Steelers vs. Cowboys - Historic Rivalry Renewed

The Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Does anymore really need to be said? This is NFL history. This is NFL greatness.

Big D. Cowboys Stadium and the Ring of Honor.
The Confluence of Three Rivers. Heinz Field. The Blast Furnace.

The star on the helmet.
The hypocycloid symbol of steel on the helmet.

The Hat. The Hair. Jerry Jones.
Noll. Cowher Power. The Coolest Coach in the NFL. The Rooneys.

Eight Super Bowls. Five wins.
Eight Super Bowls. Six wins.

Team of the 90's.
Team of the 70's.

15-15 in all-time head-to-head meetings.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
...ok, ya got us there.

Sunday will see two of the most storied NFL franchises butt heads again when the Steelers travel to Arlington, Texas to face the Cowboys.

The teams that boast 35 (primary) Hall of Famers and 11 Super Bowl rings renew what is quite possibly the best rivalry in the NFL. All respect due to the Bears and Packers, the Raiders and Chargers, the Cowboys and Redskins and the Steelers and Browns, this is as good as it gets because three of those meeting have been for NFL supremacy.

Each Super Bowl battle was historic unto itself. Each had all the pomp and circumstance befitting royalty and all the bad blood befitting the Hatfields and the McCoys.

In Steelers-Cowboys I, there was the 64-yard touchdown pass by Terry Bradshaw, a split-second before Cowboys defensive tackle Larry Cole buried him, to wide receiver Lynn Swann that sealed the win. It is still considered one of the greatest passes in NFL playoffs history. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9s-EFNz0i4

There was Jack Lambert treating Cliff Harris like his son. I will never get tired of watching that. Never. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=q3RQ_xhLK-4&feature=endscreen

They had their share of comedy too.

Before Super Bowl XIII, Steelers-Cowboys II, who could forget Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson famously calling Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw so dumb that he couldn't "spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and the T?" I know our dearly departed friend Michele couldn't.

Bradshaw got his revenge by torching the Cowboys, going 17 for 30 for a then-record 318 yards, his first 300-passing game, and four touchdowns in a 35-31 win. Bradshaw, Michele's favorite player, won the Most Valuable Player award. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68SoIhJ-pSY

After the game when Henderson was asked about his comments, he said that he said Bradshaw was dumb, not that he couldn't play.

Play he did, saving his best performances for the big games. Bradshaw passed for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times, but three of those came in the post-season, and two of those in Super Bowls.

In four career Super Bowl appearances, he passed for 932 yards and 9 touchdowns, both Super Bowl records at the time of his retirement. In 19 postseason games, he completed 261 passes for 3,833 yards.

His counterpart during that time was Roger Staubach. An All-American and Heisman Trophy winner (1963), Roger the Dodger was a true leader, guiding the Cowboys to four Super Bowls and nine consecutive winning seasons. Also known as "Captain Comeback," he was once described by long-time Cowboys head coach Tom Landry as "possibly the best combination of a passer, an athlete and a leader to ever play in the NFL."

Both teams were known just as much for their defenses, though. The "Doomsday Defense" in Dallas and the "Steel Curtain" in Pittsburgh terrorized offenses.

Men like Bob Lilly, Ed "Too Tall" Jones and the only two defensive players to win Super Bowl co-MVP honors: defensive tackle Randy "Manster" White and defensive end Harvey Martin.

Names like "Mean" Joe Greene, "Captain" Jack Lambert, and NFL-rules changer, Mel Blount. The only three men to win consecutive NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards (1974-1976).

While each team took a step back in the 1980s, only two conference championship games between them, each saw a resurgence of their prominence and their rivalry in the 1990s.

The Cowboys became dominant first when oil magnate Jerry Jones purchased the Cowboys from H.R. Bright. Soon after, Jones fired the legendary Landry, to that point the only coach in the team's history, in favor of his former Arkansas Razorback teammate, Jimmy Johnson. He then forced out longtime general manager Tex Schramm, and assumed complete control.

Johnson had an ability to find talent in the draft and to make savvy trades. Specifically, he orchestrated maybe the greatest (or worst, depending on which side you were on) trade ever with the trade of Herschel Walker. The trade yielded six high draft picks and a number of players, 11 players in all, from the Minnesota Vikings.

