Cowher to join CBS in the fall...

He's back with his headset.

No, not back on the sidelines, but in the studio.

Former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher signed on to be a NFL analyst on CBS' "The NFL Today" pregame show.

In a curious twist, Cowher's hiring creates an additional slot on the show, along with Marino, Sharpe, Esiason, and Brown. Doesn't look like they'll be removing anyone from the show.

Let's just hope that it shuts Shannon Sharpe up for a while.

Steelers 2006; What the hell happened ??

I've dreaded this post, even contemplated not making it.

But now, the Steeler season is over, my self-imposed Steeler posting hiatus has expired, so now it's time to reflect.

So, to repeat the title, what the hell happened ??

First of all, let's stay off of the field to begin the analysis.

• Coaching - As I opined when Coach Cowher announced his resignation on Jan. 5th, he had, in my view, lost his edge. In fact, I believe he'd lost it about 3 years ago. But specifically this past year, Cowher made several questionable coaching decisions, such as going for it on 4th downs that were much more risky than ones he'd done in the past. The continued placement of Santonio Holmes as punt returner, as well as Ike Taylor as starting cornerback, were head-scratchers indeed.
• Playcalling - The Steelers playcalling has become so predictable, it's not even funny. Ya know, pass on 1st down, run on 2nd down after the 1st down pass is incomplete, then incomplete pass after the predictable run on 2nd down is stuffed, then punt. But to be more specific, what really irks me is the playcalling when the Steelers are facing the tough blitz-crazy defenses like Jacksonville and Baltimore. Everyone in the free world knew what those teams were doing every snap, blitz, blitz, and more blitz. But what the Steelers didn't do, and in fact what they've NEVER done since the Ravens' defense has come to prominence, is counteract those blitzes with plays to punish those teams, with plays such as draws, screens, and slants. They kept calling the same vanilla plays, as if they were playing against a 4-3. That resulted in some brutal hits this year on Ben, and more importantly, resulted in three embarrassing losses to those teams, that included two shutouts.

Now onto the field;

• Quarterback - Wow, Ben had, shall we say, a tough year. I mean, the guy was THIS close to being "the late Ben Roethlisberger". I'm still amazed the guy came out of it with only a cracked up mug, and moreover, I'm still amazed that his face is not deformed in some gruesome way, but that is the marvel of today's medical science. Then as everyone is preparing for the opener, Ben is rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. And then the concussion. So I guess in retrospect, it's really not surprising to see what his stats ended up to be. He led the entire NFL in interceptions with 23, while his QB rating, which was easily in triple digits thus far in his NFL career, crashed down to 75.4. But as I've said a helluva lot of times over the years, if you don't have an offensive line to protect you, I don't care if you're Joe Montana, you won't be a good QB, which leads me to the next item;
• Offensive Line - I think everyone would agree that this was the worst year for a Steelers offensive line in several years. The O-line gave up the 6th most sacks in the NFL this year with 49. Lots of talk around the Steelers blogosphere concerning the play of the two tackles, Marvel Smith and Max Starks. And while they did assist Willie Parker to the be 6th leading rusher in the NFL this year with 1494 yards, that was greatly aided by 2-200 yard games against New Orleans and Cleveland. While those games were certainly noteworthy, including breaking the Steelers' game record, we'd be remiss if we didn't include the duds against Jacksonville (20 yds.), San Diego (57), Atlanta (47), Cleveland (43), Baltimore (22), Tampa (61), and Baltimore again (29). Want another stat for a poor rushing game ? How about the Steelers being 5th in the NFL in passing for 1st downs with 201.
• Wide receivers - I have to admit, I think this group shows a helluva lot of promise in the years ahead. Hines Ward, well, is simply Hines Ward. Clutch as clutch can be. Blocks his ass off. Plays hurt. I also think that Cedrick Wilson could be a good receiver as well, if he's stop bitching after every ball that he doesn't catch. Nate Washington had several big drops, but he made good strides this year. Santonio Holmes, after a slow start, really came on strong at the end of the year. I'd be really surprised if he isn't a starter next year. What we didn't get to see is what Willie Reid can do, both as a WR and as a PR. This group as a whole gets a pass (no pun intended) this year, they didn't win many games, but in the same respect, they didn't lose games either.
• Running backs - As I said earlier, Willie Parker had a good year, statistically, with 1494 yards. But whether it was due to poor playcalling, or poor offensive line play, or whatever else, Parker did not deliver in the important games of the year vs. conference and division opponents. And while it's not fair to completely point the blame on Willie for those poor performances, it cannot be discounted that the failure to run the ball as a whole most definitely was a prime factor in several games this year. Elsewhere, count me as one who thought that Najeh Davenport had a pretty good year, I love this guy's running style. He's as close to Bettis as the Steelers are gonna get, and they'd be stupid for letting him leave. Verron Haynes got hurt and was put on IR pretty early in the year, and after the signing of Davenport, I don't think that was as big a loss as it could have been.
• Defensive Line - This group did what they were paid to do in a 3-4 defense, that being stopping the run. The Steelers were 3rd in the NFL in rushing defense, averaging 88.2 yards per game. Also, two of the three D-linemen got their fair share of sacks as well, with Aaron Smith getting 4.5 sacks, and Brett Keisel getting 5.5. This unit isn't the problem.
• Linebackers - For all of the notoriety and press this group gets, they're full of holes now. First and foremost, they're getting long in the tooth, NFL-wise. Farrior's 32 now, Haggans' 30, Porter will be 30 in March, and Foote is the baby of the group at 26. In my view, that has resulted in more missed tackles, more times of getting blocked vice shedding tackles, and wider gaps in pass coverage. And while they've certainly still done a good job in sacks, with 22 among the group, their pass defense has become a liability. Porter makes $5 million next year, counting $6.6 million against the cap, in the last year of his contract. Gonna be interesting what they do with him, 'cause I don't see him taking any pay cut at all.
• Secondary - Oh boy, I saved the best for last. Personally, I continue to be shocked at the lack of negative coverage that this group gets in the Pittsburgh press. How many times have we seen, not just this year, but for the last several years, a QB throw seemingly at will, at wide receivers that are completely wide-open, all game long. How many times have we seen Ike Taylor or Deshea Townsend bite on the double move ?? How many times have we seen the cornerbacks rush the line, only to miss a makeable tackle which leads to a big gain ?? The Steelers have used 3 high draft picks since '03 on cornerbacks (Taylor, Colclough, McFadden), and yet they still are porous as they've ever been on pass defense. I hate to say it, but this upcoming draft the Steelers need to expend yet another high draft pick on a CB. Probably not a 1st rounder, 'cause I think they need to go LB, but I wouldn't be surprised if they go CB in round 2 or 3.
• Special Teams - Kevin Spencer should be proactive and box up his belongings while he has the chance, 'cause he needs to be GONE. Terrible coverage on both kick and punt returns. In addition, sorry to say, I think BOTH punter Chris Gardocki AND kicker Jeff Reed should be released. Gardocki was 4th from the bottom of the league in gross punting average with only a 41.3 yard average. And although he's a fan favorite, Reed didn't do much better. Reed only got 4 touchbacks out of 76 kickoffs this year, tied for 4th from the bottom of the league. His kickoffs routinely averaged between the 5 and 10 yard line. In addition, his 74.1 pct. average on successful field goals is near the bottom of the league as well. The Steelers should be able to do much better with this group next year.

