SteelersWoman
09-25-2006, 07:56 AM
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9682801
By Gregg Doyel (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/doyel)
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist
"The first rule of Pittsburgh weather is you don't talk about Pittsburgh weather. Not if you play for the Steelers (http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/teams/page/PIT) and the game's at your home stadium ...
You don't talk about it. Big rule here. Backup quarterback Tommy Maddox broke that rule last year, blaming the wind for his passing atrocities in a loss to Jacksonville. Steelers coach Bill Cowher didn't like that. Maddox soon lost his job as Ben Roethlisberger's backup.
The wind was bad again on Sunday -- game-changing bad -- but Pittsburgh punt returner Ricardo Colclough learned plenty from Tommy Maddox. After the game, a winnable game he basically lost, Colclough didn't blame the wind.
"Just took my eyes off the ball," he said.
That's not entirely what happened on the play that triggered Cincinnati's 28-20 victory Sunday. Colclough was standing near the Pittsburgh 25 when Cincinnati punter Kyle Larson juggled the snap and squeezed off a quick-trigger kick that floated downfield. And floated. And floated.
Fifty yards away, Colclough realized the ball was going over his head. Can't let that happen. Field position is everything in a low-scoring game, and the Steelers were eight minutes away from a 17-14 win that would put them back in business in the AFC North.
Frantically he backpedaled, then threw up his hands to field the ball above his forehead, like an outfielder pulling in a fly ball.
A game the Steelers spent 52 minutes winning, gone with the wind...."
I condensed it a bit to save space, but added the link for the whole story. To me, that last sentence says it all, and pretty much exactly what I felt about that game.
Someone mentioned earlier tonight that we'd basically beaten ourselves--and I had agreed, as have many other Steelers fans.
This story (along with a second story I read earlier tonight) more than suggest that there are a few other analysts who viewed it that way as well.
By Gregg Doyel (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/doyel)
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist
"The first rule of Pittsburgh weather is you don't talk about Pittsburgh weather. Not if you play for the Steelers (http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/teams/page/PIT) and the game's at your home stadium ...
You don't talk about it. Big rule here. Backup quarterback Tommy Maddox broke that rule last year, blaming the wind for his passing atrocities in a loss to Jacksonville. Steelers coach Bill Cowher didn't like that. Maddox soon lost his job as Ben Roethlisberger's backup.
The wind was bad again on Sunday -- game-changing bad -- but Pittsburgh punt returner Ricardo Colclough learned plenty from Tommy Maddox. After the game, a winnable game he basically lost, Colclough didn't blame the wind.
"Just took my eyes off the ball," he said.
That's not entirely what happened on the play that triggered Cincinnati's 28-20 victory Sunday. Colclough was standing near the Pittsburgh 25 when Cincinnati punter Kyle Larson juggled the snap and squeezed off a quick-trigger kick that floated downfield. And floated. And floated.
Fifty yards away, Colclough realized the ball was going over his head. Can't let that happen. Field position is everything in a low-scoring game, and the Steelers were eight minutes away from a 17-14 win that would put them back in business in the AFC North.
Frantically he backpedaled, then threw up his hands to field the ball above his forehead, like an outfielder pulling in a fly ball.
A game the Steelers spent 52 minutes winning, gone with the wind...."
I condensed it a bit to save space, but added the link for the whole story. To me, that last sentence says it all, and pretty much exactly what I felt about that game.
Someone mentioned earlier tonight that we'd basically beaten ourselves--and I had agreed, as have many other Steelers fans.
This story (along with a second story I read earlier tonight) more than suggest that there are a few other analysts who viewed it that way as well.