It was not bad enough that the Steelers didn't win the Super Bowl, but then Pittsburgh lost one of it's great managers.
I'll return to the Super Bowl in another article, needless to say it was turnovers that lost the game for the Steelers, but I want to focus on one of Pittsburgh Sports Buzz's favorite managers.
My family was visiting some friends in Virginia during the 1979 World Series. They were big Baltimore Orioles fans. I remember the TV, which was black and white and on a rolling stand. During the games they would pull it out of the corner and put it in the middle of the room. I remember all the great players, Willie Stargell, Bill Madlock, Dave Parker, Omar Moreno, Phil Garner, Bill Robinson, Mike Easler, Manny Sanguillen, Kent Tekulve, Bert Blyleven, John Candelaria, Rick Rhoden.
Then I remember the man that was able to put together all of those players into a championship team. I'll always be a great fan of Chuck Tanner for this one great season. Maybe overshadowed a little by another Chuck coaching the Pittsburgh Football team at the time, he turned me into a baseball fan and a lifelong Pirates fan. I don't know how much he had to do with Willie Stargell having a monster series, but that was not all that went into the Pirates winning that series. Down 3-1 in the series and coming back to win the last 3 was a great feat, plus the last 2 games were in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. I just hope Pittsburgh will once again find a manager that is able to put it together again like Chuck Tanner. I'm sure he will be missed in Spring Training this year.
LaMarr Woodley designated
With all the unrest in the collective bargaining agreement between ownership and the players, Pittsburgh Sports Buzz was a little concerned about how the LaMarr Woodley situation would turn out. The Steelers laid that to rest this week and designated Woodley with the franchise tag. Most players don't care for this because it keeps them from signing a big multiyear contract with a big signing bonus. But, for Woodley it will give him a huge payday this year. With his talent and when the collective bargaining agreement is straightened out he'll sign his long term contract. He's too good to let go, right?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
WOW! Gameday. I've heard it all these last 2 weeks. I find it hard to believe that the Steelers blood is not boiling if they've been watching TV at all. Charles Woodson will be the difference maker, Clay Mathews will be the difference maker, or Aaron Rodgers. Ok, those are two guys amongst the Packers.
The Steelers have difference makers up and down their lineup. They have shown that they can make the plays in the big games and they will do it again today. So much so that I need to break it down by Offense and Defense, not just 3 guys.
Let's check it out
Offense
Ben Roethlisberger
He has made his share of mistakes off the field, but on the field he does nothing but make great plays and win games. He has a 10-2 playoff record, with 2 Super Bowl wins. How many other active QBs have won 2 Super Bowls. One, and his team got beat by the Jets this year in the playoffs. The last time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl Ben threw one of the best passes in Super Bowl history to Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the endzone in a game winning drive with minutes left. In Super Bowl XL, everyone says he had one of the worst performances by a QB in Super Bowl history. That was a QB who had taken his team to a Super Bowl in his second year after taking them to the AFC Championship game in his first year. Gee, he can't be that good, AFC Championship game first year, Super Bowl second year. Yeah, not too good. Oh, and that Super Bowl in Detroit that he played so badly in, on one play he scrambled all over the place and managed to find Hines Ward near the goal line to set up a touchdown. Difference Maker.
Hines Ward
The leading receiver in Steelers history. Oh, yeah, um, he holds most of the receiving records in Steelers history. Did I mention that he's broken most of all the records of that Steelers receiving tandem... what were their names? That's right I think they were named Swann and Stallworth. He also caught that pass mentioned above from Ben along with, amongst others, from one of his fellow receivers Antwaan Randle El. Along with the 2 Lombardi trophies he's helped win, he has a Super Bowl MVP trophy. Throw him a ball in a clutch situation and he will catch it. Need him to get open in a clutch situation and he'll find a space in the defense and be open. One other thing, find a receiver that blocks better than this one and opens holes for his teammates. Difference Maker.
Heath Miller
Somehow he manages to stay below the radar of all the media. He gets nowhere near the recognition he could get if he played on another team that featured him. He could be the featured receiver on most teams in the NFL. He is a complete Tight End. He will stay back and block or he will catch the big time passes. He missed the first game with Baltimore this year and like would have been the Difference Maker.
