Usually when the Steelers play the Colts I'll sit on the edge of my bar stool expecting a 2,000 yard pass from Manning to [insert receiver who just torched the dismal secondary] on every play. This year? Not so much. The Indianapolis Colts without Peyton Manning is about as frightening as this:
(This pussy has a healthier neck than Peyton Manning)
So, I'll definitely be getting what I like to call "Steelers Trashed" this Sunday afternoon in preparation for the prime time game. So, before I begin my weekend preparations, I thought I'd take the time to outline what I believe the Stillers need to do to win this weekend.
1. Run the ball.
This is paramount. 111 yards after two games? Even Mendenhall knows that that is not nearly good enough. But it doesn't end with Mendenhall. Maybe Tomlin should give Isaac Redman some more touches. He's looked excellent in the first two games when spelling Mendenhall. The Steelers need to control the clock to keep their old, and completely washed up defense (right Sapp? Idiot.) fresh for the entire game.
2. Protect Roethlisberger.
Obvious. With a prima donna act last week that even that stupid fuck Terry Bradshaw would be proud of, Ben reminded the "offensive" line that they played offensively in the second half...and they did. I understand it was difficult for Foster and Gilbert to adjust to starting roles that were not theirs to start the week, but this week is going to be more difficult. Robert Mathis and Dwight "Schrute" Freeney are perennial pro bowlers. If I were Arians I would run more draw plays up the middle and more halfback screens because let's face it, the "offensive" line is not going to stop those two from hitting Ben.
3. Cover one receiver and one tightend.
That's it. Stop Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark from running routes. Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Anthony Gonzalez, etc., are really not that dangerous without Peyton Manning. Wayne has 100 more receiving yards than anyone else on the team, and ranked second is Clark. Bump and run coverage would be key, as Wayne is more of a downfield receiver, and that's how you stop tightends anyway. Hit them. I would like to see Ike Taylor use that club hand to bitchslap Wayne on the first play of the game. Set the tone Taylor.
4. Use Cam Heyward.
Ziggy Hood is starting in place of Beardzilla, so use Heyward to spell Smith as often as possible. The Colts are terrible at running the ball, give the young guy some game time.
5. Get intimidating.
Enough said.
I'm sure there are other things that they can do, but I don't want to sit here and type for 12 hours. On a side note, I think Peyton Manning should win a Posthumous NFL MVP Award. Even the Patriots did well without Tom Brady a couple of years ago thanks to Matt Cassel. The Colts' showing in the past two weeks is the biggest indication that no player means as much to their team as Manning does to the Colts. With all of the neck surgeries, he may not be back this season. On the plus side, he just acquired an amazing doppelganger.
I've never liked Warren Sapp. I have always found him to be obnoxious, overbearing, and drastically misinformed for a football "analyst". When he played, sure he was a good tackle for about a year, but he could never keep is gaping mouth shut. Always getting in fights with a good commissioner, man I miss Paul Tagliabue, fighting on the field, fighting with the other team during warmups, and I'm pretty sure he even picked a fight with Christopher Reeves after the horse.
Well Warren, enjoy your foot, assbag. This dickpickle lambasted the Steelers' defense after their embarrassing loss to the Ravens for being too old and slow. A 24-0 victory over the piss poor Seahawks is enough to shut even his mouth...if only for a week, or a day, or even one fucking hour would be sweet.
Whatever happened to commentary that was based on facts and solid analysis? Now you turn on ESPN, or the NFL Network, or read Sports Illustrated, and they are all flooded with idiots like Sapp. Former players who can't let the spotlight go, but are quite unsuited for their current position. I blame the likes of Dan Marino, Phil Simms, Chris Collinsworth, etc. because they are former players who are actually good commentators. They actually watch game tapes, talk to players, and it shows in their work. Warren Sapp? Not so much. He just talks, and talks, and talks, until the point where I want to punch him right in his dickhole.
Sapp was probably just pissed that Heinz Ward won Dancing with the Stars, and Sapp is just a fuck.
