Steelers 19 - Titans 11

Some thoughts and comments following the Steelers win in Nashville this afternoon.

• After the defense forced 7 turnovers, it was astounding to think that the Titans had the opportunity to tie the game at the end.
• The defense sure came up big today, didn't they? I figured that Chris Johnson would have his typical huge game today and that this would be a loss of Rooney U. They completely contained Johnson (and thanks to that Titan lineman who committed the holding penalty on what would have been Johnson's 80 yard TD run). If they can play like that all year, you have to think that the Steelers will win a lot of games.
• To the people who have carped since the end of last season that the Steelers need to run he ball more....be careful what you wish for. But for Rashard Mendenhall's 50 yard TD scamper in OT last week, the offense has not yet produced a sustained drive that has led to a touchdown. Credit today's poor rushing performance, of course, must also go to the the Titans' defense. As the saying goes, the other guys get paid, too.
• I also know that Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch aren't Ben Roethlisberger, but can't they at least attempt to throw some passes down field? I know that there had to have been some such passes attempted today, but it's hard to remember them.
• It was conventional wisdom to hope that the team would be at .500 by the time Roethlisberger came back. Well, they have clinched that. How about hoping for 3-1 now?
• The Steelers, by the way, now sit alone in first place in the AFC North.
• Hey, how about seeing the Steelers SCORING a TD on a kickoff return? We got so used to seeing those go the other way last year!
• A salute must also go out to Troy Polamalu for his play today. The INT in the end zone prevented a Tennessee touchdown, and that play where he timed his leap over the line to tackle Kerry Collins was positively spectacular!
• Interesting column this morning by Ron Cook in the PG, wherein he speculates that much of Terry Bradshaw's anti-Roethlisberger venom in recent weeks can be traced to jealousy. There is a lot to be outraged about with Roethlisberger, but I felt all along that Bradshaw's reaction seemed a bit over the top. Check out Cook's column if you missed it.
• Couple of more good commercials today: the Bud Light Playbook spots, and the BlackBerry spot featuring the music of Buddy Holly.
• After seeing at the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders during the game today the thought occurred to me: When is some pandering NFL team going to just trot out these babes in nothing but g-strings and pasties? That is about the only frontier left.
• Tampa Bay next week. I'm thinking 3-0.
• Did you all like my old school reference to the Steelers as "Rooney U." earlier in this post. Nothing like using a Jack Sell reference to spice up a post!