The Penn State community once again finds itself united; united in profound sorrow and despair.
A ten week surreal nightmare, the likes of which we dared never imagine has dealt its cruelest blow yet. The untimely death of the man we affectionately call JoePa, Coach Joseph Vincent Paterno.
The doctors say he died of lung cancer and clinically speaking that’s likely true. And yet most who truly knew him believe he died of a broken heart. The exact reasons for that heartbreak are now between Paterno and his creator and I will not debate them in this blog.
Ten weeks ago we mourned a spiritual death; the death of Paterno’s legacy. Today we mourn his actual passing. Both seemed indestructible; a rare constant in an ever changing universe, before November 10th, 2011.
Let me start with this; if you believe that Paterno engaged in a carefully orchestrated cover-up of sexual assault against children you should probably stop reading this column. If that truly is your belief than you likely are unwilling to see beyond it; notwithstanding a lack of any facts to collaborate that position. As the great Walter Payton said upon announcing his terminal illness, “For those who will say what they are going to say, may G-d have mercy on your soul.”
If you believe that Paterno was a good and decent person; a man who spent six decades trying to do right and likely made one horribly flawed decision than by all means read on. If you believe that good people can make terrible mistakes when put in situations beyond their comprehension, you may understand my grief and that of hundreds of thousands of proud Penn Staters.
Excepting a five second, passing conversation in 1991, I never met Joe Paterno. And yet I mourn for him as I would a member of my own family. The emotions are real and undeniable. And I assure you I’m not alone.
As former Nittany Lion Adam Taliferro so eloquently stated yesterday, Penn State has lost its heart. Joe Paterno was quite simply the heart and soul of our community. And with his death, our hearts are truly broken. There will never be another Paterno or anyone like him. There will never be another relationship like the one between Paterno and Penn State. I do not expect those outside of that relationship to understand it. I hope they have the decency to at least respect it.
I wrote this a few weeks back and it bears repeating. Penn State is a massive extended family. Our family has hundreds of thousands of members. It stretches across years and decades and thousands of miles. We are incredibly broad and diverse, different in so many ways. The one thing that binds us is an undying love of The Pennsylvania State University.
Understand this, whatever you may think of him right now, Joe Paterno was the patriarch of our family. He was quite literally the physical embodiment of this place we hold so sacred. His death is a death to our entire family. For that we mourn.
Some people cannot fathom Penn State football without Paterno. I cannot fathom Penn State University without him. As I sit here today I cannot believe he is gone any more than I can accept the callous indifference with which he was discarded. As his wife so simply and accurately stated, after 61 years he deserved better.
There is nothing more than I can add about the horrific scandal that ended his career and perhaps his life. It’s been analyzed, debated, and scrutinized. Questions have been asked and for the most part not answered. We may never know the whole truth. We may never truly know if Paterno enabled these horrific crimes or was served up as a sacrificial lamb to a blood thirsty public and media. As always the truth is likely somewhere in between.
History will ultimately pass judgment on the life of Joe Paterno. That history is still being written, for better or sadly for worse.
And it is irrelevant today.
Today we mourn the loss of a good man. Not a perfect man by any means but then he never claimed to be. I believe in my heart that this man tried to live a profoundly decent life. As I listen to the overwhelming tributes from virtually everyone who knew him, I am more and more convinced this is true.
We do not really know what he knew or did not know in 2002. And sadly now we may never know. We do not know what motivated his action or worse perhaps his inaction. All I can say is what I said last week; the idea that Joe Paterno willfully ignored the sexual abuse of children is in categorical opposition to the way he lived his entire life. I simply refuse to accept it without proof; not with this man’s track record.
If that makes me naïve or an enabler I will live with the charge. It is easy to rise upon a pedestal and pass sanctimonious judgments without facts. It is harder to open your heart, to try and truly understand. To ask the question of why virtually everyone whose life has been touched by this man so reveres and respects him. Perhaps because real life is complex; perhaps because the story is not so simple as many choose to believe.
I am remiss to use the word tragedy in the context of sports. Tragedy is about life and death; not about athletic competition. But it is absolutely a tragedy if a man who gave so much of himself to so many, is remembered first and foremost for crimes he neither perpetrated nor witnessed. It is a tragedy if this scandal, to whatever extent he is culpable caused his death. And you can add me to the long list of people who believe that is exactly what happened.
It just seems far too much a coincidence that such a strong and vibrant human being succumbed to death only ten weeks after his life was torn asunder. I cannot even fathom how painful it would be to devote your entire life to building something; a program, an image, and ideal, and then having it irrevocably destroyed in the span of four days. I know how devastating this has been for me; for all of us in the Penn State community. It terrifies me to think how painful this must have been for Paterno.
I understand that this scandal made his position untenable. That does not make it right that a man who spent 60 years of his life coaching, teaching, mentoring, and impacting young people was sacrificed to a blood thirsty public. Not when so many others bare as much or great burden in this terrible tragedy. Not when the ultimate villain in this horror appears less reviled publically than Paterno.
Unless and until somebody proves to me that Joe Paterno deliberately covered up sexual abuse of children I will stand behind this belief; a person with his track record deserves and in fact demands the presumption of innocence. At the very least he deserved his day in court, a day he now will never get.
If and when it is proven that he participated in an orchestrated cover-up of child sexual abuse, his legacy will be indefensible at any level. Until that happens, I will maintain that a good and decent human was taken down for a terrible mistake. I will never believe without proof otherwise that he acted with malice at the expense of innocent children, because his entire life stands for just the opposite.