That trade gave birth to "triplets", quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and a reunion with Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Michael Irvin. The boys were back.

The Steelers resurrection wasn't the hostile takeover that was seen in Dallas. The Rooneys never lost control of the Steelers and Chuck Noll bowed out gracefully. In came "The Chin," Bill Cowher.

Cowher started to win right away. He still had Noll's players, but he infused new life into the team and into the franchise.

In his first four years, Cowher went 43-21 and captained his '95 team to a spot in Super Bowl XXX against (who else?) the Cowboys. Steelers-Cowboys III was a loss, but it had it's moments as well.

Steelers linebacker and resident enforcer Greg Lloyd announced on national television that he and his teammates needed to go down to Arizona and get...well, listen for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvxLbYrX4Pg

Then, there was Cowboy's gun-for-hire Deion "Primetime" Sanders who said that he wouldn't be shown up by Steelers wide receiver/quarterback/half back Kordell Stewart. He jokingly said that he wanted to do everything "Slash" did. "If he punts," Primetime said, "I want to punt."

After falling behind early in what looked to be another NFC Super Bowl blowout, the Steelers started to establish their ground game and come back.

Rod Woodson had already informed Michael Irvin that he was there to play, and Emmitt Smith had half of his 49 rushing yards on one play. Now Bam Morris was starting to run roughshod over them, pulling the Steelers to 20-17.

Then the unthinkable happened, providing the most lasting memory by a certain quarterback who inexplicably...he...I'm sorry, I just can't. Watch for yourself what happened for SECOND time in the game in the SAME way in the SAME area of the field to the SAME player: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-FMFYttADU

After that "MVP" performance, Larry Brown left the Cowboys and went into the NFL's version of the Witness Protection Program at the time, the Oakland Raiders. As alluded to, he was never heard from again.

I'm over it, though. Mainly because I killed the quarterback in question in January of 2006 to memorialize the event.

The rivalry was renewed after seven years apart in 2004 with the Steelers completing that comeback, 24-20.

Though the names have changed, the mystique and pomp haven't. Nor has the bad blood...or the desire for bragging rights.

Steelers quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger, who is re-writing the Steelers record book, said Wednesday that "if the Cowboys are 'America's Team' then the Steelers are 'The World's Team'."

Then James Harrison, Steelers latest scary linebacker, accused Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who's done some erasing of his own to Dallas' record book, of mocking the Steelers four years ago in the Steelers 20-13 win in 2008. - http://tinyurl.com/bfwthe7

Yes, it's still the Cowboys and Steelers. 'Nuff said.

Young Money Is No Longer New Money, Steelers' Young Wide Receivers Must Step Up

The young can't teach traditions to the old. ~ African  proverb

With the release of wide receiver Hines Ward on February 29th, the future of the Steelers offense was potentially set in motion. Steelers fans worldwide will miss his professionalism, his reliability, his work ethic, his toughness, his durability, and, most of all, his smile.

With his exit, full attention then was turned toward the Steelers corps of young wide receivers. Whether known as Young Money or the Bugatti Boys, they are Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown, and they are considered the future.

The future is now.

As was expected by most, the Steelers didn't place the franchise tag on Mike Wallace. He will instead, then, receive the highest tender of $2.74 million for this next year. The Steelers have until March 13th to officially tender Wallace. Then teams would have until April 20th to sign Wallace to an offer sheet which, of course, the Steelers would have seven days to match. Which, also Wallace has to accept in the first place. There is still a good chance, though, they workout a contract for Wallace.

The contract Stevie Johnson signed with the Bills today, five years for $36.25 million, might just be the starting point of a deal with Wallace. It possibly makes it less likely that the Steelers get something done with him before free agency starts -- Wallace knows where to start now.

Regarding this, Colbert said today that the Steelers still hold the cards with Wallace regarding matching any offer he should get in free agency: "It will be our call!"

Assuming, though, that the Steelers are able to get that contract worked out, one would have to consider Wallace, outside of Roethlisberger, to be the key component to the Steelers offense. With Wallace on the field you have two speedy wide receivers to account for when considering Antonio Brown as a part of the equation. Who do you double-team in that scenario?

