This coming Sunday at 1pm, I'll sit down to watch the Steelers play the kind of game they've only participated in once since December 31st, 2003: A regular season game without any playoff implications or strategy designed to keep the players healthy for a postseason game.
Pittsburgh was eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday after a 13-10 loss at Heinz Field to the Bengals--the team's third straight home loss--and the only thing at stake against the Browns this week is pride and to try and avoid the first losing season since that previously mentioned '03 campaign.
As a Steelers fan, it's sort of an empty feeling to not have the postseason to look forward to. In Pittsburgh, the playoffs have almost become synonymous with the holiday season.
Maybe this is a bit out-of-touch, but when the reality set in on Sunday that the Steelers wouldn't be making the playoffs, it actually made Christmas feel a lot less magical to me. That's weird, isn't it? After all, Christmas and New Year's are about spending time with friends and family, but that's the thing. So many magical memories throughout the years have centered around magical playoff moments.
It's almost as if a Steelers playoff game is like that uncle that comes to visit for Christmas each season. When he decides to stay home for the holidays, it's just not the same.
When the Steelers are in the playoffs, you can extend your holiday season at least another week or two. And if they make it all the way to the Super Bowl like they did two seasons ago, you're 'tissing the season until February.
Oh well, I guess I kind of saw this coming as recently as a year ago. I really didn't think Pittsburgh's 12-4 record reflected its actual play on the field in 2011, and I thought the team's performance was more reflective of a .500 football team that had the fortune of going up against quarterbacks named Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, Tarvaris Jackson, Colt McCoy and Kellen Clemons, just to name a few.
I think the age of the team is more relevant than people want to admit, and that's to be expected. When you watch your favorite football team have so much championship success in such a short period of time, it's hard to let that go, and it's hard to face the reality.
I find it fitting that age might be catching up to the Steelers in this second Super Bowl era because that's what happened to the original Super Steelers of the 70s. Once the calender turned to the 80s, time hit those legendary players harder than any Jack Lambert forearm possibly could, and by the middle part of the decade, Pittsburgh was a mediocre football team with a roster full of underwhelming players.
The decade of the 90s brought us Bill Cowher and a resurgence to excellence for the Steelers. And as for the NFL as a whole, it also brought free agency and a salary cap, and instead of age taking its toll on Pittsburgh's Super Bowl chances, the free agency departures of guys like Leon Searcy, Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Yancy Thigpen and John Jackson depleted the roster and forced a rebuilding phase that brought about more playoff teams in the early 2000's. And when safety Troy Polamalu and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came on board in the middle of the decade, the Steelers were primed for their second true championship era.
Naturally, when a team goes on a run like Pittsburgh has with three Super Bowl appearances and two titles since 2005, an ownership group is going to be more inclined to ride that kind of success out and see how far it goes. And instead of allowing a player to leave a year too soon, the front office is going to keep guys like Casey Hampton, Hines Ward, Aaron Smith and James Farrior around maybe a year too long.
How many times this season did network analysts like Phil Simms quote opposing quarterbacks as being amazed at how the Steelers defenders they were preparing for in 2012 were essentially the same ones they were preparing for in '07 and '08?
Teams that play together may win together, but unfortunately, they also grow old together. Joe Greene said he wasn't the same player at 32 that he was at 27; don't kid yourselves into thinking Polamalu is the same athlete today that he was five years ago. It's simply not possible. Nobody's ever defeated time.
I often wonder if we're witnessing in today's Steelers what we witnessed in the early 80s--a decline into mediocrity.
Of course, I wondered the same thing following other non-playoff seasons, such as 2006 and 2009, but the team bounced back each time, with not only more playoff seasons, but Super Bowl success.
I have all the confidence in the world that the Steelers front office will find a way to keep the team relevant. The NFL of today isn't like it was years ago. Parity really is in full force.
You see it every year with teams making the playoffs a year after having a sub-par campaign like the Colts and Redskins, and if they can do it, I'm sure Pittsburgh will find its way back to January football before long.
