Paul's is a grocery store out on the Ellwood-New Brighton Road (as that section of Route 65 is known), between the batting cages and the old drive in. As a word to the wise, if you're headed North on 65, you'll see the sign for the Paul's up ahead on your right as you come up the hill, but you should be looking to turn in well before you get to it, since Paul's driveway sits about twenty-five yards on this side of the sign. When you walk in to Paul's, the traditional grocery section is on your left. I didn't spend to much time over there, though, since the real action is on your right. That's where you'll find Paul's butcher counter. The counter is almost larger than life, taking up the length of two whole walls. If you're looking for any kind of pork, veal, chicken, fish, or seafood, then Paul's has got you covered. They have everything from chicken breasts to pork ribs and roasts to lobsters and perch fillets in there. If you're looking for frog legs or goat steaks, then I've got to say that Paul's has you covered there, too. And if you've had your fill of frog and goat for the day and just want some lunch meat to make a sandwich, then they'll freshly slice some Boar's Head cold cuts for you.
Although I'd be happy to give just about everything that they sell a try, the star of the show at Paul's seemed to be the good old fashioned cow meat. Paul's Specialty Meats carries just about every cut of steak that you want, in a variety of grades (from highest to lowest, they are Premium, Prime, and Select). Although the higher the grade, the higher the price, Paul's steaks really are a value, beating just about any prices that I've seen. No matter which grade you choose, you can be sure of two things. One, your steak will be fresh and delicious. Two, you'll get great value for your money. Now, I'm no expert at grading steaks, but I have to say that some of these cuts look like works of art. You can tell that the guys at Paul's are professional craftsmen, that they take their work seriously, and that they'll only serve you the highest quality meats, no matter what you end up choosing.
We went for some Porterhouse steaks and a couple Delmonico steaks. That sounds like a lot of meat for two people to eat, and it is, but I should mention that we were expecting my buddy Homeboy to stop over and eat with us. Unfortunately, the weekend had taken its toll on the good man, and it seems that he was just too worn out to make the trip out to my parents' house. As it was, we saved the Delmonicos until the next day and went right to work on the Porterhouse steaks. It was great getting to compare those great steaks on back to back days, and you really can't go wrong with either one.
We kept it really simple when we cooked the steaks. I just sprinkled on some salt and pepper, got the grill good and hot, and put the two pieces of the puzle together. Halfway through, I turned them, and that was all it took. The Porterhouse, of course, is basically a T-Bone steak with a big filet to go alongside the strip steak, and the Delmonico is usually a boneless ribeye. Either way, you're looking at cuts that are tender enough to cook over the dry heat of a hot grill, and you don't need to worry about using a steak sauce to add extra flavor. Both of those cuts do the job on their own. My dad likes the Delmonico, while I'm a big fan of the Porterhouse, going back to the days when I was a little kid and my grandmother would broil a T-Bone for lunch, and her whole house would smell great. I think that part of the appeal of the Porterhouse has to be psychological, because even the guy behind the counter got kind of excited when we ordered it. It's basically the definition of what a steak is.
So everything was off to a good start, my mom had made some home made French Fries to go with the steaks and we were eating when the game got started. Right off the bat, you could tell that the offense was looking to get it going. On their first drive they started deep in Cincinnati's end and worked their way up field with some good play calling. Ben Roethlisberger is looking right at home running this offense this year, and I think that the Steelers are getting more comfortable with the playcalling mix. They're doing a much better job of using the run and pass to complement each other. I know that there's ben so criticsm so far, but what I'm saying is that the proportion of run yards to pass yards isn't what's important. Let's be honest here: it doesn't matter if the Steelers use the run to set up the pass, or if they use the pass to set up the run. It doesn't matter if the Steelers pass the ball on third and short or if they run the ball on third and short. It doesn't matter what Bruce Arians' favorite color is. What matters is that the Steelers have a balanced offense that allows the different weapons to complement each other and keep the other team guessing. It matters that the Steelers are effective in short yardage situations (and that their offense puts them in short yardage situations, especially on third down). And all that we need to know about Bruce Arians and his various offensive tendencies and preferences is that he's using the Black and Gold's best tools, at the best times and in the best ways, to put them in a position to win.
I didn't even really mind that the first drive ended with a field goal. Of course, I remember back in the days of Jerome Bettis, some people used to joke that The Bus had the easiest job in football, since he only had to run the ball one yard at a time. Well, we all know that those two yards at a time weren't any laughing matter, but on that first drive I was more concerned that the Steelers came out aggressive, looking to prove that there was no letdown following last week's disappointing loss. That's exactly what happened, and the touchdown came on the second drive, which was soon enough for me. And how about Mike Wallace? He showed really good focus on that 50 yard play down the sideline, and with a little bit of work there's no doubt that he'll improve his footwork enough to turn that into a touchdown. I'm also impressed with the way that Hines Ward is playing this year. He's been consistent and dependable throughout his whole career, both as player and as a person in the community, but I was wondering if he could physically withstand the kind of game that he's played for his whole career. Somehow, he's looking better than ever, and I couldn't be happier to see it. Willie Parker also did a much better job of getting in there this week and getting some yards, which was important because we've all heard by now that Rashard Mendenhall "wasn't on his details" this week. That's my new favorite go-to phrase, by the way, and Mike Tomlin just keeps on proving that he's the man.
So things were off to a good start, but we all know what happened from there. Santonio Holmes, who I thought was going to get off to a great start and play a consistently significant role this season, was busy doing his best Limas Sweed imitation out there, while Limas size, speed, and great route running don't count for much if you don't actually, you know, catch the ball. I've heard some of the more cynical (optimistic? heartbroken?) among us say that even this dark cloud might have a silver lining, since Limas is, at least, always getting wide open when he's dropping those balls. Talk about laughing through the pain. As for the performance in the fourth quarter, I'm not quite sure what to say. Of course the Steelers are a better team when they've got Troy Polamalu out there, but that can't be the whole explanation. It just doesn't add up that the Steelers are able to dominate on defense for three quarters (two weeks in a row, at that) without Troy, and then suddenly collapse because of his absence.
And that gets right to the heart of the situation. I'm not sure which Steelers team I'm writing about right now. Is it the team that dominated the Bengals for three and a half quarters on Sunday, or the team that collapsed so unbelievably in the fourth quarter. I know that they hadn't played perfectly up to that point, but let's not forget that they had a 20-9 lead in the fourth quarter. Against the Cincinnati Bengals. That should say it all, but this season is already starting to look like it's being played in a funhouse. So really, the Steelers have won six of the eight quarters these past two weeks, and they've come away with two in the loss column. To make matters worse, they've they've come against the Jay Cutler one week and against the Bengals the next, which only adds insult to the defeats. Let's hope that this thing gets turned around going up against Philip Rivers and the Chargers in prime time.
In summary:
- Steelers lose (1-2)
- Good passing offense, good rushing offense, total defensive collapse in the fourth quarter
- Steaks from Paul's Specialty Meat Market (880 Mercer Road, Beaver Falls, PA)
- Great steaks, great crowd (but I might be biased because they're my parents), great tv and general viewing ability
The Steelers got started
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