James_Taiwan: What do you think we will see in the Steelers vs Bears games this week? Another close one or will the Steelers be able to win it 28-6.

Jerry Micco: I think it'll be relatively close because the Bears will try to control the ball with a short passing game, which will get Cutler in a rhythm more quickly, and running Forte more. Not that you can make a living running the ball against the Steelers, but the Titans had about 80 yards last week, which is enough to keep a defense honest. I think the Steelers can win the game, but I think it will be very close.

Homey: If you had a vote, would you put Pitt in the top 25 this week, or do you still need to see a bit more first?

Jerry Micco: I don't even pay attention to polls the first 4 weeks of the season. Some teams play a couple of very good teams, but most others play lousy teams. Penn State has played lousy teams and beaten them. They should, but I'm not sure they are a Top 10 team. Ohio State lost a close one to USC, but USC may not be a Top 5 team. How can anyone tell this early on? Pitt has beaten no one. Buffalo? Navy will be a better test, and NC State a tougher test on the road, but neither team will ever be confused with Florida or Texas.

Steeler_Dan: Type here Jerry, it is real obvious that the Steelers can't run the ball, can you give me the background on Larry Zierlein our offensive line coach. It amazes me that on most running plays we can't even get to the line of scrimmage before being hit. Also what are the chances of putting Logan in the slot and maybe making the other teams defensive end stay home because of a possible reverse and maybe opening up a running lane for FWP.

Jerry Micco: I've heard and read all kinds of stuff about the running game of the Steelers this week. Some say the line is terrible, others say the RBs are not very good. It's probably a bit of both, but it's only one game and it is against a defense that is one of the best in the NFL. Now if they can't get something going against the Bears this week, or the Bengals next week, then it's time to worry. I don't know much about Larry Zierlein, but Mike Tomlin obviously trusts him. As for Logan, he's fine right where he is. Maybe you use him in the slot once or twice in a game, but Mike Wallace can provide that same speed for you and he can catch a ball. Logan can't.

Steeler_Dan: Jerry, I keep hearing that Spaeth is not a blocking tight end but is known for his receiving abilities, I never see Ben even throwing to him and thus he can't block so it seems he is a liability on this team.I would much prefer to see the rookie Johnson play and thus open up a slot for Redman to get back on the roster for short yardage carries. What do you think?

Jerry Micco: I'm not sure Redman needs to be with the big club yet. He was a preseason and camp wonder, but remember: when he was cut, 31 teams passed on him and some of those teams need running backs. That being said, if we move along in midseason and see little improvement, maybe he gets a shot to play in situations. He's still learning how to play, I think. As for Spaeth, he certainly wasn't worth a 3rd round pick (I wanted the Steelers to take Tony Hunt out of PSU, but he didn't pan out for Philly, either). Spaeth is always going to be an extra part because Heath Miller is so good. Whether he's an important part, we'll have to see more of that this season.

James_Taiwan: Do you think Big Ben will become the first QB in Steelers history to throw for over 4,000 yards in a season in 2009?

Jerry Micco: He has a very good chance of doing that. I think he's their best weapon.

Jacque_Strap: Bill Stull actually didn't look too bad.

Jerry Micco: No, he looked solid and if he can play that way, then Pitt should be fine. Now don't expect to gain 200-plus yards rushing every game, there may be games where Stull will have to be the guy for Pitt, but if they can establish that run game, it makes Stull better. I'd be a bit more concerned with Pitt's defense, which I thought looked pretty ordinary vs. Buffalo.

praveen: Do you think all the Pens stars should sit out most of the preseason? Not much of an offseaosn

Jerry Micco: They'll play some and sit some. They need to get into game shape and into game situations, but I don't think Dan Bylsma is going to play Sid, Geno, et al as much as he would in a regular game. Just enough to get them sharpened up a bit.

Jacque_Strap: Saw Dion Lewis on Saturday for the first time, and wow. Very McCoy-like! He could be just as good or better eventually.

Jerry Micco: Could be, might be, but I want to see more than 2 games before I say that. I want to see how he does over the long haul. Doesn't mean you can't be excited for the guy, but he's a freshman, and freshmen tend to start to wear down a bit. And Pitt's schedule is backloaded, with late-season games vs. Notre Dame, WVU and Cincinnati.

