Ryan Mundy News

Scott Brown is the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Steelers beat writer and can be reached at 412-481-5432 or via e-mail. The Steelers returned to work Monday following a three-day break, but the locker room wasn't exactly upbeat.

Monday, December 14, 2009 at 12:15 p.m. PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Mundy is appealing a $10,000 fine for a late hit on Oakland wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins that led to the Raiders' winning touchdown on Dec.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin: "Moving forward this week and beyond, we can't continue to do what we've been doing and assume that that pattern of behavior is going to change and those outcomes are going to change." Since his players did not respond to "Redemption Sunday" in Baltimore and "unleash hell" against Oakland in Heinz Field, coach Mike ...

Ten quick takes on the Steelers' stunning, 27-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders ... * This just in: The Steelers have accepted an invitation to the PapaJohns.com Bowl, where they will play Northern Illinois and probably lose on account of their defense folding in the fourth quarter.

That sentence is what should have come out of Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin when asked, following what offensive stars Hines Ward and BenA Roethlisberger deemed an "embarrassing" loss to the absolutely horridA Cleveland Browns,A if Pittsburgh was a playoff team right now.

In the first game against Tampa Bay, our own Dante Wesley was penalized and ejected for an early hit on a punt return.A Now, whether or not his reasons were justified or caused by another player's rookie mistake, the type of hits that are made by gunners today concerns me.

There are two schools of thought going into Thursday's game against the 1-11 Cleveland Browns.

It was awesomea . But if you are a legitimate competitor, at the appropriate time you ready yourself for the challenges that lie ahead in 2009 and 2010.

As inept as Bruce Arians and his play calling has been this year, it is the defensive secondary that has likely put the final nail in the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers' coffin.

You know, really not a lot needs to be said in regards to how that game ended. I'm not going to make any excuses for it.

Sorry about the delay. It took me an hour to get my computer unfrozen and to get here.

In Sunday's game between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, safety Ryan Mundy was called for a late hit, which gave the Raiders a first down, eventually leading to the game-winning touchdown.

This wasn't an answer to the Immaculate Reception. No, these Raiders still tout a dismal 4-8 record after Sunday's 27-24 upset of their longtime rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Patriots still can win the AFC East. They lead the Dolphins and Jets by a game, but it's pretty clear the Patriots might not be a factor in the playoffs.

Months from now when we look back at the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers , Sunday's fourth-quarter meltdown against the Oakland Raiders could turn out to be the defining moment of their season.

When Josh Cribbs returned a kickoff for a touchdown against the Steelers, it was because he's the NFL's top special-teams talent.

If good tackling has indeed become a lost art in the NFL, the defending Super Bowl champions might be the exception to the rule.

After a 2007 game, Ryan Clark was hospitalized in Denver when complications from sickle-cell trait prevented oxygen from flowing into his spleen.

The Steelers might have to answer to the Law in the Wild West on Monday night as a familiar face, Alliquippa native Ty Law was just signed by the Broncos and is expected to see action.

It's premature to label this a preview of the AFC championship game, but if tonight's game between the Steelers and Broncos doesn't get you pumped you might want to check yourself for a pulse.