer instinct. Indeed, it would seem that this attitude has now infested the Steeler players who went through the motions all day. Stewart was disinterested, the defense was uninspired and the Special Teams cost the Steelers yet another TD, another FG, another extra point and perhaps another lost generation of Steeler fans eager for a Super Bowl victory.
The problem is this team is not good enough or dominant enough to "turn it on" when the playoffs roll around or at certain junctures of the game. They need to be continually focused and ferocious or the intensity and confidence they labored to mature all season will be lost heading into the playoffs. The end result will be a deflated and ordinary Steeler team in the all too familiar position of losing at home in January. Such is life with Bill Cowher at the helm.
Thanks Bill � Dick Lebeau might keep his coaching job now. Fantastic. The next time Cowher needs to help a former colleague, maybe he should just settle for a reach around..
Excuse me � I�m about to be sick as I�m sure all fellow Steeler fans are about to be at such an abysmal effort. Such is the stench of mediocrity when greatness should bare your name for all to see.
Steel Tank.