Let's turn our focus away from the miserable Steelers' performance and instead look at some of the other compelling Week 3 happenings and early season developments. I'll present a player or team, and mention if I'd buy or sell them, so to speak, moving forward.

1) New England

That's a shameful loss at home to a previously inept Miami Dolphins squad. The defense has some question marks coming into the season, and though they were able to hold down two suspect teams in NYJ and KC, they got exposed in a big way against Miami on the ground. They weren't as bad as they looked Sunday, but the offense clearly is not even a shell of its former self with Matt Cassel in there. Randy Moss has just 12 catches and 1 TD through three games. Will the Patriots miss the playoffs in 2008? They'll likely be chasing either the Titans, Colts, Chargers or Broncos for a Wild Card berth if Buffalo wins the division. Long way to go, but the Pats don't seem better than any of those teams without Tom Brady to me.

2) Kurt Warner

The venerable QB, who stormed out of the gates to start 2008, had his first minor setback this year. He wasn't terrible by any means in the Arizona Cardinals 24-17 defeat to the Washington Redskins, but he did turn the ball over, and perhaps most importantly, reminded his fans that he's a totally different QB when he's presented with any sort of pressure. Will Kurt Warner make it all the way through the 2008 season uninjured and as the starting QB ? And will he finally help the Cards strip the Seahawks of the hegemony they've enjoyed over the NFC West for quite some time now?

3) Buffalo BIlls

The Bills squeaked out a 24-23 win over the hapless Oakland Raiders. There's both good and bad news involved in that statement. But, in reality, what I'm sure Bills fans are ecstatic about is the development of 2nd year QB Trent Edwards. The Stanford product calmly led his team down the field for two late 4th quarter scores. The defense has some talent, there's playmakers on the outside and at RB, and the ST's are one of the top ten units in the league. If Edwards has arrived (which it's not yet clear he has, at least on a consistent basis), then the Bills have to be taken seriously. Do the Bills strip the Pats of their AFC crowns just one year after NE's perfect season?

4) Kansas City Chiefs

Last year, we were subjected to the possibility of having both a perfect 16-0 season (NE) and a perfectly futile 0-16 season (Miami). Through 3 games, it's clear the Chiefs are the worst team in the league. The most recent loss, a 38-14 setback to the Falcons, proved the Chiefs are inept on both sides of the ball. They may turn in a better performance on defense in future weeks, but it's not clear that there's any reason to believe the offense will get any better. Their best shot at winning may actually be Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins. Are the Chiefs the worst team in the league and might we see an 0-16 season from them this year?

5) Jay Cutler

Most all pundits had the Broncos on the down and out heading into this season. The concerns about the Broncos were actually legitimate, especially those that were based around their defense, which has given up gobs of points and yards, particularly the past two weeks in victories over SD and NO. Last year, or the year before, the Broncos don't win those games. Why? Jay Cutler wasn't the same player then as he is now. I'll be the first to admit I was skeptical of Cutler's potential. It wasn't a 'tools' concern for me. It was attitude and whether he had the same stab-you-in-the-heart instinct that Manning and Brady have, or the same 'football-is-everything' mindset that warriors like Ben Roethlisberger have. I seem to be wrong, as Cutler has complete control over his offense. He's moving well in the pocket, throwing accurately for the most part, and avoiding the temptation to make the impossible, a temptation that plagues many young QBs, including our own just a few short years ago.

For the year, Cutler's:  73-108 (67.6 %), 914 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs, 110.6 QB Rating

If an MVP Award was handed out after just 3 games, Cutler might get the nod.  Will Cutler's play stay at least close to this level for most of 2008 and will the Broncos either win the AFC West or snag one of the WC slots that most thought would go to two AFC South teams?

