bubs: Gene, why does Penn State try so hard to break my heart each year?

Gene Collier: Because they don't like you. No seriously. That's all college football is about, heartbreak. It's the one sport where you can't lose, unless you're Florida. I'm not sure I understand the passion of college football fans anymore. They never get it right for the national championship anyway, and even if they did, the two teams ni the big game would have been off for at least seven weeks, so what kind of legitimate result would that be?

willies_colon: So after three games -- all decided by a field goal -- it seems that the defense is the biggest culprit in the Steelers lousy start. Who'd've figured?

Gene Collier: Not sure I agree Willies. If I told you that after three games, the Steelers would have scored the same number of touchdowns as they allowed, and that that number would be 5, who would you have said was the culprit for 1-2. Had the offense scored a touchdown in lieu of either field goal at Cincinnati, or had Sweed made a simple catch, no one would be complaining about the defense.

praveen: Hi Gene. What do you think of the defense unable to be elite without Polamalu? Even without Polamalu, this unit has many highly paid players like Harrison, Farrior, Smith, Keisel.

Gene Collier: I try not to think too hard about it, but as is evident all over sport, just because you pay someone doesn't mean you'll get your money's worth. It's entirely possible that the players you mentioned will not have good years, and as the saying goes, that's why they play the games, because you never know.

praveen: Do you think the hockey season is too long? As big a fan of the Pens I may be, I just find this Friday's opener to be too soon after the cup.

Gene Collier: Yes I do Praveen, just like the baseball season, the football season, and the hurricane season. Fans of the Penguins, however, can not complain about the length of the season. What, you didn't want to play until June 12? Still, your point is well taken. When you have to regard the hockey season pretty much as you would regard the school year -- you report in September and get out some time in June -- it's probably too long.

bubs: I seem to vaguely remember some sort of a mini-furor over the size & gaudiness of the Steelers 6th Super Bowl rings, esp. in difficult economic times. The Penguins just unveiled equally huge & gaudy rings. Will this also be the subject of media/fan consternation? Personally, I don't begrudge either team.

Gene Collier: I seem to vaguely remember pretty much everything, so I'm not qualified to judge on that even though I am an expert on media/fan consternation. If difficult economic times had any impact on the impulse for grandiosity, the empire state building would never have been built. If you're comfortable wearing that Penguins ring, god bless ya, but it might be less exertion just carrying around a bowling ball.

praveen: People were harping on the 4th and 4 decision. My problem with that sequence was not that. Tomlin took a timeout on 2nd down and 4 with 1:20 to go. If the intention was to go for it eventually, they should have let time pass and save the timeout for later in case they did convert on a 3rd or 4th down. If they failed, Cinci has less then 45 secs to get a score.

Gene Collier: No problem with that reasoning Praveen. That's coming from one of the harpers.

praveen: Sometimes it's when you score or when you let the other team score. The defense might have had an overall decent game , being spectacular in the first half. It is that they have been at their worst when the game is about to be over that matters because it does not give the offense time to adjust. On the flip side, I agree the offense needs to score more than 20 at least once in three games.

Gene Collier: Timing is everything, I believe youre saying.

ZombieCoreyDavis: I think Mendenhall has been getting a horribly unfair rap from the local media. Everyone's analysis of him is just conjecture and hunches on his personality. It's like everyone is a psychologist when it comes to him. The guy has had like 20 career carries, and the one thing I know is that he looks better running straight through the tackles than Parker. What do you think?

Gene Collier: I might have agreed with him up until the third Steelers possession on Sunday, when Mendenhall was not in the game as per Mike Tomlin's habit. Asked why not, Tomlin said he didn't like the kid's preparation and decided not to play him on offense. There's no conjecture in that. If the guy can't be bothered to prepare himself, he gets no sympathy. You're right in that there's but a small sample of his profession work on which to judge him, but I've seen nothing. Even his 39-yard run at Chicago was hardly the best 39-yard run I've seen. He immediately looked around for someone to tackle him once he broke it, and a a result was run down near the goal line.

Homey: Which football team had the worst meltdown this past weekend - the Steelers, Panthers, or team from Central PA that shall not be named?

Gene Collier: Good question since I'll bet it's been a long time since Pitt, Penn State, and the Steelers all blew at least a 10-point lead on the same weekend. Forced to pick, I'd take Penn State's as the worst collapse because they were at home in front of 109,000 in the supposedly intimidating (but actually stupid) white-out. Pitt and the STeelers had no business losing either, but at least they were, as MIke Tomlin loves to say, in a hostile environment.

willies_colon: good call by you re: the Steelers defense. Still though, giving up leads seems uncharacteristic, regardless of the offensive output. What adjustments do you think need to be made?

