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Well, it finally happened. The coaches that were spurned by the Steelers got a bit of revenge last week and gave the Steelers their first loss. The duo of Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm got to play their Super Bowl in September and came out on top. Good for them I guess. Unfortunately for Steelers fans, Mike Tomlin coached like it was just another game and the outlook between the two may have made the difference. That and the Steelers' need to kill themselves at least one time a year on special teams. Anyways, the sun rose the next day and time moves on. So shall we...

• Let's start with Nate Washington. He really had the opportunity to step up his play and make the difference in the game. Obviously, he went the other way. I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt on many issues but this past game borders on the unforgivable. Dropping passes is one thing but giving up on routes and not looking for passes is completely different. I guess the thing that bugs me the most though is just how good this guy could be. Seeing how easy it is for him to get open only to ease up on his speed, make dives at the wrong time or just flat out drop the ball when it gets to him is driving me a little nuts. I'm sure it isn't doing much for his coaches either. I won't say it's time to send him packing but it might be nice if he were pushed a bit with some additional use of Willie Reid. Competition has a way of making things work out. And as far as Nate's blocking goes...don't get me started. Hines Ward he is not.
• Another guy who I'm just about done with is Kendall Simmons. He plays the position like a speed bump, you slow down when you get to him but he's easy enough to go over and then you're clear to the QB. Chris Kemo-eat-u may not be the brightest bulb on the tree but at least he's not going to act as a revolving door into BenMart.
• Speaking of Mr. Roethlisberger, have you ever heard a guy play up his injuries like that guy does? The latest is a foot that he had stepped on. Sure, he's OK but c'mon, you don't need to advertise the fact. You think the O-linemen are thrilled to hear about Ben's feet while they look down at their own black and blue marked toes?
• I'm trying to stay as even keel as I can in regards to Mike Tomlin. I know it's early in the season and early into his career. That said, I'm really hoping that he learns very quickly the majestic art of using his challenges. When the Cards converted a key fourth down late in the game it sure appeared to me that he never made it far enough. At that moment of the game, a stop was very important and as close as it was, it might have been a golden opportunity to use his last challenge. Instead he passed on it and took it into the locker room with him along with his first loss. I bring this up because it hasn't been the first time that he has passed on a chance to use this tool and he has cost his team while doing it (or not doing it as is the case). Perhaps it is his man in the booth that isn't keeping him informed and if that's so, he should be washing jocks instead of deciding challenges. This is something that is worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses.
• I'm not one to second guess coaching decisions too often but I was left wondering about some late game decisions (besides the challenges) that Tomlin made. First off was the onside kick. Considering the percentages and how few times they work, wouldn't kicking it deep with your two timeouts have made more sense? The Cards were just going to kill clock and the Steelers run defense is normally pretty strong, especially when they know what's coming. That difference in field position was huge when the Steelers did in fact stop the Cards and get the ball back. The other decision I was wondering about was not calling his last timeout after second down. To me, the only thing you know is what is currently happening, you can't assume the future. What if the Cards threw an incomplete pass or ran out of bounds on third down? It's happened before. Instead, by letting the Cards run down the clock, Tomlin let Whis know when he would use his last time out and gave those 40 seconds away. It may have come out like that in the end anyways but why not stop the clock when you can in those situations? Overall, it wasn't a good day for Mike Tomlin.
• Nice job by the Cardinals stacking the box to shut down Willie Parker. Too bad our offense didn't (couldn't) adjust. I'm guessing that if Hines Ward were healthy, the Steelers would have felt more comfortable using short routes to pull the safeties away from the line. Nate, on the other hand, might just screw up a pattern so bad that the other guys might catch and return the short ball. His early "no look" back route was food for thought for coach Arians.
• I'm hearing Matt Spaeth will be back next week. Maybe then Ben won't feel he has to blow it past three defenders to get it to the TE down by the goal line. That pick was one of many killers.
• As it turned out, the Cards score on the punt return was the deciding margin. That just can't happen to a team that spends as much of their time practicing special teams as the Steelers do. Special teams coach Bob Ligashesky was brought in after posting some very iffy numbers in St. Louis the last two seasons so I'm hoping it was just a miscue that took place and not a pattern as far as this coach goes.
• Man, Allen Rossum didn't return a kick for a score this week; I want our draft pick back. (Over-reaction of the week)
• If there was any doubt that Santonio Holmes can handle number one receiver duties, I think he has put it to rest. His two TD plays were simply fantastic. Hmmm, so that's what a deep threat looks like.
• I lost count. How many third-and-a-mile plays did the Steelers offense face last week? I can't remember seeing that many before.
• The offensive line really needs to start picking it a bit. Even in the wins they have been allowing too much pressure on the QB. Now, their run blocking is slipping. There isn't much else to do besides run and pass block for a lineman. For those looking for players to watch during college games, just keep your eyes peeled for O-lineman. I would be amazed if they went in a different direction in round one.
• Speaking of the draft (surprise, right?) I recently saw that the latest mock draft from Great Blue North had the Steelers taking a corner. I saw a lot of that last year as well. I'm just wondering if any of these mockers have bothered to check out just how deep this team is at the position. They really have three starters on the roster (Ike, Deshea and McFadden) and then found ball hawk William Gay in the fifth round. I'm a financial professional by day and I have to tell you, that adds up to four, yes four good corners (no calculator used either!). I'm not even counting Rico Colclough in the mix either who would probably be starting for at least a couple of teams in the league.
• Here's a little prediction for the upcoming week or three. With McFadden out with a high ankle sprain, William Gay is going to see some time in the dime packages. This guy is just magnetically attracted to the ball so I will predict that he will add at least one turnover to his stat sheet. I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up in the end zone with it. Some guys are just that way and you can't teach it.
• The official word is that Troy Polamalu has a cartilage tear in his ribs and not an abdominal strain as first reported. Also the rumors of Troy having another issue that would have required a little Pepto have been found to be false. Good thing too, it wouldn't have looked good wearing yellow pants.
• A personal hope of mine is that the disaster by the goal line will finally encourage Tomlin to suit up his one short yardage running back on the roster, Gary Russell. If you don't think he would have made a difference check out some film of him in his college days. The guy just knows how to find the end zone. He's a lot like former Gopher teammate Marion Barber that way and look how well he's doing with the Cowboys. Just give him a chance Mike; I'm telling you, you won't be disappointed. And more importantly, we won't be disappointed.
• Laurence "Special Teammons" update: He's hitting the stat sheet! Add two penalties to his totals. Wow all that for only the 15th pick in the draft? What a deal!
• As a former member of the long snapper community I tend to pay a little extra attention to the position. One thing I've noticed and you might want to keep a look out for yourself is how often Greg Warren is one of the first guys down in coverage. Amazing.
• The more I see Carey Davis in the offense the more I like him as a special teamer.
• I understand that James Harrison is looking forward to his encounter this week with All Pro Walter Jones. I'm not sure what the results will be but I'm sure going to enjoy watching it. There's something about a mentally unbalanced OLB that makes watching football fun.

