Thurday, the Steelers played (who else!) Cleveland. And since it was around full moon, and strange things were happening anyway, the Browns were giving Dem Stillers a righteous whuppin'. Tempers were running high, as they often do in the presence of heated rivalries (and that close to full moon). The game was, mercifully, almost over, when all of a sudden...
Number 1 Ugly: Mason Rudolph has just gotten rid of the ball, a short dump pass. Myles Garrett sacks him. Does he know Rudolph got rid of the ball? Ah, these things happen so fast, don't they? But he does know that he is swarming all over Rudolph, he knows he is holding him down, not letting up, rubbing Rudolph's, and the Steelers' noses in it, doesn't he?
Number 2 Ugly: Rudolph, frustrated by his poor performance, several sacks, and losing to a team the Steelers perpetually treat like smoothie ingredients, (not to mention trying to get Garrett off of him), explodes, grabbing the sides of Garrett's helmet, shouting at him, and either shaking him by the head, or trying to rip his helmet off, depending upon your interpretation, as well as perhaps kicking him in, (or trying to push him off and hitting) the family jewels.
Number 3 Ugly: Garrett pulls Rudolph around by the facemask for a little while, before finally succeeding in ripping the helmet off, and swinging it around. At this point, Rudolph takes exception, and gives chase. Garrett continues swinging till he whacks Rudolph on the head with the helmet. As the Steelers rush to Rudolph's defense, so many atrocities are committed, it is hard to enumerate them all. Most notably Larry Okunjogi charging in on Rudolph after he received the helmet-whack, and giving him another shove in the back and knocking him down, just for the hell of it, I guess. And let us not forget Maurkice Pouncey's/David DeCastro's rain of blows and kicks, fastest flurry this side of a chop-socky flick. A nauseating spectacle of thuggery I have not seen the likes of in 47 years of watching football, 43 years of watching hockey, or even 25 years of watching rugby.
Like many of you, I have several questions. What was Steelers coach Mike Tomlin thinking? Can I be honest here? This young quarterback has yet to prove he can consistently move the football and score points. He constantly overthrows receivers. As I mentioned in that earlier post, I am more impressed by Devlin Hodges. I believe that, unlike Mason Rudolph, he is seasoned enough to keep his head, leave the pocket and make good decisions. And he has already proven he can run the offense and win games. But if you value your young quarterback so much, why do you have him in a game, with less than 30 seconds to go, down two scores?
What were the officials thinking? Why was the late hit on Rudolph not penalized? Why did they sit on their thumbs as the bedlam was unleashed on the field?
I admire that the Steelers players stuck up for their young quarterback (even Pouncey, up until he started using his feet. That was over the top, in my book). But wouldn't it have been a good idea to do what you see done any other time players are fighting? Separate them! Why wasn't somebody in charge of escorting Rudolph away from the melee? Before his helmet was swung at him, he chased Garrett a fair distance; somebody should have grabbed him, pushed him to safety, and effectively sat on him.
And a word to Mr. Rudolph: I get it that you had a bad game. You had every right to be frustrated. You were hurried, harried, sacked every time you turned around. Your passes were not completed at times. Sometimes that was on you, sometimes your receivers dropped passes they should've caught. It's a shame. But you know what? It happens. You will have bad days. But your attitude should be: never let 'em see you sweat. Because guess what? Now every opponent knows how to get under your skin, and get you off your game. And your team has so many injuries, you have no margin for error. Don't give your opponents the slightest edge. And your offensive line should pay the fine that the NFL will be assessing on you, because they failed you. All game long, and many times this year. But, please, young man, do us a favor: stop chasing people!
The NFL failed all of us who watched that game. But at least so far, I approve of the punishments handed down (Garrett, suspended indefinitely without pay; Pouncey, suspended 3 games without pay; Okunjobi, suspended 1 game without pay; each team fined $250,000, with more individual fines to come). I am hoping they make Mr. Garrett's even longer-term. Maybe by then, I will have lost the bad taste I have in my mouth from what I saw on Thursday. And maybe I wasn't missing anything, not watching the Steelers since 2010.
Endnote to the Cleveland Browns: You know, at the beginning of this year, and really for many years, I was rooting for you. You have had a lot of bad luck, some mismanagement, and picks that just didn't pan out for you. With your acquisition of Baker Mayfield, it looked like things were turning around for you. And I was happy for you, because, also being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, they of the multitude of losing seasons the last 25 years, I could feel your pain. And it's been plain since early in the season this would be an off year for the Steelers. You were coasting to a deserved win Thursday. And you were, by far, the better team on the field. Up until the events of the last handful of seconds of the game, I was even prepared to view the excessive hit on Diontae Johnson that sent him to concussion protocol as an anomaly. But now, gentlemen, I ask you, are you happy with how this game turned out? What karma did you attract here? Would it have been better to have a loss without all the bad vibes attached, or will you roll with anything as long as you win? Examine yourselves, gentlemen, your outcome follows the identity you choose.
But I still say Cleveland rocks!
What were the officials thinking? Why was the late hit on Rudolph not penalized? Why did they sit on their thumbs as the bedlam was unleashed on the field?
I admire that the Steelers players stuck up for their young quarterback (even Pouncey, up until he started using his feet. That was over the top, in my book). But wouldn't it have been a good idea to do what you see done any other time players are fighting? Separate them! Why wasn't somebody in charge of escorting Rudolph away from the melee? Before his helmet was swung at him, he chased Garrett a fair distance; somebody should have grabbed him, pushed him to safety, and effectively sat on him.
And a word to Mr. Rudolph: I get it that you had a bad game. You had every right to be frustrated. You were hurried, harried, sacked every time you turned around. Your passes were not completed at times. Sometimes that was on you, sometimes your receivers dropped passes they should've caught. It's a shame. But you know what? It happens. You will have bad days. But your attitude should be: never let 'em see you sweat. Because guess what? Now every opponent knows how to get under your skin, and get you off your game. And your team has so many injuries, you have no margin for error. Don't give your opponents the slightest edge. And your offensive line should pay the fine that the NFL will be assessing on you, because they failed you. All game long, and many times this year. But, please, young man, do us a favor: stop chasing people!
The NFL failed all of us who watched that game. But at least so far, I approve of the punishments handed down (Garrett, suspended indefinitely without pay; Pouncey, suspended 3 games without pay; Okunjobi, suspended 1 game without pay; each team fined $250,000, with more individual fines to come). I am hoping they make Mr. Garrett's even longer-term. Maybe by then, I will have lost the bad taste I have in my mouth from what I saw on Thursday. And maybe I wasn't missing anything, not watching the Steelers since 2010.
Endnote to the Cleveland Browns: You know, at the beginning of this year, and really for many years, I was rooting for you. You have had a lot of bad luck, some mismanagement, and picks that just didn't pan out for you. With your acquisition of Baker Mayfield, it looked like things were turning around for you. And I was happy for you, because, also being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, they of the multitude of losing seasons the last 25 years, I could feel your pain. And it's been plain since early in the season this would be an off year for the Steelers. You were coasting to a deserved win Thursday. And you were, by far, the better team on the field. Up until the events of the last handful of seconds of the game, I was even prepared to view the excessive hit on Diontae Johnson that sent him to concussion protocol as an anomaly. But now, gentlemen, I ask you, are you happy with how this game turned out? What karma did you attract here? Would it have been better to have a loss without all the bad vibes attached, or will you roll with anything as long as you win? Examine yourselves, gentlemen, your outcome follows the identity you choose.
But I still say Cleveland rocks!
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