STEELERS SHOW WHAT THEY'RE CAPABLE OF

I’m not sure the Steelers could have played any better than they did in their dominating victory over Carolina. It was one of the best performances I’ve seen from the Steelers in years. The offense was simply unstoppable, and that’s saying something. The defense also looked great after giving up an opening drive. It just shows you what the Steelers are capable of when they are hitting on all cylinders.
• If the national reports are true, and they usually are, Le’Veon Bell won’t show up to the Steelers by 4 PM on Tuesday and will thus be unable to play this season. It will end a saga that has had numerous twists and turns. At this point I tend to believe he won’t show up, which will mean he will never play for the Steelers again. Bell has gone from being a fan favorite to persona non grata in The Burgh. While he could certainly help the Steelers down the stretch, I get the sense that most fans are glad he will no longer be a distraction and want him gone forever. Who could have ever imagined it would come to this? Certainly not me.
• James Conner, who has made most Steelers’ fans forget Bell this season, is in concussion protocol following the Panthers game. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go when the Steelers head to Jacksonville. Conner has firmly established himself as the Steelers’ number one back, even if Bell returns. Let’s hope he’s OK and that this great story continues.
• Antonio Brown is one of the great players in Steelers franchise history. He’s also one of the most immature I’ve ever seen. His arrest for driving over 100 miles per hour in the city shows how stupid he really is. Thank goodness he didn’t hurt anyone, or hurt himself. Brown always acts like the victim around the media, but his problems are due to his own ridiculous behavior. Speaking of the media, Brown reportedly gave them the one finger salute upon arriving at Heinz Field, and blew by them without talking after the Steelers’ big win. Simply put, Antonio is a complete idiot.
• If you had told me prior to the college season that IUP would contend for a national championship I would have believed you. Had you told me they would not even make the playoffs I would have thought you were crazy. The 2018 team will be remembered as a classic underachiever. Losing three games was unacceptable for fans of the Crimson Hawks. And losing the finale to lowly Shippensburg was downright embarrassing.
• Penn State has a chance to finish 9-3 after taking care of business at home against Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions looked really good after surrendering an early touchdown against the Badgers. Penn State should win easily at Rutgers next week before returning home to face a mediocre Maryland team.
• Pitt has really turned it around. The Panthers looked awesome in blowing out Virginia Tech at home. Because of it, the Panthers have a really good chance to play in the ACC Title game. Who could have imagined that after a few weeks of the season? Pat Narduzzi and his team deserve a ton of credit for turning a potentially disastrous into one that could end up being really special.
• The Pens really needed their most recent victory over Phoenix, which snapped a five game losing streak. For some reason the Pens are just not clicking this season. GM Jim Rutherford is even talking trades, which shouldn’t be good news for many of the underachieving players. It’s still early in the season, but if the Pens don’t turn it around soon there will be changes, and they could be major.
• I wasn’t the least bit surprised that the Pirates signed Jung Ho Kang to a one year deal. The Pirates wisely weren’t going to renew his previous contract because of the cost. This deal is more in line with what they were willing to pay. When healthy Kang has shown great power that the Pirates desperately need. If he produces the deal was worth it. If he doesn’t, the Pirates took a chance and it just didn’t work out.