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What to say… 2007-10-23 14:02:53 …that hasn’t been said already. Interceptions…now up to 5.  But not too horrible a number for week 7…although we’ve only played 6 games.  It could definitely be worse.  Interceptions, or turnovers of any kind, aren’t good - except maybe the kind of turnovers with apples or cherries in them, they can be yummy! Go Heath Miller!  A Belated Happy Birthday to Heath, by the way. (Oct. 22) I’m hoping this can tacked up as just a bad day.  So many people felt this was going to be an automatic win, we kinda lost our underdog grit.  (Is there such a thing as an automatic win?  I really hope not.)  Was it a bit of overconfidence?  Yes, Ben can scramble…but maybe he shouldn’t have to so much?  And, I know this was mentioned in another blog…but Mr. Spaeth’s name is Matt not Tim.  At first I thought I heard it wrong, but it was repeated.  Only for about a minute though, and a commercial break, they were qui ...

Positive Thoughts after a Heartbreaker 2007-10-22 21:50:53 Last night’s game in Denver was a heartbreaker for the Steelers. Just after Roethlisberger’s final touchdown pass to Miller, I jumped from the couch, shouting triumphantly, and raised my fist in the air. Simultaneously, I heard my neighbor, also a rabid fan of the Black and Gold, yell and affirmation through the walls. Apparently he shared the same excitement. Tie score, I thought. We’ll get em’ in OT. Then I looked at the clock, and realized that Elum and the Broncos had plenty of time to march down the field and kick a field goal to win it. When the ball split the uprights, my worst suspicions were unfortunately realized. All in all, the Steelers played well and fans have reasons to be hopeful. I was especially pleased to see Roethlisberger spread the field and connect with receivers other than Hines, who had fairly good numbers as usual. The sure-handed Miller proved reliable, and I thought Homes had a good game, too. I was slightly disappointed that ...

Steelers Get Bucked 2007-10-22 15:02:59 The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t win for the 2nd time this season Sunday night against the Denver Broncos. This game was a nail bitter that could have went either way, but Denver was ahead when the final gun sounded. Jason Elam’s last second 49 yard field goal made the score 31-28 as time expired. I’m not sure if there were any flight delays out of Pittsburgh International Airport, but the Steelers didn’t show up in the first half of this game. The Burgh scored early when Roethlisberger found Heath “Ghostface” Miller in the end-zone for a 1 yard score, but that was it until after halftime. The Steelers offense sputtered for the rest of the half. Roethlisberger forced some passes and the Broncos capitalized on his mistakes. Big Ben was intercepted twice before halftime. Roethlisberger also fumbled on a play where he was trying to do too much under pressure. Tim Crowder picked the ball up and returned it 50 yards for a Bronco touchdown. At half-time the score was 21-7 Broncos. ...

Things to do in Denver when you’re dead 2007-10-22 01:35:37 Things to do in Denver when you’re dead   The Steelers lost a heartbreaker Sunday night.  I wrote in my preview that the only way the Steelers would lose to the Broncos was if they turned the ball over.  Roethlisberger threw two interceptions and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.  Still, the Steelers had a chance to win, but Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler did his best John Elway impersonation scrambling for 41 yards and throwing for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns and directed the Broncos to an unexpected victory. I guessed the first play of the game would be a play action pass which it was, although, I could probably make that guess and be right about half the time.   Had Roethlisberger completed his first two passes of the game he would have passed Bubby Brister for the Steelers consecutive completions mark.  He did not. More on Brister later.   Hopefully the Steelers can beat an AFC team with a winning record sometime this year.  Hopefully Denver goes on a winni ...

Beating a dead horse 2007-10-21 18:54:19 Final pre-game thoughts I just heard Champ Bailey has been deactivated for the game. The Steelers are going to absolutely crush the Broncos. Denver is minus their best CB, their starting center, and their best wide-out. All of whom are former pro-bowlers. It will be nice to watch the Steelers with most of the starters back. I love watching Polamalu play. To further clarify my thoughts on the Steelers WR situation, I do not watch games hoping Nate Washington drops passes, nor do I look for reasons to criticize Hines Ward in order to justify my belief that Plaxico Burress is the more explosive guy. It is a testament to the “Steeler Way” of doing things that Pittsburgh was in the enviable position of having the choice between Burress and Ward. Ward’s blocking is a key part of Willie Parker’s success; I guarantee that if Parker breaks a long one tonight Hines Ward will be mauling a safety or a corner back on the play. I have run into many fans, Steelers or otherwise, ( mo ...

