Pittsburgh Sports Buzz

We Still Have Six

2012-01-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

The Steelers Must Do These Things To Finish Strong

2011-12-19T02:54:00.000-08:00

Week 15 is almost over, there's just one game left and it just might hold the key to how the Steelers perform in the post-season this season. There were some major surprises this week that helped the Steelers out and made their chances look much better.

Number 1.
In the early games Kansas City shocked Green Bay. I have to admit I did not see this one coming. I thought if anyone was going to beat them it would have happened against the Giants a few weeks ago. The Pack pulled that one out and set themselves up well to run the regular season table. They ran into the Haleyless Chiefs though and were thoroughly dominated. They have 2 tough games left against the Bears and Lions, but those are both at the Curly, so they should win those. The bad thing about this is now they are aware that they are beatable. As before they just seemed to be on cruise control knocking of each opponent they faced. What's the saying about sleeping giants? I think the Chefs might have just woke them up. The good thing is the Steelers win against the Chiefs doesn't look so bad, remember it was a struggle to escape Arrowhead with the win.

Number 2.
Most importantly for the Steelers playoff positioning was the game Sunday night between the Ravens and the Chargers. This one was a little more predictable than the other game because it was in San Diego and the Chargers are on their usual late season roll. I thought the Ravens would put up more of a fight, but they again choked and lost control of their playoff destiny this year. As of now they are in the fifth spot in the AFC and will be again packing their bags for the playoffs if the Steelers and Patriots win out. That's counting our chickens a little early, because the Steelers are also travelling to the West Coast this weekend to face the other Harbaugh and the 49ers. Arians has said this week he doesn't know what information can be given to Jim by John to help the Niners, but the Ravens have given the Steelers a tough time this year and know more than any team how to play them. Arians said the Niners won't change their game plan to beat the Steelers, but I disagree. If John gives Jim information on how to beat the Steelers he's not going to say, "No, I think we'll just give it a shot with what we've got." A good coach will adapt and try every trick they have up their sleeve. Jim has proven that he's not a bad coach, turning a team and a quarterback into a contender in one year.

Number 3.
The Steelers have 3 winnable games left. Tonight, at home against the Rams and at Cleveland. Tonight should be the toughest of the 3 facing a good team away from home. If they can win out they will have secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs by virtue of their win against the Pats. Seems like plenty of incentive to do just that. We will see if the veterans on this team have a Super Bowl Run left in them. If they win these 3 games they will be on a significant roll heading into the playoffs and they'll get a week off, which doesn't hurt.

Resounding Victory

2011-12-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

I know there isn't a big following for the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz but it appears that someone in the Steelers organization or some of the players are reading. After the KC game I wrote about how the Steelers continually try to make things interesting in their games. They played down to the level of their opponent in KC and stretched the outcome out to the last drive of the game.

Well, today the Steelers opened a can on the Bengals and the game was not in doubt after the Steelers scored their first touchdown. Their performance was textbook and they showed why they went to the Super Bowl last year.

Week 13 preview

2011-12-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

Not Pretty, But It's A Win

2011-11-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers try their best to make every win exciting. I don't really like the way they do it though. Take Sunday night, for example. For some unexplainable reason Mewelde Moore has been able to gain playing time as the season has gone on despite several older veterans losing playing time because of diminishing returns. Yeah, I know, Mewelde is that trustworthy veteran off the bench. He's the one that you can count on to hold on to the ball when that's all you need. He knows all the blocking schemes and does everything he's told. But, Mendenhall and Redman must be teetering on being in the doghouse for Moore to get a carry in the redzone early in the game. So what does Moore do. He manages to fumble the ball and the chance for Pittsburgh to get their offense on track and in the end zone early in the game.

