5 Key Matchups for SB43

1. Larry Fitzgerald vs. The Steelers Secondary
Above all else, Fitzgerald is the reason that the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl this season. He has been basically unstoppable as he torched defense after defense during the playoffs. If the Cards are going to win this game it will be because of Larry's incredible abilities. So naturally, he is priority numero uno for the Steelers spectacular defense. I expect to see a fair amount of Ike Taylor going against Fitz, but even with the Steelers top corner shadowing Larry, I still think we'll see double coverage for much of the day. Also, the Steelers often go to something of a zone when they blitz heavy, as most teams do, but against Fitz, we've seen all postseason you absolutely, positively cannot go zone. It will be interesting to see how Dick LeBeau plays against this unbelievable talent.

2. Ben Roethlisberger vs. The Cardinals Pass Rush
The Cards defense has really stepped up their game the past few weeks. Because of this, Big Ben is going to need to play mistake-free ball and neutralize their superb playmakers. Roethlisberger has been excellent at that for the past several games, but every Steeler fan has seen how nasty things can get when Ben starts struggling and trying to do too much. Roethlisberger is one of the most unique QB's in football and his way of fending off blitzers and keeping plays alive can alter games in both extremely positive and negative ways. Its probably a pretty fair bet that we will see at least instance of each in this game. Just how positive and negative those plays are will go a long toward determining this puppy.

3. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley vs. The Cardinals O-Line
One of these days the refs may start calling more of the dozens of holdings of James Harrison that occur every single freaking game. It's absolutely insane the way he is blatantly held, and with the Cardinals mediocre tackles I expect that trend to continue, and if we even get one holding call our way I will be pleased. Even with the holding and the double teams Harrison often seems to rise to the occasion and there is certainly no bigger occasion that this one. I have a hard time imagining him not producing at least a couple big time plays.

4. Dick LeBeau and Mike Tomlin vs. Ken Whisenhunt and Todd Haley
This is sort of a poetic type matchup. Tomlin, of course, is a defensive coach and the best coach on his staff is the defensive coordinator. Whiz, as we all know, is an offensive master and his top lieutenant is the very promising Haley. And not coincidentally, these are the top units for the respective squads. As we always saw in the Burgh, Whiz loves to throw out trick plays in big games, and I fully expect to see something crazy in this game. How LeBeau and company handle any gadgers will be a key to success for both squads. And all this is even without discussing the incredibly intimate knowledge that Whiz and LeBeau have of each other's schemes. It's safe to say that's going to be a huge factor, too.

5. Kurt Warner vs. Troy Polamalu
On one side we have one of the most experienced, most intelligent, and right now, one of the best quarterbacks in football. On the other hand there is the most disruptive defender in football who doubles as quite possibly the single most athletic player in the league as well. Should be a truly fascinating matchup. Warner is one of the few QB's who might (and I stress might) be able to neutralize or maybe even take advantage of Polamalu's play. I certainly don't think that Troy will be able to wreak havoc all day long, but the key will be whether or not he's able to make a few monster plays (like the INT or the 4th down line jump against Baltimore) that alter this game.

The Cardinals ties to Pittsburgh

With 10 days to go until Super Bowl XLIII, I felt it would be a little early to delve into doing actual coverage or previews of the game, so instead I decided to go with a bit of a slanted angle and analyze every possible little Pittsburgh-related tie from the Arizona Cardinals roster.

Coaches
1. Ken Whisenhunt- Obviously, the Whiz has strong ties to the Burgh, being that he was an assistant under Bill Cowher for 6 seasons. He was the Offensive Coordinator for 3 years, including in the Super Bowl, and the tight ends coach for 3 years before that. Many fans were hoping he would be the head coach when Cowher retired, but I think things worked out pretty well for all parties this way.

2. Russ Grimm- Grimm has as many ties to the Burgh as anyone in football, probably. He was born in Scottdale, PA, and of course played his college ball at Pitt before a tremendous NFL Career. Grimm coached the Offensive Line for 6 years here in Pittsburgh, and spent the last 3 years of that time as the Assistant Head Coach. Most considered him to be the favorite to land the head coaching job when Cowher retired before Tomlin pulled the big upset.

3. Kevin Spencer- The Steelers former Special Teams coach who followed Whiz and Grimm out west.

4. Todd Haley- son of former Steelers director of player personnel Dick Haley, he was also a ballboy for the Steelers in the 70's dynasty days. Nepotism much? He also went to Upper St. Clair High School during that time.

