2018 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Recap

The 2018 NFL Draft occurred over the last few days, and I'm here to provide in-depth coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers draft picks. And by in-depth, I mean that I provide a meaningful (or meaningless) tidbit about each player, usually based on their name.

Terrell Edmunds, Safety, Virginia Tech

What a name. Think about it. Terrell Edmunds will now be only 4th player in NFL history* named Terrell after Terrell Davis, Terrell Owens, and Terrell Suggs. All three of these Terrells are in the NFL Hall of Famer or will be one day. Actually, based on this history, Edmunds should have been the #1 overall draft pick. Sorry Cleveland Browns fans!

James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State

Nate Washington had an underrated career as a Steelers wide receiver. If James Washington matches Nate Washington's stats as a member of the Steelers, well, that would be a disappointment.

Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State

In cold December games in Pittsburgh, it's quite possible that Rudolph will get a red nose.

Chukwuma Okorafor, OL, Western Michigan

The name Chukwuma Okorafor reminds me of Chukky Okobi, the Steelers back-up center in the late 2000s. Okobi was also a rapper with his songs appearing on his MySpace page. I really wish his MySpace page was still around. It was awesome!

Marcus Allen, S, Penn State

Incredible player, but he's 58 now and making the switch from running back to safety could be tough. I guess he'll bring some veteran leadership as a rookie.

Jaylen Samuels, RB, NC State

Samuels had a now deleted tweet from 2011 where he wrote that the Steelers suck. Hey, we all write dumb tweets when we're young. I mean, I'm sure I wrote a tweet last week that I wish I could take back.

Joshua Frazier, DT Alabama

It's extremely important that Frazier stays on his feet and helps to stop the run since you don't want him to go down.




* This may not be true, but I'm going to say it is since it sounds better for this post. Seems like Terrelle Pryor should have changed the spelling of his name to Terrell.


You can view more of my amazing draft recaps of the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins here.

Sunday Links

With this post, I'm now a third of the way through National Blog Posting Month ("NaBloPoMo"). I hope that you're enjoying reading my posts on a daily basis. Here are some other links for you to check out.

I'm not the only Pittsburgh blogger participating in NaBloPoMo. [NaBloPoMo Pittsburgh Tumblr]

Congrats to Emily on her big news and announcement. [Emily Levenson]

Jeff Reed is on Twitter! [That's Church]

I found this video amusing.



h/t Deadspin

This Russian Steelers fan is just looking for love...in a Nate Washington jersey. [PSAMP]

Here's some fun Hollywood stuff. George Clooney is a year older than Wilford Brimley was when Cocoon was released. [Vulture]

Great piece by Tim Williams about how to become a professional blogger. [Pirates Prospects]

The end of Josh's Yaris. [Ngewo's World]

If you're looking for a travel agent, please contact my friend Paul. (Paul really is my friend and is someone I have known for years.) [Cusker Vacation Connection]

Finally, since I posted a cat video above, here is a fun dog video.



h/t Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Steelers Win AFC North

As a Steelers fan, it feels great seeing Pittsburgh win the AFC North and earn a first-round playoff bye at the expense of the Ravens, especially in Baltimore. Sunday’s game proves what I have been saying for years: contrary to what many Steelers fans believe, Pittsburgh’s biggest rival is clearly the Baltimore Ravens and not the Cleveland Browns. While it may be mean and a bit of schadenfreude, just looking at the picture below makes me, and I’m sure other Steelers fans, smile.



The game itself lived up to the hype as both defenses dominated. Through the first 57 minutes, the Ravens outplayed the Steelers, particularly on special teams and in the defense’s ability to create turnovers. However, when the game was in question, the Steelers led by Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Nate Washington made big plays and the Ravens defense could not respond.

Congratulations to the Steelers for winning the AFC North!



The photo is from Jonathan Newton of The Washington Post after Baltimore lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 playoffs.

