Steelers on track

...according to Empties Crushed, that is. Yes, all is well. We'll be fine. A tough loss to a team with its back against the wall, at their place. Cutler played out of his mind. Bad weather played a part. A shitty surface played a hand. But those are excuses, and we don't make them. Both teams played under the same conditions, and both had key injuries. Hats off to the Bears for finding a way to win. It was there to be won, and it would've been a nice win. But we looked at this as a potential road bump originally, so no reason to panic.

Thumbs up:

1. Ben, again.
2. Running game got going a bit. Who is this Rashard Mendenhall guy who was scampering down the field?
3. OL looked better.
4. Ike. Never heard his name, the barometer of a quality game from your shutdown CB. And narrowly a peep about Devin Hester.
   

Thumbs down:

1. Santonio. He set the bar, now he has to live up to it. A couple of big drops, including a beauty of a TD pass from Ben, may have lost the game. #10 is a stud...he'll have better days.
2. Jeff Reed...should've signed that deal a few weeks back, brother. I like Skippy, as much as most other Stiller fans do. But the bad thing about Reed is that @ 40% of the Kickers in the NFL are better. This will be his last year in Pittsburgh, because they won't overpay at this position. Props, however, for owning up to it after the game. Unlike...
3. Tyrone Carter. GREAT play on Olsen, separating him from the ball with a huge tit peeling hit. But he is obviously no Troy, and that is evident when we send extra guys to the QB. Rolling coverage on some of LeBeau's blitz calls seemed to be one step behind all day. But major points deducted for the anti-Reed post game comments about being hurt, and he shouldn't have been in there. Those are excuses, and we don't make them.
4. Jerome Bettis. Not that we think he was wrong for voicing his opinions, but only because we think he is a self promoting ass as always.

If you wanna feel better about our Beloved this Monday, my prescription for you is the following:

Sept 27 - @ the Bengal
Oct 4 - home vs. San Diego
Oct 11 - @ the Lion
Oct 18 - home vs. the Brown
Oct 25 - home vs. the Viking

That's 6-1 heading into the Bye Week, just as EC predicted last month.