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Dressed in black A Pittsburgh Steelers shirt, the woman sniffled in tears as she made her way through the still cluttered memorial outside the Tree of Life synagogue at Squirrel Hill, slowly and unconsciously rolling a small rock in her right palm. . I had never intended to start this week with the newspaper "Steelers" with a visit to Squirrel Hill, but you quickly realize that in this city there is no way to Separate the two: On Monday morning, the two elements above the fold the Pittsburgh post-gazette newspaper is James Conner and the Squirrel Hill massacre. There are other parallels: David and Cecil Rosenthal, two of the 11 victims of the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in the history of the United States, were brothers of Michele Rosenthal, l & # 39; 39, former Community Relations Manager for the team; Head coach Mike Tomlin also lives one block from the synagogue, near Rooney Art II. Two Steelers bus players, accompanied by attacking midfielder Franco Harris, attended the funeral of the victims last week. In Baltimore, eight days after the attack, Ben Roethlisberger sported crampons sporting the now-omnipresent "Stronger Than Hate" logo and featuring the Star of David in the Steelers logo.
This logo is ubiquitous on this memorial, held this week at Tree of Life – always framed by a yellow police strip and full of flowers, candles, rain-soaked signs and heart-rending personal notes. It is painted on the stones that the mourners left for the dead, according to Jewish custom. There are thousands of stones here, precious stones stacked on four, five high, above the nameplates, and when you start to contemplate the gigantic collective tapestry of sorrow that they form, it is immediately overwhelming. The rest of the world may have already passed the next mass shot – 13 dead again 12 days later in Thousand Oaks, California – but the chagrin at Squirrel Hill persists.
Even here, the Steelers want to say something. In addition to the stones on which appears the logo of the team, a man in a wheelchair pays tribute to wearing a Troy Polamalu jersey. A woman stands in front of a steel barricade, tilted in a prayer, brandishing a giant poster asking people to place a steel curtain around the tree of life. "Of course, everyone still feels the pain, but the Steelers have helped to unite this community and support these poor families," said Dr. Stanley Marks, Pittsburgh resident, Pitt graduate and president of the UPMC Hillman Cancer. Center. "Forget about sport – this team is an important part of the community."
After leaving Tree of Life, I climbed a small hill to get to the Commonplace Coffeehouse, located on Forbes Avenue, which had recently received a donation of $ 650 – a free coffee for everyone on Saturday, Nov. 3 – from the from citizens of Newtown, Connecticut, who have mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Just a few months ago, I was in Jacksonville to write an article about a shoot at a Madden tournament. The killer walked right next to a giant poster from the latest Madden NFL cover, starring Antonio Brown. Sport was once our loophole, but the Steelers are the new standard: each of us has connected, sometimes in multiple ways, to a mass shot.
Coming back to my car, a strange beating noise stopped me at the foot of the Jewish community center, on the west side of Squirrel Hill, where the clock tower is in Hebrew, the flag is at half mast and the steps remain covered with flowers. Finally, I traced the sound up to a large bay window at the front of the building where toddlers from the center's daycare had piled up on the windowsill and hammered the until each passerby stops doing what he was doing to smile and pay tribute to them.
Even the bus drivers stopped near their stop to open their doors and wave to the children. As they did, the information screens on the sides of the buses displayed the words: Pittsburgh Strong.
SQUIRREL HILL IS 3.6 miles from the Steelers practice center south of downtown on the banks of the Monongahela River. It is a unique and picturesque place where the old and the new Pittsburgh mingle and young employees head for the American Eagle's next seat, strolling past huge pieces recovered from old steel mills covering the shore like modern art sculptures. Following the late return of the Baltimore Steelers on Sunday, the hottest Monday morning activities will take place on the nearby river, where an American tug Murray tinkers with water, struggling to push a rusty coal chain several hundred feet away. long.
Roethlisberger was perfect against the Panthers, and the Rolling Steelers were not far from showing that their season could prove special after all.
Newton looked disconcerted and the 52 points awarded to the Steelers tied a Panthers team record. Now, Newton & Co. plays three of the next four on the road.
