Blog 'n' Gold : steelers bars

Greatest. Steeler Nation. Tribute. Evah!

Dan Gigler — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:53:00 GMT

Warning: If you play this video, just cash in for the rest of the day because all you're gonna do is daydream about Monday Night Football. One of the best tributes I've ever seen to the borderless 'nation' of Steelers fans. And the song ain't bad either.

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Coming attractions ...

Dan Gigler — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:56:00 GMT

Coming to a City of Champions near you ...

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Getcha popcorn ready. If that doesn't get your pulse up, you might be dead. (H/T to Faceoffs & First Downs, which returns after a summer hiatus)

Coming to a Steelers bar near you (if you're in America this month): Pittsburgh blogger extraordinare Lindsey Patross, founder of the excellent I Heart Pittsburgh blog, is undertaking quite a mission in September -- she'll be criss-crossing the continent on a JetBlue All-You-Can-Jet pass to visit Steelers bars across the country and detailing the experience of meeting Steelers fans and Pittsburgh ex-pats for her blog. She has the pass in hand, all she needs now is your advice on where to go. Check out the details of her trip and make a modest donation to help fund her journey, and get a cool shirt in return.

Coming to a McDonald's near you (if you're in Pittsburgh next week): Beginning Monday, Pittsburgh area McDonald's will be selling and exclusive Steelers 2008 season highlights DVD, "Brothers and Champions" with the purchase of an extra value meal until supplies run out. A portion of the proceeds from each DVD sold will go to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. On Friday, Segways with outfitted with 32-inch flat screen TVs will be wheeling around Ross Park Mall and all around the North Shore are in the late afternoon-evening showing clips from the DVD to the general public.

Coming to a Fox morning show near you (if you're in greater Charlotte Thursday): Because its never too early to start tailgating ... Justin Anderson of the Charlotte Steel City Fanatics is putting out a call to his black 'n' gold brethren (and sistren) to get up reeeeaaallly early on Thursday as the local Fox affiliate's morning show will be doing a live remote broadcast at their regulae spot, the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, beginning at 5:30 a.m. in anticipation of that night's game against Carolina. Bloody Marys, anyone?

LINKS N@

Excellent piece by Chris Brown on the NYT's Fifth Down blog about the Steelers "snag" offensive strategy under Bruce Arians and how it works, and how it snagged them a sixth Super Bowl ring. (H/T to FanHouse)
Turns out, maybe the preseason record does matter ...
Part 2 of Jim Shearer's interview with Jack Ham on Yinz Luv Da Stillers
10 guys, 7 spots. Handicapping who gets 'em
Helpful listing of Steelers meetup groups nationwide
The Mexico City Steelers club was featured on the cover of the Pittsburgh Latino bulletin
An early stab at the all-AFC North team
Stefan Logan projects to be the best return man in the NFL?
Who's prettier: Big Ben or Brady?
The Dynasty

And there was much rejoicing ...

Dan Gigler — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:16:00 GMT

Though the celebrations in Steelers Nation will continue throughout the winter, spring, summer & fall ... we thought we'd share some of our favorite pix from around the globe of where people celebrated the SIX PACK!

From the smallest of towns in Upstate New York ...

... to the largest city in North America ...

to the Eternal City ...

... to the Great Wall ...

... and back to the cradle of civilization, the 'Burgh ...

These Southside photos by the amazingly talented Hryck.

More great celebration shots of postgame and the parade from talented Pittsburgh photogs:

Flickr Pittsburgh Steelers pool.
The parade
South Side: Gallery 1; Gallery 2; Gallery 3; Gallery 4
Bloomfield
Shadyside

Also, if you're local and missed and/or want to relive the victory parade, you're in luck. This from Comcast: Comcast will provide KDKA-TV’s coverage of today’s Steelers Super Bowl Parade free to all digital subscribers through its On Demand service. Comcast digital customers can select the “Your Town” folder on their On Demand menu and then select the “Sports” and “KDKA Steelers Parade” folders to view the celebration.

Buncha other good stuff ...

Best gallery of Steelers Super Bowl pix EVER.
Can Sixburgh get 7?
Tragically bad spelling in Fayette County.
Looking forward for the Steelers
Because it's never too early: Yahoo's 2-rd. mock draft. Guess what the Steelers pick ...

A postcard from Steelers Nation: Bradenton, Fla.

Dan Gigler — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:41:00 GMT

Bob Dvorchak finds a Steelers outpost in Pirates' City ...

BRADENTON, Fla. – What better place to find some Steelers’ fanatics than a cozy neighborhood tavern called Fanatics Sports Bar & Grill? The twist, of course, is that it’s located near the Gulf Coast of Florida about a 40-minute drive south from Tampa.

To walk in is to enter an outpost of Steeler Nation, with patrons in game jerseys and other garb playing pool, throwing darts or feasting on wings. The walls are adorned with player photos and other memorabilia.