Well, that's it. Are the Steelers that far away from a playoff team next year ?? Hell no. If they wouldn't have blown the Atlanta, Cincinnatti, and Oakland games last year, they would have been a playoff team this year.

Cowher resigns; Bill, Steeler Nation says Thank You...

It was a day of mixed emotions, to be sure.

Bill Cowher did the expected on Friday, and hung up his chin.

Well, you know what I mean.

I've been going back and forth on how I was going to draft this post.

I initially was going to go the way of downplaying Cowher's resignation, and moving onto his possible replacements. I've always been one that feels that pro sports coaches are overrated in the overall reasons for a team's success or failure.

But this post shouldn't be about my opinion about pro coaches, and how that applied to Bill.

This post needs to be about Bill Cowher's accomplishments as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 years.

10 playoff appearances, 8 division championships, 6 AFC Championships, 2 Super Bowl appearances, and the Super Bowl XL Championship.

Not a bad run, not bad at all. Matter of fact, no one can touch it in the contemporary NFL.

That equates to a ticket to the Hall of Fame, my friends.

Yes, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the lowlights;

• The 3 AFC Championship losses at home, boy, those hurt, especially the San Diego game in '95
• The debacle with the failed Kordell Stewart experiment
• Too many kissing incidents (OK, just a joke thrown in there)

But those lowlights are few and far between. You don't get much more successful than Cowher's been in today's NFL.

So why did he go ??

Did money have something to do with it ?? He keeps saying no, and for the most part I tend to agree, but not completely.

I can more clearly agree with the reasoning that he gave during the press conference.

His family.

For you young and single folks out there, if you take anything away from reading this post, don't dismiss so quickly the effect that being away from your spouse and children has on a person.

Ask anyone who has been deployed overseas in the military for several months or over a year what it's like to be away from your wife and kids.

Well I'll tell you, as one who's done it, it's terrible, no two ways to describe it.

Not only in the military, but there are hundreds of pro athletes and coaches who are away from their family, albeit not in a military scenario, but away nonetheless.

So I see exactly where Bill is coming from when he said he wants to be with his family. His wife and youngest daughter now live in Raleigh, in their new multi-million dollar home. So I don't think it's foolish at all to suggest that Bill will be away from coaching until his daughter graduates from high school in a couple of years.

And even though he said it wasn't a reason, in my view, Bill was burned out. I think it was apparent in the last couple of years.

