Rob Parker Was "Kind Of Black", But Really Racist

(Editor's Note: The events that transpired on Friday and over the weekend delayed the writing of this article. May Jah be with the families and friends of those senselessly killed in Newtown, Ct, Memphis, Tn and Las Vegas, Nv.)


I've often joked with new friends and acquaintances about my origins. Las Vegas has the stigma that 'no one is from here,' so the question of where someone is from is inevitable. When asked, I often reply by saying it's the only thing Steve Martin and I have in common, that I too was born a poor Black child in Mississippi. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtmi4Nc-3dE

So, growing up in the deep South, I had the chance to see just how prejudiced and racist this world can be. Under race/ethnicity on my birth certificate it actually even reads "Negro." I kid you not. That was 1971.

I grew up in an area where, sadly enough, there was a commonly accepted and well-circulated saying: "If you're white, you're all right; if you're brown, stay around; but if you're Black, get back." It was basically a way of keeping us 'in our place', so to speak.

There was also still the idea that, not only were Blacks inferior, but that features typical of Blacks were less attractive or desirable than those of whites. Imagine how damaging that can be to the psyche of your young son or daughter.

Now extend it to the entirety of a race.

As you can imagine, therefore, I have very little tolerance for prejudice and/or racism of any sort. Especially not for the sort of racist idiocy and blind ignorance regurgitated by former ESPN "personality", Rob Parker. A form of what is known as "internalized racism."

It's hard enough to weather the now more subtle racism that can be seen in everyday life and in the media without having to suffer such slings and arrows from those of my own race.

Allow me to take a step back and lay down what happened in case the other events of the weekend drowned out the white noise that came from the four-letter network.

Last Thursday morning on ESPN's First Take, Rob Parker responded to Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III's saying in a recent interview that he didn’t want to be defined as a Black quarterback. A subject about which If It Ain't Steel recently wrote in agreement. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-plight-of-black-quarterback-past.html

Parker said that, as a Black man himself, he has a lot of questions about Robert Griffin III.

“My question is, and it’s just a straight, honest question: Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?,” Parker said. “He’s not really. He’s Black, he does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause. He’s not one of us. He’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the kind of guy you really want to hang out with.”

Parker was just getting rolling, because he went on to say that he wanted to know more about his personal life before accepting RGIII as a real brother.

“I want to find about him,” Parker continued. “I don’t know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancee. Then there was all this talk about he’s a Republican, which there’s no information at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue. Because we did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like, ‘I’ve got black skin, but don’t call me Black.’ So people wondered about Tiger Woods.”

Tiger? That Asian golfer? Why bring him into this?

Seriously, though, Woods is more Asian than Black, so the comparison is inaccurate. Parker, though, is referring to Woods labeling (for lack of a better word) himself a "Cablinasian" (an abbreviation he came up with from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).

To the point, how, in 2012, can a Black commentator go all Uncle Tom's Cabin on another Black man, claiming that he's selling out or not living up to a tired stereotype? Really?

I know my people, and I know we sometimes feel indirectly responsible for our brothers and sisters. Be it flaw or strength, I've seen it for many years. I still ask why should any of it even matter to him? Why should it matter to anyone, for that matter? RGIII's political leanings are his own. The statement regarding the "talk about he's a Republican" perpetuates a further stereotype, that all Black people are Democrats. Parkers' presenting it as if it's a personal affront only makes him look foolish. Foolishness that got him suspended. - http://tinyurl.com/cxekkt4

But what raises my ire the most is Parker's bringing RGIII's fiancé into it because she's white. Being that the woman whom I hope marry is a white woman, I take personal offense to that aspect of Parker's commentary. (Like Woods, she's actually mixed, but she's "Brattyasian.")

Am I not "really" Black because the woman with whom I fell in love is a white woman? Am I suddenly Carlton and should I join the Tom Jones fan club? It is a very singular irritant to me when my "Blackness", or that of any of my brothers and sisters, is questioned because of preferences or choices made. I love whom I choose to love, as does RGIII and anyone else.