Come Sunday, a crowd of about 1,000 rabid fans is expected for a tailgate party and a chance to watch the game inside or in a 30-by-50-foot tent in the parking lot. Cases of Iron City and I.C. Light have been stocked.

"If the Steelers aren’t playing, it’s completely dead in here on a Sunday afternoon it January. You could hear a pin drop," said owner Angie Voss. "But we’ll have an overflow crowd this Sunday. I’ve never seen any fans as dedicated as Steeler fans."

One fan who will be there on Sunday is Therese Gratton of Bridgeville, who was transferred to Florida by her employer, Champ Sports Merchandise.

"I asked around if there was a place to watch the Steelers, and I found Fanatics. It feels like home," she said. "You hear more yinz than y’all. The Steelers are our soul food. This week has been like Christmas Eve. Sunday can’t get here soon enough. You may not even know the person sitting next to you, but we all have one thing in common – the Steelers."

One couple has merged their love of the Steelers with their love of each other. Desi Johnson of North Braddock was in Fanatics one Sunday screaming above the crowd. She got the attention of Mike Johnson of Bradenton, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"See that girl?" he told a buddy. "I’m going to marry her one day."

Sure enough, after meeting in the tavern, they traveled to Pittsburgh last season for a Monday night game against the Ravens. He popped the question, and she accepted.

"I had never been to Pittsburgh, but when I was a kid, my room was painted gold with black curtains. I saw Terry Bradshaw play and I was hooked," he said.

Their Jack Russell terrier is appropriately named Myron. They just got a 50-inch flat screen TV for home, but they’re more than happy to join the crowd to watch on one of 15 TVs.

"I fell in love with the color of the uniform," he said, sporting a Dermontti Dawson game-worn jersey.

Chuck Habora, 39, was born in Bradenton and moved back after spending time in California. He has no ties to Pittsburgh other than football.

Bradenton and Pittsburgh are sister cities. It’s where the Pirates hold spring training, and there are plenty of baseball fans around. But with the success the Steelers have had, football Sundays take on a life of their own.

Hombres de Acero

Dan Gigler — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:40:00 GMT

Rome. China. The White House. Space. There is no part of the galaxy -- save the Arizona Cardinals -- that the Steelers haven't conquered. But we'd be remiss to neglect the legions upon legions of Steelers fans south of the border. Ed Bouchette has written in the past about the Mexican Steelers Nation and this week he received a whole batch of pictures from the patrons at the local Stillerz cantina in Mexico City who will certainly be going loco next Sunday. And if you're a Steelers fan heading from Mexico to Tampa, drop us a line, we'd love to hear from you. In the mean time check out these pix taken at an Irish Pub -- The House of Steel -- in Mexico City during the AFC Championship.

On the Road to 'Sixburgh' ...

Dan Gigler — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:09:00 GMT

Sixburgh ... now that has a ring to it, no? Check out the song & video by Ryan Parker, with shameless plugs for the Sixburgh t-shirt. Also, check out this running clock to kickoff -- down to the hundredth of a second -- brought to you by the epicenter of Steeler-dom in PHOENIX, Harold's Cave Creek Corral.

From our Rome bureau ...

Dan Gigler — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:31:00 GMT

You may remember the video we shot of Giovanni Poggi, who made a cross-ocean trek from his native Rome earlier this season to take in his first Steelers game. We've kept in touch with "Johnny" and he sent us some pix today from early this morning (they're 6-hours ahead) where Gio and a group of expats celebrated the Steelers win at his bar, La Botticella, in the Eternal City. Have a look see:

SPQR? No STEELER.

Salut Steelers!

Ravens fans outnumbered 9 to 1. Shocking ...

A Nashville oasis for a drink, a sammich, 'n 'at

Chuck Finder — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:29:00 GMT

If you want to find the hottest Steelers bar in Titans territory, look for the guy with the, um, knife. Don't mind him, he's such a cut-up. That's Michael Hanlin, Oakmont native, Steelers follower and the operator of three restaurant-bars in Nashville -- where he's pictured here scaring the bejabbers out of Devon Long, brother to former Titans defensive lineman Rien Long.

"I had 30 Steelers fans who were just here; they partied hard for two hours," Hanlin was saying over his cell Thursday from Nashville, to where Nation members already have begun flocking for Sunday's Steelers-Tennessee contest to determine the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. "On a Thursday night, I've never had that many people for a Sunday game. It'll be crazy Friday and Saturday."

Hanlin is 110 proof Western Pennsylvania. He grew up worshipping at the Black and Gold altar. He got a degree in psychology and philosophy -- now that must've screwed him up -- at Thiel College. Nine years ago, he followed his older brother to Nashville, met his future business partner that first week and never left. He opened a self-described "hole-in-the-wall window" from which he served roughly 1,000 sammiches a day "back when Joe Nedney did that flop," after Dewayne Washington got called for a roughing-the-kicker penalty and allowed a Nedney rekick to win in overtime these same teams' Divisional Playoff after the 2002 season.

