Steelers-Bills Recap

Remember last month when I took the blame for the Steelers poor season since I didn't wear my Louis Lipps jersey consistently? Well, the Steelers lost to the Raiders while I wore my jersey, so clearly, you could no longer blame me for the Steelers losses. However, perhaps you really can blame me. It is now November 11th and this is my first Steelers recap of the season. Maybe the Steelers just needed to know that I was going to write recaps to motivate them.

Here are my thoughts on the game that you probably won't read anywhere else.

- The Buffalo Bills feature several former Pittsburgh Steelers, Kraig Urbik, Doug Legursky and Frank Summers. The team's punter, Brian Moorman, was also in the Steelers' training camp this summer. While it appears that Buffalo has become Pittsburgh North, I didn't notice former University of Pittsburgh players Ruben Brown or Alex Van Pelt on the sideline.

- You see the date of this post, right? We're still at least six weeks from Christmas and about three weeks from Thanksgiving. We don't need Christmas commercials yet, Mercedes, Home Depot & Wal-Mart!

- Steelers punter Mat McBriar had five punts for an average of only 39 yards and an average net of only 34.9 yards. What did Daniel Sepulveda do to not get a try-out?

- Jerricho Cotchery was only targeted twice, but he made both catches for 31 yards and a great move on a TD catch. Cotchery has looked better than Sanders lately and has been a solid and valuable contributor to the team. While it probably makes sense for the Steelers to get rookie WR Markus Wheaton more playing time, I feel so much more comfortable with Cotchery on the field.

- Congratulations to Jarvis Jones on getting his first NFL sack! I'm sure that convinced the Subway execs that they made the right call in having Jones appear on their commercials.

- CBS is going to show a three-episode Person of Interest. Wouldn't that make it People of Interest?

- Overall, the Steelers defense played great. They gave up a field goal after the Bills started a drive on the Steelers 29 yard line. The Bills scored their touchdown on the last play of the game when the game was decided. By the way, the Bills didn't even deserve to score. Bills' QB E.J. Manuel should have been flagged for intentional grounding, but instead the ruling was a fumble that got overturned and the Steelers got a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. Plus, Bills' tight end Chris Gragg also moved early on the 4th down TD catch. Yes, I started the Steelers defense for several fantasy teams and am a little bitter that the team gave up 10 points instead of 3.

- Oh, message to Chris Gragg. You look ridiculous celebrating and pointing to the sky after catching a touchdown to make the score 23-9 with your team losing with 3 seconds left.

- Can someone explain the rumor that Roethlisberger wants to get traded. Here is the conversation between announcers and Marv Albert and Rich Gannon.

Albert - "As a key member of the media, as a guy who tweets, all you have to do is put out a tweet"
Gannon - "and it catches fire"
Albert - "and it's everywhere and we react to it and the teams react to it whether it is true or not."

So what media member put out the Tweet? Shouldn't we (or CBS) contact this media member and ask him/her for the source or to explain the story?

- Why did the Steelers cut Jonathan Dwyer again? All he did was have 6 carries for 38 yards in a supporting role.

For more on the Steelers game, check out the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, ESPN & Behind The Steel Curtain. (Yes, there's two links there for BTSC.)

Random Steelers-Titans Notes

That was a fun game! The Steelers led early and held a convincing lead throughout the second half to defeat the Tennessee Titans 38-17. I don’t think I bit my fingernails once during the game! While you can read a full recap of the game on the Post-Gazette or on the many Steelers blogs on the sidebar of my website, here are some notes that you may not read anywhere else.

The CBS telecast started with a nice story about Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Munchak growing up in Scranton and apparently returning to Pennsylvania. It was very nice, but there's one significant problem. According to Google Maps, Scranton is 283 miles from Pittsburgh. Scranton is also only 121 miles from New York City; 125 miles from Philadelphia; 201 miles from Baltimore; 242 miles from Washington; and 296 miles from Boston. Therefore, I hope CBS runs the "returning home" piece for Munchak whenever the Titans face the Jets, Giants, Eagles, Ravens, Redskins or Patriots. If you want to make the case that Munchak returned to his home state, how often do you see similar stories about players or coaches from New York City returning to a game in Buffalo?