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The cloakroom is so deserted, in fact, that when Zach Banner makes his entrance, he shouts at the assembled media: "Guys, we are not here, why are you here?" The backup quarterback, Josh Dobbs, wears Apple headphones, plastic wristbands bearing the inscription "Humble over Hype" and a backpack covered with Marvel characters. The style of rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph is not much better: his Christmas sweater is a collage of George Costanza of Seinfeld. They take clear example of Roethlisberger, who occasionally hangs in the locker room of old UGG slippers. plug, I also own a pair and they are ridiculously comfortable.) Dobbs, on the other hand, looks like, well, a rocket scientist – what he is, having graduated from Tennessee Aerospace Engineering in 2017. It remains just the time to calculate that his stellar save appearance against the Ravens after Roethlisberger was upset – a pass (essential!) for 22 yards – earned him a career QB of 118.8.
At the top, after watching a movie about Carolina for most of the night (the four days that elapse before Thursday night football is brutal), Tomlin addresses a crowded press room . After discussing Sunday the prolonged maintenance of The Veon Bell – "We want volunteers, not hostages" – he does not say a word about the disappearance of his All-Pro today. Instead, he enchants linebackers Panthers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, even going so far as to compare them to the iconic duo of the Chicago Bears, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. Two chains are hanging on Tomlin 's neck: the one carries a cross, the other a whistle. An army green hat hides his exhausted eyes. At one point, Tomlin spoke badly and instead of complimenting the Panthers to be "fundamental", he calls them a "fundamentalist group". Asked about the ridiculous and dangerous idea of recovering and getting ready to play such a brutal and demanding game in less than four days, Tomlin responds with a shrug that says a lot: "C & # 39; that's what you sign up for. "
Tomlin manages to say something interesting and noteworthy about the myriad of Steelers personnel rotations in defense. The Steelers used their base defense in only 13% of the game against the Ravens. It's no longer odd to see the Steelers defense using seven defensive backs while making the players more likely to swing into action than the Penguins. It's genius, really. In an attempt to compensate for the loss of defensive leader Ryan Shazier, who had been injured in the spine in 2017, and the regression of the former pick of the first round, at the Artie Burns corner, Tomlin has turned the curtain for the first time. steel in a steel comforter to get the most of his team up and down. (BTW: Although he's not talking to the media, Shazier is still recovering and acting as a de facto coach this season.) We exchanged a quick greeting in front of a door near the team's cafeteria where Shazier was wearing a big box and we turned to him, hurry to a meeting.)
With the injured guys and so many misses on the repechage in high school, Tomlin has no choice but to stop dealing with so much static coverage and base zones (the kind that Patrick Mahomes easily exploited for six passes in TD during the second week) and try a concept. I would never have thought of seeing Pittsburgh: Embrace the Chaos. And there are a lot of things to do here: horrible injuries, exceptional losses, unprecedented blockages, ridiculous problems off the pitch – and this is just last month. Defensively, however, embracing chaos works for this team and that means trying six defensive positions, sometimes seven, and asking Mike Hilton to do a blitz more often in the corner of the 5-foot-9 slot machine. What really excels at the Steelers, though, according to ESPN's Matt Bowen, is the "big penny" where, instead of using the traditional four corners and two securities, Pittsburgh uses three. This additional security "joker" is more solid against the race and more effective to cover a tight end, which benefits the Steelers' primary advantage when it comes to match-up.
It is remarkable to note that all the moving elements of this complicated system, like the second group of sugar that defenders Steelers defenders use after the initial defensive defense group and the myriad of signals of the hand they use to communicate between they are remarkable. In the century-old chess match between offensive and defense, it's the next step.
As Tomlin has said, "The base is the basis of the NFL today."
To be successful, Tomlin needs to rely on the highest levels of communication in the field (this takes time), on smarter and faster types of readers, and on the accelerated development of young explosive players, such as Terrell Edmunds. , the rookie security guard Monday to accelerate his recovery after playing in the 61 snapshots in Baltimore. He accused the Steelers of having started slowly on "miscommunication," but said, "We are becoming the defense we wanted to be." It's partly because of Edmunds and his monstrous athletic abilities, which include a 41.5-inch vertical. Standing in a napkin and Nike golf flip flops, Edmunds glances at the ceiling of tiles in the Steelers' locker room. It's at least 12 feet tall, maybe more, but for mere mortals, honestly, it could just as well be 50 feet. Edmunds can touch him, barefoot.
Could he go higher?
"Maybe," he says, "if you put a dollar up there or something."
I guess the sky is really the limit for this defense.
IN THE OFFICE Steelers offensive coordinator, Randy Fichtner, faces the Nerf high-end hoop (clear plastic panel and spring rim) and positioned next to a black-and-white photo of the late Dan Rooney, on the sidelines of the photo. newly framed, Fichtner, has just been added to his collection of favorites. It's a shot of the Steelers locker room moments before their pre-season game against the Eagles. He shows Roethlisberger on the ground as a statesman alongside a delighted group of young Steelers quarterbacks, including Dobbs and Mason Rudolph. "As soon as I saw that, I framed it and gave one to each guy," explains Fichtner. "You can feel the respect between the old guard and the young guns .. I love the way it shows intensity and mentoring."
In May, Roethlisberger told The Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan that he was "surprised" that the team had used the 76th overall pick on Rudolph, and he seemed reluctant to sponsor. the recruit. Later, Roethlisberger said he was just joking. But after his public battles with former offensive coordinator Todd Haley, after throwing teammates as Martavis Bryant and others in the bus so often that you almost expected Roethlisberger to need an operation at the shoulder after considering (several times) to retire, after seeming to blame "the young guys" for losing to the Patriots in the playoffs of 2016 – after so many divalike missteps, I feel that the image in Fichtner's office is proof that in addition to Having his best statistical season ever, Roethlisberger is also making a concerted effort to connect and lead the youngest players on the team, especially in the absence of Bell. (Remember: JuJu Smith-Schuster was 12 years old in 2009 when Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes with touchdown to win the Super Bowl XLIII.)
"Ben did not blink," Fichtner says. "You want your complete arsenal." Well, Bell is an All-Pro player that is not part of our group yet, but Ben has had a calming effect, he said: "Hey, he's n & # 39; Is not there, so let's continue, and when he gets here, it's perfect. "Ben helped not only in the areas of match planning and football, but also, after Bell's departure, from Idea to say to everyone: "Hey, it's okay, we're fine, it's not here, James will intervene, so let's get over it, let's do this."
The only thing that Roethlisberger has not changed? Its super-competitiveness. It's a crazy one, even when it's about things like ping-pong or nerf hoops. Every week, Steelers quarterbacks recruit college passersby into their fantasy league, and they come to understand that Roethlisberger calls Kirk Herbstreit to get insider information. "He competes in everything, even in social circles," said Fichtner. "It's like" Oh, am I supposed to eat that beer now because you're gobbling it up? "
JUST BEFORE The 2017 project, Steelers owner Art Rooney II, was taking part in a golf outing in Pittsburgh when Stanley Marks, family friend and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center president, who treated many of the Rooneys, proposed a project for him. unsolicited advice. "Listen, I do not know anything about football talent or drawing skills," Rooney told Roks. "But this kid, James Conner, is someone you want in your locker room, whatever you need in your football team."
It was all an endorsement on the part of Marks. After all, in December 2015, he was the one who had to inform Conner, then the Pitt Half Runner who had been bulldozed from the ACC player of the year, that he had Stage 2b Hodgkin's lymphoma , and a tumor in the chest. Wider six inches that would require 12 chemotherapy treatments over the next six months. The mass was so big, in fact, that she was pushing Conner's heart and blocking the drainage of the veins in the upper part of her body. "Oh my god, yes, I was caught off guard, the mass was huge," says Marks. "Frankly, if he had waited a few more weeks, he could have had a major disaster in his brain or heart."
On Wednesday afternoon, I was getting ready to go play LA Fitness on the north side of Pittsburgh, where the 'Veon Bell had played the previous week, when I received a call from Marks who m & #' s He saved from what could have been. a career lowlight of all time. (Even lower than the time I've had Mark Wahlberg.) There seemed to be a message in the timing: As talented as Bell is, it may be time to stop running after each of his gestures and analyze each of his tweets and The Steelers' amazing offensive line – and Conner's two-and-a-half year shift from chemo-chemo to an NFL MVP candidate.
"I have two sons, aged 32 and 35, and they're great, I'm blessed," says Marks. "But I tease them and tell them:" When you grow up, I want you to be like James Conner. " Everyone in Pittsburgh just fell in love with this guy. He became an icon in this city. "
It's partly thanks to Marks, who not only cared for Conner, but who promised a concerned Tomlin, before the project, that there was only one chance of relapse of 10 to 15%. (This number has since fallen to a number.) Conner, trained in using his chemotherapy treatments, was declared free of cancer in May 2016 and returned to play at Pitt for his senior season. Before making public the fact that the Steelers had selected him in the third round of the 2017 draft, Marks had received a message from the Steelers team doctor: he was next. "We all went crazy," says Marks. Conner is still going to the UPMC every three or four months for exams and has become a member of the Marks family, who has found himself in tears of joy after Conner's first touchdown in the NFL during the first week. "Thinking where he was and what he's been through, and to see all the success he's had, I could not stop myself," says Marks. "A few weeks ago, he told me that his goal was to participate in the Pro Bowl and I replied:" Great, I hope this will happen. "I thought about the inside really? Now, I think he could do it. "
Conner suffered an epic tear last month, becoming the first player in NFL history with four 100-yard, 50-yard, and one-touch games in the same season. No wonder that when Marks struck Rooney recently, the Steelers owner grabbed him by the arm and said, "Good God, oh boy, you were definitely right for this one."
THURSDAY NIGHT, A Seven weeks before Christmas, Heinz Field is already surrounded by giant garlands of festivities and dotted with menorahs and Christmas trees. With the 6-2 Panthers in town, it seemed rather presumptuous to rejoice so early – for about 10 minutes, until Smith-Schuster, the league's most productive slot machine (and the only to get a full-uniformed dive) scored on a 75-yard pass and, on the next set, on forced TJ Watt pressure Cam Newton in the gift of a lob pick-6 to Vince Williams. And just like that, with 13 points in 14 seconds, what was supposed to be some sort of epic shock of the conference heavyweights has turned, in essence, into a second a week for the Steelers. The same Steelers who started 1-2-1, with their fifth straight win, have established themselves as legitimate contenders for the Super Bowl.
Even the Steelers' Twitter account was in a straight line.
"Thanks, then," tweeted the team after the match, channeling Ariana Grande.
The scene in the Steelers' locker room was also merry – "rockin" is described by Smith-Schuster – as I've never seen it during the regular season. This could also have had something to do with the five days off that Tomlin offered to the team after the match. Tomlin was impressed by the Steelers' reaction this week. Passing the defensive tackle Cam Heyward, the coach gave him what I would call a enthusiastic pat on his back. Heck, even Rooney, who discreetly circumvented the chaos by personally thanking the players, seemed to have a permanent face. There is a sign in the locker room, written in the Steelers' police, which says "The standard is the standard", and it must be particularly gratifying for Rooney to see his team react so strongly after a harsh September. , demanding week and the terrible events of Squirrel Hill. Roethlisberger, who made more touchdowns than unfinished and secured a perfect passer, was again carrying his "Stronger Than Hate" holds. Most defensive soldiers wore t-shirts with the same logo during the warm-up before the match. (The only problem: after scoring his 10th goal, Conner was removed from the game to be evaluated for a concussion.)
"It was a crazy week, a really short week," said goalkeeper David DeCastro. "There were times when we did not know what day it was … The guys were crazy, irritable … September sounded the alarm for this team, but we are pulling hard now and building trust. can see it in our game, for sure. "
Near the place where DeCastro was talking – by the way, he said that he was simply directing his inner hockey player when he went after Eric Reid for Roethlisberger – there is a wooden and glass box in the middle of the Steelers locker room that contains 18 different championship hats, dating back to a black and red vintage cap that the team has earned for the 1994 AFC Central Championship If the rest of the season resembles what will be this week in Pittsburgh, they will need a heavier deal.
The cloakroom almost empty, Smith-Schuster passed in front of, heading towards the exit of the stadium, dressed in a bright red suit, red Gucci sneakers and a green tweed tie. It perfectly matches the holiday decorations of Heinz Field.
Only this Steelers team could turn a chaotic and chaotic week into Christmas in November.
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