The Steeler Way Is The Right Way
The blueprint to success for the Browns lies about 120 miles southeast of Cleveland.
It resides very comfortably and quietly among the hills of a former steel-reliant town that has broad shoulders and a football team that has produced two Super Bow championships in the last four years.
It is a very simple blueprint predicated on hard work, dedication, selflessness and an overwhelming desire to be the best.
The more that blueprint produces championships, the more upset Browns fans become. Instead of seeing things as they are, they choose to decry the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They mock and belittle that success. Sometimes in mean-spirited, nasty and vulgar ways.
Instead of actually acknowledging the Steelers know how to win Super Bowl titles, they slobber away with the excuses that officiating has given the Steelers their last two Vince Lombardi trophies.
It's that type of rationale that blinds them to the realities of the Pittsburgh success. They cannot stand to see the Steelers win titles. The hate for the Steelers runs so deep on the part of many Browns fans on this Web site, they lose all objectivity and become delusional. They convince themselves the Steelers were handed the last two championships and absolutely nothing, not even common sense, will change that. Ever.
Fact of the matter is the better team won in Tampa on the first day of this month. Arizona had that game won with its first lead of the game with 2:30 left and the Steelers on their 12-yard line. The Steelers won that game more than the Cardinals lost it.
Look, I can't stand the Steelers, either. But I don't wear blinders and came to one conclusion about them a long time ago. They know how to play winning football. They make plays when playmaking is a necessity. And it's about time Browns fans come to their senses and realize that.
Sure, the Steelers can be arrogant. But arrogance is an entitlement when you win Super Bowls. One can only imagine how arrogant Browns fans would be if their team had the same success as the Steelers. Most likely more.
The Steelers have turned their rivalry with the Browns into a shamockery, as Ben Wallace of the Cavaliers would say. There is no longer a rivalry. Hasn't been for at least the last decade. Certainly not the way the Steelers have treated the Browns over that period of time. It's not even close.
In order to beat the Steelers, you have to play like them. You have to be like them. You have to present a mirror image. That's the only language they understand.
Randy Lerner turned his head in the wrong direction when he decided to remodel his Browns after another proven winner, the New England Patriots. It should have been pointed southeast.
The Steelers bring bellicosity to the football field. They slap you before you get a chance to slap them. They hit you harder than you hit them. They impose their will on you and dare you to match it.
They play football the way it was meant to be played: Hard and with relentless energy. Anything else is unacceptable.
They epitomize the city of Pittsburgh. Tough town. Too bad those who run the Browns don't relate better to Cleveland, which is also a tough town.
If you want to know more and exactly how the Steelers have done it, check out Tim Layden's piece in Sports Illustrated two weeks ago. Fascinating read. Some day, that could be Cleveland.
I'm a firm believer in the trickle-down theory. The Steelers are all about the Rooney family. Even since Dan Rooney took over running the club from his father 40 years ago, they have been a different club.
For decades, the Steelers were laughable losers under Art Rooney. Dan Rooney brought an entirely different culture to the organization.
It was not all right to lose. It was not all right to be the butt of jokes. It was not all right to mail it on Sundays. That, he determined, was going to stop. And it did.
Since then, the Steelers have been the NFL model for consistency on many different levels, the most important of which is coaching with only three head coaches in the last four decades.
They play the game with the same proficiency as the Browns did from 1946 through 1970 when they were known as The Greatest Show in Football. Unfortunately, that legacy has been besmirched, with one notable exception, way too often since then.
If you want to model your team after any in the NFL, why not the Steelers? How can you argue with their successes? You don’t have to like them, but how can you not respect what they've accomplished?
What makes that harder to swallow is the fact this is a young team that figures to get better. The Baltimore Ravens have copied some of the success of the Steelers, especially on defense, and most likely will provide the most opposition in the AFC North.