I am truly saddened by the passing of this man whose influence was so profound for so many. And I am angry that I have to justify my emotions. That is the greatest tragedy here. If not for this scandal we would without hesitation celebrate his life while mourning his death. Instead we are forced to temper our emotions lest they be construed as empathizing with the abuse of children. For what seems the thousandth time, we all recognize the horror of what occurred here. The children are the only real victims of the scandal. At least until yesterday.
I hope that even Paterno’s staunchest critics will take a moment to mourn his passing. Even those who believe the worst of him in this situation must recognize who this man was and what he lived for. If you are so sure of his guilt that forgiveness is impossible, at least take a moment to grieve for his soul. He’s earned that much from all of us.
I hope the rest of us will grieve a remarkable yet simple man whose primarily goal in life seemed to be as simple as “make an impact.” He impacted more lives than most of us dare dream
Rest in peace coach Paterno. We will never see another like you.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Joe Paterno’s Best Case Legacy
In the two months plus since the horrifying Jerry Sandusky accusations became front page news, I have pleaded with the masses to withhold judgment on Penn State until all of the facts were made public.
To be clear, I have excluded Sandusky himself from that request. Legally he is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and as an unabashed believer in the American system of jurisprudence I hope he gets it...in the courtroom only. Personally I am not willing to offer such open minded leniency to a man currently facing no fewer than ten unrelated charges of vile sexual acts against children.
I recognized that it is at best inconsistent and at worst hypocritical to condemn Sandusky while pleading for patience in regards to others. So be it. We live in a world of shades of gray, no matter how much people demand black and white perspectives and solutions. And I remain steadfast in my belief that we must have irrefutable proof before we condemn those peripheral to the crimes in a conspiracy to cover-up and defraud.
I put at the top of this list Mr. Joseph Vincent Paterno.
I do so not out of some blind loyalty to the man we call JoePa or out of divine worship or deification of a football coach. I do so because a man who spent 60 years of his life teaching, mentoring, and coaching young people; a man who gave back to his university and his community with shocking generosity; a man who by all accounts has lived a profoundly decently life deserves and in fact demands the presumption of innocence.
The idea that Joe Paterno turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children in order to protect his football program is in categorical opposition to how he lived his life. This is the issue I have struggled to reconcile from day one and I’m simply not willing to accept it at face value. That does not mean he did not do so; right now we simply do not know. It does mean that he has earned some benefit of the doubt and the right to have such charges proven; especially given that at least two people above him are facing prosecution for perjury.
So I’ve waited patiently for Joe’s side of the story. I’ve hoped beyond hope that he would say something to change or clarify the prevailing sentiment that he was a full out enabler of this horrific scandal. To be clear; I had little or no idea of what that might be, although an honest bearing of his soul would be a start.
Well Paterno has now spoken and this is what we are left with: The best case scenario seems to be a grievous error in judgment and/or horrific inaction with tragic consequences. The worst case scenario…well I still don’t want to think about it. There is nothing in Joe’s statements that can or will change the prevailing sentiment that he did the minimum required; in a situation that demanded the maximum.
I’ve tried over the last two months to divorce myself emotionally and look at this situation with some degree of objectivity. And I have failed, miserably. I find myself even to this moment desperately mapping a path to Joe’s exoneration. My mind is willing to throw anyone else involved under the bus to reach this conclusion; Curley, Schultz, McQuearry, Spanier, even the board of trustees. All are likely complicit to some degree but I feel no overriding need to defend them as I do Paterno and Penn State. That point in and of itself calls my objectivity thoroughly in to question.
I want so much to say that one bad, even horrific lapse in judgment should not outweigh 60 years of good. I want to believe that others around Paterno failed him more than he failed them. To me it seems perfectly rational that Paterno was forced in to a situation beyond his comprehension and he took what he considered to be a suitable course; letting others around him take responsibility.
Just as it seemed perfectly reasonable to San Francisco baseball fans that Barry Bonds becoming a human steroid freak should not impugn his legacy or his home run record. I labeled their defiant defense of Bonds with one word…denial.
I do not doubt that most of the world sees the Penn State community as being very much in denial. I don’t have to doubt it, the media and blogosphere crystalize it in every related story. The phrase, “They just don’t get it,” is all but required prose for anybody viewing this scandal outside the blue and white veil.
Let me make this as clear as possible; we do get it. From day one I have said that the children are the only true victims of this scandal. They and only they deserve your sympathy, prayers and support. They and only they deserve full accountability from anybody who directly or tacitly enabled this tragedy.
Yes we are biased; perhaps to such a degree that we are incapable of rending an honest judgment. At the same time, we are not willing to concede the high ground to those who consider themselves morally superior; lash out with hyperbole, or condemn with a broad brush. I simply cannot abide those who rise upon their pedestal to blame an entire university, alumni base, or even its football team for the heinous actions of one man and the poor decisions or inaction of a few others.
It’s been driven home repeatedly that Penn State or “the Penn State way” (whatever that is) enabled Sandusky; a perspective I staunchly denounce. Penn State or “the Penn State way” reflects millions of people; most of whom live their lives with honor and integrity. I will concede only that a few people in power failed miserably in their obligation to act. Why they did so is between them and their creator.
Penn State is much greater than those few people. And that includes, to whatever degree he’s ultimately complicit, Joe Paterno.
For now, I’ve made peace with the following short-term compromise. I accept that a decent human being made a terrible mistake. I do not believe he did so with direct intention or malice but that is irrelevant in consideration of the consequences.
