And... We're Back!

If you had asked me when the last time I posted was, I would have said towards the end of July. I didn't realize that it had pretty much been two months.

Now that I think about it, I was going to mention something about the Pens and their off season and the Pirates and their futility, but I just never got around to it. So, I'm just gonna move past that and talk about the Steelers.

Okay...

Two things about the Pirates:

1. People that are smarter than me (like Keith) think that the Pirates got the best of the deals they made with the Yankees and the Dodgers/Red Sox. Hopefully, in about 3-4 years, we'll be able to trade the guys that we just got for some more guys with potential. Eventually, we'll have, like, 185 guys with tons of potential.
2. As of right now, we suck. And I suck. And you suck. The Pirates are bad for my self esteem.

Moving on...

1. I think it's awesome that the Pens signed someone named Satan. I'm looking forward to making a bunch of jokes about that in the coming months.
2. It's kind of weird and unsettling that Hossa didn't end up signing with the Pens and signed with Detroit. The Pens were offering multiple years and a young nucleus. The Red Wings were offering one year and a bunch of old dudes and one last chance at the cup. And he took the Wings. I guess he's really serious about winning a Cup now. And only now.

On with the Steelers...

On Dan Rooney and the fact that the Rooneys might no longer own the team:

1. The team will get sold and it will probably be to a really rich fucker that doesn't know football, but is a big-time fan.
2. That person will be a great businessman that will leverage the fact that the Steelers are the most popular team on the planet and find new revenue streams for the team. Side note: If the salary cap goes away, the new, rich owner will be the best thing that ever happened to the Steelers. Even if it doesn't, we need an owner that will bring this franchise into the 21st century. Really, we've got that whole, "small market, underdog" thing going for us, but we've got a shot at becoming one of the five most profitable franchises in the country behind the Redskins, Cowboys, Patriots, and Giants. Dan Rooney has been holding us back. I know that's about as acceptable as stepping on the Pope's throat and pissing on him, but it's true. Fiscally, the Rooneys have been holding the franchise back.
3. No one can hate on the NFL in this situation. They have clear guidelines about what interests a team owner can and can't have. They don't even allow team owners to buy teams in other sports... even in other countries, as Tampa Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer found out when he tried to buy Manchester United. So, it goes without saying that there's a little bit of an issue with the NFL and the Rooneys owning a horse racing track and a casino. It's been a long time in coming. The other members of the family want out. Let Dan keep his title and position and Art Rooney II as well. Let them go to the owners meetings. Just run the business properly and cash the checks.
4. Or is that too simple?

On Favre's trade to the Jets:

1. From a PR standpoint, the Packers were trying to cover their collective asses since Lawrence Tynes won the NFC Championship Game. They wanted to know, after two years of being held hostage during the offseason, if Brett was going to retire. So they made him announce something in March. And he cried. And we all wanted Brett to sail off into immortality. When he decided to come back, the Packers had the, "Hey, I've unloaded the dishwasher the last fifteen times" defense going for them, saying that Favre decided to hang them up several months ago. Favre was going to win the PR battle if he changed his mind. They knew it. They just needed to cover themselves in the event that he had a change of heart.
2. He had a change of heart and him and Deanna worked the media for waaaaaaaaaaaay too long before Kaiser Goodell finally said, "Shit or get off the pot." So the Packers shit him to New York.
3. I hope both the Packers and the Jets finish 8-8 this year and no one can say that either team made out in the long run. The important thing is that John Madden has at least another year to extol his man-crush on Favre and that the media will still have shit to analyze. The truth of the matter is that Rupert Murdoch probably paid Favre $15 million to pull this stunt so that people would have something to talk about (and read about online and watch on TV) through the slowest sports period of the year.
4. Favre will join Franco Harris, Johnny Unitas, and Jerry Rice in the Ring of Honor of Players That Should Have Known When Enough Was Enough.
5. I realize that I just shit on a bunch of legends of NFL football just now... but, search your heart. You know I'm right. Funny thing is that Rice and Harris both ended up on the Seahawks, which gave those fucking whiners some ammunition in terms of sour grapes when the Steelers beat them in Super Bowl XL. I mentioned that, right? The Steelers won Super Bowl XL. There's a DVD collection and everything.

On the Byron Leftwich signing/Charlie Batch injury:

1. I don't like Leftwich for this offense. Regular readers (really dating back to 2004 or 2005) know that I like him as a player and a person. I think he has a lot of heart and he's a great natural leader. The guys in the huddle believe in him and play their hearts out for him. However, he's bad for this offense because he holds onto the ball too long and has a throwing motion that takes roughly 45 seconds to complete. If he's pressed into service, he'll get sacked a lot because he isn't nimble enough to shake off a pass rusher, run to the outside, and fling the ball 50 yards to a surprised receiver like Roethlisberger is. It's that simple. We're going to let guys through this season and he would get punished severely. He'll get back up and keep trying, because he's scrappy like that, but he won't get it done.
2. Collar bone injuries are tricky, just ask Charles Rodgers (Google Charles Rodgers Collar Bone). Even when he comes back, he could re-injure it at any time. I think that this injury might effectively end the Charlie Batch Era in Pittsburgh because of the nature of the injury. Dennis Dixon will be the top back-up going into the 2009 season.
3. I'm going to miss Batch. He's from here and he seems like a really good guy.

On the preseason game against the Eagles:

1. I thought the first team offense looked sharp. I liked Big Ben's confidence. I liked that we scored. I also will hold all judgments until I see more, since there was only one series.
2. The offensive line actually looked great. Fewer breakdowns, less Ben running for his life, big holes for Fast Willie. It could be that the departure of Alan Faneca will be a boon to this unit, since the rumors say that he didn't listen to known pornography savant Larry Zeirlein last season. This means that not only was Faneca not helping, but he actively hurt the offensive line. And, with a new center (cross your fingers and hope that Sean Mahan does not return) that means that Ben might call the protections at the line of scrimmage, which means that someone else will not fuck them up. Granted, this was an exhibition game against the Eagles where they did not blitz (the Eagles without the blitz are about as potent as a 90 year-old man without ED drugs), but they looked great.
3. Rashard Mendenhall is not ready. Maybe he shows more in the next few preseason games, but, as of right now, he's a complementary back at best. He runs too high (Tomlin talked about this leading up to the game, Mendenhall got whacked on his first carry, then crouched down the rest of the game) and he can't see the hole. If you have Willie Parker on your Fantasy Football team... KEEP HIM.
4. We still don't have a return team. Mendenhall got work, Drummond got work, Moore got work, but none of them is the answer. We improved from 8-8 to 10-6 by cutting down on turnovers and fixing special teams just a little bit. Imagine how well we can do if we totally straighten out the return game.
5. We won. Goddamnit, that's important. Good job, boys!

On Training Camp:

I went to Training Camp this week and got pictures. They will be posted soon, but I'm too tired after two months of not posting to mess around with Picasa. I will return.

Above All, Remember This:

Football season is right around the corner! Do not abandon hope! Death is but a door, time is but a window... I'll be back.