I believe as fans, we're always paying it forward and then paying it back. In 1989 and 1993, the Steelers needed all the help in the world to get into the playoffs, and they somehow managed to do so. This season, Pittsburgh was in control of its own fate but still couldn't get the job done on the field.
Three seasons ago, when the Steelers missed out on the postseason, it kind of sucked. But the following year when they made it all the way to Super Bowl XLV, I appreciated it even more. And I especially cherished that Super Bowl when Pittsburgh was bounced out of the first round of the playoffs a season ago.
And now, today, I appreciate what it means just to see the Steelers make the playoffs because they now are absent from them.
There is simply nothing like an NFL playoff game. All the intensity and emotion from a best of seven series that sometimes lasts two weeks is condensed down into this white-hot three hour window of tension and emotions, and it's just a beautiful thing. There are no tomorrows in the NFL playoffs, and that's why I love them so much.
And forget about a Super Bowl run, just winning a playoff game provides fans with so much joy and excitement.
Sadly, it's a feeling that Steelers fans won't get to experience for at least another calender year.
That's too bad. It's going to be a lot colder this January without the Steelers in the playoffs.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Like the 2012 Steelers, my fantasy football team is pretty inept. However, my team is one win away from winning it all
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a free-fall, and the only reason they're still alive for a postseason spot with a 7-7 record is because the AFC is pretty mediocre this year. Is Pittsburgh deserving of a playoff spot? It really doesn't matter, it's all about the math. Two victories to end the regular season will clinch a postseason berth and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Of course, one has to wonder just how much damage the Steelers will be able to do if they make the dance. Right now, they're injured and struggling in the turnover department, with a minus-14 for the season. That's not championship football.
However, recent history tells us that a team can squeak into the playoffs and still go on a championship run. The previous two Super Bowl champions--the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants--needed to win on the final week of the regular season just to make the playoffs, yet, once they did, they went on a roll and never stopped until they hoisted the Lombardi.
In fact, New York woke up on Christmas Eve a year ago pretty much in a similar predicament to the Steelers this season. The Giants were 7-7 and losers of five out of six. Somehow, though, they were still in control of their own fate and took care of business in Weeks 16 and 17.
If the Steelers don't feel like looking back to recent NFL history to stay motivated down the stretch, maybe they can use my fantasy football team--Horrible Losses--as an example of what can happen if you get hot at the right time.
For those of you who know me, you're probably aware of just how "horrible" my fantasy football history has been. From 2003-2011, I played in at least one league a year but only made the playoffs one time.
I played in money leagues from 2003-2009 and never won a single dime--I would have been better off just flushing the $35 fee down the drain every year.
The past three seasons, I've been in a "fun" league (no money), and it's been mostly the same story: Injuries, bad luck, etc, etc.
This season started out much the same way with my usual 0-2 start. I rebounded and managed to win three straight games, and it was pretty much that same pattern the rest of the season. Weeks 3-14, I was never more than a game below .500 and never more than a game above.
And that, in and of itself, is pretty remarkable, considering I had the second lowest point total in the league. There's an interesting stat that breaks down what my record would be if I played every other team every week, and my record would be 39-57-2 .
Maybe my low point total had to do with my inept roster management. There is another stat in my league that breaks down the number of points a team leaves on the bench, and for the season, I finished at -381 in that category, or 27 points a week. The Steelers are struggling with trying to overcome a minus-14 in their turnover ratio, try winning fantasy football games when you start four players who are on byes like I did in Week 6--I scored 25 points!
You think injuries are demoralizing to a real NFL team, how do you think I felt when I left Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin and his 51 points on the bench in Week 9?
However, I managed to hang in there the entire year and actually clinched a playoff spot in Week 13 with only a 7-6 record. I lost in the final regular season game to finish the season at 7-7. Why'd I make the postseason with such a low point total? Simple, I had the third lowest points against. Much like the Steelers in the mediocre AFC, it sometimes just comes down to luck.
