Steelers football recap

My, my how time has flown this week without me blogging a word!  My Monday sports recap blogs have been nil the past two weeks much to my shame, but since I've been watching the Steelers games at my buddy's house I don't get to really multi task the channels and computers like I do at home.  So I've decided to discuss the past two Steelers games in today's blog!  Cue excitement sports fans!

Steelers vs. Bengals

• Finally a game where we played the way I know we can!  We threw!  We ran!  We scored!  Oh my!
• The defense was just plain solid.  The youngster's played hard and the elders led the way.  James Harrison was a brute with three sacks and another tackle that should have counted as a sack
• Troy Polamalu was back and mightier then ever running willy nilly all over the field.  Feel that pick a comin'.
• It was nice to see Antonio Brown (I shook his hand) finally get into the endzone for a score after jumping and catching all evening.
• Big Ben's protection still needs to improve, but he is a scrambler and he got the job done with some nice TD passes.
• Welcome back the running game!
• Darcy's science teacher is from Cincinnati and a huge Bengals fan.  His desk sits facing the back door of the upper school building, and the back door and front door are lined up evenly.  I wanted to go to school the next day after our 35-7 win, park, enter the building from the back, run through the building waving my terrible towel, and run right out the front door never saying a word.  I didn't do it, but I wish I had.

Steelers vs. Cleveland

• Got to start off with warrior Big Ben Roethlisberger playing on one leg and throwing with a broken thumb!  How he came back into that game with the injury we saw on that sack is reminiscent of Terry Bradshaw back in the 70's.  Not sure if he is just that tough or just that plain crazy.  I'm sure it is a combination of both, but he  knows that he is the leader and he has to lead and the playoffs are around the corner.  Steelers were only up by 4 and they needed him.  Bottom line.
• Thought the offensive line did a super job of keeping everyone off Ben after the injury.  Now if they would just do that for two halves we might be in business.
• Nice to see some reaction from Ben after he threw a beauty of a bomb straight up the middle to Antonio Brown who dropped it.  Ben rolled his eyes and groaned and then snarled, yelled at Brown, and banged his hands together as if to say, "Seriously?  I'm playing with my leg about to explode.  The least you can do is catch the damn ball!"  I think he should have said all of that on the sideline myself.  Sometimes these guys need to hear that. 
• Talking before the game with my brother on the phone, he told me he had the Steelers defense in his fantasy team, and he needed them to make plays.  I told him no problem that Troy Polamalu would have his pick tonight.  Oh yeah baby!  Troy got his pick!  It was a beautiful thing.
• He also got a stinger (or something) on a play, and we got to watch as he told friend Ryan Clark to pull his arm out and relieve some pressure.  Good thing we don't play until a week from Monday.
• William Gay has played like a monster these last few games since he screwed up in October.  His interception in the endzone sure made us fans breathe easier, not to mention take some heat off of Roethlisberger. 
• Here we go again with a helmet to helmet hit by James Harrison.  It's getting kind of old.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  I think you have to look at each play in these cases.  Browns quarterback Colt McCoy was running, and standing straight up.  Harrison is running toward him.  He tosses the ball as Harrison nears and ducks his head.  I'm not sure how Harrison is suppose to stop his momentum and watch to see where McCoy's head is going to be.  It has to be exhausting for these guys.  Which is one of the reasons why Troy is always diving to make his tackle, going for the legs, instead of the upper body, and that has resulted in quite a few miss tackles, I might add.
• McCoy looked knocked out there on the field, but the Browns had him back two plays later.  What?  They were trying to make him as tough as Big Ben?  Shame, shame.  The NFL can't afford mistakes like that in the middle of "concussion inquires".  Trainer and coach should have been more respectful and caring of their player.
• Props to Antonio Brown for clinching the win at the end so Ben could finally relax.  Beautiful catch and a great "whoop" fake to get around the Brown defender.  And then he ran like the wind with three guys chasing him into the endzone for the TD.  Game in the bag.
• Although I really prefer play like the previous game...not to mention the score.