STEELERS IN BIG TROUBLE

The Steelers are in big trouble. They stunk up Heinz Field last night. I really expected a whole lot more out of the Steelers since they were playing on Sunday night against their arch rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers’ offense looked downright bad, and the defense still couldn’t cover anyone. The season is only one quarter over, but so far it looks like this has the makings of a bad year for the Black and Gold. I’m not sure if the Steelers can turn it around.
• Ben Roethlisberger has been off so far this year. He hasn’t had much luck with his deep throws. Of more concern to me is how he is missing his receivers on his other passes. Big Ben has been inaccurate and just plain bad on so many of his throws. Suddenly he looks like an old quarterback. The Steelers will only go as far as Big Ben takes them. So far it looks like he’s not going to take them anywhere.
• The Steelers have told teams around the league they are now open to dealing disgruntled running back Le’Veon Bell. But one week after that news broke, word is the team has no serious offers. That’s not the least bit surprising to me. I think it will be hard for the Steelers to move Bell this season. I also believe many teams don’t want anything to do with Bell and his agent. All it takes is one team, but for now I’d be surprised if the Steelers can and will trade Bell.
• IUP’s kryptonite is Cal U. The Crimson Hawks remain winless there since 2006 after giving away the game to the Vulcans. Turnovers, penalties and mistakes doomed previously unbeaten IUP. I really expected IUP to win at Cal this year. I guess I should have known better.
• I am still fuming over Penn State’s loss to Ohio State on Saturday night. The Lions had a two touchdown lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t hold it. It’s the second year in a row Penn State had a big lead against OSU and couldn’t put the Bucks away. I’ll never understand the ridiculous fourth and five call by Penn State’s coaches late in the game when they needed to convert to keep a possible game winning drive alive. The run call to running back Miles Sanders was one of the dumbest calls I’ve ever seen. Penn State has lost its last four games by a total of eight points. They’re close to running with the elite in college football, but they’re not there yet. This one will sting for a long time.
• Pitt looked horrendous in its defeat at UCF. The Panthers are a disaster right now. I think you’re going to start hearing a lot about the heat being turned up on coach Pat Narduzzi. He and his staff simply haven’t produced, and they are now in year four. Pitt fans aren’t happy right now, nor should they be.
• I predicted the Pirates would win 75 games at the beginning of the season, meaning the Buccos would have another losing season. To my surprise, they ended up having a winning season. I honestly never expected that. The Pirates had their moments this year. They started strongly, had a lot of losing streaks, and who can forget their 11 game winning streak at one point. Still, this is a club that has a lot of holes. Now let’s see if the front office spends some money to improve the team in the off-season.
• The Pens have had a long off-season to get ready for the 2018-19 campaign. They are rested, healthy and ready to go. The Pens’ window of opportunity to win Stanley Cups is still open. I think you’ll see a bounce-back year from the Pens. They drop the puck against the Stanley Cup champion Capitals this Thursday. Game On!
• How about we just do away with the Ryder Cup. The United States obviously can’t win it, so why subject US golf fans to more disappointment in the future. I don’t know why the Europeans keep dominating this event, but they do. The US golfers should be embarrassed.