The Steelers are 18 million under the salary cap. 2007-10-21 03:12:58 Sure Big Ben is due for a raise, but not an 18 million dollar annual pay increase.  It is clear to me that the Steelers could have afforded to pay Burress. The only reason he was released was because Cowher didn’t like him.   I love Hines Ward; he plays wideout like a linebacker, but he is a possession receiver. The best in the league and the highest paid, but not a guy who instills fear into defenses the way he used too. He is reliable and can still beat man coverage. He has two good seasons left, and I hope he retires a Steeler.  I hope he goes into the Hall of Fame after three consecutive Super Bowl MVP awards after breaking all the Steeler receiving records.  Ward is a great player. Nate Washington hasn’t made a big play since opening day 2006 vs. the Dolphins. When both Burress and Ward’s contracts were due to be up, I was lead to believe the Steelers had to chose between them.  I would take Burress in a heart beat over Ward right now, but the thing is they ...

Secondhand Smoke 2007-10-20 15:17:47 The Steelers offense ranks 2nd in the NFL in rushing(167yds/game, and the Broncos defense ranks 32nd in rush yards allowed (187yds/game). That’s the story line for the Sunday night match-up. The only thing Denver has going for them is that this is a home game, and Mile High is traditionally a tough place to play. I say this despite the fact that Denver has lost their last two at home, and have been disappointing this season. Both teams are coming off a bye week, but I don’t see the Broncos fixing their run defense over night or even with two weeks of scheming. The Steelers healed during the bye week. Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Troy Polamalu will all play this week. Casey Hampton will play but will be spelled by Chris Hoke throughout the game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pittsburgh rotated a lot of defensive lineman in the thin air. Since their week 5 drubbing by the Chargers, the Broncos have lost their starting center, Tom Nalen for the season, and starting wide- ...

Risk vs Reward - Week 7 2007-10-20 15:12:46 Week 6 treated me pretty decent. Two players in the end zone and one over a hundred yards. Close to perfection. If you started Damon Huard you got 2 tds and 264 yds. A good output for a bye week fill-in. If you started Jason Wright you got 1 td and 60 yds, nice again if you were in a pinch for a RB. And finally, if you went with Bobby Engram you got 120 yds, but no td. If your in a touchdown only league he was no help, but if there is yardage involved he did better than a lot of wide outs. Let’s see what I can dig up for ya this week. Andre Davis - WR Houston Texans Davis has been very active since the injury to Andre Johnson. He has 1 td and 296 yds, but it should be two tds (he fumbled last week on the goal line). Johnson will sit out again this week so Davis will have a chance to be the man again. I like Houston’s offense in this one as Vince Young will likely be out meaning that the Titan’s offense will probably be three and out most of the day. Tennessee’s defense has been ...

Just under the Wire 2007-10-20 13:03:00 I’ve been away and, believe it or not, without access to a computer for a good portion of the week, but wanted to get something submitted so I can continue blogging here. I did manage to get a new semi-permanent tribute to the Black and Gold - a Steelers pedicure. I had one for the start of the season, black with gold tips and the number “43″ painted in white on the big toes. Now, I have the “at home” version - white with black and glittery gold tips. No numbers on the big toes, however. The woman who did the numbers the last time wasn’t there when I had this latest version done. With this pedicure, I don’t have to worry about dressing for game day. I already have my black and gold on! Speaking of game day, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s (Oct 21) game against Denver. It’ll be great to see the starters back in action. I’ve missed watching Hines smile after taking a hit. I’ve missed Troy’s flowing loc ...

Steelers drop the ball at trade deadline 2007-10-18 14:27:06 The NFL trade deadline came and went along with the Steelers week six bye. It appears the Steelers front office took the week off. The Steelers are 4-1 and could potentially run away with the AFC North. This is a very good Steelers team. They could be the third best team in the NFL, but unfortunately they are at best the third best team in the AFC behind the Colts and the New England Patriots. Not that Pittsburgh is incapable of beating either of those teams. With a deadline pick-up they could have moved closer to the Pats and Colts. Specifically, the Steelers should have made a run at WR Chris Chambers. Chambers was traded from the Dolphins to the Chargers for a second round draft pick. Imagine the Steelers with Chris Chambers in the wide receiver rotation instead of Nate Washington. I wonder if the Steelers were hesitant to make the move because it would have bumped Hines to the third WR. The status-quo for the Steelers is to build through the draft, adding in a free agent signi ...

