IX-Steeler Nation seems to really be confident heading into next week at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears, in part because of the horrible performance of Jay Cutler last night, and partly because of the news that Brain Urlacher will miss the remainder of the season due to a dislocated bone in his wrist. The talk in Chicago is that Derrick Brooks formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be signed to take over for the injured Urlacher. From the talk around BTSC you would think that Urlacher's injury means that the Steelers have clinched the division title, it is one player on a quality defense and they will overcome that injury if they are a solid team. Also, Cutler has played against the Steelers in 2007 so he is probably more familiar with the Steelers defense than he was facing a defense that has no tape to study, I expect a physical and close match-up at Soldier Field.
X-I watched a lot of football yesterday and I had a ton of fun getting back into regular season football, but it still didn't feel perfect yet, that will happen next week when the Steelers play on Sunday. I apologize to you sports junkies who have already seen this run a thousand times on Sportscenter and every other highlight show, but Adrain Peterson is a beast, a physical specimen and this run will be showing in Canton if he can stay healthy enough to sustain his NFL career. Look at the way he literally stiff arms and throws the Cleveland defender, comes to a complete stop and then starts back up and scores a touchdown, amazing.
XIII-If you haven't heard already the Steelers long standing rule that they don't negotiate contracts with players during the season must not apply to the coaching staff, specifically Mike Tomlin. Reports are the Steelers are looking to extend the contract of Mike Tomlin and I am hoping its a lifetime deal that says he can coach as long as he wants. If you didn't already know, I like Mike Tomlin, a lot; and I will have some more thoughts on Tomlin's future in Pittsburgh later this week.
XIV-Ed Bouchette ponders whether the Steelers should actually abandon "Steeler Football" and start gearing their offense to what has worked in the past few years, a passing attack that sets up the run, not vice-versa. Hines Ward weighs in with his thoughts and personally I would like to see the Steelers use the no-huddle offense more than they currently do. Ben operates well out of that set-up and that style of offense always creates mismatches.
XL-I think Ben is a top five quarterback and I personally wouldn't want anyone else leading my team, but not everyone thinks the same way. Ben's intangibles don't always show up in the stat-line, but those true Steeler fans have kept the memory
XLIII-Bloggers do a ton of work creating unique and solid content and many times I tend to lean on my favorite sites for post-game analysis so I thought I would spread the wealth and leave you with a bunch of different choices for post-game analysis.