Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has probably never had to swallow any loss harder than the 17-14 loss against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday since he has been sitting in the head coaches “chair” over at the Steelers “court.” Okay, I hear your tongues wagging so I will present to you enough proof in order to stop the ranting and raving. When Tomlin, a young and brash defensive coordinator, was hired away from the Minnesota Vikings, I was under the distinct impression he would come riding into Pittsburgh on the back of “Steely McBeam” wearing a Viking hat turned sideways and transform the Steelers into his team.

Once again, Greg McGhee and his receivers controlled the momentum in this one.

McGhee completed 11 of 15 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Eric Frye caught seven of those for 130 yards. They also connected on scores from 9 and 56 yards in the game. Devin Ghafoor brought in five passes for 109 yards; including a 58-yard score in the first half.

BIG WIN—Perry quarterback Greg McGhee completed 11 of 15 passes for 225 yards and threw for three touchdowns in the Commodore’s 35-0 win over North Side rival Oliver. (Photo by William McBride)

Perry’s defense also held Oliver to 60 yards total offense, including -30 on the ground.

Ben who? Charlie Batch, who had one foot out of Pittsburgh at the beginning of the season as he dropped to fourth string quarterback, had the best game of his career, leading the Steelers to a 38-13 blowout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keeping them among the select few undefeated teams in the young NFL season at 3-0.

CAREER PERFORMANCE—Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) hands the football to quarterback Charlie Batch after catching a first quarter touchdown pass from Batch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sept. 26, in Tampa, Fla. Steeler Isaac Redman (33), looks on. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Now they play their first conference game Sunday against the 2-1 Baltimore Ravens, fresh off their best offensive game of the season beating the Cleveland Browns 24-17.

A few NFL rules and regulations can be difficult to understand, sometimes even bordering on the absurd, but there is one particular rule that make perfect sense to me. It is better known as the blackout rule. If a game is not sold out 72 hours before kickoff then the locals have to show up in person at the stadium or put their hands on the radio in order to receive their “football” healing for the week.