There are only two possible things that could have stirred me from my post-Super Bowl literary coma, and those things are:
1. The Steelers losing 35 to 7 on opening day
2. A display of ass-holery unparalleled in the annals of football lore
We all know where this is going.
Yes, the Steelers put forth one of the worst efforts I've ever seen, from them anyway. It would make sense that the Postmaster General was in attendance with the way the Steelers mailed that one in. Zing.
The defense looked terrible, and was constantly gashed for yardage. The defensive line was smacked around harder than a paper towel dispenser. Bryant McFadden was victimized. That's the only word for it. He should fill out a police report, he was abused. In fact, the entire defense needs to go to the police station and fill out a hit and run report. They got run the fuck over.
It is possible that everyone was weighted down by huge sacks of money after the Steelers JUST GOT DONE PAYING EVERYONE BIG DAMN CONTRACTS. Maybe a refund is in order.
-Not that I'm bitter. If I get a raise and completely phone in 1/16th of the work year, my ass is fired. Just kidding, I don't work.-
The offense looked equally as horrific. The ol'Arians appeared for a good stretch. You can tell when you can easily predict the next play. Here's a hint...run...run...pass...punt. Not that Mendenhall could run anywhere. Nor could Rothlisberger complete a pass to his own damn receivers. Seven turnovers. Tastes like yesterday's vomit is in my mouth.
But hey, at least the Steelers aren't the classless Raven fucks. Two point conversions when up by three touchdowns, throwing thirty yard bombs with the game clearly in hand, going for it on fourth down when you could instead make a thirty yard field goal. Football karma is going to slap you in the face hard, John Harbaugh.
It must suck to be John Harbaugh. Think about it. He goes through his entire life and is completely overshadowed by his brother...and rightfully so. A life of being second banana certainly can explain why John Harbaugh is a classless piece of dog shit. Let's compare the pile of dog shit John with his brother Jim.
College football career (from their respective Wikipedia pages):
Jim:
Harbaugh played for the junior league Ann Arbor Packers, then for Tappan Junior High, going on to Pioneer High School and then toPalo Alto High School in California, where he graduated in the class of 1982.[3] He was a four-year letterman at the University of Michigan and finished his college career in the top five in passing attempts, completions, completion percentage, passing yards, and touchdown passes in school history. Playing for Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, he was a three-year starter, though he broke his arm five games into the 1984 season and sat out the remainder the year. As a junior in 1985, Harbaugh led the nation in passing efficiency and quarterbacked one of Schembechler's best teams. The 1985 team posted a 10–1–1 record, defeated Nebraska in the1986 Fiesta Bowl, and finished with a #2 ranking in the final polls, the highest finish for Michigan during Schembechler's tenure as head coach. As a senior in 1986, Harbaugh guided Michigan to an 11–2 record (which included his guaranteed victory over arch-rival Ohio State, which Michigan won, 26–24 in Columbus)[4] and a berth in the 1987 Rose Bowl while earning Big Ten Conference Player of the Year honors and finishing third in the Heisman balloting. Harbaugh was also named to the Big Ten's All-Academic team, as well as the 1986 AP and UPI All-American teams. He held the career NCAA Division I FBS passing efficiency rating record (325–399 completions) for 12 years.[5] He led the nation in efficiency in 1985.[6]
John:
Harbaugh graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during which time his father, Jack, was an assistant under Bo Schembechler at the nearby University of Michigan. He played collegiate football for Miami University, where he was a defensive back. He wasn't very good. He was commonly seen with one thumb in his mouth, and one in his ass, crying for hours while repeating "I'm John. I'M JOHN!" He would also switch thumbs.
