Thursday,  veteran FB Dan Kreider became the third Steeler to be placed on the IR (Ryan Clark, Jerame Tuman), the Steelers activated practice squad veteran TE Jon Dekker, possibly to raise the team’s overall intelligence.

Dekker, a Princeton alum, looks to fill in more for Tuman than Kreider, and FB Carey Davis becomes the only FB on the roster.

He told Gerry Dulac he “didn’t have any (injuries) planned, anyway.”

Dulac also wrote in his notebook that Kreider’s career in Pittsburgh could be over, considering he is a free agent at the end of this season. Clark and Tuman’s returns aren’t set in stone, either. Clark is recovering from an enlarged spleen, the result of a blood disorder that was aggrivated after Pittsburgh’s 31-28 loss at Denver earlier this year. Tuman has been with the team since 1998, and with the influx of young, pass-catching TEs, Tuman could go the way of Mark Bruener, the consummate blocking TE.

What role Dekker will play is a matter of some conjecture, but likely, it will be almost entirely on special teams. The Steelers have used backup T Max Starks as the third TE, but that wasn’t rare on the goal line this season, even with Tuman healthy. However, T Marvel Smith has missed practice all week with a back injury, and Starks would replace him on the left side in the event he can’t play for the second consecutive week.

Also, WR Santonio Holmes has missed practice all week after missing Monday’s night’s 3-0 win over Miami. The Steelers rotated Cedrick Wilson, Nate Washington and Willie Reid in the X-receiver position to as much success as a team can have passing the ball in the monsoon that engulfed Heinz Field.

It wouldn’t make much sense to put Dekker, just signed off the practice squad on Thursday, into a situation when the Steelers can still be successful with 3-WR and 2-TE sets (empty backfield), which they have used to some success this year.

The Football Brainiac changed this from Carson to Chad, because, as we saw last week against Tennessee, Johnson is the lightning rod for this Bengals team. Both good and bad, his involvement in the game oftentimes determines its outcome. With Henry back, and Polamalu leaning toward the bench, containing Johnson becomes even more crucial.

Football Brainiac is a fantastic site. The way DHS saw it yesterday, QB Carson Palmer clearly was the subject of this feature. After he tore apart Tennessee, completing 32-of-38 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns (one INT), it seemed interesting that Palmer - one of the best deep passers in the game - had such a high completion percentage while averaging under 10 yards per catch.

But Football Brainiac brought Ocho Cinco back to the forefront.

Or, perhaps Johnson just brought himself back. Not that he was ever down, the guy has 71 catches for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns. He is now the Bengals career receptions leader.

He also leads them in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which is why he’s the subject of DHS’s Oppoent Spotlight this week.

As Football Brainiac pointed out, defensive captain John Thornton told Johnson it was ok for him to jump on the TV camera stand and film a little bit of the crowd after he scored one of his three touchdowns.

“He’s been working hard. I told him to keep it up. I told him if he needs a penalty to get himself going, go ahead.”

The Thinking Man’s Guide to Steelers Football took exception with Johnson’s actions, and Thornton’s acceptance of them, as most people would - the Bengals were assessed a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff. It’s not exactly a publishable revelation to suggest Johnson’s antics are cheeky and funny when the Bengals are winning, but this team has lost nine of its last 13 games, dating back to last season. Restraint isn’t one of Johnson’s strong suits, but just like any wide receiver in the NFL, confidence certainly is.

Maybe Thornton was right. Maybe that one penalty, and a new icy chapter with head coach Marvin Lewis was what Johnson needed to get his swagger back.

Johnson pissed off a good number of people with his antics against Tennessee, but perhaps that was a part of their rout of the playoff-contending Titans. Dare we say that Johnson’s selfish and childish behavior actually sparked the team in a positive way?

While it would take an epic turnaround and a lot of help for the Bengals to get in position to win that Super Bowl they claim to have won in 2006, clearly, they have the offensive tools to make a late-season game difficult for a certain division-leading rival.

As I wrote in my first Opponent Spotlight for Cincinnati, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, not Chad Johnson, has been much more of a Steelers killer. Johnson only has one touchdown against Pittsburgh in their last eight games.

He’s far too talented to suggest the Steelers secondary will be able to knock out his gold teeth every game they play. Plus, add in the return of WR Chris Henry from suspension, Palmer is going to be able to gun down the field all day. Henry has played in three games, and has plays of 50, 37 and 19 yards to his credit already.

The Bengals are one of the least effective rushing teams in the NFL, anyway. If Johnson is heating up, and the Steelers are without SS Troy Polamalu (didn’t practice on Thursday), Palmer is going to have plenty of opportunity to get Johnson (and Housh and Henry) the ball down the field.

