It was painful to watch.

The worst part was the realization that the Steelers will watch post-season play from their living room couches for the third consecutive year. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The team had won 5 games in a row to give their fans the false hope of a turnaround season. Alas, it is not to be.

All facets of the game imploded in one fell swoop. It brought with it the reality that this is not a very good team.

There was plenty of blame to go around. The receivers couldn't catch, the offensive line couldn't block, the defense couldn't tackle, and the kicker couldn't make a 42 yarder to prolong the hope of a comeback. There were fumbles, interceptions, and enough big plays given up to last a season.

With all the praise Tim Lewis has garnered this year, you would figure he could find a way to counteract the running of Fred Taylor. Instead, he ran for 234 yards -- the most against the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 67-year history.

Usually when the team suffers a defeat as devastating as this, the fans are quick to put the blame on the QB play. Not on this day. Kordell Stewart actually had a pretty good game. He ran for 2 scores and added another through the air. If it wasn't for the 8 dropped passes by his wideouts, we might be singing praises to the team today.

Instead, we are once again mourning the loss of another season.

I'm sure the players feel they still have hope, but realistically it's not going to happen. They have home games left against the Redskins, and the Raiders, and they travel to Cincinnati, NY Giants, and San Diego. Even this week's Cincy game doesn't guarantee a victory. Coach Cowher is going to find it hard to keep his players mentally tough.

The only thing left to do this year, is find out what we have for the future. Plaxico Burress and Troy Edwards should return as the starters. They are definitely our future at WR, and they need as much experience as they can get.

It would be nice to see what Amos Zereoue can bring to the table as well. Richard Huntley and Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala are far too brittle to be every down backs. They should find out how durable Amos is.

I would like to see QB Tee Martin at some point as well. They should give him the last game in San Diego. I don't think they would consider giving him more than one start. Winning is still important. Just ask Baltimore, and the Jets. Even though they were out of the playoff hunt last year, they finished with a bang, and it carried over into this season.

That's what the Steelers have to try to accomplish. Find some positives to carry over into the off-season. In the meantime, I'm just going to wallow in self-pity and pray for a victory over the Bengals. That would help ease the pain a little.

by SteelerGil (November 20, 00)