The Pittsburgh Steelers have decided to keep the same field configuration that treated the nation to images of a moss-covered tar pit during a late November Monday-nighter with the Dolphins.

But for a late field goal by the Steelers, we might have seen the first scoreless tie since 1943, and the first ever in the era of overtime.

The stated reason for the decision not to install the fake stuff?  The players want grass.

But which players?  Two years ago, a vote conducted by the NFL Players Association concluded that Heinz Field has the second-worst playing surface in the league.

Steelers chairman Dan Rooney recently said that the decision to stick with grass was motivated in part by safety, and he blamed running back Willie Parker’s broken leg on the FieldTurf in St. Louis.

With all due respect, we don’t buy the notion that the new fake turf causes injuries of that type.  Besides, if the Steelers were so concerned about safety, why did they allow their guys to play on green cement for more than thirty years at Three Rivers Stadium?