The Sports Monitor

Embed from Getty Images Every Steelers fan knows Antwaan Randle El. His pass in Super Bowl XL helped clinch the Steelers' fifth Lombardi. Now people might know Randle El for another reason: He's having trouble remembering things and having trouble walking down stairs. The Post-Gazette's story was a grabber, with Randle El saying he wouldn't play football if he could do it over again. Here's a quote: The kids are getting bigger and faster, so the concussions, the severe spinal cord injuries, are only going to get worse. It’s a tough pill to swallow because I love the game of football. But I tell parents, you can have the right helmet, the perfect pads on, and still end up with a paraplegic kid. There’s no correcting it. There’s no helmet that’s going to correct it. There’s no teaching that’s going to correct it. It just comes down to it’s a physically violent game. Football players are in a car wreck every week. He played football for nine sea...

View image | gettyimages.com Who had Ben Roethlisberger setting the NFL record for most yards by a backup in their office pool? 379. As in 379 yards passing. In a relief role. That's one heck of a day. Of course, it helps having two stellar wideouts like Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant to throw to. Yeah, and it's nice having the Browns on the other side, too, simply to add to the fun. Now the Steelers get a much-needed break before heading to Seattle. And, if you're keeping track at home, the Steelers (6-4) lead the Bills (5-4) and Jets (5-4) in the wild-card standings.

View image | gettyimages.com They can't be serious, can they? Ben Roethlisberger is questionable for Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns. That's got to be some gamesmanship. If the Steelers can't beat the Browns without Roethlisberger, then maybe they aren't the playoff-caliber team they're supposed to be. It makes much more sense to hold out Roethlisberger this week. Add to it the bye week and he'll have two full weeks of recovery. Landry Jones is capable of leading this team. It's the Browns. It's at Heinz Field. Rest Roethlisberger. It's the smart move.

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid? That was the first question that popped into my mind when I heard he wanted a new deal from the Steelers. I remember the details: Mike Wallace wanted more money than the Steelers wanted to offer, so the Steelers turned around and signed Brown to a $43 million deal over six years. That was 2012. Today, we learned that Brown will skip offseason workouts in the hope of getting a new deal. Honor your contract. It's that simple. Brown signed a deal that caused some people to scratch their heads at the time. It looked like a great deal for Brown. And after two seasons, it looked like the Steelers made a terrific call with the long-term deal. Brown had almost 1,700 yards receiving last year to go with 13 TD catches. That's a heck of a season. However, in exchange for long-term security, Brown looks like a bargain today. That's how it works. Or, at least that's how it's supposed to work. Now Brown wanted paid e...

So, how do you feel about the Pittsburgh Steelers now? Maybe a trip to the playoffs is enough to make you forget about those ugly early season losses. A win over a solid Kansas City team like Sunday's 20-12 win can do that. Now, the Steelers need a win next Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC North crown. They're peaking at the right time, so anything's possible. And the way the defense played Sunday, it's not so wrong to think that. After all, Jamaal Charles, the main cog in the Chiefs offense, didn't do much. That's a big boost for a beleaguered defense. Sunday's win was enough to get me excited for a playoff run, something that's been missing for a couple seasons now. Let's savor the win before we get ready for the Bengals.

Finally. The Pittsburgh Steelers cut LeGarrette Blount Tuesday. The move comes after he left the field before the end of Monday's win against the Titans. I guess he was upset with the lack of playing time. Poor, poor Blount. He was lucky to stick with the Steelers that long. They should have cut him after he a running back Le'Veon Bell were busted with pot during the summer. But the Steelers kept Blount anyway. My guess is they wanted some depth at running back. If Blount had been a fourth-string lineman, he would have been cut back then. Instead, Monday was his last game in a Steelers uniform. The Steelers will have a bye week to sort out their running back picture behind Bell, who rushed for 204 yards. Maybe Ben Tate?

So, what's your opinion of the Pittsburgh Steelers today? A week ago, they were pegged as possible Super Bowl contenders. Today, well, not so much. A thoroughly disappointing 20-13 loss to the New York Jets will do that. Especially since the game wasn't that close. The Jets are a bad team. And for some reason, the Steelers have been losing to bad teams. Too much. Part of that is the way the NFL is set up. They want parity. They have it. Part of it is the Steelers aren't an elite team. The good thing is you don't have to be an elite team to get to the Super Bowl. Oh, it most definitely helps. But if you make the playoffs, all you have to do is get hot. Can the Steelers do it? Sure. You just can't count on it just yet.

Cleveland is at the center of the sports universe. Can it really be? When you're talking Johnny Manziel and LeBron James, two of the biggest things going in sports, and they're both with Cleveland teams, then, yes, it is really happening. LeBron is the face of the NBA, and his Decision II, which Cleveland into a state of joy, is worthy of all the hype surrounding him. Say what you want about his leadership traits or the ability to win championships, he's the best player in the NBA. So when the best player in the league leaves the team he helped win two titles, it's big news. When it's LeBron, it's the story of the year -- at least if ESPN is concerned. LeBron makes the Cavs a legitimate title contender again, just like when he played for them. The genius of James' move is he rebuilds his image and still gets a shot to win a title. The NBA's Eastern Conference is a joke, so it's a lot easier for LeBron to make it back to the Finals than if...