Methinks that the psyche of Steeler Nation needs to take a step back from Sunday's debacle.  The tonic is a fireside chat with Steelers' legend Dick Hoak.  Hoak was with us for 45 years, 10 as a player and 35 as a coach.  He is the most loyal and tenured Steeler of all time, not named Rooney.  Since Hoak retired after the 2006 season, we haven't seen or heard from him.  Don't look for Hoak to lambaste the offensive line.  He is far too classy for that.  All he did was remind me that tomorrow is another day, that the entire offense broke down and that the line would take more than its share of heat.  Hoak reminds us that loving the Pittsburgh Steelers is not a game-by-game proposition, but a lifetime journey.

BTSC:  Everybody remembers where they were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  You guys played that weekend.  What do you remember?

HOAK:  I remember hearing it on the radio after morning practice driving to McKeesport.  I remember the bridge I was driving on.  I was like everybody else, until Sunday when I had to play a football game.  We were getting dressed.  Bobby Layne came in the locker with Stautner and told us Jack Ruby just shot Lee Harvey Oswald.  It was really strange going out and playing football.  We tied the Bears that day and they won the title that year.  Pete Rozelle later said it was the biggest mistake of his career.  When 9/11 hit there was no way the NFL was going to play football that week.

BTSC:  You played with Rocky Bleier (1968) and then coached him when he recovered from his Vietnam injuries.  What were your impressions of him?

HOAK:  Rocky worked so hard.  He was quite an inspiration.  He did something unheard of - he actually improved his speed significantly.  That's how hard he worked.  He was the ultimate team player. He was a great blocker and as smart a back as I've ever seen.  He could play both fullback and halfback.  They were two completely different positions back then.  Today you see teams with two feature backs, but they are asked to do the same thing in alternating fashion.  In the 70s, the fullback and halfback had different assignments on every play.  Rocky knew everything and played both.  With Rocky, you told him something once, that was all.  I loved coaching him.

 One of My Many Mint Steelers Football cards

BTSC:  If you put all four Super Bowl teams of the 70s in a four-team tournament, which would come out the winner?

HOAK:  Can I take the 1976 team?  That may have been the best.  We were playing lights out, shutting people down every week.  Franco and Rocky both gained 1,000 yards that season, accomplished only once before in NFL history. (It has been accomplished only once since, by the 1985 Browns in a 16-game season.)  We went to Baltimore in the playoffs and won easily.  We scored alot and weren't scored upon, a pretty good combination.  That game we lost both Franco and Rocky to injuries.  It wasn't like it is now when you ask your back-up to do what the starter did.  We couldn't run our two-back set.  We had to run a one-back set, which hadn't been done in those days.  We actually made up a new offense before the championship game against the Raiders.  We couldn't know what we were doing.  That was right before Terry blossomed into a great passing quarterback.  We didn't have a chance.  That team and that year were really great though.

BTSC:  As a position coach, what did you do to make Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis better?

HOAK:  Very little!  Actually we really didn't know exactly what we had with Franco since Penn State featured Lydell Mitchell.  In an early preseason game against Atlanta, Franco starts running a play where there was no hole.  He makes one cut and goes through the entire Atlanta team.  Defensive backs were chasing our fullback and couldn't catch him.  He ran 70-some yards for a touchdown. Chuck comes up to me and says, "Don't overcoach this kid."  He was that special.  Really, I didn't spend a lot of time teaching guys how to run, especially Franco and Jerome.  What I taught them was pass catching, getting in position for hot reads, pass protection, reading defenses and reading coverages.  Running was instinctive to them, so I taught them all the other things, the finer points.

BTSC:  How would you compare Chuck Noll with Bill Cowher in terms of coaching efficiencies?

HOAK:  Chuck was a great teacher, as organized as I've ever seen.  He came in with a real plan, something we really didn't have before Chuck.  He was remarkable in judging talent.  I saw guys on tape and thought "This guy can't play," and the guy would become an All Pro.  Chuck would see how guys would fit in positions they never played.  He made guys who were ordinary in their own positions and made them extraordinary in some other position.  I was constantly amazed by his teaching and vision.  Chuck was even keel, never up or down.  When you saw him Monday morning you couldn't tell if we won or lost.  He was the same either way, which is amazing in such an emotional business.  Bill was a great motivator.  He knew the game and had a way of charging up guys to make them play their best. Bill was a people-person who knew how to deal with different individuals on their own level.  Bill had an open-door policy that the players really appreciated.  Some coaches say that, but Bill lived it.  It was interesting working for both of them.  They had opposite strengths, yet somehow were both extremely successful.

