Behind the Steel Curtain

BTSC Weekly NFL Musings - Week 9 Edition

2009-11-09T07:22:07Z

Another Sunday come and gone. I got to watch about 8 hours of football this Sunday on Sunday Ticket. Was very pleased about that. And I was very pleased that there were so many good games after having to endure several mediocre weeks of action in the past month.

On to a few thoughts of mine before one final Broncos-Steelers related post prior to Monday Night Football.

* Wow, hats off to Cincinnati. The Bengals raced out to an early 1st quarter lead and held on late to defeat the Ravens 17-7 at home. With the big victory - the second of the season over the Ravens - the Bengals ensured that they'll retain 1st place in the AFC North regardless of what transpires Monday night. Cedric Benson was a workhorse again, toting it 34 times for 117 yards. The game effectively was over when Ravens kicker Steve Hauschka missed a critical field goal that would have made it a one score game following an amazing strip of Ocho Cinco by Ed Reed late in the 4th quarter. I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens find themselves a new kicker by season's end if Hauschka doesn't get his act together. If you don't remember, he missed a game winner against the Vikings several weeks ago. You can't put a solid team together on both sides of the ball and then have an unreliable place kicker counterfeit so much of the hard work being put in by the whole team. Baltimore didn't really deserve to win that game, but they put themselves in position to at least have a shot at forcing overtime. Hauschka didn't do his job though. The Ravens aren't on the ropes just yet, but they're in a big hole considering they have two tilts with Pittsburgh still on the schedule. Luckily for them, the Texans weren't able to edge out a victory in Indy and remain very much in the Wild Card hunt for now.

* Not good Green Bay. Two weeks ago they looked to be in good shape, but consecutive losses to Minnesota and now previously winless Tampa Bay and the Packers look to be pretenders. That's one shaky defense. You could tell though watching Tampa Bay that they wanted it more than the Packers. That's sad if you're a Green Bay fan.

* New Orleans and Indianapolis both escape and improve to 8-0. Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans have to be sick to their stomach after usually reliable kicker Kris Brown missed a potential game tying field goal as time expired. Ouch. The Saints meanwhile overcome a double digit deficit for the second consecutive week behind a big second half offensively.

* Not that Vince Young won the game for the Tennessee Titans, but he's been very solid through two starts and I'm sure plenty of fans are wondering why it took 6 straight losses for Jeff Fisher to give up on Kerry Collins. The Titans put up 34 points on a 49ers defense that has been pretty good for most of this year. Quarterbacks don't win or lose games by themselves, but if I'm not mistake, Young improved to 20-11 as a starter in the NFL. He's got plenty of work left to do and he'll need to do a better job keeping his head mentally the next time adversity surely heads his way, but for now, he looks focused and ready to work on getting better. Oh yeah, Alex Smith. I wrote a few weeks ago that I thought it was ridiculous that Mike Singletary gave up on Shaun Hill after struggling for only 6 quarters or so. Alex Smith threw three interceptions on Sunday and fumbled once, and there's little doubt in my mind that he won't make it the whole year before being benched back in favor of Hill.

* How about that San Diego victory? Wow. Just as they've done time and time again the past few years, the Chargers responded with their backs against the wall. With the Giants up by 3 and inside the 5 yard line following a P hillip Rivers turnover, the Chargers got the stand they needed to keep it a one possession game late in the 4th quarter. Then with just about 2 minutes remaining, Rivers atoned for his previous mistakes and led San Diego down the field on the game winning scoring drive to defeat New York by a single point, 21-20. San Diego improved to 5-3 and could find themselves within a single game of Denver by the end of Monday night. That division's going to be real fun to watch down the stretch.

* I still don't think Matthew Stafford should be playing for the Lions with a healthy Daunte Culpepper sitting on the bench. Stafford was pretty much awful again on Sunday in a winnable game against the Seahawks. After getting out of the gates nicely and building a 17-0 lead, Stafford threw 5 interceptions, several of which were just pathetic reads and decisions. That's six picks and zero touchdowns since returning from injury two weeks ago.

* Sheesh, the Arizona Cardinals remain impossible to figure out. Last week they look pathetic in defeat at home against Carolina. This week they smoke the Bears on the road. Kurt Warner throws 5 picks last week; and he follows it up and silences his critics with 5 TDs against the crumbling Bears defense. Strange team in a strange league.

* My keys to winning against Denver a bit later. Can not wait for this one after watching a very dramatic and action packed Week 9 unfold on Sunday. Go Steelers!

Poll

Most impressive win on Sunday?

Comcast Weekly Red Zone Update

2009-11-06T05:24:06Z

Because the Steelers didn't play this week, there's nothing to update on their front. So instead, let's take a look at the Denver Broncos season to date performing in the red zone. As always, many thanks to Comcast and their new and critically aclaimed Red Zone Channel for their sponsorship of BTSC and the other many fine SB Nation football blogs this season.

On to Denver's performance. These tables were taken directly from Mile High Report. It was only updated through Week 7, so below the tables, you can find their performance against Baltimore. As you'll see, they've not been all that great on offense in the red zone - having to settle for a high number of field goals. On defense though they've been quite solid, particularly the first four weeks of the season.