He simply shrugged off the bad losses that seemed to accumulate over the last couple of years, such as when they went 7-5 before they went on the remarkable Super Bowl run, or this past year, when they stumbled out of the gate at 2-6, to finish 8-8. Terrible losses, such as the Oakland loss, would have previously brought out a possessed Cowher, one that would ensure you wouldn't see that lousy version of the Steelers again for a long time. Instead, you just kept seeing Bill shrug his shoulders, and give generic answers like "we just have to keep working hard".

So now, Bill's gone. Who's gonna replace him ??

Who CAN replace him ??

One might say, no one can "replace" Bill Cowher, in an emotional sense. The jaw, the spit, the snarl, gonna be tough to replace that.

So how do you find someone ??

I'm gonna throw this out right now.

NOTE TO THE ROONEY'S; PLEASE DISMISS THE NOTION THAT SOMEONE IS A BETTER CANDIDATE TO BE COACH OF THE STEELERS SIMPLY BECAUSE HE'S A WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA NATIVE.

I say that as a Western Pennsylvania native, for those of you who haven't read my profile.

I'm sick of that, I really am, not only with the Steelers, but the Pirates are just as guilty of it. As if where you grew up gives you an advantage in coaching ability. Please.

Who do I "think" will be the next coach of the Steelers ??

My guess is that it'll be Ken Whisenhunt, if he isn't gobbled up by Atlanta or Arizona first, which I don't think will happen, because Whis will give the Rooney's the courtesy of meeting with them before he makes any decision.

The main reason I think it'll be Whis is because of his interaction with Big Ben. That's huge in my opinion. You give Ben a new coach, and you'll most likely have a new offensive coordinator, meaning a completely new offense. The Rooneys do not want to give the Steelers an overhaul.

Russ Grimm is the secondary choice, to me anyway. Yes, he's Cowher-like, meaning he's got that spunk, that snarl. But as I said, if you hire Grimm, you're gonna lose Whis, and that means a new offense for Ben.

The external candidates are interesting as well; Ron Rivera, Mike Singletary, Kurt Ferentz. All of those guys would be excellent choices, I have no doubt of that.

But to me, it's gonna be Whis, because if anything is apparent, after 38 years of having two coaches, it's that the Rooney's like their consistency.

Farewell Bill, and thanks for the memories.

Sunday tidbits at The Confluence

Didn't ya just love the 180 degree turn that Michael Strahan did this week ?? First he publically calls out Plaxico Burress (which I totally concurred with, any Steeler fan could've told you that). Then he tries to cover his ass and do what all big-mouth overpaid athletes do, BLAME THE MEDIA !! Yeah, that's it, I'll blame the media, it's all their fault. Give me a frickin' break.

Speaking of things I loved to see, wasn't it lovely seeing USC look past UCLA, thereby ruining their national championship shot. You guys made a helluva run, but perhaps you need to finally get off of your high (Trojan) horse.

Even though I don't agree with it, I'm starting to get a sneaking suspicion that the human voters are going to have Florida play OSU for the championship. The "no rematch" philosophy, plus having a 12-1 SEC Champion play OSU, rather than a runner-up Big 10 team, seems to be will be a common theme.

Baseball's winter meetings begin today in Orlando. Still quite a few marquee free agents out there, but I'll be on the lookout for the trade discussions, and just how ridiculous Dave Littlefield's demands are this time why they won't happen for the Pirates.

Bud Selig's going to retire in 3 years when his contract expires. Doesn't really matter, they'll just select whatever knucklehead that will keep the ridiculous MLB economic environment as is.

Ridiculous signing of the week; Randy Wolf, he of the 69-60 career record, signs with the Dodgers for one year, 8 million clams.

Alex Ovechkin rammed Daniel Briere into the boards face first last night at the Cap Centre/USAir Arena/MCI Center/Verizon Center. He was tossed out with a game misconduct last night. Very interested to see if and how games he'll be suspended. I've read a couple of comparisons on the hit to Brooks Orpik's hit on Erik Cole last year. We'll just see if the NHL has the cojones to suspend one of it's golden boys.

Johnny Vermont (Leclair) is now on re-entry waivers, meaning that any team that claims him now only is on the hook for half of his remaining salary. I've been reading that the Blackhawks may claim him, as well as Dallas. I hope he'll go to a situation that fits him, he's a consummate pro.

Andre Roy was claimed by Tampa Bay. Whatever. File this one under the "no impact at all" section. You just can't have guys like Andre filling up roster spots nowadays.

Anyone else tired of hearing how much tape Ron Jaworski is looking at ??

Steelers play Tampa Bay at 4:15 today, talk about an anti-climatic atmosphere. I can just imagine the scalpers up and down General Robinson. Can't imagine them getting much for those tickets.

I wouldn't have imagined this earlier in the year, but is it just me, or is Coach Cowher's body language saying "get me the hell out of here" ??

Nice to see that Shaun Alexander is back up and running, now that I'm frickin' eliminated from my fantasy football league.