Whisenhunt did a number on his former team with his defense. Grinding out the second half as if he had the Bus as a receiver, the Cardinals pointed out how suspect the Steelers are defensively without SS Troy Polamalu. The officials might have taken a touchdown away from Silverback, but the Cardinals took away the Steelers undefeated record 21-14.

It was as if Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt had Jerome Bettis back on his team.

Not in his running game, mind you, but in the form of WR Larry Fitzgerald. Whisenhunt used to ride the Bus to huge third down conversions in Pittsburgh. With the loss of kryptonic SS Troy Polamalu to an abdominal injury early in the second quarter, the Cardinals kept going to Superman for big play after big play.

Fitzgerald snared high balls in the flat, huge third down conversion and one unreal 38-yard completion on top of Ike Taylor. He caught 11 passes for 123 yards in Arizona’s 21-14 win Sunday.

The Cardinals used the pass, oddly as it seems, to maintain possession at the critical points in the game. Perhaps even stranger, Whisenhunt used both Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner under center, switching them out like point guards throughout the game. But through Fitzgerald, the Cardinals made the most of the absence of Anquan Boldin, and an interesting quarterback controversy.

Cardinals rookie Steve Breaston’s 74-yard punt return TD didn’t help, but Steelers rookie P Dan Sepulveda deflated a punt on the first 4th down of that possession. The Steelers coverage unit hemmed Breaston inside the 20 on perhaps Sepulveda’s finest kick of the year. A penalty on Carey Davis forced another punt, and predictably, Sepulveda greatly outkicked the tired coverage, and Breaston wasn’t even touched for the game-swinging score.

It wasn’t the only example of poor play on behalf of the Steelers special teams units. They alone picked up five penalties (four were accepted) in the second half, something that seemed to be uncharacteristic of first-year coach Mike Tomlin’s Steelers going into Week 4.

Pittsburgh found themselves in several third-and-long situations, but not of the 3rd-and-7 variety. They had multiple third down attempts with 20 or more yards to the first down marker.  Some of these situations came through their own mistakes, but most through a surprisingly stingy Cardinals defense. The Steelers only converted 5-of-15 of them, one of which was a 43-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes. That hookup accounted for both of the Steelers touchdowns.

Pittsburgh was already without WR Hines Ward, who did not play because of a sprained knee. Roethlisberger looked rattled most of the second half, and seemed to be off the page just a bit with his receivers. He missed WR Nate Washington streaking deep twice by a total of about three inches. Those three inches cost them about 60 yards in receptions, and would have bailed them out of a few of those third-and-a-desert-mile situations.

What also helped set up those basically unwinnable situations were several false start penalties, and the Steelers desire to continuously test RB Willie Parker around the outside. Cardinals DT Darnell Dockett had three sacks, and his ears were pinned back like a Doberman on each snap, but on two occaisons, Parker and Roethlisberger seemed to forget how to execute the hand-off, so both delayed runs they tried nearly resulted in turnovers. 

The one gift the Cardinals did give their guests was a Kurt Warner fumble that OLB James Harrison recovered at the Cardinals 4-yard line. But the officials seemingly took it away just as quickly as they got it. Harrison was ruled down by contact, but didn’t seem to be touched by Cardinals G Elton Brown who dove for the ball. Harrison rolled over the top of Brown, and was hit from behind by Steelers ILB James Farrior, pushing him into a roll as he picked up the ball. Harrison walked into the end zone, but was not given a touchdown.

(it’s at 1:34 of this NFL.com clip.)

After two ineffective Parker rushes, Roethlisberger drilled a fastball square into the gut of Arizona SS Adrian Wilson, making it the first Steelers drive in 14 tries inside the red zone that did not result in points.

Roethlisberger said he didn’t see Wilson. From the replay shot from Roethlisberger’s line of sight, it was hard to miss him. Even Wilson seemed surprised, as the ball caught him more than he caught it.

The injury list went further than just Polamalu and Ward. Both nose tackles, Casey Hampton (hamstring) and Chris Hoke (neck sprain), went down with injuries, as did CB Bryant McFadden (ankle sprain). Polamalu will undergo tests to determine the severity of the abdominal strain he said he suffered.

The Steelers fall to 3-1, and their offense suddenly is suspect, with NFC West power Seattle coming to town before the bye week.

Stats that Matter

• Tomlin and Bill Cowher both lost their first games as coaches in Week 4 to NFC teams - Cowher 17-3 to Green Bay.
• Steve Breaston’s punt return was the first for the Cardinals in 14 seasons - or, the same amount of time since the Philadelphia Phillies last made the playoffs.
• Santonio Holmes had a career high 128 yards receiving, and was the fisrt Steelers receiver to go over the 100-yard mark this year.
• Not that it matters, but The Steelers defense did not allow a 100-yard rusher for the 29th consecutive game. The Cardinals stopped Willie Parker for nothing, making it their ninth consecutive game in that same category.

Interesting Links

Gerry Dulac brings back some painful memories

Mike Prisuta calls for a new rivalry

Who feels worse this morning, Pittsburgh or Baltimore?

JJ Cooper points out a potentially serious problem at NT

Joey Porter had three tackles and an assist in Oakland’s win over Miami Sunday. The Dolphins fell to 0-4. He has 13 tackles and zero sacks and is 0-1 in “we will win” predictions so far this season.

 Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic notes that Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin is still listed as doubtful for today’s 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff. Good thing I spent so much time writing about his impact on the game. <AHEM>

The point being his absence will be a huge loss for the Cardinals. While WR Bryant Johnson is very talented if not mostly unrecognized, and the Steelers need to be very concerned with the Cardinals passing game, considering it’s the easily the best one they’ve seen so far.

