Barbecue, Tim, and Bafflement... last week of the pretend games.

A barbecue sauce named after Kelly Holcomb and now hitting store shelves is made in Pittsburgh. Screw that. Then again, why do people in Pittsburgh like to invest in pro sports players who burn them? As recently as a couple years ago there was still a popular downtown spot named after former Steeler Rod Woodson even after Woodson won a Super Bowl with the Ravens.

Elsewhere, The Lake County News-Herald makes the point that we should be concerned that Couch looked so bad. They're right, but I'm willing to give it a week or two. What Couch is undergoing is kind of a complete rebuilding -- and this past week was part of the demolishion of his former "starter" status. Looking so bad against the Lions should, at least, prove to everyone that the guy has to reset his mind and work his butt off to be a good backup. It's been said many times, but being a backup can turn a good player into a very good one, especially mentally. Couch was/is a good player who seemed to lack a certain mental even-keeledness (sp? hehe). Well, now here's a chance to develop that. If I were Davis I'd have Couch run the scout team in practice an regularly try and emulate all kinds of different offensive schemes. Just like in baseball you treat a relief pitcher's arm (and mind) differently than a starter's, now it's time for the coaches to change Couch's approach to reframe his mental outlook and learn another part of the game. While Couch's initial backup performance was not good, it alwso wasn't surprising. Let's give it a couple weeks, hope Holcomb isn't injured in the early season, and take it from there.

The headline writers had a good time saying that Earl Holmes is "baffled", but read the article and it's not so bad. I think deep down Holmes knows the defensive changes were a convergence of age and money, but as a highly paid (and still highly capable) veteran he's not going to endorse that kind of strategy.

Oh yeah, first cuts are right around the corner...