Nor do I have to drink a forty dog and smoke a blunt while my hat is turned back with my corn rows braided and wearing my pants around my knees while sportin' phat kicks with big, loose laces sayin' "Yo, yo, yo, my ni**a!" every other sentence to be Black!

Hey, I'm gonna let all y'all in on a secret. You want to know a great way to really piss off a Black person? Find the right one and tell him/her that they "talk white." Trust me, it won't be a pleasant conversation. If all you get in return is, "How the hell is someone going to "talk white?!" White is a color! No, b**ch, I speak correct English", consider yourself fortunate. (Don't send me any doctor's bills if it winds up being worse than that.)

Did you see what I did there? I played on another stereotype, that of the 'angry Black man/woman', to make a point while attempting to incur a jocular reaction.

Amongst friends, in locker rooms, for standup comedians, etc...these things may be considered as having their place. But certainly not in a venue that supposedly is designed to inform. A point which Stephen A. Smith made abundantly clear.

“First of all, let me say this: I’m uncomfortable with where we just went,” Smith said when he was asked to respond to Parker. “RGIII, the ethnicity or the color of his fiancé is none of our business, it’s irrelevant, he can live his life in whatever way he chooses. The braids that he has in his hair, that’s his business, that’s his life, he can live his life. I don’t judge someone’s blackness based on those kinds of things. I just don’t do that. I’m not that kind of guy.”

With the Mayan calendar ending, Smith's being the voice of reason is daunting. That notwithstanding, I'm not that kind of guy, either. Because remember, Black is just a color too.

Whether one is "high yella" (think Smokey Robinson or Nicole Ari Parker-Kodjoe) or an "ebony prince/princess" (think Djimon Hounsou or Serena Williams), we're of the Black race. And, as John Sweat Rock is credited as saying, "black is beautiful."

Further still, it is ultimately the makeup of one's being that defines a person. Or, as someone once put it, "the content of their character." - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

To keep that dream from turning into too much of a nightmare, we as a people need to remember that despite all our struggles, hardships and all that we've overcome, we're still all of the same race -- the human race.

If It Ain't Steel's NFL Mid-Season Reports And Predictions

The NFL season is at the midway point and we at If It Ain’t Steel are going to throw our predictions out there at the midway point along with some others. Week nine is in the books and we're now at a crucial point for a lot teams. This is the time of year when the cream rises to the top and the men separate themselves from the boys.

Starting off, we are going to talk mid-season MVP. The clear cut winner right now has to be Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. Matty Ice, or the “Matural” as he has been called as of late, has the Falcons sitting at 8-0 and has been playing rather well a fifth year starter. Do we think that he will win the MVP hands down, if it was decided today? Yes, but it's not being decided today, so time will tell. There are some very viable candidates out there who could make a case for having their names mentioned in this discussion.

One who could emerge from the rubble as the 2012 NFL MVP is "The Sheriff”, Peyton Manning. He is playing extremely well coming of a neck injury (and four neck surgeries) that sidelined him for all of 2011, so I would not stick the fork in him just yet. There is also his little brother Eli who is having a very good season as well. Then there are also ones like Drew Brees, Percy Harvin, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger who are leading for their teams in the right direction. So, as of right now there is no clear cut winner.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: Peyton Manning

As of right now, the Defensive Player of the Year is clearly J.J. Watt's to lose. He is playing lights out on defense and leads the league in sacks (10.5) and has been batting down passes like a wild man (10...as a DEFENSIVE END). He is helping this Texans defense show why they are to be feared and one of the most complete defenses in the league. Bears cornerback Tim Jennings is making a good case for consideration as well with a league-leading six interceptions, one for a touchdown, and 15 passes defended. Clay Matthews is making a good case, as is Demarcus Ware, but I again say it is Watt's to lose.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: J.J. Watt

