Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Hey Pittsburgh Sports Buzz Readers

One game to go in the regular season, and this one is big. Thanks to that opening kickoff return for a TD to the Jets this is quite an important game. It has a ton of implications for the playoffs.

First of all, it's the Brownies. This rivalry isn't what it used to be, but I still cannot tolerate a loss to those guys in the Brown unis. I don't like Josh Cribbs, I don't like Eric Mangini, I don't like Mike Holmgren and his whiny self, and I don't even like ex Browns like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow. They're just plain annoying. It's almost enough just to beat these guys just for the satisfaction of beating them.

But, there's much more riding on this game. Remember last year, another win would have put the Steelers in the playoffs, but they lost to the lowly Brownies. It's payback time.

Here are the other things riding on this game:
This win will clinch the 2nd best record in the AFC. What does that mean. Simple. It means that the Steelers will have a first round playoff bye, at least one home playoff game and if they win that game and the Patriots lose their first game a second home game. It's happened before. Without the win in this game they will be a Wild Card team and will have to travel a path they've traveled successfully before, but it will be difficult. Remember the path to Super Bowl XL. Three victories on the road in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Denver. Carson Palmer remembers it, that's where his career started going downhill. Jerome Bettis remembers it. Hard to forget that goalline fumble and subsequent tackle by Ben.

But, the Steelers are much better off playing that first game at home and taking their chances. The bye week will help a few players get a little bit better.

Remember Aaron Smith? He's been trying to rehabilitate that torn tricep he injured earlier this season. I would say he would be a great addition to the run defense, but the Steelers run defense has been historically great this year. What would they have done with Aaron Smith. Who knows, but I sure would like to see what he can do with even more time to rehabilitate that injury.

There's a few other players who are nursing injuries and it would be great to get them as healthy as possible. There's Troy Polamalu, a candidate for defensive player of the year. He has been a key to all the games he's played in this year and probably locked up at least 3 with big plays. Tomlin says that he is close to being able to play against the Browns, but a bye week could help him heal even more.

Then there's the quarterback with one extra large shoe. Does he have a broken foot or did he just aggravate an old injury. Who really knows but the doctors. A week off could do nothing but help that injury, not to mention that broken nose he's dealing with.

Needless to say this team would benefit greatly from a win this week against their AFC north rival. Forget the other stuff, payback would be sweet.

Sanchez and Rex visit Hines' Field

Another awesome day for football and today the Steelers "welcome" the Jets into Hines' Field.
The Jets seemingly have been on a downward spiral since their loss to the Patriots. Their status as one of the contenders for the AFC crown has come into question, largely in part due to the play of their quarterback. "the sanchise" has not played up to his nickname as of late to the point where Rexy has mentioned that he was close to benching him. Sounds like things aren't all fun and games as of late for the Jest. They didn't get to 9-4 by mistake, though, and let's hope the Stillers don't overlook them because of their recent drought.

The Steelers, meanwhile, are coming off a win against Cincinnati and are looking to continue to build momentum towards the playoffs and are fighting for that number 2 seed and first round bye. The bad news that surfaced this week is that one of their Defensive player of the year candidates, Troy Polamalu may not be able to play due to a lower leg inury he aggravated during the BenGals game. It looks like right now he will be out for the game but don't count him out until you don't see him on the field today.

The other news today is the return of Santonio Holmes after his departure prior to the season. Santonio has played very well with the Jets and if not for the play of the Steelers 2 rookie up and comers along with Mike Wallace they may be regretting the trade. That trifecta of Steelers receivers has made up for that loss. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more from them in the future. Hines can't keep playing forever, or can he.

Here are my keys to the game. If the Steelers can take care of these they should be able to come up with a W.

5. If all else fails
Continue to play strong defense and rely on the so far reliable Shaun Suishman. Having the new punter get some good kicks off too wouldn't hurt.

4. Get the ball in the end zone.
The offense has been anemic and if not for the kicking of the Suishman they would not be in the position they are now in the standings. Ben and Bruce have said this week that they have not been as patient as possible lately. Let's see if patience is a virtue and leads to some 6s instead of 3s.

3. LaMarr and James provide the heat.
Mr. Woodley and Mr. Harrison have played up to Steelers standards this year which has helped to continue the reputation of the Steelers Defense. One thing has me concerned though, they are not consistently getting to the quarterback. They need to amp it up this week and help the secondary by not giving Sanchez anytime to throw. We know the defense will not allow the Jets to run that leaves the pass. If they can pressure Sanchez that will take care of that part of the game.

2. Make Sanchez make mistakes.
If analysts are right, Sanchez the Southern Cal boy, does not like the cold weather. I've watched a lot of tape on Sanchez and think that he does tend to put a little too much air on the ball in cold weather. This really hangs the ball up and gives the defense a chance for ints. Watch Ben and other top QBs in the league. They have to put a little extra on the ball in this weather to get it to their receivers on time. Ike and Bryant need to catch the ball when they get a chance at it.

1. Establish the run.
The Jets have a very good defense, not up to par with last year, but still quite good. If Mendenhall can run against these guys it will keep the Jets offense on the sidelines and cold when they get a chance.

This is crap

The Steelers played down to the quality of their opponent today and the Refs once again did not help. The refs once again decided that the Bills Offensive Line was made up of a bunch of all pros and didn't hold anyone, while the Steelers line, the ragtag bunch they are, held every other play.

It was truly a home field advantage today. Mendenhall ended up with about 160 yards that counted and over 200 yards including those that didn't count because of penalties. The Steelers took control finally on the final drive after Stevie Johnson dropped a sure touchdown pass.

The Steelers let the Bills in the game after some early scores in the game. It was not pretty, but it was a win.

The Bills

After their thoroughly convincing win against the Raiduhs last week the Steelers head north to visit the Toronto.. I mean Buffalo Bills. The Bills are led by their current former steeler assistant coach, Chan Gailey. After a brief attempt at using a non Steeler assistant they went with Bill Cowher's advice and hired Chan Gailey. Chan was the offensive coordinator for the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, but we won't talk about that. He succeeded Mike Mularkey, and some other guy. Eventually if the Bills keep going with former Steeler assistants they're bound to get better.

The Bills are plagued by a lack of talent on defense. They do not have enough playmakers. On offense they seemed to have risen above the fact that their starting quarterback is an ex BenGal. Johnny Fitzpatrick, as I like to call him, seems to be in a groove and he has a tandem of receivers in Lee Evans and Steve Johnson that are very talented and have been clicking lately with Fitzpatrick. That's about it for them. Noone is really convinced Fitz is going to be a top quarterback in the NFL. He's been putting up some good numbers, but that may be a factor of the system rather than the player.

On the Steelers side, there was a little disappointment yesterday after the injury report came up again with Brett Keisel's name on it after earlier this week it was reported that he was 100% and raring to go. Looks like Keisel is less than 100% and is questionable for the game. Eason and Hood have done a good job in replacing the 2 veteran ends in the lineup, except for the New England game where nobody was able to put any pressure on Brady leading to him picking apart the defense.

I don't think the Steelers will allow Johnny to have the time that Tommy had.

So, the keys for this game are:
1. Keep the passing game in check
Buffalo is a pass happy team, mainly because of the 3 players mentioned above and little talent elsewhere. The Steelers secondary must contain Johnny, Lee and Steve. Did you hear that Mr. Gay. You need to keep them from completing passes. Let me reiterate Mr. Gay, The job of a cornerback is not to let them complete passes, it's to keep them from completing passes. I noticed Keanan Lewis was playing last week. Does that mean that he's again putting pressure on Gay to get some playing time. We'll see.

2. Rashard needs to get more carries
I don't think this game will depend on how many carries Mendenhall gets, but they need to get him back to early season 100 yard per game form. He's slacked off recently in yardage and his numbers would really be down if you took away a few big runs each game. Not to say he has not been productive, because he's producing tds this year, one last week, but he just needs more carries to prepare him for the stretch run. They will need his running down the stretch and after.