A half-dozen years later, he is part-owner of three establishments around Nashville's Second Avenue area: Decades, an '80s-music bar modeled after the former Oakland haunt The Decade; and the two hotspots for Steelers and sports fans, Piranha's Bar and Grill and the 4-month-old Doc Holliday's Whiskey Saloon where he served as host to the first Nation visiting party of the week. What he serves: Yuengling (Iron is so hard to get in the Deep South) and sammiches fraught with fries and cole slaw, which should sound familiar. Steelers center and former Titans center Justin Hartwig is an old bar pal. Former Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair still pops in and plays shuffleboard.

"Well, I'll tell you, I'm a little torn," said the businessman and Steelers fan in him. "As much as I'd love to see the Steelers win [Sunday], I got three bars here. An AFC Championship game, especially a rematch with Pittsburgh [returning to nearby LP Field], would be absolutely phenomenal."

Or did he mean Absolut-ly?

Live blog from Ravens-Steelers game by Jerry Micco

JerryMicco — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

12:58 a.m.: Ravens fans are bummed out, check out their message boards at the Baltimore Sun's Web site.

12:40 p.m.: It was a win for the Steelers but a devastating one. Rookie first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall and veteran guard Kendall Simmons will both go on injured reserve and will be out for the season. Mendenhall, who had his first NFL start in the win over the Ravens, has a fractured shoulder. Simmons has "an achilles" according to coach Mike Tomlin. Add to that, Carey Davis, who is the third-string tailback, has an ankle sprain, Tomlin said. Andre Frazier, who was nearly motionless after a block he took on the opening kickoff will be fine, Tomlin said. That leaves Mewelde Moore as the only healthy running back on the team, and likely leaves a second-year man, Darnell Stapleton, as the starting right guard.

This may mean a fast recovery for fast Willie Parker, who missed tonight's game with a sprained left knee. The Steelers will need to have more than Moore to go into Sunday's game at Jacksonville. Big win for the Steelers, but at a very big price.

12:15 a.m. Jeff Reed's kick is good. Tough win for the Steelers, probably tougher than it needed to be. But in the NFL you take it and party on. We'll have more in a bit from postgame. Steelers 23, Ravens 20, Final.

12:12 a.m.: It's a Mewelde Moore world right now. But the question is: will they play for the FG or try to get the TD? They should try to get inside the 25 for Reed. Right now they're looking at a 52-yarder after that Keystone Kops handoff between Moore and Big Ben. Yikes.

12:10 a.m.: Just the start you want. Good field position, though Santonio Holmes gets drilled by Antwan Barnes on that play. First and 10 n the Steelers 43. See if the offense can wake up again.

12:02 a.m: It's officially Tuesday and a lot of folks, I'd say about one-third of the stadium, has left. For overtime? That's strange. I mean, in for a dime, in for a dollar on how late it is. Who would leave an OT game against the Ravens. Of course, except for a few plays, it's not been the most entertaining game of the 2008 season. Ravens get the kick. Here we go.

11:59 p.m.: Overtime. Steelers 20, Ravens 20. Even if they lose, it has to give the Ravens confidence that they could come into Heinz Field and play the Steelers even for 60 minutes. Considering how the Steelers had them down and seemingly out late in the third quarter and early fourth, give the Ravens credit for coming back.

11:55 p.m.: Can you say overtime? No question the Ravens don't want to make a mistake here and will take their chances with a coin flip and a chance to win it with one play or one kick from the reliable Jeff Stover. Let's see what happens in the final 0:46.

11:47 p.m.: Maybe Mewelde Moore was the answer all along? He's become the featured guy in what is looking more and more like a drive for a field-goal attempt to win it. The offense's job is to hold onto the ball and let Jeff Reed win it at the end. At least that's be best laid plans. No one here is convinced the offense can make that type of drive against the Ravens, but that's what needs to happen for the Steelers to go 3-1 and 2-0 in the division.

11:41 p.m.: Uh, you really can't let these guys back in the game this easily, can you? Considering the hole the Steelers put them in, that was in impressive drive by the Ravens and Flacco. I thought after the linebacker sandwich sack by Woodley and Harrison that they might fold up, but no. Nail-biter time and the offense, which has been spotty at best, now has to carry the load. To put a 76-yard drive together like the Ravens just did and eat up more than 5 minutes raised a few eyebrows here on press row. And caused much chagrin among the writers who have very tight deadlines and a moving storyline. The joys of covering night sporting events. Steelers 20, Ravens 20, 4:02 left in the 4th quarter.

11:36 p.m.: It was just announced in the press box that Carey Davis has an ankle injury and his return is questionable. The only healthy, full-time back is Mewelde Moore.

11:32 p.m.: Not the most creative goalline package, but at least the Steelers get it back to a one TD lead. And they brought Max Starks into the game on third down as an eligible receiver on the play. If you're going to pay a guy $7 mil a year to ride the bench, why not use his 6-foot-8 body to catch a pass on a tackle eligible play? I mean, why not? Steelers 20, Ravens 13, 9:19 left in the 4th quarter.

