I don't have fears of this supposed "bye week blues", I do have a fear of playing down to the opponent this week as our Steelers (7-3) face off against the Casselless Chiefs (4-6) First, I think we should touch on the myth that teams are getting killed after their bye weeks; prior to week 8 NFL teams were just 3-9 after their bye week, but that number has become more of an aberration since then as teams are 10-6, so lets not look into that too much.
The biggest news is that the Chiefs have had more substantial injuries than just about any team could handle, losing big name such as Tony Moeaki, Jammal Charles, Eric Berry and more recently Matt Cassel. This has forced the Chiefs to dip into thier roster to patch together a lineup. Former Pitt Panther and Steeler Tyler Palko will be in the starting lineup for the Steelers game even though Kyle Orton was claimed off waivers from the Denver Tebows.
The Steelers are 17-10 against KC all time, going 9-6 against them in the hostile confines of Arrowhead Stadium. The last match-up between these two in KC was the horrible and embarrassing 27-24 overtime loss in 2009.
CHIEFS SEASON STATS:
Tyler Palko- 29 of 44 277 yards 0 touchdowns 3 interceptions
*Second career start, lost last week 34-3
Jackie Battle- 95 carries for 436 yards and 1 touchdown
*Has one career 100 yard game, against Indy
Dwayne Bowe- 48 catches for 750 yards and 4 touchdowns
*Averages 15.6 yards per catch
Defense- The Chiefs are 23rd in the league allowing 365.9 yards per game and 25th in points giving up 25 per game. They only have 12 sacks but have an impressive 13 interceptions, two returned for touchdowns.
INJURY REPORT
Lamar Woodley- questionable; Arnaz Battle- questionable; Stevenson Sylvester- questionable; James Harrison- probable; Ben Roethlisberger- probable; Troy Polamalu- probable; Emmanuel Sanders- probable;
FINAL TAKE:
Ben has a fracture in his thumb but is assuring everyone it will not have an ill effect on his throwing, so we are all forced to believe him. On a serious note the Steelers need to make sure they are not over looking the Chiefs like they seemed to do in 2009. Run the ball, control the clock and let Ben heave the ball into the end zone; seems simple. I don't see a loss especially with the Ravens winning on Thursday, the Steelers need to win to control the wild card.
STEELERS WIN: 24-16
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hall of Fame Semi-Finalist
The NFL Hall of Fame announced the 26 modern era finalist and four of them have ties to Steeler Nation. The Steelers second all time leading rusher Jerome Bettis 1996-2005, former linebacker Kevin Greene 1993-1995, safety Donnie Shell 1974-1987 and center Dermontti Dawson 1988-2000. Another Steeler great Jack Butler also made the senior committee ballot pushing the Steelers total to five of 28 players.
With a weak class this year it is possible that we could see up to four of these players in the hall this year. In my opinion Jerome Bettis, Kevin Greene, Dermontti Dawson and Jack Bulter should make the final cut. No one is more deserving than Jack Butler.
Butler retired from the NFL in 1959, playing in 103 games recording 52 interceptions and four touchdowns. Butler retired from the league second all time in interceptions but is still waiting for his opportunity for this honor. To put Butlers picks into perspective, former Steeler and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson played in 102 games in his first seven seasons and only recorded 28 interceptions. Compare that to Butler's 52 interceptions in 103 games.
There are very few, if any Hall of Famers that can compare to Butler's stats.
Butler retired from the NFL in 1959, playing in 103 games recording 52 interceptions and four touchdowns. Butler retired from the league second all time in interceptions but is still waiting for his opportunity for this honor. To put Butlers picks into perspective, former Steeler and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson played in 102 games in his first seven seasons and only recorded 28 interceptions. Compare that to Butler's 52 interceptions in 103 games.
There are very few, if any Hall of Famers that can compare to Butler's stats.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Perfect Bye Week...
First off, all Steelers fans should be Bengals fans as they take on the Ravens. The Steelers own the tie breaker with the Bengals but do not have it against the Ravens. With a Bengals win, the Steelers take over sole possession of the AFC North and as the wild card race is tightening this would be huge.
Now, if the Bengals lose the Steelers could use a trio of games to go their way, some of those games are more important than others though. Loses by the Bills, Raiders and Titans give the Steelers two game leads over all three for one of the two wild card spots. Right now the Steelers hold a one game lead over each team and also has a better division and conference record than all three teams in case of a record tie.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Steelers Hold Off Bengals
This game started out with a bang and finished with a even bigger one; what happened in the middle was a much different story. The Steelers (7-3) got back back to their winning way by holding off the Bengals (6-3) and keeping pace with the Ravens, who lost to the Seahawks.