'09 OFFENSE TOTALS

WEEK	OPPONENT	RZ EFFICIENCY
1	@ CIN	0/0
2	vs. CLE	2/4
3	@ OAK	2/6
4	vs. DAL	1/2
5	vs. NEP	2/3
6	@ SD	2/4
	TOTALS	9/19 (47.3%)

'09 DEFENSE TOTALS

WEEK	OPPONENT	RZ EFFICIENCY
1	@ CIN	1/2
2	Vs. CLE	0/1
3	@ OAK	0/1
4	Vs. DAL	1/3
5	Vs. NEP	2/2
6	@ SD	1/2
	TOTALS	5/11(45.4%

Last week @ Baltimore (Loss, 7-30)

Offense: 1 Trip, 1 TD

Defense: 3 Trips, 1 FG, 2 TD

Updated NFL Super Bowl Odds

2009-11-06T05:14:25Z

As we count down the days and hours until the Pittsburgh Steelers return to action on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, here are some fun updated odds out of Las Vegas.

**Odds To Win 2009 Super Bowl**
Team	Odds
New Orleans Saints	3/1
Indianapolis Colts	5/1
New England Patriots	11/2
Minnesota Vikings	8/1
Pittsburgh Steelers	10/1
Baltimore Ravens	13/1
Philadelphia Eagles	14/1
Dallas Cowboys	18/1
New York Giants	18/1
Denver Broncos	22/1
San Diego Chargers	22/1
Cincinnati Bengals	25/1
Arizona Cardinals	35/1
Chicago Bears	35/1
Green Bay Packers	35/1
Houston Texans	35/1
Atlanta Falcons	40/1
Miami Dolphins	60/1
New York Jets	60/1
San Francisco 49ers	65/1
Carolina Panthers	150/1
Jacksonville Jaguars	200/1
Seattle Seahawks	200/1
Buffalo Bills	400/1
Tennessee Titans	400/1
Washington Redskins	500/1
Oakland Raiders	750/1
Cleveland Browns	1000/1
Detroit Lions	1000/1
Kansas City Chiefs	1000/1
St. Louis Rams	1000/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1000/1

Just a few thoughts from me.

Pittsburgh is actually a pretty solid bet at 10:1 if you ask me. In my mind, there chances are just as good as any team in front of them, besides perhaps Indianapolis.
Yes New Orleans' road might be a bit easier because they're in the NFC, but there's plenty of teams in that conference that are more than capable of taking down New Orleans in a winner-takes-all battle in January. Philadelphia, Minnesota and even Dallas come to mind.
I find it fairly interesting that Vegas - and subsequently the public - feels Baltimore is still legit contenders despite losing three of their past four. I don't disagree necessarily, but I also don't think a home win against a Denver team that's not well equipped to punish the Ravens with the vertical passing game is all that impressive. Let's see how they look when they take on Cincy and Pittsburgh - both of which are teams plenty capable of stretching the field.
Pretty comical that the Bills are getting the same odds as the Titans, despite having two more wins than them.
If I had to place a super long shot bet, I'd probably do so on Carolina - but after they lose this coming weekend at New Orleans. Their odds might then drop to something like 175 or 200 to 1, but they might not be out of it considering how the Giants are reeling, how no team in the NFC West looks formidable at all outside of Arizona, and how they might be able to catch the Falcons, Bears and Packers if they got hot and eeked out 9 or 10 wins and got some help from those inconsistent teams.
Interesting also that Minnesota is favored over Pittsburgh despite their recent head-to-head showdown.

Anyway, just a little fun as Week 9 approaches. More on the Broncos game coming soon.

Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - Can The Broncos Keep This Up?

2009-11-04T05:58:22Z

After taking a closer look at the Denver Broncos 2009 season to date, I'm becoming more and more convinced that this is a fringe playoff team at best, and nowhere near as good as their 6-1 record might indicate. Now, as Coach Dikta famously says - you are what you are. And the Denver Broncos are 6-1. So, I'm not taking any credit away from them for what they've done to start the year. I'm just very, very unconvinced that they're going to be able to sustain this type of success in the win column for the remaining 9 games of the season. Here's a few reasons why.

* First of all, let's look at their results so far.

*********

Week 1 - Win @ Cincinnati (12-7)

Week 2 - Win vs. Cleveland (27-6)

Week 3 - Win @ Oakland (23-3)

Week 4 - Win vs. Dallas (17-10)

Week 5 - Win vs. New England (20-17)

Week 6 - Win @ San Diego (34-23)

Week 7 - Loss @ Baltimore (7-30)

Again, you can only play the opponents on your schedule, and we all know how little style points mean, but there's a number of results in there that make me wonder how tough Denver really is. Let's start with that first game against the Bengals. In case you had forgotten, Denver won on the final play of the game on a fluke, tipped pass that fell in to Brandon Stokeley's lap with no Bengals defenders near him. He took it in for the go-ahead 87 yard score. Prior to that play, the Broncos had mustered roughly 220 yards of total offense. A great start to the Josh McDaniels era, but undeniably a very lucky win. Credit Denver's defense for harassing and confusing Carson Palmer, but let's not forget that it was his first game back in quite some time and he was clearly rusty. Palmer's improved incrementally since then.

