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

Pre-Game Analysis By the Fans! CLICK HERE for Post-Game Analysis. The following comments are listed in the order they were received with the most recent entries at the top. This isn't a "guestbook" format... I read and manually insert every message, so you may not see your submission show up for a day or two. Week 13 Pittsburgh at Jacksonville Submitted by Tim Arbisi Oh boy. When I wrote after the loss to Cleveland, I prayed we would at least not start T-zak. But there he will be, tomorrow night, ready to throw three interceptions and get sacked five times. Nothing against the guy, but come on, he's older than most of the league. Actually, that's the least of my concerns. I'll repeat one thing I've said before: the quarterback is NOT our number one problem. I know it sounds crazy, but have you already forgotten 1997? I realize Kordell isn't is great as some of us thought him to be, but he's not as bad as he's looked, either. I have to place fault, once again, with the front office of Rooney and Donahue. They let Yancey go. They let Searcy go. They let Jackson go. They let Hastings go. They let Mills go. They let Green go. Fine, let them go instead of overpay them, which most of their current respective teams are now doing, but REPLACE them--and not just with unproven rookies. And hell, would it kill us to just once overpay PROVEN talent when we already take multi-million dollar chances on unproven talent like Kordell, Faneca, and Edwards? And can we hang onto an offensive coordiantor for a few years straight? The offense was at times unstoppable in 1997--in '98 and '99 we are predictable and dormant. Has anyone yet figured out really what type of quarterback Kordell is? Has the guy received any clear guidance yet? With Chan he was roll-out king, threatening to run or go deep. With Sherman he was supposed to be a "real" quarterback (a la O'Donnell?), learning how to sit in the pocket and read coverage, doing the west-coast dump-n-dink. What that proved is that Kordell can get sacked like any other normal q-back. In essence, Sherman utilized none of Kordell's strengths and bared all of his weaknesses. And this year? Schizophrenia 101. Pocket? Rollout? It seems Gilbride has taken a more systematic approach, placing more emphasis on reads and carefully planned patterns, leaving much less room for improvisation. That might be great for Troy Aikman and Dan Marino, but we have a rough-edged, exciting playmaker in Kordell Stewart. I'm not saying Gilbride is wrong, but I question whether his offensive philosophy--the third in as many years--fits the current player personnel of the Steelers. So rebuild on, fair Steelers! We know you will be back when you solve your schizophrenia, and when--a little harder for stubborn Rooney--you actually sign at least a couple of proven free agents. Remember, we signed Wolford in '96 and Greene in '95. But since then, every team in the NFL has looked to us as the league's provider of talent. I'm sick of not getting compensated. Let's get aggressive, Rooney! Oh, one last thing. I know all of you Pennsylvanians (and Ohioans) have always hated the Browns and Bengals from way back, but the Jaguars have become my number one division team to hate. Have they ever had to build or rebuild anything? They took advantage of absurdly generous expansion draft rules along with the Panthers when they came into the league, allowing them to compete immediately (they went to the championship game in their second season! Can anyone say Bucs and Seahawks?), humiliating us in their first season. They lure away our offensive and defensive talent, and now they copy our defense by signing our former def. coordinator. This year has to take the cake, what with signing both Capers AND Lake. It's a slap in the face. I hate Coughlin's beady muskrat eyes, and I hate their gloating receivers. The only player I like is Boselli, and how I wish we could sign him away in free agency to give them a taste of their own medicine. The team is opportunistic and undeserving, in my humble opinion, and it would make my year (since the playoffs are pretty much history) to beat them in their house, where we've never won. I guess it's some kind of sick compliment that this team feeds of the Steelers' talent, like some disgusting parasite. I hope our defense rises to the occasion, the running game returns to form, and T-zak can throw more touchdowns than interceptions. If so, give us the upset. If not, well, you have to dream a little. Tim Arbisi Submitted by Will Smith Well, Kordell is now a WR, at least for the rest of this year if