Emmanuel Sanders, who is himself a sub 4.45 in the 40 (clocked at 4.41 at the 2010 NFL Combine), is the third member of this talented young corps that just could be the best wide receiver corps in the league.

Add to the mix the possible re-signing of Jerricho Cotchery and you have a veteran wide receiver who is approximately a 4.55 in the 40 and is money in the red zone (11 of his 20 career touchdowns have been inside the 20). Though, no one can truly replace Ward, he has the requisite skills needed to help ease the that aforementioned departure.

There you have it: Young Money...with a little borrowed money mixed in too. A potentially beautifully woven tapestry.

Upon closer inspection, though, there are a few loose strings on that tapestry, that, when tugged on, could unravel the Steelers future as well.

So much of what we love about this crew is based on speed and potential. Well, speed is great, but every true fan knows that more than speed is needed. For those who don't understand this, please look up the names Renaldo Nehemiah and Johnny "Lam" Jones. We'll be here when you get back. Trust me. There won't be much else to read after the words "world-class speed."

No, speed isn't everything. Some of the NFL's greatest receivers didn't even have great speed. Look at Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and Lynn Swann: all great, all winners, all multiple Super Bowl winners, and all with sub-par 40 times -- one was as "slow" as 4.65-4.71.

Potential, by the way, can be a dirty word when attached to someone without the intestinal fortitude, or guidance needed, to live up to it. The examples of those in the NFL are legion. So much so that I won't recount any here. Just watch ESPN for the next "All-Time Draft Busts" discussion.

There are so many things that go into being a good NFL wide receiver. It goes far beyond speed, as was touched on, game speed or being able to catch. (Limas Sweed, I'm looking at you.)

There are other duties a wide receiver can have and must master in order to make an NFL field. For a team like the Steelers, blocking is imperative. Being able to read the defenses and to recognize the hot reads is essential. Being able to snatch a ball out of the air and away from the body is very important as well.

Wallace proved as much in the 2012 playoff game against Denver when a 52-yard pass play was called incomplete after being reviewed. If he catches that with his hands and secures it, we might have seen a different outcome when momentum is considered.

Wallace had issues with that all season. It was just one reason why he wasn't completely able to shed the "one-trick pony" moniker placed on him by coach Mike Tomlin. Even if you believe he's at least a one-and-a-half-trick pony now, his drop off in the latter half of the season is concerning. His numbers literally dropped by half  as he seemed to get lost at times, and the offense, as a whole, suffered. How much does that 4.33 speed matter if he can't catch under duress?

If Wallace is truly going to be that "key component" mentioned earlier, the potential lynch pin to the offense, this is definitely an area where he needs to step up and be accounted for.

Emmanuel Sanders is somewhat of an X-factor. He seems to be, even with the injuries and surgeries, the most polished of the three young wide receivers. He is the best blocker of the three, most polished route runner and, though he still has minor issues with it, is the most proficient of the three at his hot reads. He's also the second fastest receiver on the team at 4.41, as I wrote earlier.

There are question marks, though, surrounding Sanders: Are his feet issues finally behind him, or is it a degenerative problem? Also, did the knee issue that was caused by the feet issues get rectified? If so, will he be able to handle the return duties that he's been assigned as well as his receiving duties next season?

We still don't truly know what we have in this X-factor. He does, after all, only claim approximately 50 career catches for some 600 plus yards. Sanders, nicknamed "Manny", could be another injury away from having no NFL future at all, or just being a marginal receiver. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he could be gone after next season, having only his original draft round tender placed on him (third).

In the flashes we've gotten from Manny, he's seemed to be the real deal, so hope springs eternal. I've even tagged him as the Future Hines Ward. High praise, yes. But he has the promise to live up to it.

Antonio Brown may just have the highest ceiling overall of all three of them. While he could be a one-hit wonder, all evidence, barring injury, points to a long and successful career. I believe we've only seen the tip of the proverbial iceberg with AB. It isn't even out of the realm of possibility that he could be the actual lynch pin. He has that much potential.