Did I deserve to be in the playoffs? Judged on my performance of managing my team, probably not. But just like in the NFL, it's all about the math (thank goodness, my league doesn't rank its teams by points).
Four teams make the playoffs in my league, and needless to say I entered the postseason as the fourth seed and faced the number one seed in the semi-finals, a 12-2 team that scored 117 points more than I did in the regular season.
However, I won because of three reasons.
First, I decided to start Matt Schaub instead of Matthew Stafford, who I started almost exclusively in the regular season, and Schaub put up 14 points to Stafford's three.
Secondly, I went with my gut and inserted Michael Crabtree into the starting lineup as one of my wide receivers, and he picked up 22 points.
And third, my opponent's quarterback, Tom Brady, did a QB slide right before the goal line instead of trying to dive for a touchdown in the Patriots Sunday night game against San Francisco.
Those three things all added up to a six point win, and my team, perhaps the worst performing unit in my fantasy league, is in the championship round and one game away from winning it all.
So, let this be a lesson to the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers. As long as you make the dance and make all the right moves once you get there, anything is possible.
Of course, one has to wonder just how much damage the Steelers will be able to do if they make the dance. Right now, they're injured and struggling in the turnover department, with a minus-14 for the season. That's not championship football.
However, recent history tells us that a team can squeak into the playoffs and still go on a championship run. The previous two Super Bowl champions--the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants--needed to win on the final week of the regular season just to make the playoffs, yet, once they did, they went on a roll and never stopped until they hoisted the Lombardi.
In fact, New York woke up on Christmas Eve a year ago pretty much in a similar predicament to the Steelers this season. The Giants were 7-7 and losers of five out of six. Somehow, though, they were still in control of their own fate and took care of business in Weeks 16 and 17.
If the Steelers don't feel like looking back to recent NFL history to stay motivated down the stretch, maybe they can use my fantasy football team--Horrible Losses--as an example of what can happen if you get hot at the right time.
For those of you who know me, you're probably aware of just how "horrible" my fantasy football history has been. From 2003-2011, I played in at least one league a year but only made the playoffs one time.
I played in money leagues from 2003-2009 and never won a single dime--I would have been better off just flushing the $35 fee down the drain every year.
The past three seasons, I've been in a "fun" league (no money), and it's been mostly the same story: Injuries, bad luck, etc, etc.
This season started out much the same way with my usual 0-2 start. I rebounded and managed to win three straight games, and it was pretty much that same pattern the rest of the season. Weeks 3-14, I was never more than a game below .500 and never more than a game above.
And that, in and of itself, is pretty remarkable, considering I had the second lowest point total in the league. There's an interesting stat that breaks down what my record would be if I played every other team every week, and my record would be 39-57-2 .
Maybe my low point total had to do with my inept roster management. There is another stat in my league that breaks down the number of points a team leaves on the bench, and for the season, I finished at -381 in that category, or 27 points a week. The Steelers are struggling with trying to overcome a minus-14 in their turnover ratio, try winning fantasy football games when you start four players who are on byes like I did in Week 6--I scored 25 points!
You think injuries are demoralizing to a real NFL team, how do you think I felt when I left Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin and his 51 points on the bench in Week 9?
However, I managed to hang in there the entire year and actually clinched a playoff spot in Week 13 with only a 7-6 record. I lost in the final regular season game to finish the season at 7-7. Why'd I make the postseason with such a low point total? Simple, I had the third lowest points against. Much like the Steelers in the mediocre AFC, it sometimes just comes down to luck.
Did I deserve to be in the playoffs? Judged on my performance of managing my team, probably not. But just like in the NFL, it's all about the math (thank goodness, my league doesn't rank its teams by points).
Four teams make the playoffs in my league, and needless to say I entered the postseason as the fourth seed and faced the number one seed in the semi-finals, a 12-2 team that scored 117 points more than I did in the regular season.