3. Continued strong play of Eason and Hood
Nick and Ziggy have done a good job in run support which has led to little dropoff in the defense since Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel have been unable to play. Now, I want to see Ziggy put some pressure on the quarterback while continuing to defense the run. If he can start doing that he will show he is a complete player and we will have some faith that there is a long term replacement for Smith. Smith is a great player, but he can't play forever, as recent injuries have proven.

4. Polamalu needs to show more of last week's play
Troy is easily the best safety in the league right now. This year it has not been as easy to see because the highlight reel plays haven't been there every week. He has had them, just not every week. Teams are doing their best to keep him out of play. They are throwing away from him and looking him off to throw the other way. The Steelers will need some big plays from Troy to continue their march to postseason. I'm sure he's up to the task.

5. Slow the Tidal wave of penalties
I'm a slight bit slanted when it comes to my opinion of officiating, but come on. The Steelers have consistently been infrequently penalized team over the years, mainly because they are very disciplined. The league and the refs, no doubt, have conspired to make sure the Steelers don't play their hard hitting game. They got Ryan Clark for a helmet to helmet hit when he hit the guy in the thigh. Then they got James Harrison for driving Campbell into the ground when he obviously tried to pull up. If this continues there must be a summit between Mr. Rooney and the league. It is just plain ridiculous. I'm convinced that Steelers softened up a little for the Patriots game which took them right out of it from the beginning. They must continue their style of play. Let the Rooneys send a plain white envelope to them to reimburse them for the fines after the season.

Must Win

They're sitting atop the AFC North with Baltimore, they've started off the season a respectable 6-3 and they're playing the Oakland Raiders. Sounds like a pretty good scenario to me. That is until the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz digs a little deeper.

There's no arguing that 6-3 is a record that any team wouldn't mind having at this point. Up until this year most teams would be standing in line to play the Raiders and put an automatic W on their schedule. Yes, I remember last year. But, somehow the Raiders have managed to put together a winning team or a team that has a chance to win every week. You know, that is my theory about the Pirates too. They have to eventually luck into drafting some star players and be able to get enough wins to have a winning season no matter how bad they are mismanaged.

Back to the game at hand today. The Raiders, like I said, have managed to put together a team that seems to have some talent. Al must have fallen asleep a few times and someone made some good choices. Darren McFadden is one. He is having a very good year and putting behind him the first 2 seasons where he underperformed. He's looked this year like the high draft pick he was.

The Steelers are at a Y in the road. They are at a point where a loss could really start them on a downward spiral. They need to show they can win with the players they have instead of getting down because 2 of their starting offensive linemen are out for the season and the others have been in and out with injuries. Also, two of their three starting defensive linemen have injuries that will cause them to miss significant time this season. I have a feeling Keisel will be in and out the whole season with that hamstring and Aaron Smith will be lucky to come back at all this year.

So what are the keys to the game:
1. Stop DMAC, McFadden is having a great year. The first eight games of the season I would have expected them to shut down any running back, but since Smith and the Deisel are out or at decreased effectiveness, the other guys need to step up. They need to revert back to early season form and stuff the run.

2. Average play William Gay needs to play better. Last year he got burned continuously which led to the Steelers reacquiring Bryant McFadden. Unfortunately they couldn't even hide Gay in the Nickle package. The other teams are looking for him and have again toasted him several times. Can Keenan Lewis be any worse than Gay or are you out there Deshea. Calling Deshea Townsend.

3. Antwaan needs to catch the ball. When Ben throws the ball to you in the end zone catch it. He was a good player in his first stint with the Steelers, all around talent, but not always the best receiver. That pass in the endzone should have been caught, and that's not the first one thrown to him that he couldn't hang onto.

4. Don't wait until the fourth quarter. Get off to a quick start then put the Raiders away. After the Patriots first score last week, the Steelers never got in sync. They need to score early and often. Don't let it come down to the last drive.

5. Swish. A new kicker makes me nervous. Suishman needs to get off to a good start and hit a few extra points to get him acclimated to Heinz Field.

This is a must win for the Steelers. They missed their chance to take a 1 game lead in the AFC North and with all the injuries they've endured this season it could get very ugly, similar to last season.

The End of the Reed

Today marked the end of the road for Jeff Reed with the Steelers. Reed who has kicked numerous game winning field goals for the Steelers in his career was waived by the Steelers today. The reasons may be obvious. He's had quite a bit of trouble kicking from longer than 40 yards this year. But, Pittsburgh Sports Buzz thinks there's also something else going on behind the scenes.

Reed has had his off field incidents including the altercation with police having something to do with Public urination. Then there's the public intoxication incident. These were not highlights in his time with the Steelers.

He did not gain any favor during training camp also when he was openly critical of giving Daniel Sepulveda a chance to win the kickoff duties and before that being more than a little upset about getting the franchise tag.

Despite all this, Reed has been a fan favorite. Maybe that has something to do with his game winning field goals. He has been clutch for the Steelers until this season. He seemed to have an ability to figure out how to kick in the notoriously tricky Heinz Field crosswinds and the sloppy field. Monday night he struggled as has been the case this year. His attempt at a field goal looked like one of my drives off the number 1 fairway at Worthington Golf Club in West Virginia. He hit about 6 inches behind it and was lucky to get it off the ground.

In my keys for the off season and season the last few years when it looked like his tenure was coming to the end because of his misadventures I listed the resigning of Reed amongst the top priorities. The reasons are listed above: he has had success at Heinz Field and has been clutch in game winning situations.

I think Mike Tomlin and probably the Rooney became tired of his off season show and when his performances onfield started costing them points that spelled the end.

To his credit also I have read that he is a very charitable person. That's more than a lot of people can say and enough for me to wish him well. I'm sure he'll be picked up by another team, possibly the Bengals who just lost their kicker to a knee injury.

Eight Games Down

Eight games down and the Steelers are in good position for another Super Bowl run. Or are they. Yes, and no. To look at that, Pittsburgh Sports Buzz will take a look at the last 4 years in the Mike Tomlin regime. Anyone know what Mike Tomlin's record has been after the first 8 games in those years. In 2007, his first year, he started out 6-2. That's a good start for a rookie coach. They finished up 10-6, and lost to the jags in the first round of the playoffs.

I think everybody knows what happened in 2008, but let's recap. They started off, hmm... oh yeah 6-2. Another good start and they were off to the races. They finished up 12-4, then beat the Chargers and the Ravens in the playoffs before taking care of the Cardinals in the Super Bowl. I'd say that was pretty successful.

Last year was a completely different start to the season. Their first 8 games they went, oh, I guess it wasn't so different. They started off 6-2. They again had a Super Bowl hangover season and finished up 9-7, with a 5 game losing streak in the middle of the season. They finished up strong with 3 wins, but not strong enough to get into the playoffs.

So, that leads us to this season. Another 6-2 record. As you can see from the last 3 seasons it can go either way. The injuries are mounting and the loss of Aaron Smith does not help their chances. They are the Steelers though and they made some changes in the off season to improve their depth. Look for a positive outcome this year. I am.

The Terrible Steelers Van

People love the Steelers. That's a known fact. Steelers fans are everywhere. They will do anything they can to be a part of the Steelers. Unfortunately for a some unfortunate fans that led to a less than pleasant end for them. Check out this article about the terrible Steelers Van. The only ones that want to be involved with the Steelers in this way are the drivers of the van.

Monday Night

It's the Stillers, it's Monday night and the BenGals. Watching Monday Night Countdown now and Mr. I'm the worst GM ever in football history "Matt Millen" is talking about Troy Polamalu. At least he has something right. He said Troy is the best player in Football right now. Anyway, let's get down to the keys for the game tonight.

1. Pittsburgh Sports Buzz knows the Steelers will be able to move the ball on the Gals, but when the get to the redzone they need to convert those trips into touchdowns. Don't settle for field goals and when you get down to the goal line make sure you put a little extra effort in and go for a yard past the goal line instead of an inch short.

