First Impressions

34-7. Terrific start. Cleveland looks to be its usual inept self. Winslow could play for most teams, other than him???

'R Stillers were fortunate to open with such a patsy... not to say it wasn't a hard-hitting game. The Brahwnies got a couple good shots in, especially at the start of the second half. But instead of being intimidated, the Steelers stepped up to the challenge and pounded the dogpounders back into submission.

Tomlin seems to be the right kind of coach for this current collection of Steelers. Especially Ben. Quiet confidence. Determined. Prepared. Let the more emotional players do the rah-rah-ing. His "job" is to manage the game.

Ben even got in a small "dig" after the game. He said with Tomlin, it was unlikely "to be spit on or have things thrown at him" by the new coach. Maybe there really is something to the Ben-Chin rift?

Hines Ward is a master. He took a bad late-hit penalty (justified call, this time). But his TD catch was one for the ages. What can I say? There is not a wide receiver I would rather have on my team out of every guy in the league right now. He plays the game the right way, every play, until the whistle blows (and every once in a while, a teensie bit past the whistle.)... And, he does it with a smile. Does anyone enjoy playing football more than Hines?

Santonio Holmes (Maybe we can call him "Show" for short?) is emerging. He blew past the hapless Cleve safeties on his TD. And Ben connected on a perfect pass. We could get used to that kind of execution! He turned the corner nicely on his end-around as well. Hope to see lots more of this Show as the season goes on.

O-line... well... they had their moments. The helped the running game churn out 150+ yards, and Ben was only harrassed a few times. Everyone's worried about Faneca mailing this season in. But he is playing for a BIG contract, so I expect to see the best guard in football play like the best guard in football. Still, he looked silly being so far in front of the one screen or reverse (forget exactly how the play started -- I was too busy laughing at him trying to catch his breath after he had to run full speed for more than 4 yards trying to find someone to hit!).

The D was mostly excellent. Six sacks, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries... The Brahwnies were/are pretty inept -- but the Steeler D made them look even worse than they are.

As always, I love our Polamalu -- 'r Stiller version of Cousin IT! is THE most exciting defensive player in the game. Period.

All-in-all, a very good start to a promising new era. Bring on the BuffBills. This could be a very fun season to be a rabid Steeler fan.