Suspendenhall

With the benefit of more time and clarity, I'm offering this second part to the Rashard Mendenhall supsension piece I threw into cybersports last night.  As the news and opinions continues to trickle in, the facts are clear:

1. Coach Mike Tomlin wasn't too happy about Mendenhall's fumblings and bumblings against the Brownies in the humiliating loss on November 25th, thus leading to Mendenhall's exile into street clothes.
2. Mendenhall is equally displeased by the benching and counter punches by hitting the snooze button about three dozen times last Sunday, missing the Chargers game entirely.
3. Tomlin, with heightened indignation, opts for the trump card and suspends Mendenhall for at least one game.

If you follow the logic path on this escalation, you will see that this will most likely end with either: 1) Mendenhall's complete knee buckling and a slew of submissive (and fake) personal apologies.  OR  2) Mendenhall's permanent removal from the team.  Any parent with teens understands this standoff all too well. 

The writing on the locker room wall is crystal clear on this one.  The Steelers' patience with Mendenhall is waning as rapidly as their number of opportunities to resurrect this soon-to-be lost season.  Don't think these issues are independent of each other.  As we've learned through the past years, story lines surrounding an NFL team often have some form of relevant interaction with each other.  Coach Tomlin, and even some of his players, have stepped forward and admitted to certain focus issues as of late.  Some of these admissions were shrouded, some were straightforward and in plain English. 

The team is now officially mired in a leadership quandary, with must-win situations looming on the horizon.  Tomlin has no room for a clubhouse cancer at this juncture, nor does he have any time for another distraction.  Mendenhall's reformation opportunities are long gone.  It's clear that the team is not considering any contract extension for him. The current running stable is adequately stocked with Jon Dwyer and Isaac Redman, even if the past few games have been questionable.  Speedster Chris Rainey could also become a bigger factor, and the team could always look for another big play type guy in the draft. If the Steelers were willing to dump former Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes for a fifth round draft pick in return, they would be happy to watch Mendenhall stutter step his way out the door.

Nothing would surprise me after watching the drama of the 2012 Steelers' season, but I suspect that we have seen our last spin move from #34. 

Unleash Hell, Volume 2 ???

Let's just start by saying that it ain't a good day to be an agent for former Steeler offensive starters Mike Wallace or Rashard Mendenall.  Yes, I did say former as head coach Mike Tomlin demoted both highly skilled players in a new found level of testiness yesterday. Tomlin evoked memories of 2009 when he delivered the ill fated Unleash Hell promise along with his 'some heads are gonna roll/the standard is the standard' type jargon.  In '09, the only unleashing was that of the fury of Steeler Nation as the team staggered to a 6 win, 7 loss mark before finally finding it's pulse.  Along the way, practically no heads rolled, or even turned for that matter, as Tomlin's benchings were notional at best.

2012 may smack a bit differently, as Tomlin has reasonably proven commodities, such as Emmanuel Sanders and Jon Dwyer, to help him his hold line.  One take home message that can be derived from Tomlin's newly sculpted depth chart as that time is now officially running out on Mendenhall, a former first round pick.  His demotion to third string, his questionable health, his renewed willingness to put the ball on the ground, coupled with his zany and inexplicable social media gaffes, all work together to build a reasonably sound case that #34 ain't in the Steeler for Life category. 

As far as Wallace, well, as this blog delights in pointing out, that fat contract is on the Atkins Diet right now, and shrinking with each game.  I have to believe that Wallace would have to muster up an epic December/January for the Steelers to even consider either:  1) offering a contract that he finds remotely suitable, or 2)  ponying up the $10 mill + for the franchise tag.  Both scenarios seem far off at this point.  The cold reality for Wallace fans is that the game of musical quarterbacks that the Steelers are playing at the moment has been dramatized by the absence of Antonio Brown, the true #1 receiver, the true go-to guy.  Wallace could have stepped up over the last few weeks to help carry the load, the fact is that he didn't.  Don't think for a moment that the Steeler top brass will forget these past few games when negotiation time draws near.

We were assured in the summer that Wallace's holdout was strictly NFL business, and that since he was such a true professional, it would never be a distraction to the team or even to him personally.  Perhaps it's a focus issue,or perhaps Wallace simply doesn't want to risk injury on the eve of big money, but the man is playing at a level beneath him and the proverbial standard.  Time will tell on this one, as well as with Mendenhall, but methinks that some #17 and #34 jerseys will be available on the discount racks very soon.