5. Kevin Spencer- He was the Steelers special teams coach from 2002-2006 and then left the Burgh with Whiz.

6. Teryl Austin- The defensive backs coach of the Cardinals is from Sharon, PA and went to Pitt, so he's OK in my book. He started for 3 years at Pitt and graduated in 1988.

7. Bill Davis- The linebackers coach for the Cards spent 3 seasons (1992-94) as a defensive assistant for the Steelers. Also, its not Pittsburgh (or even Pennsylvania) but he is from Youngstown.

8. John Lott- The Cards strength and conditioning coach played for the Steelers in 1987.

9. Mike Miller- Miller is the Cards receivers coach and has numerous ties to the Burgh. He attended Plum High School, and followed that up by going to college at Clarion. He was an intern with the Steelers, and then he spent two years as the Running Backs coach at Robert Morris. Finally, he worked as an offensive assistant for the Steelers from 1999-2003.

10. Matt Raich- He is a defensive assistant for the Cards, and worked for the Steelers during Cowher's tenure as both an offensive assistant and as an intern. But it doesn't stop there. No, he spent 3 years at Robert Morris as a coach and 2 years at Westminster. And of course, he's from Monaca and graduated from Westminster and is even in their Hall of Fame.

Wow, 10 coaches out of the 16 on staff. That was a few more than I thought we were going to get. And there are some pretty deep ties, there, from numerous natives to working at the local small schools. Let's see what we can get from the players

Players11. Larry Fitzgerald- Of coures, Larry went down in history as one of the best offensive players in Pitt history with two unbelievable seasons at the school in 2002 and 2003. He won countless awards, was nominated for (and nearly won) the Heisman Trophy. He owns every single-season receiving record the Panthers have and is the best player I've ever seen wearing the Panther jersey (sorry Shady you weren't quite at that level).

12. Steve Breaston- Everyone remembers the incredible hype surrounding Breaston when he came out of Woody High and went to Michigan. He was one of the most spectacular high school players around in his day. The college career probably didn't go as well as he'd hoped, but he's been very good with the Cards.

13. Levi Brown- I don't usually include Penn State as a Pittsburgh tie, but in this case I'm doing so in order to boost my total number.

14. Reggie Wells- Wells, many don't know this, is from Library, PA and went to college at Clarion. Could you have possibly imagined there would be 2 Clarion ties and 2 Robert Morris ties to the Super Bowl? I couldn't have.

15. Gerald Hayes- Hayes was the first of several very good middle linebackers to come through Pitt and has turned into an excellent pro.

16. Sean Morey- Of course, Morey was the special teams specialist for the Steelers for 3 seasons and won a Super Bowl ring here. He's technically a receiver even though he caught 6 passes in those 3 years.

17. Brian St. Pierre- That's right, the quintessential 3rd string QB is still hanging around the league. He attempted his only career pass as a Steeler.

18. Jerame Tuman- Tuman spent 9 seasons with the Steelers to start his career. He caught 43 passes and scored 6 touchdowns in his time in the Burgh, but was never anything more than a second tight end.

19. Clark Haggans- Haggans technically isn't on the Cards active roster, and he was placed on injured reserve in December. Clark spent his first 7 seasons as a Steeler and recorded 32.5 sacks over that time.

20. Pat Ross- He played for Ohio in the Big 33 Classic. Obviously, not really a Pittsburgh connection, but this is something that is closely linked to the Burgh.

21. Keilen Dykes- Played at West Virginia and is from Youngstown. So basically he danced around the Pittsburgh area.

So there you have it, 21 coaches and players from the Cards that have ties back home. Pittsburgh really is everywhere.

Recapping the AFC Conference Steel(er) Cage Match

As promised, some thoughts and links from what was essentially a no-holds-barred, steel cage match last night on the frozen tundra of Heinz Field.

Some Links:
-ESPN is doing an all-day chat thing over at their site. Not worth reading up on all the different parts of the chat, as it would take all day, but it's worth it if you have a few interesting questions you'd like the "experts" at the WWL to answer.

-The Professor, John Clayton, puts together the big questions of this Super Bowl for right now. As always, its good stuff by Clayton.

-James Walker tells the critics of Ben Roethlisberger to shut their collective yaps. And yes, that includes the many yinzers who spent large portions of this season screaming at him to get rid of the ball. Does he drive people (including myself) crazy at times? Absolutely. But this is who he is, and the best one-word description of him as a football player is: Winner. And that's fine by me. Peyton and Tom can have their records, I'll take Roethlisberger any day of the week.