11:25 p.m.: Bart Scott missed Big Ben that time and No. 7 made him pay. So how does this offense follow up a great play to put them at the Ravens 10? Blows a second time out. They are making this a lot harder than it needs to be.

11:19 p.m.: Still a lot of time left in this one, more than 14 minutes, so if the Steelers want to finish this one off, the offense has to keep attacking the Ravens defense. Three-and-outs, which the offense has done for most of the night, will not get it done. Dick LeBeau is turning the hounds loose on Flacco, but that can only take you so far. The defense has to have some rest and the offense has to carry things down the stretch, too. Darnell Stapleton is making an good accounting for himself filling in for the injured Kendall Simmons.

11:14 p.m.: Steelers 17, Ravens 13, end of 3rd quarter.

11:11 p.m.: Your worst nightmare if you're the Ravens: you've got the defense of the Steelers on fire and now your rookie QB, who has looked great all night, is getting hammered by the linebackers. And the offense of the Steelers even looks to have picked up. I'm sure they'd love to have a long, time-consuming TD drive here. The Ravens won't give in easily, so you could see some of the most fierce play in this drive. The Ravens know they have to stop the Steelers here to get some momentum back.

11:07 p.m.: The crowd is on fire here, forcing the Ravens into that time out. This is what the Steelers wanted to do from the start in an attempt to rattle Flacco and the offense. And now with Willis McGahee out with an injury, they are more one-dimentional. Terrible Towels in abundance.

11:03 p.m.: Yeah, I'd say the Holmes TD gave them a lift. James Harrison is just so tough to control and there you have it, LaMarr Woodley and the defense make a play. Now, they have to keep it up to keep the Ravens on their heels. Steelers 17, Ravens 13, 3:54 to play in 3rd quarter.

10:58 p.m.: Before we write off Big Ben, that was a laser under pressure to the guy who can make big plays for you on offense. Santonio Holmes continues to be an electric player for this team. It was absolutely essential that they get points on that drive, and they did. Now we'll see if the special teams and defense feed off that. The crowd is getting back into it. Maybe they need a little help? Ravens 13, Steelers 10, 4:09 to play in 3rd quarter.

10:56 p.m.: OK, maybe that pretty innocuous play and the stupid Ravens penalty will give the offense a lift. How'd you like that block on Bart Scott by Santonio Holmes? I think he's learning from Hines Ward how to be a devastating blocker at that position.

10:51 p.m.: Another ugly offensive series, but at least Hines Ward finally caught a pass. The defense is going to have to hold here. Giving this offense 50 percent on third-down plays is terrible. Another long run and pass breakup by Polamalu. He's been pretty quiet tonight, but has a couple nice pass breakups. The offense must get rolling. Down 10 points, they need to get something this quarter, which has just under 6 minutes remaining. Someone's gotta make a play, but who's going to step up?

10:41 p.m.: It was just announced that Rashard Mendenhall has a left shoulder injury and his return is questionable. That should leave the running duties to Carey Davis. No knock on Davis, but if you're the Ravens, you have to think it's open season on Big Ben.

10:38 p.m.: What was that? Great stuff from Flacco. He's converting me. To convert a third-and-11 play for 26 yards and run all over the field to do it shows a cool you don't usually find in rookie QBs. And it's really starting to frustrate the Steelers. If this team is going to get back into the game, the defense is going to have to make a play.

10:31 p.m.: Darnell Stapleton is in at right guard for Kendall Simmons who was injured in the first half. It is Stapleton's first action in a game as a Steeler. He's in his second year out of Rutgers. But it doesn't help the offense, which continues to struggle. And gthey got lucky on the Carey Davis fumble.

10:30 p.m.: Some halftime stats to chew on: Ravens converted 5 of 10 third downs. Steelers 2 of 6. Flacco's first-half QB rating was 86.6; Roethlisberger's 28.7. Hines Ward has not had a reception yet.

10:14 p.m.: That, folks, was just a killer drive. Sloppy, but they got the job done. Being down 10 to a rookie QB on the road in front of a hostile crowd is not where a good football team finds itself at the half. But that's where the Steelers are. Their defense, which has played well early on, is now getting moved around quite easily. The offense continues to be a problem and it will be interesting to see what adjustments Mike Tomlin and Bruce Arians make at halftime. The Steelers get the ball to start the second half. Not to panic, but would you agree with me that points will be an absolute necessity on the opening drive in the second half? I'll see you in the second half. The team is booed off the field. Ravens 13, Steelers 3 at the half.

10:09 p.m.: You wouldn't call Le'Ron McClain shifty, but he just made a believer out of James Farrior and Ryan Clark. I can't help oobut be impressed by Flacco and his calm demeanor. No one covered Ray Rice on that play, thank goodness he lined up wrong. It's getting chippy out there (hockey term),

10:05 p.m.: Ike Taylor is overruled. Catch is good and the Ravens are driving again.