In Week 2, the Broncos were solid. Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter rushed for 75 and 76 yards respectively and Kyle Orton found a couple big plays in the passing game to offset his otherwise ho-hum 19-of-37 performance. The anemic Browns offense - led by Brady Quinn that day - could only muster 200 total yards, while turning it over three times. You play who you play, but everybody is beating up on Cleveland this year.

Week 3, the Broncos make look JaMarcus Russell look like the awful quarterback he is, while rushing all over one of the league's absolute worst rush defenses. Bravo.

Week 4 Tony Romo gift wraps a huge turnover that gets Denver a cheap score. Then a Romo interception deep inside Denver territory kept the Broncos hanging around until their offense finally came up with some big plays and drives late in the 4th quarter. Even still, Dallas had a chance to tie it as the clock expired. The Cowboys had it at the Denver 2 after spiking it on 2nd down with time dwindling. Two incompletions - both of them thrown at Champ Bailey - and the game was over. A very nice win for the Broncos - even if it wasn't pretty. It was actually a lot like the Steelers victory over the Cowboys last year.

The Chargers victory came down to pressuring the quarterback better than San Diego and two touchdown returns by Eddie Royal on special teams. Alert to Pittsburgh - this guy's good. Denver's chances go up exponentially if Royal can be a difference maker. He wasn't last week though, so it's quite doable to keep him and check and force the Broncos' offense to do more than they were forced to do against the Chargers.

Anyway, enough looking at their schedule. They've won some games thanks to their offense, some because of stellar defensive play, and one due to outbursts on special teams. What do they truly do great though? Can they piece together random contributions like this moving forward? Perhaps, but the great teams usually have either a top flight quarterback, or some department of their team that's truly outstanding - like the Steelers defense last year. Or the New York Giants excellent running game and pass rushing front four in 2007. Or the Patriots and Colts offenses of much of this decade that have found prolonged success.

But what about Denver's top ranked defense? Some might argue that they're 'legit' contenders because this defense is for real. Well, they sure have been stout thus far. It helps to catch the Bengals before they got on the same page, followed by the Browns and Raiders, not to mention Tom Brady and the Patriots before they started clicking the following three weeks. But the Broncos had a hand in disrupting Palmer and Brady, no doubt.

Here are Denver's defensive ranks so far:

Points per Game: 13.6 (1st)

Total Yards per Game: 266.7 (1st)

3rd Down %: 33% (6th)

Interceptions: 6 (t-15th)

Fumbles Recovered: 6 (t-9th)

All very impressive. But here's what I'd say other than that defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has done a nice job putting these guys in position to succeed - they've been very, very lucky with injuries. On both sides of the ball really, but I think the effect has been particularly pronounced on defense. As far as I can tell, the exact same 11 who started on opening day have started in each and every game for the Broncos. Can their entire secondary, all of whom are 30+ years of age, hold up for an entire 16 games? Can defensive end Kenny Peterson, who has only played more than 10 games in a season twice during his six year career, hold up for the long haul? What about Ryan McBean, the former Steelers draft pick that lacked the strength to make it on our squad? Can he endure the grind of his first, full professional season?

Linebackers Mario Haggan and Andra Davis have never really been that good in this league. Serviceable? Yes, definitely. But not the kind of players they've been so far this year. The scheme matters and it's possible that this particular configuration of players and schematics has them playing at a level they're capable of sustaining. But history shows they've not been this good over the course of their respective veteran careers. The same might be said of D.J. Williams, a mainstay of the Broncos defense since 2004. Denver has had some pretty suspect defenses in that time span, and he's been a part of that. He too has been playing better than he ever has - unless you want to argue that his 2007 season was more impressive, even though the Broncos finished with the 5th worst scoring defense in the league that year. As for Elvis Dumervil, well he just looks like a player. And he has looked that way since coming in to the league out of Louisville in 2006.

I guess to me, the reality is the stars have aligned very nicely so far for Denver. It's just not very common for teams to go an entire season without losing a key player or two. Can Denver overcome that when it most likely comes? Will they have little time to overcome the loss due to that potential injury coming later in the year when there's less time to adjust? Could this Broncos defense be a little bit like the 2007 Steelers defense? Very good statistically for much of the season, only to come crumbling apart later in the year when an injury or two occurs and there's a higher premium placed on violent, physical football? Denver's sound technically on defense, and they have savvy ball hawks and sure tacklers in the secondary, but they ain't that physical a team, particularly up front. My hunch is that will get exposed more and more as the year progresses.

Here's something else that jumped out at me. Take a look at the defensive rankings of the teams they've faced this year. The first ranking is their total yards allowed per game, followed by their DVOA Ranking as measured by Football Outsiders.

Cincinnati (21st; 21st)

Cleveland (32nd; 29th)

Oakland (26th; 25th)

Dallas (22nd; 22nd)

New England (6th; 8th)

San Diego (12th; 23rd)

Baltimore (13th; 9th)

By my count, that's really just two solid defenses that they've faced. Let's all agree that Cleveland and Oakland are a joke. We should all be able to agree that San Diego is really quite suspect on that side of the ball too. Dallas is probably a little better than their current ranking - at least in the last couple of weeks they've improved. And we might also agree that the Bengals are a bit better than their ranking, while New England is not quite as good as the numbers might suggest (playing Tennessee and Tampa Bay the past two games will do that).