-Peter King's MMQB, a must-read no matter what football team you like, spends a good deal of the column discussing the Steelers-Ravens game.

-As always, Mondesi's House does a great job breaking down the game.

-Gene Collier writes about Heinz Field no longer be an AFC Championship curse. This had definitely gone through my mind more than once before the game, but it's a different situation with our new coach, Mike Tomlin, I suppose. Ron Cook says that, despite the stats that claim otherwise, the title of best defense in football was on the line last night, and the Steelers proved once and for all they are the best D in the league.

Random Thoughts
-I don't think I have ever seen a more physical game with players who just no regard whatsoever for their own personal well-being. Just ridiculous. Thank god they give the teams a bye week before the Super Bowl, because there is no way this Steeler team would be ready if they had to play again in six days. I mean, Ryan Clark's entire body probably feels like he was in a severe traffic accident yesterday, Hines Ward probably can't do much more than jog, Mewelde Moore is iffy and anything that hurts his quickness pretty much negates any value he has, the offensive and defensive lines were hitting all day long, and of course, Ben Roethlisberger took his usual lumps, including what I thought was a definite late hit from Haruki Nakamura that I couldn't believe wasn't flagged.

-I liked that Bruce Arians tried very hard to establish the run early on, but I thought that he stuck to it a little too long. Parker was unable to get anything going against that stout Baltimore defense, and I think we would have been better served giving Mewelde a few more snaps early in the game and sending a few short passes his way. Worst case they are equally as effective, getting 2 or 3 yards a pop, and best case Mewelde catches one in some space and is able to make a play or two.

-Ben Roethlisberger just does it. That's all there is too it. He wins games, he plays smart when he has to, and he's going to his second Super Bowl with a 7-2 playoff record at the age of 26. Just an amazing job yet again by our franchise QB. Right now, I'd take him ahead of any QB in football, and I really mean that. Think about it: Who knows what is going to happen with Tom Brady's knee? He may never be the same. Peyton Manning came on real strong at the end of the season, but Ben has already had much more postseason success than Manning and doesn't require 30+ passes per game to get in a rhythm at the end of a game like Peyton. Phillip Rivers put together a great season, but has leadership and character issues and his game record pales in comparison. Eli looked a little too much like the old Eli down the stretch, and I'm still not sold on him. Kurt Warner, in my opinion, has been the beneficiary of having two of the best receiving corps in recent NFL history at his disposal with the current Zona group and the Greatest Show on Turf group with the Rams. Plus, he's old. Drew Brees can sling it as well as anyone, but I can't take him seriously until he picks up a few January W's. He can keep his 5000 yard, video-game offense season, thanks but no thanks.

-Troy Polamalu vs. Ed Reed just got a whole lot more interesting. I know I said yesterday that I thought Reed was ahead of Polamalu as a safety and was one of the best in league history, but I found myself now thinking I may have underestimated our spectacular number 43. Polamalu was the best player on the field yesterday, while Reed pretty much disappeared for large chunks of the game. I guess that might have something to do with the play of the respective QB's, but I think this debate is very much alive and well.

-I don't know that I've ever seen a game quite like the one Limas Sweed had yesterday. Sweed, of course, was headed for infamy after dropping a sure-fire TD that Roethlisberger delivered precisely into his hands. He did end up hauling in a pair of passes by the end, and didn't make anymore awful mistakes. He also leveled a Hines Ward-esque block on unsuspecting Corey Ivy, knocking him clear into next week. Just a weird game for him, and I pray that Hines Ward is 100% healthy and that Limas doesn't have to set foot on the field against Arizona.

-Dick LeBeau continues to prove he's the best defensive coordinator in all of football. All we heard in the first two rounds and all through the regular season was that Joe Flacco was Joe Cool, that he was unflappable, and made plays in the biggest moments because you couldn't get into his head. Yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh so much for that thought process, eh? Flacco was definitely flappable yesterday and LeBeau flapped him again and again. Big sacks, two bad interceptions, the last one pretty much sealing the game for the Steelers. Don't get me wrong, I like Flacco a lot and think he could definitely develop into Roethlisberger Lite and be a very good QB in the NFL, but somehow everyone forgot that he didn't do anything against the Steelers in the regular season and is still a rookie QB in the playoffs. And LeBeau knew just how to rattle his cage.