The Browns, meanwhile, have meandered in and out of coaching changes since their return. Eric Mangini is the fourth head coach in last10 years. It's like throwing darts at a board and hoping something lands near the bull's-eye. Eventually, something is going to stick. The question is when?
In the end, it's the system that works in Pittsburgh. The Steelers look for and draft players who fit their system. There is a plan and they stick to it.
When Mike Tomlin was hired as head coach after Bill Cowher decided to retire, eyebrows were raised. Most experts believed Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt would get the job.
Tomlin was just 34 years old and had never been a head coach when Rooney made his choice. He had just one year of experience as a defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings. And now here he is coach of the Super Bowl champions in his second year.
A gamble? You bet. But a calculated one. As it turned out, Rooney knew exactly what he was doing.
Tomlin came in and didn't change a thing outside of elevating Bruce Arians to offensive coordinator. The Steelers were successful before he arrived, so why tinker? It's the system that works in Pittsburgh and Tomlin was wise enough to leave it alone.
Lerner needs to stop talking football with the Bob Krafts and Jerry Joneses of the world and turn his attention to Dan Rooney. Study how Rooney does it and copy.
Then and only then will the Browns have a chance to become the team fans expected by now.
Copyright (c) 2009 theOBR.com and Scout.com
NFL considering change to overtime rule
"What we've seen in our statistics is that historically, about 30 percent of the games in overtime are decided with a team who wins the coin flip scoring on the first possession. That number has risen to about 47 percent. That's significant, and I think it's something our committee needs to look at."
That's the commissioner, Roger Goodell, speaking about NFL overtime.
I'm fine with the way overtime is decided. This morning ESPN's Mike and Mike discussed an interesting twist. The idea would change the rule so that the first team to six points would win the game. The goal would be to eliminate games from being decided on a 50 yard field goal.
It's not horrible. It would increase the chances of both teams getting the ball in a way better than the college rule.
I still think that your defense should just stop the opposition. If you can't prevent a big runback or keep the opponent pinned on their own twenty, why should you win the game anyway? You had three hours to win.
Other considerations are eliminating field goal tries on the first possession (silly, that's not football), or just placing the ball on the twenty yard line.
The NFL ain't broken, other than a Super Bowl matchup that has many folks underwhelmed, don't fix it.
examiner.com
Steelers, Cardinals Bring Opposite Perspectives to Super Bowl XLIII
The AFC Championship was played in Pittsburgh in 22-degree weather. The NFC Championship was played in Phoenix in 78-degree weather. Such dichotomy is only the beginning of the differences between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.
NFL Football came to Pittsburgh in 1933. It arrived in Arizona in 1988 (though the Cardinal franchise was born before the Steelers came into existence). Naturally, the football tradition in Pittsburgh runs much deeper than in Phoenix, though you certainly cannot fault Arizona simply for being younger. True, the NFL had to extend the Blackout Rule due to the fact that the Cardinals did not pre-sell their first home playoff game. In Pittsburgh they can sell out any home playoff game three times over. But I guarantee you that in 1953, when the Steelers were 20-years old and with no winning tradition, tickets were not hard to come by.
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Pittsburgh is a land of human exports. Arizona is a land of human imports. In the 1970s, when the steel mills and related industries collapsed, Pittsburgh began losing roughly half of its population. Pittsburghers needed to find jobs and greener pastures. Ironically, Arizona was one of the many destinies where Pittsburghers relocated. At about the same time, Phoenix and Tucson were exploding in population. The dry, warm weather attracted older people looking to retire. In turn, younger folks were attracted to the jobs and careers that were created to serve the new population. My parents, brother, sister and their families moved to Arizona in 1984, so I have spent considerable time there in the last 25 years watching it blossom. While Pittsburgh was being cut in half, Phoenix tripled. They were like two ships passing in the night.
