The Kazmer Report

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

I feel I had better start this out with a disclaimer: The following comments are not based on in-depth economic analysis.
When I talk about trade deals the nation’s leaders are making with other countries, I don’t know a lot about them. This is about one general principle: Politicians should be working more on business ventures and less on war plans.
So I like headlines that include trade deals with foreign nations. America needs its products to be coveted commodities around the world. The more United States businesses export at a profit the more jobs will be created.
The intricacies of trade deals with South Korea and other countries should be debated about by smarter people than I. But I would hope lawmakers are making those deals with the nation’s best interest in mind, so that America is profiting in some way.
The time for war is over. As former President Calvin Coolidge said: The business of America is business.
More on buying American.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

It seems every time I write something about the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team’s performance the following week makes me look foolish.
Is their age and experience a good or bad thing? I honestly don’t know anymore. The beating they gave Tennessee on Sunday might still be fallout from the Terrible Towel curse allegedly placed on the Titans after they walked on the Steelers icon a few years back.
Superstitions aside, Pittsburgh looked pretty good. We’ll see if they can keep it pulled together.

+ Some comments on Pitt and Tino Sunseri.
Kazmer, Siwy.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

What exactly does it mean to be married?
Mexico City lawmakers apparently think it means nothing more than a temporary legal agreement between two people.
They are considering legalizing wedding deals that last a minimum of two years. When they expire couples can agree to either renew or cancel their subscription, uhh, I mean marriage.
They say it will strengthen the harmony of relationships by leaving an easy out. But there are more holes in this argument than in the Steelers’ offensive line.
Marriage is sacred. A magazine subscription is not. Anything that moves the meaningful bond of two people closer to the latter should be strongly opposed.
Read more of my thoughts here. Bruce Siwy’s argument here.

— All that I have to say about the Pittsburgh Steelers is:
+ They had better find some able bodies for the offensive and defensive lines.
+ If Ben Roethlisberger can’t play Dennis Dixon is the only viable option at quarterback. Charlie Batch won’t last 10 snaps behind the current state of protection.
+ At the beginning of the year I thought Pittsburgh’s age and experience would be an advantage because of the lockout — boy was I wrong.
+ That being said, it is only Week 5.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

I guess I could throw some sort of metaphor together here about Pitt’s offense and fuel.
It lived up to its high-octane billing Thursday night. No, I didn’t get to watch the game — work.
Things from the stat sheet that caught my eye:
+ Ray Graham rushes for 226 yards.
+ Tino Sunseri doesn’t throw an interception.
+ Sunseri runs for 35 yards and a touchdown.
The Maine game that I went to a few weeks ago is still too fresh in my memory for me to feel good about Sunseri. But things must have went better Thursday.
Beating the No. 16 team in the nation 44-17 might be the biggest statement game the Panthers have had in a few years. The only other one I recall is when Pitt took down West Virginia a few years back — the Mountaineers were ranked No. 1 or 2. If you have a more recent signature game, post it on this report. Dave Wannstedt wasn’t known for signature wins. Hopefully Todd Graham will be.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

I know it is easy to pick on Bruce Arians when things go bad.
But when an offensive line can’t hold blocks for more than a second, adjustments need to be made. Arians didn’t make a noticeable change that improved Pittsburgh’s offense Sunday night.
The Indianapolis defense just isn’t that good — and Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t figure out how to block their defensive ends.
OK, so Pittsburgh’s offensive line is beat up, and, quite frankly, very average. But good coordinators adjust. Dwight Freeney pressured Ben Roethlisberger almost every play. But Arians didn’t run more roll-outs or provide better backfield blocking with running backs and tight ends. He simply doesn’t adjust to hostile defenses very well.
Arians might be able to write a decent playbook, but he is a poor game-day schemer.
Next week Houston is likely going to score more than 20 points. If Curtis Painter could find success against the Steelers defense, Matt Schaub could have a field day.
And no Steelers tackle will be able to block Mario Williams.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