Anyway, Denver's offense has failed to really do all that much against the type of defenses they've played. They did have a fairly solid output against the Patriots - 424 yards and a ridiculous 27 first downs - but they nevertheless only manged to get it in the endzone twice. But against San Diego, it was mostly the defense and Eddie Royal's return abilities, not the play of the offense that helped them escape Qualcomm with a huge road win. And it was two inexcusable turnovers Tony Romo - the type he's so, so good at producing - that kept Denver in the Dallas game before their offense found its rhythm and engineered a field goal drive followed by a circus catch by Brandon Marshall that he would take to the house for the improbable, come from behind victory. A win's a win, but the Broncos had only 280 or so yards of offense leading up to the touchdown, and around 220 through almost 3 and 1/2 quarters. And then of course most recently, there was the Baltimore game this past Sunday. Kyle Orton looked horrible under pressure - he had only 152 passing yards on 37 attempts. That's terrible. The running game was bottled up as well and Denver finished the game with an anemic 200 total yards of offense, averaged just 3.4 yards per play, and converted just 3/13 on 3rd down.

Through 8 weeks, Denver's offense is:14th in total yards and 20th in points scored. Kyle Orton is a fine quarterback - gets rid of the ball fairly quickly (though sometimes too quickly for his own good), doesn't turn the ball over much. But he definitely doesn't scare me when thinking about how he might fare against the Pittsburgh Steelers improving defense. And it goes without saying that the Steelers rush defense should be able to bottle up the average run game of the Broncos. That's not to say the duo of Buckhalter and Moreno isn't a solid one - it is, and they've had some individual and collective success this year. But they're viewed unfavorably by FO's rushing the ball (18th), and they've been just average on the ground since carving up the Browns and Raiders for 186 and 215 yards in Weeks 2 and 3. The bottom line is neither are Adrian Peterson, and the Steelers did just fine slowing him down two Sundays ago.

It's just one man's opinion of course, but I think the Steelers will be able to shut down this Denver offense for the second week in a row. It's hard to make the Broncos look much worse than they did on Sunday, but credit Baltimore for playing a big role in that. While the Ravens beat up on Denver, Pittsburgh rested up and began scheming for the Broncos. Sounds like a good recipe for success if you ask me. That said, Denver will surely be eager to atone for last week's embarrassing showing, and can be counted on to put up a spirited fight in front of their rabid home crowd.

But I still think Pittsburgh has too much for the Broncos provided they tackle well in the short passing game, shore up their coverage units on special teams, and limit it to two or fewer turnovers (and in non-costly spots of the field). From there, I think Denver has to win at Washington the following week or they'll be in a potential dogfight for a playoff berth. The trump card of course is San Diego is so mystifyingly inconsistent that who knows if they'll even put pressure on Denver to win 10 games to win the division. The Chargers travel to New York to play a reeling Giants team in a game that's huge for both teams. If San Diego wins, they'll be within a game essentially of the Broncos with their second meeting of the year looming in Week 10. If the Broncos do need to get to 10 or 11 wins to make the playoffs, I don't see them holding up with the schedule they have remaining.

If you add up the success they've had so far in close games (it tends to balance out), combined with how fortunate they've been injury wise, combined with not having a quarterback that can really carry a team on his back when the going gets tough - all of it makes me skeptical of this 2009 Denver Broncos team. I commend them for their fine start, but I don't see them as a legitimate contender this year in the AFC, even if they were to hold on and make the playoffs in year one of the Josh McDaniels era.

Whew. Enough for now. I can't wait for this one. The Steelers first game in 15 days and their first appearance on Monday Night Football.

BTSC Fanpost Roundup

2009-11-04T00:29:59Z

I'm back! Computer's back up and running. Pardon me for my absence as we rapidly approach Week 9 in the 2009 NFL season. A few thoughts from me before getting to some of the multitude of fanposts written by you guys in the past week or so. As always, the objective is to highlight some of collaborative publishing efforts of our little sandbox.

* First of all, you've surely noticed the re-design of the site. It's not just my site - it's network wide on SB Nation. Do I love it? Not really, actually. But they're not done tweaking it behind the scenes so don't be surprised if some of the aspects you don't love are corrected in the near future. And by all means, feel free to share your feedback - both positive and negative - if you so choose. I'll be sure to relay some of it on to our designers and network architects.

* Secondly, and this doesn't apply to too many folks. In fact, I've been very pleased with the civility and tone of the site lately. Winning helps, but it also takes a concerted effort from all of us to keep things fun on a blog that has as many vocal and active members. That said, there has been some mudslinging going on that's a bit distracting. Let's just all take one step back, take a deep breath and let bygones be bygones with any grudges or recent feuds we may have had with one another recently. I was somewhat disappointed to see a bickering match ensue in a fanpost written by the mother of one of BTSC's very finest - acrollet. That's kind of embarrassing for us if you ask me. Anyway, I just recently got an email from a somewhat newer member apologizing for his role in a few spats recently, one of which came with a longer-standing reader. The emailer said he recognized his mistake and just wanted a 'do-over' and for all to be well. That sounded like a great idea to me, so for those of you out there who think this may apply to them, just please consider letting things in the past go. Let's stick together as we get ready to enjoy the 2nd half of this interesting and entertaining football season. Thanks.