• Ed Bouchette of the P-G’s game-day notebook says the Steelers will wear their white jerseys this afternoon in Arizona. The roof at University of Phoenix Stadium will be closed, as per their rules, reports Bouchette.

Steelers fans might remember a trip to Houston in Week 2 of the 2005 season, when the Texans opened the roof at Reliant Stadium, letting in the early September sun, heat and humidity. The Texans chose to wear their white jerseys, forcing the Steelers to wear their black home jerseys.

The Steelers won 27-7, indicating they would have won 72-3 had they been in the cooler, less-heat impacting white jerseys.

Later that season, the Steelers won four consecutive playoff games in their whites, beating Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver on the road, while being the default visiting team in Detroit for Super Bowl XL against Seattle. So going by that logic, the Cardinals are screwed no matter what they do. Unfortunately, it won’t be that easy.

• Tony Ferrante of the Steel Tradition says Edgerrin James won’t be much of a factor, but this is still a Trap Game for the Steelers. Edge, as everyone knows, was the last back to rush for 100 yards against the Steelers, and that was in November, 2005 when he was with the Colts. Ferrante says the Steelers mostly played zone in that game anyway.

Uh, Tony? Do you think the Steelers play in man when they are running a zone-blitz defense? You’ll see plenty of zone against any back on any team. But I do agree, this has all the makings of a Trap Game for the Steelers. Even without Boldin, the partisan Steelers crowd we’ll no-doubt see in University of Phoenix Stadium, an often-confused Matt Leinart, Ben Roethlisberger’s desire to whip his old offensive coordinator…why am I still worried about this game? Too much coffee?

• This has nothing to do with the game, but just because I’m still pissed about this…From the T-R this morning, Topps Meat Co. has expanded its recall of hamburger patties contaminated with e.Coli from 335,000 to over 21 million pounds.

They ain’t lyin’…I had two Topps burgers I made on my Foreman after last Sunday’s win over San Francisco…I woke up Tuesday morning thinking I was on another planet or something. Just felt AWFUL. I didn’t see the recall notice until Wednesday, but sure enough, I had purchased (for the last time, obviously) Topps hamburger patties down at the local Acme grocery store. This morning is the first time I’ve felt good waking up in a week.

After speaking to a doctor, they advised there isn’t much that is typically done for e.Coli poisoning in otherwise-healthy adults, but said the symptoms should clear up in about a week. So fortunately, after a horrible week at work, I don’t have constant heartburn anymore. Seriously…not good times.

• Captain Pantload Award winner Mike Prisuta has a column in the T-R about how Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt wears his Super Bowl XL ring around his players.

This strategy worked brilliantly for a former Patriots offensive coordinator in his next job; Charlie Weis. I don’t mean to pile on the Anti-Notre-Dame bandwagon (there isn’t one thing I could possibly say that hasn’t been said), but if Weis has shown the football world anything, it’s truly the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I don’t mean that as a shot against his weight. I mean it about his over-bloated ego, and how, despite the fact he had never been a head coach at anything other than a high school for one season, he came into Notre Dame flashing his rings, speaking about his higher level of superiority even for an NFL coach is caused by the fact that he is, well, superior.

Personally, I wouldn’t even take his salary to go down in history as the head coach of the worst Notre Dame team ever to walk on the field. Especially when Weis is the most highly regarded ND coach they’ve ever hired.

Keep an eye on Tom Coughlin’s job, because if that comes open, Weis is making like Nick Saban back to the northeast.

As far as Whisenhunt goes, Prisuta says he wears it fondly, thinking about what he helped accomplish in Pittsburgh. Certainly, and he earned every karat in that ring. However, Whisenhunt is getting less out of young QB Matt Leinart than even Denny Green did. Russ Grimm seems to have brought something of value to the Cardinals, as their offensive line has allowed just two sacks this year. We’ll see where that number is at 7:30 p.m., but if Grimm-enhunt is looking at a 1-3 team, especially after the success of Tomlin, how long are people going to start giving them the Weis Treatment?

Perhaps that’s not a fair comparison, but look around the NFL right now. The Hot Coordinators generally are under the foot right now. Sean Payton, last year’s Coach of the Year, is at the helm of a fantastically miserable 0-3 Saints team, including a 31-17 shellacking by the Titans in New Orleans - home teams were 14-3 last year in games with a spread 3 points or less against them on Monday Night. Weis’s cohort Romeo Crennel is 1-2 and has won six games in his 2+ seasons in Cleveland. Brad Childress, formerly of Eagles’ fame, is 1-2 in Minnesota, and for all his offensive genius, the Vikings are one of the worst offensive teams in the game. Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati is producing a Fiat with Ferrari money.

Cam Cameron (from San Diego)? 0-3 in Miami. Eric Mangini (Patriots) with the Jets? 1-2 and dropping like a rock. Scott Linehan (Minnesota and Miami)? 0-3, and a high possibility of picking first in 2008. Mike Nolan (D-coordinator in Baltimore)? A weak 2-1, but he’s probably the best of the last paragraph.

You have non-coordinator new head coaches like Rod Marinelli (D-line coach in Tampa Bay), sitting at a weak 2-1 with Detroit, 4-12 last year. And Jack Del Rio, former linebackers coach. He has a 12-4 season under his belt, but hasn’t won a playoff game.