Hey Norv...Eat Me

The situation was precarious for the Black and Gold, trailing 10-8 late in the game, with Freddy Sanchez on third and Nate McLouth coming to the plate...wait, wrong sport. Let me start over.

With a final score fitting of a high school JV game, the Steelers took care of the San Diego Lightning Bolts by the slimmest of margins, 11-10. You've heard Bill Cowher say it, you've heard Joe Pa say it, you've probably heard Chuck Noll say it, and now you will hear coach Mike Tomlin say it: good teams need to win the ugly games. Although the score (and perhaps the officiating) was ugly, the outcome and impact of this game was a thing of beauty.

Norv asks Tomlin where he can get that bitchin' parka

The Steelers exited the tunnel on Sunday afternoon, under a grey and snowy sky, as a team very much needing an identity. Although they may not have found it by the time the scoreboard hit double zeros, I think they are onto to some clues. All week Coach Tomlin called upon his "A Guys" to have A games on Sunday. He got that. In the end, each of the stand up guys: Polamalu, Smith, Harrison, Roethlisberger, Parker, Reed, Ward, Farrior, Keisel, Taylor, and Foote all stepped up and made their impact on a game with 'must-win' written all over it.

Quick Hitters:

• game balls to Ben, Troy, Fast Willie, and madman James Harrison.


• can the Steelers find a punter with a shorter range?


• props to Matt Spaeth and William Gay as they continue to develop their games.

And I Just kept Calling Him Dante

"We heard them tonight" - James Farrior commenting on the estimated 25,000+ Steelers fans in Fed Ex Field for Monday Night.

And Steeler Nation has cast it's ballot

With last night's shellacking of the first place Redskins under the shimmering lights of prime time, in the nation's capital, on the eve of the presidential election, one can start to detect some subtle similarities between the 2008 Steelers and the powerhouse teams of 2001, 2004, and 2005: 1) A stingy (if not smothering) defense. 2) An offense that shows the depth and character to continually withstand injuries to key players while doing enough to get the win.

The efforts last night will not soon be forgotten. Although this blog has a clearly defined ban on moronic sports cliches, like "statement game", a statement was made nonetheless. The devastating assault that the Black and Gold defense laid down on a highly efficient offense was one for the books. In reality, the Steelers shut the Skins out at home, when you consider that 6 points were gifted in the first few minutes of the contest. And what more can be said about Byron Leftwich? Just like Charlie Batch in 2005, Leftwich demonstrated the ability to pick up for an ailing Ben and get the job done. Somewhere in Jacksonville a disgruntled fan is sticking a voodoo pin in a Jack Del Rio bobblehead doll.



Leftwich urging Jax Jags fans to boo more quietly

Once again, don't take my word for it. Check out what the Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post said about the smack down. The interesting comments are once again those that chronicle that glorious thing we call Steeler Nation. This particular beat writer goes as far as to say that the Steelers were the home team last night.

A Few more quick hitters before I go feed my cat:

• Kudos to homeboy Tony for pointing out that my intoxicated mouth kept calling Leftwich "Dante" last night. (I guess meaning Dante Culpepper. I really need to drink less beer)


• The "oh, by the way" award goes to safeties Tyrone Carter and Anthony Smith for negating the Ryan Clark injury with solid play.


• Tomlin gets his first career road win against a team with a winning record.


• The new long snapper looked ok.


• Can Nate go one game without a long reception?
  

COMING SOON: THE STEELERS 2008 MID TERM GRADES

Tomlin Cashing In

Kudos to our good friend and PittsburghFan roving reporter J-Cur for digging up some video footage of the soon to be released commercial featuring Coach Mike Tomlin. Bernie Mac looks as insightful as ever as he fields the Yinzer questions.

A few quick hitters on this most boring of football Saturdays:

• Despite running out an impressive 15-8 regular season record in his short coaching career, Tomlin is yet to beat a team with a winning record on the road. Hopefully that distinction falls on Monday Night.
• With San Holmes and FWP back in action on Monday, we should see some movement in the yard sticks against a defense rated 31st, and playing without starting CB Shawn Springs.
• A victory in the Nation's capital would be huge, leaving the team at 6-2 with 5 of the last 8 games in Heinz Field.