Now way under the radar

Looking ahead at Week 3 of the NFL, I see only two games - 0-2 Houston at 0-2 Kansas City, and 0-2 Arizona at 2-0 Atlanta - that will be less interesting to the general non-fan public than next week's Pittsburgh at Miami matchup. Pittsburgh at Miami has a nice old-time ring to it, but that's it, right, the rings are old. The Steelers will be 1-1, coming off a rout, and starting a rookie QB on the road against an 0-2 Miami team. Cincinnati is obviously the new story in the AFC North and they'll host Baltimore. Like the Pirates, the Steelers will find themselves playing in Meaningless Games if they don't pull it together and win and fast.

I forgot how much I dislike watching Tommy Maddox play when the Steelers aren't playing well. He's a good QB, I think, and someone we can win with, but he's always on the ground at the end of the play and he's always jumping up with some kind of painful grimace. Or some other kind of loserish body language. He exudes glum. At least that's what I saw on the TV today.

It's not good to start a rookie QB in the NFL, but Roethlisberger will, pretty obviously I think, be a good QB pretty soon. I'll enjoy watching the Steelers with rookie Ben even if the national viewing public would rather watch the Lions or the Bengals. Even if the Steelers lose 55% of their games with struggling rookie Ben, I think I'd enjoy those games.

I may be wrong here, but if Philadelphia wins tomorrow, would the Eagles at the Lions be the only week 3 game involving two undefeated teams?

A few more Steeler rants. I hate the end around and the fake end around. I don't care what the rationale is, they are hail-mary-type poor percentage plays. When the team needs to get back into a game, that's not the time to run bullshit deception plays. If you can't establish the straight-ahead run, why try some kind of end around? The small chance of big momentum does not outweigh the great chance of further and ever-more-damaging humiliation.

And what the hell was the razzle-dazzle punt formation that earned us a delay of game penalty? I thought that garbage left town with Mike Mularkey.

And whatever happened to playing to win the field position battle? Trying 48-yard field goals into the wind against Baltimore? What the hell was that?

Polamalu and Colclough looked good out there to me today, but they also look small. That's not necessary a bad thing.