I will accept that this is undeniably part of his legacy and that he must answer for his action or worse yet inaction. At the same time, I refuse to directly offset six decades of good; 60 years of giving more of himself than most of us could ever imagine by one awful decision. Not when he neither witnessed nor perpetrated the crime. I still maintain that Jerry Sandusky is the ultimate criminal and demon in this situation; a fact that far too many have willfully forgotten.
That’s my compromise, at least as of today. It’s flawed, biased, perhaps even irrational. I’m in no position to deny that. I’m far too close to this situation emotionally to remain objective.
My position however remains very much fluid. And what frightens me most after Paterno’s statements is that I can now conceive only of my perspective getting worse, not better. Paterno has officially set the “best case scenario” boundary for him and quite frankly it’s not all that great. Given his failing health and the magnitude of the scandal, it’s possible he will offer no greater defense.
The worst case scenario remains very much in play; he participated in a carefully orchestrated cover up to protect Penn State or his football program. When or if that is proven to be correct, the compromise I described above will be irrevocably destroyed, as will the entirety of Paterno’s legacy. At that point all those involved will be indefensible on any level. I cling to the hope, however thin that no such conspiracy exists; for the good of both Paterno and Penn State as a whole.
There is a significant defining lesson here; one I fear too many will miss in the crusade for blood lust. There is nothing worth compromising your ethics or integrity. There are often daunting short-term consequences for standing firmly behind your principles. Such consequences pail compared to the price of ignoring them
Joe Paterno has taught many lessons in the last 60 years. I hope this is not remembered as his last.
To be clear, I have excluded Sandusky himself from that request. Legally he is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and as an unabashed believer in the American system of jurisprudence I hope he gets it...in the courtroom only. Personally I am not willing to offer such open minded leniency to a man currently facing no fewer than ten unrelated charges of vile sexual acts against children.
I recognized that it is at best inconsistent and at worst hypocritical to condemn Sandusky while pleading for patience in regards to others. So be it. We live in a world of shades of gray, no matter how much people demand black and white perspectives and solutions. And I remain steadfast in my belief that we must have irrefutable proof before we condemn those peripheral to the crimes in a conspiracy to cover-up and defraud.
I put at the top of this list Mr. Joseph Vincent Paterno.
I do so not out of some blind loyalty to the man we call JoePa or out of divine worship or deification of a football coach. I do so because a man who spent 60 years of his life teaching, mentoring, and coaching young people; a man who gave back to his university and his community with shocking generosity; a man who by all accounts has lived a profoundly decently life deserves and in fact demands the presumption of innocence.
The idea that Joe Paterno turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children in order to protect his football program is in categorical opposition to how he lived his life. This is the issue I have struggled to reconcile from day one and I’m simply not willing to accept it at face value. That does not mean he did not do so; right now we simply do not know. It does mean that he has earned some benefit of the doubt and the right to have such charges proven; especially given that at least two people above him are facing prosecution for perjury.
So I’ve waited patiently for Joe’s side of the story. I’ve hoped beyond hope that he would say something to change or clarify the prevailing sentiment that he was a full out enabler of this horrific scandal. To be clear; I had little or no idea of what that might be, although an honest bearing of his soul would be a start.
Well Paterno has now spoken and this is what we are left with: The best case scenario seems to be a grievous error in judgment and/or horrific inaction with tragic consequences. The worst case scenario…well I still don’t want to think about it. There is nothing in Joe’s statements that can or will change the prevailing sentiment that he did the minimum required; in a situation that demanded the maximum.
I’ve tried over the last two months to divorce myself emotionally and look at this situation with some degree of objectivity. And I have failed, miserably. I find myself even to this moment desperately mapping a path to Joe’s exoneration. My mind is willing to throw anyone else involved under the bus to reach this conclusion; Curley, Schultz, McQuearry, Spanier, even the board of trustees. All are likely complicit to some degree but I feel no overriding need to defend them as I do Paterno and Penn State. That point in and of itself calls my objectivity thoroughly in to question.
I want so much to say that one bad, even horrific lapse in judgment should not outweigh 60 years of good. I want to believe that others around Paterno failed him more than he failed them. To me it seems perfectly rational that Paterno was forced in to a situation beyond his comprehension and he took what he considered to be a suitable course; letting others around him take responsibility.
Just as it seemed perfectly reasonable to San Francisco baseball fans that Barry Bonds becoming a human steroid freak should not impugn his legacy or his home run record. I labeled their defiant defense of Bonds with one word…denial.
I do not doubt that most of the world sees the Penn State community as being very much in denial. I don’t have to doubt it, the media and blogosphere crystalize it in every related story. The phrase, “They just don’t get it,” is all but required prose for anybody viewing this scandal outside the blue and white veil.
Let me make this as clear as possible; we do get it. From day one I have said that the children are the only true victims of this scandal. They and only they deserve your sympathy, prayers and support. They and only they deserve full accountability from anybody who directly or tacitly enabled this tragedy.
Yes we are biased; perhaps to such a degree that we are incapable of rending an honest judgment. At the same time, we are not willing to concede the high ground to those who consider themselves morally superior; lash out with hyperbole, or condemn with a broad brush. I simply cannot abide those who rise upon their pedestal to blame an entire university, alumni base, or even its football team for the heinous actions of one man and the poor decisions or inaction of a few others.
It’s been driven home repeatedly that Penn State or “the Penn State way” (whatever that is) enabled Sandusky; a perspective I staunchly denounce. Penn State or “the Penn State way” reflects millions of people; most of whom live their lives with honor and integrity. I will concede only that a few people in power failed miserably in their obligation to act. Why they did so is between them and their creator.
