Steelers Clarify Domestic Abuse Policy

The Pittsburgh Steelers made perfectly clear their position and policy towards players who are involved in domestic abuse cases: if you are going to bitch slap your woman, you had better be a Pro Bowler.

It's a rare day that this blog will take pot shots at Chairman Dan Rooney, but his explanation yesterday on why the team released reserve wide out Cedric Wilson, while retaining Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison, was pitiful (at best). This flimsy and transparent attempt to mask a blatant double standard is already reverberating throughout the national media scene. I can only liken Rooney's cardboard explanation to that of that fat, gay politician that was playing footsie in the airport bathroom, only to explain it away as his typical pooping protocol.

Harrison's public outreach and easy going nature were the factors that prompted Rooney to not take action

Call this what it is. If Wilson had been coming off a 1,000 yard receiving season, or if Harrison was still battling to earn a starting job, the players' fates would have been the same. As much as I love the play of Jimmy Harrison, and as neutral as I am to Wilson's performances, this is a sad day for an organization and family that has stood for fairness and decency for a long time. The Steelers are clocking their bitches at a rate that would even make Ike Turner proud. When you add these two events to the Santonio Holmes domestic violence charges of 2006, you can bet that the Men of Steel will now garner every wife beating nickname and moniker available.

Penny Wise but Dollar Foolish??

Prisco ran a great article last week regarding the pros and cons of these mega dollar NFL free agency signings. The picture at the top...

For the CiffNotes version of this article - when it comes to NFL high end free agency, the bads outweigh the goods. A little blah, blah about how the only game changers that are worth the ridiculous dollars being plunked down on these players are franchise QB's, and realistically, those guys just aren't available via free agency. Hmm, doesn't this sound like the mantra that has billowed out of the North Shore offices for the last 15 years? A great case in point was the mega deal of 1996 that the Jets made to nab the unexceptional Neil O'Donnell. This was the deal that was to change the directions of two teams. O'Donnell started a whopping total of 21 games for the Jets. Even more unremarkably, he NEVER started a playoff game in his entire post-Steelers career. But he did get paid. As far as the whole changing of directions thing...the Steelers were back in the AFC Championship Game in 1997 under the even more unremarkable Kordell Stewart, whilst the Jets would go 10-22 during Mr. O'Dollar's two forgettable years in the Big Apple.

Does anyone else find it comically prophetic that the Jets broke the piggy bank on another Steelers a dozen years later? So, let's fast forward to late November and the Jets are sitting on 4 or 5 wins, a handful of games behind the Pats, and a few games out of Wild Card contention. The now more affluent (and more comfortable) Mr. Faneca decides that he needs to sit out of practice for a week to rest his sore calf. Hell, maybe he even misses a game or two. At what point is Faneca greeted with the cascading of the Bronx cheer as the inevitable disenchantment surfaces? Let's see how forgiving the New Yorkers are when Faneca pulls a false start as his team trails the Pats by three touchdowns. And let me make this clear, he has NEVER sustained this kind of venomous booing from the Yinzers in Heinz Field. You don't need a crystal ball to know that Faneca's honeymoon in the Big Apple may be even briefer than Bobby Bonilla's ill fated free agency flop. So, at what point do the Jets faithful get their first taste of Alan-tude, the salty shit that Steeler fans were served every time Faneca got pissed.

The reality of the situation is that a guard, regardless of his caliber, is not going to change the direction of a team single handedly, and he is not going to provide the impact that the cost warranted. The Jets' players must be sharing this thought as they are already openly complaining about Faneca's hiring. So much for a welcoming committee. Mark my words on this, Faneca's tenure in the Bronx will resemble O'Donnell's. I peg his NY career at three years, with his performance ranging between good and mediocre, given the climate around him. It wouldn't surprise me to see Number 66 moving to a city like Foxboro or Indy or even back to the Burgh in 2011 to finish out his career on a contender. It happens all the time, and Faneca has proven that he is not the kind of guy that can remain content in situations that are less than ideal. Can you blame him...no, he has a ring now he has his bling.