Comeback Player of the Year is also Peyton Manning’s to lose. He came back this season under the cloud of “can he play like the Peyton that we are all used to?” It turns out that the answer is a resounding "yes!" He sat out all last season and a lot of people, including myself, thought he would never be the Peyton of old. But, he proved me and a lot of others wrong. He is playing very well and, just like always, is making no-name receivers household names. Adrian Peterson is also a consideration as he leads the NFL in rushing (957 yards) through eight games after missing most of last season with a devastating knee injury. Matt Schaub’s name could also be put into this mix, coming off a foot injury last season and having the Texans poised to take the first seed in the AFC. Time will tell.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: Peyton Manning

Rookie of the Year is still up for grabs in my opinion. Yes, right now Robert Griffin III is the front runner, but don’t count Andrew Luck out of this race just yet. Luck has been impressive so far in his rookie campaign as well, including setting a single-game rookie record Sunday for passing with 433 yards. He does not have the running yards that RGIII has, but he is playing well and has the Indianapolis Colts already at a better record than they had at this point in the season last year and is slowly making the people of Indy forget about that other guy. Russell Wilson is also playing well, but I believe this one will be a tight two-man race until the end.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: Andrew Griffin 1.5

Coach of the Year is a tough one in my opinion. These guys are responsible for what goes on with their teams. If their team is having a bad season, then it is their name that gets tossed around as being on the proverbial hot seat. If the award was given today it would go to Mike Smith. The Falcons are playing perfect ball right now, but won't go undefeated.

Another coach that sticks out to me who should be in the conversation is Gary Kubiak of the Texans. The Texans are 7-1 and playing almost as well as the Falcons. They had one bad game against the Green Bay Packers, but that happens to teams. How did they respond? They came back and knocked the feathers off of the Baltimore Ravens, a team they had never beaten. They scored the most points in a single game in their franchise history and controlled the game almost from start to finish.

Another that could be in this conversation soon is John Harbaugh of the Ravens. If the Ravens manage to take the North and the second seed in the AFC with the injuries they have piled up, then he very well should be. He probably won’t be, however, because Mike Tomlin was not named coach of the year when he led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 3-1 record without their starting quarterback, to a 12-4 overall record and to the Super Bowl again in 2010. But, I do not personally see the Ravens keeping the second seed, but just some food for thought.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: None yet. It can still be any one of several coaches.

OK, now that we have those predictions out of the way, we want to touch on another prediction that everyone will start making now: which team will go to the Super Bowl and win it all. The NFC is not as much of the jumbled mess right now that the AFC is. There are several teams right at or above .500 that could very well make a late season push, so things are not completely written in stone yet in the AFC. I think the only team that is close to set in stone is the Texans. They're currently the #1 seed, are the most complete team in the AFC and I just do not see them going into any sort of spiral.

So, this is what I like to call my spin on this, or what my partner-in-writing calls “Jaydenisms." We do this a lot when coming up with ideas for our blog, we bounce off each other ideas and then the pieces take life. This one was no different. So, here goes some food for thought, so to speak.

There has not been a team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots did it in '03 and '04, to find the next team to do it goes back to '97, '98 Broncos. So, to be a repeat champ is even harder than taking it all the first time. There have only been three teams since the 2003 season to represent the AFC and those were the Patriots ('03, '04, '07, and '11), the Colts ('06 and '09) and the Steelers ('05, '08 and '10). We predict that will change this year, but we will touch on that a little later.

The NFC on the other hand has only had one team to make a repeat appearance in that time frame - the New York Giants. Every year since '04 there has been a different NFC team represent the conference. So, the Giants being the current SB champs and representatives of the NFC does not assure them of going to the big dance.

