I apologize again to anyone who may have been following along. Things have been difficult for my family, and even though I've still been following the NFL and especially the Steelers, I haven't been in the mood for blogging. I took some time to go over posts from the last few weeks, and you've all had some insightful comments. Hello again, and I hope you have all been well.
The most common talk about the Steelers right now has got to be how fortunate the team has been to have their bye week right now. The first five weeks proved absolutely brutal -- of course, that seems to be going around the NFL this year, with Week Six claiming Cowboys QB Tony Romo among others. Willie Parker will be returning and fresh, backed up by Najeh Davenport and Mewelde Moore, and our ground game should punish the poor Bengals, who look to be anticipating more getting out of this season with their stripes still on their helmets than actually winning games.
Just how blessed are the Steelers to have such depth in the backfield? Willie Parker goes down, and Rashard Mendenhall steps up. Mendenhall goes out for the season and Mewelde Moore takes the burden in Week Five, cranking out 99 solid yards and looking for all the world like he was the starter from the beginning. Gary Russell even turned in a solid performance in the Jacksonville game. Can any other team claim this depth of talent? I am utterly amazed.
On the flipside, the offensive line just is not getting the job done. Max Starks is sitting on his duff, not being played, and Ben Roethlisberger is meeting the turf so often I'm surprised there aren't romance rumors going around. Something has got to be done. Move Willie (what is it with us and guys named Willie?) Colon over, put Starks back on the line and get some pocket protection going. If our backs can do as well as they are with little help from the front, imagine how they'd do with active protection and lane creation working for them.
I was actually pulling for the Ravens this past weekend, because I have a close friend who's a Baltimore fan and also because, frankly, I hate the Colts with a blazing passion. I have great respect for Tony Dungy and I also respect the Colts' players, but I am utterly tired of all the Indy hype. I am hoping this season will show the talking heads that the Colts' time is done, for now. Unfortunately, the Ravens didn't get the job done. The Bus called it, according to Peter King, just after Indy went up 14-0. "This game is over," King reports Bettis saying. And he was right. I stopped paying attention.
Monday night -- what the hell happened there? The Browns put the hurt on the champs? Romeo Crennel, you mastermind! You had me thinking your team was completely useless! You must have planned that from the beginning to fool the Giants, right? Right? You had us all going, Romeo. Good job! What a kidder.
Hearty congratulations to the Arizona Cardinals for getting it done on Sunday. I'm starting to believe Kurt Warner's resurgance isn't a fluke, here. Amazing how they don't seem to miss Anquan Boldin. Wait until Bolding gets back, then watch out.
If the Steelers can successfully pull off a West Coast offense against Jacksonville, imagine how they'd do with the Wildcat.
Speaking of Romo, I can hear the wailing pretty well all the way from Dallas. It's up to the Giants to decide who owns that division. The Redskins had better remember where they are and what they're doing if they want to try to keep up. Not so sure McNabb and his Eagles are a valid threat there, but we'll see. Might be wishful revanchist thinking on my part.
So here it is, Tuesday morning, and already I can smell the paint on The-Wide-Receiver-Formerly-Know-As-Chad-Johnson's back. It's a big bullseye. Carson Palmer is due to sit this one out, though I'm not sure who the Bengals will start in his place. Will it be Ryan Fitzpatrick again, or will they go with Carson's little brother Jordan? We shall see. It's always interesting when we take on our division rivals, though that's about the only thing generating interest at this point. Expect this game to be very close to the "only if you don't have yardwork to do" category in the game ratings on SI.com. The Steelers have had time to heal. Ben will continue connecting with Hines Ward and Heath Miller, and Willie's going to tear up the turf. Easy win for the black and gold; I'll call 28-10.