2. Let Rashard Run. It kind of looked like the Steelers and Bruce Arians were starting to get fascinated with Ben's arm again. Rashard needs his carries to wear down the defense. He's had some rest in the last couple games, let's work him like he needs to be worked.

3. Slow down the passing fancy of the opponent. As I mentioned in my last article, the pass defense has allowed some yardage to Colt McCoy and Drew Brees. They need to tighten the screws. Troy needs a big game and an interception, sack or a couple of each.

4. Ziggy needs to play like the first rounder he was. Keep the linemen busy so Woodley and Harrison can take it to Palmer.

Looks like everyone is healthy enough to play except Aaron Smith. It'll be good to have the Diesel back.

Do you see a trend?

Pittsburgh Sports Buzz sees 2 Trends.
1. The Steelers defense suffers when Aaron Smith is out of the lineup
2. The Steelers lose when Aaron Smith is out of the lineup.

Some will argue that the Steelers still stuffed the New Orleans running game. Yes they did, I'll admit that. But let's look at the defense and the opponents game plans a little closer.

Drew Brees hasn't looked this year like he did last year. Maybe that's because New Orleans opponents have been better or maybe he's suffering from that Post Super Bowl hangover. I don't know.

I do know he's got 11 Int's compared to 11 all last year. I also know that the Steelers helped him look like he was that Super Bowl winning quarterback.

Reminiscent of a few years ago, the Steelers defense had several opportunities on 3rd downs to get off the field and they were not able to stop the Saints. This led to a Touchdown one time. Why? This started in the Cleveland game after Smith went out. Colt McCoy, in the second half, had some time to throw the ball. Not a lot, but he had some time and he made the Steelers pay when he threw a TD pass late in the game. The Steelers linebackers were not getting consistent pressure on McCoy in the second half and they weren't getting much on Brees throughout Sunday night's game.

The Steelers 3 Linemen are not there to rush the quarterback and rack up sacks, although they are probably some of the best 3-4 linemen to put pressure on the QB. Sacks are left up to the linebackers. The D linemen, though, are there to stop the run and tie up the O Linemen in order that the linebackers are free to shoot the gaps or go around and get to the quarterback. Yeah, Eason and Hood did a good job with the run last weekend, but they didn't do quite as good when
it came to keeping the O Linemen busy so that Harrison, Woodley, Timmons, and Farrior could get to Brees. The dropoff wasn't as noticeable when Keisel was out, but when both ends go out it is bad news. Hopefully Ziggy will step up and show that he belongs in the best Defense in the league.

The chain reaction of all this goes this way. The Defensive Ends can't tie up the offensive linemen, the offensive linemen are free to take care of the linebackers, little to no pressure is able to be put on the Quarterback, the QB has too much time to throw, the DBs and safeties look bad because they have to stay with the receivers too long. Colt McCoy puts up decent passing numbers against the Steelers and Brees looks like that Super Bowl Quarterback.

That is why the Steelers rely on Aaron Smith so much and why he is crucial to the whole defensive scheme.

Torn Tricep

Aaron Smith left the game today with a torn tricep tendon. Don't know if you noticed that the fish started to run the ball a little better. Last year's injury to Aaron led to a losing streak that cost the Steelers a playoff spot.

A torn tricep could cost Aaron this season also. If it is a minor tricep tear he could get away with rest and rehab and a recovery time of 1-4 weeks. If it is a major tear he will probably have surgery and he could be out of action from 4-6 weeks in a best case scenario. The rest of the season in a worst case scenario.

Either way Aaron will probably be missing for several weeks, not a good thing for the Steelers Defensive line. It appears it's time for Ziggy Hood to step up and live up to his first round 1 draft pick status.

The Steelers Identity

Well, Pittsburgh Sports Buzz, and the rest of the sports world's focus this week was on the NFL's crackdown on the hits of defenseless players. There were a lot of these hits last weekend. There seemed to be more than usual, but I would like to see some numbers on that from the league.

Everyone seemed to have an opinion on this flagrant hit crackdown, including the Cleveland Browns Center, Alex Mack. Sorry your team is so bad that you have to say that Harrison is taking cheap shots on your teammates the whole game. It's called football. Win more than 5 games some year and we'll think about listening to you. You also forgot to mention that your defenseless untalented teammates are holding Harrison on every down and the refs won't call it on one play because they'd have to call it on most of the other plays too. So, that pretty much makes any Cleveland Browns argument moot.

James Harrison, Brandon Merriweather, and Dunta Robinson were a few of the higher profile, higher fined players from last Sunday. Harrison, the Defensive player of the year 2 years ago because of hits like he doled out last Sunday is now the villain because of those same hits. A Pittsburgh radio station pointed out a bit of an embarrassing point to the No Fun League this week when they found the NFL was selling pictures of the Massaquoi hit on a website. Mr.
Harrison you are hereby fined and required to give us $75,000, and by the way, we'll also be making thousands more selling that picture on our website. The NFL abruptly pulled the picture from the site. Oops! Is it possible for James Harrison to fine the NFL? Probably not.
When the NFL came up with the new rule before the season that you couldn't hit the defenseless receiver this raised a big red flag for Pittsburgh Sports Buzz as a Steelers fanatic. I was just watching a tribute to Jack Lambert on YouTube. Put those words in the YouTube search engine and you'll find it. It is awesome. I crack up every time Lambert body slams Cliff Harris into the
ground. My point is this is the persona of the Steelers. If you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers you think of Defense and the Steel Curtain and all the players over the years that have created that persona; Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, MEAN Joe Greene, Greg Lloyd, Rod Woodson, James Harrison, and Ryan Clark. I know, I left out a lot of names, but these are just a few that came to my head. These guys are the identity of the Steelers. This team is known for Defense and
hard hitting. If you take that you're taking away the identity of the Steelers. This is really what I thought of and feared happening when the league came up with yet another penalty to protect the offensive player.

After the first few weeks of this season, Pittsburgh Sports Buzz thought maybe these new rules wouldn't affect the game that much. Give the offenses another break, let the receivers catch the ball and give them a step before planting them into the ground. That was before last week and the James Harrison show. Harrison is not the only player to make these types of hits. I can think of 2 Ryan Clark hits, one on Willis McGahee and one on Wes Welker that probably would
have earned some attention if these rules had been in place. Maybe the NFL should concentrate a little harder on finding equipment that would protect its investment and its players. Maybe it could update its helmets to provide more protection. Or is their helmet company paying them too much money.This is Tackle Football not Flag Football. Before long the NFL may be changing its name to the NFFL. Unfortunately that would spell the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They may play in the NFFL, but their identity is the NFL. No, Mr. Rooney would disband the team before letting them be embarrassed to that point.

Steelers Rule!!!!!

5 THINGS THE STEELERS MUST DO TO BEAT THE BUCCANEERS

The Steelers vs. the Buccaneers. Two teams that have won their first 2 games. The Steelers have relied on defense to win their first two games and got an assist from the Special Teams and Antonio Brown in game 2. The Buccaneers have relied on a young team to get to 2-0. Last week their defense came up with 3 turnovers and 4 sacks to outlast the Carolina Panthers and their second year quarterback has played up to the team’s expectations.

5. Steelers vs. the Tampa Bay heat, not the Miami Heat, the Tampa Bay Heat

In week 2 the Steelers needed all the linemen they could muster to fend of the Tennessee heat. They shuttled them in and out the whole game. They had to released Byron Leftwich for a game in order to sign an additional lineman in Steve McClendon, who recovered a fumble when he was in. That was worth one week’s pay. With the aging Steelers defensive line they’ll need to do more of the same to keep the Offensive and Defensive Line fresh the whole game. It did not help that Trai Essex is out this week. Get the Gatorade and Ivs ready.