For instance, in 2010 the New Orleans Saints went marching in to Seattle as the reigning champions. They were to play a team that was 7-9 and had won their conference. I'm sure they were thinking that this would be an easy win considering they were 11-5 and, again, the reigning champs. They thought wrong. Marshawn Lynch went Beast Mode on them with a 67-yard touchdown run by mowing down a supposedly good Saints defense. He made them look like a high school defense. Junior varsity. Similarly, last year the Packers, coming off a SB win and a 15-1 record got sent packing despite hosting a 9-7 Giants team on the (in my best John Facenda voice) frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

Recently, though, the team that gets hot at the right time seems to be the team to take the championship regardless of the conference. Don’t believe me? Look back at who has gone to the SB six of the past seven seasons (Steelers, Colts, Giants, Arizona Cardinals, Packers and Giants). Those teams came from the wildcard rounds and all except one went on to win it all.

So, it really doesn't matter what your record is going in to the playoffs, it matters how you are playing when you get there. Right now, the Falcons are the best team in the NFC right now, but history has shown that it may not matter who has the best record. It is more of one of those “who wants it more” kind of things. Note the examples above.

That gets me to another point: just because a team looks good right now, and has a great record, does not mean they are going to be the team to beat. History has shown that a team with a sub-par early record can get hot late and win it all. Just because a team is sitting at or below .500 does not mean that they are done by any means.

Anything can happen. There are still a lot of games to be played and some of these teams sitting with winning records right now can see that change in a hurry. There are several teams that start out hot and falter second half of the season. Maybe they benefitted from an easy early schedule and then face better opponents late. Maybe they lose key players for the season. Maybe rivals want to play spoiler because they have nothing else left for which to play.

For teams that surge at the end of the season, the reverse could have been the case. Once early-season injuries that had initially set them back are behind them, they suddenly are true contenders. There are lots of things that factor into why.

The teams that stand out to me that are in that boat in the AFC are the San Diego Chargers, Broncos, Steelers and Colts. Those four teams could very well make the playoffs or end another teams playoff dreams, depending on the scenario. All four of these teams have the ability to turn their seasons around they are already on that path and could be spoilers for the ones sitting on top right now. Time will tell, because, again, there is a lot of season left.

So, to end this we are going to make our prediction of who we think will make the Super Bowl this year. It may surprise some people. But, hey, we aren’t known to think inside of the box, now are we?

If It Ain’t Steel's Super Bowl Prediction: Texans vs. Bears

I know, we don't have our Steelers in the big dance. We have a lot of work to do, even after the Giants win. And let’s face it, we're not delusional, we are realistic. The Texans are the best team in the AFC and are going to be hard to put out of the playoffs if they play at home. The Bears are getting it together and quietly demolishing teams. Jay Cutler and crew will be hard to beat the second half of the season.

Trust us, we hope our Steelers prove us wrong, we would love nothing more. And if they do, that is one big helping of crow we will be more than glad to eat.

BR7 Proves Better Than RGIII As Steelers Defeat WDC In PGH

The Washington Redskins flew into Pittsburgh having rushed for at least 120 yards in each game this season. The main reasons for that have been Alfred Morris and Robert Griffin III who, as a quarterback, was 12th in the NFL in rushing.

Any thoughts of extending that streak ended on Heinz Field Sunday afternoon.

RGIII was turned into RG 3 points at a time as the Pittsburgh Steelers hurried, hit and confused the rookie quarterback phenomenon all day. At times it looked like a jail break (yeah, I went there). They also shut down the fierce run/option attack the Redskins' offense has been predicated on all season. - http://tinyurl.com/9sz3mm7

The Steelers shut down their running game and RGIII himself as he only passed for 177 yards and only had eight yards on six rushes.

Many of the keys to winning the game that we outlined in the article before the came to fruition as the Steelers defense kept RGIII at bay. The Steelers offense, led by quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger, showed more diversity en route to a 27-12 win.

The Steelers had RGIII right where they wanted him all day as he sat back in the pocket and made throws rather than running.