Steelers-Giants Recap

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a lead late in the fourth quarter at home and lost. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times, hit at least another dozen times and threw four interceptions. The team was 1 for 10 on third down, 0 for 4 on fourth down and had 8 penalties for 59 yards, many of them pretty stupid penalties. Plus, the Steelers defense who led the league in sacks coming into the game, failed to register a sack and rarely put pressure on Eli Manning. It was clearly not one of their best games.

However, let’s take a step back and put everything into perspective. The Steelers are 5-2 and have a one game lead over Baltimore, who they already defeated, in the AFC North. The 5-2 record is tied for second best in the AFC with New England and Buffalo behind only the undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Steelers are 5-0 against AFC teams, a very important playoff tie-breaker, which along with the Titans, is the best in the conference. Yes, the team has some work to do, but there’s no need to panic...yet.

A few thoughts from the game:

- Why was Dick Stockton so concerned about players getting out of bounds early in the game? Twice in the first half (Heath Miller’s catch on the first drive and Carey Davis’ catch with 12+ minutes left in the second quarter), Stockton stated that the Steelers failed to get out of bounds after making a catch.

- Ryan Clark and Brett Kiesel both played amazing games.

- Stupid Toyota commercial. I’m going to have "save by zero" in my head all day.

- Nate Washington has turned into an extremely solid receiver.

- The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror XIX" looks really good. Unfortunately, I feel like I’ve seen the whole episode already during all of Fox’s commercials.

- Am I the only person wondering why Justin Hartwig, the Steelers’ starting center, wasn’t able to serve as the back-up long-snapper? Doesn’t Hartwig make a living snapping the ball and then blocking the guy in front of him?

- Can the Steelers have another bye week? I’m writing this on Sunday night, so I don’t know the health status of Ryan Clark, Greg Warren, Mitch Berger and any other Steeler. Regardless, with Willie Parker and Bryant McFadden already out, it seems like the team could use a week off to get healthy.

I will be at FedEx Field for next week’s Steelers-Redskins game. If I was told that the Steelers could only win one of these two games against the Giants and Redskins, I would gladly take a Steelers win against Washington.

More about the game is available on the Post-Gazette website.

Steelers-Jaguars Recap

I’ll preface this post by writing that I have no idea what Al Michaels or John Madden said during Sunday night’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Jacksonville Jaguars game. I have not read recaps of the game by Pittsburgh newspapers, national sports websites or the Pittsburgh sports related blogs listed on my links list. The following are my comments, thoughts and pictures from attending the game live.



This picture was taken a half hour before game time. Notice the large banner covering two sections on the top left and the Jaguars banner behind the end zone. Apparently, these seats and several other sections throughout the stadium are completely covered during the entire season to help the team avoid blackouts. That would never happen for the Steelers. Oh, Jacksonville has no problem selling these seats for the Florida-Georgia college football game.



I really don’t know what to write about these guys. They were loud and somewhat annoying, but overall, pretty cool. Of course, I was not sitting directly next to them unlike the guy on the left wearing a white shirt. His sleeve ended up being mostly black from the body paint. He wasn't too happy being next to them.



The Steelers with an empty backfield, which they used more on Sunday than during the last 75 years combined. Did Mike Tomlin or Bruce Arians mention anywhere why used this set so often? Did it force the Jaguars to have more defenders in coverage instead of blitzing?

When the Steelers used this set, it seemed like the receivers were Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington, Heath Miller and Mewelde Moore. Do the Steelers have a fourth WR?



Occasionally, the Steelers really did run the ball. I think this was one such case. Moore was definitely more effective on the outside as opposed to between the tackles.



Your halftime entertainment was a fireworks/laser show. The smoke was a little overwhelming after it ended. Maybe that’s why Fred Taylor had trouble picking up yards in the second half.



This picture was taken at the end of the game and did not come out well. The guy in the center had green hair and was an obnoxious Jaguars fan. To quote the Pensblog, STUNNED!

Other notes:

- Washington Capitals’ Sergei Federov’s brother Anthony sang the national anthem. Apparently, he was on American Idol.

- After a first down, the Jags fans cheer "Move Them Chains, Move Them Chains, Move Them Chains, Huh." Seemed kind of silly.