At least for one week, the maligned and banged up offensive line played extremely well. The Steelers rushed for 174 yards (6.7 yards per carry) and only allowed one sack. Maybe Max Starks truly is the answer!

We interrupt my notes for a brief commercial. I don’t understand why guy #1 doesn’t ask for a haircut rather than casual Wednesday. Meanwhile, guy #2 has no right to get in Gary Cole’s face. You don’t do that to Gary Cole! I hope Gary Cole punched him as soon as the director yelled cut.



I like the Jonathan Dwyer era. 11 carries for 107 yards is not too shabby. With that written, if Mendenhall, Redman and Moore are all healthy next week, Dwyer should return to the 4th string running back.

Did you know that Ryan Mundy was an excellent wide receiver at Woodland Hills High School catching passes from current Kansas City WR Steve Breaston? He looked good on the terrific pass from punter Daniel Sepulveda who has proved that he can do anything on the football field. Seriously, if Dwyer got injured in the fourth quarter, I’m sure that Sepulveda could have filled in at running back.

Hines Ward had a very Hines Ward day with 7 catches, 54 yards and two touchdowns. Even more significant is that I don’t think the announcers referenced Dancing With the Stars after any of his catches.

In one of my many poor fantasy football decisions this week, I started Antonio Brown. Although Roethlisberger threw for 5 touchdown passes, none of them went to Brown.

I hate to give Dan Dierdorf credit, but he made a great point late in the game when he said that they had not mentioned Ike Taylor. “Face Me Ike” (who apparently changed his website name from Face Me Ike to officialiketaylor.com and hasn’t updated it since June) is truly an underrated cornerback.

Congratulations to Cameron Heyward on his first NFL sack!

I’m sure the Steelers D is excited to face 1-4 Jacksonville and their rookie QB Blake Gabbert next week.

Quick Steelers-Titans Notes

Just a few thoughts from Thursday night's Steelers-Titans game:

* I’m sure someone out there is going to say that Troy Polamalu got injured because of the Madden Curse. No, he got hurt since big, fat Alge Crumpler landed on Troy’s knee/leg.

* While the Steelers will obviously miss Troy for the 3-6 weeks he’ll be out, I don’t see the team losing a step. Tyrone Carter knows the system extremely well and is a solid replacement. Plus, we’ll get to see how Ryan Mundy performs.

* During training camp, there was a lot of talk about Willie Parker and whether the team would resign him (or if it was worth resigning him). Talk about how Mendenhall would perform in year #2 and if he would take carries from FWP. Isaac Redman and Frank "the Tank" Summers also got a lot of press. However, no one mentioned Mewelde Moore, who was only the best Steelers running back last night. I don’t think you could ask for a better 3rd down/2-minute drill back. He catches the ball well, makes smart decisions (see running out of bounds with 1 second left in the first half; of course, it got wiped out by a penalty), and can block.

* Although Roethlisberger threw 33 completions for 363 yards, you might have noticed that none of those completions and receiving yards went to Limas Sweed. Perhaps Rob was correct in his prediction that Sweed would have no more than 10 catches, 1 TD and 150 yards.

* I don’t remember being this excited for the Steelers’ special teams in years. Logan is an exciting returner; Sepulveda had a nice game; Reed is nearly automatic; and there was even a blocked field goal.

* Finally, this Ziggy did as much for the Steelers last night as Ziggy Hood.



Overall, the team is 1-0 with a win over a quality AFC opponent. Plus, the Steelers now get 10 days off until they face Chicago next Sunday.

As always, you can read more about the game on the Post-Gazette and by visiting the other Pittsburgh sports blogs listed on the right side of this page.