It looked like Ben was headed for a quality game during that drive and everyone was doing their part. Thankfully the Chiefs and Tyler Palko were feeling generous this game because it would have been an embarrassing loss had Palko not given the ball to the Steelers a couple of times. He might as well have handed the ball to Ryan Mundy on one interception. Moore's fumble was just one of the many ways the Steelers made the game interesting. The Steelers were penalized time and time again for holding and otherwise, making those third down conversions even more difficult. Despite my objection to Mewelde getting the ball it's easy to see why. Mendenhall has not realized his potential as a running back and I think his time is running out in Pittsburgh. He shows flashes, like his touchdown run a few weeks ago, but then he'll get stuffed behind the line time after time. Don't put all the blame on him for that, because the line is bad, but a tough back needs to find the hole more than Mendenhall does.

Other puzzling ways the Steelers managed to make this game interesting included the Wide Receivers playing hot potato. Mike Wallace who has been somewhat absent in big play production the last several games temporarily lost his hand eye coordination on a routine pass in the endzone. The other young wide receivers seemed to have the same condition. Maybe Ben was off target a little but come on. You still need to catch some of those.

Then there's the special teams. I have to give credit to the special teams because they have certainly solidified their tackling and holding their opponents returns down to a minimum. I can actually turn away for a few seconds when the other team is returning the ball because I have confidence they won't give up a big return. On the flip side, though, the Steelers returns have also caused me to look away. Last year Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown were a threat to break it every return. This year it's like they're happy with their 10 yards and let's get on with the game. Maybe they're more focused on their receiving chores, but a good return here and there would help, especially if you're going to play hot potato with the ball.

William Gay in the past has made us antsy and angry with his coverage skills, but this year his name hasn't been overly abused. He did give up that TD to end the second Ravens game, but supposedly he should have had help on that one and didn't. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for that. But, he almost reverted back to give up the big play Gay on Sunday when he mistimed a jump and whiffed on the ball. Fortunately the Chiefs receivers didn't play much better than the Steelers and the receiver didn't catch it. If he did it would have been a TD.

So, after all that playing down to the level of their competition it came down to the final drive by the Chiefs. They needed a touchdown, something they haven't been able to produce for several weeks. The time was running out, but it was for the Ravens too. As the NBC announcers said, it would have been a storybook game for Palko to beat the team he had worked out next to when he was at Pitt and grown up watching. Palko ended the game, though, by completing a pass to Keenan Lewis.

The Steelers made it exciting. I'm much more interested in quality play and a bigger margin of victory though. That would excite me much more.

Advice for those looking to be their own boss

2011-11-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

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There goes the neighborhood

2011-11-25T03:25:00.000-08:00

You just know things will never be the same. You've grown up in a neighborhood, spent your whole life hanging out with the friends that live next door and competing with that kid that lives behind your house. You come home from school and play one on one basketball with him. You can even manage to play one on one football. Try to throw a pass to yourself. Unless you're Mike Wallace and can outrun a bullet you have to give it a lot of hang time and be able to outjump the other guy to do that.

So, as you get older the kids in your neighborhood start moving out. Jimmy's dad gets a new job in California. The Smiths have a new baby and outgrow their house. Bobby's family moves to Florida. Until finally you and your rival, Panther, are the only ones left. Even though you have always had heated competition to see who will be the best you have a mutual respect for each other. You think there will never be an end to the competition that exists between the two of you. But the developers decide that your neighborhood is better suited for a shopping center. You do well to get out while the getting's good, but it is the end of the neighborhood and the end of the rivalry.

Well, it looks like all the neighbors in the old Big East neighborhood have vacated the hood and it's down to the Mountaineers and the Panthers. Penn State wasn't in the Big East but they lived in the next development over when everyone was an independent. The Penn State rivalry with West Virginia was mostly one-sided, but it was one that everyone in West Virginia looked forward to every year. When the Mountaineers beat Penn State there were a few parties in Morgantown.

Next, some more longtime neighbors decided to vacate. Boston College and Virginia Tech and Miami left for greener pastures in the ACC. Not the best football conference, but the basketball roots were deep. There were some new neighbors moving in, but you knew they were either going to be short timers or maybe fight for the neighborhood. One just moved in and didn't like the scene and decided to leave before even staying the night. Then you find out your neighbor Syracuse has had enough and is moving to the new development a few miles away.