-That said, I will be VERY interested to see LeBeau's game plan against the Cardinals and Kurt Warner. Warner is notoriously great at taking advantage of blitzing teams and getting the ball out in a hurry. That's not to say that I think LeBeau will abandon the blitz, as that would never happen in a billion years, but I do think some of the more exotic schemes, like bringing Polamalu and Timmons may be put on hold.

-I'm happy for the Cards and for Ken Whiz, Russ Grimm, Larry Fitz, and Gerry Hayes, but for the next 13 days, they are public enemy number 1 in my book. My old Larry Fitzgerald Pitt jersey? It's been removed from my closet where it sat next to the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Sidney Crosby, and Willie Stargell and shoved underneath my bed where it won't see the light of day again until February 2nd.
-Too many Super Bowls lately have come down to last minute scoring drives, and after watching Jeff Reed yesterday at the Heinz Field tundra, I have the fullest confidence in him to have a big game if necessary in Super Bowl XLIII.

-I was pleased, shocked, elated, and surprised to see the refs call a holding call yesterday in favor of James Harrison. Of course, he was held a minimum 15-20 times yesterday and only one was called, but at least its a start.

-Another nice day for the Steelers' secondary yesterday. Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Deshea Townsend, and William Gay played extremely well from their cornerback spots, and I think it mostly goes without saying that Polamalu, Clark, and Ty Carter did a super job at safety. Just a great performance all around. And that is huge for the Steelers because the Cardinals offense will revolve around Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner. If the Steelers can contain Fitz (there is no stopping the guy) the Cards offense is not going to be able to hang in the game.

-People have been talking a lot about the Whisenhunt connection and how it gives him an advantage because of how well he knows the Steelers personnel and all... but do you really think that doesn't go the other way, too? Mike Tomlin may not know Whiz, but Dick LeBeau worked against Whisenhunt's offense in practice countless times and, as Whisenhunt openly admits, LeBeau more than once helped him adjust to defensive schemes. Do we really think LeBeau doesn't know every wrinkle of Whiz's offense. And do we really think the Steelers aren't fully aware of countless Whisenhunt gadget plays. I see this intimate knowledge being a wash in the end.

-The Steelers O-Line had some issues with Baltimore pass rush and did take some penalties (looking squarely at Chris Kemoeautu and his incredibly stupid personal foul), but they handled that Ravens rush pretty darn well I thought. Sure they couldn't open up holes for an ant to even run through, but no one can do that against the Ravens. You can't blame them too much for that, and they managed to buy Ben at least some time. And the Cardinals D, however well they may be playing right now, is no Ravens squad.

-I expect to see another crowd heavy in Steelers support down in Tampa Bay. Florida has so many transplants or retirees from Pittsburgh it's downright absurd. This might be even more Steeler heavy than the Detroit Super Bowl XL crowd of 3 years ago. And considering the game is against the Cardinals, who probably have one of the least-established fan bases in the sport, and we could be looking at like a 85/15 or 90/10 split for this puppy. Tampa Bay will be turned into Terrible Towel city. Should be exciting.

NFC Championship Game Preview

After a rough second round stab at picking NFL games (just 1-3, that’s what I get for picking all 4 home favorites) I’m now just idling along at 4-4 for this playoff season. Needless to say, that’s not the kind of results I was hoping for when I decided to pick this year’s NFL playoff season. I’m only picking the NFC Championship game today and will have a more in-depth breakdown of Steelers-Ravens up for tomorrow.

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals

I nailed both of these picks in the first round, but unfortunately I screwed the pooch and badly underestimated both in the second round. Awful QB play by the opposition was the key for both squads advancement to this point, as the Eagles have knocked off Tavaris Jackson and Jake Delhomme who choked so bad I thought someone was going to have to do the Heimlich Maneuver on him. The Cards benefitted from Eli Manning’s reversion to the crappy Eli Manning that we all knew and loved prior to his late 2007 surge.