To be fair, AB is a bit undersized and still sometimes struggles with the physicality of the game. He has lined up out of the slot and wide both, and is explosive off the line and has great burst out of his speed cuts. He, as was said about Wallace, traps too many passes in his body.

AB's route running, though, is improving. He is nearly as fast as the other two talked about, but he's quicker and his motor just doesn't seem to start to stop running, and he has started improving his hot reads. He'll be very good yet again this season in this blogger's opinion. I really only have one concern about him: Is he able to catch the ball without using the side of his helmet?

A child who is to be successful is not to be reared exclusively on a bed of down. ~ African proverb

They say that a person is like a tea bag: you cannot tell how strong one is until you add hot water.

That's what we're looking at here. It's all about them being thrown into the deep end, individually and as a unit. As I've discussed, there are some devil's advocate issues: Wallace is a "one-trick pony." Ok, but he certainly helps Roethlisberger, AB and the running game with that one trick. Manny has feet issues, but, if he's past them, is already so polished that he could be the Future Hines Ward. AB is a bit undersized, but uses every inch and pound, and the side of his helmet, to his advantage.

The future is potentially very bright with these young receivers, and not just because they're all always smiling. I wonder where they got that from...

~

Free Agent wide receivers still available as of 2100 hrs PST:
Vincent Jackson - San Diego: He's a big, downfield guy. 49ers?
Mike Wallace - Pittsburgh: Restricted free agent. Stay home!
Marques Colston - N.O.: Almost Mr. Irrelevant, now a Pro Bowl-caliber player.
Pierre Garçon - Indianapolis: Still young and potentially very productive.
Robert Meachum - N.O.: Good size and speed.
Laurent Robinson - Dallas: Young and fast.
Mario Manningham - NYG: A good No. 2 receiver.
Joshua Morgan - S.F.: Good young receiver.
Plaxico Burress - NYJ: Giants or Steelers?
Brandon Lloyd - Rams:  Really good and improved route runner.
Ted Ginn - S.F.: Great on special teams, good speed too.
Eddie Royal - Denver: Tough receiver.
Early Doucet - Arizona: Tough and experienced.
There are others, but few of any consequence.

~

The Pats are most likely out of the Wallace sweepstakes after franchising their unrestricted free agent wide receiver, Wes Welker. The only viable candidate left in the free agent market may just be San Francisco.

Wallace was supposed to get a ton of attractors on the RFA market. Seems now to have been a ploy by someone in Wallace's camp to drive up his proposed value.

It isn't a surprise, though. As I've said in previous blogs, it just isn't fiscally responsible and is too expensive to give up a 1st rounder and front-load a long-term contract for a still-somewhat-unproven receiver. Especially when others can be had at a much less-expensive price.

But, let's hope that something more than 'wanting to be in Black and Gold' stops Wallace from holding out. Because that's also still a possibility.

HINES WARD : HALL OF FAMER?

Written by Jason Robinson

  The image is etched in my memory: Ben Roethlisberger gets the ball from Jeff Hartings the center, turns right and pitches back left to Fast Willie Parker. It's a sweep left and the Seattle Seahawks have to respect Parker's speed. As Parker runs he hands the ball to Antwaan Randle El on the Reverse and, with help from a key block from Roethlisberger, Randle El throws the ball to an open Hines Ward for the touchdown. Ward skipped into the end zone, smiling as he always does, sealing the victory in Super Bowl XL. Ring number five, one for the thumb. Hines Ward was the MVP with five catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, plus one rush for 18 yards, and it was the first time I truly gave thought to his being a candidate for the Hall of Fame.

    Since then Ward has been the real man of steel as one of the Steelers truest leaders and unquestioned captain of the wide receivers. His play over the years has caused him to have virtually every Steelers receiving record. The only Steelers' records he doesn't have are receptions in a single game, receiving yards in a season, receiving yards in a game and 100-yard games in a season. All the important numbers, though, he has. He even has the hardware: two Rings in three Super Bowl appearences, including the aforementioned MVP award. So he's an all-time great from a Steelers standpoint, but the real question is whether he makes the HOF or not.