NFL Career
Jim:
Harbaugh entered the NFL as a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 1987. He played seven seasons for the Bears and passed for a career-high 3,121 yards with them in 1991.From 1994 to 1997, Harbaugh quarterbacked the Indianapolis Colts, and in 1995, achieved career highs in completion percentage (63.7) and touchdown passes (17). While with the Colts, during the 1995–96 NFL playoffs he led the team to the AFC Championship game and came within one dropped Hail Mary pass of taking the Colts to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1970. In 1995, he was voted to the Pro Bowl, was named Comeback Player of the Year and AFC Player of the Year, and was runner-up in the NFL MVP voting. With the Colts, Harbaugh completed 746 of 1,230 passes for 8,705 yards and 49 touchdowns and won the NFL passer rating title in 1995 with a rating of 100.7. In January 2005, Harbaugh was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor as one of the most successful and popular players in the club's Indianapolis era.After a last-place 3–13 record in 1997, Harbaugh was traded to the Baltimore Ravens (based in the Colts' former home city of Baltimore, Maryland) to make room for 1st overall draft pickPeyton Manning. During the 1998 season, Harbaugh was the starter but would split playing time with eventual bust Eric Zeier. Then he played two years with the San Diego Chargers. In 1999 he led the Chargers to an 8–8 record, but in 2000 the Chargers finished with a 1–15 record behind Harbaugh and first-round bust Ryan Leaf. Harbaugh signed with the Detroit Lionsprior to the 2001 season, where he was expected to backup incumbent starter Charlie Batch. However, on the eve of the regular season, the Lions cut him and traded for Ty Detmer. Harbaugh then closed out his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers in 2001, where he dressed for 6 games but did not compile any statistics.For his NFL career, Harbaugh played in 177 league games with 140 starts. He completed 2,305 of 3,918 passes for 26,288 yards with 129 touchdowns. Particularly during his time with Indianapolis—such as when he led the Colts to come-from-behind wins over the Chiefs and Chargers in 1995–96 NFL playoffs and a near upset over the No. 2 AFC seed Steelers—he earned the nickname "Captain Comeback" (the second player to be so nicknamed after Roger Staubach) for his ability to win games in the fourth quarter after overcoming significant point deficits.
John:
John Harbaugh is the brother of the more impressive Jim Harbaugh. For Jim Harbaugh, see above. For John Harbaugh, check the "Brother of Someone Better than me Because I'm a Piece of Dog Shit" category where you can also find Charlie Murphy, any Baldwin not named Alec, Maggie and/or Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie Wahlberg, Ben Affleck (Casey is much better), and Frank Stalone.
This is for you John:
Even if it's not true.
John Harbaugh can rot in Hell...but I guess that Baltimore is bad enough. I've seen The Wire. I know what Baltimore is like.
WTAE has an exhaustive list of fan songs for the upcoming Super Bowl. I say exhaustive because I was exhausted from listening to garbage. I've compiled what I thought to be the best of the lot. (Which means that they are.) The people making these songs clearly love pop music, but with the base turned high enough even those songs are tolerable.
Enjoy.
And of course:
If I missed any you personally feel are the best, let me know and I'll add them immediately.
I just recently finished reading an article on ESPN.com, written by David Fleming, which paints the Steelers as the dirtiest franchise in sports. The article can be found here:
David Fleming brought up some very good points, several of which I did not know about. For example, the apparent widespread use of human growth hormone (HGH) in the Steelers' locker room in the 70's. I can't defend the use of HGH, nor can anybody else confirm the validity of the accusations. I would like to point out, however, at the time it was not illegal and nobody knew the long-range effects of the drugs. (Imagine if in twenty years Gatorade is banned in the NFL for causing extreme anal fissures.)
The one part of the "article" that really got me to think was a section earlier in the piece where he called out the number of arrests for the Steelers since Super Bowl XL. As this is really the only accusation which can be backed up with evidence, I've decided to look at the numbers myself. Don't worry, I'm not going to pick an arbitrary starting point to alter the numbers and improve my case, Fleming. I'll start at the year 2000 and count from there. (Source is a database provided by the San Diego Union-Tribune.)
