THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

What a difference a week makes. Last week, the Steelers Country was worried about the porous defense, the flat offense and an angry Mike Tomlin. Fast forward one week. The defense dominated the Philadelphia "Dream Team" Eagles. The first-team offense had a balanced and efficient attack. And Coach Tomlin walked away, well, not angry. Let's face it, one week preseason week isn't a cause for concern, but Tomlin and the Steelers needed to show some consistency. They did. Ben Roethlisberger connected on two touchdown passes, while the running game churned out yardage with the combination of Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman. The defense picked off Michael Vick three times, limited Vick to 5-for-12 and a quarterback rating similar to a running back's number. So, what does this mean? Well, it shows that Tomlin can push the right buttons. That the veterans know the urgency of righting the ship before the September 11 opener against Baltimore. But it also means nothing. The teams play base defenses and vanilla offensive game plans. The game doesn't count in the standings. And losing left tackles Jonathon Scott and Marcus Gilbert is a frustrating part of the preseason. But if anything comes of it, the preseason shows Roger Goodell and the NFL brass that kickoff off from the 35-yard line is a unmitigated failure of epic proportions. But so were the Eagles on this hot August night in the 'Burgh.