James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons, Larry Foote and LaMarr Woodley, who strained his right hamstring, continually harassed RGIII, and Deebo in particular manhandled the tight ends the Redskins kept running at him, continually sealing the edge.

On the other side, Big Ben was 24-33 for 222 yards and three touchdown passes with a 121.0 QB rating. He didn't have any interceptions and wasn't sacked, the first time that's happened in over two years. When Ben stays as clean as he did Sunday, he's very hard to beat.

As Merril Hoge posted on his personal Twitter (@merrilhoge) account last week: "No SB QB has ever off set more offensive line issues the Ben and won game and SB! Ben is ELITE!!!!!"

Sunday, Big Ben was the same ol' Ben Roethlisberger. When that's the case, it means the Steelers are always going to have a chance to win. - http://t.co/v6sWApFt

Big Ben distributed passes generously once again, including all three TD passes going to the tight ends and to fullback Will Johnson. - http://tinyurl.com/9e3c5w2

One of those tight ends is the very underrated Heeeaaattthhh Miller, who tied the Steelers all-time record for touchdowns by a tight end (37) with his score Sunday.

Miller made a very poignant statement regarding the Big Ben-led D&D offense: "I think defenses have trouble determining who they want to take away in our passing game."

Very true. Especially when the receivers aren't dropping passes, which was much more in check Sunday. This time it was the Redskins receivers who acted like they heard footsteps all afternoon.

The Steelers went into the game with 11 drops in six games. The Redskins had 10 sunday alone.

The Redskins receivers gave little help to RGIII as they surrendered more balls than Queen concert after-party.

RGIII could easily have had 250 or more yards and another touchdown pass had the receivers done their part. They didn't, though, and it kept the Redskins in play-from-behind mode all day.

Another star in the game Sunday was Steelers running back Jonathan Dwyer.

In his press conference last tuesday, Mike Tomlin said that Dwyer is a guy in development. He said of Dwyer that "its good to see him take advantage of opportunities when they are given."

Dwyer did just that again Sunday when he went for 107 yards on 17 carries, the first Steelers running back in more than four years (Fast Willie Parker) with back-to-back 100-yard games. - http://tinyurl.com/8vjhlwd

That smacks at the changeover to a passing team the Steelers have become. Don't think that they don't want to run the ball, though.

The Steelers are 10-0 when they rush for at least 120 yards since the start of the 2011 season, only 6-7 when they rush for less. Point blank, the Steelers are suddenly dangerous with a gelling offense that includes a strong running game. - http://t.co/l6NKHyBX

Now that they seem to have hit their midseason stride, they have a real challenge in front of them as they head into the Meadowlands next Sunday, Hurricane Sandy permitting, to face the New York Giants.

For now, though, the Steelers are enjoying having weathered the storm of RGIII before thinking about EM10.

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TIDBITS: Before the Redskins game Sunday, Roethlisberger, Willie Colon, and Max Starks had played every snap this year, with Timmons, Miller and Ryan Clark missing only one.

That is no longer the case with Clark as he went down with a concussion in the second half Sunday. He says he ok and plans to play next, per Jason LaCanfora.

“@JasonLaCanfora: Texting w/Steelers S Ryan Clark, who suffered concussion. Says he feels good, recalls details of the game, including his big hit on RGIII” - from his personal Twitter account.

The right quad tightened up on Dwyer. Tomlin addressed all the injuries,but did not say who will start next week. - http://www.steelers.com/video-and-audio/videos/Mike_Tomlin_Postgame_vs_Redskins/599e96fc-3649-47e2-981c-afc927e8ebe5

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Antonio Brown needs to be reined in a little bit. AB running backward is not very smart. What makes him think he won't get flagged in a situation like that? Didn't he learn from the preseason? C'mon, man!

Like Jim Wexell tweeted: "@jimwexell: Two Browns penalized on the same play. First time that's ever happened outside of Cleveland."

