heels, sox & steelers
Ryan,
You forgot a BIG one:
Daniel Sepulveda KO's a PR, all the way to IR.
Pre-camp prediction time?
Record 11-5
Big Ben is way more better
FWP 1500 yards
Okobi gets cut
Barlow gets cut
Tomlin is coach of the year
Gary Russell makes the team
Omar has been busy.
http://post-gazette.com/pg/07204...4/803807-
66.stm
and by the way... ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????!!!
game on.
Brings a tear to my eye....
I can hear it building in the distance....Here We Go Steelers....
Having Polamalu in the fold for the future is a big weight off.He`s the linchpin for what we do (and will do) on D. He's our Ronnie Lott.
I just watched a half hour on NFL of the Bengals/Steelers "B&G knock them out of the playoffs" game from last year. As Hines Ward is jogging off the field after Santonio`s TD scamper (no better football term in existence..a scamper!) he says to the NFL films microphone. "We finish 6-2..we finished like champions!" That
s what Hines is all about. Not giving up and every game matters. We have a lot of character on this team and that can never be underestimated.
Here we go again..
Fantastic. I am always amazed at the way the Steelers sign players to contracts that they are able to finish. No the numbers aren't ever eye-popping but the player has a much higher chance of playing out the contract with the Steelers.
"Kevan Barlow makes the team and is heired the Duce Staley Gameday Sweats"
Not sure what 'heired' is but I am hoping hoping that there isn't room on the team for a Duce Staley this year. I liked Duce and was happy when we got him, but I would have cut him when it became evident he was never getting in the game again. Is Duce even in a camp this year?
'I just watched a half hour on NFL of the Bengals/Steelers "B&G knock them out of the playoffs" game from last year.'
Rob D | 07.23.07 - 4:39 pm
I just watched that too. I was pretty damned happy after that game. Too happy for an 8-8 season, though. Hoping for a better kind of happiness this season. I thought the team was about 3 to 5 turnovers that they committed away from 10 wins last season.
Ryan...congrats! We became home owners in January. I'm now laughed at for how often I cut the grass (I'm in the City and my lawn is the size of, well, the corner of the End Zone)
Oh and I asked this before, but is anyone heading to the HOF Game?
According to Channel 4, Tomlin's run test consists of 16 110 yard sprints. That seems like a lot. According to the link ( http://www.thepittsburghchannel....324/
detail.html
) anyone who participated in 44 of Tomlin's 50 off-season workouts was exempt from the run, but, supposedly everyone took part. Including Alan Faneca.
Oh, and does this mean Troy moves in to a new tax bracket?
where's lee mays?
OK, in my role as semi-official HSS pessimist:
Pittsburgh go 9-7 and miss out on a wildcard on tiebreakers.
Roethlisberger throws for 3,700 yards, 25 TDs, 20 INTs, but is sacked nearly 50 times and misses at least one game due to injuries.
Parker rushes for 1,000 yards with 300 recieving. Davenport has another 250 recieving. Neither back scores double figures of touchdowns rushing. The offense sucks hard in the red zone.
Timmons sees the field as a "nickel linebacker" and records multiple interceptions.
Woodley muscles his way into the lineup by the end of the year. Let's call it six sacks.
Ike Taylor has 8+ INTs after intensive catching practice. Ryan nominates him for comeback player of the year.
Prediction... Troy gets sent on a blitz the first play against the Ravens and proceeds to tear McNair's head off, after which he pulls out his issue of GQ so he has something to read while he craps down his neck. Ok, wishful thinking.
Gee… everyone is so giddy that I hate to spoil the party and ask the question lurking in the backs of everyones' minds, but what the heck.
How are we going to beat the Ravens this year?
Big Ben to Santonio - multiple long touchdown passes of course.
In reality though, that will be the Steelers' biggest test. Even in years when the Steelers were clearly the better team the games against the Ravens were tough. Hopefully they can get better pass protection from the OL this year.
Where's the best place to get Steeler gear for my 1 year old? I'm on the West Coast, so I need something via phone or net. nflshop.com doesn't seem that great.
Adam, I agree with your comment at FO on the DLs. Keisel is in no way a journeyman.
Yeah, the journeyman comment was the only thing that stood out to me. Had he not been stuck behind Kimo and Aaron Smith for the last five years he probably would have been a starter a lot sooner.
Huzzah! Pro Football Prospectus finally came in the mail today. 500 pages of happiness await, but I have to pace myself so I don't read it all at once and then have nothing to do for the rest of the summer. I'm so glad it doesn't come in the fall or anything, I'd fail all my classes.