9:57 p.m.: Wow, was that brutal. Shoes lost, Ravens all over the place and Roethlisberger on his fanny a couple of times. It seems pretty simple: The Ravens are taking a page from the Eagles book and bringing guys hard. They aren't blitzing every play, but they are just pushing the O-Line around. And Ben is still hanging on to the ball an awful long time. This is looking like the last few games of 2007 and the Eagles game last week. The fans are booing the offense off the field, far from the festive mood that started this game.

9:54 p.m.: Even though they only got a field goal out of that drive, the Ravens looked pretty dominant. The Steelers are back at last year's disease, not getting off the field on third down. And this looks like it could be a game of field goals. Jeff Stover of the Ravens has been at this for 19 years, so he's pretty used to close games. If the Steelers offense needs to get going, it's right now. I can't put my finger on why they are flat, but they are. Maybe you guys see something I'm not. Ravens 6, Steelers 3, 3:48 left in the 2nd quarter.

9:37 p.m.: For those of you who wanted to see more Joe Flacco, YouTube has a good highlight clip of him as a Delaware Blue Hen. lt shows how he's the kind of guy who stands in there and delivers the ball. I guess this helped impress the Ravens.

9:34 p.m.: Whew, Polamalu saves the day.

9:29 p.m.: I'm getting an odd feeling about this game. I know defenses will dominate, but the Steelers offense looks a bit out of sync. No passes to Hines Ward yet? That's odd in itself. Joe Flacco, for this being his first road game and on a Monday night in front of a loud crowd and great defense, looks cool and composed. I guess the Ravens knew what they were doing on draft day to snag him.

9:25 p.m.: End of the 1st quarter, Steelers 3, Ravens 3. The defense looks good, the offense looks so-so. Actually, the offense would be great except for the interception and a couple of false start penalties on Kendall Simmons. I think the Steelers WRs should be able to do some work on a banged-up Ravens secondary, if, and that's a big if, they can give Ben Roethlisberger some time. And if he can avoid throwing another terrible pick. A long, time-consuming drive for a touchdown here would be in order.

9:20 p.m. The defense holds the Ravens to a FG, despite the good field position following the Roethlisberger pick. And note how Lawrence Timmons was covering a WR, Derrick Mason, down field on that third-down play. Nearly had the ball, too. Steelers 3, Raven 3, 0:18 left in the first quarter.

9:10 p.m.: So far, so good for the Steelers defense. James Harrison just looks so dominant at LB and in general, the defense looks quick and explosive. Let's see if the offense can match it with a short-field drive. Holy cow, what a terrible pass by Roethlisberger. Can you tell me who the receiver was supposed to be on that play? Wow, that's not good. Getting picked by a nose tackle dropping into coverage? Haloti Ngata? Ouch.

9:00 p.m.: Rashard Mendenhall is doing what he was billed to do. And Sean McHugh, the former Penn Stater, is proving to be an ideal lead blocker. Now if the Steelers can cut out the dumb penalties (2 illegal procedures against Kendall Simmons) they might be able to finish this drive. Of course, if you get the QB sacked, that usually will kill most drives.

Jeff Reed's 49-yarder FG is good. He's pretty automatic these days. Steelers 3, Ravens 0, 6:44 left in the 1st quarter.

8:55 p.m.: It was just announced in the press box that Andre Frazier has a spine injury and will not return. No more details were given.

8:46 p.m.: This is a tough start. Frazier has now been immobilized and put onto a back board. Again, no speculation here because we know nothing. But this place was very quiet for several moments. Now a smattering of applause. This is the terrible side to this sport. Big men running full speed into each other and you are going to have this happen. They have done what they can for Frazier and now he's being carted off. As soon as we have an update, we'll bring it to you.

8:41 p.m.: Great lick by Lawrence Timmons to start the game. He's become a stud special teams player. Andre Frazier's the injured player now and is another guy who has been a good special teams player. This is taking a while. When we hear about his condition, we'll report it.

8:37 p.m.: Giving it the old college try, the Steelers elect to defer on the kick and go on defense first. Given how the offense has played lately, that sounds about right. Seriously, don't you love the mustard yellow helmets? At least they have block numbers on the jerseys. So much better than what they normally wear.

8:24 p.m.: Intros going on for famous (or not so famous) Steelers from the '80s. Big cheers for Kevin Greene, Carnell Lake, Louis Lipps, Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley. Weegie Thompson, Bryan Hinkle and others here, too.

It's Monday Night Football in and while this has lost some of the luster of what MNF used to be, it's still a pretty big deal. It still puts our city on thae national stage and with everything that's going on in the economy these days, maybe gives viewers respite. And for a guy like Rashard Mendenhall, who is making this his national coming out party, it adds a bit more pressure. Monday Night Football used to be such a big deal that it was must-watch TV. Probably not so much anymore, but it still draws good ratings. The Terrible Towels are out in force, we're about 10 minutes from kickoff on a perfect weather night.