    When I think of someone worthy of the Hall of Fame I think of someone truly great. Like Peter King once said, "This isn't the Hall of Very Good." Well said, and well received. Well, then, what is "great?" We could use the dictionary definition for the word, but for these purposes it essentially means someone who is or does something that is large or prodigious in proportion, has significant impact, value and worth, has influence on others and leaves behind some form of legacy. In the case of the NFL, it would also mean being the best for a period of time. That means we can't just look at numbers. You can skew numbers to fit whatever you want. I could throw Terrell Owen's numbers at you and present them in such a way to make you think he's the greatest thing since Stretch Armstrong. *sigh* I miss that toy. It was just so cool! Stretch him all around anything I wanted. But I digress... Anyway, the truth is that Owens has great numbers to be sure, but he also has been a pariah wherever he has played. He's torn teams apart and, on top of that, you never had to worry about your popcorn in the playoffs because he's never won a significant playoff game. So is he truly great? No.

    Not that the HOF necessarily takes character into consideration, but being arrested for Cocaine possession, i.e. Michael Irvin, is something that happens outside of the game. Derailing and/or breaking teams up, though, directly deals with the game itself. So that means that one such as the aforementioned Owens would fail when graded against that particular criterium. Does Ward? How, in fact, does Ward fair against the criteria set up in general? As I alluded to before, numbers are only one part of this. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, he has the numbers to warrant having his smiling bust in Canton despite never being the absolute best any given year. So let's look at the proposed definition and go from there.

    Part of the definition proposed was "someone who is or does something prodigious in proportion." Hines Ward has certainly had a prodigious career as he holds all of the most significant of Steelers receiving records as was mentioned before. He has been a key component to reaching the playoffs 7 of the last 10 years and to reaching the Super Bowl three times in six years. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl MVP and still one of the best blocking WRs in the League.

    Another criteria put forth was one's impact, value and worth. The "impact" Ward has had on players over the years is well documented. Ed Reed found this out in a 2004 when he wasn't paying close enough attention to his surroundings and was knocked out cold by a legal block by Ward. So clean and devastating was the blow that Ward immediately signaled to the Ravens' sideline for them to come get him. If it had been a cartoon there would have been little birds flying around Reed's head. After the game Reed was asked what he thought of the hit. He said, "(snore)". Then there was the, again, legal block on Keith Rivers in '08. Rivers also neglected to keep his head on a swivel as to what was going on in his vicinity and paid for it. The block so jolted Rivers that it broke his jaw. You can find Rivers at the downtown Cincinnati Jamba Juice drinking his dinner if you want to ask him his thoughts on Hines Ward's blocking ability. I bring these examples up because they and others resulted in a rules change by the NFL that is affectionately (ahem) referred to as "The Hines Ward Rule." That, ladies and gentlemen, is impact. The value and worth part of that is simple: he's incredibly valuable to his team as he not only does whatever is needed for his team to win, but they see that this is the case and have voted him captain or team MVP multiple times.


    The influence and legacy that Ward will leave behind is summed up in a series of names: Burress, Randle El, Holmes, Wallace, and, soon to surely be added, Sanders and Brown. All of whom are at least Super Bowl participants and two have Super Bowl game-winning touchdown catches. His influence on them is great. These receivers to a man have spoken extremely highly of Ward and his influence, work ethic and leadership on the field and in the locker room. He is greatly respected and admired as a football player and as a man. When I watch NFL Films replays of practices, games or otherwise and I see the other receivers standing there listening to him as if to a father, I can't help but to smile. When the word "honor" is used in conjunction with Hines Ward, it isn't contextually, "Yes, Your Honor." The honor, admiration and respect for Ward is real and is boundless. Even when opposing players hate him, they still have to respect him. That, my friends, is greatness.

    So, yeah, I could have thrown out stat after stat to make a case for Hines Ward to don a yellow jacket, but he's greater than the sum of his parts. Pure stats don't do him justice, because he's a Hall of Famer on and off the field. Will he get in on the first ballot? I'd have to say no, but I believe that a Hall of Famer is simply a Hall of Famer. So expect to see him up on that podium, oh, sometime in early 2020's. But expect him nonetheless.