Jim Wexell discussed the Bengals receiving trio with FS Anthony Smith, who makes the solution to stopping them very simple:

“You’ve got to be physical with them because it throws them off their game. When you hit them hard like that, they tend to run away from you.”

Housh has scored plenty of times against Pittsburgh (five in the last eight games). That’s nothing the Steelers haven’t seen. If Johnson does, and ignites a Pittsburgh crowd that isn’t used to seeing the Steelers beat Cincinnati at Heinz Field, it could have a lasting effect on the Bengals’ already beaten down morale.

Do Johnson’s antics justify the penalty the team received? Certainly, Lewis doesn’t think so. But at the same time, Johnson hadn’t scored since September 16th, and he caught two more after the penalty. Granted, the wheels have fallen off Tennessee’s bandwagon over the last three weeks, and Cincinnati is probably a better team than their 4-7 mark indicates, the compelling factor of this game is how locked in Johnson gets. If he decides to express his frustration with the season through three seperate end zone celebrations instead of pouting like he usually does, the Steelers could be in for a rough afternoon.

Much like then-Eagles receiver Terrell Owens in the Steelers crucial win over Philadelphia in Week 6 of the 2004 season, they’ve always been able to shut Johnson up simply by punching him in the mouth early, and letting him whither away mentally.

The Bengals can spread out the Steelers enough to get defenders out of the box. It’s only going to be a matter of time (look for it within their first series on offense) until they go for the big play. It could be any of the three Bengals’ receivers, but if it’s Johnson, it could fire up the Bengals en route for the upset.

Ask Tennessee what happens when Johnson gets going early.

I’m sure Joe Starkey would hate me.

I’m the post-modern Steelers fan. I was like two minutes old when Jack Lambert played. I lived in Butler for a period of time, but did the bulk of my growin’ up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, home of the Metrodome and bitter Vikings fans.

Monday Night’s game, to me, was not old school football. It wasn’t a testament to the elements. It wasn’t even enjoyable.

It was an ugly game. Period. It was ugly to watch, I would venture a bet that it was awful to play. Even moreso, I bet the replay of it on film was the worst for Coach Tomlin and his staff.

Perhaps someone from the more enlightened era of pro sports - the time when the weather ruled the product on the field, the same days that would have made Monday’s disaster-like conditions look like 72 and sunny - can explain to me what is so endearing about watching offensive linemen not be able to pick up their feet (it remains to be seen whether or not the weather affected Max Starks). I must be missing it, someone fill me in; what makes watching a game in nothing but mud and water so much better than on an even, playable surface?

I’m not suggesting to cover the top of Heinz Field with nylon like the Homer Dome. I have no problem at all with natural grass. I hated watching Monday’s game. I didn’t like the other rain-consumed game Pittsburgh and Miami played, in September of 2004.

Why? It’s really very simple. The quality of the game suffered greatly. There is no way anyone can convince anyone else that, on an even track, the Steelers need 59 minutes and 43 seconds to score (the game’s only points) on the Dolphins. The fact they didn’t clearly had everything to do with the weather.

I didn’t want to have to pull rank on  you, but having lived in Minnesota for the vast majority of my life, I can confidently say I’ve been through far worse weather situations than people in Pittsuburgh. Mr. Starkey slings some rhetorical questions our way in his column on this subject, such as whether or not they should have played the Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field in 1967.

In Green Bay and Minnesota, describing the conditions of that day is usually far less dramatic than the media (or just NFL Films) choose to use. We call days like that “Sunday.” Maybe “Monday.” Or, if we want to be all encompassing, “January.”

If you have lived consistently in that weather element, you wouldn’t think a dome is a terrible idea.

Pittsburgh should not have a dome. Certainly, no one is suggesting it should. But it’s a tad annoying to hear people in that area preach about weather conditions, and try to justify disasters (not anyone’s fault it rained a lot, mind you, Heinz Field would have been a mess, new sod or not) like Monday’s game by saying “That’s real football,” or “playing inside is for wimps.”

For an area that defines “cold” as 16 degrees, or three inches of snow as a “storm,” Monday’s game doesn’t really justify toughness, nor does it justify the need for an enclosed playing atmosphere.

My cousin took me to a game at Heinz Field for my birthday, and it was an absolutely gorgeous night. Certainly no need for a dome. Let’s say that it’s Dec. 29, would I particularly want to watch football outside? No, no way and no how. It’s too cold, and the quality of play goes down too much. I really don’t understand why people think football is better and is more enjoyable to watch in these conditions.

Sadly, this already has occurred in places such as Minnesota, where indoor football should be illegal. The Vikings built a proud tradition — and embodied the rugged personality of their state — at icy Metropolitan Stadium.

They now play in an oversize(d) family room called the Metrodome.