BTSC:  What sticks out in your mind about the Rooneys?

HOAK:  The way they always treated people puts them on another level.  George Perles once said, "There are only eight owners who can win it all."  He was right, and the Rooneys were always one of the eight.  I had a concussion the fourth game of my final year.  I spent a week in the hospital. When I woke up, Mr. Rooney was there, bringing me the newspaper every morning.  He'd come back at night or call and ask if I needed anything.  Other owners didn't do those kinds of things.  Art and Dan were always coming into the locker room and talking to us about our families.  I'd talk to other players around the league and some of them had never met the owner.  I knew we were very fortunate in Pittsburgh to have people who thought they were just regular guys who owned the team.  I remember my best year, 1968, when Art called me into the office and gave me an envelope with a large check in it.  This was right in the middle of the season when we were losing a lot.  He didn't have to do that.  At the end of the season Dan called me into the office and handed me another envelope, since I had a pretty good year.  I told him his father was already overly kind to me.  Dan said, "well, here's another one."  The Rooneys were like that with everyone.  They did so many things they didn't have to do and they weren't just trying to look good.  The Rooneys were and are solid gold.

BTSC:  As the running backs coach, how did you acquire Willie Parker and how hard was it to coach him since he didn't play in college?

HOAK:  Dan Rooney Jr. gets credit for that one.  He was coaching high school in the Carolinas when Willie played against his team.  He followed him through college and had him earmarked all the way.  After that draft, all the position coaches were calling on the phone to sign free agents.  We wanted a fullback and halfback.  Dan Rooney Jr. told me not to worry about the halfback, he already signed Willie Parker.  I said, "Who's he?"  I never even saw him on film.  We needed to refine Willie since he never really played in college.  Most guys you hope speed up.  With Willie we had to slow him down.  We taught him how to see an area and wait for the right moment to hit it.  He's getting a lot of carries, but remember, his body didn't take punishment as a college player.  Nor did he get that experience.  He's still getting better.

BTSC:  What were you feelings during that famous Colts playoff game of 2005?

HOAK:  We were actually a lot more confident than our fans.  We saw things on tape that we knew how to correct and we knew we had the right people to beat them.  They were so good that year that they didn't have to be complicated.  That made it easier for us to game-plan against them.  On offense we came out passing to set up the run, something they didn't expect.  Our defensive coaches saw how we could take them out of their offensive game.  Everything worked to perfection, until the fumble.  I was calm and collected the whole game until that.  My heart sank right through me.  Then Ben made the tackle, then they drove anyway, then we stopped them, the whole thing became an emotional roller coaster.

Some notes on the team, as well as some updates about site related stuff. Let's get to it.

* As you saw in the previous post, our Week 3 Pick Em winner will be receiving  a copy of Jim Wexell's brand-spakin'-new book 'Steeler Nation: A Pittsburgh Team, An American Phenomenon'.  The book chronicles Wexell's year spent with the team last year, as well as the traveling he did to speak with former players, families of current and former players, etc. I have a copy myself and am eager to begin reading it (just got it two days ago). Obviously it's of interest because of the subject matter, but more generally speaking, the book's appealing because it appears to be the type of story-driven non-fiction narrative that is so accessible, enjoyable, and quick to read. I'll have a review soon enough.

If you'd like to purchase a copy...

Ordering Instructions:

Go to PittsburghSportsPublishing.

Read about the cool stories told inside Wexell's latest book. Read the praise about the book. Decide to order one. Wexell's been a cool friend to the site, and we've all benefitted from him taking some time to be real with us. My guess is the book has tons of the same succint yet informative (and funny at the right moments) types of anecdotes that Wexell's so good at.