4. Keep Josh Freeman in check

The Bucs 2nd year quarterback is Josh Freeman, out of the hotbed of quarterbacks, Kansas State. Is he a future star or just another in a long line of wannabe quarterbacks for the Bucs, sorry Byron. He is 6-6, strong armed and hard to bring down guy that has had a knack for escaping some tackles in the backfield. Sound like someone the Steelers are familiar with in (and out) of their lineup. Like Ben(gave it away didn’t I) Freeman needs to be contained in the pocket. If he’s able to escape the pass rush by shuffling to his right or left a few steps he could be able to find another youngster Mike Williams streaking down the field. So, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley need to wrap him up if they get their hands on him. He may be 2-0 this year, but he hasn’t met up with the Steelers Defense yet. 1st and 2nd year guys don’t typically perform too well against Dick Lebeau’s defense. It’s hard to throw a pass while lying on your back.

3. Charlie Batch needs to be productive

The Steelers are down to the last option that they had planned to use going into the season, Charlie Batch. Luckily, Batch is an experienced NFL quarterback. He is talented, and has proven he can win games. The only thing that has hurt his chances of starting is his inability to stay healthy when he gets a chance, broken collarbone last time when Ben wrecked his motorcycle. So, this is Charlie’s chance to stay healthy and prove he can run this offense. He doesn’t need to throw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, he just needs to hit some key passes here and there and get a touchdown or 2, and avoid the interceptions. He is more than capable of doing that.

2. Rashard Mendenhall
Do you think the Steelers gameplan for today includes Rashard Mendenhall and smashmouth running. I do. Charlie needs to be effective but Rashard needs to move the chains consistently. The Buccaneers will most likely try to make Batch win the game by stacking the line. The good thing is stopping the run is not their strength. Mendenhall will get his carries today and he needs to continue to get the tough yards.

1. Defense, Defense, Defense

Until Ben returns, it is going to be up to the defense to keep the team in the game. They appear to know that and seem to have taken it upon themselves to do just that. LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison have easily become the top outside linebacker combination in the league and Lawrence Timmons has become a linebacker on a mission this year. He is making all the tackles he’s supposed to make and making plays nobody expected him to make. Chris Johnson appeared stunned several times when Timmons came out of nowhere to put a hit on him. The secondary was much better last week until they went into the prevent defense. They made the big play on Nate Washington in the end zone when they needed it. Troy is Troy, ‘nuff said.

Another great victory for the Steelers on the Titans home Turf

The Pittsburgh Sports Buzz tonight revolves around the happenings in Tennessee. The game got off to an unusual start for the Steelers. Something happened that Steelers fans have not been accustomed to, a kickoff return for a touchdown. Mewelde Moore received the kickoff and Antonion Brown doubled back to receive a handoff. Brown ran around the kick coverage team and burnt past the last line of uh-defense, the kicker, and it was off to the races. We’ll even forgive the little showboating, while crossing the goal line. The last Steeler to attempt that was Anthony Smith and he received a severe tongue lashing from Dick Lebeau afterwards. Something tells me Hines Ward might have a word of advice for Mr. Brown. That return turned out to be the only TD for the Steelers, but not the only score.

In the pregame article, “5 things the Steelers must do to beat the Titans”, the Steelers succeeded in holding Chris Brown under 100 yards, way under. Early in the game Brown looked as if he would continue his string of 100 yard games, picking up several yards each play. But, the Steeler defense had other ideas. On several occasions during the game Brown was met with force. On one attempt Brown attempted to cut back only to hit the brick wall also known as James Harrison. He was hit hard time after time and the camera caught him a couple times trying to shake free the cobwebs. It would not be a surprise if we find out that he suffered a concussion during the game.

Another key to the game was to keep Vince Young in the pocket. This turned out to be prophetic, for Vince did remain in the pocket most of the day and was unsuccessful in providing any spark for the Titans. The one drive that looked as if it would lead to a score, Troy Polamalu intercepted a Young pass in the end zone. Throw in another Young interception by LaMarr Woodley and some fumbles and Young was replaced early in the 4th quarter in favor of Kerry Collins. Collins made his share of mistakes with a Bryant McFadden interception and a forced fumble but at the end all he did was make the last few minutes interesting, but he was not the difference.

The third key to the game was the Steelers backups must step up. Looks like defense didn’t miss a beat with Chris Hoke starting in the middle. Larry Foote stepped in for James Farrior after he was shaken up. Jonathan Scott did not provide the protection of Max Starks, which led to the Steelers relying on the running game and Rashard Mendenhall for much of the second half. This might have annoyed the Steeler faithful, but getting your last quarterback injured would not have been a good idea. The Titans offense wasn’t moving the ball against the Steelers defense, so why not run the ball and the clock. Not to mention the Titans were very generous today, and could not resist giving the ball back to the Steelers.

Key number 4 was consistency from Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall did not have that 50 yard run today, but he did have one 20 yarder and he was held to 69 yards on 23 carries. Once again, the defense expected the run with Dennis Dixon at QB. The Titans stacked the line and really 69 yards was not bad under the circumstances. The Steelers barely threw in the second half, preferring to hand off to Mendenhall to eat up the clock.

Key number 5 was the continued development of Dennis Dixon. This went out the door early in the second quarter when Dixon injured a knee on a rollout to the left. Charlie Batch came in to replace him and did a great job of handing off to Rashard.

5 Things the Steelers must do to beat the Titans

The Steelers made it through week 1 in the 2010 season with a win and are now
1-0. But now they must travel to Tennesse to take on the Titans, a team that is
always a challenge for the Steelers. Here are 5 things they must do to remain
unbeaten.

5. Continued improvement by Dennis Dixon
Dixon made his second start in the NFL against Atlanta and his inexperience showed. He threw one interception and nearly threw a couple others. Fortunately the Falcon defense couldn't make the plays. Dixon did have his good moments too. He threw a perfect pass to Mike Wallace for a long completion, not an easy thing to do since Wallace can outrun most throws. Dixon was known as an accurate passer in college and hit 18 of 26 passes in this game. He should continue to improve with additional time with the first team offense allowing him to get in sync with his receivers more. Look for the Titans to stack the line until DD proves he can beat them with his passing. He must play better in this game to beat the Titans in their home.

4. More consistent play from Rashard Mendenhall
Because the Falcons did not believe that Dennis Dixon could beat them with his arm, they stacked the line and challenged him to do it. Because of this Mendenhall was tackled for losses several times. Maybe this will be the season Mendenhall becomes the runner they thought he would be when they drafted him, but he must avoid all those negative yardage plays. If he did not have the game winner against Atlanta, most would have probably considered that an average to below average performance for him. Mendenhall needs to turn some of those
negative yardage plays into gains for the Steelers to be on the winning side at the end of this game.

3. Backups will have to step up
Max Starks left the Atlanta game with what most thought was a high ankle sprain. This is an injury that most players and fans have come to realize can cost the player several games while trying to heal. Casey Hampton also left the game with a hamstring injury. If that is not given proper time to heal hamstring injuries will come back throughout the season. Behind these 2 players on the depth chart are Chris Hoke for Hampton and Jonathan Scott for Starks.
These two have to step up and provide quality play for the Steelers to win. Hoke must plug the hole and keep the rushing defense from giving up big plays by Chris Johnson. Scott must keep the Titans defense from attacking Dixon, something he didn't do well against the Falcons. If he is not able to do what is needed there may be some major shifting of the offensive line going on. The prognosis is good for Starks though since it was just a normal ankle sprain and not the dreaded high ankle sprain. He may be back by the next game. Hampton will be week to week. Backups, in general, need to step up for the Steelers to continue winning.

2. Keep Vince Young in the pocket
Vince Young is not the most accurate passer in the league. His feet and his running back are his weapons. The Steelers must keep him in the pocket and keep him from improvising to win this game. The more he throws the better the chances the Steelers have.

1. Hold Chris Johnson under 100 yards
It is no secret in the NFL that Chris Johnson is probably the elite running back in the league. If there's any doubt just remember the 2,000 yard club. He is one of the few members of this club. Also, remember if you're a member of this club your career is not long after this accomplishment. So, it is also no secret to Titans opponents what their game plan is, run, run, run. If the Steelers can stop Chris Johnson their chances to win this game are very good. The good news is this is the strength of the Steelers. Look for Johnson to be around 75 yards by the end of the game.