In fact, outside of Tomlin (only coached three games) and Texans coach Gary Kubiak (6-10 last year, 2-1 this year), and Mike McCarthy (11-8 overall, but a strong 3-0 this year) seem to be on track for any modicum of success of the Hot Coordinators.

Who are the only coaches to win over the last three years? Belichick, Cowher, Dungy, Lovie, Billick, Schottenheimer, Shanahan and Holmgren. MAYBE John Fox, Andy Reid, Bill Parcells, John Gruden and Joe Gibbs, and TO AN EXTENT Jeff Fisher (with a pathetic roster and ownership group), Jim Mora Jr., and Tom Coughlin. The Old Boys Club rules supreme… 

Here’s my latest on SCI. I can’t find a whole lot the Cardinals might have on the Steelers, and like Ryan Wilson, I don’t think very much of Grimm-enhunt’s supposed advantage of having coached in Pittsburgh. I still don’t get a very good feeling about this one.

Each week, DHS Author Neal Coolong breaks down the best Steelers Fantasy starters in terms of who has the best chance of being top three in scoring at that player’s respective position. After the game, where the player actually ranked on the team is in parentheses.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is honest. He said he was going to drive RB Willie Parker until his wheels come off.

That’s exactly what he’s doing. Now, he just needs to get him into the end zone to retread those tires a little bit.

Parker leads the NFL with 368 rushing yards, but due to a combination of the offense faltering a bit in the red zone, and their desire to throw the ball to the second-TE inside the 10 (two TD catches for Matt Spaeth, one for Jerame Tuman). But Parker only needs one score in Sunday’s game to likely produce one of the best Fantasy games for the week. With his 122 yards per game average, Fast Willie is the best bet to be the highest scorer for his position in Week 4.

1. RB Willie Parker (”Hindsight is 20-20″ Rank: 4)

FWP would be having an MVP season if he was just given a carry or two inside the five. Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians couldn’t quite find the goal line back they wanted this off-season, and through the pre-season, and due to the heavy volume of carries FWP is getting (close to 25 a game), it’s likely they are just trying to rest him, but they’re going to need a goal line back at some point. It’s a good game to try one out, considering Arizona has surrendered six total touchdowns, and ranks only in the middle of the pack defensively. Spaeth won’t play for the second straight week, and it could be time to get Parker the ball at the goal line.

2. K Jeff Reed (6)

He could basically be called 1.A for this game. Reed is the biggest surprise for the Steelers this season, as he has emerged as the top scorer in the league with 37 points. His nine consecutive field goals is both a testament to his accuracy and his offense’s ability to get points out of almost all of their drives. The Steelers have only punted nine times in three games.

Reed can easily get 12 or 13 points Sunday, which will put him at or near the top of Fantasy kickers for the fourth week in a row.

3. Steelers D (3)

The Steelers defense had a monster Fantasy week against San Francisco, as Allen Rossum returned a kick 98 yards for a touchdown, and CB Bryant McFadden returned an Alex Smith interception 50 yards for a score to seal the win. The week before that, they had four sacks, and came close to a few more interceptions. Against Cleveland in Week 1, they had 10 sacks and four INTs combined.

Basically, this defense will burn their opponents in a multitude of ways, and combined with the fact they only allow 79 yards rushing, teams are going to have a real difficult time scoring on them. The only concern is a strong Cardinals offense that looks like it only needs a boost to get on target. They’re tough to stop if they get going.

4. TE Heath Miller (5)

WR Hines Ward will be out Sunday, but even when he was in there, Roethlisberger was looking Miller’s way in big situations. Miller failed to disappoint. After a 15 yard completion was wiped off the books because the official seemingly forgot that linebackers, too, are required to look around for the ball instead of just draping themselves to the tight end’s chest, Miller was still consistently open, and showed the soft hands he’s known to have as well as a strong ability to run after the catch.

If Miller can get into the end zone - which they simply haven’t looked his way yet, using him more as a decoy as the pass is delivered to the second TE on the goal line - he will be one of the top statistical TEs in football.

5. QB Ben Roethlisberger (2)

He’s down one weapon Sunday, with Ward out. Nate Washington will fill his place, which could be good or just neutral. Washington is big, fast and has a higher, more explosive gear down the field. The problem is he doesn’t have great hands, and he lacks concentration. After a slew of drops in the pre-season and one against Cleveland, it comes down to whether or not Roethlisberger wants to chance it.

Ben has openly spoken about his confidence in Washington, and he seems to genuinely want to get him the ball if he’s in the game. That being said, WR Santonio Holmes is still developing into an elite WR, and TE Heath Miller had his best game all-around as a pro last week against San Francisco (four catches 81 yards, all in clutch situations).

6. WR Santonio Holmes (1)

Holmes is a big-play threat, but he’s the consummate third WR in terms of Fantasy: he needs to score in order to make any impact. Problem is, his role in the grind-it-out offense the Steelers have been playing is more to come up with third down catches (two last week) and try to stretch the field when the defense is giving to them. He only has one TD so far this season, and didn’t have a pass thrown to him deep last week. The Cardinals have a defense that can be attacked vertically, so he could have a four-catch, 110 yards and 1 TD game, or he could have a three-catch, 61 yard 0 TD game. He’s a tough start in 2-WR leagues, but could be very rewarding, especially in 3-WR leagues.

7. WR Cedrick Wilson (7)

It’s Wilson’s first time appearing on this list, and it’s almost entirely because Ward is out. But at the same time, Cedrick the Wide Receiver has been used in a variety of ways so far this season, logging one catch (12 yards) two carries (37 yards) and he was looking to pass on an end-around hand-off from Roethlisberger last week. Had Ben made a block of CB Nate Clements on that play, Wilson would have gone for a long run. His versatility makes him intriguing this week, and that versatility in Ward’s absence might get him a larger piece of the game plan, but this is a stretch start for any league.

