Below are a few of my initial thoughts.
-The Steelers are still not going to the playoffs unless several AFC teams are sucked into the ground by a massive earthquake so don't get your
hopes up for this season.
-The Steelers seem to be playing better. The defense took a second straight shutout deep into the 4th Qtr before giving up a score. There have been
big improvements from the Ravens game and earlier in the season. This is something they can build on for next season if they continue to play
hard. I'm not saying they have to win the rest of their games but they need to play Steelers football (tough defense and run the ball effectively).
-Wakeup! They played TB and the Brownies, two terrible teams especially on offense (not to mention against one rookie and one first start QB).
This was not the Ravens or even Carolina (good team not having a good season).
-Parker continues his hot or cold play. When he's on, he's red hot! When he's not, he looks like a FA RB who barely played in college. Don't get
me wrong, I'm a Parker fan but it's driving me nuts wondering which offense will show up each week. I clearly understand that a lot of this is due to
the play of the OL. When they've stunk, Jim Brown would find trouble getting yards (that was when Cleveland had a good team and a good RB). Is it
that they're playing better (300+ yds rushing) or is it they're playing bad teams that have probably given up their season? It could also be a
combination.
- I know I felt the ground move here in Washington, DC several times from Anthony Smith's big hits). How many of the Brownies WR drop balls were due to his
hits and them looking over their shoulders? We need to find a way to get him on the field more and especially against Cincy and all their big WRs.
Having Troy and Smith in the secondary at the same time would be like having a wrecking crew. They'll demolish any WR foolish enough to catch a ball
in their area.
-Cowher's future is still up in the air but there were some recent events. It looks like the NC State job is filled but the report of Chris
Collinworth's off camera discussion with Cowher leaves one to believe he's got one foot out the door. At this point I really don't care but Cowher
must make his decision before the end of the season or very soon afterwards. If he leaves, this will allow the team to decide on his replacement. There
are probably half a dozen or more teams that will be looking for new head coaches next year and the team must be prepared to get the right coach to fit
into this organization. Even if Cowher stays the other teams will look at Grimm and Wisenhunt as HC candidates. Chances are that one or more coaches
will move on to higher positions on other teams.
-I still hate Thursday games due to the very short week. The only positive is that the team gets 10 days off to rest all the bumps and bruises they
have from playing three games in the last 12 days. Obviously, the person who proposed Thursday games never played in the NFL. We were lucky it was
the hapless Bucs and Brownies at home both games rather then some contender on the road. Thursday games should be limited to the start of the season
or right after a bye week. I'd be complaining a lot more if we had lost either or both games.
-The rest will be needed to get Ward, Troy and the host of other starters that have missed both or one of the last two games. We'll need them.
-Carolina will be a good test (playoff contender and hostile crowd) to see if the Steelers are playing better or just playing better then the last two
terrible teams they played.
-Remember, we just gotta play one game at a time.
Still Kold