Steelers Rule!!!!!

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HOW MANY WINS

Stop by the site and cast your vote. I'm saying 10-11. Let me know how many you think. Leave a comment and tell me why if you get a chance.

WHO GETS THE CREDIT FOR THE ATLANTA GAME - The Answer

Who deserves the credit for the Atlanta Game? The answer is the Defense, with honorable mention going to Rashard Mendenhall.

The defense kept the team in the game the whole time holding the Atlanta Rushing game in check and keeping the pressure on Matt Ryan so he couldn't look too far downfield.

Top performers were Woodley, Harrison, and Timmons. It looked like Harrison might have ended it late in the game with the rumble for a touchdown off the fumble, remind you of another Harrison return, but it was called back. There are a lot of stars on this team, but Woodley and Harrison are important cogs in the machine.



1-o without Ben, 3 to go. Next up: at Tennessee

WHO GETS CREDIT FOR THE ATLANTA GAME - Coaches?

The team seemed well prepared for this game. There were no major blunders for the first game of the season and the minor problems should be ironed in practice in the next week or so. Tomlin seemingly made the right choice in going with Dixon over Batch. The new special teams coach Al Everest hopefully has them performing consistently, we'll see when the Browns come to town. I think everyone knows why. Dixon seemed to be prepared. I think some of those near interceptions he threw were caused by first start jitters and a few starts will clear those up. The coaches also did a good job of realizing the out patterns weren't working and changing Dixon's target area more to the area between the hash marks.

It was a good start for coaches. There are some challenges coming up with the possibility of injuries to Max Starks and Casey Hampton. Coaching will need to step up along with the replacements.

WHO GETS CREDIT FOR ATLANTA GAME - SPECIAL TEAMS?

If that special teams played like that every week I would take it. Jeff Reed made 3 of 5 on the day, unfortuneatly missing the probable game winning field goal at the end of regulation. He's normally money in that situation, but every kicker has a bad day, right Mr. Norwood. This bad day extended the game but didn't cost the Steelers, thankfully. The other one he missed was a 55 yarder, which would have been a career best. So, it would have been a bonus for him to make it but the odds were not in his favor. By the way, do you think Jeff might have been trying a little harder on kickoffs, or possible the wind was just blowing that way, but he had a touchback which is rare for him.



Daniel Sepulveda was outstanding in this game. I doubt he'll average 50 yards per punt, but if he can he will be a real weapon in the battle for field position. He got them out of some jams in this game, one with a 55 yarder.



The returners didn't get much of a chance with a couple touchbacks and fair catches. Randle El held onto one that was timed perfectly by the defender and was hit hard immediately and managed to stay out of the way of another one at mid field when Ryan Mundy was blocked into him.

WHO GETS CREDIT FOR ATLANTA GAME - DEFENSE?

Should the defense get credit for the Atlanta game?



Defensive Line

The defensive line played extremely well in this game. Even missing their anchor, Casey Hampton for part of the game they held Atlanta to 58 yards rushing on 25 carries. Is Chris Hoke one of the most valuable guys on this team, or what? But, that is the great thing about the Steelers and one of the things that won them their last Super Bowl. Someone went down, another guy stepped in and there was little to no drop off in performance. The linemen also put some pressure on Ryan. Overall, they did the main thing they are supposed to do in Dick Lebow's defense, stop the run.



Linebackers

These guys were trying to get to the quarterback the whole game. I have a Madden game on Wii and of course I love to play the Steelers against all takers. I'm no defensive genius, but I know what to do with the Steelers, because in this game they don't lose any steam throughout the game. All I do is blitz every play, cornerback blitz, Townshend blitz, Polamalu blitz, zone blitz and so forth. That's what it looked like they were doing for a large part of the game. They brought the heat with the linebackers. Ryan's shoulder had to be sore after that game because Harrison was tomahawking him every chance he got to knock the ball loose. Both he and Woodley each had a sack. It looks like Timmons may finally be getting the hang of the defense too. He was all over the place making tackles and blowing up plays in the backfield with 9 solo tackles 3 of them for losses. These guys also played outstanding.



Defensive Backs

The defensive backs also played well. Another component of the Dick Lebeau defense is to not give up any big plays. They pretty much picked on Bryant McFadden the whole afternoon. Roddy White just kept catching those 10 to 20 yard passes and ended up with 111 yards. Tony Gonzalez also made a few grabs, but once they caught the ball there were no mistackles or they went out of bounds. No big plays given up. Hopefully McFadden will tighten up his coverage a little and not allow another receiver to get 100 yards, but the plan worked well enough on Sunday with no TDs for the Falcons.

WHO GETS CREDIT FOR ATLANTA GAME - OFFENSE?

That was a great team win for the Steelers. The defense for the most part dominated, the offense provided just enough to get a win and the special teams prevented any long returns.



Offense

Quarterback
Dennis Dixon played ok on Sunday. He could have very easily had a very bad game, but it turned out to be a mediocre performance. He had several throws that could have been interceptions and one did, but it was not a deciding factor in the game. For one time the announcers on TV actually had an insightful point. When Dixon tried to throw out patterns he was nearly intercepted several times, I'm including the screen pass into the gut of the Defensive End. When he threw it between the hash marks that's when he had the most success.



Running Backs
Of course Rashard Mendenhall had a great game simply because he broke the last play of the game for a touchdown. Give a lot of credit to the O Line and Hines Ward for the blocks that sprung him for that TD. But he was the one in the end zone at the end of the play. Up to that point I kept saying to myself that he hadn't done anything. He kept getting stuffed in the backfield, then he'd break a 9 or 10 yarder. It was all or nothing.

Isaac Redman was ok also in his debut this year. He made a first down on a 3rd down attempt and also got stuffed on a third down attempt. The thing about him is he doesn't give up. On the 3rd down he didn't make he made about 5 guys tackle him. I can see why he could make a good short yardage back.



Receivers
The wide receiving corps was not spectacular, but they too did what needed to be done. Hines Ward continued to show why he is still one of the best receivers in the league. He had 108 yards on 6 receptions to lead the Steelers. Heath Miller also chipped in another 4 for 40 yards. Mike Wallace had a big grab for 52 yards also. The one sore spot for me with the receivers was the play of Antwaan Randle El. For some unknown reason Dixon kept trying to connect with him and Randle El kept running routes short of the first down and then dropping a lot of them. Dixon finally figured out who the future Hall of Famer was and that Randle El wasn't. It's only the first game and I wouldn't give up on him yet, but Antwaan has to play better than that.



Offensive Line
The line also played ok. None of them stood out until that last play of the game. In that one play they made up for any mediocre play throughout the game. Dixon wasn't able to sit back in the pocket unharrassed, but he did have time most of the game to read the defense and get off a good throw. The run blocking was good here and good there but not consistently good.

1

JOB INSECURITY

If you think NFL players have the life, think again. That is at least think about those guys on the practice squad. Yesterday, Doug Worthington was released from the practice squad shortly after being signed to the practice squad. The Steelers then signed another D lineman, Al Woods, formerly a 4th round pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 draft.

Easy come easy go for practice squad players. Stay close to the phone Doug, once they have him in the fold and get a look at him they may dump him and resign you.

James McDonald or Ross Ohlendorf

Remember a year ago around this time. There was a first year Pirates pitcher showing off his stuff interviewing to be one of the cornerstone pitchers of the Pirates staff. Pirates fans were thinking, finally we found at least one pitcher that would be able to provide some stability for this rag-tag staff. That was Ross Ohlendorf. He had a 3.92 era and was 11-10. Not the greatest stats in the world, even his post all star game stats of 4-3 were not very impressive, but the 2.83 era showed promise. It just seemed like he really went on a tear and everyone hoped he would continue that second half success this year. Once again, disappointment. Ohlendorf is sitting at 1-11 with a 4.07 era and done for the season. Still, if you're a Pirate fan and an optimist. That era is still close to respectable. The losses are not. Maybe, just maybe Andrew McCutcheon, Neil Walker, Garrett Jones, Jose Tabata and crew will keep improving and provide some needed offense next year and that e.r.a. will return to the 3.something.

