The most amazing part about this victory is that Kordell lived to tell about it. He was on his backside, more than he was on his feet. I think this was about as gutsy a performance I have seen by a quarterback this year.
His numbers may not have been the best, but he was behind a depleted offensive line that worked their tails off just to survive.
Justin Strelczyk appeared to be manhandled all day long. But, he was once again out of his normal position due to the injury to Will Woolford. He was also hobbled by a sprained ankle, and inflammation of the knee. He didn't once ask to be taken out. This was another gutsy performance equal to Kordell's.
This was the first time in Stewart's young career in which he heard the boo birds. Unlike the local papers, I believe the cat calls were directed at the play calling. This is a city that is desperate to see Kordell unleashed. The ultra conservative play calling leaves a lot to be desired, and I for one, was booing as well on the comfort of my couch. These boo's were in no way directed at Kordell, rather it was at the lack of ingenuity the coordinator shows at times.
It was a good thing "The Bus" was in the garage on Sunday, as there weren't any holes to run through. Richard Huntley tried his best, but this was not a very glorious day for our O line. Hopefully Jerome is close to 100% for the very big Monday Nighter. Still, it wont do any good if the holes aren't there. Tim Lester had limited action on Sunday as well. I'm sure Cowher wanted to make sure he would be at full force against his mentor next week.
The main thing that concerns me at this time, is that all of the Steelers victories can be attributed to the play of the defense. Don't get me wrong, I love the play our defense has shown so far. I would match this team against anybody's. But, the offense has to step up and take some pressure off of these guys. Every defense deserves the opportunity to slack off during the course of a game. Levon's Legion hasn't been able to slack off for even one down. Maybe come January that will be a good thing. But it sure would be nice to have a big lead for a change.
This defense deserves it.