*  Remember when I wrote a post about my inferior play in the past in fantasy football? Must have just been a lack of effort, because this year, with my $ at stake, I'm 3-0! And that's with Carson Palmer and Jon Kitna as my 2 QB options. I wisely stuck with Palmer this week @ NYG, figuring even if they lost, Palmer surely wouldn't have three straight total clunkers, no? But the real difference has been the play of Santana Moss and Anquan Boldin. If you have either of them, you're doing allright in your fantasy league. Maurice Jones Drew hasn't been too shabby, either. There are two other competitors at 3-0, a few at 2-1, and long-time reader schnifin flying under the radar at 1-2, but not yet out of it, following a heartbreaking loss last week. The point of this blurb? Nothing, I'm just pleased with my team! And I usually hate fantasy sports, so this is new for me. Deal with it :)

* Big Snack, Casey Hampton, is out with a groin injury. The team is only reporting that they will know more about how much time, if any, that he'll miss later Tuesday.

* Coach Tomlin on his decision not to kick the FG late to trim it to one score:

"We did not move the ball consistently enough to say that had we kicked a field goal and got an onside kick, we could get down there again," Tomlin said. "Under the circumstances of what had happened to that point, no way I'm kicking a field goal right there."

Fair enough, I suppose.

* Finally, if you're not like me and are desperately trying to just forget about this Sunday's game, maybe you'll be willing to tell us about your Adopted Steeler in the comments section.

And the winner of Jim Wexell's latest book is flipgatey3.  He correctly picked 11 of the 16 games this week. Other contestants picked more winners, but per the rules of the league, flipgatey3's picks included more upsets, which were worth more points. Congratulations! Be sure to email me at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com so I can get your address.

Details coming soon on how to order the book.

In the overall standings, senate (38 pts), has the narrowest of margins over flipgatey and BTSC veteran scnifin (who's won cash from me before in these things). Most all contestants are well within striking reach so continue to get your picks in each week guys and gals. I'm one of the few in big trouble actually. Haha. But don't count me out just yet.

It's not too late to join. You can find details here. It's of course, free of charge. And we will be having a few more weeks where we play for prizes, including some Champion Gear, which recently partnered with Rashard Mendenhall. More news on that partnership soon.

When was the last time you were embarassed as a Steelers fan? Seriously, try to remember. The Steelers-Raiders game in '06 was pretty awful, as was the second Ravens game in Week 16 of that year, in a game actually that would have put us in the playoffs (assuming we still would have beaten Cincy in Week 17). There's others, obviously, both in recent memory, intermittently in the Cowher years when our offense was painfully one-dimensional and ineffective, and of course during various times in the 1980s, during the final years of the previously pristine and glorious Chuck Noll era.

But what we saw today from our offense was shocking. I believe one of you guys or gals said today that it was like the Eagles had found some secret button on a video game that was unstoppable. So true. Another commentor, Steeler Ric, said:

Yeah our Oline is average at best, and definitely stunk it up today, but they are professionals. The Eagles made us look like a poor college team. I dont recall too many NFL Offenses ever getting dominated like we did today. I’m embarassed.

It got so bad that fellow Steelers fans and I at the neighborhood bar were laughing, almost uncontrollably even, knowing that the next wave of pressure was just a few seconds away from the Eagles defenders. I even remember saying late in the game, when we got the ball back inside the ten yard line again (after the first safety and the score just 12-6), that 'well, another safety would still make it just a one score game.'

For those of you who have read for years, you know that I'm very optimistic, perhaps too much at times, while of course still trying to be analytical and reasonable about what my eyes are seeing. Hell, re-read the comments in the open-thread and you'll notice that I thought we might still have a chance at half time. But by day's end, I was calling for the worst, before it happened, knowing that nothing was changing on this day for the Steelers.