This year's Ross Ohlendorf is James McDonald. An outcast from the Dodgers, picked up by the Pirates. He recently shut out the NL East leading Atlanta Braves and sent them to Second Place behind the Phils. He has shown flashes of being a very good pitcher. Maybe not dominant, but good enough to be a stabilizing force on the Pirates Roster. We'll see if his interview in the remaining games this season can win him a spot next year in the rotation. Hope springs eternal for Pirates fans.

If you're a dreamer, consider Maholm, McDonald, Morton, Ohlendorf and Brad Lincoln all catching fire and the pitching staff actually gives the offense a chance next year. Like, I said you have to be a dreamer. Despite those 18 losing seasons I do remember another group of pitchers finally living up to the hype in another era. Do the names Drabek, Smiley, Dunne ring a bell. Well, maybe not Dunne, but the other two. It could happen. I'd settle for 2 of the 5 actually winning 12 to 15 games and the others keeping them in the game. Wouldn't you?

FINAL CUTS

I was surprised by a few of the final cuts this year. Here are the cuts:
LB Patrick Bailey
CB Joe Burnett
S Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith
WR Tyler Grisham
DE Sunny Harris
C Justin Hartwig
KR Stefan Logan
DE Steve McClendon
FB Frank Summers
G Craig Urbik
DE Doug Worthington

Depending if you watched the game Thursday or not you might be surprised that Patrick Bailey was cut. He was the Steelers rookie of the year in 2008, but has mostly been a special teams performer since. Thursday he was all over the field making tackles and blowing up plays. Maybe they told him he was going to get cut so he went all out to look good for another team. He has made an impression in other preseason games too.
Unfortunately Justin Hartwig had to go. It would have been nice to have him as an insurance policy behind Pouncey or another line position.
Sunny Harris was on the list after being cut last year in a numbers game. He was impressive enough for them to sign him back from the Panthers practice squad after Aaron Smith went down. He has barely been heard from this preseason and thus a casualty.

Not a surprise
Joe Burnett, not shown anything as a Cornerback since being drafted last year.
Frank Summers, possible backup RB, and like fullback when needed also has done nothing to impress.
Stefan Logan, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are able to return the ball and play Wide Receiver. Stefan was too small for a wideout. Too many players with positive upsides to keep a one dimensional player around.
Craig Urbik: Plain and simply a bust

Clean up

A few items to clean up that have been here entirely too long.

Poll questions
How many HRs will the legend hit?
Well the legend has not been as legendary as he was last year, but he has really performed as well as anyone this year less a few defensive issues. The year's not over but he's sitting at 20 right now and he'd have to go on a real tear to get to 30. We know from last year he's capable of putting up some high numbers but 10 in the rest of the season is unlikely. I've seen stories that management is cooling on considering him part of the future, but until another one of the 10 first basemen they have step up, he's the man. He's as good of a role model as you'll find in baseball too. Something the Pirates need to keep up relations with their fans. He's capable of hitting some long HRs too. The fans really like that.

Where will the Pirates finish this year?
That one could have been answered several months ago seeing as they're 12.5 games behind the Cubs right now, it can now be replaced with will they finish dead last in baseball. They actually have a pretty good lead in that category. They have 45 wins vs. Baltimore's 49. The prize for finishing last has been Rice University 3rd Baseman Anthony Rendon, but that is now a question mark because of a recent ankle injury. We'll see how that race shapes up in the final 28 games.

Link removed
I was just looking at the sports section for the Morgantown Dominion Post. It is pitiful. A couple of articles and none on the Mounaineers. I removed the link and added MSN Sportsnet. You'll find anything you need to know about the Mountaineers there.

New Posts
The few recent articles I've done have been on the Pirates, it's that time of year again: Football Season and time to switch focus to the Steelers. I'll put in my 2 cents on the quarterback situation. Ben's suspension has been reduced from 6 to 4 games. That's good news. I'm still not happy with how Ben behaved and will replace my license plate BEN XXXX as soon as it expires, but he appears to have done a good job of modifying his behavior. Hopefully Double D or CB can keep them at least .500 till he returns.

The big three continued

Maybe the Pirates aren't the team with the worst luck. Let's go back to last year's draft. Washington had the number 1 pick and the Pirates had number 2. There was this pitcher named Strasburg. He was unanimously the best player available in the draft. The guy was a phenom. He had all the pitches and could hit the 100 mph mark. The unlucky Pirates couldn't even lose enough games to be able to draft this guy. That indistinction fell to the Washington Nationals, one of the few teams worse than the Pirates. The Nationals went on to draft and sign the phenom, and we all know what he did to the Buccos in his major league debut. There was talk of adding him to the All Star roster with only a handful of starts in his career. Fast Forward to a few weeks ago. The Nationals did everything they could to insure that this future of their team would stay healthy. Limited activity at every stop, constant monitoring, pitch counts. Well, that was all for naught. The number 1 pick last year injured his arm, and will probably need Tommy John surgery and months of rehabilitation. It will be a year to 18 months before we see him again. Hopefully he'll recover and continue his promising career. But, back to the luck thing. The Pirates could have picked number 1, invested all that money on him, and been the one to lose him for the year. Maybe I'm reaching for straws, but it's something, right?

Claim to Fame

I can't say I have done the greatest job of providing continuous posts to this blog over the year plus that it has been in effect, but I am somewhat proud that the post-gazette does list my blog on their website. Now, I just need to do a better job of posting articles so they don't take me off. Click Here for proof.

The Big Three

Hard to believe the Pirates have had 18 straight losing seasons. It really takes some effort to reach that milestone, definitely can't call it a goal. I don't think the Pirate Management decided after that series against the Braves that they wanted to go for a record for losing seasons. No, it has been a combination of bad decisions and I'm going to say bad luck. If you listen to Colin Cowherd, don't know if that's how you spell his name and don't care, he'll tell you people get into bad situations because of bad decisions. I, on the other hand, think that there is some bad luck that comes into some situations. You would think just once the Pirates would have lucked into picking a decent pitcher in the draft or one of the many, many trades for prospects would have resulted in one of those guys turning out to be a stud. They lucked out with Zane Smith and Neal Heaton and Tim Wakefield was unbelievable for one year. These were short term guys. Frankly, I'd like to just have one guy win 15-18 games one year. They can't even luck out with something like that.
To the point of the post. The Pirates have had 3 solid drafts in a row. The latest they have signed 2 number 1 starters with unlimited upside. Then they signed one of if not the best South American arm available this year. He is a 16 year old, but again a very high upside. Maybe their luck has turned around, or maybe they're starting to make good decisions. There's always hope. There's always next year. I actually think Bob Nutting is embarrassed at this season. Another good sign. The owner may actually care. We will see, unfortunately it will probably be a few years before we do.

Young Guns and Steeler Signees

The Steelers were busy last week signing all their draft picks but two, the only unsigned picks are their top two.

The Pirates, while breaking a long losing streak recently, now have the future in their lineup on a day to day basis. Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker and Jose Tabata have all been called up along with their best pitching prospect, Brad Lincoln.

Look for a couple articles on these subjects in the next few days.

Jameson Taillon

Hey Pirates Fans,

In case you didn't realize it the Pirates took another step back toward respectability when they took Jameson Taillon at #2 in this year's major league draft. Taillon, a Texas High Schooler is regarded as the best arm in this year's draft and the High Schooler closest to major league ready. That does not mean he'll be there anytime soon. It just means in a few years start looking for him. In the meantime watch him rise through the Pirates system.

The Pirates passed up a Florida high school shortstop who has been compared to ARod in order to take this prospect, so time will tell whether they made the right move. I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch. Go Bucs.

Opening Day

Man, I don't believe it. This year's version of the Pirates actually looks like a contender. With one game down and 161 to go it looks like they have a team that will contend for the Division crown. Ok, just kidding. I know there's 161 games to go. It is always awesome to win that first game though and to do it in the fashion they did against the Dodgers was great. 11-5, good start. Just gotta keep it going.