Penn State is much greater than those few people. And that includes, to whatever degree he’s ultimately complicit, Joe Paterno.
For now, I’ve made peace with the following short-term compromise. I accept that a decent human being made a terrible mistake. I do not believe he did so with direct intention or malice but that is irrelevant in consideration of the consequences.
I will accept that this is undeniably part of his legacy and that he must answer for his action or worse yet inaction. At the same time, I refuse to directly offset six decades of good; 60 years of giving more of himself than most of us could ever imagine by one awful decision. Not when he neither witnessed nor perpetrated the crime. I still maintain that Jerry Sandusky is the ultimate criminal and demon in this situation; a fact that far too many have willfully forgotten.
That’s my compromise, at least as of today. It’s flawed, biased, perhaps even irrational. I’m in no position to deny that. I’m far too close to this situation emotionally to remain objective.
My position however remains very much fluid. And what frightens me most after Paterno’s statements is that I can now conceive only of my perspective getting worse, not better. Paterno has officially set the “best case scenario” boundary for him and quite frankly it’s not all that great. Given his failing health and the magnitude of the scandal, it’s possible he will offer no greater defense.
The worst case scenario remains very much in play; he participated in a carefully orchestrated cover up to protect Penn State or his football program. When or if that is proven to be correct, the compromise I described above will be irrevocably destroyed, as will the entirety of Paterno’s legacy. At that point all those involved will be indefensible on any level. I cling to the hope, however thin that no such conspiracy exists; for the good of both Paterno and Penn State as a whole.
There is a significant defining lesson here; one I fear too many will miss in the crusade for blood lust. There is nothing worth compromising your ethics or integrity. There are often daunting short-term consequences for standing firmly behind your principles. Such consequences pail compared to the price of ignoring them
Joe Paterno has taught many lessons in the last 60 years. I hope this is not remembered as his last.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
One Day – Two Seasons End
With all due respect to David Volek and Alfred Pupunu, Sunday January 8th, 2012 may very well go down as one of the worst days in Pittsburgh sports history. In one day, two championship dreams came crashing down.
The painfully obvious, in your face case was the Steelers who lost on a stunning 80 yard touchdown pass in overtime to the woefully mediocre Denver Broncos. The more subtle case was the Pittsburgh Penguins who accumulated two more critical long-term injury losses to their already decimated line-up.
The common denominator in both cases is injuries; to an almost unfathomable degree.
In the case of the Penguins, we are now in season two of the most crushing rash of injuries I’ve ever seen in sports. As I write, the Pens are without the best player in the world, one of the best offensive defensemen in the game, their leading goal scorer, the best third line center in the game and several key depth players. The truly frightening part is that I cannot say definitively whether this is worse than the injuries that cost them Crosby and Malkin last spring.
The Steelers injuries were nearly as significant by the time they reached halftime in Denver. They played without their leading rusher, their all pro center, two starting defensive linemen and their starting free safety. Add to that an obviously hobbled Ben Roethlisberger behind center and Lamar Woodley on defense. The losses on the defensive line were particularly daunting and resulted in little or no pass rush against the living legend that is Tim Tebow.
Truth be told if the Steelers played any other team in football we might be lauding them for a heroic effort, especially in their 4th quarter comeback. Alas, since they played potentially the worst NFL team to ever make the post season (or a close second to Seattle last year) there will be quite a bit of offseason angst in the Burgh.
The Steelers are officially done. There will be no return trip to the Super Bowl; no chance to avenge either Baltimore or Green Bay this post season. We will not see them play a meaningful game again until September and the team will likely look a fair bit different. Several veterans including the venerable Hines Ward are likely to be gone due to age, salary cap or both.
The Penguins maintain some hope but are very much in survival mode. They need to revert to last spring’s agonizing philosophy of grinding out low scoring wins (or pathetic as it is overtime losses) in any way possible. The lone positive consideration on that front is a healthy Geno Malkin (although it’s hard to take health as a given at the New Energy Barn these days). The bad news is the Pens grinders are a step down from last year and the team is missing at least one critical defensive piece in Kris Letang.
Right now it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that the Penguins will be spectators when the NHL playoffs start in April. Their current line-up is simply not good enough to compete with the better teams in the eastern conference. And if today’s injury update is to be believed, there is no real help coming for at least a month, if not longer.
The reversal of fortune for Pittsburgh’s two signature sports teams is absolutely stunning, especially when you consider where we were at this time a year ago.
The Steelers had just wrapped up another 12 win season with division title and first round bye. They were on their way to a third Super Bowl in six years and were absolutely capable of winning. The Penguins were coming off a 12 game win streak, a record setting performance by Sidney Crosby, and an awe inspiring 8-1 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Our only hockey concern, and it was minor, was a “mild concussion” Crosby suffered that was expected to keep him out a week or two.
By the end of the day February 5th the Steelers had handed Green Bay the Super Bowl and the Pens were a rudderless ship without their two signature superstars. And it’s been all downhill since.
I make no bones that Pittsburgh sports fans have been spoiled rotten, at least if you ignore the abomination that plays all summer at PNC Park. Since 2004 the Steelers have arguably been the best team in football. Similar arguments could be made for the Penguins since about 2007. Both teams have delivered championships in stirring fashion.