From the Steelers perspective, Steeler Nation was created by the perfect storm. Just at the time when people were flocking out of Pittsburgh, the Steelers were in the process of winning four Super Bowls in six years. People may have left the Steel City en masse, but they took with them the pride of what is still considered the greatest dynasty in NFL history. When they settled, they became the preachers of that pride to others and also spread the Nation through their own procreation. Arizona, on the other hand, had nothing better to do (football-wise) prior to 1988 than root for the Dallas Cowboys. That was a reach that had neither depth nor passion. By the time the Cardinals hit Arizona, they were behind the Steelers in their own state in terms of fan base.
The last 20 years, since the Cardinals moved west, their football fortunes, compared to those of the Steelers, have also been on opposite ends of the spectrum. Arizona has been a losing franchise, having not gotten to any Conference Championship prior to this year. The Steelers have been a winning franchise during this time, having hosted a staggering 16 playoff games and playing in 10 more on the road and in Super Bowls.
All that said, it is easy to see that when the Steelers play on the road against a team like the Cardinals, or for that matter a Jacksonville, Atlanta, Houston or San Diego-type, the stadium will be filled with yellow towels waving proudly. It is the combination of Pittsburgh's perfect storm added to the undeveloped tradition of their opponents. Moreover, if you factor in the Steelers' recent success to an opposing team's lack thereof, you will see Terrible Towels dominating places like New York (Jets), Cincinnati, Detroit, etc. It is somewhat of a misnomer when you hear media and others proclaim that "Pittsburgh really travels well" upon viewing all the Steelers' fans in enemy stadiums. A great majority of those folks did not travel, they were already there.
To the contrary, our friends in Arizona have to deal with conflicting crowds every game. Most teams the Cardinals play east of the Rockies don't come to town very often, and when they do, the transplants from that city use the occasion to find tickets and wear opposing colors. Steeler Nation, upon first blush, may find that sacrilegious. But if we stop and think about it, we should empathize with true Cardinal fans who fight an uphill battle trying to establish tradition. Pittsburgh is the NFL's Diaspora. Phoenix, the antithesis, is the NFL's Ellis Island.
Yes, the Cardinals are in the midst of a massive bandwagon explosion. There's no other way to explain a team not pre-selling a home playoff game and then selling out the next game within minutes. People in Arizona aren't pulling out all their red gear this past week. They are going out and buying it for the first time. Compared to current Steeler Nation, this may seem shallow. But if you look historically, it wasn't until the Immaculate Reception, almost 40 years after the Steelers arrived in Pittsburgh, that people went out and bought black and gold. This year's playoff run for Arizona may well be the equivalent of our immaculate Reception, a rising of the Phoenix, pun intended.
Finally, and interestingly, the Steelers and Cardinals are opposite football teams as well. In January 2007, the Steelers brought in a defensive coordinator to be their head coach. He has helped make his team the best defensive club in football. In January 2007, the Cardinals brought in an offensive coordinator to be their head coach. He has helped make his team one of the most explosive offensive clubs in football. The irresistable force shall meet the immovable object. And while this year may be Arizona's breakout party, like our Immaculate Reception, Steelers' fans hope that the Cardinals fall just a bit short, like we did in 1972.
Copyright 2008 Sportsblogs
Championship finals could feature contrasting games
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sunday's championship finals to decide the Super Bowl combatants could produce contrasting games when defensive-minded Pittsburgh hosts Baltimore and Philadelphia visits high-scoring Arizona.
The Steelers have the number one defense in the NFL while the Ravens, their American Football Conference (AFC) North rivals, rank second.
The second-seeded Steelers (13-4) beat the Ravens (13-5) 23-20 in overtime at home in September before muscling their way to a 13-9 victory in Baltimore in December.
"Us and the Ravens ... would be a big game if it was a scrimmage," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after Sunday's 35-24 win over the San Diego Chargers.
"It just happens to be the AFC championship game."
The sixth-seeded Ravens advanced with a 13-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans, the AFC top seed.
