Whence comes the stranger? "Renegade" . . . Iron City Beer

First off, my son's arm is recovering remarkably well.  I thank you all for your concern about his injury.  He is a tough kid (he gets that from his mother) and I am very proud of him.  The injury looks awful, and it must feel worse, but he hasn't complained a bit.

And if you think THAT is bad, the 2012 Steelers defense has been WORSE.  Through three games, blaring renditions of "Renegade" have been mostly denied.  Even the Oakland-freaking-Raiders scored on their final five consecutive possessions against the Steelers scoring 3 TDs and 2 FGs.  The Oakland-freaking-Raiders, who have struggled to score a meager 33 points combined in their 3 games against other opponents, put up 34 against the Steelers.  One word: unacceptable.

The good news out of Pittsburgh is that James Harrison and Troy Polamalu are expected to play next Sunday when the Steelers (1-2) host the Philadelphia Eagles (3-1) at 1 p.m.  However, Steeler Nation has to wonder if it will be enough, as the lack of defense is not Pittsburgh's only problem.  Stupid penalties and sloppy turnovers also contributed to the Steelers' demise in Oakland.  Consider the following:


-- Antonio Brown had 70+ yard punt return for a TD in the second quarter called back for a penalty that would have put Pittsburgh up 21-7 at the time.

-- A fumble by Isaac Redman gave The Pirates of Oakland possession inside the Steelers' 30-yard line with a few minutes to go before half-time (and of course, the Raiders scored as a result).

-- On that drive, Oakland had a 4th and 2 near the 7-yard line and managed to draw Pittsburgh offsides to get the 1st down.  It was the oldest and lamest trick in the book--and should have been anticipated.  The Steelers could have easily been up 24-7 at the half.

-- With a 31-28 lead and 11 minutes to go in the game, Antonio Brown hauled in a big pass reception in Oakland territory and then FUMBLED.


Another player expected back is running back Rashard Mendenhall.  I honestly thought Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer would have rendered "Flashdance Mendenhall" an after thought, but both have been unimpressive through the first three weeks.  Welcome back Rashard!  In the meantime, the Steelers are wasting a terrific start to the season by Big Ben, who has thrown for over 900 yards, 8 TDs and only 1 INT in just three games.

To help me cope with the aforementioned problems, the Steeler Face has fortunately located a grocery store in the Cincinnati metropolitan area that carries Iron City Beer.  I bought the last four six-packs on the shelf at Jungle Jim's in Eastgate.  It should be noted that this is the first time the Steeler Face has had access to Iron City Beer since the 2008 season.

Reinforcements at the check-out counter

Steelers/Eagles Forecast:
Despite the likely return of Harrison, Polamalu and Mendenhall, the ugly loss in Oakland makes it hard to justify picking the Steelers to win anything.  However, that is when Pittsburgh usually surprises us.  Therefore, I'll take the Steelers in an upset over the Eagles: 26-16.  The Steeler Face is 0-3 predicting the Steelers this year and 10-9 all-time.

Hall of Fame:
The Steelers have a nice group of NFL Hall of Fame candidates next year, including Jerome Bettis, Bill Cowher, Jeff Hartings, Kevin Greene, and Gary Anderson.  Can Iron City Beer get a nomination as well?