By the way 12 days until the hall of fame game, and 44 until the Indy vs. New Orleans opener. Football is close.
44
Anyone been out to Latrobe yet? Living down here in SE Virginia, I don't get out that way as much as I'd like to. I'd like to hear if anyone's formed any opinions on our team after seeing them.
How are we going to beat the Ravens this year?
Punt on every down and wait for McNair to make a mistake?
Ilanin, since you described yourself as the HSS pessimist, I'd say that I'd be very happy with your predictions as a floor for the season. While I think they'll be better than that (esp FWP's #s), I'd still have to view that as a decent season given all of the things in flux.
Randy, the Ravens played two of their best games against us last year and we played two of our worst. That seems unlikely to happen again. Also, McNair is a big injury risk and without him playing his best, their offense isn't great (although I am scared of McGahee). Those will be tough games as always, but I think they are winnable.
Overall, my hope is that Ben's better health and Tomlin's injection of new life into the team has lots of positive effects.
Ok, that was me with the post responding to Ilanin and Randy.
My massively scientific way of predicting games before the season is to pick the home team unless the visitor is significantly better. This leads to a 10-6 record:
Game 1 @Cleveland Win
Game 2 Buffalo Win
Game 3 SF Win
Game 4 @Arizona Loss
Game 5 Seattle Win
Game 6 @Denver Loss
Game 7 @Cincy Loss
Game 8 Baltimore Win
Game 9 Cleveland Win
Game 10 @NY Loss
Game 11 Miami Win
Game 12 Cincy Win
Game 13 @New England Loss
Game 14 Jacksonville Win
Game 15 @St. Louis Win
Game 16 @Baltimore Loss
ELSM - I like the system, though I'd say you've got 8 and 15 wrong. 8-8 season, sounds about right to me given our OL.
Here's an AP article on the first full day:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com...n.ap/
index.html
SCI.com has some great stuff (as always) on the first couple of days of camp. The real question I have - is there as much trash-talking this year? Anyone? Anyone?
My new favorite term - thanks to Coach Tomlin:
"Thud some people up...."
Love it!
DJ, you could be right about games 8 and 15. I'm also nervous about game 14 against the Jags. Their DL gave our OL big problems. Also, games 2 and 3 would have been easier at the beginning of last year, but now both teams are on everybody's sleeper list...
Any bets on who the first guy that J Peezy's gonna talk smack to when Miami comes to town?
Vabs - I predict Trent Green
timmons is hurt again:
http://steelers.scout.com/2/661877.html
What is it with FSU rookies and injuries?
Timmons: pretty bad start for a No. 1 Hope its not an indication of future things to come..and I had just read an article where he was talking about being extra careful with the groin injury..so much for that.
See where Bouchette thinks Mahan will win center job (which means Okobi and his salary can wave bye bye) and that Colon is pushing Starks hard for the RT job. Maybe I have Colon wrong..thought of him as strictly backup/practice squad material but the buzz seems to be he is legit. Cool. I like being wrong...He also says that Simmons is going to easily keep his job over Kemoeatu and that`s another nice surprise. Maybe Simmons has finally gotten his life together living with diabetes and is ready to resume his once promising career.
All this after a few days of camp..
That sucks about Timmons. The problem is that it sounds like one of those nagging injuries that needs time to heal. Meanwhile Timmons probably wants to get on the field very badly to avoid being labelled early on as soft. So he comes back to soon and gets injured again...
In other news, I heard Big Ben on the radio this morning (Jim Rome show) and he sounded psyched about the new offense and to be working out of Cowher's shadow. I suspect we will see a return of Big Ben circa 2005 playoffs (Super Bowl not included) this year.
Didn't Kendrell have a groin injury that basically led to his departure from Steelerland?
hmmm..Re: Kendrell Bell He had a bad shoulder that was the main problem as I recall. He played kamikaze football and paid the price with his body breaking down a lot. Plus he had problems in coverage that became more and more apparent.
He was one of those perpetually injured players that you eventually just give up on. A real shame..
But it's echoes of that kind of player history that make you cross your fingers with guys like Timmons. I mean, the hitting hasn't even started yet.
I also seem to remember Bell having a groin or hamstring injury that just wouldn't go away.
Side note: I just found out that I am in fact going to be able to stop in at Steelers' training camp - on Monday!
Does anyone know how long the afternoon practice typically lasts? Also, any advice on when to get there or around other logistics?