Rashard Mendenhall
Early in the season the Steelers played what would end up to be one of the best teams in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons. The game was tied in regulation and went to overtime. On the first play of overtime Mendenhall put the game away with a 50 yard TD run. Mendenhall helped this team to a 3-1 start in the absence of Ben and achieved another 1,000 yard season. He was given the ball early and often against the Jets in the AFC championship game which helped the Steelers control the time of possession, especially in the first quarter. Difference Maker.
Mike Wallace
The Steelers have one of the fastest players in football on their team. He has smoked many defenses this year and has a ridiculous yards per catch average and has become a complete receiver in his second year. Last year in the game against the Packers he caught a ball with no time left and put two feet down inside the line to secure a victory. Difference Maker.
The Steelers have two rookie wide receivers that have battled each other for much of the season to be active players each week. Both have made some spectacular plays when they have gotten into games. Let's just sum it up with this, 3rd and long, long, long. The Jets are expecting a long pass, the Steelers aren't hiding anything. Antonio Brown beats the secondary, Ben throws a perfect pass and the result first down inside the five. Difference Maker, Rookie Difference Maker at that.
Defense
Troy Polamalu
Defensive player of the year, specializes in speed, tomahawk chopping the ball out of quarterbacks hands, big plays, and flying tackles. 'Nuff said.
Difference Maker.
James Harrison
Super Bowl XLIII, right before halftime. Harrison was supposed to perform his normal role of pursuing the quarterback. Instead he went with his instincts and dropped into coverage to cover the quick slant route. 100 yards, a couple player hurdles, a couple tacklers shrugged off he falls into the endzone. The outcome could have been quite different if the Cardinals scored even a field goal there. Difference Maker.
LaMarr Woodley
Woodley is a great player during the regular season, but he takes it up a notch. He has had a sack in every playoff game he has been in. In Super Bowl XLIII as the Cardinals were driving to try to take the lead with seconds left. Warner dropped back to pass and Woodley swooped in to knock the ball out of his hands. It was recovered by the Steelers, game over. Difference Maker.
Casey Hampton
The Steelers held their opponents to the 3rd best rushing yards per game in the Super Bowl era this season. One reason for that was the mountain of a man, not to be confused with Mountain man Brett Keisel, although he was a huge reason for the rushing defense success, but I'm talking about Casey Hampton. Hampton has been the immovable force in the middle of the Steelers Line since he was drafted out of the University of Texas. He plugs the middle to prevent any running back from getting past the line, and on occasion when he gets mad, he'll come up with a big sack, not to be confused with his nickname, big snack. Difference Maker.
Ryan Clark
The Ravens start the second half of the AFC playoffs in control of the game. Ray Rice catches a screen and starts up the middle. A player comes in from the side, makes a flying tackle and punches the ball out of Rice's hand. Fumble recovered by the Steelers. Momentum swings the Steelers way. Later Flacco overthrows his receiver and a player comes over from the middle of the field to intercept. Ryan Clark comes up with 2 turnovers to turn the momentum in favor of the Steelers and lead them to the victory and a date for the AFC Championship game. Difference Maker.
These are the multitude of big time players the Steelers have. One of these guys will make a difference in this game.
By the way, I ran a scrimmage on Madden to determine the outcome of this game. I'm not the defensive coordinator that Dick Lebeau is, but the final score ended up being 106-14 Steelers, with
The Steelers have difference makers up and down their lineup. They have shown that they can make the plays in the big games and they will do it again today. So much so that I need to break it down by Offense and Defense, not just 3 guys.
Let's check it out
Offense
Ben Roethlisberger
He has made his share of mistakes off the field, but on the field he does nothing but make great plays and win games. He has a 10-2 playoff record, with 2 Super Bowl wins. How many other active QBs have won 2 Super Bowls. One, and his team got beat by the Jets this year in the playoffs. The last time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl Ben threw one of the best passes in Super Bowl history to Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the endzone in a game winning drive with minutes left. In Super Bowl XL, everyone says he had one of the worst performances by a QB in Super Bowl history. That was a QB who had taken his team to a Super Bowl in his second year after taking them to the AFC Championship game in his first year. Gee, he can't be that good, AFC Championship game first year, Super Bowl second year. Yeah, not too good. Oh, and that Super Bowl in Detroit that he played so badly in, on one play he scrambled all over the place and managed to find Hines Ward near the goal line to set up a touchdown. Difference Maker.