On to the fanposts:

* Dr. Del writes an informative piece about sickle cell disease and how it relates to whether or not Ryan Clark will play in the high altitude of Denver on Monday.

* Mechem wonders if Jamal Lewis - who said he would retire at the end of this year - would be a good fit in Pittsburgh for just a year or two.

* WyoFan rambles as only he can do as he waits impatiently for the return of Steelers football.

* One good turn deserves another. WyoFan points out us that the Keystone Zebras Want You.

* Not sure why this one didn't get more play from the peanut gallery - Steelin breaks down the Steelers scheduleand correctly notes that it has turned out to be much more difficult than was anticipated.

* A number of fanposts and ensuing conversation after Baltimore schooled Denver about how the Steelers could learn from the tape. The offering from Billy52 drew a particularly lively response.

* SteelladyinVA points out that James Harrison was the Defensive Player of the Month in October. Congrats to Deebo!

* 5020 takes us down memory lane - A Catch From Heaven

* For you sick, sick draft freaks - an updated, but still oh-so-early, look at the 2010 NFL Draft by big_jay71

* And finally, who you pulling for next week when Cincinnati and Baltimore clash in a pivotal AFC North showdown - cliff harris is still a punk posits the interesting question.

As always, many thanks to each and every one of you for your contributions to the site. Is it Monday - or at least Sunday - yet? Go Steelers!

Comcast Weekly Red Zone Update

2009-11-03T04:09:58Z

I'm a bit behind my usual schedule, but on to our weekly red zone update post, sponsored by Comcast and their spiffy new Comcast's Red Zone Channel. If you don't mind, leave some commentary about the channel if you in fact have it. On to the numbers from Week 7. Many thanks to Comcast for their sponsorship of BTSC and other SBN Football blogs this 2009 season.

Week 7 Red Zone Efficiency:

3 trips, 2 FGs, 1 Fumble

2009 Cumulative Red Zone Efficiency:

24 Trips; 13 TDs; 9 FGs; 1 missed FG, 1 turnover - 54.2 % TD efficiency (-7.7%) 91.6 % scoring efficiency (-3.6%)

The Steelers struggled a bit for the second week in a row in the red zone. They also had their first turnover - Rahsard Mendenhall's fumble inside the 5 yard line following Santonio Holmes' electric run on the previous play. The Steelers were of course off this past Sunday, but return to action next Monday night against the Denver Broncos.

BTSC Steelers Daily Six Pack- Sorry It Really Hasn't Been "Daily" Latley Edition

2009-11-03T03:14:04Z

IX-Another somewhat uneventful day of football this Sunday with the Steelers on a bye week many of the games turned out to be one-sided. Probably the most important game in Steeler nation was the match up of the Ravens and the previously undefeated Denver Broncos. Both teams struggled in the first half with the Ravens taking a 3-0 lead, but in the second half the Ravens and Joe Flacco were very impressive on offense and added a huge splash play on special teams and eventually ended up with a 30-7 home victory. It will be interesting to see how the Broncos recover after their first loss of the season when they play the Steelers next Monday night.

X-Trouble in Cleveland is abound. Reports from Profootballtalk.com are that G.M. George Kokinis who was handpicked by head coach Eric Mangini was escorted out of the building today. You almost have to feel bad for the woeful Brows who have struggled ever since they came back to the NFL in 1999. It would be hard to believe that owner Randy Lerner would fire Mangini after one season, but you also have to think that wholesale changes are necessary to get this once proud franchise back to their glory. If you read Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback Column he points out that the Browns are no better off than they were 10 years ago.

XIII-Defensive Coordinator Dick Lebeau is confident that the Steelers defense is on the right track although he definitely has concerns about the 2009 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers steel curtain defense. Lebeau thoughts on Ryan Clark are he should not play if there is any chance that he will put himself in any danger, and added that "he would never ask a player to do something he wouldn’t ask his son to do." Talk about creating a team that feels like a family! On another note I have watched Lebeau this season on the sideline I was wondering if I was the only one who thinks Lebeau looks like he aged 5 to 10 years between this season and last? It’s scary to think he won’t be wondering the sidelines at Heinz Field at some point.

XIV-Mike Tomlin addressed the media for the first time in a while today after practice. It sure has been a while since we have had much to contemplate in terms of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Classic Tomlin in terms of his thoughts on whether he could overrule the Ryan Clark if he decided he wanted to play: "That’s a possibility, sure." "I don’t have a problem breathing when I go to Denver."

XL-The standard of expectation does not change. That certainly seems to be true to the 2009 Steelers defense after they lost Aaron Smith for the remainder of the season a few weeks back. The position has been filled admirably by the committee of Ziggy Hood, Travis Kirsche, and Nick Eason who has went from being off the roster to possibly starting this season if Kirstche is unable to play this weekend like the Steelers are preparing for.

XLIII-DC Steeler Nation breaks down the entire AFC for your reading pleasure.

BTSC Weekly NFL Musings - Week 8 Edition

2009-11-02T22:59:10Z

My apologies for the lack of content this morning and afternoon - the previously trustworthy laptop of mine has fried, putting me in a world of hurt. Oh well, c'est la vie. Hopefully I'll be back up and running by the end of the day or tomorrow.

Anyway, on to some thoughts from this past Sunday.