One starting lineup switch for the Steelers: Bryant McFadden starts in place of Deshea Townsend, who is active for the game.

8 p.m.: After major surgery from folks at the Post-Gazette and the Steelers staff, I now have Internet access. It took just an hour, 45 minutes, but hey, that's why what we do is fun. Always challenges. A hats off to Wayne Gilchrist in our tech services department for saving this blog (and me) for the evening. Now we're going to work.

Tonight's inactives: Steelers -- Limas Sweed, Willie Parker, Tony Hills, Trai Essex, Donovan Woods, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel and Dennis Dixon (3rd QB). Ravens -- Samari Rolle, Evan Oglesby, Dawan Landry, Nick Greisen, Oniel Cousins, David Hale, Kelly Gregg and Troy Smith (3rd QB).

5:48 p.m.: I'm about ready to head over to Heinz Field for tonight's game, but thought I'd drop this You Tube clip on you. I'm sure Steelers fans would like to see a bit of this tonight.

4:15 p.m.: Driving to work about 45 minutes ago, downtown is already in a festive mood for tonight's Ravens-Steelers Monday Night Football game. I drove past the lots near PNC Park and they are already full of tailgaters getting "ready" for tonight's contest. All around the Point, and particularly at the Hilton, you saw a lot of folks in Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu jerseys. They are out in force tonight.

Saw one group with throwback jerseys. The Steelers will wear the throwbacks tonight with the mustard yellow helmets. In a way I've always thought those were really cool uniforms. They were so vastly different from the regular uniform (though I do wish they'd go back to block numbers) that when I saw them last season I really liked them. We'll see if it's enough to throw off the Ravens, who will bring in a very good defense. Maybe they will act as a magic shield for Big Ben, who is going to be running for his life tonight if the offensive line and playcalling don't improve from last week's debacle in Philly.

I'll be heading over around 6 with some folks from the office (Bob Dvorchak and Gene Collier). I'll have a pregame report with inactives and some scene, then be blogging throughout the game. Kickoff is approximately 8:35 p.m.

Battle of Pennsylvania ...

Dan Gigler — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:39:00 GMT

... Didn't we just do this?

PREGAME

Does it seem almost unbelievable that its already been four years since the Steelers routed the Birds at Heinz Field in what was only Big Ben's sixth start?
So how much do you hate yourself for leaving Ronnie Brown on your fantasy bench ...
Bengals heading to OT with the Jints ...
Who do you root for in the Cleveland/Baltimore game? Baltimore, because if the Browns lose, they're done for as well? Or Cleveland because rooting for the Ravens in any circumstance is completely unacceptable? Or neither?
In the immortal words of Jeffrey Lebowski, "I hate the ... Eagles, man!"

Of course, the Dude was referring to Don Henley, et al., but why pick nits?

FIRST QUARTER

The Eagles open up with a smooth drive on which Donovan McNabb goes 5 for 5 and Philadelphia is poised to score -- McNabb completes his sixth pass to Tony Hunt who is positively annihilated by a pack of Steelers led by Orpheus Roye. Hunt coughs up the ball, the play is originally ruled that Hunt is down, but Tomlin challenges the play and the Steelers get the ball.
Steelers take over and start their drive passing to Heath Miller -- tight end passes! sign of the apocalypse! -- and continue moving via a few nifty passes to Santonio and Hines, and an Eagles sack that was negated by an offsides penalty. Willie Parker makes the 1000th carry of his career, but loses a yard, Not much room for the running game thus far, but that's OK -- Ben hits Nate Washington (his first catch of the season?) on 2nd and 11 for a first down. Steelers in the red zone.
Steelers falter on 3rd and 4. Jeff Reed nails a 37-yarder. Steelers lead 3-0.
In other news: Thanks for stopping by Cincinnati. See you in 2009. Giants win in OT, and Marvin Lewis prepares his resume.
Forgot to mention we are at the venerable Mario's South Side Saloon. Great place but they have the AC jacked so high you could hang meat in here.
The guy to my left notes that Andy Reid is approaching Ralph Friedgen levels of obesity. Not a good thing.
Big roar from the Steelers faithful when the Browns scored in their game against Baltimore. Guess I got an answer to my pregame question. Bigger roar when Travis Kirschke and Lamarr Woodley drop McNabb for a sack to end the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