We’ve benefitted from great organizations, superstar players, and an abundance of leadership and heart. The Penguins and Steelers earned their success and made their own breaks. But let’s be honest, there is always an element of luck when you win a championship. Whether it’s a missed field goal by normally reliable kicker or a lucky ping pong ball in a draft lottery, the black and gold in both sports have definitely gotten a break or two.
And right now I cannot help but wonder if that luck is finally changing. How can I not when Penguins and Steelers are being dragged off their respective playing fields in record numbers?
In the case of the Steelers it is at least somewhat explainable.
The quarterback acts weekly as a human target. I have unwavering respect for Ben’s ability and his toughness but it seems only a matter of time before he breaks down from the pounding he takes. The fact is the Steelers’ championship window lasts only as long as Big Ben’s prime and his prime gets shortened every time he gets creamed.
The defense is clearly showing its age. I give these guys immense credit for being warriors and true professionals. I’ve been bemoaning their aging for three years and they’ve done a phenomenal job of holding off father time. Alas it was bound to catch up to them eventually. It was hard not to notice both the inability to create turnovers this year and the increasing number of injuries to key defensive players; culminating with Hampton and Keisel suffering non-contact injuries today.
Losing today, in combination with significant oncoming salary cap issues may finally force changes on the defensive side of the ball. That may even include Dick Lebeau’s retirement. Of course cutting ties with the older guys is the easy part. Finding adequate replacements for players of this caliber is a whole different story.
On the Penguins’ side the injury bug is simply dumbfounding. There is no logical or reasonable explanation for it. And the ramifications are impossible to overlook.
The Sidney Crosby situation is untenable and cannot continue in perpetuity. The team cannot continue to operate having no idea when or if its best player will return; especially at $8.7 Million per year (and soon to increase). The Pens showed remarkable character and resiliency without Sid and Geno last year but I really believe the uncertainty of Crosby’s situation is starting to drag them down. The players just seemed to lose their edge when Sid bowed out for a second time. And Ray Shero has no cap room or free cash flow to address the resulting deficiencies.
I stated this over the summer and I know its absolute blasphemy but the Penguins need to determine whether Sidney Crosby can continue to be part of their future. The idea of trading Crosby may seem inconceivable on every level; but that ideal is based on Sid the healthy superstar. We are getting a free preview right now of how bad it could get if Sid struggles with concussion issues the remainder of his career.
That’s what is so disturbing about this. A year ago the Penguins’ future was as sure a bet as anything in professional sports. Now it is a perfectly logical consideration that the greatest player of this generation may be on the Eric Lindros road to career annihilation. The Pens have built every aspect of their organization around the idea of having a perfect one-two combination of superstars for the next decade. Right now that once certain ideal is very much in doubt.
I did not expect the Steelers’ season would end in Denver but I did not dismiss the possibility. There has been since opening day a troubling uncertainty around this club, even after a 12 win season. I freely admit I had doubts they were truly championship caliber.
Still, I figured even in the worst case scenario I could at least transfer my hopes to the Penguins. Now I’m not even sure of that. The calendar says January but it’s quite possible their season also ended today.
The painfully obvious, in your face case was the Steelers who lost on a stunning 80 yard touchdown pass in overtime to the woefully mediocre Denver Broncos. The more subtle case was the Pittsburgh Penguins who accumulated two more critical long-term injury losses to their already decimated line-up.
The common denominator in both cases is injuries; to an almost unfathomable degree.
In the case of the Penguins, we are now in season two of the most crushing rash of injuries I’ve ever seen in sports. As I write, the Pens are without the best player in the world, one of the best offensive defensemen in the game, their leading goal scorer, the best third line center in the game and several key depth players. The truly frightening part is that I cannot say definitively whether this is worse than the injuries that cost them Crosby and Malkin last spring.
The Steelers injuries were nearly as significant by the time they reached halftime in Denver. They played without their leading rusher, their all pro center, two starting defensive linemen and their starting free safety. Add to that an obviously hobbled Ben Roethlisberger behind center and Lamar Woodley on defense. The losses on the defensive line were particularly daunting and resulted in little or no pass rush against the living legend that is Tim Tebow.
Truth be told if the Steelers played any other team in football we might be lauding them for a heroic effort, especially in their 4th quarter comeback. Alas, since they played potentially the worst NFL team to ever make the post season (or a close second to Seattle last year) there will be quite a bit of offseason angst in the Burgh.
The Steelers are officially done. There will be no return trip to the Super Bowl; no chance to avenge either Baltimore or Green Bay this post season. We will not see them play a meaningful game again until September and the team will likely look a fair bit different. Several veterans including the venerable Hines Ward are likely to be gone due to age, salary cap or both.
The Penguins maintain some hope but are very much in survival mode. They need to revert to last spring’s agonizing philosophy of grinding out low scoring wins (or pathetic as it is overtime losses) in any way possible. The lone positive consideration on that front is a healthy Geno Malkin (although it’s hard to take health as a given at the New Energy Barn these days). The bad news is the Pens grinders are a step down from last year and the team is missing at least one critical defensive piece in Kris Letang.
Right now it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that the Penguins will be spectators when the NHL playoffs start in April. Their current line-up is simply not good enough to compete with the better teams in the eastern conference. And if today’s injury update is to be believed, there is no real help coming for at least a month, if not longer.
The reversal of fortune for Pittsburgh’s two signature sports teams is absolutely stunning, especially when you consider where we were at this time a year ago.