I honestly don’t know Mr. Starkey’s background, but I’ll assume he’s been to the Metrodome. No doubt, a terrible venue. A relic from a time where governmental spending was dictated by the law bigger is better. However, anyone who has been outside in January in Minnesota knows there’s nothing filling you with pride. It’s November 29, and it’s something close to three degrees outside. January? You’re lucky if the mercury gets above zero.

Not more fun. Not better to watch. Lately, it takes quite a bit to get the Metrodome sold out anyway, regardless of the dome.

Let’s just take Monday’s win for what it was. A win in conditions bad enough to make two teams clearly moving in different directions roughly on the same ground (pun intended). There was nothing poetic about it.

DHS finally realized they had been labeling the weeks wrong. Other than that, there’s no significant change at the top of Coletrain’s Power Rankings. Even the bottom stayed the same, despite a close game with this site’s namesake.  

1. Patriots- The Patriots became the first team to clinch a playoff spot Sunday. Even so, the slim win vs. the Eagles showed us they are not perfect. Their defense can get sluggish and you can beat them under coverage. With that said, they are still 11-0.

2. Cowboys- After blowing the doors off the Jets, they look ready for the big showdown vs. Green Bay. The Boys have more firepower on offense, without question. It will be interesting how they contain Favre. Holding the Jets to 3 points is not a big deal, but almost letting the dull Redskins’ offense come back in Week 11 makes you think.

3. Packers- It looks like they may finally have a starting RB in Grant, who has been impressive the past few weeks. They need a running game to go deep. Speaking of going deep, it seems like Brett Favre is getting better as the season progresses. Scary stuff with the defense they have.

4. Colts- Sometime in the 2nd quarter on Turkey Day, they were down 13-0 to the Falcons. Doing their best efforts to avoid a huge bump in the road, they then scored 31 unanswered points. Even with all these injuries, this team still has the explosiveness when needed.

5. Jaguars- They are still only 1 game behind the Colts and they keep staying quiet. Garrard has yet to throw an INT, the defense is incredibly stringy, and their schedule is mostly easy. If they can beat the Colts or Steelers, keep your eye on them.

6. Buccaneers- With a 2 game lead in one of the weakest divisions in football, a win over the Saints will be the nail in the coffin. They are very similar to the Jags. They have a better defense and Jeff Garcia has been perfect with the type of offense Gurden has been running.

7. Seahawks- They’re one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now, winning 3 in a row. They are solid in most areas and they have a veteran club. They don’t face another team over .500 for the rest of the season. And being in the worst division in football (record of Cardinals, 49ers, and Rams=10-23) doesn’t hurt either.

8. Steelers - The special team unit is mediocre at best. That’s the only glaring weakness of this usually solid group.  Big Ben is a heavy risk-taker, but it usually pays off. As long as it doesn’t rain on the Sunday of home games the rest of the way, they have a good chance to holding off Cleveland to win the division.

9. Browns- Cleveland has been getting more and more convincing each weak. Give credit to Romeo Crennel. He has transformed the look of this team. They have won 4 out of their last 5; the one loss was by 3 points to the Steel Curtain. A wild card spot looks sealed up.

10. Giants- The most unreliable team in the NFL once again shows their extremely inconsistent ways, getting hammered by the tied for last Vikings. Eli Manning is a mirror image of the team. 16 TDs and 15 INTs is not good enough. Not even close.

11. Chargers- The rollercoaster that is the San Diego Chargers under Norv Turner reached another peak Sunday, getting over .500 for the 2nd time this season.  Give them credit for scoring 32 against the Ravens. Of course, the Ravens are the coldest team in football.

12. Lions- The Lions have been doing what many thought they would do in the 2nd half, fall apart. The reason? The main reason is that schedule.
Combined records of teams faced in first 8 weeks=35-42. Their record=6-2
Combined records of teams facing/coming up in next 8 weeks=47-30. So far they are 0-3 in the 2nd half. Not looking good.

13. Titans- Another team that was once 6-2 and now is 6-5. But they are losing to less dominant opponents. The horrible passing game might finally be catching up to them. The division is out of the question, but a WC spot is possible. More points are needed.

14. Eagles- They won 2 in a row and then they almost made the upset of the century with a once 3rd string QB. That game showed this team has the talent when they are all on the same page. Too bad they now face 3 good to great teams in a row.

15. Vikings- They have won back to back games and can still make the playoffs. It’s a slim possibility but it’s not impossible. If they had a Jeff Garcia type QB, one who would limit mistakes, this team would be better. But they have to ram the ball because they virtually have no passing game.

16. Redskins- The loss of Sean Taylor is not something this franchise is going to get over any time soon. Playoffs this year? With that looming over their heads, not to mention the loss of such a dominating player, there’s no post-season in D.C.