Jacque_Strap: Anything surprise you over the NFL weekend? I think (more like hope) New England's defense will be their eventual demise. Indy didn't look that great either.

Jerry Micco: Sanchez's play surprised me. I thought Houston could easily handle him and the Jets. The Texans are worse than I thought, at least for week 1. Jacksonville's defense is always pretty good, but Indy certainly isn't the juggernaut that it used to be. New England still has the best QB in the NFL (sorry Steelers fans), but the defense has to be much better. They should have lost that game to a Buffalo team that isn't very good.

Jacque_Strap: Do you think Troy P. actually believes it when he says the defense could be just as good or better without him? I know the guy is humble, but that is crazy talk.

Jerry Micco: I think our headline in the paper the next day said it all...."yeah, right". No, the defense is not better with Polamalu out. And my guess is he'll be back around Week 6 or 7. He adds that element of speed at a spot that doesn't always have speed. Much like Ed Reed of the Ravens.

Jacque_Strap: Great to see Sid giving the composite stick a real chance. I think we'd all love to see him use it to shoot more often.

Jerry Micco: I think he will because he knows that scoring goals, while not the best part of his game, needs to be in the 40 range yearly. He'll never have that wicked shot Geno has, but he has a good shot and he needs to shoot more. He'll always be a great playmaker, but as a goal-scorer, I think I'd like to see a bit more. But when you think about it, how can anyone really complain about Sid Crosby? One of the best in the league.

dejan_: Big Ben still looks heavy. Kind of reminds me of the classic William Perry video when he walks.

Jerry Micco: He's all of 250, but he's also very strong and tough. He makes it hard to bring him down and it allows him to make plays. Some guys run big and he does. I don't think it hinders him. Did you see the TD to Holmes? Ball on a line from the 40 into the end zone. That arm is a million-dollar arm.

PirateApologist: Hi Jerry. Do you think the G20 will keep people away from PNC, or could they actually draw an eclectic crowd for those two games?

Jerry Micco: I think the Pirates play over the past 17 years keeps folks away from PNC.

Homey: I was very impressed with Dion Lewis against Buffalo. But I was concerned about his touches. He had 22 in the first half alone, and 30 at the end of the game. Why is there no rotation, especially considering Lewis' lack of size?

Jerry Micco: Wannstedt liked what he saw and decided to stick with it. I don't think Buffalo's defense was very physical so maybe there was no need to pull the kid. Now it might be different in the next couple games, and you might see Lewis take a blow now and then. I'm sure Pitt's coaching staff doesn't want to wear him out in the first 6 games.

Jacque_Strap: I honestly don't think Arians cares how well they run the ball, just that they do it enough to keep a defense honest. He WANTS to throw it a lot more than they run it, whether he says it or not, that's his offense. Not a bad option with Big Ben anyway, people just aren't used to it.

Jerry Micco: I believe you and I agree with you. When you have Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, Mike Wallace and Limas Sweed as your primary receivers, that's a lot of offense, even with the latter 2. But they'll run the ball and there will be games when it clicks. And if it does, they'll keep using it. The NFL is all about in-game adjustments. If a team can't stop the run and can't adjust, the Steelers will run like crazy.

dejan_: Jerry more likely to happen first, Pirates lose for 20 years in a row or the Steelers and Pens each win another championship?

Jerry Micco: I think the latter, because the Pens could repeat and so could the Steelers. Tougher for the Steelers to do it, but it's not out of the question. As for the Bucs, 2010 likely will be losing season No. 18, but 2011 does promise some hope because Alvarez likely will be here. And maybe some of these young guys will step up a bit, too.

dejan_: Jerry, how long do you think it will take for Pitt to realize that they need a football stadium in oakland? It is hardly a college atmosphere sharing a stadium with the Steelers.

Jerry Micco: I never attended a game at Pitt Stadium and since my time here they've only played at Heinz. But I can remember being a student at Penn State and going to Pitt-PSU games (3 in a row) at Three Rivers Stadium. That was during the Tony Dorsett time and PSU still had very good teams, too. You'd never know it was at an off-campus stadium. It was electrifying. PSU won 2 of those games, and Pitt won in '76, their national title year. It was great college football, and there was no discussion of a home and home deal. It was 3 games in Pittsburgh at an off-campus site. Those were great days for college football and it didn't matter where you played the games.

dejan_: Do you know if the new arena is large enough to host the first or second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball tourney? I don't understand why Duquesne didn't partner on the arena for it's sports programs. Seems like a natural fit.