Finally, you go out to play one on one football with the kid that lives behind you, you call it the "Backyard Brawl" and he tells you that his family has decided to move. You and your remaining neighbors are crushed. You never really liked him, but it will never be the same after he's gone. You looked forward all day to taking him on. One year he grew several inches and had an advantage over you, the next year you surpassed him and were better than him, but it was always competitive.

Now the Mountaineer family has found a new neighborhood and is moving on and the Panther family is moving on. You thought after the Lion family moved to their new neighborhood that you'd still have a get together occasionally, but they never looked back and didn't even want to get together every few years. Somehow it looks like that's what will happen with the Panther family. Billy Panther has already made new friends with the kids in the new neighborhood and he doesn't even say hi to you in school anymore.

So, you challenge him to one last game tonight. The last bragging rights to the neighborhood are on the line. This may be the last one for a long time. It is a sad sight to see, but an inevitable reality of life in the big business of college sports.

Ego Leonard Sighting

Gerry Dulac Report

2011-11-19T18:54:00.001-08:00

Gerry and Ed Discuss the Cincy Game

2011-11-16T01:19:00.000-08:00

Gerry and Ed Discuss the New England Game

2011-10-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Separated at Birth

2011-10-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Since the New England game is tomorrow, I thought I would break this story first. Pittsburgh Sports Buzz has just learned some incredible news about the New England Patriots coach Bill Belicheat, I mean Belichick. While working on a story for the game I came upon a photo which I'll reveal here. There has been no DNA testing to prove this but I have noticed a striking resemblance between Bill Belichick and a famous television star. I have put their pictures side by side so that the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz readers can decide for themselves. Here you go.

YOU MAKE THE CALL!

Did I get your attention?

2011-10-29T01:23:00.000-07:00

I think I got a few people's attention with the major announcement post, but I'm hoping to hear from some more that are interested in what it will be. Send a comment or email me at stegmasterj@yahoo.com to let me know what you're thinking it will be.

Running Right

2011-10-29T00:55:00.000-07:00

Recently Ike Taylor was discussing Mike Wallace's running form and how he doesn't even run right. He puts his arms up and just doesn't use proper form.
Wallace's response to that was, I do run right, I run right by all the defensive backs.

Speed Kills.

The answer

2011-10-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

The answer to yesterday's post in the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz was Steve McClendon. That is the life of an undrafted NFL free agent. When you're signed to the practice squad it is never a certain thing that you will be on the practice squad the whole year. You could be dropped the next day because of the circumstances. An injury could happen and the need could arise for a player on the practice squad or an injury could happen and cause the team to release a player on the practice squad. If the team likes what they see, at the first chance the player will probably be resigned, if not the player will try to hook up with another team. Steve McClendon went through all the transactions listed in the post. He has gained some experience and looks to be a valuable player for the Steelers now. After Casey and Chris went down he has filled in at nose tackle well. Maybe McClendon is another in a line of free agent signings that the Steelers struck gold on. For now, he has been solid and allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to continue the success of the defensive line.

Can you guess who this is?

2011-10-25T10:26:00.001-07:00

Signed to the Steelers active roster on October 30, 2010
Re-signed to the practice squad on October 11, 2010
Released on October 7, 2010…
Signed to the active roster on October 2, 2010
Re-signed to the Steelers practice squad on September 21, 2010
Released on September 20, 2010
Signed to the active roster on September 18, 2010
Signed to the practice squad on September 6, 2010
Released on September 4, 2010
Signed to the Steelers' offseason roster on January 7, 2010
Released by the Steelers on September 5, 2009
Signed to the practice squad the very next day
Released from the practice squad on November 25, 2009
Signed to the practice squad on December 2, 2009
Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Steelers on April 27, 2009.

Can you imagine being hired and let go and rehired this frequently?

Answer tomorrow if you haven't figured it out already.