17. Texans- Houston appeared to be out of their funk before running into the hot Cleveland Browns, ending their little 2 game winning streak. The rest of there games could be pretty tough, excluding maybe the Broncos. Even they have the ability to surprise people.

18. Bears- It was the meeting of 2 teams that have been all over the place Sunday, as the Bears edged the Broncos by 3 in overtime. What’s amazing is the defense is now one of the worst in the NFL.  The revolving door at QB isn’t helping either. What’s the future of this team?

19. Saints- Trying to avoid their second losing streak of at least 3 games Sunday, they picked apart the Panthers D. When they lost 4, they won their next 4. So since they just lost 2 and won yesterday, they should also win next week if the pattern keeps up. Maybe…

20. Bills- The Bills have fallen fast, been risen up quicker, and now falling even faster than before. They have been embarrassed the past 2 games, being outscored 92-24. With that said, those 2 teams were the Patriots and Jaguars.

21. Broncos- The Broncos have had flashes of brilliance (beating the Steelers) and flashes of total meltdowns (losing to the Chargers 41-3 at home). On Sunday, it was a little bit of everything as they came very close to getting over .500 for the first time since Week 3. Jay Cutler is getting better, which is a great sign for the franchise.

22. Cardinals- Just when you think this young team can take off, they give up 37 points to a team that has the offense of drunken kangaroos. Kurt Warner isn’t doing bad, it’s just he doesn’t have a ton to work with and the defense is a flip of the coin every game.

23. Bengals- The Bengals have won 2 out of their last 3 and their defense is slowly improving. With the schedule being pretty easy the rest of the way, they have a shot at getting at least close to .500. They have the talent to make a run. A big run should also save Lewis’ job.

24. Chiefs- The offense is pitiful and the defense is now not good enough. This team is shot. The loss to Oakland Sunday was the kicker. The lack of a good QB and an extremely disappointing running game has finally taken their number.

25. Ravens- The Ravens are currently on a 5 game losing streak. This is the first time ever in franchise history they have lost 5 in a row. What’s even worse is the only week it looks like they could pull out a win is Week 15 against the Dolphins. They are too old with very little offense.

26. Panthers- This team is now officially horrible. Not only have they also lost 5 in a row, they have done so in humiliating fashion. They have been outscored 133-50 during their 5 game implosion. The defense has looked lost and the offense is completely broken.

27. 49ers -  San Francisco scored more than 20 points for the first time this season on Sunday. And against Carolina next week, they could also win back to back games for the first time since the first 2 weeks of the season. When they were somewhat mediocre.

28. Raiders- The win against the Chiefs Sunday was the first time they beat someone in their division in 3 years. They also ended a 6 game skid. They better win next week, because they aren’t beating the Colts, Jaguars, or Steelers. Oh…and please put Russell in already.

29. Falcons- The Falcons got a good start against the Colts. But it didn’t end well. Joey Harrington wasn’t terrible but the running game once again did nothing to contribute. And Manning decimated the Falcons secondary.

30. Jets- Could the Jets pull off 2 colossal upsets in a row? The answer came quickly. It was a no as they couldn’t even get to mid field against the Cowboys. Kellen Clemens still looks pretty good though. Thomas Jones continues his disappointing year. He still doesn’t have a TD.

31. Rams- Even if they lost to the Seahawks, they made it a game. That and the 2 wins before that game have shown that the Rams still have the talent and potential to be an interesting team. Too bad it’s far too late to be a factor. Spoiling is always fun though.

32. Dolphins – They finally made the move to Beck, but he didn’t help much.Not that any QB would have been successful with that slop around him.  How can he with this cast around him? The Dolphins have a pretty good passing D. But they are a disgrace to the franchise in every other aspect of the game.

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

Week 11

Week 10

Week 9

Week 8

Week 7

Week 6

Week 5

Week 4

Week 3

Redskins S Sean Taylor died early Tuesday morning at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He was 24 years old.

Taylor was shot in the leg, suffering heavy blood loss, in an alleged robbery attempt in his Miami home. Taylor was in the area getting his injured knee treated. He was deactivated for the Redskins 19-13 loss at Tampa Bay, and was with his girlfriend and daughter in his home.

The Associated Press reported:

“It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery,” Miami-Dade Police Lt. Nancy Perez said. “It has not been confirmed as yet.”

Taylor was one of the best safeties in football. A rare combination of speed and size, he was more like a linebacker patrolling the middle of the field. He was going to be the centerpiece of a Redskins defense that was going to be one of the best units in the league.

Teammates had vouched for Taylor’s growth from a list of off-the-field incidents since his rookie season in 2004. His girlfriend gave birth to his daughter, Jackie, and teammate James Thrash said Taylor was a changed man.

