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Week 9 Recap: Out Roethlisbergering Roethlisberger

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On Saturday, I got snookered into watching what was laughingly dubbed “The Game of the Century” between Alabama and LSU. The media’s desperate efforts to convince us that sloppy snoozefest was an “instant classic” doesn’t change the fact there were five good offensive plays in the whole thing, four of which were by lineman. The latest chapter in the epic rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers invited comparisons to that game by the blabbering fools in the the booth, which is like comparing a Porsche to a Kia. Last night was a true Game of the Century.

Unfortunately, the Steelers came out on the losing end.

Ninety-two yards. Those three words will live in Steeler infamy alongside Tim McKyer, Joe Nedney and SpyGate. Ninety-two yards. How does the most vaunted defense in the NFL allow a team to drive almost the length of the field in less than two minutes with the game on the line?
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Ike Taylor – NFL’s Best Cornerback?

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Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes… The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, the Pittsburgh Steelers having the best pass defense in the NFL…

Mass hysteria!

Before I left the Site We Shall Not Name, one of my final posts was something along the lines of “Should the Pittsburgh Steelers let LaMarr Woodley and Ike Taylor walk if it means signing Nnamdi Asomugha?” Reaction was mixed with some people cheating by saying keep Mister Woodley and sign Nnamdi, which was never really an option. Of course, everybody knew the Steelers would do what they always do; keep their own players rather than bring in outside help. It’s the Steeler Way.

And it looks pretty brilliant in hindsight.
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Know Thy Enemy: Houston Texans

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I got a bad feeling about this…

The [intlink id=”20″ type=”category”]Pittsburgh Steelers[/intlink] return to the Lone Star State for the first time since last season’s soul-crushing loss in Super Bowl XLV. However, rather than the team who reside at Jerry Jones’ tribute to his minuscule penis, their opponents are the Cowboys’ slacker younger brothers, the Houston Texans. I’m going to level with my dear readers. I’m very very worried about this game. Between the injuries to the offensive line and the shaky secondary, I can’t help feeling like we’re in the Millennium Falcon getting sucked toward the Death Star.

This week, we’re going to do something a bit different in Know Thy Enemy. The aptly named Pat Starr over at the State of the Texans blog kindly agreed to give us the lowdown on his team. After you’re done reading this, click on over to check out my answers to his questions. In the meantime, I’m going to stick to my regular format but insert Pat’s info when appropriate. So text is me, quote block’s are Pat.
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Week 1 Recap: Ravens Humiliate Steelers

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Who saw that coming?

The [intlink id=”141″ type=”category”]Baltimore Ravens[/intlink] handed the [intlink id=”21″ type=”category”]Pittsburgh Steelers [/intlink]one of the most humiliating defeats in franchise history yesterday afternoon. The final score of 35-7 doesn’t even begin to accurately describe the level of domination the Ratbirds displayed in humbling the defending AFC Champions. This was the team’s first opening day loss since 2003 and their worst opening defeat in 14 years.  The Steelers had seven turnovers, the most in any single game going all the way back to September 24, 1995.

This was the Ravens’ Super Bowl and they played like their season depended on each and every play.  I’m only shocked they didn’t dump Gatorade on their coach when the final whistle blew. Speaking of head coach John Harbaugh, what a shameful display of showboating. Refusing to call off the dogs when the game was comfortably in hand is one thing, fist pumping and acting the fool is absolutely uncalled for. When he dialed up a fake kick/2 point conversion when an extra point would have sufficiently put them ahead by three scores, the message was clear. Then, late in the fourth quarter with the game clearly over, he had Joe Flacco throwing bombs in to the end zone in an obvious effort to run up the score.

I’m not going to complain about that or the thuggish Ravens going after Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor inciting a near brawl in the third quarter (which somehow ended with only Ike getting a penalty although I’m sure the Ginger Dictator will find some way to fine the entire defense).  The word “class” is associated with Baltimore about as often as Justin Beiber is associated with masculinity. The Ratbirds swagger and boast when the Steelers are dominating them, what should we expect when they actually win for once?
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Two Steelers Say Hello, Two Say Good-Bye

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With the days left at training camp dwindling down, the Pittsburgh Steelers are busy getting their medical house in order. I haven’t been following other teams’ camps but I have to wonder if they’ve been experiencing the number of injuries this team has. Every day somebody is sitting out of practice.  If things continue at this rate during the regular season, they might as well install a revolving door in the trainer’s room.

The biggest news on the injury front involves cornerback [intlink id=”101″ type=”category”]Ike Taylor[/intlink]. Evidently, Friday’s debacle in Washington was more costly than simply robbing our lives of precious minutes we’ll never get back. Face Me Ike broke his left thumb which is sort of ironic for a guy whose hands are made of stone.  He underwent surgery to insert a pin but is expected to be back in time for the season opener.  The other good news is, it’s Ike Taylor.  It’s not like breaking a finger or wearing a cast is going to impede his ability to catch the ball.
Read More »Two Steelers Say Hello, Two Say Good-Bye