The Steelers broke the game away against the Giants

The Steelers have overcome injuries all season; but on Sunday there was an injury that they couldn’t. That would be Greg Warren. “Who”, you ask? Even some of the Steelers’ most die-hard fans couldn’t tell who Warren was before this week. Greg Warren would be the long snapper for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who injured his knee in the 4th quarter against the Giants.

We all know that injuries are part of the game and that good teams have to get over it. They need to have reliable reserves that can step in and get the job done. The Steelers were short on a couple of players against the Super Bowl champion Giants. Wideout Santonio Holmes was disabled because he for some reason felt the urge to smoke joint while he was driving through Pittsburgh. Cornerback Bryant McFadden was out with a broken arm. Running back Willie Parker has been out with knee problems. Left Tackle Marvel Smith was out with back problems. The Steelers also lost Ryan Clark during the game with a dislocated shoulder. Mitch Berger hurt his muzzle on a punt and was doing his best to punt the entire game. But the one injury the Steelers couldn’t get over was the loss of Greg Warren, who tore his ACL in his knee.

The Steelers had players at other positions step in and produce. Nate Washington for Holmes, Tyrone Carter for Clark and Mewedle Moore for Parker are the main candidates. The thing is, no one carries two long snappers on their team. They only have “emergency snappers” that they can fill at short notice if something happens. Linebackers James Harrison and James Farrior fill that emergency role for the Steelers. Harrison was the player who volunteered to replace Warren.

Pittsburgh led 14-12 at the time. Roethlisberger was sacked and the Steelers had to punt from their own 18-yard line with 6 minutes left. That’s when Harrison came in and lobbed the ball over punter Mitch Berger’s head and out of the end zone for a touchdown. That tied the score at 14 and the Giants returned the ensuing free throw to the 50-yard line. Although the Giants hadn’t been moving the ball much all game, they made a good run to score a touchdown and take a 21-14 lead. .

The Giants drive before the end zone snap also had a very opportunistic play. New York was down 14-9 with just under 10 minutes left in the game. They faced a 4th and 1 from the Steelers 29-yard line. Eli walked up to the line of scrimmage and seemed confused, so he signaled for a timeout. Unfortunately, the Giants had just used a timeout and you can’t call two in a row. So they were called for a game delay and were now facing a 4th and 6 from the 34-yard line. Eli made a stupid play that seemed to cost the Giants their chance to win the game. But he made up for it on the next play when he connected with Amani Toomer on a hot 30-yard route to the Steelers 4.

All the “experts” claim that the Giants are the best team in the league. New York definitely had a couple of plays in this one. It was a good, tough and forceful match. But they could/should have missed it very easily. It was the injury to long snapper Greg Warren that opened the door for New York to make it through this game. If Warren is not injured; I doubt any of the so-called “experts” are calling the Giants the best team in the league.