However, I won because of three reasons.
First, I decided to start Matt Schaub instead of Matthew Stafford, who I started almost exclusively in the regular season, and Schaub put up 14 points to Stafford's three.
Secondly, I went with my gut and inserted Michael Crabtree into the starting lineup as one of my wide receivers, and he picked up 22 points.
And third, my opponent's quarterback, Tom Brady, did a QB slide right before the goal line instead of trying to dive for a touchdown in the Patriots Sunday night game against San Francisco.
Those three things all added up to a six point win, and my team, perhaps the worst performing unit in my fantasy league, is in the championship round and one game away from winning it all.
So, let this be a lesson to the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers. As long as you make the dance and make all the right moves once you get there, anything is possible.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Playing volleyball at the West Penn Rec Center Really Takes Me Back
After a year of only half paying attention to the Pittsburgh Dad phenomenon, I recently started to watch more of his videos, and I have to say, they really take me back to a simpler time. Curt Wootton, the co-creator and actor who portrays Dad, really has the speech pattern, mannerisms and accent of the typical "Pittsburgh Dad" down perfectly.
If I close my eyes, I can picture every adult authority figure of my youth (male and female) as they raised holy hell over everything I did.
Speaking of my youth, one of the neighborhoods that I grew up in was Polish Hill.
For the past seven years, I've been playing recreational volleyball in the West Penn Recreational Center, located in Polish Hill. It's always a fun time, but whenever I'm over that way, I can't help but feel a sense of home. I often forget that the playground located adjacent to the rec. center was the playground of my toddler years, and it's where my mom taught me how to swing.
I never went into the rec. center as a kid, but I did swim in the pool, and looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have, because it was an absolute disaster. The pool was so badly in need of restoration, pieces of cement would crumble into your hands as you got in and out, and if you had goggles on under water, you could see huge chunks of cement just sitting at the bottom.
If stuff like that went on at a local pool today, people would lose their minds.
Back to volleyball. Following one of my Thursday night matches, it's fairly common for my teammates and I to frequent Gooski's, a bar located on Brereton Avenue, about a block away from the rec. center.
In the late 70's, when I was about six years old, I lived in an apartment right next to that bar. It wasn't called Gooski's then, but it looked pretty much the same as it does now. There's a little walkway beside the bar that connects Brereton to Dopson St. and it's adjacent to the yard I used to play in. All day long, drunk grown ups would walk by and comment on whatever it is that I was doing, and it would scare the living crap out of me.
Back when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, he, along with Vice President Walter Mondale, visited Pittsburgh, and one of their stops was Polish Hill. During their visit, one, or both, came over to pat me on the head. I couldn't have been any more than four or five at the time, and I would have none of it.
I don't know why I'm blogging about this stuff. I guess the Pittsburgh Dad has got me feeling a little nostalgic.
Too bad he's also got me ramblin' and writin' bad!
I BETTER SHUT THIS DAMN COMPUTER OFF! IT'S RUNNIN' UP MY LIGHT BILL!
If I close my eyes, I can picture every adult authority figure of my youth (male and female) as they raised holy hell over everything I did.
Speaking of my youth, one of the neighborhoods that I grew up in was Polish Hill.
For the past seven years, I've been playing recreational volleyball in the West Penn Recreational Center, located in Polish Hill. It's always a fun time, but whenever I'm over that way, I can't help but feel a sense of home. I often forget that the playground located adjacent to the rec. center was the playground of my toddler years, and it's where my mom taught me how to swing.
I never went into the rec. center as a kid, but I did swim in the pool, and looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have, because it was an absolute disaster. The pool was so badly in need of restoration, pieces of cement would crumble into your hands as you got in and out, and if you had goggles on under water, you could see huge chunks of cement just sitting at the bottom.
If stuff like that went on at a local pool today, people would lose their minds.
