The last time the Steelers beat the Eagles in Philadelphia:

• The Sound of Music premiered
• Malcom X was murdered
• ABC paid the NCAA $32 million for four years to cover Saturday college football games
• The Jets sign a QB name Joe Namath
• Winston Churchill died
• The Dodgers won the World Series
• A stamp cost five cents
• A Hershey bar cost five cents
• The mini skirt makes its appearance
• Cassius Clay becomes Muhammed Ali
• The Rolling Stones release "Can't Get No Satisfaction"
• Congress makes the warning label on cigarettes law

The Steelers last won in Philly in 1965.  They have an horrid record in Philly at 8-25-2.  FC did a great job breaking down the game in his Gospel and our newly added podcast:  http://www.dev2.steelerfury.com/pods/steelerfurypodcast-2.mp3

My key to this game is which McNabb comes to play?  It is a simplistic statement but important.  McNabb has been a roller coaster but when he is on, he is on.  After two games into the season, he has been on.

Under Review.

Most folks know that I often tend to side with the referees.  Reason # 1 is I'm also in that avocation and I know the extra time and sacrifice many officials make to be proficient in their sport.  I know what it is like to work an event and have everyone second guess your judgment and interpretations.  I know (and this is proven in many journals) that most fans are ignorant of the playing rules for the sport they watch.  Reason # 2 is the NFL referees do a pretty good job, in my opinion and don't have the luxury of watching a re-play five or seven times like we do watching TV.

Last week a call was made during the San Diego/Denver game that most likely cost San Diego the ball game.  Veteran White Hat Ed Hochuli made the incorrect call and stopped play.  Hochuli is revered by fans, coaches, players and fellow officials as one of the best.  He made a mistake at the worse possible time for a referee to make a mistake.  Hochuli has since received death threats, e-mails and snail mail.  Hochuli, in a sportsmanlike manner, is actually responding to every e-mail and letter that he gets.  He knew he messed up and he knew he most likely caused the wrong team to win and he is embarrassed.

The problem though isn't Hochuli, it is the NFL rules.  Mike Pereia and Hochuli new the call on the field was a mistake as soon as it occurred.  The playing rules do not allow a review in that situation.  If a running back would have done a similar thing, review is allowed.  Not true with a Quarterback.  The NFL put instant replay into effect to get the call right.  In this case, everyone knew the wrong call was made but the rules did not help out Mr. Hochuli.  The NFL failed and Hochuli will pay the ultimate price as an official; most likely not getting to call a post-season game.

For the record, if the Steelers are in a tight game, I'd love to have Hochuli and his crew calling that game.

Podding Away:

One of my goals at www.steelerfury.com was to get a podcast going.  These are popular and I thought it would be entertaining for our readers.  As I started to look into it, I found that it was more complex than I thought.  Bradshaw2Ben offered to help out (he does this stuff for a living) and it has been a great success.  The show is quality, professional and entertaining.  To my knowledge, we are the only fan site that has this feature.  The good news is it is only going to get better.  In the next few weeks, we will have some unprecedented coverage on this podcast.  Readers can also gives us questions, critiques and comments via PM or e-mailing steelerfuryshow@gmail.com  We are also listed on Itunes now and you can easily download the podcast to your PC or portable thing.

I will say that our future coverage is a direct result of our posters supporting my vision.  A football site that talks about football.  I've been called every name in the book from elitist, NAZI, ego-centric and many more.  SteelerFury.Com has built a network of quality posters and folks that just want to talk about the game.  We were small at first but have grown immensely. 

Heading to Happy Valley.