He was arrested for alleged drunk driving his rookie season, and, in 2005, was in a legal battle over an alleged incident where Taylor drew a gun on a man he accused of trying to steal an all-terrain vehicle near his home in Miami.

In a playoff game in 2006, Taylor was fined $17,000 for spitting in Tampa Bay RB Michael Pittman’s face. He had multiple late-hit and uniform violation fines.

The Redskins drafted S LaRon Landry in the 2007 Draft, giving Taylor the opportunity to play a true free safety position. He led the NFC with five interceptions, despite missing the last two games with his injured knee.

Former Miami Hurricanes and Redskins teammate Clinton Portis said:

“…ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it. He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child.”

The lightning in the Pittsburgh area that caused an hour delay of kickoff was the only explosive element in the Steelers’ 3-0 win over Miami Monday night. The record-setting victory at the Fourth River secured Pittsburgh’s 1-game lead over Cleveland for the AFC North title with five games to go.

In Week 11, the Steelers played down to their opponent. In Week 12, they played down to the elements.

Which team will the Steelers bring next week? That’s about as clear as mud.

During a torrential downpour that brought back memories of the Steelers at Miami game in 2004 - during Hurricane Jeanne - the newly resodded Heinz Field grass looked as if it was going to float away, but the Steelers got a field goal from K Jeff Reed with less than a minute in regulation to beat the winless Dolphins 3-0.

It was the lowest scoring win in Steelers franchise history.

The conditions gave the game a scrimmage look for four quarters, and the play on the field - largely caused by the weather - didn’t look far off of that assessment. Sideline reporters used the term “lumpy” to describe the playing surface, and the speed of the game slowed to a crawl.

The Steelers are consoled by a huge AFC win, as they improve to 8-3, holding on to a 1-game lead over the resiliant 7-4 Browns. They remain tied with Jacksonville for the No. 3 seed in the AFC Playoff picture.

Outside of the great photography that will no doubt come from the game, the win was about the only optimistic part of the game as a whole. Individual aspects of the game paint a more optimistic picture, though. Statistically, Pittsburgh dominated. They held a 34-25 time of possession advantage, and out-gained Miami on the ground 84-59.

Ben effective, Willie? Not so much…increasing sacks, decreasing points 

Steelers RB Willie Parker had 81 yards, giving him his third consecutive 1,000 yard season. He joins the former Ravens and Chiefs RB Priest Holmes as the only undrafted RBs to crack the century mark for three consecutive seasons.

The Dolphins were the league’s 32nd ranked defense going into this game, the fourth time this year the Steelers have played the team with that distinction. Parker had one 100-yard game out of those four - a 105 yard performance against Cleveland in Week 10, and he hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 8 at Cincinnati, only his second of the year.

WR Hines Ward came down with nine of the toughest catches of his career, battling a wet ball and the Dolphins’ “get him down through any means necessary” philosophy that included CB Mike Lehan tackling him around his neck on more than one occaision.

Ward had three huge catches on the game’s only scoring drive. The Steelers got into Miami territory on eight consecutive possessions, but only had a 1-for-2 kicking performance from Reed to show for it at the end.

QB Ben Roethlisberger completed 15 consecutive passes at one point, but took a few sacks when it looked like he would have been able to throw it away. He threw an interception in the game’s opening drive to OLB Joey Porter, who, playing against his old team, showed flashes of J-Peezy again. He came into the game with 30 tackles, and 1.5 sacks. Monday night, Porter had eight tackles and that interception.

Roethlisberger finished 18-for-21 for 165 yards, but failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 15 games. With the deep passing game removed entirely, Roethlisberger stuck to precision, as much as he could, anyway. He hit eight Steelers for completions, including gainers to seldom-activated Willie Reid, and backup FB Dan Kreider. He played within himself, and did a great job of rebounding from the early interception.

The Steelers allowed five sacks, running their three-game total to 16. Their offense came into the game averaging 26 points per game, the second-highest mark in the league. They’ve now scored 19 points in their last two games, 16 against the 2-9 New York Jets.

Clearly, the weather played a huge factor in the lack of scoring, and the Steelers generally played the hand they were dealt well, but the offense is going to have to find a way to get on track. This team has not clinched anything yet.

Defense dominated as much as the rain did 

His defense helped quite a bit. While LB Larry Foote was only credited with a half a sack, he had constant pressure on rookie QB John Beck, including one of the worst blocks ever from RB Jesse Chatman. Chatman looked like he tried to go low at Foote as he was blitzing around the end. Foote saw it, was able to stop, and simply hop over Chatman, and deliver a hit on Beck. Chatman was visibly upset after his mistake, and if the Dolphins weren’t precariously thin at RB, he would have been benched immediately.

The Steelers defense made that thin Dolphins running back corps even thinner, as rookie Lawrence Timmons gave Ricky Williams a tattoo of the sole of his enormous cleat on his arm. In an effort to stop Williams from trying to recover his fumble, Timmons stomped on his shoulder before diving on the ball himself.