I think Kendrell had a whole slew of issues. He also suffered from the dreaded high-ankle sprain.
Henigin, it looks like afternoon practices run from 3-6. In terms of getting around, based on my three-day visit last year, fans seemed to start filing in an hour before practice. Apparently, attendance is down a bit -- going 8-8 will do that, I guess -- and I think SVC has moved the parking lots, so it might be easier. Either way, take some pics (of ROBO-PUNTER)
Make sure you go to Sharky's after practice and check out the football player groupies. Lots of tail.
Lots of tail.
LOL! Big selling point for the wife. I think persuading her to do a training camp trip just got a whole lot harder. Of course, I regularly fend off groupies at my advanced, decrepit age. It`s the price of greatness. (preceding commentary may not be exactly as depicted. Or anything like depicted. All rights reserved)
I think I need a RoboPunter poster for my office wall. Something for the Bengals fans (yes, plural. what are the chances of having 2 in a Canadian office?)in marketing down the way. It just screams "Steelers" to have a tackling punter with attitude on the team.
Most amusing offseason yapping: Patriot fans building Randy Moss into the Minnesota era All World machine that he once was. I have little doubt that he will be an effective player for them but his days of utter dominance are long gone. Dirty little secret from my Oakland Raider buddy/fan..Randy drops a LOT of balls and shies away from contact as he has lost the extra gear. Good (when motivated) not great player.
Since I just outed myself as a Steelers fan on a Cleveland Indians website, a good question to ask I think is
What baseball team (if any) are you a fan of?
Cols714, I'm a Mets fan.
As a kid in the Pittsburgh suburbs, though, I was a Pirates fan. I still have a soft spot for them and a reasonable amount of history (got to go to one of the 1979 WS games, grandma went to the Mazeroski game 7, dad taped Clemente's last game). Most of my family and childhood friends are Pirates fans. In 1991 and 1992, they used to try to taunt me with Muck the Fets. That was until I pointed out that the comeback would be Buck the Fucs. But I only said it half-heartedly... I'd love to see the Pirates return to their old glory.
I have never seen an MLB game and I don't see this changing in the near future...it *might* be televised in the UK, but not on any channel I have access to.
This could be the biggest news coming out of Camp to date:
http://news.steelers.com/article/78796/
Mascot? We don't need your stinkin` Mascot!!
Dear lord, next thing will be cheerleaders and the end of the universe as presently constructed.
Rob D
While I admit, and has been discussed on this board, he looks like Cowher, I'm guessing this is an attempt to be more fan-friendly. Although in Steeler Nation, the best way to do that is to Win, early and often..
Oh by the way - I'll be at the HOF Game next weekend....all the way from Chicago - look for me, I'll be the guy in Black and Gold with the Terrible Towel...
baseball talk? baseball talk?! we don't need no stink'n baseball talk!
fooball season is here.
So, what do we all make of Anthony Smith's attempts to put Willie Reid back on IR, and the ensuing drama?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/0...0/805312-
66.stm
I dunno if I think the coaches should have stepped in or not. Hines was probably right to yell at Smith, but I think it means more coming from another player. Especially a franchise guy like #86.
Re: Willie Reid taking hits
I think the competition between Smith and Clark is heating up and they want to impress. But I don't think they should be trying to break the back of a guy who may well be the KR specialist and speed guy at WR when they go five wide. I suppose its a fine line but one of the hits was very late (according to Wexell's account of it) and I think Tomlin should wake up and get on their butts about playing within the rules. Ward seemed genuinely upset and he is no shrinking violet when it comes to the physical aspects of football..he thought it went over the line.I`ll take Hines` word for it.
You know, Anthony Smith is going to be the starter and most observers have known that since he took over for the injured Clark last year. I would prefer he save the big monster hits for Randy Moss.
Or Tom Brady... dogpile, anyone?
Quotes from an article about Clark/Smith free safety position battle: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/0...0/805313-
66.stm
"From what I see, I'm kind of the underdog because of his great talent and potential," Clark said.
"There's going to be competition, regardless," Clark said. "Everyone wants to be a starter. He's competing to be a starter, he wants to be a starter, and he's working toward that. And I want to make team [sic] and I want to play a lot.
Sounds to me like Clark has already decided that he's going to be a backup.
And maybe Smith could just take a Willie Reid shot at Belichick while he's at it. Better yet, why not Tyrone giving Belichick whiplash?
Heh heh... that would be cool, Beavis.