Philadelphia guaranteed the NFL would crown a new champion by ousting last year's Super Bowl-winning New York Giants 23-11 in a National Football Conference (NFC) playoff.
The sixth-seeded Eagles (11-6-1), in their fifth NFC title game in eight years, take on fourth-seeded West division champion Arizona Cardinals (11-7).
The Cardinals, who upset the Carolina Panthers 33-13, have scored more points this season than all but two teams and have an attack featuring experienced quarterback Kurt Warner and receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
"We're playing against a team that doesn't have any problem scoring points," said quarterback Donovan McNabb after his Eagles defense kept the top-seeded Giants from scoring a single touchdown.
DIG DEEP
"We're going to have to dig deep on offense and be able to come up with touchdowns."
The Eagles beat the Cardinals 48-20 in November, a turning point in their season.
Philadelphia was walloped 36-7 by the Ravens in Baltimore in a game that sent a jolt through its squad, with coach Andy Reid benching McNabb at halftime.
Four days later in a Thanksgiving Day game in Philadelphia, McNabb threw four touchdown passes to lead the Eagles past the Cardinals and begin a run of six wins in seven games.
"After the Baltimore game we all talked as a team," said McNabb, whose Eagles also beat the Steelers 15-6 in Week Three of the regular season.
"We got away from guys flying around and making plays. We're a much better team when we're loose."
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin shrugged off suggestions the odds were stacked against his players beating a quality team like the Ravens three times in a season.
"I personally don't subscribe to that hocus-pocus," said Tomlin. "What happened in the other two games will have no bearing on the outcome of this game."
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expecting a classic confrontation.
"It's going to be a battle," he said. "It's going to be one for the ages, I have a feeling."
reuters.com
Steelers' Harrison is AP Defensive Player of Year
NEW YORK (AP) -- James Harrison slams down the current version of the Steel Curtain better than any Pittsburgh Steeler, earning him The Associated Press 2008 Defensive Player of the Year award.
The linebacker who had a career-high 16 sacks, setting a team record, and led the NFL with a career-high seven forced fumbles, beat Dallas' DeMarcus Ware in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters announced Monday. Pittsburgh defense was the league's stingiest in total defense, pass defense and points allowed. Harrison was its main hammer.
"That's something that everybody in the league would love to have, to be voted the top player in the league for that year," Harrison said. "In my mind, I think I do - and it's going to sound boring - what the defense allows me to do and what my teammates allow me to do."
Harrison earned 22 votes to 13 for Ware.
Baltimore safety Ed Reed, the 2004 winner, got eight votes. Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth had five and Harrison's teammate, safety Troy Polamalu, got two.
Harrison credited defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's schemes with allowing him, an undrafted free agent from Kent State who was cut several times by Pittsburgh and once by Baltimore, to eventually become a star.
"The defense is built to play with 11 guys, and if all 11 guys are on the same page, playing the same defense on the same play, there's nothing that can go wrong and that's just how we feel about it," Harrison said.
But fellow linebacker James Farrior, who has seen Harrison develop from a backup to Joey Porter into one of the game's biggest playmakers, sees Harrison as the key.
"His whole attitude about football, I think he works harder than anybody else in this locker room," Farrior said. "He has a great work ethic. He's very tuned in to what he has to do to make himself better. That's all he strives for, to try to be better than anybody else, and you can see his determination when he's out there on the field.
"We've got good players on this team, and every team has good players, but he seems to be - this year and last year - making the plays that made the difference in the game."
Harrison is the fifth Steeler to win the award, including three Hall of Famers from the original Steel Curtain: Joe Greene (1974), Mel Blount (1975) and Jack Lambert (1976). In 1993, Rod Woodson was AP Defensive Player of the Year, and he is eligible for the Hall for the first time this year.
The Steelers did not allow a 100-yard rusher or 300-yard passer in 2008. Harrison didn't limit his work to that stingy unit, though: Harrison also had 12 special teams tackles.