Jerry Micco: It costs a lot of money to rent the arena, so Duquesne probably didn't want its games there. Besides, the new place seats around 18,000, I believe, and the Dukes don't draw near that. As for the NCAAs, yes, it certainly is large enough for first and second-round games.

King_Moonracer: Why do you say its tougher for the Steelers to repeat? Assuming they both make the playoffs, the Steelers need only 3, possibly 4 more wins. The Pens would need 16 wins.

Jerry Micco: Because in the NHL, it's easier for a team to keep a dynasty together and be good for several years. It is much tougher in the NFL. You rarely have back-to-back champions, but you do have them in the NHL quite often. The NFL is the most competitive league in pro sports. It's set up that way.

Homey: I think a week or two ago you lamented that tennis wasn't as exciting as it was in prior decades. Well, I hope you caught the final on Monday. Very good stuff. The power of Del Porto's forehand was unreal.

Jerry Micco: I saw highlights because I was at work, but certainly having a guy like Del Potro win a men's US Open title breathes a little more life into the game. Nothing against Roger Federer because he's a tremendous champion, but he's so dominated men's tennis it's hard to get too excited about things. The days when you had McEnroe, Connors, Borg, Lendl, Wilander, Edberg and Becker, those were times when any of those guys could win a major. It's good to see a Del Potro win. But it would have been nice to see an US player at least reach the quarters. Yikes.

PhillyMarty: The STEELERS may have the players to become the most prolific passing offense in football, but defense still wins championships. No running game means no ball control means the defense is on the field too much wears down and tough playoff games are lost late. See Patriots vs. NYG SB XLII. Surprised Tomlin is buying into the Arians way.

Jerry Micco: But you can control the ball passing it. Teams do it all the time. All you have to do is show the run enough times to keep teams honest, convert some third downs, and you have a time advantage. It doesn't have to be a 40-20 advantage, but if you control 32 minutes of a game, you control most of the game. Granted, if you can grind out yards on the ground you shorten games and choke the life out of the other team, but other teams know that now and often take away the run rather than the pass. And the Steelers will not give up on the run. They just aren't very good at it right now.

Steeler_Dan: Jerry, why do we and for that matter most NFL teams throw the ball on first down and when there is an incompletion they automatically run on second and ten for very little yardage than go back to the pass on third down in an obvious passing down thus putting their qb in a tough position. The Steelers do this much too often and Ben is likely to get smashed all too often. It would be nice if we threw on first down with no success than try to throw on second down and not do the obvious run up the middle.

Jerry Micco: You know, I've not charted how the Tennessee game went, but I should go back to my play-by-play that I keep to check the numbers. I think they do try to mix it up, but sometimes it's what the defense shows that determines that. And it could be one play is called and Ben changes it at the line.

dejan_: It is stated that the Bucs lost 17 games in the final at bat so far this year, why do they keep running Capps and his gas can out there?

Jerry Micco: He's really all they have at that spot. I've not been a booster of Matt Capps for some time because I think by and large, he's got ordinary stuff. But until you develop a closer -- and that's why Joel Hanrahan was brought here -- you have to stick with the one guy who has had some success over the years. John Russell has a theory, and I can't argue with it, that Capps has so few save chances and they are so far in between that it's hard for him to get into the right frame of mind. As I said, I can't argue that because Russell knows more baseball than I do, but Capps has shown me he's not a consistent enough pitcher to be a closer.

dejan_: I don't understand why everyone is freaking out about the running game. The Titans shut down our running game last year as well. They have a dominating D-line. It was the first game as well.

Jerry Micco: Ditto on both parts. I'm thinking the same thing. Remember, Tennessee has a great defense. And, they were doing 8 in the box because they think they have a very good secondary. And they do. But the Steelers shredded it. But they were determined to stop the run. They did, but the Steelers winged their way to a win. And in the NFL, bottom line: just win, baby.