The Steelers had just wrapped up another 12 win season with division title and first round bye. They were on their way to a third Super Bowl in six years and were absolutely capable of winning. The Penguins were coming off a 12 game win streak, a record setting performance by Sidney Crosby, and an awe inspiring 8-1 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Our only hockey concern, and it was minor, was a “mild concussion” Crosby suffered that was expected to keep him out a week or two.
By the end of the day February 5th the Steelers had handed Green Bay the Super Bowl and the Pens were a rudderless ship without their two signature superstars. And it’s been all downhill since.
I make no bones that Pittsburgh sports fans have been spoiled rotten, at least if you ignore the abomination that plays all summer at PNC Park. Since 2004 the Steelers have arguably been the best team in football. Similar arguments could be made for the Penguins since about 2007. Both teams have delivered championships in stirring fashion.
We’ve benefitted from great organizations, superstar players, and an abundance of leadership and heart. The Penguins and Steelers earned their success and made their own breaks. But let’s be honest, there is always an element of luck when you win a championship. Whether it’s a missed field goal by normally reliable kicker or a lucky ping pong ball in a draft lottery, the black and gold in both sports have definitely gotten a break or two.
And right now I cannot help but wonder if that luck is finally changing. How can I not when Penguins and Steelers are being dragged off their respective playing fields in record numbers?
In the case of the Steelers it is at least somewhat explainable.
The quarterback acts weekly as a human target. I have unwavering respect for Ben’s ability and his toughness but it seems only a matter of time before he breaks down from the pounding he takes. The fact is the Steelers’ championship window lasts only as long as Big Ben’s prime and his prime gets shortened every time he gets creamed.
The defense is clearly showing its age. I give these guys immense credit for being warriors and true professionals. I’ve been bemoaning their aging for three years and they’ve done a phenomenal job of holding off father time. Alas it was bound to catch up to them eventually. It was hard not to notice both the inability to create turnovers this year and the increasing number of injuries to key defensive players; culminating with Hampton and Keisel suffering non-contact injuries today.
Losing today, in combination with significant oncoming salary cap issues may finally force changes on the defensive side of the ball. That may even include Dick Lebeau’s retirement. Of course cutting ties with the older guys is the easy part. Finding adequate replacements for players of this caliber is a whole different story.
On the Penguins’ side the injury bug is simply dumbfounding. There is no logical or reasonable explanation for it. And the ramifications are impossible to overlook.
The Sidney Crosby situation is untenable and cannot continue in perpetuity. The team cannot continue to operate having no idea when or if its best player will return; especially at $8.7 Million per year (and soon to increase). The Pens showed remarkable character and resiliency without Sid and Geno last year but I really believe the uncertainty of Crosby’s situation is starting to drag them down. The players just seemed to lose their edge when Sid bowed out for a second time. And Ray Shero has no cap room or free cash flow to address the resulting deficiencies.
I stated this over the summer and I know its absolute blasphemy but the Penguins need to determine whether Sidney Crosby can continue to be part of their future. The idea of trading Crosby may seem inconceivable on every level; but that ideal is based on Sid the healthy superstar. We are getting a free preview right now of how bad it could get if Sid struggles with concussion issues the remainder of his career.
That’s what is so disturbing about this. A year ago the Penguins’ future was as sure a bet as anything in professional sports. Now it is a perfectly logical consideration that the greatest player of this generation may be on the Eric Lindros road to career annihilation. The Pens have built every aspect of their organization around the idea of having a perfect one-two combination of superstars for the next decade. Right now that once certain ideal is very much in doubt.
I did not expect the Steelers’ season would end in Denver but I did not dismiss the possibility. There has been since opening day a troubling uncertainty around this club, even after a 12 win season. I freely admit I had doubts they were truly championship caliber.
Still, I figured even in the worst case scenario I could at least transfer my hopes to the Penguins. Now I’m not even sure of that. The calendar says January but it’s quite possible their season also ended today.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Steelers Lose Focus on Big Ben’s Injury
Whatever you might think of Ben Roethlisberger as a quarterback, or a human being, you cannot question or deny his toughness.
I don’t have statistics to back this but I'm fairly sure Ben takes more hits than any quarterback in the NFL today (and maybe ever). He plays through injuries that would keep many players off the field and most human beings in the hospital for months. Broken bones, sprained ankles, concussions, even appendectomies cannot sideline Big Ben for long.
It’s a trait that rightfully earns him admiration and respect from me and throughout the Steeler Nation. Steeler fans like their players tough and nasty. There is a certain perverse pride we take in watching Ben beat down Baltimore, the same night his nose was massacred by Haloti Ngata. That is leadership in its purest form; leaving it all on the field when by all accounts he should be sitting in an ice bath.
Leadership is also knowing when to step aside. And it’s just as clear to me that Ben does not.
I have no issue with Ben’s blind spot; I just assume my star quarterback is a warrior and wants to play whenever it’s remotely possible. That makes it incumbent on those above him to take that decision out of his hands when necessary. For whatever reason, Mike Tomlin elected not to do so in two of the last three games. And the Steelers may ultimately pay for that decision this post season.
I understood, with some degree of reluctance, Tomlin’s decision to play Roethlisberger in San Francisco a few weeks back. The Steelers had a chance to move ahead of Baltimore and put themselves in position for a critical first round bye. Tomlin presumed the best way to accomplish that; against one of the best defenses in football, was with Big Ben behind center. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this even though hall of fame quarterback Steve Young clearly did not.
That said, once the Steelers fell behind 20-3 in the 4th quarter, keeping Ben in the game as an immobile human target was simply asinine. I’m a huge Tomlin fan and I can say it was bar none his worst decision as head coach of the Steelers. There was absolutely no conceivable reason for keeping Ben in that game at that point. The decision was a product of typical NFL bravado between coach and quarterback.