"People said I couldn't do this or couldn't do that," he noted. "I was too short, too slow. Basically, I play and prepare myself in the offseason with the thoughts of what people said I couldn't do."
And he's proven he can do just about everything.
Copyright (c) 2009 The Associated Press
What Went Right, What Went Wrong
The Dolphins won nine of their final 10 games to win the AFC East and the third seed, but they drew a tough first-round opponent in the very balanced Baltimore Ravens, who methodically dismantled Miami, 27-9, Sunday by taking the league's No. 1-ranked team in ball security and turning them into a turnover machine.
Baltimore forced five turnovers against a team that tied the NFL record with just 13 turnovers all season. More remarkably, they picked off Chad Pennington, the most accurate passer in NFL history, four times after he had just seven all season.
All-world safety Ed Reed proved why he should be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year with two more picks, giving him 11 this season. He also returned one back 64 yards into the end zone for his fourth defensive touchdown of the season to give Baltimore a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter they wouldn't relinquish.
"I certainly didn't expect for it to end this way," Pennington said. "My whole vision was to move on to next week and I felt really good about the preparation this week.
"If there's ever been an epitome and a picture of a team I think it's been our team."
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Parcells staying in the background but still instilling a winning culture and teaching his players how to win close games by playing intelligent, tough, mistake-free football while staying out of the trainer's room.
Parcells picking Tony Sparano to be his coach. Sparano has an eye for details and knows how to motivate his players.
Parcells and General Manager Jeff Ireland signing several former Cowboys, including nose tackle Jason Ferguson, tight end Anthony Fasano, linebacker Akin Ayodele and cornerback Nate Jones. All were valuable contributors to this success story.
Signing Pennington to mentor Chad Henne and spread his work ethic, intelligence and leadership throughout the locker room.
Drafting Jake Long at No. 1 to be the cornerstone left tackle of this franchise. Long made some rookie mistakes but mostly kept Pennington's jersey pretty clean.
Quarterbacks coach David Lee and Sparano cooking up the Wildcat after an 0-2 start, and then having wily offensive coordinator Dan Henning weave it into the weekly game plan. It also enabled Ronnie Brown to get his hands on the ball and led to his first Pro Bowl season.
Undrafted rookie receiver Davone Bess turned out to be an absolute find, helping to erase the giving away of Wes Welker to the Patriots a few seasons ago.
Versatile Patrick Cobbs turning into a valuable cog on offense as well as on special teams.
Safety Yeremiah Bell remaining healthy for an entire season and proving that he is indeed a playmaker and worthy of being re-signed to a long-term contract.
Cornerback Andre' Goodman playing at a Pro Bowl level for the last two-thirds of the season after a rocky start, and meriting consideration for the Dolphins to re-sign him.
Dumping veteran kicker Jay Feely for unheralded, undrafted Montana kicker Dan Carpenter, who turned out to be a clutch performer.
WHAT WENT WRONG: While wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. did flash big-play ability on a couple of end-around touchdowns and he did improve as a receiver, he was unable to display his Ohio State kickoff return skills and lost the job to Patrick Cobbs. He remains a No. 2 receiver at best.
While being among the healthiest teams in the league for most of the season, left guard Justin Smiley, the most experienced lineman on the roster, was lost with a season-ending leg and ankle injury in Game 12 against the Rams. The running game suffered.
Ditto for wide receiver Greg Camarillo, who signed a contract extension as a reward for his work ethic and steady play as the team's leading receiver before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in Game 11 against the Patriots.
While Long and Smiley held their own, the running game needed trickery to truly be effective as the right guard spot never truly stabilized after rookie Donald Thomas went down with a season-ending foot injury in the season opener.
Wide receiver Ernest Wilford was clearly the worst offseason signing made by the Dolphins as the former Jaguar was inactive in nine of 17 games, including the playoff game, and had just three catches for 25 yards.