First play of the quarter, and Westbrook limps off the field. Stay tuned ...
Eagles piecing together a nice drive, but Westbrook being taken to the lockerroom.
Flare pass from McNabb to Correll Buckhalter, who makes a terrific individual effort, literally hurdling Ike Taylor at the goalline. Touchdown Eagles. Eagles 7 Steelers 3.
McNabb is a perfect 13 for 13 so far in the game. We imagine Jim Nantz is already composing some awful prose about it.
The Steelers really need to put together a time-consuming drive right now, as their defense has been on the field for pretty much the whole game.
Mercifully, CBS is having technical problems and for a whole two minutes, we didn't have to hear Phil Simms voice. Do you believe in miracles?? YES!!
Steelers get their dive extended via a gift of a penalty on a third and 4.
More lousy protection for Big Ben. The gentleman to my left lets a blue streak go after Ben is sacked and fumbles on a third and three. Philly ball. In the plus column I am eating some ridiculously good pierogies right now. So I have that going for me. Which is nice.
McNabb is absolutely picking apart the Steelers right now, mostly on short sideline routes, but the Steelers D bends but doesn't break. Larry Foote gets to him on 2nd and short which sets up a third and 8. McNabb throws low into good coverage by Troy. Eagles settle for three. Eagles 10 Steelers 3.

Inside of MARIO'S:

The Eagles defense is blitzing the lights out of the Steelers O-line. Big Ben just got sacked twice in a row, but the Eagles defender uses Ben's facemask to bring him down. Steelers get a gift, drive stays alive. We can only hope Ben stays alive too, given the awful protection he's had so far.
Two-minute warning.
Big Ben goes for a home run ball to Nate Washington (???) in double coverage and Asante Samuel comes down with it. A really questionable call at this point, especially since the Steelers have all of their timeouts.
Ensuing possession, Lawrence Timmons brings a savage edge rush into McNabb's grill. Donovan hurriedly puts up a dying duck that's easily picked by Bryant McFadden. Steelers get a huge break with 1:37 and all their timeouts left. Ball on the Eagles 45.
After a quick hitter to Hines and a nifty inside handoff to Melwlde Moore for a first down, Ben is thrown to the turf for what has to be 79th time today. 2nd and 17.
Third and 11 and the Steelers line must be conspiring to get Big Ben killed. Not a sack, but might as well be. Maxim Reed to try a 53-yarder.
WOW. Just ... WOW. Skippy NAILS a 53-yarder, which has to be his career high. I should note that we are blogging from the home of the Jeff Reed show, so that must be some good mojo there. Eagles 10, Steelers 6.

HALFTIME

The Good: Uh ... nothing. Seriously. Oh wait. Those pierogies we mentioned. That and Jeff Reed's massive quads.

The Bad: The Steelers gameplanning thus far, on both sides of the ball. Its only a 10-6 game at this point, and they've already forsaken the run (17 yards rushing) as if they were down by three touchdowns, which frankly they should be. McNabb is shredding the Steelers D on mostly underneath routes, and without Westbrook. Were it not for a few breaks and turnovers, your black & gold could be down something like 24-3.

The Ugly: The offensive line. They truly are offensive. Ben has been sacked six times and knocked down eight more. There was a question as to whether or not Kendall Simmons would play, as his wife is about to give birth to the couple's third child any moment now. Perhaps a better question is if in fact the entire line has actually been replaced by their respective wives or newborns, so badly has their pass protection been thus far.

THIRD QUARTER

Steelers get the ball to start and do so with Willie Parker off the left side for four. Run the dang ball!
Hines incomplete. Two consecutive offsides -- TWO! (Kendall & Kemo) -- and its 3rd & 16. Incomplete. Punt. Way to start it up, boys.
Major plot twist here: McNabb is out. Kevin Kolb is in (?) -- if the Steelers can't come back and win with no McNabb and no Westbrook, they don't deserve to be on the field.
Quick unrelated editorial: this smoking ban thing in bars is great. It doesn't stink in here, which is so nice.
Holy Moses! What a pick by Troy on a deflected pass. He is a madman. Philly is challenging and they will not win this. The guys next to me do shots in honor of Troy.
Two carries to Parker for no gain. On 3rd and 10 Ben technically doesn't get sacked for a change, but gets dropped scrambling for a yard gain after his pass protection again folds like AIG.
McNabb back in with Philly on the move. The Steelers D is wilting, and its hard to blame them at this point, as they've been on the field nearly the entire game.
Spoke too soon. The D continues to persevere, forcing a Philly punt. Steelers have to make something from this posession and the line needs to MAN UP and give Ben some time to work. They're throwing him to the wolves out there.
Lo and behold, Ben actually gets some time and completes a 15 yarder to HEEEEEEEEEEATH Miller. Two runs to Willie for nothing. Third and six and the line takes their coffee break. Ben abused as he scrambles for two yards. Punt.
Gratuitous camera shot of the Eagles cheerleaders. Nice.
Steelers D refuses to quit, forces a 3 and out after a great effort by Woodley to sack McNabb. Philly punts, Steelers get the ball at midfield. The fact that they are still in this game is a near miracle.
The Steelers convert a third down via a completion to Hines. Two FWP carries for 3 yards and the Steelers face a huge 3rd and 7 as the third quarter expires.