Big Ben survived the Monday night beat down, no worse but certainly no better for ware. After that, I genuinely hoped he would not see the field again until the playoffs and maybe not even the second round (presuming they Steelers could overcome the force of will and hope that apparently is Tim Tebow). No games, no practice, no nothing except healing his injury as much as possible. To me this is not even debatable. Not after watching Ben’s inability to walk down steps in week 16 or push off his foot in week 17, when he deemed himself 60% healthy.
This was not about conceding the division title to Baltimore and accepting life as a wild card. The Steelers are and were absolutely capable of beating both St ’Louis and Cleveland with Charlie Batch behind center. Batch is hardly a superstar but he’s an experienced quarterback and solid game manager with a reliable track record. He’s more than good enough to beat two of the worst teams in football. In fact, I think at 100% healthy he is a better option than Roethlisberger at 60%.
In contrast, the Steelers have little or no chance of winning at Baltimore or New England, let alone in the Super Bowl without a reasonably healthy Big Ben.
Given that reality, the entire focus of the organization should have been getting Roethlisberger as healthy as possible for the playoffs. There was no upside to playing Ben last weekend and as we now know, plenty of downside risk.
For whatever reason the Steelers have their own blind spot when it comes to Big Ben. They seem willing to let him play in almost all circumstances. Or perhaps Ben yields too much power over the organization and he ultimately dictates whether or not to play. There is enough historical evidence to make this a reasonable inference.
I was harshly critical of Bill Cowher for starting Roethlisberger twice in 2006 when he had no business being on the field. One could argue that he should have sat out half the season to recuperate from his motorcycle accident. Accepting that he did not, he certainly was nowhere near ready to play in week two against Jacksonville after an emergency appendectomy ten days earlier (on top of everything else). The Steelers were shut out in that game and Ben looked terrible.
A few weeks later Cowher trotted Roethlisberger out against Oakland seven days after his second concussion in five months (and other severe injuries from the crash). Roethlisberger was flat out awful in that game throwing five interceptions. He was the primary reason the Steelers lost to a terrible Raiders team.
Is it a coincidence that two extremely successful, secure, and hard nose coaches have both given in to Ben’s desire to play even when he clearly should not? Or was it ultimately not their decision.
Such considerations are hardly unprecedented in Pittsburgh sports. In 1993 the Penguins skated the best team in their history and quite possibly one of the best of the post expansion era. They were making a mockery of the National Hockey League right up to the day Mario Lemieux was shockingly diagnosed with cancer.
Le Magnifique spent six weeks enduring radiation treatments and heroically returned to the line-up the day of his last session. He and the Pens then went full throttle over the remainder of the season both to set regular season win records and get Lemieux an incomprehensible scoring title. That decision yielded some of the greatest and most exciting hockey any of us have or ever will see. Lemieux blew past Pat Lafontaine to win the scoring title and MVP; one of the most remarkable achievements in NHL history.
Remarkable, misguided, and short sighted.
Lemieux was coming back from CANCER TREATMENTS. His primary focus as an athlete should have been getting healthy for the playoffs. He could not or did not want to accept his limitations in that moment; hardly a shocking revelation given an athlete who often appeared superhuman on the ice. It was up to the Penguins to have a broader perspective.
I believe to this day that Lemieux ran out of gas in those playoffs; a consideration supported by Lemieux barely playing the next two years. The net result was a horrific defeat to a vastly inferior New York Islander squad. It cost the Pens a third straight cup and rightful recognition as a dynasty.
The entire organization, including legendary head coach Scotty Bowman took its eye off the ball. They caved in to Lemieux’s short-term desire to play much as Tomlin and Cowher did with Ben. And let’s not kid ourselves; they did so because Mario Lemieux called the shots at the Igloo long before he became a shareholder of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In that case, it was to the ultimate detriment of his team.
I fear we are reliving that scenario with Ben Roethlisberger. This Steeler team is not, relatively speaking, as good as the ’93 Pens but they are absolutely a Super Bowl contender. A Super Bowl championship should be the unquestioned goal and that is highly unlikely in Roethlisberger’s current state of health.
Look, Ben’s health issues may be inevitable this post season. He suffered a severe ankle sprain which will likely take weeks or longer to heal. There is a better than average chance even under the full rest scenario that he is hampered throughout the playoffs. I get that. And I understand the rust from inactivity argument as well.
And I don’t care.
It was a bad decision plain and simple, by an organization that gets it right far more often than not. It was a loss of focus on the ultimate goal; a loss of focus might very well cost the black and gold a shot at a 7th Lombardi Trophy.
I don’t have statistics to back this but I'm fairly sure Ben takes more hits than any quarterback in the NFL today (and maybe ever). He plays through injuries that would keep many players off the field and most human beings in the hospital for months. Broken bones, sprained ankles, concussions, even appendectomies cannot sideline Big Ben for long.
It’s a trait that rightfully earns him admiration and respect from me and throughout the Steeler Nation. Steeler fans like their players tough and nasty. There is a certain perverse pride we take in watching Ben beat down Baltimore, the same night his nose was massacred by Haloti Ngata. That is leadership in its purest form; leaving it all on the field when by all accounts he should be sitting in an ice bath.
Leadership is also knowing when to step aside. And it’s just as clear to me that Ben does not.