I'm ready to start off by having #7 beat the crap out of the dog pound. (At least ours won't get indicted for it).
I forgot to add about the Willie Reid hits that he held on to the ball. Coming back from the dreaded lis franc foot injury and he shows no lack of toughness going over the middle or taking a shot from a pair of fierce hitting safeties. I really want to see this kid take the field in the regular season. Tough, fast and not a complainer (Ward did the heavy lifting..errrr yelling after the hit)
I am predisposed to the strong, silent type ..Joe Greene, Jack Ham, John Stallworth. yes I am still talking about football and not matrimony.
LOL!
IN other news...HDTV indefinately delayed at my place. Car broke down and I had to empty out the account set aside for it. I might have to watch a few months of 'fuzzy tv" (as my friend calls regular TV now, with a disdain that makes you feel inferior). Went over to his place,,he has a room dedicated to his HD projector..banked seating for 12...he had a recorded copy of the Steeler/Colts playoff game and froze a few frames of Polamalu for me. I rarely weep ..but the detail was so astonishing I thought I had gone to Steeler heaven. Its an entirely new world ..one which I know many of you are already enjoying. Hope to join the rest of the fortunate STeeler Nation soon in HDef.
I was looking at HD, but I've decided to delay for another year. Here are my reasons:
TV prices are plummeting. If you wait 2 months, you pay hundreds less. In another year I'll get a nicer, bigger TV for the same money.
DirecTV's HD DVR is getting bad reviews. I can't imagine watching TV without a DVR anymore and I can't switch from DirecTV if I want to watch the Steelers. Hopefully in another year, the bugs will be out, or there will be another option.
There isn't that much in HD at this point. Granted, this argument is weak in this forum, as Steelers football is available in HD. However, for the other 8 months of the year I'd only be getting about 8 channels that I'd watch. And really, no matter how stunning the nature channel is, I don't think I'll be watching it 4 hours a day for more than a week or so. I think all the major carriers will be greatly expanding their offerings over the next year.
But yeah, it's tough holding out. I'm very jealous of everyone who gets to watch the Steelers in HD.
Sadly, I had to dump DirecTV and the Sunday Ticket this year after being an original subscriber since 1994, because a stand of pine trees on the horizon (not all on my property) have finally grown up to the point of total obstruction, as opposed to the partial obstruction I was dealing with for about the past year. I even went to the lengths of trying to move the entire operation with an HD upgrade to my girlfriend's house, but no luck with the woods there too (this is rural NH). Still, given the choice between standard DirecTV/TiVo (there's no way I could ever have pulled in HD through those trees) and HD cable/DVR (which I also already had for basic coverage), I've got to go with the HD-- but in large part because I'm watching 162+ baseball games as well as a lot of other free sports programming in that format. Once you're hooked into HD for a lot of sports, there's no going back.
So, it's the Steelers at the local sports bar for me (in DirecTV HD) but a friend of mine owns the place and has promised a favorable setup, so long as the few of us are reasonably consistent with attendance. We'll soon see how that promise holds up.
countertorque,
I also see HDTV prices falling, but I won't be able to wait too long. Also, I've read in the WSJ that this Fall, HDTV's with internet capabilities are the next best thing, and that is another reason prices on current TV's will continue to fall.
Probably I'll wait until August--the latest Kickoff weekend--and buy one, probably a 42" 1080p model. And I'm planning on getting DirectTV with NFL Sunday ticket. Oh, man oh man, I'm ready for some football!
Rob D's post made me think of a question: What is your favorite play by a current Steeler?
Mine is the play Troy made on a swing pass in the end zone to Mike Anderson in the Championship game. It was third and 10 and because he was responsible for the deep pass in the seam, Troy started at about the 10 yard line. But somehow he almost beat Anderson to the goal line. It was like watching a video game where someone was repeatedly pressing a speed burst button. Ridiculous.
Favorite play?
That has to be last year in Cleveland when Ben ran around like a maniac and somehow found Santonio in the endzone for a 30 yard TD.
Hines Ward outrunning DeAngelo Hall for 30 yards to score a touchdown. That or Santanio Holmes capping off his rookie season for a 70 yarder to throw the Bengals out of the playoffs in overtime.