And if you're scoring at home, that's 183 yards in returns erased the past two games by six penalties. Like I said last week, "Special Ed Teams."

Steelers Face "Otherworldly" Test Against Redskins And RGIII

Only one rookie quarterback has ever beaten a LeBeau-run Steelers defense: Troy Smith in 2007.

Only one quarterback has ever run for 100-plus yards against the Steelers: Jack Concannon of the Philadelphia Eagles 56 years ago in 1966.

RGIII could do both this Sunday.

Last week when we posted the post-game blog of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals game, we briefly commended the play-calling. Todd Haley and Dick LeBeau ran circles around the Zimmer/Gruden connection. Coaching was a big part of that win.

Dick LeBeau and Todd Haley both drew up good game plans, and LeBeau specifically gets lots of credit for putting in a scheme to help his corners. He brought in more dime and finally worked Curtis Brown into the lineup and it caught Dalton by surprise.

Both need once again to have very specific game plans. Game plans where LeBeau unleashes Timmons on the line of scrimmage, especially with the absence of Troy Polamalu, to contain the phenomenon known as Robert Griffin III.

Expect a lot of base defense, Cover-1 and Cover-3 to keep a lot in front of them. All the while, it isn't as if they can just sit back and be passive against RGIII. They still must be aggressive and get after him.

Per Mike Tomlin at his weekly press conference on tuesday, the Redskins run an option attack that is are designed quarterback runs. Tomlin pointed out rightly that RGIII's runs in college were mostly on broken plays. - http://tinyurl.com/8gs8yjt

As Tomlin said, RGIII is "writing his own script" right now, and the Washington Redskins are doing a nice job of playing to his strengths.

The Redskins running game with the plucky Alfred Morris and their "new age triple-option" or "East Coast", as some of their players have called it, with RGIII changes slightly each week and presents a unique challenge.

Casey Hampton agrees.

"I was just tellin someone...if I was an (offense) coach, (the Redskins zone-blocking scheme) is what I would run."

He said further that there's "no question" the Redskins are the best running team the Steelers have faced. "Downhill runners," he called them. He said that the Redskins build their success off of the running game and play-action.

Absolute truisms. And while it isn't a true read option that they run, everything they do is designed, they play to RGIII's strengths. All on the Steelers defense agree, and his play has been described as "otherworldly": http://t.co/irupoFT2

Per Mark Kaboly on his personal Twitter (@MarkKaboly_Trib) account: "Watching this RGIII cat. Here's a bold statement ... Steelers gonna have a heck of a time stopping this read/option. HECK OF A TIME!!"

Really? A quarterback with veteran accuracy, the moves of a halfback and the speed of a wide receiver...we hadn't noticed.

ASIDE - We need to address a side point that gets on my last, exposed, raw nerve: Are bloggers and the media in general so racist, prejudiced, closed-minded or just so addle-brained that they can only compare quarterbacks who happen to be Black to other quarterbacks who happen to be Black?

Unless he was really high yella, Concannon mentioned at the outset was not a Black quarterback. Yet, go back and look at his stats, he was a running quarterback.

We bring it up again, not to castigate any one particular person(s), but because many did just that all week. One Steelers website, in rebutting an article by Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette, inserted a poll asking readers to compare RGIII to a list of four running quarterbacks...not one was of a Caucasian persuasion.

We wrote about this in a recent article and brought out some salient points and brought up non-Black quarterback names who were known also as fleet-of-foot athletes, such as Bobby Douglas, Roger Staubach, Steve Young and John Elway among MANY others. Some of whom are in the league now. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-plight-of-black-quarterback-past.html

*puts soapbox away*

Considering RGIII's unique skill set, quick release, accuracy (70% completion), instincts-beyond-his-years and grace under fire, LeBeau needs to make sure his defense is prepared, tackles the catch and is PATIENT. - http://blog.steelers.com/2012/10/25/coordinators-corner-haley-lebeau/