Big Ben came out throwing the ball and he did it quite well at the start. Like the typical Bruce Arians offense though, they went to the well too much and the Bengals picked up on it. Ben finished strong throwing for two first downs to hold of the Bengals and seal the victory. Ben finished 21 of 33 with 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Steelers rarely used the running game, again. They ran two reversals to Mike Wallace in the first quarter resulting in 31 yards but other than that the Steelers waited to use the running game until the passing game sputtered. As a team the Steelers combined for 105 yards; Mendenhall averaged 2.8 yards picking up 44 yards on 16 carries, he also had two touchdowns. Redman was the most impressive, again, as he carried seven times for 25 yards averaging 3.5 per rush.
Antonio Brown continues to impress as he leads the NFL in catches over the last four weeks. Brown came up huge in this game grabbing five passes for 86 yards. He made big plays on third and long and when the Steelers needed them most, he and Mike Wallace are forming one of the best one, two tandems in the league at this point in their short careers. I loved that Jerricho Cotchery had a two big catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. He had another touchdown called back because of a stupid penalty, but none the less it is good to see him playing well.
The defense played well at times and at other times they really seemed like a joke. Statistically they were impressive giving up 279 net yards, 109 on the ground and 170 through the air. But the team struggled at times with Andy Dalton and allowed the Bengals to move up and down the field. The defense did come up with two big interceptions, one by Lawrence Timmons and the huge game sealing William Gay interception.
The Steelers looked good and with the Ravens loss they can still win the division. The Steelers play the woeful Kansas City Chiefs after their bye week but will not see starting quarterback Matt Cassell. Due to an injury Tyler Palko will be the starter when we travel to Missouri in two weeks.
Big Ben came out throwing the ball and he did it quite well at the start. Like the typical Bruce Arians offense though, they went to the well too much and the Bengals picked up on it. Ben finished strong throwing for two first downs to hold of the Bengals and seal the victory. Ben finished 21 of 33 with 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Steelers rarely used the running game, again. They ran two reversals to Mike Wallace in the first quarter resulting in 31 yards but other than that the Steelers waited to use the running game until the passing game sputtered. As a team the Steelers combined for 105 yards; Mendenhall averaged 2.8 yards picking up 44 yards on 16 carries, he also had two touchdowns. Redman was the most impressive, again, as he carried seven times for 25 yards averaging 3.5 per rush.
Antonio Brown continues to impress as he leads the NFL in catches over the last four weeks. Brown came up huge in this game grabbing five passes for 86 yards. He made big plays on third and long and when the Steelers needed them most, he and Mike Wallace are forming one of the best one, two tandems in the league at this point in their short careers. I loved that Jerricho Cotchery had a two big catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. He had another touchdown called back because of a stupid penalty, but none the less it is good to see him playing well.
The defense played well at times and at other times they really seemed like a joke. Statistically they were impressive giving up 279 net yards, 109 on the ground and 170 through the air. But the team struggled at times with Andy Dalton and allowed the Bengals to move up and down the field. The defense did come up with two big interceptions, one by Lawrence Timmons and the huge game sealing William Gay interception.
The Steelers looked good and with the Ravens loss they can still win the division. The Steelers play the woeful Kansas City Chiefs after their bye week but will not see starting quarterback Matt Cassell. Due to an injury Tyler Palko will be the starter when we travel to Missouri in two weeks.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Week 10 Breakdown
I have been extremely busy so a full breakdown was nearly impossible for this week. Instead I will give you some keys for the Steelers to win.
The Bengals have beaten nobody except the untested 49ers; Andy Dalton has never face a defense like the Steelers.
With a good running game, the play action pass will destroy the Bengals. After a huge loss to the Ravens don't expect anything other than a beating.
STEELERS WIN 27-10
The Bengals have beaten nobody except the untested 49ers; Andy Dalton has never face a defense like the Steelers.
With a good running game, the play action pass will destroy the Bengals. After a huge loss to the Ravens don't expect anything other than a beating.
STEELERS WIN 27-10
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Steelers Claim Woods
After making the roster, the Saints released him on September 4th, 2010 and was claimed by the Steelers three days later. The Steelers kept Woods on their practice squad until he was signed to the Buccaneers active roster on November 2nd, 2010. The Buccaneers released him prior to the start of this season and Woods had remained on the Seahawks roster until this week.