* No surprise to me whatsoever that Baltimore punched Denver in the mouth on Sunday. The Ravens sent blitzing linebackers at Kyle Orton all day, and he had no answer for it. Orton took very few, if any, shots down the field against the Ravens vulnerable secondary. I expect the Steelers will do the same when the two teams face off next Monday night in Denver. I wrote two Mondays ago that I thought Denver was in for a precipitous decline - maybe big enough where they may miss the playoffs altogether. Well, they got a huge victory over the San Diego Chargers that night to improve to 6-0, but I still don't think they're out of the woods just yet. Remember, Denver had a 4 game lead with 4 games to go last season and collapsed. As of today, they're just two and a half games clear of Denver with 9 to go. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. I don't think they're as incomplete a team as they were last year, but I also don't think they're nearly as good as people are giving them credit for.

* Bookmakers in Las Vegas finally avoided getting hosed for yet another week. Check out this tidbit I came across recently - last week, one woman at the Las Vegas Hilton Sports Book cashed in 5 separate 11-team parlays!. Each one paid 1,500:1. Insanity. How is that possible? Well, when you have 5 or 6 teams that you can count on stinking up the joint, that opens up lots of possibilities. Last week, there were 6 games decided by 28 points or more. This week, the underdogs held up much better. Oakland lost, but covered a huge spread. Same with San Francisco and Carolina. Speaking of that San Francisco - Indy game, it was good to see the 49ers be able to get some pressure on Peyton Manning. Heading in to the contest, Manning had been sacked just twice. On Sunday, the 49ers got to him 3 times and harassed him many others. I personally see the Colts as the biggest threat in all of football, and if you can't make Manning uncomfortable with pressure, then there's little hope at stopping them outside of controlling the clock via the ground game on offense. That's not exactly our forte, so I'll be keeping an eye on the Colts to see how their offensive line continues to hold up moving forward.

* I said it after the Steelers defeated the Lions and I still believe it - Detroit should be starting Daunte Culpepper. Matthew Stafford isn't ready to lead a team right now. And that's okay. My rationale has been that Detroit is in desperate need of wins now in order to keep the team focused and committed to what new coach Jim Schwartz is trying to do in Motown. That's awful hard to do when you're losing to the lowly Rams at home behind a 14 od 33 performance by your rookie quarterback.

* 3 straight games without an interception for Tony Romo! Wow, never thought I'd see the day. As I wrote in last week's column, I'm eager to see a false sense of enthusiasm and hope build around the Cowboys chances.

* No idea how the Giants were favored in Philly yesterday, even if the Eagles were coming off an unimpressive Monday Night win against the 'Skins. New York is in a world of trouble defensively and Eli Manning has reverted to his form of yesteryear, throwing the ball erratically all over the field. New York suddenly finds itself in a critical matchup with the equally desperate Chargers at home next Sunday.

* More from me just as soon as I can. Back to work trying to get my computer situation resolved.

BTSC Weekly NFL Musings - Week 7 Edition

2009-10-30T23:37:15Z

It's later in the week than usual for my weekly NFL musings posts, but we had Christmas in October this week with two posts from mary rose after not hearing from the sagacious one in quite some time. Then the Mike Wallace video plus another solid statistical offering from WolfPackSteelersFan and what do you know, it's the end of the week. Anyway, because we're approaching weekend football, I'll combine my Week 7 thoughts with predictions for this coming weekend. I tried that with Denver a few weeks ago and didn't look so hot in the process :) But what the hey, let's have some fun.

* All in all, a not so interesting week in the National Football League. There were blowouts galore - six games in all were decided by 28 points or more. Yikes. Yes, the NFL is still a league filled with amazing athletes, which in turn means that anything's possible any given week. But sheesh, there certainly are a fairly clearly delineated crop of 'haves' and 'have nots' this season. St. Louis got dusted again, extending their losing streak to one season + 1 (17 games). Oakland, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Cleveland are all a total mess. We better not freakin' lost to any of those three teams.

* Let's continue with the AFC North and the Cincinnati Bengals. Last week in my musings post, I wrote that it was too soon to count the Bengals out. My reasoning was the Bengals offense hadn't really hit its stride whatsoever. On Sunday against the Bears, the Bengals' offense went off for 448 yards and 45 points. Here were the outcomes of their first seven series: TD, TD, TD, TD, FG, TD, TD. Carson Palmer was outstanding, throwing for 5 touchdowns on 20-of-24 passing. Cedric Benson meanwhile, a player I've been high on since he was signed by the Bengals last year, got revenge on his old team. He rushed for 189 yards on 37 carries, increasing his season total to a league leading 720 yards. Cincinnati now heads in to their BYE Week with a full head of steam and confidence. When they return in Week 9, they'll host the Baltimore Ravens in an absolutely huge AFC North clash. The Bengals don't necessarily have to win that one, but Baltimore sure might need it. Should be very, very interesting.