It was Timmons’ first fumble recovery, and more than likely will draw a fine from the league.

Williams looked awful; overweight and slow, he left the game and did not return after the fumble. FS Anthony Smith ended Chatman’s night after driving his shoulder into Chatman’s neck as the running back dove, going for more yards.

The Dolphins, already without franchise RB Ronnie Brown, had to rely on Patrick Cobbs, an undrafted second-year back from North Texas. He brought very little to the Dolphins, as they averaged 2.1 yards per carry on the game.

The season starts in Week 13

The real mettle of a playoff team is tested over the final third of the schedule. No playoff team can boast a tougher final five games. The Steelers host Cincinnati at the Fourth River in a game that was moved to Sunday night in Week 13. Then they travel to AFC East champion New England, and host 8-3 Jacksonville in Weeks 14 and 15. They finish off the season at St. Louis and at Baltimore. With Cleveland showing no signs of slowing down, the Steelers are going to have to continue Monday’s trend of winning whatever way possible, as Tennessee stands at 6-5.

If the season ended after Week 12, the Steelers would be the No. 3 seed in the AFC Playoffs, hosting Cleveland in the Wild Card round.

The Steelers were without SS Troy Polamalu, WR Santonio Holmes and LT Marvel Smith in Monday’s win. T Max Starks filled in for Smith, and had mixed reviews, while blocking DE Jason Taylor is not an enviable task. Tyrone Carter filled in for Polamalu, and led the team with 12 tackles. Nate Washington, Cedrick Wilson and Willie Reid all took on new roles, and each had at least one reception.

The status of the injured players’ availability for next week’s AFC North showdown against Cincinnati likely won’t be officially decided until late Sunday afternoon.

Heinz Field is soaked completely through to the original turf the grounds crew worked for the last 36 hours to cover.

The new grass that was laid down looks like a few inches of water are now supporting it, and NFL Films has likely brought out a fresh battery to film a few highlight bloopers.

It’s basically the same conditions as when Hurricane Jeanne was coming through Miami the last two times these teams met. Pittsburgh won that game, incidentally, and it was rookie Ben Roethlisberger’s first professional start.

The Steelers won a very sloppy, otherwise unmemorable game in 2004. As lightning in the area pushed the start of tonight’s game back to 9 p.m. ET, it got me thinking of that Week 3 match-up at Miami.

The weather had pushed back the start of the game to 8:30 p.m. ET, and while NFL.com says over 72,000 people paid to attend that game, there might have been 10,000 there. The Hurricane had come to shore earlier that day, and it had soaked through Pro Player Stadium.

Roethlisberger started his first game by completing 12-of-22 passes for a touchdown (to Hines Ward) and an interception along with 162 yards. Certainly not the greatest start the league has seen, but that win started Roethlisberger’s rookie record 15 game winning streak, and rookie record 98.1 rating.

Elements seem to have changed the course of the season for the Steelers, who were 1-1 at the time. But then again, Dave Wannstedt was coaching the Dolphins too. They would have scored three points on a dry field that day.

Either way, there are still several members on both teams from that game, and they’re probably exchanging a story or two about it. When the weather’s this bad, just concentrate on being one point better than your opponent. Nothing fancy is even possible.

Neal met up with fellow Steelers blogger Jay from The Blitzburgh Report  again for another email exchange. Jay’s revamped his web site, and the design is really cool, so you should check it out. In the meantime, Jay and Neal get into J-Peezy’s return, more thoughts on the Steelers offensive line and the possibility of Miami scoring an upset tonight.

Neal:  Just think, Jay, in just a few hours, we get to see J-Peezy stalking around the 45 yard line barking at his former teammates.What do you think their reactions will be? Will Larry Foote go after him? Hines, even? You don’t think he’d be gutsy enough to prance through their warm-up lines like Warren Sapp did back in 2002, do you?Cuz that was really lame… I can’t help but think Porter will do something upon his return to Heinz Field. Not so much anything of value in the game, mind you, but something before it, something trying to really get under the skin of the Steelers. Maybe moon them?

Jay:  I would have thought in the past that the Joey would do something to leave his mark, but I think he will be quiet tonight. Anything that I have read from him this season seems to indicate that he is quite humbled with regards to the Steelers and how poorly he and his new team are doing. It is a bit sad, in a way, but I think Joey has got to miss his old teammates and will probably be pretty friendly. I might even expect one good play by Joey. Nothing special, maybe a tackle for a loss, heck, maybe even a sack. That’s all. Something either earlier, or late after the game is already decided. But youknow what, I’ll smile (as long as it doesn’t come at a bad time). He’ll probably do his “boot” and I’ll say farewell.

