The Sports Monitor

Thoughts from Week 1's 13-10 win over the Tennessee Titans: The Steelers running game was atrocious. I won't go into much detail, but Gene Collier sums it up nicely. Watching Rashard Mendenhall run, there seems to be a disturbing trend; he turns his back to the defense way too much. If Troy Polamalu is out the 3 to 6 weeks, it won't be a loss that derails any thoughts of a Super Bowl championship. Polamalu was a beast in the first half. It's a shame he didn't get to play a full game. He seemed poised for a monster year. Did you get to see America's Game on NFL Network? The Pittsburgh Steelers' season was featured the other night. It was worth watching. My favorite quote from Thursday's win came from James Harrison, talking to Sirius Radio about his thoughts after the Steelers won the coin toss to start overtime: "I took off my tape." Meaning he knew the game was over. Why did the Titans drop men into coverage late into the game? It gave B...

There's plenty to remember from Thursday night's 13-10 overtime win by the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Tennessee Titans. There was Troy Polamalu's one-handed interception. There was Polamalu's missile-like tackle of Titans running back Chris Johnson. There was that knee injury Polamalu suffered, too. That's a lot of Polamalu in a short amount of time. But what stands out is what quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did in crunch time. Roethlisberger put the offense on his shoulders and came through when the team needed him. When the Steelers needed a drive to tie the game, Roethlisberger got it done. When the Steelers were driving to score the winning touchdown at the end of regulation, Roethlisberger got it done. (Don't worry about Hines Ward's fumble, he'll be fine,) And when the Steelers won the coin toss to start overtime and needed to score, Roethlisberger got it done. Big Ben finished the night 33-for-43 with 363 yards passing. He had one touchdown pass...

When last we saw the Pittsburgh Steelers on the football field, they were busy celebrating Santonio Holmes' Super Bowl-winning touchdown and their sixth NFL championship. Coach Mike Tomlin spent all preseason trying to separate 2009 from that title-winning team. We'll find out starting tonight how that approach might work. The Steelers begin defense of their championship against the Tennessee Titans at 8 p.m. on prime time. There will be fireworks, celebrations and a former star or two from Steelers lore on hand. And, so will the Titans. They've been waiting for this game since they blew their chance at a rematch in the AFC Championship Game by losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. They'll finally get it, but with much lower stakes. The Steelers enter the game having had terrible luck against the Titans in the past, including a 31-14 beatdown last season which knocked the Steelers out of a shot at the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. That didn't turn o...

If you're a Steelers fan, naturally you have a strong dislike for the Browns. The dislike has waned since the Browns' return, mainly because the Browns haven't been able to beat the Steelers. How can your dislike for a team grow if you continually beat up on them? Well, until the Browns beat the Steelers, I found one reason to dislike them: Eric Mangini. The guy thinks he's mini Belichick, which is reason enough. But now that he's the man in Cleveland, it firmly plants the dislike label on his forehead. But look how he handled his quarterback situation. Mangini said earlier this week that he would not announce his starting quarterback for the season, leaving Week 1 opponent the Minnesota Vikings to guess as to who it would be. Mangini also said he wouldn't tell his team who his hand-picked guy would be. So much for having faith in your team. Tight-lipped Mangini didn't quit. Did he tell his QBs? Let's ask Brady Quinn. "He talked to us about it, but ...

I knew it was too good to be true. Not too long ago Brett Favre said he wouldn't return to the NFL. Well, he had a change of heart. Again. On Tuesday, Favre announced he's back for more, signing a deal to play for the Minnesota Vikings. I'm tired of the Favre roller coaster. It has more ups and downs than the Phantom's Revenge. And I'm guessing this season ends on a down note, like Favre's comeback with the Jets last season. Vikings fans thinking Favre will recapture his old magic are mistaken. He's not the answer. Favre was once a great player, having won a Super Bowl and played in another. He turned John Madden into a gushing schoolgirl. But the key word here is "was." Favre's not even a good quarterback any more. And he quite possibly can hurt the team more than help. When Favre retired the last time, Jets teammates spoke about what a distraction it was. I'll bet it'll be more of the same this time. Why can't athletes just retire...