Quick programming note: although the Steelers-Rams game slated for Thursday night is being aired by the NFL Network, cable viewers can still see the game on KDKA in the following counties:Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties, along with Monongalia and Preston counties in West Virginia and Garrett County in Maryland.

Somebody mentioned in the comments section of a previous post that the game can be watched online as well, without having to download a bunch of programs or anything like that. Can somebody confirm this and post more specific instructions?

For the record, I will be traveling unfortunately and will not be able to watch most, if not all, of the game. I'll be relying on you guys for a comprehensive recap.

In fact, I'd like to try a little experiment that we may carry over to next year if there's any sort of interest or participation. Here goes:

Can readers please select one Steelers player and keep their eyes on him as much as possible. Consider it an 'Adopt-a-Steeler' activity: you pick a Steeler, watch for what he's done well and not so well during the game, then report the following day on what you saw. Your adopted Steeler will remain with you for the remainder of the season.

I think this would allow us to get more detailed info on what specific individual players are doing throughout the course of each game and the progress they may or may not be making throughout the season. It's simply hard to evaluate 11 guys at once when you're watching a game, no?

So, here's a list of the Steelers I'd like to propose we 'adopt'. There will be some omissions, and by all means, if there's a player you'd rather cover than the one's I've provided, do so. There's a method to my madness in selecting this list though. You won't see Big Ben on there for example because we all know what he does throughout the course of the game. No Hines Ward either, despite his immense popularity. He's just too consistent and there's not much we need to learn about his performance from week to week. Anyway, the list:

Willie Parker
Willie Colon
Kendall Simmons
LaMarr Woodley
James Farrior
Brett Keisel
Tyrone Carter
Max Starks
Najeh Davenport
Troy Polamalu
Farrior/Foote (both guys por favor)

Update from Blitzburgh: looks like this experiment has some traction, and some of you are 'adopting' more than one player, so let me expand on the list so that more may join in.

Additions:
Sean Mahan
Casey Hampton
Santonio Holmes
Heath Miller - keep an eye on the blocking as well
Anthony Smith - benched, but will still be playing a significant number of snaps I'd imagine

Those are the initial names I'd like to see covered. If those get gobbled up, move on to your next favorite player or any other player you think might be worth keeping a keen eye on. If anyone is interested in this, I think we might have the right community to make this work and be worthwhile. One other thing though - try not to just list statistics that can be readily found in a Box Score. Those numbers would be nice to include, but try to watch for how they're playing. Is Colon moving his feet? Is Keisel getting pressure on the QB even if he doesn't register a sack? There was more to Troy P's performance last Sunday than the numbers suggest - he had a bunch of tackles, but also missed badly on a couple of critical 3rd down draws. He also made a few incredible plays that could have helped get us off the field if not for missed tackles on the following play. You get the gist.

Adopt away.

Update [2007-12-19 15:9:20 by Blitzburgh]: Thanks to all thus far for jumping in. Quick note though: I'm not going to be expecting individual diaries from each and every one of you. Instead, I will make a main page post asking for reports on everyone's player(s) at some point after the game. That should keep everything concise and organized, without requiring any of you guys to go through the extra burden of posting a Diary. Sounds like it may be tough this week with the strange schedule. But look for the post on Saturday, and with the Holidays, I'll probably have it up near the top of the main page through early next week. Report when you can. Cheers.

Update [2007-12-19 15:33:20 by Blitzburgh]: Here's who's been selected so far: LiveinDCbutsteelerfanbyheart - James Harrison
ET - Larry Foote, Carey Davis
Romain El 82 - LaMarr Woodley - We'll all be interested in a Woodley report this next two weeks.
schnifin - Cedrick Wilson, Nate Washington, Willie Reid
cgolden - Willie Colon, Brett Keisel
Chicago Steeler - James Farrior, Heath Miller
santhome - Santonio Holmes

Plenty of other important Steelers still out there. Join the fun if you're so inclined. Go Steelers!