The Steelers are winning ugly, but at least they’re winning. They’ve now won four in a row after the defense came through and held the Rams without a touchdown. The Steelers offense isn’t doing much. I’m still not convinced that Mason Rudolph is a franchise quarterback. I’m also not convinced the Steelers have a receiving corps that will help them become a contender. The defense, led by turnover machine, Minkah Fitzpatrick, is another story. They’ve been lights out. Fitzpatrick may very well be the Steelers’ MVP. I wrote last week that I was wrong when I thought the Steelers should not have given up their number one pick in next year’s draft for this kid. I now believe the Steelers pulled off one of the great deals in their history. The Steelers couldn’t buy a turnover last year. This year, turnovers have been plentiful. And that’s one of the reasons the Steelers are now 5-4.
• Mike Tomlin is either really dumb, or he has a lot of guts. His call to go for it on fourth down from around his own thirty in the fourth quarter paid off for the much maligned head coach. If it had failed, Tomlin would have never heard the end of it. With the way the defense was playing I would not have gone for it. Tomlin did, and the result was an eight minute drive that ended up netting the Steelers three points.
• IUP took care of Edinboro and is now just one win away from making the playoffs. The Crimson Hawks got off to their usual slow start, but once they got going they pulled away for an easy win. I was shocked to see that IUP had zero rushing yards in the contest. That’s right, zero yards rushing! IUP closes out the regular season at Shippensburg. Look for IUP to win that one going away as well.
• Penn State played its worst half of the year at Minnesota, fell way behind the Gophers and still had a chance to win in the end. Instead, the Nittany Lions and their fans were left wondering how they lost a game they could have and should have won. Minnesota is good, and they deserved the win. I’ll never understand the play calling by Penn State’s offensive coaches. Late in the game they had a first and goal and came away with no points. They ran the ball three times before finally throwing the ball in the end zone. It was terrible play calling by offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne. James Franklin’s decision to go for two in the third quarter also impacted the game. Penn State’s coaches have done a great job recruiting players. Their game-day coaching, however, leaves a lot to be desired.
• The game of the year, LSU vs Alabama, sure didn’t disappoint. It was a battle of true heavyweights. I’ve watched LSU football closely since 1980, and covered the team for fourteen seasons. This isn’t your father’s LSU Tigers. LSU has finally modernized its offense, and in Joe Burrow has a quarterback who can make big play after big play. Burrow was sensational in the win in Tuscaloosa. He has to be the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman Trophy with three games left in the regular season. Alabama could still get in the four team playoff, but they’ll need help. I’d love to see LSU win it all. So would my many friends in Louisiana.
• The Pens need to get their power play going. It’s been pretty bad over the last few weeks. After their latest come from behind win against the Blackhawks, the Pens are in a 0 for 26 drought and have gone a team record eleven straight games without a power play goal. That’s not acceptable, especially for a team as talented as the Penguins. You can win a lot of games by converting on the power play. The Pens know it. They also know they need to get this thing turned around…and soon!
• Let’s also hope the Pens don’t lose Sidney Crosby for any length of time. He took a puck to the skate against Chicago and never returned. It’s the latest injury to one of the Pens’ star players. It’s incredible how injuries have already impacted this team, and we’re not even to the holidays yet.
• The Pirates really had no choice but to pick up the club options on Starling Marte and Chris Archer. The moves mean the two players will be back in black and gold for this coming year, at least temporarily. Archer has been a major bust in Pittsburgh, while the players the Pirates sent to Tampa are well on their way to becoming stars. But since the club is so desperate for pitching the Pirates had to bring Archer back. Marte is still a good player for the Pirates. By bringing back Marte and Archer the Pirates also have the option of dealing them before next year’s trade deadline. That wouldn’t surprise me at all. The Pirates are in a rebuilding mode, even if they won’t come out and say it. Trading away Archer and Marte will only help them build for the future.
• Dave Parker didn’t get much attention from the writers when he was on the Hall of Fame ballot. He never got close to getting the call to Cooperstown. Now that he is on the ten person ballot the Veteran’s Committee will consider, The Cobra has a real chance. Parker was an absolute stud for the Pirates in the 1970s and was a star on the We Are Family World Champion Pirates of 1979. He put fear into opposing pitchers, and his arm in right field drew comparisons to the great Roberto Clemente. Parker was a seven time All Star, was part of two World Series champions (Pittsburgh and Cincinnati), won three silver slugger awards and was a two time National League batting champ. He batted .290 and had 2712 hits. Dave Parker was a Hall of Fame player. Just look at his body of work. I saw Dave Parker play a lot of games for the Pirates, and interviewed him several times during my college radio days. He was the real deal. Here’s to hoping the Veteran’s Committee gives Dave Parker the only thing missing on his resume, the title of Hall of Famer.
• Former Steeler Antonio Brown keeps on making headlines for all the wrong reasons. AB posted a profane rant against the NFL the other day, going as far as to suggest the league is racist. He also dropped f bombs against the league, the same league that has made him rich. Brown said he never wants to play in the NFL again. Not long after his tirade, the former Mr. Big Chest said he can’t wait to play professional football again. This guy flip-flops more than a politician. Chances are if he is cleared by the league in their ongoing investigation, some team will be dumb enough to sign this clown. I wouldn’t sign him if he was willing to play for free. Brown is a bad guy, and it’s time NFL teams finally wake up and realize he will only bring them down if he ever suits up again.
• It’s going to take Jeff Capel time to rebuild the Pitt basketball program. It looked like this would be a much improved team when Pitt knocked off always tough Florida State to open the season. Fans were left shaking their heads after Pitt was upset by Nicholls State over the weekend. Few saw this one coming. No one ever said this rebuilding project was going to be easy for Jeff Capel. He needs time to recruit and develop his own players. Still, you can’t lose to teams like Nicholls State.