In size and stature, he could be called a younger Hines Ward. The Cardinals high-school-QB-turned-pro-WR Anquan Boldin is, after four seasons and three games,  eighth on the team’s all-time receiving list, and presents a tough Week 4 match-up for the Steelers in Phoenix.

He looks almost too muscle-bound for his height to be a successful wide receiver. The Cardinals list him at 6-foot-1, 217 pounds, which would be ideal dimensions for a running back. He does not possess elite straight-line speed, and his height does not give him an advantage over just about any cornerback in the league.

Yet, all he does is catch the ball.

It’s amazing how Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin has been able to catch more passes than anyone except elite WRs Marvin Harrison, Chad Johnson and Tory Holt since 2003. He has averaged 6.1 catches per game, which is more than Harrison - the best WR of this era. Boldin just hasn’t done it with Peyton Manning under center.

A quick list of QBs who have thrown Boldin a pass in the regular season: Jeff Blake, Josh McCown, Shaun King, John Navarre, Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart.

His traits are the same as Steelers WR Hines Ward - he’s not the strongest, but he lays his shoulder into defensive backs and doesn’t lose ground often. He doesn’t possess top-end speed, and won’t burn anyone down the sideline even though he’s quick. He is just going to out-work his opponent, whether in running his routes crisply, going up high across the middle, or brilliantly finding the soft spot in a zone. His toughness is immeasurable, and is at his best in the fourth quarter.

As most defensive coordinators have seen, it’s nearly impossible to put in a game plan that limits Boldin. In the second half of the Cardinals’ 26-23 loss to the Ravens, Boldin and Warner hooked up on six receptions, two for touchdowns, as the Cardinals overcame a 20-3 deficit. He finished the game with 14 receptions for 181 yards and those two game-changing touchdowns. He leads the NFC with 22 receptions on the season.

Most of Boldin’s catches in Week 3 came down the deep middle of the field, as he found holes between the Ravens deep safety, and the dropping linebacker. He tied the game at 20 on a catch straight down the seam, plowed over Dawan Landry, and bounced off Ed Reed to waltz into the end zone.

The Steelers and Ravens have similar defenses, and rest assured, Cardinals head coach (and former Steelers offensive coordinator) Ken Whisenhunt sees that soft spot. Offensively, if a team can dominate inside the hashes, the rest of the defense will cave in. If the Cardinals can collapse the Steelers from the deep middle straight down to the A and B gap on the defensive line, the Cardinals will be successful.

The Cardinals are the first team the Steelers have seen this season who have a legitimate chance to do that, mostly because Boldin is the best receiver the team has seen so far. Boldin has the ability and the smarts to consistently find cracks in the zone, which will require the Steelers’ pass rush to get in Leinart’s grill and put him on his back. The secondary will need to be cognizant of where Boldin is at all times, and they will have to chuck him at the line to throw he and Leinart’s timing off.

Expect the Cardinals to attack Steelers front line as much as they can with RB Edgerrin James. Along with that, Whisenhunt is going to want to get Boldin involved early and often. The only noticeable chink in the Steelers defensive armor was the way the 49ers were able to keep QB Alex Smith upright by moving him around the pocket. He didn’t seem to have a great receiving option, though, but he did have time on a few drives. Leinart has similar elusiveness as Smith, and both throw well on the move. If he can buy himself enough time for Boldin to get off the line, they will eventually break in the Steelers’ middle zone. If that’s opening up, it forces FS Ryan Clark or Anthony Smith to step up to deliver a hit or a play on the ball, which could leave 6-foot-4 WR Larry Fitzgerald in single coverage down the sideline. No corner in the game wins that matchup.

While he’s listed as day-to-day right now with a hip pointer, Boldin is still expected to play. He’s been slightly hobbled by injuries in his career (missed eight games in four years), but considering the Cardinals (1-2) have two losses by a combined six points, and the fact it’s their new head coach’s watershed game, they are going to make Boldin the key player in this game. Through him, the Cardinals move to a manageable 2-2 or fall to a likely disastrous 1-3 start.

It’s not likely Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt or offensive line coach Russ Grimm would like being labeled as little more than Bill Cowher’s apprentices.

Their choice to coach to that inferiority complex instilled in them could be a tremendous advantage.

Both Whisenhunt and Grimm interviewed for the Cardinals head coaching position vacated by Dennis Green. Both interviewed for the Steelers open position as well. It almost seems a better fit for them in Arizona, given the motivation they no doubt foster after being snubbed by the Steelers, and considering key components of their team are just like them - castoffs and Plan Bs.

That “We’ll Show ‘Em” mentality showed the league how positive it can be last week, as aging two-time league MVP Kurt Warner - playing with his fourth NFL team - came in for an ineffective Matt Leinart, and was 15-for-20 with 258 yards and two touchdowns. He nearly led the Cards (1-2) to victory after trailing 20-3 in the second half in Baltimore.

Warner, 36, was unceremoniously dumped in St. Louis and New York before getting a Last-Chance contract in the desert. He carved through Baltimore’s highly-touted secondary, completing passes almost at will in a manner that suggested his career was on the line. And indeed, it may have been.

QB Matt Leinart was taken with the 9th overall pick in 2006, clearly ruining any hope Warner may have had in being the team’s starting signal-caller (barring injury) after that year.