I have no issue with Ben’s blind spot; I just assume my star quarterback is a warrior and wants to play whenever it’s remotely possible. That makes it incumbent on those above him to take that decision out of his hands when necessary. For whatever reason, Mike Tomlin elected not to do so in two of the last three games. And the Steelers may ultimately pay for that decision this post season.
I understood, with some degree of reluctance, Tomlin’s decision to play Roethlisberger in San Francisco a few weeks back. The Steelers had a chance to move ahead of Baltimore and put themselves in position for a critical first round bye. Tomlin presumed the best way to accomplish that; against one of the best defenses in football, was with Big Ben behind center. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this even though hall of fame quarterback Steve Young clearly did not.
That said, once the Steelers fell behind 20-3 in the 4th quarter, keeping Ben in the game as an immobile human target was simply asinine. I’m a huge Tomlin fan and I can say it was bar none his worst decision as head coach of the Steelers. There was absolutely no conceivable reason for keeping Ben in that game at that point. The decision was a product of typical NFL bravado between coach and quarterback.
Big Ben survived the Monday night beat down, no worse but certainly no better for ware. After that, I genuinely hoped he would not see the field again until the playoffs and maybe not even the second round (presuming they Steelers could overcome the force of will and hope that apparently is Tim Tebow). No games, no practice, no nothing except healing his injury as much as possible. To me this is not even debatable. Not after watching Ben’s inability to walk down steps in week 16 or push off his foot in week 17, when he deemed himself 60% healthy.
This was not about conceding the division title to Baltimore and accepting life as a wild card. The Steelers are and were absolutely capable of beating both St ’Louis and Cleveland with Charlie Batch behind center. Batch is hardly a superstar but he’s an experienced quarterback and solid game manager with a reliable track record. He’s more than good enough to beat two of the worst teams in football. In fact, I think at 100% healthy he is a better option than Roethlisberger at 60%.
In contrast, the Steelers have little or no chance of winning at Baltimore or New England, let alone in the Super Bowl without a reasonably healthy Big Ben.
Given that reality, the entire focus of the organization should have been getting Roethlisberger as healthy as possible for the playoffs. There was no upside to playing Ben last weekend and as we now know, plenty of downside risk.
For whatever reason the Steelers have their own blind spot when it comes to Big Ben. They seem willing to let him play in almost all circumstances. Or perhaps Ben yields too much power over the organization and he ultimately dictates whether or not to play. There is enough historical evidence to make this a reasonable inference.
I was harshly critical of Bill Cowher for starting Roethlisberger twice in 2006 when he had no business being on the field. One could argue that he should have sat out half the season to recuperate from his motorcycle accident. Accepting that he did not, he certainly was nowhere near ready to play in week two against Jacksonville after an emergency appendectomy ten days earlier (on top of everything else). The Steelers were shut out in that game and Ben looked terrible.
A few weeks later Cowher trotted Roethlisberger out against Oakland seven days after his second concussion in five months (and other severe injuries from the crash). Roethlisberger was flat out awful in that game throwing five interceptions. He was the primary reason the Steelers lost to a terrible Raiders team.
Is it a coincidence that two extremely successful, secure, and hard nose coaches have both given in to Ben’s desire to play even when he clearly should not? Or was it ultimately not their decision.
Such considerations are hardly unprecedented in Pittsburgh sports. In 1993 the Penguins skated the best team in their history and quite possibly one of the best of the post expansion era. They were making a mockery of the National Hockey League right up to the day Mario Lemieux was shockingly diagnosed with cancer.
Le Magnifique spent six weeks enduring radiation treatments and heroically returned to the line-up the day of his last session. He and the Pens then went full throttle over the remainder of the season both to set regular season win records and get Lemieux an incomprehensible scoring title. That decision yielded some of the greatest and most exciting hockey any of us have or ever will see. Lemieux blew past Pat Lafontaine to win the scoring title and MVP; one of the most remarkable achievements in NHL history.
Remarkable, misguided, and short sighted.
Lemieux was coming back from CANCER TREATMENTS. His primary focus as an athlete should have been getting healthy for the playoffs. He could not or did not want to accept his limitations in that moment; hardly a shocking revelation given an athlete who often appeared superhuman on the ice. It was up to the Penguins to have a broader perspective.
I believe to this day that Lemieux ran out of gas in those playoffs; a consideration supported by Lemieux barely playing the next two years. The net result was a horrific defeat to a vastly inferior New York Islander squad. It cost the Pens a third straight cup and rightful recognition as a dynasty.
The entire organization, including legendary head coach Scotty Bowman took its eye off the ball. They caved in to Lemieux’s short-term desire to play much as Tomlin and Cowher did with Ben. And let’s not kid ourselves; they did so because Mario Lemieux called the shots at the Igloo long before he became a shareholder of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In that case, it was to the ultimate detriment of his team.
I fear we are reliving that scenario with Ben Roethlisberger. This Steeler team is not, relatively speaking, as good as the ’93 Pens but they are absolutely a Super Bowl contender. A Super Bowl championship should be the unquestioned goal and that is highly unlikely in Roethlisberger’s current state of health.
Look, Ben’s health issues may be inevitable this post season. He suffered a severe ankle sprain which will likely take weeks or longer to heal. There is a better than average chance even under the full rest scenario that he is hampered throughout the playoffs. I get that. And I understand the rust from inactivity argument as well.
And I don’t care.
It was a bad decision plain and simple, by an organization that gets it right far more often than not. It was a loss of focus on the ultimate goal; a loss of focus might very well cost the black and gold a shot at a 7th Lombardi Trophy.
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