The Steelers beat the Detroit Lions yesterday 28-20. We're glad they won but are we going to have to worry whether the defense will give up the lead the offense has managed to get all year? We have no idea whatsover what's up with the defense and why it is letting big leads dwindle in the second half. We're not talking about a potent offense when we talk about the Lions (or the Bears or the Bungles) but yet the defense is letting them walk all over them at the end of games. The end of this game ended well - in a win of course, but also in the three sacks in a row and Ike Taylor's nice pass deflection in the end zone. But two other games did not end well and there should be no excuse for it. This is the defense that is supposed to carry the team when the offense, especially the running game, couldn't get going. Now the offense is carrying the team while the defense can't seem to handle much. Hopefully Dick Lebeau has a few tricks up his sleeve to save this defense.
- Big Ben looked pretty good. That's about all we have to say on that.
- Heath Miller was outstanding yesterday and we hope that they continue to use him as much as they have been so far. He has great hands and the ability to break a few tackles. He's also a great blocker. By far the most underrated tight end in the league in our opinion. Also liked the good HEEEEEEEEEEATH chant in Detroit. Nice.
- Limas Sweed continues to drop passes while Mike Wallace mostly shines. Wallace messed up by dropping a ball he should have caught and then was penalized with a delay of game after needlessly kicking the ball out of frustration. But the difference between Sweed and Wallace is that Wallace got to redeem himself by scoring a touchdown, Sweed wasn't so lucky.
- Hines Ward gets his first touchdown of the year, which seems surprising considering how well his season has started, but nonetheless gets that out of the way. He still continues to do what he does best. Still also the toughest receiver in the league.
- Where's Santonio Holmes?
- Rashard Mendenhall still looks good. Not quite the show he put on last week but great nonetheless. It's nice to see a bulkier back working hard for yards, unlike what we've been seeing from Willie Parker. Mendenhall should have had two touchdowns yesterday but one was called back on a penalty. Not bad at all.
How random that we type the title and start uploading the picture that the Steelers version of the Disney commercial with the famous, "I'm going to Disney World!" quote comes on. We turned on the Disney Channel about 30 minutes ago and there it was. Yes, we know it's the Disney Channel but it's your best chance of seeing the ad on TV and we were obviously right, it only took 30 minutes. But lucky for you, the commercial is already on YouTube so you can watch it right here:
There will be no official recap from us, we were too pumped to take notes. And notes are the only way we can semi-coherently come up with a recap because we have a bad memory. But obviously we can't forget James Harrison's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown or Santonio Holmes' amazing toe-dragging reception for the game-winning touchdown. The following are our thoughts on the game and all that surrounded it.
- How big was James Harrison's interception?! It doesn't get a whole lot bigger than that. It was no surprise that the biggest play on defense was by James Harrison, but who would have thought it would be an interception on the goal line that was taken back 100 yards for a touchdown. Who knew the big man could run like that? That play couldn't have been any better as the Cardinals were prepared to tie or go up just before the half and James Harrison just runs in there and picks it off. Wow. Saving a touchdown was enough for excitement, and then to see the big man run 100 yards and score a touchdown?! Insane. How someone didn't bring him down we'll never know, but just wow.
- The other big play of the game obviously being Santonio Holmes' fingertip, toe-dragging catch with 35-seconds left in the game to put the Steelers ahead 27-23. That entire drive was amazing, with Big Ben going to Holmes on several occasions, including a 40-yard gain. We're sitting there thinking that this really wasn't happening, being down 27-23 with just over two minutes to play and the Steelers not being very successful in the red zone as of late. But if anyone could do it, it'd be Big Ben and obviously "Tone." That catch will be replayed for years to come, and with good reason. Three defenders closing in on him and the game on the line after he failed to catch a pass in the opposite corner of the endzone and here it comes again. CAUGHT! Absolutely insane. How receivers drag those feet we'll never understand, let alone a beautiful catch on top of it. Big time player in a big time game. We can't wait to see him develop even more. That catch was also made with 35 seconds left on the clock, the same time as Plaxico Burress' catch in last year's Super Bowl to put the Giants over the Patriots. Ironic huh?
- After that catch, Holmes had himself a little celebration. We can't remember exactly when we saw it during the NBC broadcast because we remember being surprised by it since it wasn't shown right away. All that was shown at first was Holmes sitting down cradling the ball and his teammates coming over to celebrate. Later, we saw his homage to Lebron James. We heard that people were confused as to what he was doing, suggestion hot sauce, ketchup, and something about a rabbit. Huh?! No, it was the chalk routine of Lebron James. A lot of you have probably seen the commercial on TV, but if you haven't, we'll post it here. As for the fact that people were complaining that Holmes didn't get a 15-yard penalty, we figure by the time he did it, they were reviewing the play and/or not paying attention. It happens. As for the celebration, we liked it. Although we do hope Holmes is a little more careful in the future, we also saw him celebrating a first down when he should have been quickly getting to the line of scrimmage. It's about the team, not you.
First, Lebron:
Then Holmes:
Nice.
- We definitely can't forget Big Ben. Ben had a great night and was a completely different player than in Super Bowl XL. He did have one interception in his stats, but that was in no way his fault. Even if he would have sucked the entire rest of the game, that game-winning drive was amazing. You can talk about Tom Brady and Peyton Manning all you want, but we'll take Ben Roethlisberger. He in no way gets the credit he deserves. People try to say he only manages games, but quarterbacks that just manage games don't have as many game winning drives as Big Ben, let alone in the Super Bowl. Maybe people will finally put him up there in the elite class that he deserves. With two minutes left in the game and you're down, we'll take Big Ben any day. And to those who claim he's hurt a lot or is a drama king, we'd like to see you take as many hits as he has and feel great. Yeah, don't think so.
- Speaking of Big Ben, he was on David Letterman last night and he was pretty funny. It was a nice time and you should check it out here:
- We're sure some of you have thought of this too, especially after Mike Tomlin mentioned it, but Larry Fitzgerald streaming down the middle of the field and scoring a touchdown with just over two minutes left was the best thing that could have happened at that point. Yes, we said it, it was the best thing that could have happened. Had the Cardinals not scored that fast, but continued to drive down the field and eventually score (and the way they looked, they were going to score), Big Ben and the Steelers wouldn't have had enough time for a two minute drill. In the end, maybe we should thank Larry for running so fast and Ike Taylor for missing that tackle, because in the end, it all turned out okay. Mike Tomlin said, if they had to score, he was glad they scored fast. Definitely.
- Overall the game was a great one. We should have known that it wouldn't threaten to give everyone heart attacks. There was definitely no better way to end the game than with Tone's touchdown and LaMarr Woodley's fumble. This is a game people will be remembering for a very long time and being one of the best Super Bowls. We feel we can't say that since we haven't seen nearly enough Super Bowls to say so, although out of the ones we have watched, this was the best. Woo!
We're definitely jealous of those of you in the 'Burgh. Between Sunday night's celebration in the streets and the victory parade tomorrow, we really wish we'd been/be there. We were there during the Steelers' last Super Bowl and went to Dick's Sporting Goods after the game to get t-shirts and hats and it was one of the coolest experiences ever with hundreds of other people chanting "here we go Steelers, here we go." People were all really nice and not rude or pushing or shoving like you might expect in such a crowded area. Granted there was some destruction in the celebrations Sunday night, but plenty of people had a lot of fun. We're going to have to wait for our Super Bowl Champs shirts.