OK, I really need to get back to work so I'm going to wrap this up. Last week I didn't think the coaching match-up would have as much effect on the game as it did. I was wrong on that count. The Cards and their coaches just seemed to want it more. That's what worries me about this week. The Seahawks will be going to Pittsburgh which should give them the same feel as the Super Bowl two years ago (hello Terrible Towels!). To say that the ugly jerseyed ones from the land of Starbucks are still just a tad upset might be a bit of an understatement and you can be sure the coaches will use it against the Steelers. What remains to be seen is how well prepared the new coaches of the Steelers are for this. As always I don't make predictions but let's just say I have a very uncomfortable feeling about this game and Coach Tomlin's attitude towards the last "grudge" (at least for the other guys) match doesn't make me any more comfortable. If Holmgren just sticks to what was working in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago (short passes underneath) they could have some success. On the bright side though, I don't think Ben will come out as nervous in this game as he did in the big one. The key will be how much time the O-line gives Ben. If he can throw some the defense will have to back up and give Willie some room and that could be the difference on Sunday. If Ben's forced to run around again and bounce passes of Nate's hands, things may not look so good. I'm pulling for the big uglies up front myself.

On a parting note I would like to invite any and all readers to send comments or questions my way. I would like to put one up a week the rest of the way in order to save myself time and effort in writing...err, I mean to have everyone more involved in the Jottings. So, positive or negative, send 'em along. I can take the criticism; my tears can't show up in print (thankfully). OK, there's your job for next week and I gotta go.

Nuf fer now

Tim "yada yada yada" Campion