Glory at the Bruce Gradkowski Triptych of Fail

This Sunday marks the third time in the past four seasons yinzer Bruce Gradkowski has returned home to Pittsburgh for a late season game at the helm of a garbage team. Steelers fans aren't complaining. Between his trip with the Bucs in 2006 and the Browns last year, the Gradkowski lead offenses have compiled a grand total of three points in two games.

On Thanksgiving in Dallas, Gradkowski completed something like two of his first 11 passes. Don't get me wrong, Gradkowski will never be confused with an adequate quarterback but there's a little of the Derek Anderson syndrome working here, where a mediocre QB is made to look even worse with monstrously poor receiving corps. But the Raiders can run the ball. Anyone who's watched them at all this season knows they have a solid running game. Granted, a team that can run well but can't pass worth a damn generally plays right into the Steelers hands, but then the Raiders stole a victory against the Steelers a few years back with the defense doing all the scoring.

That has to be the main concern going into this game. Yeah, the Steelers ended their record eight-game opposition special team/defensive scoring streak, thankfully, but like with the Kansas City game, any sort of relapse could allow this team to hang around with disastrous results. Really, it's all the Raiders are counting on. But then, while the Steelers are coping with the fallout of HeadacheGate, the Raiders are a neverending font of drama. In the latest installment, noted shutdown corner Nnamdi Asomugha is complaining that Oakland's defense is too simple. And, hey, I'll take that, Punchin' Tom Cable. Big Ben could use an easy game coming back from all this nonsense the last two weeks.

I wish it were more complex (actually, I don't) than crush the Raiders run game, don't turn the ball over or slip up on special teams coverage. The kick coverage did generally look better last week and, like most, I'm happy to see Anthony Madison return to the unit, not only bringing back a key contributor from last year, but deposing Raven scum Corey Ivy. Kind of funny how Madison became the new Chidi Iwuoma over the course of a few weeks. But, yeah, now we get to see for sure.