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Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

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Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

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In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

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If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

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Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

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  • #46
    Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

    Well, it doesn't matter how well you play when you throw two interceptions in the red zone (or, even worse, in the endzone.)
    Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
    Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
    Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
    Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
    And life itself, rushing over me
    Life itself, the wind in black elms,
    Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

      Roon Cook is hardly "Sally Sunshine" for the Steelers, yet this seems to be true:

      Calm down; Bengals loss was hardly 'devastating'
      Tuesday, September 26, 2006

      Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

      Heard more than one person use the word "devastating" in the ridiculously overdone hysteria after the Steelers' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday.

      It seemed like an especially silly choice of words on the weekend the NFL returned to New Orleans.

      If the Steelers' loss was devastating, what does that make Hurricane Katrina?

      I know, I know, the foolish panic-button pushers were talking strictly in a football sense. Still, it's beyond absurd to bring out the "d" word after a loss in the third game of a 16-game season. The only truly devastating loss in sports is the one that eliminates a team from playoff competition. This 28-20 home loss to the Bengals hardly qualified even if it did leave the Steelers in a sizable two-game crater beneath the Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North Division.

      That doesn't mean the emotional overreaction wasn't predictable, though.

      You just knew the nonsense you would hear the second after Ben Roethlisberger threw his third interception of the game in the Bengals' end zone with 10 seconds left.

      Cut Colclough!

      Bench Big Ben!

      Fire Cowher!

      Easy, people. Easy.

      "Crazy as it might sound, I thought we did some good things," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said after the game.

      It's not crazy at all, actually.

      It's hard to remember them because of the Steelers' blunders. Five turnovers trump all, not to mention Nate Washington's dropped touchdown pass and the thoughtless penalties for excessive celebrating and taunting. But they were there nonetheless.

      Start with the running game. A week after the Steelers rushed for 26 yards in a loss at Jacksonville -- a franchise low under Cowher -- they ran for 170 yards against the Bengals, 133 by Willie Parker. Parker deserves a lot of credit, but his offensive linemen deserve more. They were terrible in Jacksonville, terrific against Cincinnati, especially on Parker's first-quarter, 3-yard touchdown run when they practically knocked the Bengals into the end zone bleachers.

      Sure, the running game still has its issues. Parker had 31 carries, which are about 8-10 too many. The Steelers are going to get him hurt using him that much. Somebody has to step up to give Parker a blow. It can't be Verron Haynes if he can't hang on to the ball, which he didn't do when he lost a killer fourth-quarter fumble. Maybe it can be Najeh Davenport. Or even Duce Staley.

      Still, it was nice to see Parker run so effectively behind his line.

      The defense also was a plus. It held its own against the best offense it will face all season. It had the game won in the fourth quarter before Ricardo Colclough fumbled on a punt return at the Steelers' 9 and Haynes lost his fumble at the Steelers' 30.

      The defense did a nice job regrouping after Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer led two long second-quarter touchdown drives by completing 12 of 12 passes -- excluding two spikes to stop the clock -- for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals' first five possessions of the second half produced one first down. One ended after safety Ryan Clark laid out wide receiver Chris Henry with a wicked hit on a play that ended with an interception by cornerback Ike Taylor. Another ended after cornerback Deshea Townsend forced a Palmer fumble. A third ended after sacks by defensive end Aaron Smith and linebacker Clark Haggans.

      "We were playing Pittsburgh Steelers football," Clark said.

      It's a shame Roethlisberger's interceptions and the fumbles by Colclough and Haynes sabotaged an effort that included six sacks, a paltry 47 yards on 19 carries by running back Rudi Johnson and three fumbles and two interceptions by Palmer. The performance would have been good enough to beat the Bengals on most days. It would have been good enough to beat just about everyone else on any day.

      Maybe the most encouraging aspect of the defense's play was that the players didn't exactly sound satisfied with themselves. They took the blame for the loss instead of hanging it on Roethlisberger, Colclough, Haynes and Washington.

      "We got after Carson really well," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "I think we had him flustered, but it wasn't enough. We've got to do more."

      Said linebacker James Farrior, "Our red-zone defense was terrible. We gave up four scores."

      Maybe the next time those touchdowns are just field goals. Cowher has promised to take care of the stupid penalties that were taken by Parker and Haynes and by safety Mike Logan. It's nice to think Colclough won't return punts anymore. Certainly, Roethlisberger won't throw three picks again. And the receivers can't keep dropping the ball, can they?

