By the numbers, there were a few intriguing storylines to last night's debac...I mean, game. For instance, "How many plays for zero or negative yards would the Dolphins have?" (many), "How many potheads would Lawrence Timmons step on?" (one), and "How many points would be scored in the game?" (three).
Yes, last night was not a shining moment for anyone involved. Joey Porter put it best when he said that "it was like playing on the beach", although I would imagine that the beach had more traction and a more attractive crowd.
Mike Golic was on TV/radio this morning blaming the four high school championship games and Saturday's Pitt game for the poor turf, but in actuality the culprit was the new turf installed after those games. Unfortunately, each of those games ended up being more interesting than the Steeler game. Give me more Central Catholic-Gateway.
Monday night's other major storylines, other than Big Ben's upcoming exclusive interview with Channel 4 ("I don't play football for the money"), Seal's music being played at every break, and the possibility of Dave Wannstedt showing up to personally choke Ricky Williams, was the presence of one Joey Porter.
The Dolphins got their money's worth, with the $32 Million Interception Heard Round the Burgh. Mr. Peezy ended the game with 8 tackles (6 solo), 1 pick, and his 11th loss since leaving Pittsburgh.
It's hard to say anything about the actual play in a game like last night's, but I'll try. I thought the Steelers, when not sinking in quicksand, were sloppy. They had several killer penalties that wiped out first downs, and that's an aspect of the game that can't be blamed on the ground crew. The Dolphins looked every bit the part of an outmatched team, but they have to get credit for hanging in there. When your offense consists of John Beck handing off to Patrick Cobbs (who was briefly a Steeler, by the way), honestly, what do you expect?
The Steelers, coming off of consecutive games against 1-8 New York and 0-10 Miami in which the combined score was 19-19, will next face off against Hall of Famer Chad Johnson, Carson the Great, and the Cincinnati Bingles on Sunday night. In a nice change of pace for NBC, it's not a Patriot or NFC East game. Hopefully the game will also be a nice change of pace for Steeler fans, who've witnessed consecutive stinkers the past two weeks.
News and notes:
--I take my hand off to Willie Parker for crossing the 1,000-yard mark. Now if he could only improve on scoring just 2 TDs this season...
--Your obligatory Big Ben update: he's currently ranked #2 in passing in the NFL at 106, behind only Tom Brady at 127.9.
--More fun Steeler rankings: 2nd in total rushing, 22nd in total passing, 12th in total offense; 2nd against the rush, 1st against the pass, and 1st in total defense; 1st in points against and 4th in net points; and 1-1 against the Jets and Dolphins.
--Don't forget, the Steelers are now 2-0 with two shutouts without Troy Polamalu and Santonio Holmes in the lineup.
--Was I seeing things, or was that a Willie Reid appearance last night in crunch time?
--Nice interview by Stan Savran last night with Gabe Rivera on FSN's pregame show. And speaking of pregame shows, has the WTAE Sally Wiggin Monday Night show become a Pittsburgh institution yet?
--Let's send a thank-you note to the Cleveland Browns for continuing to win each week. I'm convinced that their success is, at least in a small part, pushing the Steelers.