College football is a business.
And like any other financial venture — loyalty exists as long as profits are good.
The Big East’s football future wasn’t bright with Pittsburgh and Syracuse, and it is barely a spark since the teams have been accepted into the Atlantic Coast Conference. Some call their departure unethical and disloyal.
But rumors of leaving have been swirling through fan bases of several key Big East teams. This decision was based on self-preservation. And it will likely prove to be a wise one.
Basketball alone is not going to be enough to sustain the Big East as a major college conference.
Even with the addition of Texas Christian University — and even if rumors of Air Force and Navy joining are true — Big East football is growing weaker.
Rumors include Rutgers applying to the ACC, West Virginia looking to leave and TCU considering going back to the Mountain West Conference.
Things started going bad in 2004 when Miami University left. The only colleges with decent football programs added were Cincinnati, Louisville and the University of South Florida. And those programs are not perennial winners.
Notre Dame has been benefiting from the conference’s superb basketball reputation since 1995 as a member only in that sport. If the Big East would have convinced the Irish to join as a football member teams might now be scrambling to enter the conference.
Pitt’s decision is sound. They strengthened their position in the football community and lost perhaps only a little ground in basketball. Now they will face Duke and North Carolina, no slouches on the court.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

Houston is the next big test.
It’s never good to underestimate an opponent, but the Colts should flatten easier than Seattle did on Sunday.
In Week 4 the Steelers go to Houston — a team with a powerful passing attack. That game will be an indication of how well the Steelers will do this year. Here are some thoughts on Pittsburgh’s strengths this season. Kazmer. Siwy.

— I wonder if Texas Christian University is regretting moving to the Big East. Their entrance into the conference was thought to bolster the conference’s football ranks. But now Pittsburgh and Syracuse are headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pitt is going to have to learn how not to blow a lead to find success against new conference foes including Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

NFL pundits I have listened to seem to think this will be a bounce back weekend for Pittsburgh —everybody but Warren Sapp, I suppose, who called the Steelers “old, slow and it’s over.”
And to a point, Sapp is right. The team is aging in some areas. I have been critical on this report about team management resigning veterans including Troy Polamalu to long-term deals —because they are aging. But the team is not all that slow when considering their young speedster wideouts, including Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown. And “it” is certainly not over.
Sapp, is well, a sap on this topic — a prisoner of the moment. I wouldn’t want to be the Seattle Seahawks this weekend.
If the Seahawks thought it was hard to move the ball against San Francisco in week 1, they will find Pittsburgh’s defensive performance much harder to overcome.
The Steelers were trashed by rival Baltimore 35-7. They are not going to swallow that loss without repercussions.
This will be a bounce back week for Pittsburgh —and hopefully my fantasy team as well.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

NASA has plans to build a multi-billion dollar rocket that will travel beyond the moon in the 2030s.
The prototype resembles the Apollo-era machines more than the now defunct shuttles. But engineers say the new rocket is much more powerful.
Unfortunately the nation is broke.
NASA’s announcement is probably an attempt to prove its relevance in a time of growing unemployment and the constant threat of another recession.
It would be nice to think that Americans will walk on Mars in the next 20 or 30 years. But if humans are on another plant, astronauts will likely have to travel with cosmonauts — or whatever China is calling their space men.
The national debt is $14.7 trillion and growing (debt clock). NASA expecting an amply-funded deep-space mission is shooting for the moon.

Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

It was a bad weekend for Pittsburgh football.
In fact, I don’t know where to start dropping criticism, so I will go in chronological order. Starting with the Pitt game I went to Saturday. Sure, Pittsburgh beat heavy underdog Maine 35-29, but the game was way too close.
But that’s not Pitt’s Maine concern (em, sorry, I had too). Seriously, Tino Sunseri should not be the Panther’s plan for the future. I wouldn’t have him starting next week in Iowa. Sunseri looked like the proverbial duck out of water, or maybe a fish out of water throwing ducks —either way, he looked bad.
At times Sunseri was surprised when the ball was snapped. He had trouble finding the open receiver. He was horrible under pressure and outside of the pocket.
Walk on quarterback Trey Anderson came in the game late and led the team on a few short drives. He looked better than Sunseri, but that’s not saying a whole lot.
Given the two, I’d start Anderson in Iowa. Yeah, its a tough place to get a first start, but the team will see what the kid’s made of.
On Sunday the Steelers were dismantled by the Ravens. The team will likely bounce back Sunday against Seattle. But I have mentioned before on this report the age of some of Pittsburgh’s key players. I don’t think they should have resigned Troy Polamalu to a long-term deal. They are relying on several aging veterans for the next few seasons. Their performance is waning.
I just read that right tackle Willie Colon will likely miss the rest of the season. He is having surgery on his triceps. Better give Flozell Adams a call. What’s one more mid-30s athlete.
The Colon report.