News: 2016 Schedule

The 2016 schedule was released today, so lets break it down.

Lets get brazen here 13-3.

Week 1

@ Washington Redskins MONDAY NIGHT

I'm not shocked this is a Monday night game, but I thought this would be vs Cincinnati. Despite being 13-21-3 in Washington this should be a good opener for us. Washington has a decent offense and defense but I don't think they'll be able to contain our weapons.

Projection: WIN



Week 2

vs Cincinnati Bengals

This is the grudge match. These two teams have a lot to fight about and I bet this will be a brutal start to both teams seasons. The Bengals lost a lot of depth but still have their play makers. This game will come down to whether our defense can hold up to their offense. The Steelers are 30-16 all time against them at home and 6-4 in the last ten.

Projection: WIN



Week 3

@ Philadelphia Eagles

Who knows what Eagles team we will get? I sure don't. What I do know is I don't trust their offense vs our defense, even if its shaky. And I don't trust their defense to stop our offense. The Steelers are 8-26-2 all time in Philadelphia and a horrendous 1-9 in their last ten there.

Projection: WIN




Week 4

 vs Kansas City Chiefs SUNDAY NIGHT

The Chiefs seem to be a torn in our sides. This game is scary to me since we never seem to play well vs Kansas City, but we are home for this one. I'm hoping momentum keeps us going. I'm counting on the defense getting better as well. The Steelers are 10-4 all time against the Chiefs in Pittsburgh.

Projection: WIN



Week 5

vs New York Jets

The Jets have won 1 game in 17 tries in Pittsburgh. Oh, and who the hell is going to be their QB? Enough said. To top it off the Steelers are 9-1 all time vs the Jets in Pittsburgh.

Projection: WIN





Week 6

@ Miami Dolphins

This should be a win. The Dolphins are in rebuild mode and their is so much discourse in their locker room but we have a tendency to play down to teams. We have a horrible record vs bad teams but I will hold out hope this year will be different. The Steelers have won their last three games in Miami but 6-8 overall there.

Projection: WIN



Week 7

vs New England Patriots

I don't care if this is at home. I don't care if the Patriots are a shell of themselves. I don't care if we should be on a roll at this time. The Steelers are 11-8 at home vs New England but have lost to Tom Brady 7 out of 9 times, including 3 of the last 4 in Pittsburgh. I hate to say this.

Projection: LOSE



Week 9

 @ Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are revamping this off season in hopes of erasing the 5-11 memories from 2015. The problem is the Ravens have Tomlin's number and two of those five wins were against Pittsburgh. I don't think they will sweep this year but they will grab this one. Hell, we lost three straight in Baltimore and 9-11 overall there.

Projection: LOSE



Week 10

vs Dallas Cowboys

The Steelers are 8-6 all time vs the Cowboys at home and won their last meeting in Pittsburgh 20-13. The Cowboys should return to their 2014 postseason form but its Pittsburgh and the Steelers need a win to break their losing streak.

Projection: WIN



Week 11

@ Cleveland Browns

Oh, the rivalry is back. New coach. New look. New players. I'm still thinking same old Browns. The Steelers have owned the Browns since coming back in the league winning 13 of their 17 matchups in Cleveland. This shouldn't be any different.

Projection: WIN



Week 12

@ Indianapolis Colts THANKSGIVING NIGHT

The Steelers decimated the Colts last year in Pittsburgh so expect some sort of payback. The only problem is the Colts have not addressed a single need on defense or the offensive line. Adding to that the Steelers are 7-4 there all time including two straight.

Projection: WIN


Week 13

vs New York Giants

This is another toss up team. If they are horrible we have a better chance to lose, if their good, who knows. The one sure thing is they spent a ton of money and have Odell Beckham Jr. The Steelers are 14-22-3 against the Giants at home including losing 3 of the last 4 there.

Projection: LOSE


Week 14

@ Buffalo Bills

Our saviors from 2015, as short lived as it was, will host us in 2016. Buffalo has a good defense, up and coming quarterback and I think will give us fits at the end of this season. The thing with Rex is you just never know which of his teams will show up. The Steelers are 5-7 all time in Buffalo and have won three straight there.

Projection: WIN


Week 15

@ Cincinnati Bengals SUNDAY NIGHT

The second meeting and what most likely will be the most important. The Steelers are 26-19 all time in Cincinnati and have won 8 of 10 there. Its hard for me to predict a sweep of Cincinnati but after the fiasco that was the 2015 Wild Card game, the Steelers don't want to lose this game.

Projection: WIN



Week 16

vs Baltimore Ravens

Them. Again. At the end of the season. The Steelers are 15-9 all time but have lost 2 of the last 3 there. The Ravens embarrassed them last year, twice, but I don't think it will be the same in 2016.

Projection: WIN




Week 17

vs Cleveland Browns

Hue Jackson will get the Browns there one day. This won't be the year though. The Steelers are 44-21 all time in Pittsburgh including 11 straight and 15 of 16.

Projection: WIN

Combine: Quarterbacks

There are a few positions the Steelers need to address, so I'm going to breakdown some opinions that I have on players that could be beneficial to the Steelers. I'll start with quarterbacks.