What to do?/Little bit of Randomness 2007-10-17 16:29:45 So, with no Steeler game this past weekend to occupy my mind, what did I do?  I watched old Steeler games!  In particular, our 2005 playoff games.  I stumbled on “The Road to the XL” in my library and checked it out.  I forgot a bunch about those games.  Like, how very early in the Cincinnati game Carson Palmer was injured and out, Peyton Manning looked plenty frustrated for a large portion of the Indy game, that most of the Drama! from the Indy game was packed into the last 4 minutes, and I had never seen the whole Denver game.  (I was on a plane headed for Vegas during the original)  I think I know a good bit about football, for the most part.  There are many people that can spot a penalty without giving it another thought.  I can sometimes notice a ‘facemask’, but that’s about it.  But I think I have a good handle on things, I’m still filling in gaps about things, but I think I have the basics covered.  Although, just recently I see ...

Risk vs Reward - Week 6 2007-10-14 04:09:14 Ok, that’s more like it. Two for three on the week. If you started Chad Pennington you got 246 yards and 1 td. He outperformed some of the marquee quarterbacks in the league, for instance Matt Hasselbeck. If you went with Ron Dayne you got 40 yards and 1 td. Not bad for a one week fill in. As for Lee Evans, well, he fell back off the map. I’m still looking for that perfect trio. Let’s take a look at what I have for you this week. Jason Wright - RB Cleveland Browns Jamal Lewis is out for this weekend and Wright will start. The Browns will face the Dolphins and at this point any RB that is running on Miami’s defense is a must start. Wright did well taking over for Lewis against a tough New England defense, totaling 102 yards. Looking at this match-up, I think Wright is good for around 75 yards and a score. Damon Huard - QB Kansas City Chiefs The Chiefs face off against the Bengals this week and that means Larry Johnson should finally have a chance to do well, but I think in the ...

Steelers Have A BYE 2007-10-13 21:38:46 It’s week 6 in the NFL and the Steelers have a bye.  Going into a bye and being 4-1 is fantastic for the Steelers who need the extra time off for Hines Ward and Troy Polomalu to heal up.  Were playing great on both sides of the ball right now and getting Ward and Polomalu back will make us that much better.   Let’s take a look at the AFC picture at this point in the season.  The Steelers are the top dawgs in the north division at 4-1 and they are 2-0 in the conference which is huge.  NFL teams have to win there conference games.  Baltimore is on our heels at 3-2 and they are 1-2 in the conference.  Cleveland is 2-3 and the Bengals are 1-3.   New England is on top of the AFC East at 5-0 and they look tough again this year.  I figured the Patriots getting caught cheating would have put a damper on their winning. The Colts are 1st in the AFC South at 5-0 just like the Patriots. I think the Colts look weaker than the Patriots and I look form them to lose a game befor ...

Miami University Retiring Roethlisberger’s #7 2007-10-11 15:05:17 Miami University will pay tribute to one of its all-time greats, Ben Roethlisberger, and to former head coach Terry Hoeppner. Roethlisberger’s number will be retired in a pregame ceremony beginning at 2:40 p.m., while Hoeppner will be honored with a commemorative plaque that will hang in the Cradle of Coaches Plaza. Congratulations Ben! ...

Sea-Pit 2007 2007-10-08 12:29:43 Wow, Ben and Matt both looked pretty frustrated/mad in the opening drives.  But Matt got to stay frustrated.  Ben and Co. found whatever groove they needed and it was so nice.  Not perfect, we had our share of penalties, two that sent back some awesome Davenport yardage, but we (I say “we”…like I had anything to do with it) pulled it together and got the job done.  Everyone is so impressed with our “back up guys”, and yes, they were awesome…isn’t that what they’re supposed to do?  Isn’t that what they’re being paid for?  I guess I can appreciate how lucky(?) we are to have a well-rounded team.  Like Tomlin has been emphasizing, anybody that has a helmet on, should be able to help accomplish the goals.  I said I didn’t pay attention to Fanasty league stuff, probably because I don’t really understand it.  If someone could explain this, please?  NFL Network’s bottom news line-thing had a fantasy ...