I was supposed to be at the the Steelers - Rams game at SoFi Stadium in LA yesterday. Booked a hotel, made airline reservations, and bought two tickets to the game from the Rams website back in September. I would be visiting and going to the game with my nephew Zach Stoner who lives in LaLaLand. We were going to visit the Motion Picture Academy Museum on Saturday and go to the game on Sunday, and on Sunday night, I was going to visit with grade school and high school buddy Bill Tarrant, also now residing in LA, in the hotel bar where we would drink and tell lies about the good old days until who knows what time. It was going to be one whale of a trip.
Then there was the medical incident that I had that required two nights in the hospital at the beginning of the month. I got home and rethought the whole thing about flying three thousand miles by myself, and came to the conclusion that discretion was the better part of valor, and Linda and I decided that I should not make the trip. So I canceled the hotel reservation, got credit for my flight tickets, and gave the tickets to Zach, who took a buddy and enjoyed what was essentially a home game for the Steelers. It was the correct decision, but I hated it.
Then there was the game itself.
Frankly, I didn't have high hopes for this one, as the Steelers' play, even with a 3-2 record, has been spotty at best and that is being kind, and being down 9-3 at the half with the Rams set to receive the second half kick-off, well, it wasn't looking good for the Black and Gold. Then this guy made his presence felt:
The Rams did everything that they could to take TJ Watt out of the game, double and triple teaming him, and in fact, Watt recorded only one tackle and no sacks or pressures in the entire game. However, on the Rams first play of the half, he intercepted Matt Stafford's pass and returned it to the Rams seven yard line, whereupon the Steelers scored and took a 10-9 lead. Even though the Rams would later score and take a 17-10 lead, Watt's interception completely changed the tenor and tone of the game in the Steelers favor.
A word about TJ Watt. He is a completely incredible and dominating player. He is a leading candidate, if not THE leading candidate, for Defensive Player of The Year once again, and on a team with a history of great defensive players like Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, James Harrison, and Troy Polamalu, Watt stands in no one's shadow. Watt has been a significant factor in all of the Steelers victories this season. And try this stat on for size. In Steelers games in which Watt has played since joining the team, the Steelers are 63-28-2 (.683). When he hasn't played, the team is 1-10. He is an amazing and truly remarkable player.
Back to the game. Once again, Kenny Pickett turned on the jets in the fourth quarter, led the team on two long TD drives, and notched his fifth fourth quarter comeback in his 18 games as a Steeler. Why, oh why, can't he put together games for four quarters where he plays like he always seems to do in the fourth quarter? What the hell, let's blame that on Matt Canada!
Before I leave the Steelers, how about this from the Post-Gazette's Joe Starkey today about Rams coach John McVay:
Quick aside here: I’m still marveling at the explanation Rams coach Sean McVay gave for Watt’s interception. I’m not even sure Bill Belichick himself could translate the depths of football jargon to which McVay descended.
“Bottom line is, we had hitches on the outside, little option route from the three spot and seams at the two spot,” he said. “We obviously thought it was going to be a single high, Levi Wallace rolled up as a cloud, got Cooper working an option on the ‘mike,’ and you don’t feel that overlap from the hook player when Watt ended up dropping out of there. And that’s what led to the turnover.”
Thanks, coach.
I couldn't resist including that. Did you ever hear such bullshit coachspeak in your life?
Other football news in the region this weekend wasn't so good.
Ohio State 20 - Ohio State 12
Two undefeated teams, both ranked in the Top Ten in what was one of the more highly anticipated games of the season, and has been the case throughout most of his tenure, HC James Franklin and his Nittany Lions came up small when the lights were the brightest. Franklin is now 1-9 against Ohio State as the HC of Penn State. Not a small sample size.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I never root for Penn State to lose (with some exceptions), but I sure love seeing it when James Franklin spits the bit.
Wake Forest 21 - Pitt 17
Circumstances were such that I didn't see much this game, but rather listened to it on the radio while out driving. Pitt scored a TD to take a 17-14 lead with 1:30 left in the game. Announcer Pat Bostic then said that Wake still had all three time outs remaining, so this one "isn't over yet." At that point I said to Linda, "I'll bet you now that Pitt will lose this game." And they did. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but Pitt now stands 2-5. will probably not make bowl eligibility, and HC Pat Narduzzi is headed towards the worst season of his tenure.
Coming up this week: Notre Dame at South Bend. Good luck with that one.
I mentioned that I listened to the game on the radio. Eighty-five year old Billy "Ask Him Why He Doesn't Have a Driver's License" Hillgrove was in Los Angeles preparing to broadcast the Steelers game the next day, so play-by-play duties fell to Jeff Hathorn. What a pleasure to hear a coherent play-by-play announcer. No "he's tackled by a guy in the Wake backfield." Competency at the mic was so refreshing.
No comments:
Post a Comment