Todd Haley has the easier job Sunday. Not that this would create bulletin board-type material, but the Redskins defense is not very g...well, it's really bad.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has called the offense "dink and dunk," and, though he says he loves it, he still wants to go downfield more. - http://tinyurl.com/9sy8d6c

He'll have his chance against the Redskins. They are anywhere from 27th to dead last in the NFL in yards allowed and completion percentage given up in the deep right, deep middle and deep left. They're ranked 28th in points and 29th as a unit overall. - http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/gene-collier/redskins-secondary-springs-leaks-658991/#ixzz2AJbtExJ2

If Big Ben doesn't salivate too much and is patient enough to let it all unfold and come to him, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace should feast gametime Sunday. - http://t.co/n5rMJPwM

I had a chance to interview Wallace regarding what he expects Sunday, but he dropped my recorder breaking it which disallowed me to bring you that piece. Maybe next time...

By the way, those who love to vilify Haley and his offense, shouldn't do so. Last season through six games, the Steelers passing game produced 18 splash/explosive plays and averaged 19.9 points. Through six games this season, they've produced 28 such plays and are averaging 23.3 points.

Regarding the running game now, Jonathan "Cold-187" Dwyer will be your starter again. (I called him "Cold-187 because of where he was drafted and his running style. Look it up. But, stop the "Baby Bus", "Short Bus", etc...crap. There was only one Bus!)

The Steelers' longest run last year was the 76-yard burst by Dwyer. Their longest run this year is Dwyer's 32-yarder last week in Cincinnati. When Dwyer was first drafted I called it a steal. Though it didn't exactly turn out quite that way, he has overcome adversity to become an important part of the Steelers offense. - http://t.co/Y5jC4wMO

As a bit of feel good point of interest, Redskins linebacker London Fletcher was listed as going full Friday so expect him to keep his 231-game streak alive Sunday.

As the leader of that defense, Fletcher will be needed as Dwyer has been talking about the thrill of getting his first career home start Sunday, and Redman says he might also play after practicing again on Friday.

Just as the Steelers want to stop, or at least contain, their run/run option game, they'll look to do the same after watching Dwyer's 122-yard performance and watching Willie Colon VIOLENT play last Sunday night.

Make no mistake, though, Haley's offense will have to put up enough points to keep ahead of the otherworldly dangerous RGIII. If they can do that, the Steelers should come away with an exciting 60 minutes of a closely fought win.

TIDBITS: Redskins-Steelers preview: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-previews/0ap2000000085253/Preview-Washington-Redskins-vs-Pittsburgh-Steelers

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Last week, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey said that the foot/ankle injury to right tackle Marcus Gilbert may keep him out as for as many as six weeks

Gilbert retorted via his Twitter account: "I will not be out for 2 months, ill back really really soon!"

We'll see. When he does return, he may find himself the swing tackle if Mike Adams continues his improving play. Stay tuned.

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Per Bob Labriola: "Steelers to wear their 1934 jerseys vs. Redskins on Sun. When these franchises played in 1934, Pittsburgh lost both. 7-0 and 39-0."

Thanks for the bad mojo, Labs.

Here's our take on them: http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2012/04/throw-away-throwbacks-steelers-release.html

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Tomlin says penalties on special teams are disturbing and threatened to stop the "grievous offenders" *CoughDeMarcusVanDykeCough* from continually committing the offenses.

Asked how you to stop guys from committing penalties on returns, Tomlin said: "You can take the helmet off them and make them watch."

Loud and clear.

~

Practice Report: FRIDAY - Marcus Gilbert, Brandon Johnson, Rashard Mendenhall, Troy Polamalu all sat out practice. Will Allen, Chriss Carter, Jonathan Dwyer, Maurkice Pouncey and Jason Worilds all participated fully.

Gilbert, Troy, Mendenhall, Johnson out for Sunday. Redman is questionable and everyone else is probable.