The Sequel
The story of the Legend continues. Garrett Jones not only smacks two homers his first game of the season he bounces the first one into the Allegheny. Think the Twins would like another shot at him now. Tough luck twinkies, you can't have him back. Let's see what you can do over a full season Mr. Jones.

The Leader
Seems that Ryan Church might be the team leader type this year. He was apparently one of the organizers of the team meeting to discuss the change of losing attitude in the Pirates clubhouse. Let's hope it works.

Go Buccos, We want 82!

Pessimism

Halfway through the time alloted for the latest poll and there are already 3 votes for last place. Those 3 aren't the only ones that are little pessimistic about the Pirates chances this year. Check out Ron Cook's article in the Post - Gazette today. I'm a little more optimistic. I can't figure how the Astros manage to stay out of the cellar. I know, because the Pirates are in the same division. We'll see how this new group of young Buccos fares this year in the coming months. My position by position analysis will be coming soon.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10093/1047635-87.stm

Bad News Ben

Well, I read this on TMZ earlier in the day and was hoping it was just a rumor, but once again Ben is being accused of sexual assault. This time it is a 20 year old in Milledgeville, Georgia. I didn't post it immediately after reading it hoping it was just a rumor. But, now it is in the Post-Gazette also. This is just another distraction the Pittsburgh Steelers don't need. Stay tuned for the continuing story of How Ben Roethlisberger Turns. Hope it's not true. The Pittsburgh Steelers will not put up with this crap.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Biggest Need

Although it is a very small sampling 3 out of 5 responders to the latest poll believe the Pittsburgh Steelers biggest need is that of depth at Safety which is a little ambiguous I suppose. Does that mean they need to make sure everyone is healthy and has a successful offseason program along with the resigning of Clark or does that mean they need ot acquire another quality safety. I think the Pittsburgh Steelers need to take the best safety available in the second round. Yeah, I know Troy was a first round pick. But, that is unusual to take a safety in the first round and Troy definitely has proven to be a very special player. A definite franchise type player.

Top 5 in the draft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3AQh6EB1CA

The Pittsburgh Steelers must do this to return to the Super Bowl #5

It was great to see the Pittsburgh Steelers resign Casey, and it looks like and sounds like there's a good chance Ryan Clark will resign, but that doesn't help the fact that the core of this team is getting older. Have you noticed that the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl the last few years. Though I will not admit the quarterback on that team is the best, I will admit that he's pretty good. Good enough to win a couple of Super Bowls. But, a quarterback is just one part of a team. The reason the Pats haven't won a Super Bowl lately with a Super Bowl caliber quarterback is that they got old and lost that depth that they had during those Super Bowl years. Unfortunately, I see the same thing happening to the Steelers with their D-Line, Cornerbacks, Linebackers and Safeties. They need a good draft this year to improve their depth.

Ziggy Hood showed last year that he may be able to take over a spot on the D-Line and reclaiming Sonny Harris may have been a positive eventually. After that the depth is a bunch of 30 somethings, Travis Kirschke, Chris Hoke and Nick Eason. Believe it or not it is hard to find an athletic 300 pound guy, and even harder to find one of them that is a quality defensive lineman.

At Cornerback same story, Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend are the senior members of the group. These guys still give quality minutes and Ike is still shutting down the other team's number 1 guy, but Deshea is no longer that guy that can play the whole game. In fact if he is around this year there's a good chance he'll be a Safety. William Gay is a younger guy in the cornerback position and after playing well 2 seasons ago it looked like he would take over the number 2 spot after the departure of McFadden. He got burnt time after time this past season and was finally replaced in the starting role by Townsend. The cornerback position does at least have a few other youngsters in Joe Burnett and Keenan Lewis, but the jury is still out on them.

At Safety there's Troy, Tyrone Carter, Ryan Clark hopefully, and Ryan Mundy. The Pittsburgh Steelers either need Mundy to grow quickly into a quality Safety or find one in the draft, especially if they can't keep Clark. Even if Tyrone and Ryan are around this year Tyrone is 33 and Ryan is 30. 2 out of 4 in their 30's.

At Linebacker James Farrior and James Harrison are in their 30's, Farrior 35 and Harrison 31. Farrior still provides quality play, but for how much longer. There are not many players still contributing a lot at 35. Harrison, at least is a young 31 since it took him a while to be a regular starter. So he doesn't have the miles on his legs that most 31 year olds do. They do have the 2 young studs at linebacker in Woodley and Timmons and Keyaron Fox played well last year. It wouldn't hurt to pick up another quality Linebacker to play behind Farrior, though and take over in a year or 2.

So, the 5th thing the Steelers must do to return to the Super Bowl is add some depth in these positions to spell the older guys and eventually take over. Supposedly this is one of the deepest drafts in recent history and one of the deepest positions is Defensive Line. So it wouldn't hurt for the Steelers to pick up one or two D-Linemen. Hopefully the can restock a few other postions with some depth, Safety anyone.

5 Things the Steelers must do to return to the Super Bowl, #4

Whoosh!
Do you know what that was? Josh Cribbs just returned another kickoff for a touchdown against the Steelers. The Steelers have rarely had great special teams play. When Mike Tomlin came in his first year he actually put some effort into stabilizing the Special Teams. They made it a focus in part of training camp. It really didn't seem to show in games though. Maybe it took a year to kick in because in the 2008 season they actually played decently. Maybe James Harrison threatened their lives, who knows. Anthony Madison was an important part of the unit that year, but then was let go before the start of this season. I don't know if one person is going to make a big difference on special teams, but several kick and punt returns later the Steelers quickly re-signed Madison after he was let go by the Bengals and the Special Teams coverage improved near the end of the year.

Crash!
Do you know what that was? That was Ben Roethlisberger getting sacked again. Ben has hit the ground again and again the last 3 years. He has been one of the most sacked QBs in the league since Russ Grimm left. Insiders say that has a lot to do with Ben holding the ball too long. But, Ben makes a lot of plays when he holds onto the ball and quite a bit of the time they are big plays because the defense breaks down and Ben finds the open guy. I heard one of the NFL analysts say one time that Ben is the best playground quarterback in the NFL. You know, either draw the play up in the dirt or say go long, if you're open I'll hit you. Imagine what Ben could do if his line could give him a little more time and he could be comfortable back there just waiting for those guys to run their routes. The Steelers run game started to become more and more effective toward the end of the year, some of that due to a young Rashard Mendenhall growing as a back
and knowing what to do with the ball. Maybe some of that had to do with the O-Line growing familiar with each other and knowing what each other was doing.

Do you know what these 2 situations have in common. The Special Teams Coach and the Offensive Line coach were both released after the season. The Steelers have 2 new coaches, bringing hope that these two facets of the team can improve with a change of coaching style. The Steelers have won in the past with average Special Teams, and that would be an improvement over last year. Let's hope the Special Teams can climb the Mt. Everest of quality playing. I tried to fit that in not really very successfully. Al Everest is the new Special Teams Coach.
Sean Kugler, formerly of the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, will be the new offensive line coach for the Steelers.

Hopefully these two guys will bring fresh perspectives to the team and keep those kick returners from reaching the end zone and Ben from landing on the turf.

#4 thing the Steelers must do to return to the Super Bowl. Listen to their new coaches to improve their play on Special Teams and the Offensive Line.

Steelers Rule!!!!!

Step 1 Check, Step 2 Check

If you've been reading the blog you'll notice that I was in the process of explaining the five things the Steelers must do to return to the Super Bowl. Guess what happened today, Step 1 the Steelers re-signed Casey Hampton to a new 3 year deal. This may not have totally solidified the Defensive Line, but it did keep that big cog in the middle. Teams will continue to think twice about running up the middle and they will continue to have to put 2 guys on Hampton, to continue to free up the linebackers. Along with the signing of Hampton, the Steelers took care of step #2.



