Back to Main Page Week 1 at Cleveland Week 2 at Baltimore Week 3 vs. Seattle Week 4 vs. Jacksonville Week 5 at Buffalo Week 6 at Cincinnati Week 7 vs. Atlanta Week 8 BYE Week 9 at San Fran Week 10 vs. Cleveland Week 11 at Tennessee Week 12 vs. Cincinnati Week 13 at Jacksonville Week 14 vs. Baltimore Week 15 at Kansas City Week 16 vs. Carolina Week 17 vs. Tennessee Here We Go! Post-Season 
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Pittsburgh vs. Jacksonville (3-17) "Who gets called for hold-innnnng?... Allows our QB to get sacked... He did it against the Jaguars, On two plays back to back... THE GANDY MAN... THE GANDY MAN CAN... The Gandy man can, though he's lazy, fat and slow, he gets paid real good!" Bill Williamson But this isn't the time to stop driving, Josh... you see, lynch mobs are a blood-thirsty bunch and they are still behind you. If you can, just figure a way to slow down long enough to pick up Kordell and as many of the offensive players as you can fit into the punt mobile without hampering your game. Then again, maybe they've all been hiding in your trunk and you need to kick 'em out so they can get some of that "Spit in the Eye" and "Classic Ass Chewing" that you endured [from Cowher in '97] and that they "ALL" so richly deserve. As for the "lynch mob(s)," maybe they will move to Colorado and join up with those punks in Denver! If not, there is a nasty group of defensive players who may just want to take matters into their own hands. I'm not for vigilante justice, but the War Cry of "Go, Josh, Go" is wearing just a bit thin. Frustrated, but keep'N the Faith, Tommy Coleman P.S.--Memo to Josh Miller: "Good Job!" I have to blame Cowher for a lot of this. His ego stands in the way every time. People can put down O'Dummell (that's for you Tim), but I don't blame him for the Superbowl. He was never a thinking QB. He did what they told him to do, throw where they told him to throw, and I think that is what cost the Steelers the Super Bowl. Bettis can't even score. What the hell were they thinking when they got rid of Tim Lester? Bettis will be the next to go... watch. I wish I could believe Carnell Lake's "good" news that the Steelers are going through a re-building process, implying they will be a contender in the future. But you know what, gang? This is 21st century football, when MONEY makes teams. You thought football was different from baseball and basketball? Well, not anymore. Certainly, revenue-sharing helps a little bit, but in the long run, the teams with deep pockets and a willingness to overspend will gobble up other teams' painstakingly bred and brilliantly drafted talent (how many ex-Steelers can you count on the Jags and Titans?!). And what should turn your stomach most is the fact that Dom Capers, who "graduated" from the Steelers to coach the old-too-soon Panthers, is now defensive coordinator for the Jaguars! How much must they have paid him for a demotion?! The point isn't that we need Capers... Hastlett is doing just fine, thank-you-much... the point is, the real reason why players and personnel leave is $$$$. Hastlett could be gone before you know it. "Oh, we'll just get a new defensive coordinator just as good or better," you say. But how long can that last before we strike out, just like we struck out after Gailey? Of course, escape breeds escape, and coaches and players may sell their houses early (a la Chad Brown) also because of the Steelers can't hang on to talent... a veritable self-fulfilling prophecy of talent-flight. Listen, fellow Steeler fans... I don't mean to be bleak, but the writing is on the wall. I was just too blinded by 97's exciting near-miss to realize it. The story is quite simple: no matter how many great players Pittsburgh continues to draft and develop, we will NEVER win a Super Bowl unless the organization can pay the money to keep them. We're talking serious questions of revenue, here. Look at the Bengals... do you think it's an accident that they haven't fielded a decent team since the '80s? And one-year wonder Atlanta, while hurt by injuries, also lost their star receiver to the big-budget Dolphins (led by former Cowboy coach Johnson... doesn't that say it all?). Denver actually had a defense last year because of free agent acquisitions, and the New Yorkish Jets bought enough talent (including their head coach!) to sniff the Super Bowl last year... even enough to overcome mistake expenditures like O'Donnell. These two teams summarize the entire crappy set-up: 49ers and Cowgirls. Consistent salary cap violations, rule manipulation, and rich owners/funders continually keep these teams on life-support and postponing any "rebuilding stage" they might ordinarily go through. Do you get it, yet? "Re-building", I am honestly sad to say, has been relegated to myth-status; the truth is, Pittsburgh could be a Super Bowl contender in one-two years. How, you ask? $$$$$$$ No money, no talent, no future. Just ask baseball owners. 