Steelers Nation Week Three Newsletter 9/22/05

Steelers Nation Week Three Newsletter

What do you think of 2-0 going into a week three showdown against the two-time defending Super Bowl Champs? Did you really expect anything less? I love the fact that this is a home game, but do you really think that the Brady-led Patriots will go 1-2? I guess we will have to wait until around 7:00PM this Sunday to find out. BTW, it is a 4:15 kickoff with a national television audience. It would be awesome to see Ben and Willie continue their great start with the whole country watching. Just think about 3-0 going into a bye week. Mr. Cowher has announced that Willie will get the nod again this weekend for us. I got back from a wedding in South Carolina this past weekend, so the latest Steelers dribble is delayed in coming out this week. I received a couple of e-mails asking where it was, so I am happy that you are enjoying my efforts in becoming the next Myron Cope. Anyways… Please continue to send your contributions and pics for future editions. We will change it up this week. If you do not wish to continue receiving these e-mails, please reply by stating that “Dave P just bought a new Kordell Stewart Ravens jersey” to stop receiving future newsletters.

Offense, Offense, take the ball and run it down the field….
Anyone remember that Steelers Polka from the 70’s? I think they must have been playing this song prior to kickoff because the Big Ben/Willie Parker led offense and did just that. Roethlisberger had his second strong showing of the season going 14 of 21 for 254 yards and two TD strikes. Willie finished with 25 carries for 111 yards and a TD, Hines had six catches for 84 yards and two TD’s, Cedric Wilson had two catches for 76 yards, and Randle El finished with three grabs for 75 yards. Mr. Faneca and Mr. Hartings had a dominant day in the trenches, and we controlled the game at the line of scrimmage. I personally would like to see more of an effort to get the ball into Heath Miller’s hands, but how can you really complain with the way our offense performed. In watching the game this past weekend, the Texans at times only rushed two or three linemen and dropped eight or nine into coverage. Ben was still able to find seams and holes and this did little to slow us down. I really believe that we came out and made a conscious effort to get Hines the ball. He only had two catches during the first game, but showed little signs of him missing two weeks of camp this past game. Hines looked great on Sunday. So who gets the game ball? Big Ben, Willie, or Hines. This week’s game ball goes to our field general wearing the number seven.

Beware of the Tasmanian Devil!
Our defense only allowed 221 yards of net offense on a day in which Houston was flinging the ball all over the place and playing catch up all day. David Carr went into the locker room at the half and changed into running shoes because he was running for his life out there. Troy finished the day with six solo tackles with three sacks, and Clark Haggans had five solos and a sack. Harrison, Porter, Townsend, and Colclough all recorded a sack as well. This totaled eight sacks on the afternoon! James Farrior had another solid performance finishing with six solos and three assists. This week they will face Tom Brady who picked us apart this past January. It will be interesting to see how our secondary will play this week against a much tougher opponent. During the Titans game I observed Troy doing something really odd during the game. We have basically given him the liberty to free lance as he wants. On two or three different occasions during the Titans game he danced around the line of scrimmage prior to the snap only to turn his back to the line and run full sprint at the snap to a stationary spot in which I assumed he had an assignment to be in that spot for the defensive coverage. I was not sure what he was trying to do, but I found this odd. He did the same thing in the Texans game but this time he stopped running with his back to the line and swung around into an empty backfield to sack David Carr. I was really scratching my head over this. This past week I was reading an article in the Post Gazette where they were saying the Big Ben is a “game player” and does not really get much out of practice. It then went on to compare and contrast Troy in this respect saying that all he does is study, try out different things in practice, and apparently pick the brains of his offensive team mates for small minute details. Apparently in talking with Dan Krieder he has picked up on something he worked on in practice last year but was not confident to try it out in a game. This is what he has been doing in the games the past two weeks. Be sure to observe if he continues this wrinkle this weekend. BTW, this week’s defensive game ball goes to Troy. I did not even consider anyone else. Sorry James.

AFC North

Da Bungles 2-0 @ da Bears 1:00PM, Brownies 1-1 @ Indy 1:00, and Baltimore 0-2 sitting at home with the bye licking their wounds. Da Bungles are playing some good football right now and the Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson connection are making both look like All-Pros. Marvin Lewis has their defense playing some inspired football. The Brownies are a couple of years away from challenging for anything in the division. The Ravens have to one of the biggest disappointments so far this year in the NFL. It is hard to put a thumb on the exact problem because they have several glaring issues. Bad QB’s, even worse line play, overpriced superstars not leading by example, and lack of depth at non-skilled positions. You can pick one, but all are major problems the Ravens need to address. I am not sure if they can get their issues resolved this week. Next week they have the Jets, and there is no way they can 0-3 and still keep hopes alive of making the playoffs. Has anyone seen Elvis?

Question Of The Week???

I am going to add a new feature where I will ask a Steelers related question and give everyone an opportunity to respond and get involved. I will then publish the comments so we can get a chuckle out of some of the replies. Here is the first question. Do you own a terrible towel, and if so, are there any interesting stories behind the towel? If you feel like responding, send me your reply by Tuesday 9/27 evening at 5:00.

Pics Of The Week

“Showing the colors I” is from the wedding in South Carolina we attended this past weekend. In the pic you will find some die hard Steelers fans celebrating the wedding of Erika Keller and Rob Jacobs. From Left to right are: Miss Anita, Flower girl Angela from Baltimore, Mary Keller of Myrtle Beach but formerly of Cumberland, MD, Erika the bride from Columbia, SC but formerly of Cumberland, MD, Jason Keller of Myrtle Beach but formerly of Cumberland, MD, and me a.k.a. Bill Cowher’s stunt double.

“Showing the colors II” is a pic from the same wedding. Danette is pictured who lives in Columbia, SC but grew up watching the black and gold in Pittsburgh. And no, the handsome guy in the pic is not Brian St. Piere (Brian was actually signed this week to Baltimore’s practice squad).

“Gameday at the Beach” was a pic I took last Sunday morning. Ms Anita wanted some sun time before we headed off to watch the Steelers. Being a total goober, I could not resist taking this pic of which I thought looked better than any of the women sitting around the pool. LOL!!! It was gameday after all, give me a break.

“Brian’s Cousin” was sent in by Brian Koch originally from Greensburg but now living in Wilmington, DE. I am only joking Brian. He sent this link from the Post Gazette of a Steelers crazed fan. Click on the link to take a look.

http://www.post-gazette.com/steelersphoto/photos_display.asp?ID=2539

In closing I just want to say get your towels out and enjoy the game this weekend. By far it is the best game of the weekend. Enjoy boys and girls. Here we go Steelers, here we go…