Pittsburgh Steelers

         Ah, summer's end. The kids are getting ready for school, the Pirates are firmly ensconced in last place, and hurricane season is in full effect. Time for some pre-season football!

Continue reading "Preseason: Vick, Stallworth, and ..."

As OTA's and minicamps progress while training camp begin to roll over the horizon, America's favorite sport nears its regular season.  While nobody knows how well teams will do in a season with the randomness of injuries and several other factors, it's always interesting to look ahead at the schedule and prognosticate.  Unlike most people, I'm not going to give just a win or loss for each game, rather I'm going to predict how many times the Steelers would win if they played a team 10 times.  For instance if the Steelers were playing a very crappy team, I would say 9/10 or 10/10.  At the end i will add up the wins and divide by 10, giving us how many wins they will have this season.

Continue reading "Steelers Game By Game Preview of ..."

During the 2008-2009 season, an encouraging pattern appeared.  The Steelers would start the game well, at some point fall behind, and in the 4th quarter, Big Ben would engineer a game winning drive.  This phenomena reared its head during the regular season, but in the biggest game of the year, Super Bowl XLIII.  Why is the leader of such a sub par offense (22nd in the league during the regular season) the engineer of so many come from behind wins? When examined, two major reasons can be found.

Continue reading "Why Ben Roethlisberger Will be the ..."

Coming off a super bowl victory last season, hopes couldn't be higher for the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers, as they should be.  While the team is returning 20 out of 22 starters from that super bowl run (only losing Larry Foote and Bryant Mcfadden), things begin to look bleak as we look at the possible roster a year from now.  In 2010, the Steelers will have an alarming number of key players that will be free agents if these players do not re-sign.

Continue reading "Trouble Ahead for the Steelers"

Hey there and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from me and mine. Just a little list I threw together to celebrate the holiday...I had more time on my hands today than Kerry Collins did against Detroit. And that's saying something. 

Continue reading "Top Ten Reasons Every Steeler Fan ..."

Well, in retrospect, maybe Rashard Mendenhall wasn't the best choice for the Steelers number one pick. After the horrible performance put on by the offensive line against the New York Giants, do you think that head coach Mike Tomlin is second guessing himself? Should they have spent a portion of their picks on shoring up the only glaring weakness on a Super Bowl caliber teeam?

Continue reading "Steelers troubles begin with offensive ..."

And there you have it, folks, the final from Heinz Field: New York 21, Pittsburgh 14.

I've only got a few things to say here.  First off, the Steelers' offense should be ashamed of themselves.  Second, the Steelers' defense are heroes and the offense should buy them all dinner.  Third, Mike Tomlin has a lot of butts to kick, chief among them Ben Roethlisberger's.  The Steelers should have had that game, and they lost because only half the team showed up.

Continue reading "Steelers' Offense Hands Win To Giants"

As reported by KDKA, Santonio Holmes will be facing misdemeanor possession charges after police allegedly found marijuana "blunts" in his car.  Holmes has been deactivated and will not play Sunday against the Giants.

Continue reading "Holmes facing charges; no word on ..."

Mewelde Moore hit the end zone twice and Byron Leftwich even got into the act as the Steelers turn the Bengals into creamed kitty, 38-10.  Speaking of hitting, Ryan Fitzpatrick hit the turf seven times thanks to the efforts of LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior, while for the first time this season Ben Rothlisberger was not sacked at all.

Continue reading "Willie Who?"

Just in time to disappoint Steelers fans worldwide for the Bengals game, Willie Parker stepped in a hole and aggravated his sprained MCL.  Some details at http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/74034 for the curious.

Continue reading "Quick Shot: Hole 1, Willie Parker 0"

I apologize again to anyone who may have been following along.  Things have been difficult for my family, and even though I've still been following the NFL and especially the Steelers, I haven't been in the mood for blogging.  I took some time to go over posts from the last few weeks, and you've all had some insightful comments.  Hello again, and I hope you have all been well.