Steelers Rule!!!!!

Gerry and Ed Discuss the Arizona Game

2011-10-25T02:22:00.000-07:00

Major Announcement coming soon to Pittsburgh Sports Buzz

2011-10-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

To my loyal readers, all 3 of you:
Yes, there has not been much to read on the site lately.
Yes, there has been plenty to talk about.
Yes, I should have more posts.
Yes, I have been busy with other things and haven't had the chance to express my extremely interesting opinions on Pittsburgh Sports.
Yes, I would like to give away some fantastic prizes for my readers.
No, I did not get a promotion like my friend(he doesn't know he's my friend) Jim Shearer of Yinz luv da stillers and VH-1 top 20 countdown fame.
No, I am not happy with the spammers that are leaving annoying comments trying to advertise their crap that have nothing to do with Pittsburgh Sports on my articles.
No, I do not allow them and it is really pointless for you to leave them. They are deleted immediately.
No, I'm not giving away any fantastic prizes for you to visit my site.
Yes, I do allow anyone to comment on anything to do with Pittsburgh Sports, I especially like the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins.

In Summary:
Keep following the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz
Stay tuned for an exciting announcement coming soon.
Oh yeah the Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the Jags today.

Just as I suspected

2011-09-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Steelers played the Ravens and they appeared "too old" for the NFL as many of the broadcasters put it. Funny, most of those guys, including Warren Sapp were former players who had had their butts whooped up and down the field many times by those old players.

You can write that first game off for a couple of reasons

1. The Steelers were not prepared for their first game. To me, this a very shocking part about the Ravens game, but not as big a concern for the rest of the season. The Steelers knew the Ravens would be a tough opponent. It looked like the defense did not expect Ray Rice to catch passes out of the backfield and they did not expect him to try to run the ball. Uh, he's the starting tailback guys. It also seemed like Ben didn't expect them to come up with anything exotic on defense. It kind of looked like they were just waiting for the Ravens to walk over and give them the game ball and say, "You're too good, we quit." It looked like Ben was as confident about his line on the field as he talks about them off the field. When you start players one year and discard them the next you can't expect the offensive line to be great. The Ravens and Terrell Suggs brought the pressure and caused Ben to make mistakes and turn over the ball. When the Steelers start finding Alan Fanecas and Maurkice Pounceys in the draft every year instead of Tony Hills that's when Ben can really have some confidence in them. The problem is they are hit and miss alot in the draft with Offensive Linemen. So you need Sean Kugler to work his magic and come up with a line that will be able to plug the dike.

2. I could almost see the game resulting in a loss, not that much of a loss, but a loss. Yeah, they keep beating them in the playoffs and that's something to be proud of, but do you have to get on their nerves the whole off season. Take it to the field and show them who's better there. Not on twitter or wherever. The game was in Baltimore after the Ravens had all off season to think about it. The fans were mad at them for not beating the Steelers and the Steelers even helped them out as much as possible by giving them the ball 7 times on turnovers. The Steelers had talked trash the whole off season about the Ravens and Flacco not being able to beat them. They had the bragging rights but why do they need to fire up the opponent before the opener. Not a good choice. They're already sore from losing that playoff game so you add insult to injury and add to that a noisy stadium filled with people dressed in purple.(I don't think the color the people were wearing has anything to do with it, I just threw that in). Frankly they were just pissed off and fired up. Sometimes that emotion runs out, sometimes it's maintained throughout the game. Last week they maintained it, this week it ran out.

3. The schedule maker apparently does not care if you played in the Super Bowl the previous year or not. They scheduled the Steelers at Baltimore to start the season, really? This is usually an extremely intense game and it is important for whoever comes out on top of the AFC North. I'm pretty much dismissing the Bengals and Browns from the competition. Can the NFL give the Steelers some kind of advantage for getting to the Super Bowl? Wait til they start clicking before the game is scheduled or let them have the first game at home. You know, give em a game or two against the MAC conference of the NFL. They gave 'em the Seahawks but it was a game too late. Well, what's done is done. The Steelers are 1-1 and could possible end up behind the Bengals if the Bengals win today.