For Arizona, it’s all going to come down to the incomparable Larry Fitzgerald. There shouldn’t have been any doubt prior to the playoffs, but in case some fans still weren’t aware, I think Larry has officially cemented himself as the best receiver in football. He has been unbelievable in the playoffs after yet another monster regular season, and it’s a mystery to me as to why Carolina wasn’t constantly putting 2 and 3 defenders on Fitz given that Anquan Boldin was out. If Larry gets loose again and the Eagles aren’t able to make adjustments to at least keep him in check, the Cards offense will run wild on Philly. However, while I did say that Philly benefitted from the lousy QB play of their opposition, some definite credit should go the play of their D, and it will be very interesting to see how Kurt Warner matches up against Jim Johnson’s superb unit. Warner has been in this situation too many times before to lay an egg like Eli or Jackson did, so I don’t expect to see the same struggles, but I’d be more than willing to bet that Zona’s offense is held mostly in check except for the inevitable game-changing catches that Larry always seems to make. Arizona’s running game has also come to life of late, putting together a stunning 145 yards on the ground against Carolina last week. Edgerrin James has also had some spring back in his step. I don’t expect Johnson’s defensive schemes led by the likes of tackling machines Quintin Mikell and Stewart Bradley and blitzing stars Darren Howard and Trent Cole to be susceptible to a surprise ground attack from the Cards.

The Eagles late-season rejuvenation has been led by the similarly rejuvenated Donovan McNabb. Remember McNabb being benched in favor of Kevin Kolb? Yeah, that was all anybody could talk about that week, the fall of Donovan McNabb. So much for that, eh? Now he has his team 60 minutes away from his second Super Bowl berth. And I honestly can’t figure out how he’s doing this. Brian Westbrook has a few really good plays a game in him, but he’s a little on the gimpy side. And yeah DeSean Jackson has been very good as a playmaking rookie, but I mean, c’mon, he’s still a rookie wide receiver. McNabb’s use of his feet has been probably the biggest difference maker for this otherwise very average offense. His scrambling ability has neutralized blitzes and bought him time for Jackson and Kevin Curtis to get open.


The most interesting aspect of this game, though, will be the work of the Arizona Cardinals defense. The Cardinals D was gouged for tons of points and yards numerous times this season. They gave up 35 or more points 4 times in their final 6 regular season games, a truly appalling number for any team, let alone a playoff team. And yet in the playoffs, they have been very good. They have given up yards, sure, but they have made plays all over the field when things mattered the most. I mean Jake Delhomme had 6 turnovers for god’s sake! The Arizona secondary may be occasionally vulnerable, but they have outstanding athletes like Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie back there that can change the game when you least expect it. I really have very little idea what to expect from this unit in this game, but I’m sure it will be entertaining to watch it all go down.

The Pick: Philadelphia 27 Arizona 21
Jim Johnson’s superb game-planning helps to at least neutralize Fitzgerald, and forces Warner to throw to a gimpy Anquan Boldin and his other, less-talented options like Steve Breaston. Warner, as steady as he has been this season, is forced into a few mistakes by Johnson’s blitzes. Donovan McNabb avoids the dry heaves to scramble around and make plays with his feet and with his arm to DeSean Jackson, who I think has a big game thanks to his incredible speed.

NFL Divisional Round Picks

After a 3-1 performance in the Divisional Round, I thought I'd take another go at the second round of the NFL Playoffs that commence tomorrow. So here are my three picks for today, with the fourth one (The Steeler game) coming in much greater detail at some point tomorrow.

So here we go...
Baltimore at Tennessee
This one has the feel of the type of game that's so physical that, after its over, you're sore just from watching it. The Ravens and Titans both do their best to impose their physical will on the opposition. The early setting of the game will go a long way toward determining the outcome. If either squad is successful in this regard, it will be the deciding factor, mark my words. Both squads have a stable of talented running backs, but I don't think any of these guys will really be successful. Chris Johnson's speed may allow him to break a run or two, but for the most part, I envision him struggling to get any separation against the Ravens D. As for LenDale White, every Pittsburgh fans knows all too well how Baltimore handles overweight, slow running backs who rely on physicality and wearing down the opposition.
The Ravens defense will do its best to force the hand of Kerry Collins and try to get a costly turnover or three. But Kerry's done this once or twice in his career, and I think he does an effective job of moving the ball and playing smart football. A potential key I see for the Titans O is Chris Johnson getting the ball in the passing game. Screen passes and shovel passes could be deadly to Baltimore.
As for the Ravens offense, Joe Flacco surprised absolutely no one by laying an egg against a decent Miami defense, and I wouldn't expect much out of him this week against the ferocious Titans squad. The Ravens three-headed rushing attack needs to step up against that nasty Titans D-Line or the Ravens only chance to get on the board will be in the hands of their defense.
The Pick The Ravens have become something of a trendy pick this week, but consider me unimpressed. Unless they can force Kerry Collins into making a bad mistake or two (a definite possibility) I can't imagine the Ravens getting on the board. The Titans' ultimate weapon, Chris Johnson, finds a way to get in the end zone despite being a bit ineffective for most of the game and the Titans win 17-7 because of it.