Cotter has a run-down of some Steelers players’ thoughts on Ol’ No. 55, bringing about the last we’ll hear pre-game about J-Peezy and his Boot.

As a side note, Cotter chides the readers who - like myself - didn’t read Friday’s post on Friday. He should have. His site is a must-read each day.

Anyway…Porter has had exactly one-and-a-half chances this year to break out his Boot - his celebration kick when he sacks the quarterback. It’s clear Porter would have rather stayed in Pittsburgh, but had to follow the money, because the winless Miami Dolphins have the only front office stupid enough to pay him as much as they did. Clearly, no one in Pittsburgh is upset anymore over his replacement, Silverback (he’s got a shot at the Pro Bowl), but there is definitely a nostalgic air around Peezy. All season, I have missed seeing him pace up and down the 45-yard-line during warm-ups like a caged animal, abs exposed, barking at the opposing team. It got commonplace, probably to the point it wasn’t even intimidating anymore for Pittsburgh’s opposition, but it was like a pre-game ritual. The game couldn’t start until Peezy tried to pick a fight with the opponent’s resident hot head.

I wonder if the opposite reaction won’t occur tonight, and even moreso, I wonder which Steeler will be the one barking back.

My bet would obviously be Larry Foote, with a steady dose of Tyrone Carter. It will make for great TV if it’s Harrison, though.

Cooper vs. Wexell on grading the offensive line

Steel City Insider writer Jim Wexell wrote a piece (exclusive content) late last week, defending C Sean Mahan, even saying it was his best game.

AOL’s JJ Cooper writes a piece every week, grading the offensive line’s performance in the last game.

It’s unclear if Cooper was fired up by the fact Wexell referred to Cooper’s column, even calling him JJ Wilson (tongue-in-cheek?), but his evaluation of Mahan did not produce the same results.

With that in mind I paid special attention to Mahan in rewatching the game. What I found was that he was as bad as I had thought the first time. He simply isn’t strong enough to generate any push in the running game if he’s facing an adequate nose tackle. The Steelers, maybe because they’ve been spoiled by good center play, are not a team that does a lot of double-teaming nose tackles. The center is expected to handle him. What we saw last Sunday is Mahan isn’t up to that task.

Cooper respectfully disagreed with Wexell’s assessment, but both made valid points. Is Mahan just not big enough to handle a NT the size of Dewayne Robertson? The offensive line is as much a unit as that CBS TV show that bears that name.

Watching the game again, it seemed to me that Mahan did get beat up a little bit, and it was noticeable. However, throwing a bone to Wexell, blaming Mahan for Robertson’s huge game is misplaced; Mahan wasn’t the only one blocking him. But it wasn’t just pass protection in which Mahan struggled.

Blame whomever you want, the fact is, the Steelers lost a pivotal AFC game they had no business losing. With Cleveland catching fire ever since Pittsburgh beat them for the second time (as Dale Lolley points out, the Browns are 7-2 against teams not in Pittsburgh), this playoff race - not just the division race - is much closer than we might want to admit.

Speaking of which…

Browns win again, Pittsburgh’s comfort zone much smaller

Soldier had 10 catches against Houston Sunday, leading the Browns to a 27-17 win. They now stand at 7-4, having won six of their last eight games. Their only two losses are to New England and Pittsburgh. Their win Sunday forces Pittsburgh into a must-win situation tonight against the Dolphins.

Cleveland does not play a team over .500 for the rest of the season.

Jacksonville beat up on Buffalo, putting them at 8-3, and holding down the first Wild Card spot. Jacksonville has a huge game against Indianapolis next week, and winning that would put both teams at 9-3. So Pittsburgh has a 1-game lead on Cleveland for the division, 1.5 really, when you factor in the tie-breaker. But that 1-game lead exists for the final Wild Card spot as well. The Steelers still have the suddenly human Patriots and red-hot Jags still on the schedule, not to mention grudge matches with the Bengals (looked impressive yesterday) and Ravens (did not look impressive yesterday, but are still the Steelers chief rivals, and haven’t been swept by the Steelers since 2002).

Feel somewhat suffocated yet? The Steelers also play the emerging and somewhat healthy Rams, yet another team with nothing to play for, and every reason in the world to want to knock off a division leader. They would have beaten the NFC West leading Seahawks had back-up QB Gus Frerotte hadn’t forgotten how to throw the ball (totally biffed a would-be touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce) or handle a snap from center (4th and goal, game on the line, he fumbled, ending the game).

Ya gotta love the NFL…It wasn’t long ago Pittsburgh was all but given the AFC North title, and was playing for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. They still lead the division, as this isn’t a harbinger of doom or anything. But they are also playing just to qualify for a spot in the extremely competitive AFC post-season.