In two NFL seasons Woods has started 11 games, recording 19 tackles, 13 of those unassisted and a half a sack with the Buccaneers and Seahawks. Woods will be added to the Steelers active roster; to make room for him the Steelers will release Morrty Ivy who has spent the last two weeks on the active roster.
Woods will wear #65.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Ravens Upend the Steelers
In no way shape or form do I want to write this article I am so disgusted, but I will. Last night, fans stayed up till nearly midnight watching our Steelers (6-3) fight tooth and nail against their arch-rival Ravens (6-2)
I don't even know how to start without ranting and raving like a lunatic. The offense still refuses to run the ball and that helped with the Steelers lack of ability to eat up the clock. The defense could not get off the field as they allowed the Ravens to convert 14 of 21 third downs, all 14 through the air.
Big Ben was 20 of 37 for 330 yards and a touchdown while connecting to seven different receivers. Rashard Mendenhall carried 13 times for 52 yards and a touchdown; four yards per carry against the Ravens, the Ravens. I still cannot figure out why they would not run more and control the clock more. That costly Ben interception at the start of the third quarter could have been avoided if they weren't forcing the passing game and allowed the running backs to do their jobs.
Time to refocus and get to the playoffs; see you in January rat birds.
The defense was pitiful in this game. They could not get off the field on third down allowing the Ravens to connect on 14 of 21 third down attempts. They controlled the Ravens running game only allowing 67 net yards, but gave up a horrid 289 net passing yards and allowed the Ravens to march 92 yards in a minute to get beat.
Now, I don't like bitching about refs because I understand their job is hard to do. I was impressed with them letting the teams play last night but when they did throw the flag it was never equal to both sides. Ray Lewis hit Hines Ward helmet to helmet and was not flagged, while Ryan Clark was flagged for hitting a defenseless receiver, who is twice his size by the way. Even on the game winning touchdown the Steelers were flagged for pass interference but the push off by the Ravens receiver was ignored. I truly hope this isn't the NFL Goodell was hoping for.
I have to bring up our corners as well. I loved seeing Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown in the mix and I was extremely impressed with their play. Allen was great in coverage and I thought he did a great job wrapping people up, I wish I could say the same for the others. Ike Taylor was Ike Taylor, but when will we finally get enough of William Gay and Keenan Lewis? I counted nine third downs completed on them, nine. They played horrible, they couldn't cover anyone when it mattered and Gay seemed to get flagged on every other play.
I still don't think that the Ravens are the team to beat in the AFC North. If these two teams meet again in the playoffs we will see who the king of the division is. I am so disappointed to get swept by the Ravens, I am disappointed in how big of a joke our defense appeared when it mattered last night and most of all I am disappointed that I have to listen to football "experts" talk up the Ravens.
I don't even know how to start without ranting and raving like a lunatic. The offense still refuses to run the ball and that helped with the Steelers lack of ability to eat up the clock. The defense could not get off the field as they allowed the Ravens to convert 14 of 21 third downs, all 14 through the air.
Big Ben was 20 of 37 for 330 yards and a touchdown while connecting to seven different receivers. Rashard Mendenhall carried 13 times for 52 yards and a touchdown; four yards per carry against the Ravens, the Ravens. I still cannot figure out why they would not run more and control the clock more. That costly Ben interception at the start of the third quarter could have been avoided if they weren't forcing the passing game and allowed the running backs to do their jobs.
Time to refocus and get to the playoffs; see you in January rat birds.
The defense was pitiful in this game. They could not get off the field on third down allowing the Ravens to connect on 14 of 21 third down attempts. They controlled the Ravens running game only allowing 67 net yards, but gave up a horrid 289 net passing yards and allowed the Ravens to march 92 yards in a minute to get beat.
Now, I don't like bitching about refs because I understand their job is hard to do. I was impressed with them letting the teams play last night but when they did throw the flag it was never equal to both sides. Ray Lewis hit Hines Ward helmet to helmet and was not flagged, while Ryan Clark was flagged for hitting a defenseless receiver, who is twice his size by the way. Even on the game winning touchdown the Steelers were flagged for pass interference but the push off by the Ravens receiver was ignored. I truly hope this isn't the NFL Goodell was hoping for.