T-zack plays well. Rooney said Kordell will be the starter in 2000. I for one hope he can turn it around, but they had better bring someone in just in case. Unfortunately, they won't really be able to afford to bring any good QB's in, especially in light of all of our other needs like tackles on the O-Line. I think there are going to be a lot of players cut next year. Here's my predictions: look for Farris at RT and porter at ROLB, & look for Strelzcyck at LT. I expect the Steelers to take a QB no later than the 3rd round with possibly a OL or WR in round 1. I think they also need to draft a fullback, but knowing the Steelers, they won't take one until the later rounds (I can't believe I'm talking about next year). As for the Jaguars game, we might make it close. T-zack is normally a good QB for about 5 or 6 games before he falls apart, so it's good that there are only 5 games left in the year. If he plays as well as he did against the porous Bungles secondary, then we might actually have a chance to win. And here is the irony of it all: Kordell will be providing T-zack with what Kordell himself needed most... a big play WR. Who knows... maybe Kordell will enjoy being loved by the fans so much he'll agree to stay at WR where he'd easily be our best receiver. Only time will tell. Submitted by Johna Klym Correct me if I am wrong, my brutha, but didn't we make it to the playoffs 2 years ago when Tomczak was the QB? And Kordell was just being "Slash" and enjoying himself? I mean, the man even punted the ball for God's sake. Why change a winning formula? I know Tomczak is a 15 year veteran who probably won't be in the league much longer, but he can make things happen -- and he's proven it. Kordell can make things happen, too, but more so in the capacity of Slash. Kordell the receiver? Touchdown! Trick play with Kordell as the QB? Go for it! Kordell on defense? Another sack! (Hey, it could happen) The idea of spontaneity and unpredictability is that you can't predict what's gonna happen. With 3 consecutive losses, aren't we predictable enough? I've got a ton of optimism for our team, even when I'm surrounded by sh*t talkers. I mean, I survived the 80's. But I need to hear some positive things from other fans. Even the greatest cheerleader can only do so much. Steelers Head Cheerleader West Coast Division (Originally from Latrobe) PS--- LOVE the site! (Except for orange & brown color scheme the day after the Browns win.) Submitted by Scott Springer To Steelers fans everywhere, DO NO GET YOUR HOPES UP JUST YET!!! No, it's a little early for that. This Pittsburgh Steelers team is still not even a good team - offensively, at least - now, nor will they be the rest of this year. Why? Very simple - we have no line. Our offensive line is a patchwork at best. With all the injuries that they've sustained this year, along with the typical free-agent losses that occur every year, this line is simply not that experienced. I think I went over this before. There's simply too much youth on that line to have consistent success this year. That was no more evident than this past weekend when the Steelers drives died repeatedly in Bungle territory. Whether it be penalties or the inability to move the D-line back one yard on two plays to get a first down, the line play is inconsistent at best. Even now - even with Kordell's consistent flops - I still blame the offensive line for the majority of the problems that the offense has had this year. They forced Kordell to carry the burden by shutting down the run. Granted, Kordell had plenty of opportunities to make other teams respect his passing ability and prevent aggressive run defense from shutting down the offense; he couldn't do it. Still, if the line could move people and Bettis get's 4.2 to 4.8 yards/carry, then this offense would be looking somewhat better than it currently is. T-zak will make plays, but as we saw in the second half last week, he can't make all the plays. Poor line play will haunt him, and the offense in general, for the rest of the year and possibly next year as well. Strategy for the future: disregard the defense in the upcoming draft - unless free agency rears it's ugly head again. Focus on getting linemen, receivers, and maybe even a QB - the guy from Marshall looks OK. The line is the biggest priority though. Also, see what is out there in the way of free agent linemen. There's nothing better than NFL experience on the offensive line, as long as it's a quality lineman. Enough for now. Scott Springer Hershey, PA Submitted by Terry Ingle From reading my previous post on the Cinci postgame section, I surely did not mean