Anyway, enough about that and on to why today was one of the darkest days in Steelers history, as far as I'm concerned. Coaching. First, before I sully your name Mr. Dick LeBeau, you're excused sir from the room. You were amazing, again, today, inspiring your players and finding new and clever ways to confuse McNabb and Andy Reid in the second half, after the Eagles had done what'er they pleased in the air in the first half, even if the scoreboard didn't prove it.

Now, on to the culprits.

I have no idea exactly how offensive line coaches teach their craft, but at this point, I think it's clear that Larry Zeirlein has to go. We may not have the biggest and best horses in the stables, but the sack numbers are out of hand. Sorry. No time at the moment to check the historical presedence of whether OLine coaches have been fired mid-season in the past before, but if so, and if we can get someone in immediately without totally disrupting the flow of the season, then by all means, let's pull the trigger. Enough is enough in his case.

Bruce Arians. I'm actually going to hold off and have a post later today or tomorrow about some thoughts on what might have worked better. For now though, I think it's safe to say that Arians just got embarassed by Jim Johnson today. I will go into this more later, but the put Heath Miller back there to block with a RB thing was a joke. That shit didn't work one lick. Instead, what we needed to do was simply flare a RB into the flat, let Ben dump it over the outside blitzer's head, then let FWP hopefully make a guy miss. Ever seen New Orleans play? Ever seen that Drew Brees doesn't get sacked? Believe me, their O Line isn't THAT much better than ours, yet each week, Brees puts up huge numbers without taking many hits. Why? Because he just dumps it off to Bush when the blitz is on. And because they do that so much, teams can't blitz quite the same! Novel! I know.

For all of you who have been clamoring that we didn't try any screens. WE DID try many screens. Problem is, the screens we run are these chicken shit slow developing WR screens, not simple, easily executable screens to our RBs. Those WR screens towards the middle of the field rarely work. Maybe in a Toledo vs. Fresno State game. But not in the National Football League where defensive lineman can detonate a pocket in 3 seconds or fewer. Just terrible stuff from Bruce today. The worst offensive performance I've maybe ever seen as an NFL fan. Perhaps only a mid 90s Bengals team or a Stoney Case led Ravens team back in 1999. That bad.

That said, it's on Mike Tomlin to make Bruce figure it the f*&k out. Sure, Tomlin's pedigree may be as a defensive guy, but that matters not. Some things are visible to even us, just fans. Surely, as a head coach in the NFL, he can pick up on some things to suggest to his struggling OC.  Maybe not in game, but there needs to be some serious time spent this week (a long week, mind you, since we play on MNF next week)  between Tomlin and Arians.

We'll get into that subject more, but what about the decision to go for it on 4th and long late in the game, when we needed two scores to win? Not that it mattered, since clearly we weren't going to win this game. But that doesn't absolve a coach from making the practical decision there. You kick the FG, extend, the game, hope the opponent tightens up a bit, then see what transpires. Going for it on 4th and 10 just doesnt; make much sense.

One final thought before sigining off. This too will be a subject for discussion throughout the week (and year, most likely). What I hope we see is simply some changes along the line. Max Starks, grab your helmet. Darnell Stapleton, you ready? Let me be real clear about one thing. If we're willing to burn $7 mil watching Starks ride the pine, why aren't we willing to burn big bucks benching other more highly paid players in favor of younger (potentially more motivated and better) guys. Like, for example, what if we had Starks at T, Essex at T, Stapleton at G, Chris K at G, and Hartwig at C. Or something similar (perhaps Colon at G, Stapleton at C). Point is, we're burning money as is. Why not burn money while trying other combinations? Above all else, I was sick of sticking with what was not working last year for continuity's sake. That's the definiton of insanity, no? Repeating over and over what's not working?

The sky ain't falling. No team looks great each week in this league. The internals looked good through two weeks, so we're not quite in a fixed pattern yet. That's the good news. The bad news is we just got enough evidence to last a lifetime that this team has serious, serious flaws on offense in two very critical areas: the line and the coaching department.

