This was a tough game to watch. In summary, the Eagles defense dominated the Steelers offense, recording 9 sacks and beating the crap out of Ben Roethlisberger. It appeared that the blitzes were not picked up and the running game. The graphic from PD Steel below shows the record sack pace that the Steelers are on. Suffice to say, something needs to be done to protect Big Ben.
In this week's Monday Morning Quarterback by Peter King, he discusses Hines Ward and Bill Dudley in his 'The Way We Were' section. An excerpt:
From one Steeler to another, Ward and Dudley have much in common. Dudley is one of the most versatile players of all time. Ward is one of the most versatile players of his time.
In post-war 1946, Dudley, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound halfback-defensive back, led the NFL in rushing, interceptions and punt returns. He played nine war-interrupted seasons, moving from Pittsburgh to Detroit to Washington, and when he retired, one of the problems in judging his legacy is he had a sort of a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none label. "People just didn't know what he was,'' said Pro Football Hall of Fame VP and historian Joe Horrigan.
Well, I'll tell you what he was -- an all-around player who, along with Sammy Baugh and Chuck Bednarik, should be in a separate Hall of Fame wing for all the ways he impacted the game. Dudley scored nine ways. He threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown, caught a pass for a touchdown, recovered a fumble and ran for a touchdown, returned a punt for a touchdown, returned a kick for a touchdown, returned an interception for a touchdown, kicked an extra point and kicked a field goal. Digest that.
Ward, an inch taller than Dudley, isn't as accomplished across the board, obviously. No player in the last 50 years has been. But Ward is 28th on the all-time receptions list with 734, has run the ball 55 times in his career (many on quirky Cowher-era trick plays), returned nine punts and kickoffs, and had 42 special-teams tackles.
He's even a threat to pass, having been a college quarterback at Georgia, and is among the top blocking receivers in the game. At 32, he is still Ben Roethlisberger's go-to guy, leading the Steelers in reception with 15 -- five more than first-round prize Santonio Holmes.
Asked once if he wished he was known as a franchise receiver rather than a gritty possession receiver, Ward responded the way Dudley would have. "I just want to be known as a good football player,'' he said.
This week's Tuesday Morning Quarterback by Gregg Easterbrook discusses the pending sale of the Steelers organization and current owner Dan Rooney's attempts to keep the business in-house. An excerpt:
What If Your Brother Wouldn't Let You Have $88 Million? Pittsburgh businessman Stanley Druckenmiller last week withdrew his offer to buy the 64 percent of the Steelers owned by the four Rooney brothers who are not Dan Rooney. These brothers are feuding with Dan, who has in effect control of the team despite owning just 16 percent, and also are under a cloud with respect to the NFL, because they are involved in the racetrack business and NFL rules forbid anyone with an ownership stake in a team from being involved in gambling. Residual respect for Art Rooney, founder of the Steelers who died in 1988, is why the league has let his four racetrack-linked sons get away with an obvious violation of rules. But the league is uncomfortable with this, and wants the brothers bought out. Druckenmiller's offer was in effect rebuffed by Dan Rooney. If Druckenmiller acquired 64 percent he would have clear voting control of the team, wiping out Dan's unusual insider position that allows him to run the team despite lacking a voting majority. (Dan owns 16 percent and has proxy for another 20 percent owned by cousins, but that's still only a third.) Dan wants to remain in command, so endless impasse regarding the brothers' stock serves his position.
He offered to buy his relatives out with shares of Lehman Brothers.
The brothers wanted Druckenmiller to prevail, because he offered $800 million for their position. That's $200 million per brother; Dan has been offering each brother $112 million for his stake. Imagine if you had a business proposition that would bring you an extra $88 million, and your big brother said no! Thanksgiving dinner must be real fun in the Rooney household. Note Druckenmiller's offer values the Steelers at $1.25 billion. Last year, when real estate developer Steve Ross bought half of the Dolphins for $500 million, this valued the team at $1 billion, highest in American sports for a franchise sale. One year later, in a slack economy, Druckenmiller just valued an NFL franchise in a smaller city at 25 percent higher. And was rebuffed!
College Football:
(4) Florida 30 Tennesee 6
The Florida Gators traveled north to Tennessee and kicked their butts rather handily. The offense was clicking smoothly and the defense allowed a mere 6 points. An expected victory, but there were some claims by Florida FB Emmanual Moody claimed that Tennessee played a "little dirty". Next up is Mississippi at home in Gainesville, FL.
New Mexico 14 Tulsa 56
Uhh, this was another butt-whupping. The Tulsa Golden Hurricanes basically had their way with the Lobos with Tulsa QB David Johnson throwing for 469 yards and 6 TDs. Six !!
Next up is in-state rival, the New Mexico State Aggies. This annual battle is in Las Cruces, NM this year and promises to be a good game.
Albuquerque U12 Boys Soccer:
The Alameda Artillery welcomed the South Valley Villains to our home field and won the game by a score of 6-1. There was excellent passing by all players and the win was a team win.
Scoring breakdown:
Hector 3
Joseph 1
Teddy 1
Andrew 1
New Mexico News:
Here's a video of Albuquerque band Daffodil. The music is "heavy, melodic, power, pop" and is quite good. Have a listen and leave a comment if you like it.
Thanks for reading NMSteelerFan !! \m/