      Do you really see a reason to cancel the rest of the season?

      Is the devastation really that bad?
      Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
      Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
      Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
      Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
      And life itself, rushing over me
      Life itself, the wind in black elms,
      Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

        From a James Brown/ Terry Bradshaw blog, Terry's thoughts on the Bill Cowher contract situation...

        Contract talks in the Steel City

        I want to think that Bill Cowher is a very, very smart man and realizes what a hero he is to the hundreds of thousands of Steelers fans. How many coaches with as many victories as he has, coming off a Super Bowl, have a quarterback of superstar status who is only in his third year and a young running back? They do a phenomenal job of scouting and drafting there. It's the perfect place for the perfect coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And if this is all about money and he would want to leave because of money, I would be absolutely shocked because it would then be true that money -- or the want of money -- is the root of all evil. Why go somewhere else? It does not make sense to me.
        Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
        Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
        Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
        Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
        And life itself, rushing over me
        Life itself, the wind in black elms,
        Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

          Our offense is awful, and Willie Parker is still not the answer.
          Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
          Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
          Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
          Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
          And life itself, rushing over me
          Life itself, the wind in black elms,
          Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

            The Steelers didn't have a normal training camp, but they've had four relatively normal weeks now to get their act together.

            Their "training camp" is over, and they spotted the rest of the division a 2.5 game lead after five weeks. Did they dig too big a hole?

            Soul-searching begins after team's flaws exposed again
            Tuesday, October 10, 2006

            By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

            SAN DIEGO -- The Steelers made a long trip to sunny California and departed without ever finding daylight. Things instead grew darker for them after they lost their third consecutive game to slip to 1-3.

            They have gone from Super Bowl champs to ones looking very much like one-hit wonders and there is only a single solution.

            "Victories," proclaimed linebacker Clark Haggans. "And us playing Steelers football. That'll get us out."

            This new version of Steelers football doesn't cut it. It features turnovers, an inconsistent running game and a defense that looks dominant most of the time, susceptible at the wrong times.

            Willie Parker and the ground game looked fine in the first half against the Chargers when the Steelers ran 14 times for 55 yards and one touchdown, but they ran only four times in the second half. That's not the kind of Steelers football that Haggans referred to.

            "We got things going and then, all of a sudden, things weren't going for us," guard Alan Faneca said. "We came out and it didn't feel like we had too many plays in the second half. We had a couple of turnovers and they had some good drives and we couldn't get back in rhythm."

            Interceptions have a way of killing that, and Ben Roethlisberger threw two more. He has thrown seven interceptions and no touchdowns in his three games. The quarterback who set the rookie passer rating record at 98.1 and who has the top two passer ratings in Steelers history has a 41.67 rating after three games. After going 13-0 in his first season and winning a Super Bowl in his second, he's looking more like a rookie in his third.

            Roethlisberger described the obstacle that confronts the team as a hump, while most of his teammates called it a hole. Whether they have to climb over it or out of it, they need to start Sunday against Kansas City or they will become the first Steelers team in a long time to be counted out with half a season left.

            No Bill Cowher-coached team ever started as poorly as 1-4. The previous time the Steelers did so was in 1988, when they opened 1-6 and finished 5-11. Most famously, their 1976 team lost four of its first five as two-time defending Super Bowl champs and rebounded to go 9-4 and make it to the AFC championship game. But that team had nine Hall of Fame players on it.

            "There's going to be a lot of soul searching," said Hines Ward, who hasn't gone this long without a 100-yard receiving game since 2001. "We don't have time to sit there. We don't have any more bye weeks.

            "It's not a good feeling, being in the spot we're in. It's been three or four years since I've been in this spot. It is what it is. We're not playing good football."

            The Steelers started 1-3 in 2002 and turned it around to finish 10-5-1 and make the playoffs. It can be done -- it just leaves little room for losses the rest of the way. To match what they did four years ago, the Steelers must go 9-2-1 the rest of the way.

            "It's not desperate," Faneca said. "But it's definitely [time to] check yourself in the mirror. It's gut-check time. It's time to see what you're doing, what you're doing wrong and fix it, no matter what that takes -- if it takes coming in early, if it takes staying late. You know, 1-3, you got to do something to change that. You can't keep doing what you've been doing.

            "You have to reflect on yourself, on your game and what you can do better. You can't keep doing the same thing you've been doing, each of us individually. We're 1-3. We all need to either stay longer or work better the time we are working. It's not time to press but it is time to change what we're doing and work harder."