I have to bring up our corners as well. I loved seeing Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown in the mix and I was extremely impressed with their play. Allen was great in coverage and I thought he did a great job wrapping people up, I wish I could say the same for the others. Ike Taylor was Ike Taylor, but when will we finally get enough of William Gay and Keenan Lewis? I counted nine third downs completed on them, nine. They played horrible, they couldn't cover anyone when it mattered and Gay seemed to get flagged on every other play.
I still don't think that the Ravens are the team to beat in the AFC North. If these two teams meet again in the playoffs we will see who the king of the division is. I am so disappointed to get swept by the Ravens, I am disappointed in how big of a joke our defense appeared when it mattered last night and most of all I am disappointed that I have to listen to football "experts" talk up the Ravens.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Week 9 Breakdown
Revenge Game
Nobody has forgot the week one whipping that the Steelers (6-2) took at the hands of the rat bird Baltimore Ravens (5-2) and I am sure the players remember it even more. The bragging rights for the Ravens are still out of reach for them as they must do something that they have NEVER done, sweep the Steelers in the regular season.
The Steelers rivalry is much deeper than any other rivalry in sports. Sure, people can argue the Bears and Packers or Yankees and Redsox, but no rivalry has this much hate. In the before mentioned rivalries and like most rivalries it is the fans that have the largest parts. It is not a shock to see players in other rivalries talking before games or joking around, with the Steelers they trash talk each other all season and fight constantly in their match-ups. This rivalry is much more seeded and has deeper roots than all others, hell, I won't allow any purple into my house.
Forgetting about the week one slamming, the Steelers have a great record against the Ravens posting a 21-13 record against them. At home the Steelers are an astonishing 13-5 and are 8-2 in their last ten games in Pittsburgh versus the Ravens. The last home meeting was a 31 to 24 win during the 2010 divisional playoffs.
Number wise the Steelers are improving. The Steelers offense is putting up more yards and seem to be getting much more fluid, now if they could only run more. The defense is far from that "old" bunch that we all seen earlier in the year and that could be because of the younger guys getting some playing time.
RAVENS SEASON STATS:
Joe Flacco- 141 of 262 1,751 yards 8 touchdowns 6 interceptions
*Flacco is 3-6 vs the Steelers, 1-4 in the Burgh
Ray Rice- 115 carries for 489 yards and 5 touchdowns
*Rice has two career 100 yard games against the Steelers.
Anquan Boldin- 34 catches for 539 yards and 2 touchdowns
*Ravens have no significant deep threat.
Defense- The Ravens are giving up a league leading 263.3 yards per game and a second best 15 points per game. They have recorded seven interceptions, three of those against the Steelers in week one and have pressured the quarterback getting to them 25 times.
INJURY REPORT
Doug Legursky- out; LaMarr Woodley- out; Emmanuel Sanders- out; James Farrior- questionable; Hines Ward- questionable; James Harrison- probable; Jonathan Scott- probable'
FINAL TAKE
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and it is going to be rather cold in the Burgh tonight when the Steelers look to avenge the early loss to the Ravens. The Steelers have no running game and well, your not going to run on the Ravens anyway. They need to keep Big Ben upright and since the addition of Max Starks that has been happening. Ben needs to limit turnovers which he hasn't been able to do turning the ball over at least once in 7 of 8 games this season. Despite that the Steelers are primed for a big primetime win.
STEELERS WIN- 24-16
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Practice Squad Moves
The Steelers made a series of roster moves as they released defensive lineman Elisha Joesph and first year receiver Jamar Newsome.
Joesph was signed to the practice squad on October 18th to help the Steelers deal with depth problems on the defensive lineman.
Jamar Johnson made the Jacksonville Jaguars roster out of training camp but was released on September 20th and signed to their practice squad. Johnson played three seasons for the UCF Golden Knights; recording 65 catches for 986 yards and seven touchdowns. In all three seasons Johnson caught at least one pass over 50 yards and scored a rushing touchdown in 2010.
In four preseason games with the Jaguars, Johnson caught six passes for 118 yards averaging 19.7 yards per catch.
Joesph was signed to the practice squad on October 18th to help the Steelers deal with depth problems on the defensive lineman.
Jamar Johnson made the Jacksonville Jaguars roster out of training camp but was released on September 20th and signed to their practice squad. Johnson played three seasons for the UCF Golden Knights; recording 65 catches for 986 yards and seven touchdowns. In all three seasons Johnson caught at least one pass over 50 yards and scored a rushing touchdown in 2010.
In four preseason games with the Jaguars, Johnson caught six passes for 118 yards averaging 19.7 yards per catch.
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