Could be any day now in fact, that Crennel names Brady Quinn his starting QB. My guess though, is it will be at least one more week. At 0-3, the season is still not a lost cause for Cleveland. The Browns can thank the Steelers for a horrendous performance today, that kept the Steelers from claiming a 3.5 game lead over Cleveland through just three weeks.

Let's take a look at how Derek Anderson has done since the last part of 2007 through the first three weeks of 2008.

Click to Enlarge

Do those look like the numbers of a franchise quarterback? Hell, do they even look like numbers that should give people reason to believe that the Browns are on the cusp of breaking through in the AFC, where top notch QB play is tantamount to success? They don't to me. Granted, the team did win three of those five games, but in the most important contest of the year, DA threw four picks in a loss to Cincy.

I could take this many directions. I really could. Moving on.

And now, through three games in 2008, it hasn't been any prettier.

43 of 93 for 405 yards; 2 TDs, 5 INTs, 43.5 QB Rating

Yikes.

Here's the deal though. Romeo Crennel is the guy who has to make the call here with his QBs. And with his derriere squarely on the hot seat, it's hard to envision any immediate scenario where Crennel would be interested in playing for the future by getting Quinn's feet wet sooner rather than later, short-term results be damned. Of course, the caveat in that assumption of mine is that Brady Quinn would not have much chance at quickly righting the ship in Cleveland and leading them back into the playoff picture this year. You never know? Maybe he could. But if Crennel doesn't think so, he may just hold off until the Browns are clearly down and out.

But by then, he himself may be out of a job.

Chin up Steelers fans. Others have it worse, no?

I'm tempted to avoid writing a single word about the performance of our offense today against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was so bad that there was literally not a single positive thing to mention.  Alas, however, I have had a few thoughts about (surprise, surprise) Bruce Arians' play-calling that are worth mentioning. For another day though.

For now let's instead talk about all the exquisite things our defense did, both collectively and individually. Let's start with...

* LaMarr Woodley. He's got some learning to do, no doubt, but he sure did make some nice plays. His burst off the edge on his sack was very impressive, and to boot, he actually found another gear to finish off McNabb after not getting a firm grasp on him the first time around. He's going to be a special player, particularly when he acclimates himself to the rapid-fire pace of the game when he's out in space covering receivers and TEs. That said, he did do a nice job in several instances finding the right spot in the zone to flood to.

* Very respectable play by William Gay. We had some issues defending the pass in the first half, but Gay more than held his own, particularly in the second half. He's going to be just fine, I think.

* Troy Polamalu is back, in a huge way. It's somewhat comical that he was named a Pro Bowler last year, when it's crystal clear that he was nowhere full strength last year. He seems more fit and limber than ever in 2008. That interception was absolutely incredible. Even getting a hand on that deflected pass was impressive. Finding a way to cradle it with one arm after being nearly parallel to the ground when he dove? WOW.  From the look of things, we're going to be relying on our defense more and more throughout the year. Forcing turnovers will be vital, and through three games, Polamalu has snagged three picks.

* Paging James Harrison. Harrison? Hellloooooo? Maybe next week against a Ravens squad he typically shows up for.

* Solid outing for Larry Foote. He may be our weakest link amongst the starting LB corps, but that's no knock. He's still earned the right to start over Lawrence Timmons. That doesn't mean we don't need Timmons on the field...LOTS...but Foote has also been deserving of ample playing time. There's enough PT for both, so it's not really an issue who's out there on the first play of the game.

* We need to lock-up Bryant McFadden sooner rather than later. He's arrived as a bona-fide cover man in this league. Here's the deal. If we don't resign him, we're stuck having to draft a CB, perhaps even in the first round. Sure, we could try to get by with William Gay and DeShea Townsend to play opposite from Ike Taylor.  But it's not the wisest of moves. We all know where we need to invest our draft picks the next several years, so why not retain what we already have at CB? This is a no-brainer to me. We've tried to get by on the cheap in the trenches (both sides of the ball) and we know how far that has gotten us. Please, please, don't let us try to cut corners for financial reasons in this situation too.