2009-2010 Steelers Predictions

The NFL season (finally) officially begins tonight when the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers face the Tennessee Titans. As a preview of the 2009-2010 season, I decided to ask some of my favorite Steeler fan bloggers their predictions for the season. Unfortunately, they did not reply. Instead, here are the predictions from other folks! (A little humor for you!)

Before we begin, here are your fine panels of experts:

* drinkyourmilkshake of Behind the Steel Curtain
* Phil of Phil's Occasional Musings
* Michael Rizzo of Rizzo Sports (and the Rizzo Sports Blog)
* Messiah of White Nerdy Wonks
* Donald of Steelers Today
* Marc of White Nerdy Wonks
* Steve of Steve Is Alive
* Gobo of White Nerdy Works
* Sean of Sean's Ramblings (That's me!)
* Rob of The Bluey Blog

1. Number of sacks James Harrison will have this season.

DYM - 16, also the number of babies he will eat this season.
Phil - 15, though a few of them might be questionable when the QB falls down and covers his head as Silverback speeds toward him.
Michael - 17, He'll battle with Timmons of the team lead.
Messiah - He and Woodley will flip-flop on who is able to get to the QB more often. Let's go with 12 sacks for Harrison.
Donald - If the refs continue to let offensive linemen hold Harrison on every play, he'll have 18 sacks. If they don't allow him to be held, he'll have 79 sacks.
Marc - 19.5
Steve - 12 for James. Woodley leads the team with 15.5 this year!
Gobo - 12.5
Sean - 14
Rob - 23, breaking Michael Strahan's record.

2. Limas Sweed's numbers (catches, yards & touchdowns).

DYM - 25 catches, 400 yards, 5 touchdowns.
Phil - 45, 750, 7
Michael - 52 / 10 - He'll be the favorite receiver near the End Zone
Messiah - Limas will have a year reminiscent of Nate Washington two years ago. 30 catches, 450 yards, 5 TDs.
Donald - As longs as it's more than last year, I'll be happy. Ummmmm, except drops. I want to see less of those.
Marc - 30, 350, 2
Steve - 34 grabs. 765 yards 4 TD's. I think that is fair?!?!
Gobo - 45 catches, 625 yards, 5 TD
Sean - 35 catches, 475 yards, 4 TDs. Solid numbers for a 4th receiver (I'm considering Heath as #3).
Rob - Do you mean butterfingers? No more than 10 catches, 1 TD and 150 yards. Yeah, I'm serious.



3. Stefan Logan: Reminds me of Antwaan Randle El as a Steeler; Greatest returner in team history; or Another Allen Rossum? (Sean's note: This was a poorly formed question as I was only referring to Logan as a returner)

DYM - Better than Randle-El, easily gets in the end-zone at least three times this season.
Phil - I hope he's another Antwaan Randle-El. We're going to need a guy like that to compete in the new "all-Wildcat, all the time" NFL of 2009.
Michael - He'll be good.
Messiah - Too early to tell. I'd say he's not quite Twaan, but certainly better than Colclough.
Donald - I predict that Logan will become the greatest 5'7" returner in team history.
Marc - El, yeah
Steve - I think he will be in the middle. Randle El was one of a kind and contributed more on offense than Logan will (or is expected to). However, I do expect MANY game changing plays from the pint sized CFL star.
Gobo - Better than Rossum, not quite Randle-El because he can’t QB. I’ll go with 2 return TDs this year, with another 6 called back for holding.
Sean - I love any professional athlete that is the same height as me! He'll be solid and will finish 3rd in the AFC in average punting return yards with 2 TDs.
Rob - He's the real deal and will finally make us forget Randle El.