Back to volleyball. Following one of my Thursday night matches, it's fairly common for my teammates and I to frequent Gooski's, a bar located on Brereton Avenue, about a block away from the rec. center.
In the late 70's, when I was about six years old, I lived in an apartment right next to that bar. It wasn't called Gooski's then, but it looked pretty much the same as it does now. There's a little walkway beside the bar that connects Brereton to Dopson St. and it's adjacent to the yard I used to play in. All day long, drunk grown ups would walk by and comment on whatever it is that I was doing, and it would scare the living crap out of me.
Back when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, he, along with Vice President Walter Mondale, visited Pittsburgh, and one of their stops was Polish Hill. During their visit, one, or both, came over to pat me on the head. I couldn't have been any more than four or five at the time, and I would have none of it.
I don't know why I'm blogging about this stuff. I guess the Pittsburgh Dad has got me feeling a little nostalgic.
Too bad he's also got me ramblin' and writin' bad!
I BETTER SHUT THIS DAMN COMPUTER OFF! IT'S RUNNIN' UP MY LIGHT BILL!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Notre Dame vs. Alabama for the BCS National championship: Let the ratings begin!
Alabama came back to defeat Georgia in the SEC Championship game Saturday night to secure the program's second straight appearance in the BCS Title game. The Crimson Tide, the defending National champions, will meet top ranked Notre Dame January 7th.
It's the first appearance in the BCS title game for the Fighting Irish, who are seeking their first national title since 1988.
Alabama also won the National title following the 2009 season, so a victory over Notre Dame would not only mark the first time a team has won back-to-back BCS Championships, it would be the Tide's third title in four seasons.
It will also be the seventh straight season in-which at least one school from the powerful SEC will appear in the championship game.
As far as television ratings are concerned, this has to be a dream matchup for ESPN, the network that holds the rights to broadcast the BCS.
The Crimson Tide aren't just the most important thing in the state of Alabama, they're also a national brand, complete with eight national championships.
As for Notre Dame, the program has been a bit down in recent years (at least for them), but make no mistake, the Irish still generate the ratings, and much like Frank Sinatra, who was still filling up Las Vegas venues back in the 70's despite being over the hill and past his prime, Notre Dame fans go to see their team play regardless of its record, and regardless of what bowl it's in--to say Fighting Irish fans travel well would be the understatement of understatements.
With a perennial national powerhouse in Alabama and a Notre Dame program that finally has the on-the-field credentials to match its long-time national cache--the Irish also have eight national titles--the 2013 BCS title game could be the most hyped college football game in the past two-decades. And if the over-the-top rabid fan bases of both programs have anything to say about it (which, make no mistake, they will), it could be the most talked about football game of 2013, period.
It's the first appearance in the BCS title game for the Fighting Irish, who are seeking their first national title since 1988.
Alabama also won the National title following the 2009 season, so a victory over Notre Dame would not only mark the first time a team has won back-to-back BCS Championships, it would be the Tide's third title in four seasons.
It will also be the seventh straight season in-which at least one school from the powerful SEC will appear in the championship game.
As far as television ratings are concerned, this has to be a dream matchup for ESPN, the network that holds the rights to broadcast the BCS.
The Crimson Tide aren't just the most important thing in the state of Alabama, they're also a national brand, complete with eight national championships.
As for Notre Dame, the program has been a bit down in recent years (at least for them), but make no mistake, the Irish still generate the ratings, and much like Frank Sinatra, who was still filling up Las Vegas venues back in the 70's despite being over the hill and past his prime, Notre Dame fans go to see their team play regardless of its record, and regardless of what bowl it's in--to say Fighting Irish fans travel well would be the understatement of understatements.
With a perennial national powerhouse in Alabama and a Notre Dame program that finally has the on-the-field credentials to match its long-time national cache--the Irish also have eight national titles--the 2013 BCS title game could be the most hyped college football game in the past two-decades. And if the over-the-top rabid fan bases of both programs have anything to say about it (which, make no mistake, they will), it could be the most talked about football game of 2013, period.