'Nuff said, NAT Tom Bragg http://community.webtv.net/francoharris/TomsPittsburgh Kordell: overthrows and underthrows for almost 2 quarters before he settles down... this has got to stop. Wide Recievers: Another INT of of a receiver's hands (for whatever reason, Hawkins decides to chuck the ball over his shoulder into the hands of the DB who is piggy-backing him). How about that Edwards on a bad Stewart pass... we smack the ball 10 feet straight up in the air. Just plain dumb. Speaking of dumb... coaching: 4th and 1 flea flicker. Need I say more? Kudos to our Defense for another great game! We were in this one for a long time. I actually had hope in the second half when we were moving the ball and then people took turns making stupid mistakes. Kordell rips off a 20 yard run... penalty. Bettis rips off 11 on first down giving us some momentum and a feeling that we could possibly do something... PENALTY. Fourth and one... a naked bootleg. WHY, WHY, WHY? We were moving the ball! If you are going to run, at least have a blocker. WHY a naked bootleg? I mean, jeez, there wasn't any room to run when our line WAS BLOCKING! Fourth and one (take two)... a flea flicker??? This call really dumbfounded me. The line hadn't stopped anyone from getting into the backfield all day, Stewart hadn't been on target all day (and when he was, the receivers dropped 'em), so WHY would you call it? I just can't understand. Cowher took credit for both of those brain lapses. Well call me a fanatic, but we aren't that far away. Really, I mean look around the league. We aren't the only team that sucks. The Jags were only mildly less pathetic than we were. If Hawkins holds on to that early pass this or our O-line didn't hold on to those defenders on the big runs, or Ward and Stewart both read deep route on that play, we could've easily won this game. Our Defense is Super Bowl stuff, our special teams are good, and Troy Edwards could provide the playmaker we need in a few more weeks. I hold out the jury until mid season based on the fact that we are 1 game out of first (thanks to the 49ers, who beat the Titans) and the fact that in '95 we were 3-4 with a Super Bowl defense and a sputtering offense before we went to the Super Bowl. And besides that, my mind is so disallusioned by my love for the Black and Gold that I have no choice but to believe. And for all those fans that are jumping off of the bandwagons... GOOD RIDDANCE!!! Even if the Steelers don't win another game all season, I'll still be watching and still be rooting for them down until the last minute. These are times when the team needs our support the most, so we might as well give it to them. The bottom line with Kordell is, he is simply not producing! If a player is not producing then he does not deserve to be on the field! If any one has a tape of this game, then check out the fourth quarter as the Steelers defense is coming off the field. Look at their faces. These players are angry and upset because they are playing their heart out wth absolutely nothing to show for it! This is a situation that's going to get worse in a hurry if something isn't done about the team's offense. This probably won't happen, but if Bill Cowher is smart, then Stewart is benched and on Monday, Mike Tomczack is named the starter for the Buffalo game. Regardless of how Tomczack performs, this will send a very clear message to Kordell Stewart that either you produce, or your a$$ sits! A season is hanging in the balance! Tom Bragg http://community.webtv.net/francoharris/TomsPittsburgh OK... I've remained on the Kordell bandwagon up until now, similar to the way I hung in there with O'Dummell until his Super Bowl heroics ruined my day and any Steelers chance of a fifth ring. I'm jumping off in a hurry today. And I'm jumping off the Cowher wagon as well. How many poor performances does a team have to have before someone, anyone, starts looking at the coaching staff for answers, and to lay blame. I'm personally tired of the coddling Cowher seems intent on giving Kordell. I'm tired of the smiles and laughter between the two on the sidelines as if they know something we don't. A Steelers football season isn't a joke to me. It's serious business. I've invested a lifetime of very fond memories in this team only to watch free agency, off and on field offensive and front office complacency, and an obvious lack of work ethic and respect for the opponent make me sick to my stomach on a weekly basis (Now I know what Bears fans have felt like for so long). The seasons a wash. Trust me. The team needs to start building for the future. Now. I could understand the losses if I saw rebuilding going on. It's not. Kordell IS NOT the guy to take this team to the next level. Put Gonzalez in until a real QB is either drafted or signed. Let Kordell carry the board for awhile to get a fresh perspective of the real world, then get rid of him and the big salary. The offensive line absolutely sucks. Dawson is the only talent I see on that line. This is a major project in and of itself. It's going to take big off season money to fix this catastrophe, so start saving money now by dishing Kordell to the f#@%ing Bungles, or something. I like the receiving corps. They're talented, but not gamers. We're stuck with them for now, so start playing Edwards as much as humanly possible. The kid's going to be a star. Use some of the Kordell money to sign a go-to deep threat guy to compliment him, like Thigpen was. The running game remains bright, but we'll never see it flourish because of a pitiful offensive line, a bad QB, and unimaginative play calling (sound familiar?). It's not hard to figure out that teams are still stacking the line to stop the run because Kordell isn't feared as a serious threat at QB. The defense is fine (still awesome, actually). My favorite part of the team. Always has been, always will be. So stop screwing it up by allowing it's stars to run to the gold every year (See below). One last thing to the management: PLEASE stop letting valuable, important, fan favorite players go to free agency!!! Hire a f#@%ing accountant to finagle the salary cap like the 49ers have done for so many years. Maybe then we can return to the days where hoping for a championship team didn't seem like such a pipe dream. Christ, I hope I'm wrong. Someone tell me I'm wrong, because I never thought in my entire life I'd ever hear myself say that I wish O'Dummell was still the Steelers QB!!!! Thanks. I had to vent and I appreciate you allowing me the soapbox to do so. Chris
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