Gene Collier: I'm not a defensive coordinator, and as a former nose tackle for the Panther Valley Panthers circa 1935, I know nothing about giving up leads either, because we never had any. But I know a lot about giving up great gobs of yardage. The only thing I can see is that the Steelers aren't quite as belligerent with their play calling. where are the corner blitzes? the safety blitz? I know you've got to be a little more cautious because the secondary is without troy, but maybe they're being a little too cautious. dick lebeau might be in a better position to judge these things.

king_moonracer: When Jeff Jimerson sings the anthem Friday - is there any truth to the rumor that John Russell is going to come out and replace him before he finishes the song to get Jeff a good ovation?

Gene Collier: Good one Kingy.

Homey: When do you typically get interested in the hockey season? I can't believe the season is about to start already, and I can't say I'm pumped just yet.

Gene Collier: Depends on what you mean by "interested." Interested enough to find out the score and read our coverage? Right now. Interested enough to watch it a game on TV? Now, unless baseball or football are on. Interested enough to watch it on TV for its own sake? Maybe January. Interested enough to go the the Arena? Late January. Interested enough to write a live column off a 7:30 start? After the Steelers are eliminated.

king_moonracer: Seriously though - did Russell REALLY think he was doing a good thing by pulling Duke?

Gene Collier: Yes he really did but you have to remember the way the pitch count has twisted everything about baseball today. Russell denied Zack was on a pitch count, but two days later said he didn't want the next hitter to have a 13-pitch at bat, or something like that. why not? Everyone is so afraid of hurting someone's arm that everyone's arm is hurt for failure to build up everyone's arms. That's not just my rant. What do you think brought us to the era of the rainless rain delay. In August in Chicago, there was a 90-minute rain delay at the start of game and it never rained. The managers are so afraid of someone's arm tightening up and "wasting a start" that the paying customers have to sit there and watch an empty baseball diamond. Pitch counts have taken over the game. Russell's actions Monday are just the latest, shocking symptom.

ZombieCoreyDavis: Does anyone know who is going to start next to Cooke and Staal on the third line now that Kennedy is with Malkin?

Gene Collier: Surely someone does, but not me.

Chunkles: Gene, besides Limas' Sweed's hands, who would you put on the back of a milk carton? My choice are all the linebackers. I know, people say James Harrison is doubled but the , Ray Lewis, seems to make his way to the quarterback and he is doubled all the time.

Gene Collier: I don't know how many sacks Ray Lewis has, but Harrison's one to this point isn't enough, and it wasn't really even a sack, but a Palmer scrambled that resulted in no gain. Farrior played a poor fourth quarter, which is very unusual. Timmons got blocked more than he should. And Woodley can't be found out there. Good call.

praveen: What do you think of Hartwig? I never see any criticism of him by the local press. But I have looked at the games on a snap by snap basis on my HD DVR, and it looks like Hartwig is being outmatched badly. Essex hasn't been that great either. Maybe Mahan has lowered the bar so much that the Steelers have forgotten the excellence they had at center historically?

Gene Collier: The Steelers obviously think that Hartwig is better than just serviceable or they wouldn't have paid him big. I believe they're watching him on a snap-by-snap basis as well. I thought the offensive line played pretty well Sunday.

willies_colon: If the hockey season is too long, then the baseball season is an act of torture. What do you make of what transpired this season @ PNC Park?

Gene Collier: Nothing happened at PNC Park this year that was any different from the previous eight seasons, or for that matter since 1993. What I make of it is that the Pirates have undergone an unprecedented streak of talent-free management in scouting, drafting, player development, etc. The current regime, soon to be entering its third year, like all the previous administration, has a plan. You won't be able to tell one way or the next whether the plan is working until 2011. All that said, I think that for the first time in awhile, the players the Pirates have in the wings appear to be the real thing.

ZombieCoreyDavis: I don't agree with how Sweed is being handled. This is a very talented player who showed it in college & made some nice grabs in preseason. Of course he has had big drop problems, but isn't publicly calling him out and benching him just going to erode his confidence? It needs to be built up with some short throws, rather than heaving him one do-or-die bomb. I think he's only been targeted twice this season.

Gene Collier: The Steelers coaches like Limas and Arians in particular has long felt Sweed was on the verge of becoming a big contributor. Wideout is a hard thing to learn in the NFL, witness the long apprenticeship of Nate Washington and even Santonio Holmes, a first-rounder. But ultimately, you can't drop balls that cost your team games. It's the NFL. When you're not conspicuous in any way other than the big drop, it's hard to make a living.

bubs: Is your take on the lack of an effective running game the fault of the guys running the ball, or the guys blocking for them?

Gene Collier: A little of both, but more the fault of general NFL evolution away from the running game. It takes too much of a physical commitment with players who are too valuable.

praveen: Let us give credit to Ike Taylor for playing at a level above everyone else on that final drive. Then again, maybe if he played to the level of Tyrone Carter, our offense probably gets the ball back with more than a minute left.

Gene Collier: I love the way Ike played in that final drive. Nearly won the game by himself. Took a touchdown away from Ochocino, but he didn't get enough help back there. It was no accident that the winning pass went away from Ike. Thanks everybody. See you again soon. Jerry Micco returns next week.

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