PITTSBURGH -Midweek news and commentary:
n The Pittsburgh Steelers are called for 14 penalties in Sunday's victory over Oakland.
Some of them were legitimate, others clearly were not.
Here's the issue: Officials get in trouble with the NFL when they don't call a penalty on a play that's later reviewed at league headquarters.
The result is they're throwing flags on anything close.
That's why James Harrison and Ryan Clark got penalties they didn't deserve.
The NFL is awkwardly trying to change the interpretation and enforcement of rules in midseason.
This should have happened in the pre-season.
Instead, officials and players are forced to adjust at full speed in games that matter.
It's a process, and it isn't always smooth.
n The Steelers claim they've been specifically targeted.
Without watching every game, this claim seems to be dubious. They're probably making just as many questionable calls in other games. The difference is nobody here is paying much attention to the Atlanta-St. Louis game.
Give it time to shake down.
It's just unfortunate the trial-and-error process didn't take place in August, when the games didn't matter.
n Oakland's Richard Seymour is fined $25,000 for throwing a blow at Ben Roethlisberger.
The fine is OK, but Seymour should have been suspended for a game, too.
Nobody likes to lose $25,000, but players make enough money that it doesn't hurt that much. Sit out a game - on top of the half he missed after being ejected - and maybe Seymour won't be so inclined toward mayhem.
Odd that NFL can take such a hard-line law and order stance on some issues and let this one slide without a more serious penalty.
n Pitt and West Virginia play on Friday afternoon.
It's been speculated that the coach who loses this one will also lose his job.
I could see that happening with West Virginia's Bill Stewart, but not Dave Wannstedt of Pitt.
By the way, remember when Pitt and Penn State used to play on Thanksgiving weekend?
n It's Thanksgiving.
In so many ways, it's the best holiday of all. Hope your day is filled with family, friends, food and football.
I'm grateful for readers, some of whom even take the time to e-mail. Thanks.
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com. His weblog is at altoonamirror.com.
