Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Mark Humphrey/AP
Tennessee Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck walks on a Terrible Towel after dropping it on the ground in the final moments of the Titans' 31-14 win against the Steelers Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.
If the Steelers are fortunate enough to play the Tennessee Titans again in the AFC championship game Jan. 18, much will be made of the awful Terrible Towel desecration that took place Sunday at LP Field. Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck and running back LenDale White stomped on 'em. Defensive end Jevon Kearse wiped his nose with one. Yuck!
And Steelers Nation recoiled in horror.
Blasphemous, I tell you.
Sacrilegious, too.
"We won't forget it," Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend said after the Titans dispensed a frightful 31-14 licking.
Of course, they won't forget.
And if the Steelers beat the Titans in the rematch, they will say the Towel travesty gave them all the motivation they needed.
What a crock.
Like the chance to advance to Super Bowl XLIII isn't enough to get them going.
I'm thinking the Towel terror will have very little to do with the outcome of a rematch.
I'm also thinking the Steelers are good enough to beat the Titans the next time, that they still are the better team despite that smackdown Sunday.
But back to the Towel trauma for a moment ...
It's understandable why the Titans felt dissed coming into the game. They were 3 1/2-point underdogs despite having a better record and playing at home. Then, they had to take their field for their biggest game in years and see thousands of yellow Towels blowing in the icy Nashville breeze. "We came out of the locker room and got booed to a certain degree," said Titans safety Chris Hope, who once played for the Steelers and knows how their fans always find their way into a game, no matter the site.
So the Titans celebrated their big win.
"Anybody who comes through here in the playoffs, we plan to stomp them out," Bulluck said after doing his little look-at-me dance on a Towel. "That has to be our stand."
I admire that attitude.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Steelers," Bulluck added.
I believe that.
The Steelers know it, too.
That's why this Towel trashing will have no more impact than a similar Towel trashing did in the 2005 season. The Steelers didn't win their playoffs rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals because Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh had wiped his cleats on a Towel in their previous game. They won because defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen knocked out Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer on the second play, their defense sacked Palmer's replacement Jon Kitna four times and intercepted two passes and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes.
So it has to be in a rematch with the Titans.
The Steelers won't even have to take out Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins to win.
Their defense is capable of playing much better than it did Sunday. It didn't force a turnover after getting 10 in the three previous games. It allowed the ordinary Collins to have a 102.1 passer rating.
Certainly, Roethlisberger is capable of playing much better. He lost two fumbles -- one at the Titans' 1 in the first quarter with the game scoreless, the game's most telling play -- and threw two interceptions after going 130 passes without a pick.
Even the Steelers' sick running game is capable of playing better, although that wouldn't take much. I'll bet the house the Titans won't hold running back Willie Parker to 29 yards on 18 carries -- including nine for 0 or minus yards -- again even if they do get back injured starting defensive linemen Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch.
The point is the Titans played a near-perfect game Sunday, the Steelers a thoroughly rotten game.
I can see a different outcome the next time.
That's if there is a next time.
You want something to worry about? Worry about the Steelers' first playoff game Jan. 10 or 11 at Heinz Field. Worry if they have to play the San Diego Chargers, who, though 7-8, suddenly have the AFC West Division title in sight thanks to Denver's collapse, have won three games in a row and almost won at Heinz Field Nov. 16 when they weren't playing so well. Worry about the Indianapolis Colts, who have won eight in a row, have Peyton Manning and did win at Heinz Field Nov. 9 when they weren't nearly so hot. Even worry about the New England Patriots, who have won three consecutive games since the Steelers pasted them, 33-10, in Foxborough, Mass., Nov. 30 and know something about winning playoff games in Pittsburgh.
All of those teams are capable of beating the Steelers.
Maybe more capable than the underwhelming Titans.
And they didn't even terrorize the Towel.
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on December 23, 2008 at 12:00 am
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