Ed Bouchette: Gloves, Geniuses, and Steelers are the Better Team

Black & Gold Insider Analysis
Thursday, January 20, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Thursday morning's take on things:

Ben's gloves. That's what it's come down to. The entire city's thoughts are focused on whether Ben will give them up or wear them. This is even bigger than the boo-boo he had on his knee that forced him to miss one practice this season. News directors and editors are like sharks feeding on blood. They can't get enough of Ben's gloves. Who makes them? Where did he get them? How many pairs does he have? In what color? What size?

And I used to think Pittsburgh was a football town.

One thing I will say about the glove. It's become an issue. Even Bill Cowher seems perturbed about it. If Roethlisberger thinks it's an issue also, and if he doesn't wear gloves Sunday to appease others even if he wants to wear them, it's gone beyond an issue.

As we all know, Bill Belichick is a genius, a word I have never heard used around Bill Cowher or Chuck Noll. Good. We don't want geniuses as football coaches in Pittsburgh. We want them in the hospitals developing things like the Polio vaccine, not how to beat the cover 2 defense with no running game, because it doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

The offensive fortunes of the New England Patriots in Sunday's AFC Championship seem to be riding on the play of running back Corey Dillon, who was injured and did not play in the Patriots' 34-20 loss to Pittsburgh during the regular season. Corey Dillon will make a difference. You've heard that, over and over. It's like accepting the articles of faith. Corey Dillon will make a difference. Not if the Steelers stop him.

Bill Cowher told his fellas to shut up and they've followed orders all week. They talk but nothing of substance comes out of their mouths. They don't want to rile the enemy, give him stuff to put on his bulletin board. That's another thing Cowher borrowed from Belichick. But it's as if we're all back in the 11th grade. Where's Lee Flowers when we need him?

It's not going to be what is said during the week that decides the game on Sunday.

Sorry, but I take a different approach than most. I think if the Steelers lose on Sunday, it will be a huge disappointment, for them and their fans. The season may be remembered as a delightful one that caught everyone unexpected, like 1989 was. What, you don't remember 1989?

But who said they're going to lose? The Steelers are better than the Patriots, proved it during the season, proved it when they met straight up. If people did not know the Patriots had won two of the three previous Super Bowls, few would doubt the Steelers would win this game.

Didn't the Patriots lose at Miami when the Dolphins were as down as they had been all season?

One final thought on the Jets game. The Steelers overcame an interception return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown and still beat a good team in a low-scoring game. That doesn't happen often.

Remember, Duce Staley is healthy again and running as he did before his injury. He and Jerome Bettis should get a healthy dose of carries against the Patriots, especially if they get a lead.