            Ward, who dropped the first pass thrown to him to contribute to a failed second series Sunday, cited all phases of the game for their predicament.

            "We're just playing too inconsistent, for whatever reason," Ward said. "We're all in it together. We have to find a way to turn this around -- someway, somehow -- or continue to go like that if we don't find a way to get all of our guys on the same page, because everybody has to play better."

            Ward would not guess whether that would take some drastic measures.

            "I don't know. I'm not the coach. I can't worry about other guys. I have to look at the way I played, learn from mistakes and see how I can get better."
            Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
            Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
            Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
            Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
            And life itself, rushing over me
            Life itself, the wind in black elms,
            Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                Originally posted by MSA2CF View Post
                That reminds me, I'd told myself if we lost last weekend that I was changing my avatar.

                Bye-bye Jerome. I'll miss that SuperBowl trophy. But we're off to a terrible start with it on display. Welcome back Genius #1 and Genius #2.
                Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                And life itself, rushing over me
                Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                  Interesing article on QB's/ Ben:

                  The harder they fall
                  Jeffri Chadiha, SI.com

                  Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has spent the last four weeks learning a valuable lesson about enjoying too much early success at his position in the NFL: Thriving too quickly often leads to far more criticism down the road. Sure, it's great when the TV cameras can't get enough of you, the ex-jocks on all those pregame shows can't find enough superlatives to describe your play and you get more credit than you deserve for your team's wins. But once your world gets rocked and all those pretty passes start wobbling occasionally and finding opponents' hands too frequently, you learn real fast how much love fans really have for you. That's just the way the game works.

                  That is why I give Roethlisberger credit for the way he's handled his first bout with adversity as a professional. The proud owner of a 27-4 record coming into the season -- and a Super Bowl ring in his second year to boot -- he discovered how quickly fans would turn on him despite all that success. As soon as he lost three consecutive games, whispers of replacing him with Charlie Batch started and the possibility of Roethlisberger's getting booed at Heinz Field increased exponentially before Sunday's 45-7 win over Kansas City. But he knew this was coming -- maybe not to the extent he has faced, but he expected something ugly.

                  What Roethlisberger understands is something every young quarterback needs to know: The faster they rise, the harder people want to see them fall. The scrutiny that Roethlisberger faced this past month in Pittsburgh, a city that clearly has a strong love affair with him, is no different than what other quarterbacks have dealt with once they've established themselves as extraordinary talents. These guys raise the level of expectations to such epic levels that it's impossible for them not to face some heavy backlash.

                  Atlanta's Michael Vick knows this story well. The excitement he brought to the NFL with his brilliant running has been displaced by the constant scrutiny of his passer rating. Miami's Daunte Culpepper was a stud by his second year in Minnesota in 2000; now people like me openly wonder how much Randy Moss, Cris Carter and former Vikings offensive coordinator Scott Linehan (now the head coach of the St. Louis Rams) meant to his Pro Bowl play back then. And as beloved as Donovan McNabb has been in Philadelphia, there is always at least one person who takes a well-publicized shot at him every year.

                  When you really look at it, there are only three types of quarterbacks who don't face the scrutiny that these quarterbacks have endured once they've played well: 1) those who turn around losing franchises (like Cincinnati's Carson Palmer), 2) those who are the offspring of Archie and Olivia Manning and 3) those who've struggled early in their careers before finding a place to thrive in the league. When it comes to that last group, we can't get enough of those guys.

                  A player like Carolina's Jake Delhomme -- who toiled in obscurity as a New Orleans Saints backup before leading the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003 -- has had a long-standing honeymoon with his fans. He's been an underdog throughout his entire NFL career, a classic overachiever, a humble-yet-competitive type who is basically playing with house money every time he steps under center. The average fan understands this sort of quarterback, roots for him through good and bad times, even cuts him some slack when mistakes add up. These guys, in the eyes of their followers, have paid some major dues.

                  Kansas City's Trent Green is a hero in that town because fans recall the moment a gruesome hit tore his ACL and ended his tenure in St. Louis before it even started back in 1999. Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck, a former Favre backup in Green Bay, has a similar love-fest brewing with the Seahawks faithful because of his perseverance. And Arizona's Kurt Warner, now contemplating the end of his career, probably still has several fans cheering his name back in St. Louis, where he led the Rams to their first Super Bowl win after Green went down seven years ago.

                  These players get the benefit of the doubt more often than men like Roethlisberger because they've waited patiently for their chances and done everything they could to make the most of them. That doesn't mean that those players who impress earlier in their careers don't work as hard. It just means that their efforts often don't generate the same compassion among fans.