It's no secret that the Steelers need help at Quarterback. Big Ben is getting up there in age and the depth behind him is lackluster. Micheal Vick won't be returning and I don't think that anyone believes in Landry Jones. Bruce Gradkowski is a solid backup but is like Ben, getting up there in age.

The draft gives the Steelers the opportunity to bring in a young guy that needs developing. Put him behind Ben and Bruce and let him learn. There are plenty of mid to late round talents but none that I like more than Kevin Hogan from Stanford.

Kevin has good size standing 6'4 and weighing in at 218 lbs. He has good speed running the 40 yard dash in 4.78, great vertical at 32.5 and ran the cone drill in 6.9; all near the top for quarterbacks.

Hogan is also a winner going 36-10 and 3-1 in bowl games with three PAC-12 championships. In his career he threw for 9,385 yards with 75 TDs and 29 INTS.

The best part about Hogan is that it shouldn't take a high pick to grab him. Most "experts" have him projected between the 5th and 7th rounds. With a late round pick there will be no rush to get him ready which will let the coaches get his footwork and deliver NFL ready. 

Prediction: Week One

Here We Go!

Its another NFL season and time to start predicting, again. I love my Steelers but I try not to be a homer and try to look at each game objectively. Now, even if I predict them to lose that doesn't mean I'm not sitting here screaming, rooting for them to make me look like a fool.

So, what do we think of the Patriots and the Steelers match up?

Offensively these two teams are an even match. Brady has his Gronk and Big Ben has his AB. They have backup runners in the back field, since both team's starting backs are suspended. And their offensive lines are very comparable. The difference will be the ways they utilize their other weapons. Who will be more effective Dobson or Wheaton?

Edge: EVEN

The defensive side of the ball is a complete toss up. The Patriots lost Browner, Wilfork and Revis and the Steelers haven't been the Steelers since 2010. This becomes a battle of how the Patriots' defensive backs step up versus how well the young Steeler linebackers take that next step.

Edge: EVEN

Lets be real about their history versus each other. Ignore the overall record (15-12) and the record in Massachusetts (4-4). The Steelers are 3-6 against Tom Brady. The Steelers for some reason can't beat Brady and unfortunately I think its the same here. The Steelers have so many questions and the Patriots are angry and are going to play that way.

Final: Patriots 37 Steelers 31

To Vick or Not To Vick

I've been perusing social media and gathering responses by Steeler fans about the recent addition of Micheal Vick. And I can tell you that I am both amazed and dumbfounded by how hypocritical and over the top some have been. Tweets and Facebook post about Micheal Vick have been blowing up. Those same tweets and post have proclaimed how the Rooney's are losing their touch and this one signing will destroy the entire legacy that has been built in Pittsburgh. What a load of horse shit.

I've been a Steeler fan my entire life. Now, that doesn't make much sense because as a three or four year old you don't really know shit about football let alone the Steelers. So lets use some logic and say that since my first recollection of football was the entire 1994 season. Therefore I've been avidly watching  the Steelers for the last 22 years. Through my entire life the Steelers have always been an upstanding organization who have set the bar when it comes how to deal with players and issues they have, except when its a star quarterback. Or reciever. Or running back.

Before people start blowing off at me about cracking jokes about past incidents or before they start throwing out "never charged" or "acquitted" let me just explain. The Steelers have seen their fair share of incidents and for the most part stick by their players. While everyone is clamoring about Vick lets not forget about those same fans throwing away the Steelers after legal issues from Santonio Holmes, James Harrison, Big Ben and Le'Veon Bell. After all their crimes weren't that bad. Holmes was arrested multiple times including for disorderly conduct, domestic violence and marijuana possession from 2006 to 2008. Harrison for simple assault and criminal mischief stemming from a domestic violence incident in 2008. Or Ben who was accused of sexual assault twice (2008 and 2010).

My point is not to bring up these men as being bad men, they just made stupid choices and had to pay the price for those crimes. My point is that we pick and choose who to burn at the stake and Vick seems to the man attached to the stake. What Vick did doesn't make him a horrible person it makes him a man whose upbringing didn't teach him that what he funded was wrong. In fact to a lot of people they don't see anything wrong with what he was a part of but Vick committed crimes. He paid for those crimes and has been cleared to play since 2009.

You don't have to like him but you've rooted for years for players who have committed horrible crimes against woman. Men who could have killed someone while driving under the influence, ala Donte Stallworth. I'm not saying you have to forgive him, what I'm saying is don't be so hypocritical in your judging of Vick while your wearing your jersey's of these other players.

Day Three Wrap Up

I don't get caught up in all the draft hype like other people. What I mean by that if you listen to fans, coaches and the front office when they talk about draft picks, they are all superstars. Watching press conferences for each player drafted pretty much every year, you hear them talk about how each one is amazing in their own rights. Lets be honest though, your a late round pick for a reason. They have incredible skills but they are not all Pros and most of them their best football days ended when they left college. Keeping that in mind there are some really intriguing picks on day three.