4. Will Jeff Reed be arrested during the season?

DYM - Perhaps if Chris Hanson starts "To Catch a Predator" back up.
Phil - Only by drunken, curvaceous women in Strip District bars.
Michael - Arrested - NO, he plays for the Steelers, which means people will go out of their way not to arrest him. He has a much better chance of being a honorary Allegheny County Sheriff, or being named ambassador to Luxembourg.
Messiah - Depends on how well the ball boys keep the towel dispenser stocked in the clubhouse
Donald - No. However, he will get several under-aged girls pregnant and secretly pay for them to have abortions.
Marc - No, during the off season
Steve - Only if Sheetz is out of paper towels again.......
Gobo - No, but shortly thereafter.
Sean - Some civil lawsuits, but no arrests.
Rob - Once, for drunk and disorderly conduct.



5. Who will lead the team in touchdowns scored?

DYM - Santonio Holmes
Phil - Santonio Holmes
Michael - Parker
Messiah - Willie Parker
Donald - Hines Ward. Or Willie Parker. Or Rashard Mendenhall. Or Santonio Holmes. Or Heath Miller. Or Frank Summers. Or.......Ummm, how many guesses do I get?
Marc - Holmes
Steve - William Parker. I guarantee a BIG season for # 39.
Gobo - Holmes
Sean - Fast Willie Parker with 10 TDs. I should have drafted him in one of my fantasy leagues!
Rob - Rashard Mendenhall

6. Season prediction (please include the team record) + Any other thoughts/predictions:

DYM - The Steelers will be awesome, #1 defense, top 10 offense, and another SB run. 13-3 record.

Phil - 11-5, AFC North champions. It's extraordinarily difficult to repeat as Super Bowl champions. I think we're going to have another good year and win the division but lose a close-game heartbreaker in the playoffs. Maybe that's just what I'm used to as a fan. Despite our success, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have something to complain about when it comes to the Steelers.

Michael - 15-1 - The Steelers have a great chance to go undefeated. The Steelers should win another Super Bowl, if they get by Tennessee on Thursday, their only stumbling block to an undefeated season might be the Detroit [game].

Messiah - Willie Parker has a return to 2006 greatness, starts all 16 games, finishes in the top 3 in rushing, and will actually make people sad when he leaves after the season. Steelers lose to the Ravens at least once, go 12-4 (losses to Titans, Vikings, Ravens, Dolphins in meaningless last week), but win division due to Ravens' tougher schedule. Will get playoff bye, but facing Colts and Pats in back-to-back weeks could prove too tough, when the regular season schedule was relatively conflict-free.

Donald - 13-3. AFC North champs. AFC champs. Super Bowl champs.

Marc - 12-4 with some distance in the playoffs. Plus, Browns go 0&16

Steve - Take a look at the schedule again - there is no reason why the Steelers can't repeat as AFC North Champions. They play the entire AFC West (Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos, and Chargers), the Lions, and the Browns twice - that is 7 wins right there, with the Chargers being the toughest game. I honestly truly believe (fan bias aside) the Steelers will go 13-3 and return to the Super Bowl. "Big Play" Willie Gay is going to have a breakout season and will lead the team in INT's.

Gobo - 12-4, win AFC North, #2 seed, have to go to Foxboro for the AFC Championship game. I’m not predicting that game because I’m afraid to predict a win, but
It’s too depressing to predict a loss. If they make it to the SB, they win. Lawrence Timmons will have at least 10 sacks and turnovers (INT or FF) combined.

Sean - 12-4 and another division title. I don't want to make any predictions about the playoffs since I may need to do a similar post in January! In addition, instead of the Summer of George, this will be the Fall of Sepulveda!

Rob - 12-4. Steelers beat the Cowboys in Super Bowl XLIV

Feel free to add your own predictions in the comments section.


I also asked these questions to The Restaurant Refugee, and though he declined to make specific predictions, he shared this amazing story from a trip to training camp and meeting Mean Joe Greene.



As a native Washingtonian, it is frequently assumed that I am a fan of the hometown squad*. I take particular pride in resolving this misconception by stating “I am a Pittsburgh Steeler fan by birth and the grace of God.” My father was born in Pittsburgh and the first thing he taught me about football was “you love the Steelers… this is a football.”

