Friendly Fire from Steel Tank
Maddox Goes Down and Stewart is Showcased as the Steelers Regress
-Sunday, Tommy went down in a heap of humbled flesh and needed trainers, doctors, EMTs an ambulance and perhaps the grace of God to regain his faculties. In the meantime, in steps Kordell Stewart - a man with as fragile a psyche as Maddox has a physique. Behold, Kordell played extremely well. It does not matter if it was against a soft D down by a ton or that he failed to use Burress. He played well, looked confident and eager to help the team. Nothing should ever be said about Kordell's desire to succeed and to compete.
-Could there have been a better marketing ploy than to allow Stewart to come in and throw for two TDs? Could there have been a better marketing ploy to do it after being bench when he's not really played bad, but just not good? Could there have been a better advertisement for Stewart to replace a QB with the best feel-good story of the NFL this year when he's lying unconscious and prone on the turf? Well, to make it complete, the Steelers should let Stewart air it out against the woeful 1-9 Cinci Bengals this coming weekend. The immediate future of the Steelers could very well depend on it as well as the off-season. Should Stewart shine once again, his performance would make a lasting impression on any QB depleted team. In particular, Jerry Jones would certainly take note of Stewart's performance when making decisions for his team this off-season. Getting a second round draft pick for Stewart would not be out of the question if Stewart is allowed to excel in the coming weeks.
-Steeler fans everywhere should give Stewart all the support he needs in the coming weeks. It's been a strange ride for all parties involved - Stewart, Cowher, the Pittsburgh faithful and the entire NFL. Stand, take note and give final respects, the Slash era in Pittsburgh is making its final curtain call.
-In order for Kordell to excel, Amos must be the starting RB - I'll say it again one last time this year - Bettis is fat and slow and the writing is on the wall for him. He should have opted for retirement this off-season. The Steelers are a much better team with Amos at any point in the game. Their failure yesterday was to insert Bettis into the line up and go back to old way of doing things. With someone as fast as Amos, Stewart would be armed with many weapons on offense against sub-par competition in the coming weeks. Winning these games, just as much as passing stats, will make Stewart a much more desirable commodity in the off-season. They do not need to keep giving respect to an out-dated, oft-injured RB who has seen much better days. I love him and he's been great, but park the Bus.
-The Steelers were probably looking for any excuse to take a week off Sunday and got one 15 seconds into the contest when Maddox hit Ward on a beautiful play-action pass. As someone mentioned to me, most every team takes a week off here or there during the year and the Steelers are no different. The big-play gave Pittsburgh a sense of relief and they simply relaxed. Not much more can be said about the performance of the Steelers on either side of the ball - it was at best a weak effort. With that in mind, there is no reason to get down about the outcome of this game or should there be any reason to panic. The Steelers are still in very good shape heading into the home stretch.
-Todd needs to go. I'm certain when he trots onto the field women and children are sent weeping to the next room no longer able to witness such calamity. Considering the Steeler goals for this year, there is no reason why this man is still on the roster. Even though Todd's ineptitude will not cost the Steelers a spot in the playoffs, the goal for this team is to win in the playoffs. The Steelers should have realized long before now that they cannot win with this man kicking the ball in January. Unfortunately, the Steelers have squandered 11 weeks of the season with Todd and now must find a new kicker very soon so he can become acclimated to the sod in Pittsburgh. That is, if their goal is to win in the playoffs...
-Green Bay lost to the Vikings Sunday, the Raiders lost 4 games in a row, the Rams lost 5 in a row - the Steelers have yet to hit their stride. It is quite possible that this season will begin in January for Pittsburgh. It is quite possible that the Steelers will figure out exactly what ails them and right the ship just in time for a Super Bowl run. In the NFL these days - never say never, and with the talent the Steelers have - it is more than possible.