Steelers News: The biggest sin of the past week has to be Alan Faneca missing the Hall of Fame again

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take at how the biggest sin from the past week was how Alan Faneca was left out of the Hall of Fame...again.

Let’s get to the news:

• Alan Faneca was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, again, and failed to gain entry into those hallowed halls, again. This was the biggest issue from the Super Bowl weekend.

Mark Madden: Excluding Steelers guard Alan Faneca from Hall of Fame is outrageous

By: Mark Madden, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Put your little hand in mine. There ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb.”… as long as we have refreshing sports notes! Too early for flapjacks?

• Troy Polamalu was absolutely worthy of first-ballot induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is arguably the best safety ever, and no one ever has been a better representative for football and the NFL. But the exclusion of Alan Faneca for a fifth straight year is outrageous, especially when juxtaposed to the inclusion of Steve Hutchinson, also a guard. Faneca was first-team All-Pro six times to Hutchinson’s five. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl pick to Hutchinson’s seven. Faneca won a Super Bowl, and Hutchinson didn’t. Are the resumes meaningless? What’s the criteria?

• Polamalu does little media but speaks plainly when he does. When former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis talked about getting Polamalu to bite on play-action, Polamalu replied: “That’s because you guys had our playbook. A big asterisk next to those play fakes.” Yikes. Polamalu also spoke plainly about the deterioration of the Steelers’ locker-room culture during the latter stages of his Pittsburgh tenure.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Chiefs fans have suffered a long time since their last Super Bowl. Good for them, right?

John Steigerwald: Chiefs fans deserved Super Bowl title

By: John Steigerwald, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The right team won.

With the possible exception of the Browns, no team’s fans deserved a Super Bowl win more than the Chiefs.

The 49ers fans have had five Super Bowl wins to celebrate, and I’m pretty sure there are a lot more real fans in Kansas City than there are in San Francisco.

Imagine if the Steelers’ last Super Bowl win was XIV in 1979 and the next one came in 2029. That’s what it’s been like for Chiefs fans. Fifty years.

Steelers fans are losing their patience with Mike Tomlin because he’s only been to two and won one.

If you’re a fan of Pittsburgh’s pro teams, here’s some perspective for you: In the 50 years since the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV In 1970, the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins have won 14 championships.

The Chiefs and Royals have combined for three — two of them in the last five years.

In 1970, Roberto Clemente was still playing right field for the Pirates.

Chuck Noll had just finished his first season as the Steelers’ head coach with a 1-13 record.

Terry Bradshaw was several days away from being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Franco Harris was a sophomore at Penn State. Jack Lambert was in high school.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Is this CTE stuff a bunch of nonsense? Some are suggesting it is...

John Steigerwald: It might be time to show skepticism about CTE research

By: John Steigerwald, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Maybe Merril Hoge was right.

Hoge, a running back who played eight seasons in the NFL — seven with the Steelers and one with the Bears — retired at 29 because of multiple concussions.

His book, “Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football,” co-authored with Dr. Peter Cummings, an assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine, came out in 2018 to lots of bad reviews.

CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), with lots of help from a movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith, had been just about universally accepted as an injury caused by repeated blows to the head in contact sports, especially football.

Hoge was ridiculed by some on Pittsburgh talk radio and in other media around the country for having the nerve to question the connection between football and CTE.

Dr. Bennet Omalu, played by Smith in the movie, made his discoveries while working in the Allegheny County Coroner’s office.

Since then, major changes have been made at all levels of football. Live hitting in practices has been reduced greatly and, in some cases, eliminated.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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