Oh man. Tommy Maddox. Ouch.

[WilliamPitt]

When will Big Ben be healthy again?

Between this game and the Penn debacle, a bad weekend for Pennsylvania.

[Arkana]

1. I didn't see the game.

Did the Jags win? I saw them driving with about 1:40 left, then put on LOTR.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Catastrophic ending

The Steelers won the toss in overtime and ran it back to the Jags 26 on the kickoff...and then coughd up the ball. The Jags went four and out and punted. Maddox then threw an interception which got taken in for a game-winning score.

Maddox had three picks in the game, and threw for a whopping 154 yards. Hines Ward was out, too.

A mess.

[blue neen]

7. 3 picks AND a fumble.

It was sickening, disgusting, horrifying...you name it.

The most frustrating part of it all is that they did have another option to play quarterback--Charlie Batch. He played in the San Diego game on Monday night after Big Ben got hurt. Why did Cowher stick with Maddox when it was obvious after the very first series that he didn't have it?

My guess is that most of western PA is very drunk tonight. It was a painful day for us.

Now I'm off to watch the sports call-in shows. The callers will be fired up tonight!

[jobycom]

2. Sorry for ya. I've had a good weekend.

Astros, Cowboys, Longhorns.

[WilliamPitt]

4. I'm a Pats fan

but I can feel the Pennsylvania sting. My friend Dan is from Pittsburg and was ready to commit seppuku after the Penn game yesterday. I can only imagine his mindset after watching Maddox give the game away today.

[blue neen]

8. There was actually no time left on the clock when Michigan scored.

That was a very tough loss for Penn State. Ol' Joe Paterno must've aged 20 more years after that one.

[Hokie]

5. The Pittsburgh newsgroup is a violent place

Here is a sample:

"INTs & 1 fumble......


Tommy.....PLEASE.....put 6 hollow-points in a .357 tonight and pull the trigger
6 times while pointing in the mouth!!!!!


YOU STUPID, FAT, WORTHLESS MOTHER-F(edited)!!!!!"

The Steeler fans just take football way to seriously.

[Politically_Wrong]

10. nonsense...we're just...passionate...

Football is pretty much all we got in the 'Burgh...horrible baseball team...horrible hockey team (but then again...who likes hockey?)...

[Callalily]

6. I suspect it's a sad

day for Steelers fans. Sorry about the loss. Yeah, those last few minutes of the game were certainly

[Politically_Wrong]

9. I was shouting words I didn't even know I knew...

...I was very upset with Maddox's poor performance...but what can you do? I don't understand why everybody wanted to put Charlie Batch in...Would he have jumped off the bench and complete 75% of his passes with 3 touchdowns? Hell no! But that's what the fine people of Pittsburgh thought (yes even I thought that while the game was in progress)...Bill Cowher thought he was doing the right thing, and if a 15-1 coach makes crucial decisions (like keeping "Tommy Gun" in the game) I sure as hell ain't gonna disagree!

[RamboLiberal]

11. Cowher would probably love Dubya - they're both stubborn

and loyal to their people to a fault! I was pissed! Batch should've been in. Before last week's Monday night game Maddox was limping around on a calf injury (suffered that week) that was supposed to keep him out 3-4 weeks. Miracuosly he heals the day after Ben is injured. Batch was healthy. Why not give him the start and let Tommy back him up.

And why not pull Tommy after it was clear he was having a bad game. Batch should've started the 2nd half.

But no....I knew Cowher and his stubborness wouldn't!

IMHO Maddox's been washed up for the last 2+ seasons. We're just lucky he got hurt last season early or Ben would've probably rode the bench all season. That's also Cowher's style. Sometimes he lets rookies sit too damn long and is hesitant to pull some "favorite" players when they are not playing well.

Soon as I heard Maddox was playing I saw the exact scenario that would beat the Steelers. Maddox throwing interceptions in the flat that would be run back for touchdowns.

Cowher's a good coach, but he could use some flexibility. If he had that he might be a great coach.

[hasbro]

12. I terms of bullheadedness

Cowher can carry Dan Reeves jock. Not only did Maddox get him fired in Denver. He took him along to his next two coaching stops.

[timber84]

13. Ohh tell me more never heard this.

[hasbro]

14. It starts in 1992

Reeves throughout his career ran a "Big 10" offenseand never put talent around Elway (hence his sacked record.) After years of grumbling Elway went public and said he wanted a wide reciever or an O lineman in the draft. With the Broncos 1st rounder Reeves passed up Carl Pickens and John Fina to take Maddox.

Maddox had two years playing experiance at UCLA and Elway missed four games that year, where Maddox displayed a propensity for fumbling snaps.

The fued having boiled over and the Maddox selection being the sign post, Reeves got fired. After two years Maddox turns out to be a dud and Elway is nowhere near needing to get replaced, so Maddox got shipped to the Rams, who dump him after the year and then Reeves signs him as a free agent in New York and after he gets fired there takes him to training camp in Atlanta.

In the eyes of Bronco fans, nothing could have destroyed the credibility of the XFL more than Tommy Maddox being the MVP of the league.