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Week six is nearly in the books, and the Black and Gold look more black and blue. The scheduling gods finally got one right, and Pittsburgh gets its bye week at the best possible time. After going through a meat grinder against Jacksonville and Baltimore, the Steelers needed this week to heal up, with the running back and D-line positions being hardest hit. Willie Parker looks set to return, which will take some of the load off of Big Ben. He’s partnered up with Najeh Davenport, who made his return last week after first round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall was lost for the season.

Continue reading "The State of the (Steeler) Nation: Week 6"

I swear, I thought I was watching the Malone-era Steelers today.  Looks like the talking heads were on to something.

I don't blame Roethlisberger.  Far from; everyone else around him was falling apart.  So much for our improved offensive line!  And what is it about mid-range passes that our secondary just can't stop?  Ugh!

Continue reading "If you want respect, that isn't how to get it."

crown to the Browns.  Whether blatant or subtle, there is an ingrained lack of respect for the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout the sports media.  The slightest wobble, and the talking heads pounce, quick to condemn.  But week after week of solid football, and are they as quick to praise?  No.  Teams like the Patriots and Cowboys can do no wrong.  The Eagles come out and look solid in two games and suddenly jump ahead of a team with a better record.  The best Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z can manage for the Steelers in his "power rankings"?  Fourth, because he's making excuses for the Eagles.  Fourth is a damn good place to be, but when you've got receivers who throw the ball away before scoring, and you put up 37 and still lose... no, you're not better at 1-1 than the Steelers are at 2-0.  I can't lie about that twice in one post.  Ordinarily I like Dr. Z a lot, but I think he's got his pants around his ankles here.  Peter King, another guy I usually like, seems to think McNabb has suddenly become Superman.  What the hell, guys?

Continue reading "Harumph."

The remains of Hurricane Ike blew through Ohio on Sunday afternoon, conspiring to knock out the power in most of my county and prevent me from keeping up with the game on NFL.com (whose play-by-play page I find very useful, if a bit boring).  I finally found out what happened on Monday evening, and I'm glad I wasn't watching -- I would have had a heart attack!

Continue reading "The Quadrennial Cross-State... Rivalry? ..."

I apologize to those few of you who may have been regularly reading my ramblings.  This has been something of a hectic week, and a few days ago, I lost my best friend.  My dear cat Haplo, companion of fourteen years, shuffled off this mortal furball and is now preparing to watch the Steelers stomp the Browns for the tenth time in a row from a much better vantage point.  Miss ya, buddy.  Anyway, that kind of put me off wanting to do much of anything for a couple days, but here I am, back for the attack.

Continue reading "Growing Up Rivals"

In a victory so emphatic that Ben Roethlisberger made way for Byron Leftwich, the Steelers opened their season with a 38-17 trouncing of the Houston Texans.  The Steelers let off the gas in the fourth quarter, moving to backup QB Leftwich and allowing the Texans into the end zone, but it didn't matter.  Nobody could stop the ground game, and the black and gold defense shut down Matt Schaub.

Continue reading "Week One Wrapup: Steelers Romp Over Texans, 38-17"

So here we are.  We've finally made it: game day!  The Steelers take the field against the Houston Texans.  (Anybody else remember the days when Houston was a division rival in the AFC Central?)

Continue reading "Opening Day: Keys to the Game"

Good news for the Steelers' defense: 2007 team MVP James Farrior isn't going anywhere.  Farrior, who had one year left on his contract, had a five-year, $18.25 million contract dropped in his lap in August.  As the defensive captain he'll also be wearing the new on-field helmet radio this season.  With Farrior masterminding Larry Foote, LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison, all I have to say is, "Joey who?"  I hope Mr. Porter is content down there in Miami, because we're doing great without him.

Continue reading "Tuesday Quick-Looks: Farrior, Kemoeatu and Hartwig"

ESPN has ranked the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers as #1 in the nation, just ahead of the fans in Green Bay.

To me, this is no surprise.  Many times over the years, I've heard fans of other football teams talk about the black-and-gold invasion of their stadiums when the Steelers came to town.  Through the best and worst of times both, Steelers fans have always displayed fanatical loyalty to their team, no matter where the boys were playing.  It's a Steelers tradition, something the unfortunate Pirates can't likewise claim.

Continue reading "ESPN: Steelers fans #1 in league"