FOURTH QUARTER

Willie Colon gets blown by like a turnstile on the Philly El, Ben is sacked for the seventh time today. Steelers out of field goal range. Punt. The citizenry here at Mario's is getting more than a little annoyed. The line should be embarrassed.
Silver lining: The Steelers are losing and still making the playoffs today. The Bengals already lost and the Browns are en route to the 0-3 club, losing 28-10 to Baltimore, who the Steelers face next Monday.
For as bad as the offense has been, the Steelers defense has been resolute, despite not getting a break at all. They force a 3 and out and an Eagles punt. Steeler ball.
Incomplete, 4 yards to Ward and the Steelers face 3rd and 6 for about the 17th time today, and we give you one guess as to what happens ... Steelers punt.
Once again, the Steelers defense proves it is a proud unit, forcing yet another Eagles punt. This comes after Woodley staples McNabb to the turf just after he lets go of an errant 3rd and 7 pass attempt. The Defense hasn't quit today, the offense hasn't quit either -- you have to at least try first to do that.
The Steelers have to go 94 yards to score. Try not to laugh.
So fitting. The Steelers once again refuse to block for Big Ben, he's flagged for grounding as he gets crushed in the end zone. By rule, that's a safety for the Eagles. The call is really questionable, it probably should've been an incomplete pass but does it really matter? Really? The Steelers frankly deserve this for how poorly they've played on offense. Eagles 12, Steelers 6.
The Steelers kickoff to the Eagles and again force them to punt. Its inconceivable to think that for as poorly as the Steelers have played, they need only score a touchdown to win. Of course to do that, they'll have to go 97 yards. Not bloody likely.
Third and 15, the Eagles pass rush continues to come like waves of soldiers landing on Omaha Beach. Ben is sacked for the 8th time and stripped of the football, Eagles recover. Game over. The effort by the Steelers offense is nothing short of a DISGRACE.
More good news, Ben is headed to the locker room. They should've put him in witness protection starting in about the second quarter.
David Akers chip shot. Eagles 15, Steelers 6.
Looks like they are working on Ben's throwing hand.
Steelers moving the ball with Byron Leftwich in, but the line proves they are equally opportunity stinkers, letting Leftwich get buried on a third and one. The Steelers inexplicably go for it on 4th down, rather than going for 3 and then trying an onside kick. That fails. Game over.

FINAL SCORE EAGLES 15 STEELERS 6.

Postgame commentary coming as soon as we get back to The Office. In the mean time, please leave us your comments on the game ...

POSTGAME

Ugh ... where to begin ... that wasn't the worst Steelers game I can think of in recent memory -- the road loss to the Raiders in 2006 and the home loss to the Ravens that same year come immediately to mind -- but it sure wasn't anything good for a team with playoff aspirations.

That was as putrid a performance by an offensive line as you could ever hope to see. They were equally incompetent in both the running (33 yards) and passing (nine sacks) games, and it wasn't any one guy that can be singled out either. All five of them absolutely stunk on ice. What's amazing is this is the same line that easily handled two allegedly superior (on paper anyway) defenses and pass rushes in Houston and Cleveland. I mean for Cripes sakes, this wasn't the '86 Bears the Steelers were playing here.

And, while Philadelphia's pass coverage was excellent, it wasn't like Ben was getting taken down by coverage sacks -- he had no time whatsoever, and could not even remotely step up in the pocket -- there was no pocket! Its as if the Eagles had just invented the blitz this week for this game and it was a concept that the Steelers had never seen before. Larry Zeirlein should be sweating. If he gets canned, we have just the guy to whip the line into shape:

Steelers lineman will earn Schrute Bucks for good play.

Game balls:

1.The Steelers defense. All 11 of 'em. They absolutely played their hearts out and kept the Steelers in a game they had absolutely no business being in, and limited a dynamic Philadelphia offense to just one touchdown. You can't ask for much more. They played well in all areas -- D-line, linebackers, secondary -- with Lamarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu in particular had monster games.

2. Big Ben. Seriously, if for no other reason than he kept his composure and professionalism rather than blowing a gasket and chewing out his lineman in full view of the TV cameras on the sidelines or clubbing their kneecaps with a tire iron in the huddle.

3. The timekeeper. For turning the clock to all zeroes when this abysmal showing was finally over.

Final thoughts: The good news is that this was just one game, and we're pretty confident that Coach Tomlin will get mideval on some guys in practice this week. At least they know where there problems lie. Better to air the dirty laundry in week three than say, week 13.

On a positive note, the defense has continued it's near flawless play this season, and that's how you win championships. So that's good. When the schedule came out and you saw the Steelers playing at Cleveland and at Philly in subsequent weeks, you had to figure a split was an acceptable and realistic scenario.

And that's what we have. The Steelers are sitting at 2-1 with Baltimore -- the only other team with a pulse in the division (though not for much longer, methinks) -- coming to town on Monday night. We think the Steelers might take out some frustrations on their favorite whipping boys ... just like last year: