Steelers vs. Rams: Week 16

Steven Jackson leads the 2-12 Rams into Heinz Field

Back in 2001, the St. Louis Rams were the top dogs in the National Football league.  "The Greatest Show on Turf" laid waste to teams as if they were toying with them, led by QB Kurt Warner, RB Marshall Faulk, and a bevy of WR talent.

Just a few short years earlier, the Rams were the worst team in football.  In a division largely dominated by San Francisco for over a decade, the Rams - first in LA, then in the STL - always seemed to be the whipping boys.  A bold move by Head Coach Dick Vermeil during the 1999 preseason set the wheels in motion for those great Rams teams to come.  The Rams had gone out and signed free agent QB Trent Green to a 4-year $17.5 million contract to be their starter, a bold move by a team just trying to get their head above water.  In a 1999 preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, Green sustained a major knee injury that was bad enough to place him on Injured Reserve for the entire season.  With no true NFL back-up on their roster, Vermeil put the team in the hands of former Arena League player Kurt Warner, who had a career NFL QB rating of 42.7% in minimal playing time.

The Rams never looked back.  They won Super Bowl XXXIV over Tennessee in one of the great championship games ever, and by the time 2001 rolled around, they had become the alpha male of the NFL.  Under the guidance of Head Coach Mike Martz and his bizarre passing offense, the Rams went 14-2 and were once again headed to the Super Bowl after steamrolling through the NFC playoffs.

In Pittsburgh, the team was still in what us locals call "The Slash Era".  Head Coach Bill Cowher had given the reins to QB Kordell Stewart and Stewart went on to have a fantastic season, throwing for 3,000 yards and making the Pro Bowl.  The Steelers were led by Stewart, RB Jerome Bettis, the WR tandem of a young Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress.  On Defense, the Steelers relied on their LB core of Jason Gildon and Joey Porter, as well as rookie NT Casey Hampton and rookie ILB Kendrell Bell.  After an opening day loss in Jacksonville, the Steelers proceeded to run through the AFC in due fashion, on their way to the AFC Championship Game - the first played at Heinz Field - against the up-start New England Patriots and rookie QB Tom Brady.

You all know how that story ends.  Bottom line, had it not been for a man named Brady....the Steelers and Rams would have more history between them than just Super Bowl XIV.  We came very close to a match-up of "The Greatest Show on Turf" vs. "Blitzburgh" in 2001.

The game tomorrow at Heinz Field will not bring the same type of hype.  The Rams have once again fallen on hard times, and are just hoping to not finish the season 2-14.  The Steelers still have hopes of a top 2 seed and a bye in the AFC Playoffs that start in two weeks time.  The Rams are now playing with their third QB of the season, journeyman Kellen Clemens.  Clemens will be starting Saturday in Pittsburgh barring any miracle comeback by starter Sam Bradford.  The Rams are fighting for the job of head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who just a year ago appeared to have this team on the right track.  If the Rams do finish 2-14, Spagnuolo will be looking for employment elsewhere in 2012.

The Steelers got another break Thursday night when Indianapolis took out Houston 19-16, ending any hope of a top 2 seed for the Texans.  Once again, the Steelers are looking for a slip up by the Baltimore Ravens to get them back into the #2 seed.  Either way, it will all be happening under the watchful eye of someone other than QB Ben Roethlisberger.  After toughing it out in San Francisco, Big Ben will be out for this game and probably next week at Cleveland as well.  Dig a little deeper, and you will find a Steelers team that greatly needs that bye week provided by the #2 seed,  Injuries are mounting, and it seems that the NFL may have finally caught up to Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau.  In order to make a deep run at defending their AFC Title, the Steelers will need to adjust on both sides of the ball to account for missing personnel.  They may need to change up their pass defense strategy, figure out a way to get pressure on the QB again, and perhaps find a running game on offense.

The Steelers picked a great week to do that, as the Rams are near dead last in every defensive and offensive category.  Hopefully the combination of Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon can get the job done, because a loss here would be one of the worst in team history.

Predication:  Steelers 34, Rams 10

Merry Christmas from Steel World Order!