to label myself as a FAIR-WEATHER fan. I just needed to clarify that! Through thick and thin, there is nothing better than Black and Gold. There is absolutely nothing wrong with venting a little bit of frustration, seeing the situation that the greatest football team on the face of the earth is putting "US" (GREATEST FANS IN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE) through. We as fans have earned, and I say again, EARNED that right to be critical about what is going on. Day in and day out, I sleep, eat, drink, $#!T, etc., the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have never, and will never hang my head or change the subject when the topic of the Pittsburgh Steelers arises. Hell, every team goes through a rough time. That is what happens on the National Football League. Every dog has its day and we are having ours. Sure, the season may be lost at this point, but you can believe that I will prepare the same way for every game that remains and wait with great passion and anxiety till kick off. Deep down, I really don't believe that the players are losing this thing on purpose. Knowing the front office, Coach Bill "JAWS" Cowher, and the great city and people of Pittsburgh, this is not a rebellion to us fans from the team. They are as stumped about this as we are. Bottom 'ine... WE'LL BE BACK!!! (Schwartzenegger). There is no doubt in my mind. Until then, we as fans need to be as supportive as we can be, at least I will be. Like Tim said in your post, Kordell is handling this demotion in a very positive manner. That too makes him a great leader for me. We need to hang in there as fans and back this team 110%. I have slept on my earlier post and haste took over my mind, body and soul. That's not saying I am happy about the situation, but, what can I do about it? NOTHING!!! I just wanted to add these comments after going back and reading what I said earlier after the Cinci game. We will overcome this. Later, my BRUTHAS!!! Terry (a.k.a. - M1A1HVY) "ARMOR"... THE COMBAT ARM OF DECISION Submitted by PUG02 Holy smokes, Cowher still has some brain cells! I am so glad that Kordell is out of there. Mike did great job and no one could possibly dispute that. I read all of the comments and I only have one concern... nobody has mentioned Pete Gonzalez. Why?? I agree that Mike is not the answer for the future, but I truly believe that Pete is deserving of a chance. I guarantee he could not possibly do worse than Kordell. It seems that no one believes that Pete has the stuff to get the job done. Well, I have a question... why did Donahue and Cowher sign him? Let me share some thoughts... "there once was a guy named Bret Favre who was the lonely back up in Atlanta and Green Bay"... "there was once a guy named Mark Brunell that was the unheard of backup at both Green Bay and then backed up Steve Buerline in Jacksonville"... there once lived this awesome QB in arena football, I think his name was, um, um, Curt Warner or something like that." Get the message? We have a guy on our team that should be given some time to play. He just may surprise everyone, kinda like the guys I just mentioned. That's my take this week folks. I live here in Jacksonville and I will be at the game Thursday with my Black n Gold. I will always bleed "Black n Gold". Trust me, we will beat the Jagwads!!! Submitted by Travis Tallman Howdy All Steeler Fans, To start off I am not surprised to see Kordell come in and play WR. The bottom line is that the kid wants to WIN. We often overlook his passion (you really think that Neil O'donnell ever gave a crap?) and heart for his poor play. I do not think that fans hate Mike Tomczak, we just know that he is the equivalent of a band-aid on a sucking chest wound. Tomczak is not the long term solution and we as fans hate knowing that. So the bottom line is, if Kordell is never to be our future Quarterback (god forbid), what do we do then? You would be hard pressed to find our next QB Mesiah in Free Agency. A veteran Quarterback may be a wise purchase, but unless Kordell comes into the fold, we are going to have to draft a QB and... this is the hard part ... start all over again. Some sportswriters think that we should draft a quarterback in the 3rd-4th round and then work him in. That sounds fine but the prime stock of QB is usually gone after the first round. I still see Kordell playing quarterback for us, sometime in the near future. It is easier to replace coaches than quarterbacks. Travis Tallman Submitted by Tommy "Fleetwood 'N' Julio" Coleman Pre-game TEAL TONGUED PLAUGE SPOTTED WHARF RATS. 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