Arizona at CarolinaThe Cardinals, to me, seem like the typical just-happy-to-be-here team. I mean I love the Cardinals, and would probably rank them as my second favorite NFL team behind the Steelers because of all the Pittsburgh connections (Larry Fitz, Steve Breaston, Ken Whisenhunt, Russ Grimm), but this squad just isn't ready for primetime yet, as they say. A playoff win is a terrific step in the right direction for the long-struggling Arizona franchise, but they have a lot of building still to do before they can be taken seriously in this kind of game. With Anquan Boldin out, the Cards entire offense is going to be based around the Kurt Warner-to-Larry Fitzgerald connection.
DeAngelo Williams has been nothing short of spectacular late in the season, and Jake Delhomme has one of the most deadly weapons in the NFL at his disposal in Steve "don't you dare trash talk me" Smith. The Cards D still needs a fair amount of work and will have their hands full with this squad.
The Pick Unless Larry Fitzgerald has the absolute game of his lifetime and Anquan Boldin somehow plays, I just don't like this matchup for them. So give me the Panthers 31-17 with Steve Smith and Larry Fitzgerald both going off for big yards and DeAngelo Williams going off for a big day.

Philadelphia at New York Giants
The Giants couldn't have been too thrilled with this matchup, all that work to get a number 1 seed and now they get a game against their long-time bitter division rivals. Yikes. This one should be an excellent game I think. Donovan McNabb has been simply spectacular the past several weeks, and as long as he avoids getting another case of the dry heaves, I think we should expect similarly excellent play from him in this one. And of course, the Giants have their own big-game big-play stud at quarterback in Eli Manning.
While the Eagles have the highly regarded Brian Westbrook playing running back, one of the top dual-threat players in football, but the Giants have not one but two backs who ran for more yards than Westbrook this season, so I think you can safely expect the Giants to establish a better ground game.
The Giants got a nice boost to their D when Justin Tuck all but declared he would do just about anything to play in this game, even if it means amputating something like Ronnie Lott.
The Pick I expect this one to be a pretty close because of just how well the Eagles are playing these days. The Giants will have some rust issues to overcome after the bye week against the hot Eagles. However, that won't be enough for Philly. Give me the Giants 24-20. Eli plays very well yet again and Donovan just can't do enough to get a W for the Eagles against a much better G-men squad.

I'll be back tomorrow with an in-depth Steelers preview.

Bye Bye Shady?

No more than a couple days after we heard yet again that the beloved star tailback for our Pitt Panthers LeSean McCoy would be back for his junior season, it is now looking like Shady may in fact, be turning pro after all, the Post-Gazette is reporting.

The second most productive running back to ever don the Pitt uniform, McCoy will be following in the footsteps of recent NFL studs Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis and NFL dud Greg Lee in turning pro early from Pitt in the last few years. Obviously McCoy falls nicely in line with the latter two and not with Lee.

In that story, it is even reported that McCoy apparently talked to Larry Fitz about the decision, which makes sense considering Fitz was in an almost identical spot when he was here. An unbelievably talented third-year sophomore who had done nothing but dominate in his time at Pitt, but really couldn't have reached much greater heights on the field, and its questionable as to whether or not the team they'd be returning to would be worth it to them.

Of course, assuming this is true and that McCoy is turning pro, it's a tough pill to swallow for Pitt fans everywhere. We are losing out on a fantastic running back and a very rare talent. We've been lucky to have two superstars like Larry Fitz and Shady in this decade. And while it definitely dims the outlook for our 2009 Panthers season, I don't think any true Pitt fan can fault this kid for coming out early. He figures to be a first round pick, and at absolute worst an early second rounder, which means serious cash. And to be honest, I don't know if he's going to be able to get any better in a Pitt uniform. He may take a year or two to develop into the star back at the NFL level I think he can be, but there is little doubt in my mind that he can be a 1000 yard rusher and a home run threat for an NFL team. So good luck Shady and if you've played your last game at Pitt, thanks for the memories, and if not, then I'm looking forward to next season's Pitt squad more than any team since I've been following the school.