Step#2 Re-sign Jeff Reed. I don't know where Jeff Reed falls in most accurate kickers in NFL history, but I'm sure he is right up there in accuracy at Hines Field. Jeff also has his share of game winning field goals. The Steelers could have drafted a kicker or signed a decent free agent from another team, but as the Steelers well know Hines Field is a tough place to kick and if you've got someone that can kick there, why let him go? Despite his off field skirmishes he seems to be a good guy. Not too many kickers are amongst the leaders of their teams. The Steelers tagged Reed as their franchise player which pretty much locks him up to play for the Steelers for a few years to come. If another team signs him in a year the will be obligated to give the Steelers a first round draft pick. Teams rarely draft a kicker in the first round, but they will not give up a first rounder for an aging kicker.



Steps 1 and 2 taken care of.

Big Play Woodley

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-miss-plays/09000d5d813ad438/WK-7-Can-t-Miss-Play-Watch-Woodley-go

Red Fridays

As I've said, occasionally I will put something non sports related in the blog. This is the first time I've done it, but it's definitely a worthwhile story. It's something I believe in strongly and I think the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz Nation is built on these values. If we didn't have these men and women protecting us we might not be free to back our favorite team.

This was sent to me by a friend.

Will you give this to my Daddy?

Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a
conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I
heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer.
I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the
greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in
their camos.. As they began heading to their gate, everyone
(well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their
hands waving and cheering.
When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being
applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone.
I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves
this country and supports our troops and their
families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for
these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the
line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home
without fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country
or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than
6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He
kneeled down and said 'hi.'
The little girl then asked him if he would give something
to her daddy for her.

The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe
22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give
to her Daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck
of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster
and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's
name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband
was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11
months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter
Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear
up.
When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her
situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief
second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a
military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with
the device and talking back and forth on
it..
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked
back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her,
'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to
you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just
met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying
'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more
than anything and he is coming home very soon.'

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and
as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney
and her mom.. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from
this entire event.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate,
people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding
and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including
my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness,
turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear
rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their
families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the
end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many
people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who
support our troops used to be called the 'silent
majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our
love for God, country and home in record breaking
numbers..
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no
liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our
opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends,
simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Americans
supports our troops.

The first thing a soldier
says when asked 'What can we do to make things better
for you?' is...We need your support and your prayers.
Let's get the word out.
THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP
AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD

Punxsatawney Polamalu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzIdZbypNk&NR=1

The Steelers must do this to return to the Super Bowl #3

Ask 10 people what caused the Steelers to miss the playoffs after their Super Bowl Championship last year and I'm convinced a majority of them will tell you the absence of Troy Polamalu for large part of the season. Troy looked unbelievable for the short time he was in the opening game of the season. He flew into the backfield and made an amazing tackle. He made an ubelievable one handed interception. Then injured his knee. Later on in the season he injured his other knee and didn't play again. Troy is a difference maker for the Steelers. But, his all out play has a tendency to lead to injuries. In the postseason prior to the Super Bowl he decided to forgo the Steelers offseason program and go with his own in California. The plan seemed to work and the Steelers got another ring. He went with the same offseason program this year, but 2 knee injuries ensued and that was the season. The thing about Troy is that he makes other players around him better. Ryan Clark is a true Steeler, a hard hitter and the quarterback in the backfield. But, with the area Troy covers that cuts down significantly what Ryan has to take care of. With Troy out and aging Tyrone Carter as his replacement Ryan has to make up for that. A few years ago Ryan probably could, but now not so much. Again, don't get me wrong. He is still a quality safety. But, he needs help. Ty Carter is also still a good player. He is no Troy Polamalu. But, who is?



So, item 3 on the list for the Steelers to get back to the Super Bowl is upgrade the depth of the Safeties. Two knee injuries is not a good indication that Troy has a healthy future ahead. Hopefully, he'll rebound and have a healthy 2010 season, but they can't depend on that. They need to resign Ryan Clark hopefully at a discounted price and also sign a free agent or draft a quality Safety. Ryan Mundy hasn't shown that he can give them what they need so back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, hope Troy has a healthy 2010 and 2011.

The Steelers must do this to return to the Super Bowl

I have a name for you. Nate Kaeding. You know, the kicker for the San Diego Chargers. Let me rephrase that, the always reliable kicker for the San Diego Chargers. That is until that fateful day this playoff season against the New York Jets. Kaeding missed 3 field goals on his home field. Just one of those would have resulted at least in getting the Super Chargers into overtime and give them another chance. But he missed 3 field goals, 9 points that could have won the game.

Did you know the Steelers have a pretty reliable kicker, on the field that is. His name is Jeff Reed, and he will soon be a free agent. Can you name the kicker before Reed. Not Kris Brown. The Steelers signed a free agent after Brown exited to the Texans. Remember Todd Peterson. Thankfully, Peterson became injured early in the season causing Bill Cowher to bring in several kickers for a tryout. They went as far as to take them out to Hines field to see if they could solve the mystery of the goalposts there. Reed passed with flying colors and won the job. Where is Peterson now? Managing a Citgo as my favorite sports show hosts would say. Reed has won countless games for the Steelers. Strangely enough he missed a few in a playoff game against the Jets a few years ago. So, I guess it happens. But, this guy is money in the clutch and he can kick at Heinz field. If the Steelers let him go they could end up with Todd Peterson. Seems like the Steelers had another kicker that was as close to a Hall of Famer as any kicker could be. He had a few more good years in him too.

The downside to Reed is his penchant for off the field antics. So he likes to use paper towel dispensers for his offseason boxing training. I'm sure he was feeling a little out of shape so he took advantage of the first thing he saw. C'mon. I don't have any excuses for his parking lot incident. He apologized and is active in the community and charity work.

He is a must sign and worth the money. Put the morality clause in his contract and if he doesn't stick by it have a backup plan.

#2 Thing the Steelers must do to return to the Super Bowl - Re-sign Jeff Reed.

5 Things the Steelers must do to return to the Super Bowl #1

No offense to Chris Hoke, who is definitely one of the best 1A options at Nose Tackle in the league, but he is not the run stopper that Casey Hampton is. We all saw what happened immediately after Aaron Smith went down for the year again this year. The Steelers run defense sagged. They were still better than most teams, but there was a definite decrease in productivity. Ziggy Hood got more and more play time and hopefully he'll prove to be a worthy successor for one of the aging linemen on the Steelers roster. The number one thing the Steelers must do to remain in competition for the Super Bowl next year is tag Casey Hampton as the franchise player. Yeah they'll have to pay him big money, but his nickname is big snack. Big money for big snack. But, that assures them of keeping the core of the defensive line together for 1 more year. If he breaks down this year, then they've only tied up 1 year's salary and don't have to give a signing bonus.
The bad thing is rumblings from the Big Snack, not his stomache, but from the rumor mill is that he does not want to tagged. Gee sorry, that's kinda why that's in place so teams don't lose a franchise player because he doesn't want to stay. Could be that he'll be a disruption if the Steelers do it, but he's been through 2 Super Bowls with most of these teammates and nothing in his past to make us think he'd be a disruptive force. So, re-sign Casey. Step #1.

The Steelers just secured next year's Super Bowl with this move.

Well, as you can tell I was on a hiatus for much of the last quarter of the season. Being a reporter and covering your favorite team would be quite hard for someone that feels about his teams like I do. You don't want to bash your team and even when there's a few wins amongst a bunch of losses you don't feel like writing about it, it also doesn't help too much when you get no comments on your articles. Anway, that move I discussed of course jokingly was the hiring of a new special teams coach, who strangely enough was fired by San Fran. Mike Tomlin must have seen something in an interview because he hired Al "Mount" Everest as the new coach. More details in another article. Interestingly, Bobby April, was an interviewee for the job also. Special teams coaches just go from place to place hoping their players have a good year. If not they move on to another team. When they make the whole Circuit they start on their second time around with a new coach. Stay tuned also for Who's fault was it, year end edition.

Thanks for hangin' in there with me and the blog.