The way the AFC is shaping up, 11-5 might just be enough to get the last Wild Card spot.

Back to Mahan

Jay over at Blitzburgh Report thinks Mahan just isn’t cutting it.

It is an interesting perspective, though. He’s saying former Steelers coach Bill Cowher was a players coach, and was loyal to them “to a fault.” I’ve been hearing a lot of conversation as to why the Steelers picked up Darnell Stapleton off the Practice Squad, as one of the two replacements for FS Ryan Clark and TE Jerame Tuman. My guess would be to light a fire under Mahan’s ass, but at the same time, there’s no way a guy on the fringe of being out of the league could come in and do Mahan’s job.

Strangely, though, with all the talk about Stapleton and Mahan, no one has mentioned Chukky Okobi’s release from the team. An argument can now be made about how he shouldn’t have been cut. I wont make that argument, but I bet there are some who would take a crack at it. Mahan is listed at 301, and Stapleton at 285. Maybe it’s just that he hides his weight well in black, but Mahan doesn’t look like a 300-pounder in uniform, certainly not next to legit three bill guys like Faneca and Simmons.

The center position isn’t necessarily overlooked by teams, but it’s obvious when a team doesn’t have a good one. Similarly to how Tom Brady and Peyton Manning completely destroy the QB Curve in the NFL, having guys like Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings make a competant player like Mahan pale in comparison. Hartings was a multiple Pro Bowler, and Dawson damn well better be in the Hall of Fame. Mahan has played well, he’s just perhaps not at the level of his predesessors.

Who else in the league is, though? Minnesota’s Matt Birk? Chicago’s Olin Kruetz? That’s some pretty exclusive company.

More coming throughout the day…

Parker’s one of the league’s better running backs, few can argue that. But when it comes to Weeks 11-13, his stats take a sharp turn to the south. It’s certainly not warmer in the south, but Parker hasn’t had good stats in these crucial games his whole starting career. Will that change Monday?  

When the weeks get into the double-digits, Steelers RB Willie Parker seems to only gain into the double-digits.

Going into Monday’s inter-conference match against Miami, Parker needs only 75 yards to eclipse the (overrated) 1,000 yard mark for the third consecutive season. If history shows anything, it’s that Parker getting 75 yards in Week 12 in and of itself makes history.

Since becoming the Steelers primary running back in 2005, Parker has rushed for 43 yards and 22 yards, in 2005 and 2006, respectively. In fact, he’s never broken 100 yards in the combined seven games he’s started in Weeks 11-13. The Steelers are 2-5 in those seven games, including their 19-16 loss at the New York Jets last week.

P-G’s Ed Bouchette writes about Parker’s statement that he is going to change his running style in Monday’s game.

“I’m just going back to playing like I used to play, taking more chances,” Parker vowed. “I think it’s better off for me and the line. I’m not going to press it, I’m just going to free my mind and play ball.”

Not that whatever he’s been doing hasn’t worked. He leads the NFL with 233 carries, and has 925 yards - second to Minnesota’s (injured) Adrian Peterson. He just seems to hit a wall at this point in the season.

Granted, getting 100 yards against Baltimore isn’t exactly a cakewalk. The Steelers played the Ravens in Week 11 in 2005 (59 yards) and in Week 12 in 2006 (22 yards, his second lowest mark of the season). It’s not a sign that the rest of his season is doomed, either. He had a franchise-record 223 yards in Week 14 against Cleveland last year, and he ended the season with 265 yards combined in Week 16 and Week 17 in 2005.

He just doesn’t like Weeks 11-13.

The Steelers are going up against the league’s worst statistical defense for the fourth time this season, this time, the 0-10 Dolphins. That usually good news, but he’s only had 250 yards in those three games (Denver, Cleveland and the Jets), and didn’t score a touchdown - he only has two this season, and he had 13 all last year.

Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell reported Saturday that the Steelers decided to resod Heinz Field after the high school championship games and the South Florida/Pitt game Saturday. Parker has looked a bit less balanced in recent games, leading us to question if there isn’t an injury the team hasn’t disclosed. He isn’t cutting nearly as crisply as he used to, and doesn’t hit the hole with any sort of pop. The Steelers put in Najeh Davenport during the second half of the Jets game, and while most blame the offensive line for the team’s lack of ability to run the game out in the fourth quarter (they led 16-13 midway through the fourth, and one sustained drive would have ended it), watching the game again on film, Parker seems to be as much at fault as his blockers.

Parker hasn’t been listed on the team’s injury report, and Bouchette quoted him as being fairly confident he’ll be able to get back on track. With Peterson not playing today at the Giants, Parker has every opportunity to regain the league’s rushing lead that he held before the rookie went off.

Will the Curse of the Double-Digit Weeks again strike the Steelers star runner?