The 2012 Pitt Panthers are bowl-eligible after their 27-3 thrashing of South Florida
What to make of the 2012 Pittsburgh Panthers under first year coach Paul Chryst? Sure, they're a 6-6 football team that will probably get an invitation to some 3rd world bowl somewhere. However, it's a team that could have been a lot better or even a lot worse. I'm sure you could say that about any football team--the whole "fine line" philosophy--but the Panthers were just totally unpredictable in 2012.
Pitt started out the year by losing to the division II (or whatever the college football sub-divisions are called today) Youngstown St. Penguins in Week 1, followed by a beatdown in Cincinnati in Week 2.
However, just when you thought the season was lost, the Panthers went out and handed it to 13th ranked Virginia Tech in Week 3. Maybe the Hokies weren't worthy of their early-season credentials, but Pitt may have pulled off an even bigger feat weeks later when the team came within an inch (almost literally) of knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend when Panthers' placekicker Kevin Harper barely missed a 33 yard field goal in double-overtime that would have won the game. Now the Fighting Irish' are ranked number one in the nation and are set to play Alabama in the National title game in January.
You lose to Youngstown St. and then almost totally alter the National title picture? Crazy Panthers. Of course, who can blame them for being a bit uneven during a season in-which they had to play under their fourth head coach and third coaching regime since December of 2010. If I was a 20 year old in that situation, I'd act out, too, on the football field.
The roller coaster 2012 Panthers then lost to an underwhelming Connecticut team following the heartbreaking Notre Dame defeat and followed that up with another unexpected impressive 27-6 win over a ranked Rutgers team a week ago at Heinz Field.
The regular season wrapped up Saturday night with a 27-3 victory over the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.
Pitt finished fifth in the Big East and now is slated to play in any number of third-tier bowl games. The latest bowl projections place the Panthers in the Pinstripe Bowl against West Virginia on December 29th. I don't know how excited any Pitt fan could possibly be with yet another appearance in the BBVA Compass Bowl or the Beef O'Brady Bowl, but a matchup against the program's most heated football rival would probably be more rewarding for the fan base than even a trip to a higher-level non-BCS bowl against a more formidable opponent.
Pitt started out the year by losing to the division II (or whatever the college football sub-divisions are called today) Youngstown St. Penguins in Week 1, followed by a beatdown in Cincinnati in Week 2.
However, just when you thought the season was lost, the Panthers went out and handed it to 13th ranked Virginia Tech in Week 3. Maybe the Hokies weren't worthy of their early-season credentials, but Pitt may have pulled off an even bigger feat weeks later when the team came within an inch (almost literally) of knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend when Panthers' placekicker Kevin Harper barely missed a 33 yard field goal in double-overtime that would have won the game. Now the Fighting Irish' are ranked number one in the nation and are set to play Alabama in the National title game in January.
You lose to Youngstown St. and then almost totally alter the National title picture? Crazy Panthers. Of course, who can blame them for being a bit uneven during a season in-which they had to play under their fourth head coach and third coaching regime since December of 2010. If I was a 20 year old in that situation, I'd act out, too, on the football field.
The roller coaster 2012 Panthers then lost to an underwhelming Connecticut team following the heartbreaking Notre Dame defeat and followed that up with another unexpected impressive 27-6 win over a ranked Rutgers team a week ago at Heinz Field.
The regular season wrapped up Saturday night with a 27-3 victory over the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.
Pitt finished fifth in the Big East and now is slated to play in any number of third-tier bowl games. The latest bowl projections place the Panthers in the Pinstripe Bowl against West Virginia on December 29th. I don't know how excited any Pitt fan could possibly be with yet another appearance in the BBVA Compass Bowl or the Beef O'Brady Bowl, but a matchup against the program's most heated football rival would probably be more rewarding for the fan base than even a trip to a higher-level non-BCS bowl against a more formidable opponent.
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