As children, my sister and I went to training camps to see our heroes up close. One day my sister had to use the restroom as the practice was breaking. I got to meet Mean Joe Greene, and got him to autograph my jersey. My sister got a wait for the bathroom. Of course, I teased her about her poorly timed bladder and my good fortune. She wrote MJG a letter explaining what happened. He replied with a personal and hand-written note which read:

Nina,
Thanks for being my number one fan. I am sorry that I didn’t get to meet you on your last visit. I hope these tickets** make up for it. I’ll see you in the stands.
Best Wishes,
Mean Joe Greene

As if this incredibly gracious gesture weren’t enough, Mr. Greene had his letter laminated onto a piece of wood with an autographed picture. It hung in my sister’s room until she bought her own place where it hangs prominently in her living room. I’m not sure where my jersey is.

Regarding this season, my best guess is that the Steelers get back to the playoffs with a first round bye. Beyond that, I have no predictions. I am comforted by the fact that neither the Cowboys nor the Niners are going to get anywhere near a sixth ring this year. We got six and the rest of the league can suck it until somebody else gets there too.

* I cannot believe that in the year 2009 we have a team in the NFL that still bears a name as patently racist and clearly offensive as the moniker of the Washington franchise.

** Tickets were to a game lost to the Bengals but who cares it was still an incredible thing to have done – and yes, we all got to meet him afterwards.


Finally, there will be a live blog here of tonight's Steelers-Titans game. Feel free to add your thoughts while watching the game. Go Steelers!

Brief Steelers-Cardinals Notes

I refuse to write a thorough post about a preseason NFL game. While I plan my entire schedule around Steelers games during the regular season, I will only watch preseason games if they are on national TV (meaning that the game is on TV in Washington) and I have nothing else planned. Anyway, here are my notes from Thursday’s Steelers-Cardinals game:

* Isaac Redman > Frank the Tank

* I’d love to give Ziggy Hood a lot of credit for his sack, but the Cardinals offensive line didn’t try to block him.

* Limas Sweed made some nice catches. It will be interesting to watch the battle for 3rd receiver between him and Shaun McDonald.

* What an interception by Anthony Madison! It’s too bad the interception didn’t count due to a lousy pass interference penalty.

* I think we’re going to like having a healthy Daniel Sepulveda this season.

* Myron Bell, I mean Joe Burnett, made a nice interception and put a great hit on a Cardinals defender trying to down a punt leading to a touchback.

* If there were any thoughts of kicker Piotr Czech him making the team if Jeff Reed gets hurt, he’s D-U-N done after missing a short field goal wide left. OK, his 44-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter was fine.

* Where do you draft Cardinals running back Tim Hightower in your fantasy league? He’s the #1 back and looked solid against the Steelers’ first team defense.

* James Harrison had six tackles in just over a quarter of work (if that). I think he could be a good football player!

* We all know the former Steeler players and coaches on Arizona, but they may also be the University of Pittsburgh West with former Panthers Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Palko, LaRod Stephens-Howling and Gerald Hayes.


That's actually more than I thought I would write. Maybe I'm already in regular season form! (or not)

Referrals

To start 2009, I thought I would share real searches, generally from Google and Yahoo, that people used to find and visit Sean’s Ramblings

How do I return a movie to Redbox?

I know this is difficult so here are detailed instructions. Go to your nearest ATM, insert your debit card and enter your pin number. Select deposit and then place your Redbox movie into the deposit slot. That’s it!

What year did burritos start?

1998. There were no burritos before that year.

Daniel Sepulveda girlfriend

If she has a strong leg, perhaps she could punt against the Chargers on Sunday.

bathrooms on the fairfax connector buses

That’s cute.

Evgeni Malkin fort pitt tunnel

Over the past few games, Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins couldn’t score a goal if the net was as large as the Fort Pitt tunnel.

crazy daisy sharm el sheikh egypt

So Daisy of Rock of Love 2 went to Egypt?

I hate manipulative people

Really? Well, I love manipulative people. Take that!