Middle linebacker Channing Crowder is a fine tackler but still lacks the big-play ability to change games and merit a lucrative, long-term contract.
PLAYER/PERSONNEL NOTES
-- DE Randy Starks, one of the Dolphins' integral players on the D-line rotation, was inactive for the first time this season with a sprained ankle.
-- DE Rod Wright was activated for the first time this season after starting nine games last season with 37 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He played sparingly.
-- WR Ernest Wilford was inactive again, leaving the Dolphins with just three active receivers in Ted Ginn Jr., Davone Bess and Brandon London. Bess hurt his thumb at one point and running back Patrick Cobbs took some snaps at receiver. Bess returned and had a huge 45-yard catch and run to set up Miami's fourth-quarter touchdown.
-- RB Ricky Williams was a non-factor Sunday, getting just four carries for 17 yards and one catch for eight yards.
-- Rookie K Dan Carpenter was 40 of 40 on extra points this season but had his first and only playoff attempt blocked by CB Frank Walker.
Copyright (c) 2009 DolphinDigest.com and Scout.com
Giants running back duo Jacobs and Ward become fourth tandem to rush for the century mark
Three teams in the history of the NFL have had two running backs rush for 1,000 yards in the same season and one has done it with a quarterback and a running back.
Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris topped the 1,000 yard mark for the undefeated Miami Dolphins in 1972. Pittsburgh Steelers Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier helped their team earn the Super Bowl championship in 1976, and Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack each capped a 1,000 yards for the Cleveland Browns in 1985. In 2006, Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn both ran for over a thousand yards becoming the first and only quarterback/running back combination to accomplish the feat. The Denver Broncos were the last team to make a serious run at the mark but fell short in 2005 as Mike Anderson topped the thousand yard mark and Tatum Bell fell just 79 yards shy.
Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs became just the fourth duo to each top the thousand yard mark as the Giants loss to the Minnesota Vikings in a game that meant everything to the home team and was a relative exhibition game for the already clinched number one playoff seed in the NFC.
Jacobs, who has battled a sore left knee most of the season had 1,089 yards going into the final week of the 2008 NFL regular season and remained that way standing in street clothes on the sideline at the Metrodome. Jacobs would have been ready to go if this was a must win situation. "I'm here, I feel good and whatever coach goes with, I'll be ready for," Jacobs stated leading up to this weekend's matchup.
Ward was 52 yards from eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark after a stellar performance on Sunday night football in which the Giants clinched their number one seeding garnering a career-best 215 yards as the Giants beat the visiting Panthers in a 34-28 overtime victory.
Brandon Jacobs had this to say of his fellow running mate going into this weekend, "it would mean a lot to us. Derrick works hard and he deserves it. He has been under the radar a lot, so if he can get this done and get these 52 yards and make that happen I'd be very, very, very happy. To be honest with you, that is a very special thing to share with someone like him and as close as we are."
Jacobs went over the 1,000-yard mark on Dec. 7 against the Eagles, a game in which he aggravated his knee injury and had to leave. He missed the following week against Dallas and returned versus Carolina, rushing for 87 yards and three touchdowns to help the Giants wrap up the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Jacobs, who also rushed for 1,000 yards last season, didn't think Ward had a chance for 1,000 after Dallas limited him to 64 yards on Dec. 14. Ward then had that career day against Carolina, averaging 14.3 yards on his 15 carries.
Ward finished the season with 1,025 gaining 77 yards on the ground Sunday versus the Vikings. Ward and Jacobs look to continue their running ways on their way to repeating as Super Bowl Champions. This year they will have home field advantage compared to last season when they won four straight playoff games including the Super Bowl on the road.
Minnesota clinched the NFC North after Ryan Longwell hit a game winning 50-yard field goal to edge the Giants 20-19. The Vikings would have made the playoffs even if Longwell were to have missed the attempt as the Chicago Bears were unable to overcome the Texans explosive offense in Houston losing their season finale 31-24.
jocklife.com
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