We can all breathe a sigh of relief now that the Steelers have finally won again. Granted, it was against winless Cleveland, the joke of NFL. The Steelers’ win wasn’t exactly pretty, but it was exactly what this team needed. Le’Veon Bell was the star on offense, resurrecting a run game that had been absent in recent weeks. But it was the defense that really stood out. The Steelers finally got some pressure on the Cleveland quarterbacks. There were eight sacks on the day and plenty of other pressures on the Browns’ signal callers. The Steelers dominated the hapless Browns. Now it’s on to Indy on a short week for another must-win game against the Colts.
• I’m not sure if the Steelers’ defense was terrific or the Browns’ offensive was horrendous. It was probably a little of both. What can’t be argued is that the Steelers delivered some monster hits in the win against Cleveland. Mike Mitchell, Stephon Tuitt, Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons delivered some blows that some of the Browns will surely feel come Monday morning. I don’t remember seeing so many vicious hits by the Steelers in the same game for quite some time. Hopefully it’s a sign of what’s to come.
• Mike Tomlin’s in-game decisions leave me scratching my head. He got lucky at the end of the first half when back to back penalties gave the Steelers a third chance to score. Tomlin went for the touchdown instead of kicking a field goal with the score just 6-0. Had the Steelers come up empty the Tomlin haters would have had even more to scream about. I can assure you that Chuck Noll would have kicked the field goal even before the two defensive penalties. And that’s exactly what I would have done too.
• IUP made a heck of a statement in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs. The Crimson Hawks not only blew out Fairmont State, they jumped out to a 42-0 lead by halftime. Who saw that coming? I’m not sure IUP has had a more impressive win in its playoff history. So now it’s on to California for a rematch with the only team to beat IUP this season. The Crimson Hawks won’t have star quarterback Lenny Williams, so it will be interesting to see if they can win again without him. I, for one, wouldn’t count out Curt Cignetti’s team. In fact, I like them in this revenge game.
• If you had told me that Penn State would be 9-2 after their 2-2 start in September I would have told you to go see a doctor. Incredibly, the Lions are just that and can make it a ten win regular season if they can beat Michigan State at home next week. I don’t think Penn State is a playoff team, but they are hot and are really coming on. They were a little off against Rutgers and still shut out the pathetic Scarlet Knights. Penn State is as good a second half team as any team in the country, and they proved it again after a sluggish first half against their Big Ben rivals. If Ohio State beats Michigan at home, and Penn State does the same against Michigan State, James Franklin’s team will face Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. Anyone predict that seven weeks ago?
• Pitt clobbered Duke at home, which wasn’t much of a surprise. The Panthers are really racking up the points. That’s two straight games they’ve put up pinball like numbers. The Panthers are on a bit of a roll themselves as they try to secure a good bowl berth.
• I’d love to see Homer Center win the District 6 title game this week. But it won’t be easy. The Wildcats play powerhouse Bishop Guilfoyle, a team that hardly ever loses while winning state championships. Guilfoyle, like the other private and Catholic schools, recruits players, though they’ll never admit it. They simply reload every year, and their record proves it. They have a tremendous advantage that most schools don’t have. But don’t expect the powers to be to change the rules anytime soon. And that’s why you can expect Guilfoyle to keep winning year after year.
• The Pens looked awful in their blowout loss at Washington the other night. It was a great win for the Caps, but it was only a regular season win. Until the Caps beat the Pens in the playoffs, when it really counts, I’m chocking it up as nothing more than a bad night for the black and gold. The Pens looked a heck of a lot better in their win against the Islanders and overtime loss in Buffalo. When Sidney Crosby is on, and he was in both games, the Pens have a chance every night.
• The more I keep reading and hearing about the Pirates possibly trading Andrew McCutchen this offseason, the more I believe it will happen. And that might be a good thing, provided the Pirates get a good return. Any deal has to include a top notch starting pitcher for Pittsburgh. One crazy trade that was thrown out there this past week had the Pirates trading six players, including five of their top prospects, to the White Sox for pitcher Chris Sale. I don’t know what the guy who came up with that was smoking because that’s beyond stupid. And so let the hot stove league trade talk begin!