PhillyMarty: If Tenn. had better special teams, they likely win that game. STEELERS do not employ a "dink and dunk" passing game, the kind that controls the ball and uses clock. Easy to see "4-3" minded Tomlin buying into LeBeau's attacking 3-4. Not like it is a bend but don't break style. But wanting to be more of a "smash mouth" team yet employing Arians passing game, does not match up.

Jerry Micco: Well, but they don't have very good special teams and the Steelers are much improved in that area, which helped them. Actually Rob Bironas is an excellent kicker, but had a tough night. But isn't Arians' passing attack just that, and attack? I think their best players on offense are WRs and the QB. I didn't not time of possession, but I do know they ran 10 plays and ran 4:32 off the clock in OT to win the game. Seven of those plays were passes.

PhillyMarty: Not discounting Tenn. rush defense. Let's be fair. Arians is all talk no action regarding improving the 23rd best rushing team in the 2008 NFL.

Jerry Micco: Well, the line is what it is, which I think it's adequate. Parker has been hurt with the hammy pretty much the entire preseason and is not the old Fast Willie. Mendenhall just seems like he's confused out there. It's not like his best people are in the backfield or the OL. Although, that OL is a pretty decent pass protection unit. Do I think they should be better at the run? Yes. But they won a SB with the No. 23 rushing attack. If you have that defesne and Big Ben, the run all of a sudden isn't that critical.

Steeler_Dan: Type here Jerry, what is your overall opinion of Arians, he was not successful in Cleveland and got fired and he seems to bring that same offense to Pittsburgh. I am afraid that in future games that Ben actually will need his help.

Jerry Micco: I'm not clear what the problem with Arians is. Seriously. They won a Super Bowl with him as the OC. I don't think that was in spite of him. I think on offense, they have this: A grade-A QB; A group of grade-A WRs, or at least a B-plus; The OL is probably average. The tight ends as a group are a B, only because Spaeth is not very good; the RBs are probably C-minus or a D-plus group. Now if I had that ranking of talent, I'd be throwing the ball like crazy. Doesn't mean you don't try to run it, but right now, that's not what got you there.

Jerry Micco: By the way, I did a quick check of my play-by-play from the game. Steelers passed 21 times on first down and ran it 9 times. One of those 9 was as scramble by Ben. I think they say 8 or 9 in the box and said the heck with it, we're throwing on these guys.

PhillyMarty: I think time of possession was even until the last two STEELERS' possessions. My thing is I am not sure we can beat NE or Indy playing this way. And Balt. appears to have a more dynamic attack as well. Don't disagree with your assessment of our O talent. But when you build a team whose bedrock is D, I think you have to help the D out by keeping them off the field, underexposed. This O is not going to do that.

Jerry Micco: I think the offense is better than last year's, or the same, and it won a Super Bowl. Do I think they need to run it better? You bet. I think, though, that unless Parker gets healthy or Mendenhall has a light bulb go on, this team is going to attack with the pass and run to keep you honest. And I'd like to see them against teams like the Browns and Bengals. I think they can run on those teams and they play them a total of 4 times. They haven't run on the Ravens in 3 years, but they win the majority of those games. And I think a running game does eat time so the D can rest. And I don't think you'll see them abandon it. But I agree, it must get better.

dejan_: Jerry, the only time passing doesn't eat up clock is when there are incompletions. The smashmouth football that everyone thinks we need only netted 1 super bowl in the Cowher Era and that year we relied more on the pass than the run. I couldn't even tell you who the last running back was that rushed for over 100 in the super bowl. Terrell Davis?

Jerry Micco: I'm not sure myself. As I've said many times, the NFL is a passing league. Unless you have Adrian Peterson, then you run him until the wheels fall off. He's a special player. But there aren't many of those types of back anymore in the NFL. The skill is at WR and QB. And if you have those, you can crush another team. It's the way things are set up. It's more exciting football and the networks and league want that for the fans. And the fans like it. I love seeing a team run the ball, but the league is changing right before our eyes.

Jerry Micco: Wow, that hour passed by quickly. I need to run folks. Thanks for taking the time to chat and for you new folks, thanks for joining us. For my regulars like Marty and Jacque, it's always good to see you. I'll be back next Wednesday at noon for more sports talk. Have a great week!