Leinart hasn’t reached his billing as an elite passer yet, but he still has the motivation after having been slated as a top five pick yet sliding down to the Cardinals at the 9-spot. He looked as jilted as Brady Quinn did this past April, and has shown flashes of potential of becoming one of the top QBs in the game.

Former Colts RB Edgerrin James is running with that same chip on his shoulder, gaining 277 yards on 60 carries and two scores this season. He watched several Colts offensive players get fat extensions from GM Bill Polian before signing with Arizona in 2006. Considering he averaged a measley 3.4 yards a carry in 2006, the addition of Whisenhunt and Grimm - key components behind a dominant Steelers rushing attack from 2004-06 - has brought Edge back to elite status.

James is also the last RB to gain 100 yards against the Steelers. He blew up Pittsburgh’s defense for 124 yards on 29 carries in Indianapolis’s 26-7 victory in 2005. The Steelers haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since then, and hadn’t for 23 games before that.

Grimm certainly will use that streak as motivation for his line, and, in turn, for James.

The face of the team can be seen as the most slighted of all. WR Anquan Boldin has been the most consistent WR in the NFL over the past four seasons. Despite hauling in 207 receptions in his last 33 games, Boldin is rarely mentioned with Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss or Chad Johnson as one of the best receivers in the game.

Judging by the Cardinals draft choices, it seems as if Boldin was an after-thought. A second-round pick in 2003, Boldin was taken after the team already invested a first-round pick in a WR - Penn State’s Bryant Johnson. They took WR Larry Fitzgerald with the fourth pick overall in the 2004 draft after Boldin was named Offensive Rookie of the Year when he caught 101 passes for 1,377 yards. After four years and three games, Boldin is already eighth on the team’s career receptions list.

The best coaches in the NFL use any slight - perceived or otherwise - as motivational tools. The Cardinals are chock-full of them. If the Cardinals can use that “Us-Against-The-World” mentality for four quarters (they haven’t been able to do that yet), Whisenhunt could have a field day in his biggest game to date.

Written by Coletrain 

1. Patriots

This team looks ridiculous. So ridiculous, that 16-0 thinking is not that crazy. The offense looks virtually unstoppable with Tom Brady having real targets and an offensive line that you’ll need a tank to get through. The defense isn’t too bad, either.

2. Colts

The offense scares you. The defense…not as much. Although having Bob Sanders back and healthy is a huge plus. This team will always score points, but the run defense is not a shutdown unit. Boil it down, though, they’re still the Colts and they still have Peyton Manning.

3. Packers

The youngest team in the NFL, led by a rusty QB going for Marino’s records, has been on a tear. And they’re for real. The defense has been swallowing teams whole and Brett Favre is back to picking secondaries apart.

4. Cowboys

Romo (at least for now) has been the dynamite passing machine they thought he would be.  T.O. is finally catching the passes coming to him and doing it quietly and Marion Barber gives the offense another dimension. The defense is shaky, but it doesn’t need to hold its opponent to 3 points with the weapons on offense.

5. Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger is one crazy cat. One minute, he looks lost. The next, 60 yard bomb to Santonio Holmes. Even so, the Steelers are making everyone realize that last year’s 8-8 disappointment was a fluke. Even against the lesser competition thus far, they once again look like serious contenders for another SB.  

6. Chargers

The Bolts have struggled, but this team has too much talent to keep playing at this rate. The offense has surprisingly looked unprepared and the defense isn’t scaring anyone like last year. This team has shown they aren’t bulletproof, but they are still very dangerous.

7. Ravens

As usual, the defense is doing its job but the offense still doesn’t look totally fixed. With that being said, the offense looks pretty solid so far. The second half of their schedule is absolute torture, so they better beef up now.

8. Bears

Does this sound familiar? The defense is scary good, but Chicago’s favorite Grossman has not helped matters. How much longer can you have him on the field? This team has to start scoring points. And consistently. One TD by an offensive tackle is not going to get it done, and it’ll all fall on Rex if they don’t.

9. Broncos

This team is 2-1, but they’re anything but dominant. This team has gotten the breaks and the close calls, squeezing out both their wins so far. Jay Cutler has been good enough, but not more then that. This team is solid. They SHOULD win the games they need to win {cough, Raiders, cough}.

10. Seahawks

Matt Hasselback is getting old, Alexander is getting beat up (he’ll play with a broken hand for the next few weeks), and the defense is having a really tough time with giving up the big plays. But they are getting it done one way or another. They haven’t played great but once again they are solid. With a somewhat easy schedule (except at Pittsburgh in Week 5), they have a very good shot at the playoffs.

11. Jaguars

QBs can have fits trying to pass against this team. But the offense needs to score more points. That starts with the offensive line, which could use some help. After that, the passing game could use some support. Is Garrard the answer? We’ll have to wait and see.

12. 49ers

Well, this team certainly keeps things interesting. They barely got both of their wins in tough, drag-em-out games. Then the Steel Curtain blew them up. The offense has been pretty bad, as Alex Smith and Frank Gore have started out slow.

13. Redskins

They could be 3-0 if not coughing one up to the Giants in a game they had to win. Jason Campbell has shown potential while throwing more INT’s then TD’s. But Clinton Portis has been carrying the load so far very well and the defense has exceeded expectations. This team looks good, but Campbell has to pick it up and they have to play better in the 2^nd half.

14. Texans

They lost to the Colts, but they have looked good for the first time…well…ever. The defense has come out of the gates swinging and Matt Schaub has been getting it done so far. This team actually looks like it has a shot at 8 to 9 wins.