I went to Latrobe and I must say..I was impressed..The Steelers seem to have the swagger of old back. Last year it seemed as though Cowher and the team were just going through the motions. I hate to see Timmons out so early with a nagging injury. The kid is a beast and has been one since his days in high school here in SC..I spoke with him after being drafted by the Steelers and he is ready to prove himself to the Steelers faithful. Tomlin seems to understand the pulse of the team and with his energy level during practice, he seems to have been the right "Fit" for the Steelers, time will tell..Fanaca looked like a 5-year old as he stood by himself at practice and when he ran by fans screaming his name wanting an autograph..I was impressed with Big Ben..He looked as though he was finally better from the "Incident" last season. He was also great to fans as he let a little Steeler walk up the hill with him after practice..That is a moment that little kid will never forget..As a long time Steeler fan, I finally feel excited going into the season..It just seemed as a new era has begun in Pittsburgh! I made my 23rd training camp this season and it gets better and better each year..Thanks Steelers for so many great memories throughout the years!!
Favorite play of last year? Perhaps Santonio Holmes' sprint in Cincinnati, capped off with his "O-H-I-O" dance in front of 70,000 horrified Bengals fans.
Yeah. That play ruled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X...h?
v=Xsd5c1_xp0w
That play ruled as well. What's best about that video clip is for about...four seconds...those sad sacks thought they were actually going to win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0...h?v=0z0-
Z3KTduo
Another good youtube video, this time, from that final Bengals game. This video is especially good if you're like me and enjoy early 1990's hip-hop.
Youtube rules.
Uh oh. Chad Scott has been listed as out for the season. There goes the Patriots Super Bowl hopes for this year.
Easy Like Sunday Morning likes Troy`s play in the AFCCG where he displayed superhuman acceleration and anticipation that still has me shaking my head everytime I see it. He damn near took the handoff from Jake Plummer. I still don't know how he did that!
I played it for some young kids who play touch football in a league here and they swore I sped up the clip...lol...nope, kiddies, that`s what he do!
So I guess I second it..
Oh, I thought this game was just favorite plays of last season. This changes things quite a bit.
Willie Parker's mad dash in Super Bowl XL is right up there.
I also have to give serious thought to this one......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H...h?v=HB-
BVrBTWA8
Yeah. I've been lurking through youtube tonight.
The Steelers continued their training camp roster moves this afternoon, releasing first-year safety Harrison Smith and claiming linebacker Marquis Cooper off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.
Cooper, a four-year veteran who has recorded 28 tackles in 30 games, signed with the Steelers Oct. 31, 2006, played in two games and was inactive for a third before being released on Nov. 25. He played two seasons, 2004 and 2005, with Tampa Bay, making a career-high 18 tackles in 2005, and in four games last season with Seattle.
I have absolutely no recollection of this linebacker who supposedly played in two games just last season.
Awesome play right there..Troy Vs Palmer...
Some of the most incredible plays defenitely come from Troy indeed, he has taken control of drives sometimes making several plays in a row to take the other team out of the field...
But the satisfaction of watching Santonio weaving through the Bengals defense, in a game the steelers had nothing to play for other than pride, eliminating Cincinnati from the playoffs is just too much joy...
I still watch that game every now and then just to get that great feeling, and watch a glimpse of the future....
Probably the shoeless Hines Ward play (70-yard TD catch and run against the Falcons, losing his cleats in the process) from last year for the general fun of the moment.
Though, yes, the 67-yard TD that ended the season was pretty good too.
All my other favourite single-play Steeler memories seem to involve ARE or Kordell. Trick plays rule.
I think the most joyful play I've ever seen was Ben going deep to Plax against the Patriots in 2004. With that play, I realized that Ben was for real and that we were the team that would stop the Pats winning streak (which I was sick of hearing about).
Ilanin, since you mentioned ARE, that brings up my favorite play of his. In the SB after Ben threw the pick that was almost returned for a TD, ARE ran down the opposite side of the field and cut across on a diagonal, weaved through blockers and made the tackle. Like Troy's play in the AFCCG, his speed relative to other NFL players was borderline supernatural. It didn't get much attention at the time, but I've watched it about 20 times and still can't believe it.
Adam, those are all great clips... thanks for finding them and posting them. Even a few months had dulled my memory of how fast Santonio is and how good his instincts for finding running angles are... and how much James Harrison and Anthony Smith are hitting machines. Ok, maybe I shouldn't get so jacked up by a few highlights, but my expectations for the season might have been too low...
OK, I just looked through the training camp roster and here are my favorites plays from current Steelers:
1. AFC Championship, Ben to Hines, Ben does "Gunslinger" afterwards
2. Don't know exactly when, but Kreider pancakes Ray Lewis a couple of years ago
3. Heath's TD run-and-catch and the refs missed Saban's red-flag
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