Hines Ward
The leading receiver in Steelers history. Oh, yeah, um, he holds most of the receiving records in Steelers history. Did I mention that he's broken most of all the records of that Steelers receiving tandem... what were their names? That's right I think they were named Swann and Stallworth. He also caught that pass mentioned above from Ben along with, amongst others, from one of his fellow receivers Antwaan Randle El. Along with the 2 Lombardi trophies he's helped win, he has a Super Bowl MVP trophy. Throw him a ball in a clutch situation and he will catch it. Need him to get open in a clutch situation and he'll find a space in the defense and be open. One other thing, find a receiver that blocks better than this one and opens holes for his teammates. Difference Maker.
Heath Miller
Somehow he manages to stay below the radar of all the media. He gets nowhere near the recognition he could get if he played on another team that featured him. He could be the featured receiver on most teams in the NFL. He is a complete Tight End. He will stay back and block or he will catch the big time passes. He missed the first game with Baltimore this year and like would have been the Difference Maker.
Rashard Mendenhall
Early in the season the Steelers played what would end up to be one of the best teams in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons. The game was tied in regulation and went to overtime. On the first play of overtime Mendenhall put the game away with a 50 yard TD run. Mendenhall helped this team to a 3-1 start in the absence of Ben and achieved another 1,000 yard season. He was given the ball early and often against the Jets in the AFC championship game which helped the Steelers control the time of possession, especially in the first quarter. Difference Maker.
Mike Wallace
The Steelers have one of the fastest players in football on their team. He has smoked many defenses this year and has a ridiculous yards per catch average and has become a complete receiver in his second year. Last year in the game against the Packers he caught a ball with no time left and put two feet down inside the line to secure a victory. Difference Maker.
The Steelers have two rookie wide receivers that have battled each other for much of the season to be active players each week. Both have made some spectacular plays when they have gotten into games. Let's just sum it up with this, 3rd and long, long, long. The Jets are expecting a long pass, the Steelers aren't hiding anything. Antonio Brown beats the secondary, Ben throws a perfect pass and the result first down inside the five. Difference Maker, Rookie Difference Maker at that.
Defense
Troy Polamalu
Defensive player of the year, specializes in speed, tomahawk chopping the ball out of quarterbacks hands, big plays, and flying tackles. 'Nuff said.
Difference Maker.
James Harrison
Super Bowl XLIII, right before halftime. Harrison was supposed to perform his normal role of pursuing the quarterback. Instead he went with his instincts and dropped into coverage to cover the quick slant route. 100 yards, a couple player hurdles, a couple tacklers shrugged off he falls into the endzone. The outcome could have been quite different if the Cardinals scored even a field goal there. Difference Maker.
LaMarr Woodley
Woodley is a great player during the regular season, but he takes it up a notch. He has had a sack in every playoff game he has been in. In Super Bowl XLIII as the Cardinals were driving to try to take the lead with seconds left. Warner dropped back to pass and Woodley swooped in to knock the ball out of his hands. It was recovered by the Steelers, game over. Difference Maker.
Casey Hampton
The Steelers held their opponents to the 3rd best rushing yards per game in the Super Bowl era this season. One reason for that was the mountain of a man, not to be confused with Mountain man Brett Keisel, although he was a huge reason for the rushing defense success, but I'm talking about Casey Hampton. Hampton has been the immovable force in the middle of the Steelers Line since he was drafted out of the University of Texas. He plugs the middle to prevent any running back from getting past the line, and on occasion when he gets mad, he'll come up with a big sack, not to be confused with his nickname, big snack. Difference Maker.
Ryan Clark
The Ravens start the second half of the AFC playoffs in control of the game. Ray Rice catches a screen and starts up the middle. A player comes in from the side, makes a flying tackle and punches the ball out of Rice's hand. Fumble recovered by the Steelers. Momentum swings the Steelers way. Later Flacco overthrows his receiver and a player comes over from the middle of the field to intercept. Ryan Clark comes up with 2 turnovers to turn the momentum in favor of the Steelers and lead them to the victory and a date for the AFC Championship game. Difference Maker.
These are the multitude of big time players the Steelers have. One of these guys will make a difference in this game.
By the way, I ran a scrimmage on Madden to determine the outcome of this game. I'm not the defensive coordinator that Dick Lebeau is, but the final score ended up being 106-14 Steelers, with
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