Monday Football Recap

Steelers Recap:

• Ben was rusty, but he did a good job of shaking it off and making big plays.  I missed his entrance into the stadium, but I'm told he was cheered and not jeered.  The fans, along with his teammates, are willing to stand behind him in his character re-building, but he is going to have to show me more then just a few weeks of signing autographs and saying the right things.  Still, he is our quarterback and a good one at that.  It was nice to have him back leading the team.
• James Harrison's helmet hits on two Cleveland Brown players were seriously awful, knocking out one player and ringing the bell of another.  The league wants these kind of plays stopped, but how can it do that?  A defensive player runs after an offensive player and a lot of times he lowers his head to make the tackle.  At the same time the offensive player is lowering his head to get further on the field or his head is lowered for him from another defensive player tackles him.  Sometimes neither player can stop the momentum.  I don't know how a ref can say what is direct and what is an accident.  That said, Harrison should have been penalized on the first hit.  Not so sure about the second one, awful as it was.  I don't know what the answer is, but something has to be done.
• Once again the defense let a touchdown through toward the end of the game.  Shouldn't have happened in the last two games and it shouldn't have happened yesterday.  Play the game until the end boys and you really will bring back the Steel Curtain.

Around the league:

• I still don't understand the whole Brett Favre scandal or why the NFL cares.  I don't think either player is complaining are they?  This sounds like something between Brett and his wife not between Brett and the NFL.  I need way more information on this and until I do I'm tired of hearing about it.
• And did anyone really believe Brett wasn't going to play today and ruin his record of consecutive starts?  But tensions seem to be mounting where Favre is concerned as this quote from Vikings' coach, Brad Childress, seemed a tad nasty.  On the many hits Favre took from the Cowboys, Childress stated, "We're paying him enough a game.  He's going to get hit."  Ouch!
• Had a hard time rooting for the Patriots and Tom Brady with his long, fluffy hair, but we needed them to beat the Ravens.
• The whole "can not celebrate" rule in the end zone has to be one of the dumbest rules.  Really?  This is what makes me crazy about the NFL.  We allow thugs, wife beaters, rapists, animal abusers to continue playing, we allow helmet to helmet hits, we allow men with concussions back out on the field, but we can't celebrate a touch down?  AAAAAHHHHH!