* If this defense hadn't played as extraoridnarily well as it did today, particularly in the second half, this one could have been a loss for the ages. Maybe not margin of defeat wise. But let's all face it, the score was not indicative of the lopsided nature of this football game.

* Allow me to conclude by saying that at least we are moving forward confident that we have a superb defense to keep us in games when our offense sputters, like today.  With no defense, you rarely have a shot to make a run in the playoffs, let alone even make the playoffs. And unless you're one of the elite Colts offenses of year's past, our the 2007 Patriots, you're going to encounter dry spells on offense.  It happens, even to very good teams. But without that consistent defense, the odds of stringing together winning streaks and competing against the better teams in the league, go way down.

We've got problems, don't get me wrong. But our defense may just be special enough to overcome them, in a year when there doesn't appear to be any clear-cut favorite atop the pack of the AFC.

Discuss.

That sucked.

Mourn together. It may help us all get through one of the most pathetic offensive performances in the modern era of professional football.

Bring your version of Chicken Little to the comments section.

I have full confidence thay y'all will enjoy one of the at least 16 glorious Sundays we get each year to enjoy football with family and friends. I mean, come on!  Could you ask for better weather in Pennsylvania today? It's in the high 70s in Philly and throughout the state of PA and surrounding areas.

Cheers, y'all. Enjoy this delightful early autumnal treat of fantastic football and pristine weather. I'm sure you all deserve it.My final thoughts on today's game. As always, scatterbrained.

And really, more silly than analytic. As the cliche goes - Any Given Sunday. Who knows what later today will bring in terms of these two dynamic teams. I think I have a pulse on what will transpire, but you just never know.  As you'll see though, some developments can be deemed more certain than others.

* Heath Miller will catch at least 5 passes today. Same with Santonio Holmes

* Orpheus Roye, at least once, will contribute in Brett Keisel's absence.

* Jeef Reed will play a big role if we're going to win this game.

* Ben Roethlisber's shoulder will be mentioned 73 times during the early parts of the telecast. If Roeth plays well, it will be a proto-typical Nantz talking point. If he struggles, Simms will incessatntly talk about the day back in 1986 when he had similar shoulder problems and how they affected him. Not sure which I'd rather see take place, really.

* We'll find out if Keisel's absence has the same effect on our defense that Aaron Smith's did late last year.

* You will watch at minimum 15 beer+ truck advertisements during the telecast. You will also be reminded that CBS is America's #1 Netowrk channel prior to multiple pivotal 3rd downs.

* You will ask yourself on several occasions why Jim Nantz isn't in Kentucky covering the Ryder Cup as he gives way to Simms' verbal diarrhea following a pitch of 60 Minutes for the 4th time in the second half. Except on the West Coast of course.

* If you're like me, you'll also wonder how Phil Simms has managed to keep a woman in his life for all these years. Poor lady.

* Troy Polamalu will continue to piece together an amazing start to 2008.

* The Eagles offense, which has looked downright unstoppable for most of this young season, will be sent crashing down to Earth by what I think could be one of the five best Steelers defenses to ever compete in franchise history (barring injurys).

* I hate to do it, as I typically avoid making Steelers game predictions here. But, what the F. I did it last week on the record and came out looking smart, so why not double down. 23-17 Steelers. Time for people to take notice come tomorrow. This defense is for real (I think at least 7 of Philly's points will come cheaply in garbage time), and bum shoulder or not, Big Ben will sling it to where it needs to be. And for all the haters about the Westbrook vs FWP breakdown, either me or you is manning up tomorrow. For our sake, let's hope I'm right :) Mr. Westbrook has an uncanny way of breaking opposing team's backs when he's on.

Be blessed Steelers and Eagles fans.

I'll be here during the game. Can't wait.

Go Steelers!