Oh yeah, the Steelers Defense is old, with some of those starters being over 30, but they have some youth lined up in there at linebacker and lineman. Ziggy Hood showed last year he could continue the run stopping job of the defensive line. Cameron Heyward will probably play behind the Diesel this year and be ready to take over when he's done. Yeah, they'll need to replace Casey Hampton, but he's still holding his own plugging up the middle with his girth. Those youngsters can substitute in and give the old men a break at any time. Then, Harrison and Farrior are getting up there, but there are some quality guys in Worilds and Sylvester, ready to step in when father time says enough is enough.

I'm concerned about the defensive backfield most of all. They've tried to draft several dbs after the first round in the last few drafts and can't seem to find one that can start. They need to address that position in the next draft, preferably in the first round, or the defense will drop off badly. Gay has been bad several years and they just keep running him out there. Keenan Lewis showed signs in preseason, but injuries sidetracked his progress. Clark is slowing down, but Polamalu, if healthy, can help him out and he will be around a couple more years.

This defense will be better than they showed in the Ravens game, but it will be hard to tell if they'll be as good as they looked in the Seahawks game until they play a real opponent. Look for more of the same inferior talent from their opponent next week when they play the Colts minus Peyton. The Browns beat em. Enough said.

Ravens Preview

2011-09-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

Gerry and Ed discuss the Carolina game

2011-09-02T15:48:00.001-07:00

Gerry and Ed discuss the Atlanta game

2011-08-28T09:16:00.001-07:00

Pirates 9 - Brewers 2, The losing streak ends with a big 7th inning

2011-08-23T04:20:00.000-07:00

Pirates 1 - Brewers 8, Karstens pitches well but bullpen fails

2011-08-23T04:17:00.000-07:00

One Bouncer

2011-08-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

The game ended tonight with Garrett Jones crushing an Arthur Rhodes offering over the right field stands bouncing once and ending up in the river. It truly was an offering, because if Garrett Jones had placed that pitch on a tee, it would not have been located any better than where Rhodes put it. Garrett did the rest and knew immediately the result. What a great ending to one of those games that has been going to the other team the last few months.

The games that the Pirates were winning in the first half just haven't been going their way in the 2nd. But the Pirates seem to be taking their frustrations out on the Cards. They have taken the first 2 games of this series and look to sweep tomorrow. This against the team that is trying to keep pace with the Brewers.

Tonight the Pirates had what it took to overcome that late deficit and come out ahead at the end of the game. Jeff Karstens continued his storybook season pitching 5 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs and keeping the Pirates in the game. Andrew McCutcheon continues to grow daily and become a dominant force in the National League. He cranked out his 17th homer to plate 3 runs.

Neil Walker has had a few chances in the last week to add to his RBIs and pull a few games out late, but has not been able to come through, until tonight that is. With the Pirates down by 1 in the bottom of the ninth Walker came through and delivered the clutch hit to tie up the game and send it to extra innings. Oh yeah, Brandon Wood may have saved the game in the ninth by knocking down a shot down the 3rd base line, staying with it and completing the play at first. It was impressive.

Then it was Garrett Jones turn to feed the fish in the 11th. It was a no doubter as soon as it came off his bat, and he knew it.

Nice night for the Bucs

2011-08-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

As if beating the Cards at PNC wasn't enough, the Pirates made an encore performance and came to terms with their top two draft picks this year, Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell.

This is a definite bright spot in an otherwise bleak second half of the season. It is a continuing sign that Pirates ownership is willing to spend some money and lock down some talent for the Bucs.

It is always a tense situation getting down to the last days and hours of the signing period, but if you've paid attention in the past that's how it happens much of the time. So, it wasn't a shock that these 2 deals took so long.

It's good to add these two quality players to the team and it's good to have another top pitcher and possibly some offense in Bell.