Fresh Eyes: Part II

Steven Nelson and Sean Davis: Karl Rosen photo, Steelers.com

by Ivan Cole

The Disclaimer. It has always been my standard practice when discussing the possibilities of any new season to caution that all is subject to change based upon the potential impact of an unavoidable factor in the NFL dynamic: Injuries. 

Usually I have spoken of this in the manner of those commercials where a narrator in rapid fire fashion attempts to slip past you the possibility that in addition to the wonders provided by the product they are selling, there is also a chance that it could kill you. In this segment there will be a deeper dive into the Disclaimer, providing a more specific set of arguments and information related to just how injuries might play out as anything from an annoyance to a derailment of the 2019 Steelers’ championship aspirations. 

Question # 2: Who do we not want to see on a long-term injury report? 

Random Thoughts on Browns @ Steelers

Photo via Steelers.com/Karl Rosen

As fate would have it, I was only able to follow the score updates on NFL.com during the actual game. (It’s complicated.) But I did manage to watch the condensed version on Gamepass last evening, which it may interest you to know took 33 minutes total. There seems to be a lot of wasted time in a football game.

Which was, I guess, my first random thought. Here are some more, in no particular order:

The Case for the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers

Karl Rosen photo/ Steelers.com

By Ivan Cole

I begin with my usual disclaimer that I focus on potentialities rather than predictions. Many things can and will happen between now and February that impact outcomes. I will address some of these shortly. That being said, it’s not going out on a limb to assert that the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers are legitimate Super Bowl Champion contenders as measured by the accumulated talent, organizational leadership and support. Unfortunately, there is more involved. What follows are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse that alone or in tandem can undermine a season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Play Real Football—Sort Of

Photo via Steelers.com

I suppose my title is not quite accurate. The players were playing real football, but a good many of them were very likely (hopefully?) not the guys that will be suiting up for the regular season. This is, presumably, part of why so many people hate the preseason. Me? I love it. The games are almost worry-free (other than the injury issues) as the end result doesn’t actually matter very much. And it is exciting to see how the youngsters perform in game action.

As for the players, as David DeCastro said, they enjoy the chance to hit other people. I laughed when Tunch Ilkin said the same thing the other day in a post-practice report, but I can see that especially for the veterans it would be a relief. When you’re hitting your own guys you don’t want to be the one that injures someone. While presumably you don’t want to injure other people’s players either—after all, the guy you obliterate could end up being a teammate later on—it surely doesn’t have the same impact as possibly taking out someone you know and whom your team might need down the road.

The Steelers’ Christmas Gift to their Nation

Photo via Steelers.com

By Ivan Cole

Last season the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens provided Steelers Nation, and the rest of the football loving world, a high-stakes, high drama matchup for Christmas, capped by Antonio Brown’s Immaculate Extension, a division title and a playoff berth. For that positive bit of holiday entertainment, the scheduling gods at the NFL decided that it would be good for business if the Steelers worked on Christmas Day for the second consecutive year. One wonders if somewhere someone is mulling the perverse notion that Christmas for Pittsburgh could be what Thanksgiving is for Detroit and Dallas. Let’s hope not.

The Steelers delivered again, only this time the gift was for their fans alone. What they gave them, appropriate for the occasion, was peace.

Pittsburgh has been enjoying one of its most successful seasons, but it has been a mostly unrelenting, high stress affair. The endings have been mostly happy and satisfying. Steelers fans have gotten the wins that we crave, an early seat into the playoffs, and a tie for best record in the conference. The football watching public has gotten a consistent diet of high drama and last second heroics.

While Steelers Nation can appreciate this kind of play as disinterested observers, they neither need or want this kind of thing when it involves their own team. So, while the game was almost certainly a boring, disappointing blowout to most fans, for followers of the Steelers it was just what the doctor ordered—a dominating performance that did not disturb the good feeling of not just the day, but with a Bye secured, pushed back any feelings of anxiety for a fortnight, which is the most likely time anything of significance will occur.

On Second Thought: Homer J’s Game Notes and Grades

Photo via Steelers.com

By Homer J.

In Pittsburgh, Monday night games throw everything off. Even the trash collection is delayed a day this week. Therefore the 5 Smoldering Questions will appear tomorrow, which, last time I checked, will be Thursday. And as usual my comments will be in italics..Ed.

Are you ready for some football?  Not looking for a Christmas miracle. Just a win over a badly depleted opponent. And keeping everyone healthy. That, and a Red Ryder B-B gun. Is it too much to ask for?

Acme Fake Spike Kit Fails Steelers, Who Fall to Screwjob in Dusty Finish

Photo via Steelers.com

By Homer J.

Pregame remarks:

All right. Cue the music. It’s Cliff Friend’s 1937 classic “The Merry Go Round Broke Down.” When the Steelers face the Patriots, it’s Looney Tunes, and too often the Steelers are Wile E. Coyote and the Tom Brady is the Road Runner. So cue the Looney Tunes music….Gotta wonder what Coach Tomlin has purchased from the Acme Corporation this time around, and whether it’s gonna work.

Either that or we’re the Washington Generals and the Patriots are the Globetrotters. But, as Krusty always says, “the Generals are due.” Rooting for the Steelers is the triumph of hope over experience, but hope, talent, and home field advantage can go a long way.

Why the hell are they running commercials locally when the game is getting underway? We missed the first entire minute of the game while they ran commercials…

Steelers reach into their pocketful of miracles to win eighth straight, so that they can give the game ball to Ryan Shazier

Photo via Steelers.com

By Homer J.

As per usual, heavily edit (and occasionally commented-upon) game notes will be followed by Homer’s report card. I’m amazed he had the strength.

The mood was jubilant at first:

LET’S WIN THIS ONE FOR RYAN! If emotion can win football games, the Steelers will win this one by fifty. But a defense without Shazier and Haden is suspect, to say the least. It’s Sunday Night Football, and the best rivalry in the NFL. Let’s get started….

Rosie Nix plants Chris Moore on the opening kickoff at the BAL 17…and then…

Packers @ Steelers—Something for Everyone

Photo via Steelers.com

By Ivan Cole…in which Ivan gives the best description of being a Steeler fan I’ve ever read.

Rebecca raises the question ‘Are you entertained?’, and the definitive answer is yes. But let’s delve deeper.

Obviously, for all but the most masochistic of Steelers fans, you don’t need this kind of entertainment. If you were wondering what it might be like to devoured by a tiger while the incident was being taped on YouTube, this was pretty close. You know that the video will certainly go viral, but the next few moments are really going to suck. There was a happy ending, but like some of the best amusement park rides (thrills and chills) there was a lot screaming, cursing, vomiting and petitions to God along the way.

Packers @ Steelers: Are You Not Entertained?

Photo via Steelers.com

The answer to the question posed in the title depends, I suppose, upon how strong your heart is. I’m guessing this was a highly entertaining game to watch for anyone who didn’t have a dog in the fight. (Actually, I’m guessing most unaffiliated viewers were rooting for Green Bay because, you know, underdog, backup QB, Aaron Rodgers blue eyes and friendly insurance commercials and so on.) For us Steeler fans it was the usual coronary-in-waiting. Although I’m guessing that Steeler fans actually have stronger-than-average hearts, because if they don’t they don’t survive.

And let’s just get this out of the way before the Yinzer Cult of Doom, as Homer would have it, gets started—how often do you win a game with a minus 3 turnover ratio? I would have to look that up, and I’m not sure how. But my guess is, not very often. I know for sure that’s the case with the Steelers, for quite a while. If they win the turnover battle, they usually win the game. And vice versa.