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November 30, 2009

Steelers coach gets literary after Ravens loss

pittsburgh steelers coach mike tomlinBaltimore got a double dose of good news last night. First, the Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-17 in overtime. Then Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made a literary reference in his post-game news conference, which may be a sign that the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe haunts the locker rooms of his dear Ravens' stadium.

Actually, Tomlin mangled the words of poet Dylan Thomas when he expressed frustration with the loss and said his team would "not go gently." But he can be forgiven for the slight misquote. I think we should sing hosanna for any NFL coach who can quote the literary gods.

And for those keeping score, here's Dylan's original wording: 

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:31 AM | | Comments (9)
        

Comments

Steelers could have won if Dixon didnt make that stupid throw. I still think ravens aint gonna make the playoffs and steelers will get the wild card

Born in the 'Burgh, I'm a huge Steelers fan, and one of the things I like best about Tomlin is his steady attitude and approach to the game.

Watching the game last night it was clear that the Steelers didn't really play that hard to win. Dixon had a lousy second-half, but Tomlin wanted him to have the experience, gave him the go ahead to have a few tries at a passing drive.

Once Ben and Troy are healthy, the Steelers are one of the best teams in the NFL.

Tomlin is just buying time (and losing games) knowing that it's just a matter of getting his players healthy for the end of the season.

And if the Ravens had forced it in on first and goal from pointblank range last week, the Dolts would be 9-1 now instead of 10-0. But that's football; so what? And let me say this: I'm no fan of the Steelers; even less so of Roethlisberger: But keeping him out of last night's game was absolutely the right call. Far better to miss one game than to end up like Baltimore Colt great John Mackey, who can't even remember who he is any more. Football is only a game. The physical consequences can last much, much longer. I can't help it if Big Ben wants to try his skull on another automobile windshield; but at least that's a call he'll get to make, know what I mean?

Hats off to Dixon. I think he did a wonderful job. One unfortunate pass so what. We found out we have a darn good backup in the wings. I blame the game mostly on some bad play calling from the sidelines and a secondary that can't tackle. Plus stupid penalties that nullified a touchdown run by Dixon.

I admit that I'm a little uneasy with an OT win, considering the Steelers lacked stars on both offense and defense. But a win is a win. And I'm hoping a few more will put some distance between the teams before the meet in December.

I will agree Dixon played a very good game last night. I was there and to say he didn't you don't know football. He will grow with more time to play give him a break. He can only do what the coaches tell him to do. And we should keep him, he's young and talanted.

Yea i agree.. Dixon is young and im glad thomlin gave him the chance to feel what it's like to play a good defensive team like the ravens..Give him some time and you will see a really good qb right there, He has talent he can not only throw the ball but he can run it too!!

This game made me sick! We need to play the game to win it. At the end of the half we had 1.40 seconds and decided to run the clock out. The 2nd to last drive in the 4th Qtr. we pissed away. Dixon played as well as the play calling. 1st half good 2nd half BAD! This kid can play he cann roll out and if nothing is down field can run like hell. Play calling was the worst!!! Why do you have this kid throwing so far down field? Why would you have this kid throw over the middle in OT against this defence? BA set the kid up to fail. Bruce needs to be replaced.


dixion had a great game last night and he was doing things that ben doesn't .Like run the ball for a 25 yard touch down and didnt get sacked because he wasn't holding onto the ball to long.Steelers fans need except the loss and move on.The blame should go to the number one defense "ha "ha".they had the lead in the fourth quarter and lost it .rice would of ran over 43 to

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About the bloggers
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, Nancy Knight grew up reading nearly everything she could get her hands on, including a probably unhealthy amount of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, with the obligatory Jane Austen thrown in. She'll still read just about anything you put in front of her, especially the funny or weird. She lives in the city with her books, cat and drum set.

Dave Rosenthal came to The Baltimore Sun as a business reporter in 1987 and now is an assistant managing editor and Sunday editor. He reads a wide range of books (but never as many as he'd like), usually alternating between non-fiction and fiction. Some all-time favorites: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole; Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and anything by Calvin Trillin or John McPhee. He belongs to a book club with a Jewish theme.
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