Round 4
Doran Grant - Ohio State - DB
The Steelers grabbed their second corner in the fourth round. This one only needs a pretty simple breakdown. If you are the starting corner on a National Championship NCAA team, then you can play football. Whether it translates to the NFL is another question but it is definitely worth the look. At Ohio State Doran started 30 games, playing in another 24 games. He recorded 146 tackles with nine intercetptions, a sack and 20 broken up passes.

Round 5
Jesse James - Penn State - TE
I can honestly say that is is my favorite pick on the third day. I don't buy the "experts" saying we needed a tight end and we needed one early in the draft. Instead of an instant "upgrade" I felt a project player was needed to develop behind Miller and Spaeth. James fits that to a T. He left college a year early and still has a lot to learn before being an NFL star but he did at Penn State start every game the last two years, making 31 career starts. He caught 78 passes for 1,005 yards and added 11 touchdowns, the most by a Penn State tight end, ever. 

Round 6A
LT Walton - Central Michigan - DL
LT has great size at 6'5 and 319 lbs but he is more of a defensive end than a tackle and we need a tackle, bad. I know the front office is saying he can play both but that remains to be seen. The Steelers don't need more hybrid defensive lineman, we need a nose tackle, a true nose tackle to make this defense work. Maybe Walton can develop into that guy but I don't see it. At Central Michigan he finished his career with  106 tackles, 18.5 for loss with six sacks, three deflected passes and two forced fumbles.

Round 6B
Anthony Chickillo - Miami - DE/LB
What a great work horse pick. He doesn't have the brute strength like James Harrison or the big play moves like Joey Porter did, but he can play. He has a solid motor that just keeps running. Watch his highlights for just five minutes and you can see he never quits and keeps moving. That is the kind of linebacker we could use. He won't start and needs a lot of time to develop but I see a Levon Kirkland style player if he develops right. At Miami he started 47 of 50 games racking up 170 tackles, 25 for loss, 15.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, five recovered and five broken up passes.

Round 7
Gerod Holliman - Louisville - S
Warning, don't get excited by his stat line. Holliman may be a ball hawk and finds a way to pick passes but he is an awful tackler. He struggled in his only year as a starter by making a measly 37 tackles as a Sophomore. Instead of using one more year of eligibility, which he has two, and refining his tackling ability, he decided to enter the draft. Holliman has only started 12 games while playing in only 15 others. He totaled only 63 career tackles, a sack and six broken up passes but he did have an impressive 14 interceptions and 245 return yards off those interceptions.

Overall it was a good draft for the Steelers but we have to be honest that all these guys are not making the roster. If you look at the last ten years of Steelers drafts, removing 2014 since its still close to call, and statistics tell you that few of these guys will make a lasting impact.

In the last four rounds since the 2004 draft the Steelers have taken 22 defensive players with only four still on the roster today and only four others seeing any significant time on the field, mostly on special teams though. On the offensive side of the ball the Steelers have taken 27 offensive players with four still on the roster today and only seven others seeing any significant playing time.

Personally I think the players with the most upside are Anthony Chickillo and Jesse James but Doran Grant could be a long lasting player as well. But hey, just my opinion.

Sammie Coates

I know there is some uncertainty with the receiver position especially with Antonio Brown's contract issues but a third round pick for a receiver? Why not just waste another pick on an undersized return man? I don't get it. I know he has some incredible intangibles, but he has a tendency to drop the ball, Emmanuel Sanders anyone? And receiver is not exactly a huge hole for us. Its not like we need to shore up and entire defense.

I'm not saying Coates isn't a good football player because he is. He has great size at 6'1 212 lbs. He runs the 40 in 4.43 and has an impressive vertical, but why him and why grab a receiver in the 3rd round? The Steelers have Antonio Bryant, still under contract for three more years, Markus Wheaton, who was drafted in the 3rd round only two years ago, and the incredibly talented Martavias Bryant, who was a fourth round pick last year.

The pick just doesn't make sense to me for the third round. So, are you giving up on Wheaton already? Did you just draft a #4 receiver? Who are you dumping off to give him a shot to play?

I'm confused when there were some great players that could have shored up our defense including Carl Davis (Iowa), who went to Baltimore, or Xavier Cooper (Washington State), who went to Cleveland. There was also good tight ends like Jeff Heuerman (Ohio State) that could have been groomed to take Heath's place. This pick, like I said, reminds me a ton of the Dri Archer pick from last year, wasting a pick on something you don't really need when you have glaring holes.

I have faith in this front office but this pick is just a big question mark. I hope the pass on Davis and Cooper doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.

Senquez Golson

Well, my projected pick, Jordan Phillips, went off the board to the Dolphins but what a pick in its place. Senquez Golson out of Ole Miss is a great pick. He's not a big guy but forget the fact that he is only 5'9 because he is the best zone corner in the entire draft and thats something. He has an incredible ability to support the run, which is something we desperately need and has great top end speed.

Senquez is no slouch. He was one of the best players in the best conference in all of football, the SEC. He sealed the victory against #1 Alabama with an interception in the back of the end zone and being a four year guy at Ole Miss, he has valuable maturity and experience. All these factors make him a really great pick for the Steelers. 

He should be able to step in and start right away and instantly upgrade our secondary.