- I’m sure that everyone is saying and writing that Ben Roethlisberger is amazing in his ability to make plays after avoiding the pass rush. While he did make a great pass to Hines Ward late in the fourth quarter, he really needs to throw the ball away once in a while. On that particular play, he could (should) have been sacked, which may have knocked the Steelers out of field goal range. He probably did take 3 sacks during the game when he could have thrown it away. Yes, I’m nitpicking, but it really is OK to throw it away once in a while.

- "Welcome to Teal Town" is not very intimidating.

- Although Crazy Train is a great song, the Jaguars played it on three separate occasions (not including the fourth time when they played the Lil’ John version). I’m sure there are other songs out there that could be used to excite the crowd.

- My guess is that 25% of the fans supported the Steelers.

- I probably received a dozen compliments on the Louis Lipps jersey.

- I wanted to take a picture of the final score, but as soon as the game ended the team removed the score from the scoreboard. Did the Jaguars think their fans would forget that the team lost?

Most importantly, the Steelers won 26-21 and are now 4-1 heading into the bye week.

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.

Steelers-Ravens Recap

First, I would like to thank the fine folks at Dulles Airport for ensuring that I missed the first quarter and half of the second quarter of Monday night’s Steelers-Ravens game. While my flight actually arrived on time, I waited at baggage claim at least 15 minutes before receiving my luggage and this is after taking the people-mover thing to the main terminal. Why does it always take so long to get your bags at Dulles airport? I know it’s a big airport, but only once can I remember luggage arriving within a few minutes. After finally getting my bag, there were 15+ people waiting for a taxi. I silently (and not so silently) said c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon…well, you get the point.

By the time I walked through the front door, the Steelers were already up 21-0. While I would love to talk about James Harrison’s incredible performance, I did not see the three forced fumbles and two of his 3.5 sacks. I also missed seeing Ben’s first three touchdown passes including Nate Washington’s first TD of the season. It may finally be time for Tivo. So this is what I did see live on television:

- Hines Ward blocking. It was great seeing him level Ed Reed. How do fans of other teams feel about Hines Ward? Is he seen as a dirty player? I can guarantee that every fan would love to have Hines on their team.

- Santonio Holmes burned the Ravens secondary on several occasions. It’s hard to believe that he’s only played in 24 NFL games.

- If you are a Ravens fan (or player), you had to be embarrassed by linebacker Terrell Suggs. Down 35-7 late in the first half, Suggs sacked Ben proceeded to celebrate. Losing by 28 points is no reason to celebrate!

- I know it has been written and discussed in many places, but I hated seeing Ben return to the game in the fourth quarter. There was no reason for him to re-enter the game after being injured earlier.

- Harrison’s performance reminded me of several dominant games by defensive players. I watched Osi Umenyiora record six sacks against the Eagles earlier this season and remember Derrick Thomas and Jason Taylor causing havoc with multi-sack games.


The comments on the Baltimore Sun message board are fun. Billick must go; McNair must go; “Stick a fork in them. THEY'RE DONE! I don't see them winning one more game this season.” Naturally, some Steeler fans living in Baltimore are happy and share their comments; Raven fans reply; hilarity ensues.

I’m getting really excited about attending the Steelers-Browns game on Sunday! I will not forget the tickets in Virginia!


P.S. The picture is by Peter Diana of the Post-Gazette.

2007 Steelers Predictions

Welcome to the start of the NFL season! The Colts defeated the Saints last night and the first full slate of games begins on Sunday. With the new season, I thought I would share my predictions for the 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers.

- 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.

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

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

- Mike Tomlin will not publicly kiss any players. He will also spit considerably less than his predecessor.

- Nate Washington will have at least six touchdowns.

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

- At some point during the season, there will be some type of incriminating picture of kicker Jeff Reed at a bar.

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

- I will end up watching Steelers games in at least four states: Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and possibly New Mexico and Washington DC.

Feel free to leave your own predictions about the Steelers season, and we’ll check back in four months to see how we did.