                  The only quarterback I've seen who has managed his early success without facing any criticism is New England's Tom Brady. Granted, he has more hardware in his house than you'll find in your local Home Depot, but he has also managed his career in a way that young quarterbacks should emulate. He hasn't written any books. He didn't do many endorsements early in his career, Even his current ads downplay his personality. Brady has carefully manipulated his image so that it doesn't conflict with his team's perception of him. Today he's as close to being "one of the guys" as a rich, handsome, three-time Super Bowl champion with a hot actress girlfriend can be.

                  Of course, Roethlisberger won't be so lucky as to follow Brady's path. For one, he lives in a town with a long history of pummeling its quarterbacks when they struggle. Even with his star power, he knows that another losing streak will cause more of an outcry. Besides, he's already indulged in his success too much to turn back: He's shown up at music-awards show, had his bushy beard shaved on national television, done one too many Fathead commercials. Most important, he's won too many games -- the expectations of him have reached insane levels.

                  Once you strip away all the notoriety, Roethlisberger is just like any other quarterback. He's going to be as good as the people around him and he's going to be at his best when those people are playing at the tops of their games as well. It's that understanding that helped him become the beloved Big Ben in Pittsburgh, and it's the same wisdom that will help him handle the scrutiny that follows quarterbacks who have such early success.
                  Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                  Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                  Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                  Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                  And life itself, rushing over me
                  Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                  Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                    Tough loss for Big Ben...
                    STARBURY

                    08 and Beyond

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                      Alright, I was offline for quite a while...

                      IMO, Batch should play this week.

                      For this year's Steelers - its still going to be about "getting hot" at the right time. They can recover from a 2-4 start IF Joey's hamstring, Troy's shoulder (which appears to be back to 100%) and Ben's concussions all heal and they stay injury-free the rest of the way.

                      But now they've gone 2-4 and Ben's in a little worse shape... I still believe he should've gotten some extra time off after the appendectomy. Could Batch have beaten either Jacksonville (maybe) or the Bengals (probably not)? We'd still be 2-4 but Ben would be closer to "ready".

                      It would be nice to let Ben get healthy. Cowher is falling into the Rick-Carlisle Must-win-every-game robot approach this season. Look at the big picture, Bill. We're playing the freakin' Raiders this week. If we can't beat them without Ben then we deserve to be 2-5. And while we've played well, in just about every game, the turnovers and special teams (its like its 2001-2003 all over again) are just plain killing us.

                      As for Willie Parker... great at home but my goodness he disappears in road games.
                      Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                      Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                      Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                      Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                      And life itself, rushing over me
                      Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                      Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                        Yeah, and I still can't believe we payed Duce Staley to be the highest-paid cheerleader in pro football...What is wrong with him?

                        Sorry. I don't know where that came from...Just thinking about Willie Parker's ineffectiveness this year and thought Duce would have been a nice change of pace. But he doesn't play.

                        As for Ben, yeah, he probably should sit. But, I'm still afraid of Charlie going out there in the Black Hole. I'm not so sure what today will bring, Jay.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                          Wow..how bad are the Steelers?

                          No reason to be losing to Oakland.

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                            Well, when you throw four picks total, including two returned for touchdowns, you lose games. No magical analysis needed.

                            We're winning the "yards from scrimmage" on just about everybody, but seriously losing the turnover and field position/ special teams battles nearly every week. That's why they say "Any given Sunday" and if we don't get our act together quickly we'll have a pretty good team watching the playoffs on television.

                            Willie Parker is just lousy in road games, but he can rack up yardage at home.

                            I had TiVo issues today, so I missed most of the second half.
                            Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                            Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                            Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                            Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                            And life itself, rushing over me
                            Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                            Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                              Originally posted by Jay@Section19 View Post

                              I had TiVo issues today, so I missed most of the second half.
                              Oh damn, that sucks dude. I hate when that happens.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: Jay's Official Super Bowl Champion Steelers thread

                                Not to kick you when you're down Jay, but I figured since this is the official Steelers thread...

                                I've got a client where the manager is a huge Steelers fan, the kind of guy who goes around and changes people's desktops or screensavers to Pittsburgh stuff. Well, I was out their Friday, and his guys were saying, "Well, at least you shouldn't lose this week, right?" Then, one of them whispers to me to take a look at the manager's car when I leave. They put a Colts license plate on the front of his car a week ago, and he still hasn't noticed yet.
                                Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

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