15. Bengals

This is one weird team. They have moments of them looking like an unstoppable force and others where their defense just sucks. Very much. Obviously, the passing game is fantastic. But the rushing game has been disappointing and that defense looks drunk.

16. Lions

It’s Christmas every Sunday for Kitna.  With Roy Williams, Shaun McDonald, and Calvin Johnson, Kitna can aim for the other team and it’ll still end up as an 8 yard completion. The Lions have had the best passing attack of any team in the NFL so far and it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon. On the other side, the passing D is the worst in the NFL.

17. Panthers

This is a hard team to rate. Give Delhomme credit. He has answered the call and has stepped up. And the combo of Foster and Williams on the ground has worked perfectly thus far. I think this team will be a good solid contender that could make some noise in the playoffs. Must stay healthy for that to be possible.

18. Titans

This team can run. Really good, too. But if the Titans get in a situation where they need to pass, they’re in trouble. Young can throw, but he has no one good to throw it to. The defense has been performing well. If they could just get some help for this putrid passing attack, then they’ll be very good. 

19. Saints

They have not looked ready yet. I can understand them losing to the Colts, but not to the Bucs. The defense has been flat-out bad and the Brees doesn’t look anything like he did last year. Just look at the throws he missed last night. He doesn’t look comfortable at all.

20. Eagles

the Eagles will get better. The schedule is easy for the next few weeks and the offense looks explosive AT TIMES. The defense has been the problem. The fact they have the league’s 31st passing D explains it. They have to get on a roll right now.

21. Buccaneers

This team has sleeper written all over it. The defense has played well and Garcia still has some left in the tank. The question is can this team be consistent and hold up for the whole season?  The schedule isn’t anything to panic over. 

22. Jets

the Jets started out 0-2, but are you surprised? Pats and Ravens back-to-back to start the season is not an easy haul. The Jets will be competitive and fight for a WC spot. Kellen Clemens appears ready to take over for Pennington and he has shown his high ceiling in preseason and almost driving a killer comeback in that Ravens game.

23. Rams

Not to be blunt, but they’ve been embarrassing. The offense has been below average. Add the fact that the injury bug has beat them over the head 3 games into the season and you got a 0-3 start, and now, no Steven Jackson for at least one game.

24. Bills

This team has talent, but the injury bug has made a comeback. This is not only beating over the head, this is Chinese water torture. 18 guys out or questionable…just plain ugly. And playing in the East doesn’t make the situation easier. Good luck, guys. You’ll need it.

25. Chiefs

No concrete QB and Larry Johnson hasn’t been “LJ” so far. The defense has been very good (if stopping Minnesota’s offense is impressive), but this team seems to have no game-changers. And the schedule doesn’t get any easier.

26. Cardinals

Matt went out. Kurt came in. The almost comeback performance against the Ravens shows promise, but who knows how long Kurt will last. And what will they do to Leinart, who has been anything but impressive so far? This team was overrated this year, now they seem to be underrated. Let’s see what that means…

27. Giants

They had to win at Washington Sunday. In the 2^nd half, they finally showed the defense. We haven’t seen any defense from them before that. This team still hates their coach and their RB is out. Not things you want to hear.

28. Dolphins

Put simply, the Dolphins offensive line is horrible. Not something you want for your 37 year old QB who had a severe concussion last year. On the flip side…well, the defensive line is equally horrible. They can’t stop the run for their lives.

29. Vikings

Inconsistency. That’s the name of the game for this team. Tarvaris Jackson is throwing INT’s like it’s a bodily function, and the schedule for the next 6 weeks will be incredibly difficult.

30. Browns

Lets get this out in the open- the defense is pitiful. The offense, on the other hand, has been respectable. Derek Anderson now has the starting QB job, and it’s his to lose. Brady Quinn is lurking…

31. Raiders

Last season, the defense was very good and the offense was laughably bad. This year, it’s the complete opposite. The defense has not been able to stop the air or ground assault. The offense has been a pleasant surprise.

32. Falcons

This team and organization is a mess. Their schedule is not terrible and they almost came back against the Panthers, but everything is in shambles. And Joey Harrington is not the guy you want running the show in this spot.

Coletrain is a contributing writer to Die Hard Steel. The Coletrain Report will appear Tuesdays through the season. He can be reached at Mojorising@optonline.net

The AP reported Sunday evening that Steelers WR Hines Ward bruised a bone in his leg, and the report says doctors were showing the X-rays to team officials after Sunday’s 37-16 win over San Francisco.

Monday morning, the P-G reports Ward was scheduled to have an MRI on his knee after getting hit by a helmet.

“Right now, it appears to be a bone bruise,” coach Mike Tomlin told the P-G’s Ed Bouchette. “I’ll leave it at that. Of course, there will be further tests and we’ll have more information on that area later on.”

Observer-Reporter beat writer Dale Lolley says in his blog Sunday evening:

I have a feeling that Hines Ward’s knee injury is a little worse than the bone bruise the team is calling it. Team doctors were showing president Art Rooney X-rays after the game and there was a look of concern on their faces.

Ward took a heavy hit from 49ers S Mark Roman in the third quarter, and seemed a little dazed when he got up. He had taken a fairly big hit the play before that as well.  

Tomlin does not discuss injuries between the end of his post-game interview and his Tuesday press conference.

It could simply be standard protocol, but it seems unusual for team officials to be looking at X-rays immediately following a game, especially when Ward - one of the toughest players in the NFL - did not play again after the hit occured. They definitely don’t order an MRI if they feel they got enough concrete evidence from the X-ray.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has confidence the team can maintain their blistering offensive pace even in the possible absence of Ward next week at Arizona.

