Joey Porter's homecoming couldn't come at a better time.
His current team is winless.
And Porter's former team is 7-3 but reeling in the wake of what happened on Sunday against a one-win collection of New York Jets.
"The issue for us is us," a clearly perturbed Mike Tomlin assessed after the Jets had stunned the Steelers, 19-16, in overtime.
The issue at present is figuring out why the Steelers aren't the Steelers on the road against teams that don't call the AFC North Division home.
Based on the postgame reaction at Giants Stadium, and what the Steelers put on tape in Arizona and in Denver, the Steelers' problem there is intangible at least as much as it is schematic.
Defensive end Brett Keisel talked of the Steelers being "flat" and "on our heels."
Wide receiver Hines Ward used the word "grind" to describe what the Steelers were going through.
And quarterback Ben Roethlisberger referenced on three occasions the Jets' physicality, including the following apparently unintentional indictment of what the Steelers have become:
"They were probably the more physical team, and I think it showed," Roethlisberger said.
Can you imagine what Porter's reaction might have been had such heresy been uttered on his watch from the confines of his locker room?
It was Porter, you might recall, who screamed bloody murder at the mere suggestion that the Colts had been the more physical team when they had beaten the Steelers, 26-7, back in November 2005.
And it was Porter, you'll remember, who never failed to achieve a foaming-at-the-mouth state prior to games.
On one occasion, that got him thrown out of a game before the game had actually begun, but Porter was always ready to defend the Steelers' identity.
The current collection, admittedly, is not.
Perhaps Peazy's presence will rekindle what's been lacking along those lines.
That's not likely to come from Mike Tomlin, who is more Chuck Noll than he is Bill Cowher in approach.
And it's not likely to come from James Harrison, Porter's replacement at right outside linebacker.
Harrison registered a sack against the Jets, giving him 7 1/2 on the season, surpassing the seven Porter registered in 2006.
But Harrison doesn't have Porter's personality. None of the Steelers do.
And they seemingly miss it, at least periodically.
Perhaps seeing Peazy again will provide a reminder as to the combination of joy and rage the Steelers have to play with to be the Steelers, even if Peazy will be wearing teal.
It'll take more than that, of course, for the Steelers to get where they want to go.
Still, their mantra moving forward should be: "Don't Leave Home Without It."
There's not much the Steelers can do about the offensive line, the special teams or the inconsistency of "Fast" Willie Parker at this point.
Those aspects of their game are what they are and will have to be worked around, as they had been prior to the Jets game.
But it is within the Steelers' control to make sure that they never again have to acknowledge that they were "flat" and that the other team was "more physical."
Those were always fightin' words to Porter.
The Steelers would do well to resume taking such accusations personally.
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Originally Posted by TOP GUN
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