The Sports Monitor

Before leaving town with their tails between their legs, the Oakland Raiders had a parting shot for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hey, your field stinks ... or something like that. If it makes the Raiders feel better about their 35-3 loss at Heinz Field on Sunday, that's OK with me. For their complaining about the field conditions Sunday, the Raiders didn't seem to have a problem winning on it last season. And it could have been worse. Heinz Field will see plenty of action the rest of the week with Pitt playing on Friday and the WPIAL championships Saturday. I think the bigger problem is that the Raiders were exposed as an average team. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/green_rick .

Mike Tomlin promised the Steelers would unleash hell in December. Well, after Sunday's troubling 27-24 loss to the Raiders at Heinz Field, Tomlin would have been better off saying the Steelers would unleash H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. That's about as watered-down as you can get. The Raiders admitted after the game that Tomlin's comments motivated them. It least it motivated someone because Tomlin certainly didn't seem to inspire his own team. Maybe the Steelers just weren't that motivated to play the Raiders. Heck, everyone thought it would be a gimmie. You had a team thought  to be one of the worst in the league traveling from the West Coast to face a wounded Steelers' team looking to end a three-game losing streak. The offense couldn't sustain a drive in the first three quarters and when they found their groove, the defense predictably faltered when it was needed the most. That's how a three-game losing streak becomes four games. A team led b...