“We’ve got enough guys that we can keep going with the offense,”  Roethlisberger told the AP. “Obviously, we’d like to have Hines out there and we miss him out there, but we’ve got enough guys that we can go if we need to.”

Ward had one catch for two yards, continuing his consecutive games with a reception streak to 136.

He’s only been around for one draft in Pittsburgh, and only made one free agent move so far, but they’ve all been golden for coach Midas Tomlin.  

Among his golden touches through Week 3, veteran KR Allen Rossum returned the 49ers opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, and the Steelers never looked back. Led by a perfectly balanced performance from their offense, defense and special teams, the Steelers improved to 3-0 with a 37-16 whipping of visiting San Francisco.

The Steelers traded a conditional draft pick to Atlanta for Rossum, who has now scored exactly half of what his alma mater Notre Dame has scored this season.

Another instant dividend being paid to the Steelers, rookie P Dan Sepulveda had another punt inside the 20 yard line, giving him five on the season - 4th in the NFL.  He also became the first Steelers punter in the modern era to log a kick return when he fell on an onsides kick from San Francisco late in the fourth quarter. He had replaced WR Hines Ward on the Hands Team (the special teams unit that primarily handles onside kicks), who left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter.

The Steelers traded up in the fourth round with Green Bay to nab the Sepulverizer, who, in three games, has one less inside the 20 than Chris Gardocki had all last season.

And Gardocki would never be on the Hands Team.

Second round pick OLB LaMarr Woodley notched his second sack of the season, and even first round pick Lawrence Timmons had a beautiful backside block on Rossum’s kick return. He also leads the Steelers with five special teams tackles.

He didn’t play Sunday, but third round pick TE Matt Spaeth has two TD catches this year as well.

Tomlin obviously doesn’t deserve all the credit for the team’s transactions, but the fact is the Steelers haven’t had this productive of a rookie class this quickly into the season in a long time.

Less is…less

Much was made of SS Troy Polamalu’s comments this week regarding Tomlin’s hands-off attitude toward defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’ play-calling.  Tomlin is letting LeBeau take the reins of the defense, and the results have been astounding. Less Tomlin micro-management translates into less yards for the opposing offense. Just has Pro Bowl RB Frank Gore, who was held to 39 nearly-meaningless yards, and never sniffed the end zone.

QB Alex Smith was harrassed all day and his first touchdown pass of the season was late in the fourth quarter with the game out of question. The Steelers logged two sacks, and CB Bryant McFadden returned Smith’s lone interception 50 yards for a touchdown.

If the Steelers’ defense had a noticeable fault, it was only chalking up two sacks, but Smith’s quick feet and penchant to scramble bought his way out of several others.

The 49ers failed to capitalize on a Ben Roethlisberger fumble in the first quarter, as the Steelers locked down and forced a field goal. The 49ers were 5-for-15 on third down, and only had 289 total yards.

Parker leads the NFL

Steelers RB Willie Parker added 133 yards to his total, giving him 368 through three games - going into tonight’s game, that is the highest in the NFL. Although he failed to reach the end zone against the 49ers, Parker has rattled off four straight 100-yard games, and has six in his last seven.

Parker was highly effective in the first half, and was give 15 carries in the final two quarters to kill the clock for the win.

TE Heath Miller had his best all-around game as a Steeler, as he was Ben Roethlisberger’s weapon of choice. Miller grabbed four catches for 83 yards, and had one big catch in the red zone overturned that would have put him over 100 for the game.

Roethlisberger had a calm but outstanding game, finishing 13-for-20 with 160 yards and a touchdown pass to TE Jerame Tuman in the second quarter.

It was the third consecutive game that Roethlisberger had a different player lead the team in receiving yards, and the third straight game he hit a tight end other than Miller for touchdown in the red zone. Last week, he hit nine Steelers receivers for receptions, and he had six in Sunday’s win.

The Steelers are averaging 32 points a game in their three-game winning streak.

Special teams joins the fun

The only area the Steelers seemed to regress from Week 2 to Week 3 was in the fact they actually trailed this game. San Francisco held a 3-0 advantage for 12 seconds - with half of those 12 seconds spent watching Rossum race down the sideline for a lead-reclaiming touchdown.

That touchdown, and another fantastic game from Sepulveda were matched by the surprising Jeff Reed, who drilled three field goals, giving him a perfect 9-for-9 on the season, and 37 overall points.

Stats that matter

The Steelers have 11 penalties called against them, the fifth-lowest total in the league

Perhaps the best stat to judge a team is time of possession. The Steelers are second in the NFL behind New England with 103:03 in three games - over 34 minutes a game.

The Steelers are 25/45 - 55 percent - on third downs

Their defense has 12 sacks, ranking them second in the NFL behind Philadelphia. Their offense has only allowed four in three games.

As a team, they are rushing for 5.5 yards a carry, and have amassed 1,135 yards of total offense

The general consensus around the media seems to be the 49ers offense is going to struggle against the Steelers defense.

Yep. Mightily.

John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle says this morning the biggest issue the 49ers are having is a lack of consistency, especially on third downs (says QB Alex Smith). That bogs down their offense, and doesn’t allow them to establish a rhythm.

All I know is any team that misses Norv Turner running any one aspect of their team is bizarre, to say the least. He’s clearly done wonders for LaDainian Tomlinson this season.

New offensive coordinator Jim Hostler hasn’t broken through the dam (as Crumpacker writes), and the 49ers are averaging a measley 190 yards offensively a game That’s not only worst among undefeated teams, but it’s dead-last in the league.