How does Steelers nose tackle Steve McLendon improve his grace on the field? Ballet, of course. Check out the video of McLendon at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre:

I watched Sunday as things fell into place for the Steelers to make the playoffs. Then the refs blew it. Twice, in fact. They missed a call on an illegal formation in the Chargers-Chiefs game. If they make the call, the Chiefs get a chance to kick the winning field goal again. That seemed to be the big news. I didn't see a lot of news on the fumble. The refs mysteriously blew a whistle, to signal the end of the play, on a fake punt by the Chargers in overtime. The Chiefs, however, insist they forced a fumble and no whistle was blown. If the play would have stood, the Chiefs would have gotten the winning TD in OT. Oh, well. It's not sour grapes. The Steelers put themselves in that position by losing to teams they had no business losing to. Hopefully, they'll be able to retool in the offseason.

Well, the NFL has weighed in on the Steelers' hit of Bengals punter Kevin Huber Sunday night. Illegal. Apparently, the punter is a defenseless player. And maybe you could throw in the term helpless, too. Tell that to kick returners who have been tackled by the punter and missed out on touchdowns. If the punter is defenseless, maybe he should trot off the field after he makes the kick. Yeah, it was a brutal hit by Terence Garvin. But if a punter doesn't want contact, get him off the field.

I'm sure one of the highlights of the Steelers win over the Bengals Sunday night was Terence Garvin's hit of Bengals punter Kevin Huber. Here it is: Turns out Huber has a broken jaw and a cracked vertebra.

Tom Hanks made the line famous in "A League of Their Own." Maybe Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant should take it to heart in football too. Bryant said he walked off the field before the end of the 'Boys' stunning loss to the Packers because of his emotions. Bryant said he went into the locker room and cried. Really? In a regular-season game? Wow. He really is an emotional wreck. He seriously needs to grow up.

You're a rookie safety and you're about to go up against the best receiver in the NFL. What do you do? Call him out of course. That's what the Baltimore Ravens' Matt Elam did to the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson. Elam called Megatron pretty old. Why fire up Johnson before the game? Athletes can really, really be dumb sometimes.

There won't be any playoffs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A winning record won't happen either. It's likely that the team will finish with a losing record. So what's the point in playing veterans? It seems like coach Mike Tomlin might be too tight with them. What the team should be doing is evaluating the younger players on the roster. If you lose, so what? Losing actually makes sense. It will improve the Steelers' draft position. The team surely needs all the help it can get at this point.

Did you see the report that Mike Tomlin and Jim Harbaugh are possible candidates for the Texas job? We're talking Texas Longhorns, not Houston Texans. I don't see it. You have two coaches from flagship franchises in the NFL that might go to the college ranks? I don't see it. The theory is there's no salary cap, the coach has ultimate control of the team, etc., compared to their NFL jobs. I still don't see. Can someone make a better argument?

It's still too early to talk about the playoffs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I know it's nice to think positive, but before you can entertain thoughts about the postseason, the team should be at least .500. We'll know a lot more about the direction of the team in the next week-and-a-half. The Steelers face the Browns on a Sunday and then have the Ravens on Thanksgiving. Win them both, and we can talk playoff scenarios. Lose one or both, and talk draft picks.

The Steelers won Sunday, which is a good thing. The defense caused trouble and had some sacks, too. Also a good thing. But is it time to celebrate that everything is OK in Steeler Land? Nope. Look no further than the opponent for a reason why. The Buffalo Bills were starting a rookie QB, EJ Manuel, who was making his first appearance after an injury. The Bills' best player, C.J. Spiller, is a shell of himself. The Bills' best wide receiver, Stevie Johnson, is hurt. Hats off to the Steelers for taking care of business at home. But things aren't all that better. But maybe things are pointed in the right direction.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had better teams lose to the Oakland Raiders, so it should come as no surprise that this one lost Sunday. What was surprising was the first play for Oakland. I'm not sure I can remember nearly an entire defense going for a fake by quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Just like that, a 93-yard TD. The longest ever by a QB. Game over. Yeah, I know the Steelers had their chances. If Shaun Suisham doesn't miss two field goals then they might even win that game. The first play set the tone. This season is over. Hopefully, that game was the bottom. Up next, a test against the Patriots.

James Harrison's game might have slipped, but his mouth sure hasn't. Harrison told reporters Monday that HBO's "Hard Knocks" shouldn't be at Bengals training camp. "I don't feel they deserve to be here. They did nothing to be here other than they want to be here. They didn't put no blood, sweat and tears into of this." Gotta hand it to Harrison, he still knows how to create a stir. It remains to be seen how much of a stir he can cause on the field. It also remains to be seen how he'll adapt to playing for the Bengals. He probably should worry more about that. But he sure is entertaining.