* Hmm, I don't even know if this is worth my breathe, but I'm not sure about the decision by San Francisco to bench Shaun HIll in favor of Alex Smith. Do I think Shaun Hill is a good quarterback? Head and shoulders above Alex Smith? No, no I do not. Again, not that I watch him or that team closely, but that's not the point. The point is you made a decision to play Shaun Hill this year. And you benched him with a 3-2 record in the 1st half of last Sunday's loss to the Texans. Yes the 49ers looked miserable on offense in that half, but here was Hill's line before getting benched: 6/11 for 45 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs. Again, didn't watch the game so I don't know if Hill was missing open guys left and right. But he didn't exactly crap the bed. Didn't Mark Sanchez keep his job after throwing 5 picks in a loss two weeks ago? Yes, yes he did. And so should have Hill. Yes, Alex Smith provided a 'spark.' Will it last? Who knows. Probably not. Coach Singletary made the determination after all that Hill was their guy after evaluating the two all spring and summer. Yes he struggled the previous week against Atlanta in a blowout loss, but give the guy more than 6 quarters to work through some struggles before benching him. He basically led his team to victory on the road against a very good Minny team, and he had protected the ball sufficiently in leading his team to victory in 2 of the team's first 3 games of the season.

[Shaking head]

* That's about all I got from last week - a very ho-hum week in the National Football League. On to my Week 8 picks.

(Lines courtesy of Bodog as of early morning Friday)

* Denver Broncos +3 (+105) @ Baltimore Ravens -3 (-125)

My pick: Baltimore - this is as close to a must win game for Baltimore as there can be. After starting 3-0, they've dropped three straight and are a bit behind the 8 ball as they come out of their BYE Week. That said, victories the next two weeks against the Broncos and the Bengals and they're right back in the thick of things. As much as I hate to admit it, I think John Harbaugh is a good game coach and will have a great game plan for Denver. I don't like his incessant whining, but the guy can coach.

* San Francisco 49ers +13 @ Indianapolis Colts -13

My pick: Route city. Indianapolis should cruise against a 49ers team that is hanging on for dear life after a promising start. You know my feelings about the decision to bench Shaun Hill in favor of Alex Smith. I suppose I could be proven wrong in a big way with a road victory in Indy this week, but that ain't happening. Not with the way Peyton Manning & Co. are playing right now.

* Houston Texans -3 1/2 (-115) @ Buffalo Bills +3 1/2 (-105)

My pick: Houston. Can you believe though that Ryan Fitzpatrick has won consecutive games for the Bills? The season in a way hinges on this game for both teams. This is exactly the type of game the Texans have failed to win in years past - games against so-so teams away from home that ultimately cost them a chance at earning their first ever playoff berth.

* Cleveland Browns +14 (-120) @ Chicago Bears -14 (Even)

My pick: Cleveland. The Bears are a mess on defense without Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher. I think they'll win but not cover that 2 TD spread. The Bears have to live with the fact that they gave up on Cedric Benson and Kyle Orton for no great reason at all - both are flourishing while the Bears collectively tread water.

* Miami Dolphins +3 1/2 (-125) @ New York Jets -3 1/2 (+105)

My pick: Tough one to call here. The Jets have been impressive running the football and stopping the run - both of which are key ingredients to stopping Miami. But I still like Miami here for some reason. Their season is in the balance at 2-4, but they were in this exact same predicament last year before they went on a terror in the 2nd half of the season. If Chad Henne can play more like he did in his first two starts rather than how he performed last week in the Dolphins' collapse against the Saints, then I like their chances to get a huge divisional road win.

* St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions

My pick: Who cares.

* Seattle Seahawks +10 (-115) @ Dallas Cowboys -10 (-105)

My pick: Dallas. Seattle isn't very good. The Cowboys pass rushers should be able to get to Matt Hasselbeck and he's been awful under pressure this year. Should be fun watching Dallas and their fans get a false sense of confidence heading in to the home stretch.

* New York Giants -1 @ Philadelphia Eagles +1

My pick: Wow, no idea how New York is favored here. They haven't beaten any one of note and have gotten punched in the mouth consecutive weeks now against competitive teams. I like Philly.

* Oakland Raiders +17 @ San Diego Chargers -17

My pick: There is no line too high for Oakland. I'll take the Chargers in yet another blowout.

*Jacksonville Jaguars +3 (-115) @ Tennessee Titans -3 (-105)

My pick: The Titans are awful, but not this awful. It was time to go to Vince Young weeks ago. We'll see if how he responds to his first opportunity in quite some time. It's the Titans defense though that better have figured some things out during their BYE Week. They haven't been able to stop anybody in the secondary. I still like Tennessee to get off the schnide here.

* Minnesota Vikings +3 @ Green Bay Packers -3

My pick: Green Bay is sneaky good, particularly on offense. I think they'll roll at home against the Vikings in Brett Favre's return to Lambeau. Aaron Rodgers is quietly putting together one heck of a season. I'm fairly concerned/excited about the Steelers and Packers matchup later in the year. I think both teams will be atop their respective divisions when they square off in late December.

* Carolina Panthers +10 1/2 (-115) @ Arizona Cardinals -10 1/2 (-105)

My pick: Carolina. That's too high a line for Arizona to be beating teams. They're much improved and much more mentally disciplined under Ken Whisenhunt, but I still can't see them winning by more than 10. Tough one to call though, Carolina has been consistently inconsistent and generally an utter disappointment.

* Atlanta Falcons +10 1/2 (-115) @ New Orleans Saints -10 1/2 (-105)

My pick: Atlanta. Drew Brees has had his struggles in recent years against divisional opponents, and Atlanta is sneaky good if you ask me. Then again, the Saints are dynamite at home under Brees and Sean Payton, particularly at night. Still, I expect a closer game than that line.