In addition to being last in the league in total offense, the 49ers are also last in the important category of third-down efficiency. For the 49ers, it might as well be third-down inefficiency. They have converted only 6 of 25 chances to make first downs and, in the immortal words of Hank Stram, “matriculate the ball down the field.”

• After snickering over RB Michael Robinson basically gushing over RB Frank Gore for most of Scott Brown’s feature in today’s T-R, it was nice to see the NFC’s leading rusher in 2006 get some pub. His 43-yard touchdown run against St. Louis last week left me simply saying “wow” each of the four times I watched it.

“When God invented football and said ‘I want a running back to do this,’ that’s what Frank Gore is,” said former Penn State star Michael Robinson, who is one of Gore’s backups. “He can make every run, he has great hands, his footwork is awesome and he can block. It’s hard to put into words some of the things he does because he’s so gifted naturally as a running back.”

A bit dramatic, Mr. Robinson…but Gore is a fantastic player, and needless to say, the best RB the Steelers will have seen by the end of Week 3. He’s a 4-quarters running back, as Brown points out, Gore is shifty and powerful enough to break a big run every time he touches the ball. Look for the Steelers to load up the front until Smith takes it upon himself to complete passes down the field to free up his main weapon.

• Random obscure Simpsons reference…Homer mistakes Stephen Hawking for Larry Flynt. He yells, “Larry Flynt is right!” SteelerBro and I recite that one often. It came to mind in reading AOL’s JJ Cooper go over the positive attributes of the overlooked LB Larry Foote.

Unlike most, I’ve always been a huge Foote fan. He’s one of the toughest guys on the team, he’s emotional, fiesty, and simply defines the consummate old-school linebacker on a team known for old-school linebackers. Cooper’s piece is great, as he says Foote blitzed on seven passing plays against Buffalo, getting two hurries and one sack. Considering Foote’s primary responsibility from the inside has always been run support, that’s some damn good production. Because Foote is able to patrol so much area, the Steelers have always been able to drop James Farrior back and play in space, which is his best attribute.

I’ll even go as far as to say if the Steelers are going to run their streak of 27 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, Foote will have to be a key factor in stopping Gore.

• Normally, I wouldn’t bite on these kinds of fluff pieces. What can I say, Peter Schrager hooked me. The Fox Sports writer has…uh…an interestingly timed piece up this morning involving bandwagon fans. I’m sure there’s no hidden agenda behind the fact the story’s headline runs across a huge photo of Steelers fans waving Terrible Towels.

Hey, defense wins championships. And between LeBeau and Tomlin, you have two of the most respected defensive minds in the entire league. Pittsburgh’s legit. And if you don’t mind being known as one of those Terrible Towel-waving Steeler fans, this could be the right train to jump on in ‘07.

If that last statement doesn’t sum up mainstream media’s take on the Steelers, I don’t know what does. We hate the fans, yet we’ll plaster their photos on every piece we are forced to write about them because they’re good again.

For those of us who can quickly identify the Bandwagon Steelers fans from the ones who were suffering through the Mike Mularkey Games in 2003 (Yes, the Steelers run further back than that, just using a current example), his column is, ironically, very bandwagon-jumpy. We heard the passive-aggressive comments from people who, like Schrager, suggest how great it must be to jump on the Steelers bandwagon a while ago. I have a thick, winter Steelers coat that I wear during freezing Minnesota winters, and I’ve heard multiple times (when the Steelers are winning, of course), how I must have just started to like the team. I simply tell them, “Yeah, that’s what I heard all last season when the Steelers were good. And the year before that. And the year before that.”

If you want to jump on our bandwagon, I’m not going to stop you. But we have two rules: 1. Don’t embarrass us. By that, I mean don’t wear Kordell Stewart jerseys and say things like “we never should have let PLAX-ico go!” He pronounces it “PLEX-ico, and he’s a complete jerk-off. A true Steelers fan does not miss Plaxico Burress. 2. Like every team in the NFL, the Steelers will be down again at some point, like they were last season. You best be sticking with them, and if you’re not, don’t come back. We’ll make room for you, but, just like Heinz Field, once you walk out of the stadium, you can’t come back in.

Now that I think about it, there are several more rules. We’ll get into that in a later column. Send me ideas, though.

End rant.

• John Harris of the T-R wrote an interesting bit in his notebook on Saturday about how the Steelers don’t know how to yet handle losing under Tomlin.  As everyone knows, any team can beat any other at any time. It’s the best-prepared teams focused on the opponent that win championships. I wouldn’t lay a thousand on the Steelers going undefeated this year, but the timing of losses really does have an impact.

The Steelers nearly-fatal loss to Cincinnati in Week 11 of the 2005 season hurt. As it turns out, it was a big boost in terms of how Cowher dealt with it, and how he got the team to rally around it. However, the two real losses they couldn’t take were both of the OT Tommy Maddox disasters - one against Jacksonville and one against Baltimore. They could have traded those losses with two to NFC teams, finished with the same record and still won the division by virtue of having an equal AFC North record as Baltimore, then taking the tiebreaker advantage in a stronger record against the AFC.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda, I know. All it would have done is give Bengals fans absolutely no measurable success over their recent mildly warm streak of seasons, and moved their first ever playoff meeting to Heinz Field, but the point is the hierarchy of games you have to win goes: division, conference, inter-league.

Even if the Steelers win against San Francisco, and Cleveland, Baltimore and Cincinnati all lose, a two-game lead through Week 3 doesn’t mean much when the Steelers still have five divisional games left.