I'm an expert at repertoire and Excel. Take a look:
What you see here is the number of arrests a football team has experienced (in blue) with the number of those cases which the charges were dropped (in red) since the year 2000. What you may notice is that the blue bar for the Steelers hardly jumps out from the mean. (Don't let David Fleming know this...it hurts his point.) Further, the average number of arrests in this ten year time span is 17...almost two arrests per year per team. Fleming would lead you to believe, from his very specific and detailed reference in his article, that the Steelers are leading the pack in arrests.
False.
As a matter of fact, Pittsburgh has netted only 16 arrests in the past 10 years, and four of those cases were dropped, leaving a grand total of 12 cases prosecuted. I would also like to point out that of those 12 cases, Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes each account for two.
Now for my Fleming reference: the Green Bay Packers have had 12 arrests in 10 years with zero drops for a grand total of 12 cases prosecuted. Kudos to David Fleming for skewing numbers in his favor.
I think the real cause for alarm in this chart is the apparent quality of several groups of NFL lawyers. Green Bay, Philadelphia, and St. Louis might need to find new counsel as they have had zero dropped cases in 10 years. On the other hand, San Diego might want to give their lawyers a raise as fully 55% of their charges become dropped. Super Chargers!
Fleming's article definitely resulted in me wondering what other stories are out there regarding football players' fallouts from the 60's to the 80's. Unlike Fleming though, I don't get paid to look into such curiosities...so I guess in the end he wins.
I'll end this post with a countdown. Everyone loves countdowns. How about the top ten mugshots in recent NFL history? OH YEAH! (Source is the San Diego News Network. San Diego really loves this stuff, I guess.)
10. Cedric Benson
The Bears' star was arrested in 2008 for drunk driving in Texas, though he claims he wasn't drunk. Yeah...right.
9. Deion Sanders
Sanders was arrested in 1996 after being caught trespassing on land owned by the Southwest Florida International Airport while fishing. Moron. I bet he was "fishing".
8. Michael Irvin
Irvin was arrested in Texas in 2005 after cops found a marijuana pipe with residue tucked in the driver's seat of his Mercedes during a traffic stop.
7. Rae Carruth
Carruth's arrest is noteworthy as he ended up being sentenced to 18 years in prison. He murdered his pregnant girlfriend after he allegedly conspired in her death and the death of her unborn baby in an attempt to avoid child support payments. Mission accomplished, I guess.
6. Randy Moss
Moss was arrested in 2002 after he allegedly drove over an office who attempted to give him a ticket. He was also booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
5. Fred Lane Jr.
Lane was arrested by police after cops found a loaded assault rifle in his trunk in 2000. Apparently he had a reason to carry the gun, as he was subsequently found shot to death by his wife.
4. Ray Lewis
Lewis was arrested and charged with murder in 2000 following the stabbing of two men at an Atlanta nightclub. Lewis later pleased guilty to obstruction of justice and served 12 months on probation. Not guilty my ass.
3. Plaxico Burress
Enough said.
2. OJ Simpson
Not here for what you think. Simpson was sentenced to prison on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping charges in 2008. Where oh where was Johnny Cochran then?
1. Michael "Mad Dog" Vick
Also, enough said.
Jeff Reed did not make this list ONLY because I couldn't find his mugshot. Here is the closest replacement available:
Ever had a hard time starting something back up after a break? Yeah. Unfortunately for both of my avid readers, real-life caught up to me for a while. However, I would like both of you to know that I have decided to shirk my real-life responsibilities, and concentrate on what is really important. Steelers' Super Bowl. You hear that real-life? You can suck my magnificent dick. ON TO THE SUPER BOWL!!
But first...
I have about nine weeks of Gaper Awards to give out. Fuck it. They all go to that blathering assclown Rex Ryan. Would you like to know the best part regarding the AFC Championship game? When me and a bar full of Patriots fans were all cheering..."Fuck you, Rex Ryan". I know someone who isn't disappointed to see Rex de-feeted.
Yeah, that shit's real. More excellent Super Bowl Coverage to follow.