Steeler bohemian

I don’t know what this is but I’m guessing Edie Brickell is involved.

ziggy toy cat

Ziggy’s not a toy cat; he’s a real cat.

are you gellin? bitch get back to sellin

This may be the strangest search ever to find my website. I don’t have anything else to add.

That’s all I have for now. Trivia Tuesday will return next week and look for my annual State of the Ramblings sometime soon.

2007 Steelers Postmortem

Do you want to know why the Steelers lost to Jacksonville on Saturday night? Well, I hope that you aren’t looking to me to provide the answers. I apologize that I’m still in a bad mood following the game, but if you have watched the Steelers over the past month or two, you already know the team’s problems. The offensive line was useless as the Steelers rushed for a pathetic 43 yards on 26 carries and Ben Roethlisberger was sacked six times. The special teams gave up another big return and did nothing to really help the team. Besides Allen Rossum’s kickoff return for a touchdown against San Francisco in September, did the special teams do anything, well, special this year? I can’t remember any other big punt or kickoff return or a blocked kick. The play-calling, especially the Roethlisberger’s run on 3rd and 6 late in the fourth quarter, was questionable, as was Mike Tomlin’s decision to go for two after Sean Mahan’s “holding” penalty. Roethlisberger reverted back to his 2006 season in the first half with some poor decisions. While I thought the defense played well overall, they couldn’t make stops when it mattered.

You can read much more analysis about the Steelers throughout the internet, but I wanted to put the season in perspective by going back to my season predictions from September.

The team will finish 10-6 and earn a Wild Card playoff spot. They will win the first playoff game but lose in the second round.

The record was correct, but I was one round off for the playoffs.

Clark Haggans will lead the team in sacks. Ike Taylor will lead the team in interceptions.

Haggans only had 3 sacks this season. That’s a terrible number for a starting outside linebacker in the Steeler defense. Even last night, I don’t remember Al Michaels announcing his name. Meanwhile, Taylor did lead the team in interceptions with three and made a huge pick to help propel the fourth quarter comeback.

Ben Roethlisberger will have more touchdowns than interceptions. He will also not be involved in a motorcycle accident or have an appendectomy this year.

32 TDs and 11 interceptions in the regular season, but had 2 TDs and 3 interceptions last night. There were no known surgeries or motorcycle accidents.

Nate Washington will have at least six touchdowns.

I was close as Washington had five touchdowns. However, he really is hit or miss. Washington had 5 touchdowns in 3 games, but in the other 13 games, caught only 23 passes for 309 yards.

Chris Gardocki will not have a punt blocked this season (or any other season).

Neither Gardocki or Daniel Sepulveda had a punt blocked this season. In case you were wondering, Sepulveda’s punting average of 42.4 yards was 21st in the NFL and net average of 37.9 yards was 11th in the league. In 2006, Chris Gardocki finished with an average of 41.3 yards (30th) and net average of 36.7 yards (tied for 19th). That’s certainly an improvement but that needs to get even better next year.

Fast Willie Parker will have another 200-yard game rushing.

This one was wrong. Although Parker had 8 100-yard games, his high was 133 yards. Let’s hope Fast Willie has a speedy recovery.

Considering the fact that the Steelers had a rookie head coach, multiple injuries to key players and an ineffective offensive line, a 10-6 record and a division championship is a successful season. Of course, Saturday night’s loss still hurts.

Two final comments:

Boo to NBC. Instead of showing one of my favorite things about Pittsburgh, which is driving out of the Fort Pitt tunnel and seeing the city’s skyline, NBC covered the bottom of the screen with an American Gladiators promo. All you could see was the lights on the bridge.

I watched the Pitt-Villanova basketball game in attempt to cheer myself up. That didn’t help. Pitt had a 63-62 lead until Villanova hit two free throws with 10 seconds left. With a chance to win, Ronald Ramon lost the ball, Pitt’s 22nd turnover, to end the game.