***
I was thumbing through last week's Sports Illustrated (the one with Jerome on the cover) and came across maybe my favorite Steelers photo of the year (even ahead of The Tackle). Watching Ike Taylor hold Tyrone Carter back pretty much convinces me that Carter is probably rabid. If he and Bob Sanders had a steel cage match, you'd expect Sanders to be like, "Um, OK. This dude is crazy. I'm just out there puttin' on a show for the fans. But this is for real. He said he'd eat me, and I believe him." My next homemade Steelers shirt might have to be a #23.In that same SI, several Steelers are asked about their tattoos. Hines Ward, Kendall Simmons and Ike Taylor all explain how they got their tats, and the magazine also included photos so average fans could put a face with the story. Except that SI screwed up. Or maybe they didn't. Maybe there was an asterisk next to where Taylor's mug was supposed to be and it said, "Ike Taylor's photo will be played by Ricardo Colclough's photo for this issue." Honest mistake I guess. Although, how hard is it to look up a player's likeness on the team website?
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One of the great things about starting the season 7-5 is that everybody picks against you, and there's really not much outside pressure to succeed (like, say, the 2004 Steelers, or for a more recent example, the 2005 Colts). Well, that's all changing this week. A lot of people are picking Pittsburgh to win. Of course, that didn't stop Ben Roethlisberger from busting out a modified version of the respect card earlier this week during a Q & A with the local media.
And when I say "a lot of people are picking Pittsburgh to win," that includes a friend to Steelers fans everywhere, Bill Simmons. Yeah, I know, Simmons has been down on Pittsburgh seemingly from the start, and that's upset a lot of Pittsburgh folks, but it looks like things are changing. Or are they? Simmons admits that his picks were garbage last week, and he might be Eddy Mush again Sunday. So maybe he wants the Steelers to lose. To be honest, I don't care either way. And I care even less that Simmons doesn't seem to be a big Steelers supporter.
For starters, he's a New England homer, and he makes that clear up front. I'm in really no position to be bashing people for homerism. Well, unless I was going to punch myself in the face first. Then I guess I'd be well within my rights to give Simmons the business. I'll let you know when that happens. Anyway, back on earth, Simmons doesn't like Pittsburgh, and throws in a "Tommy Maddox sucks," or "Jerome Bettis is fat" joke whenever he can. Big whoop. Plus, all the jabs were worth it after reading his Pats/Broncos recap. Going through that column, I could envision Simmons typing out a few words, then jumping up, running to the bathroom, and behind closed doors, you hear uncontrollable, hysterical crying -- mostly inaudible, save an occasional, "Why Tom?!?, Whhhhhhyyyyyyy??!!??"
Yep, well worth it. (Wait, didn't I just write something about being in no position to bash people? Semantics.) I'm guessing the Steelers aren't very high on Simmons' list of "things that really worry me" after Isiah Thomas, earlier this week, said on Stephen A. Smith's radio show (the only guy, by the way, worse at his job than Isiah Thomas), that "he had something for Bill Simmons." Shouldn't Thomas, a GM of a professional sports team, have better things to do with his time than read Page 2? There is a silver lining however. At least it wasn't Jerome Bettis threatening to jump off the top rope onto Simmons after he made all those chubby jokes last week.
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This might be the most hilarious thing to come out of the Indy game:
I didn't see this during the game but on their radio show, Hines and DeShea said that after the Steelers called TO to ice Vanderjagt, Vanderjagt pointed at Cowher, gave a thumbs up and winked.Who knows if it's true or not, but it's funny as hell.
The funniest non-Vanderjagt-related thing to come out of the Indy game?
Watching the NFL Network "Sounds of the Game" on demand, best line of the Steelers post game locker room:I had heard about this earlier in the week, but finally got to see it today. I forgot Porter goes by J. Peezy and it reminded me of this picture from the start of the 2004 training camp. (note to self: get golf cart with catchy nickname airbrushed across hood.)
Cowher: "Hey Peezy [Porter], will you please be quiet this week?"
Porter: "Aw man, they shot me in Denver!"
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Completely random link to this site has to be this. It's official, I've made my way to Europe. What I found really shocking -- other than the fact that some German speakers find this silliness interesting (Or maybe they didn't -- maybe they were making fun of me. I can't read German) -- is that so many non-English speakers are hugh Steelers fans.
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Before I get to the picks, I feel obliged to mention the Tar Heels (although I suspect only three people reading this may care, and I'm counting myself twice). After their big win over NC State last week, they followed that up with two crap-the-bedders against Miami and UVa. Which is to be expected on a team that starts one senior and three freshman. I saw most of both games, and not surprisingly, UNC was very inconsistent. Not overmatched, or outplayed, just a bunch of little mistakes that together ended up in two losses. And for the record, let it be known, that Quentin Thomas played pretty well in both games. No dribble-knee balls out-of-bounds. No midcourt passes intended for Byron Sanders that end up as turnovers. No falling-down-with-nobody-around-him-turnovers, either. So if there's a bright spot, that's it. Well, that and NC State lost to Duke.
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I just heard this disturbing news while listening to John Clayton on EPSN Radio: the Raiders are very interested in Ken Whisenhunt. I was hoping Whisenhunt might get a shot at the Rams job, but going to Oakland is worse than being banished to Siberia in a banana hammock. That organization redefines "dysfunctional." I'm all for deserving guys getting shots at head coaching jobs, but I think more bad than good can come of this if you're Whisenhunt.
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Anyway, speaking of last week's picks, I was just like Tommy Maddox in the XFL Championship: unstoppable. To the tune of 4-0. Of course half my picks were of the, "I'm picking against these teams because I want them to lose 50-0" variety (hello New England and Washington), and another pick was due to a severe bout of homeritis. I actually thought the Panthers would win, so discounting the other ridiculousness, I was still undefeated at a very unimpressive 1-0. But given my track record, I'll take it.
And speaking of Tommy Maddox, this is just wrong. I think. Okey doke, on to the picks:
AWAY HOME LINE PICKSeason: 118 - 140 - 6
CAR SEA 3.5 SEA
PIT DEN 3.0 PIT
Last week: 4 - 0
Earnings to date: - $3600
Week 1 picks Week 10 picks
Week 2 picks Week 11 picks
Week 3 picks Week 12 picks
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Week 19 picks
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