Enjoy your weekends guys and gals!

Another Reason to Argue for Hines Ward's HOF Candidacy

2009-10-30T03:00:29Z

Earlier this week, maryrose blessed us with this excellent post on Hines Ward's growing claim to HOF consideration. The only thing he did not highlight in that post was Hines's excellent ranking in terms of playoff receiving stats. I had written this post a couple of weeks ago (and drinkyourmilkshake linked it in a Six Pack), but Blitz and I thought it would be a good followup to 'rose's fine piece. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed maryrose's.

************

Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans are already convinced that Hines Ward deserves to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he retires. Currently, in his 12th season in the NFL, he is ranked 17th in career receptions, 31st in career receiving yards, and tied for 28th in career receiving TDs. Some would, and have, argued that he doesn't have HOF worthy statistics, and you can't just say he should be in because he is the greatest blocking receiver in NFL history. If he retired today, and that were the extent of his accomplishments, I would agree. But, he should play another 3 or more years, including this season. Currently, he is on pace for about 100 receptions and over 1400 yards this season. Although he has yet to catch a TD pass this year, based on his productivity in past years, it's reasonable expect at least 5 receiving TDs this season. Those numbers would put him at 11th in career receptions, 22nd or 23rd in career receiving yards, and 22nd or 23rd in career TD receptions. Just a couple more years of what would be mediocre production for Ward would put him in the top 10 in every receiving category.

I think that those numbers would be enough to get him in when you consider his other accomplishments: 2 Super Bowl rings (more to come?), a SB MVP, and a rule named after him. When the NFL Network announced the most recent round of HOF candidates a couple of weeks ago, they had two HOF voters on the show. One said that she believed that a major consideration for whether a player is HOF worthy is whether you could tell the story of the NFL without them or not. I think it's clear that you cannot tell the story of the NFL without Hines Ward. His blocking down the field is so physical that they had to change the rules because of the hit he put on Keith Rivers in the 2008 season, breaking his jaw. The hit was legal then. Anyway, that was a long introduction to get to my latest piece of evidence in favor of Hines Ward being HOF worthy.

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Over at Pro-Football-Reference.com, they have added an awesome new set of tools under their Play Index page. Under the Player Game Finder, you can run queries for a variety of lists, but the one that interested me the most right now is query that allowed me to list all players with greater than 1000 career playoff receiving yards. This just happened to show the top 10 WRs in playoff receiving yards.

Rk	Player	G	W	L	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD
1	Jerry Rice	28	17	11	151	2245	14.87	22
2	Michael Irvin*	16	12	4	87	1315	15.11	8
3	Cliff Branch	19	15	4	73	1289	17.66	5
4	Andre Reed	19	10	9	85	1229	14.46	9
5	Fred Biletnikoff*	16	9	7	70	1167	16.67	10
6	Paul Warfield*	18	11	7	58	1121	19.33	5
7	Drew Pearson	22	13	9	67	1105	16.49	8
8	Hines Ward	14	10	4	76	1064	14	8
9	Art Monk*	15	10	5	69	1062	15.39	7
10	John Stallworth*	17	12	5	57	1054	18.49	12

As we can see, Hines Ward is one of only 10 WRs in NFL history with over 1000 receiving yards in the playoffs. He is 8th on this list, and that is with the fewest number of playoff games played. As you can see here, he is also tied for 8th in playoff TD receptions. And, here you see that is tied for 4th in playoff receptions. He also compares very well with these players in terms of yards per game, ranked 3rd:

Player	Y/G	Rk
Michael Irvin*	82.19	1
Jerry Rice	80.18	2
Hines Ward	76	3
Fred Biletnikoff*	72.94	4
Art Monk*	70.8	5
Cliff Branch	67.84	6
Andre Reed	64.68	7
Paul Warfield*	62.28	8
John Stallworth*	62	9
Drew Pearson	50.23	10

And, in receiving playoff touchdowns per game, ranked 4th:

Player	TD/G	Rk
Jerry Rice	0.79	1
John Stallworth*	0.71	2
Fred Biletnikoff*	0.63	3
Hines Ward	0.57	4
Michael Irvin*	0.5	5
Andre Reed	0.47	6
Art Monk*	0.47	7
Drew Pearson	0.36	8
Paul Warfield*	0.28	9
Cliff Branch	0.26	10

He does come in last in this list in terms of yards/reception:

Player	Y/R	Rk
Paul Warfield*	19.33	1
John Stallworth*	18.49	2
Cliff Branch	17.66	3
Fred Biletnikoff*	16.67	4
Drew Pearson	16.49	5
Art Monk*	15.39	6
Michael Irvin*	15.11	7
Jerry Rice	14.87	8
Andre Reed	14.46	9
Hines Ward	14	10

But, considering this list, I don't think that's a knock on him. Anyway, for Hines Ward to be included in this list shows that although he has not put up the monster numbers of some of his contemporaries, like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, he has been extremely productive in the playoffs for the Steelers. As Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth can attest, the playoffs are where you really make your mark on the NFL, unless you're Dan Marino, throwing for numbers nobody thought possible at one time.

Add to this the fact that it's highly likely that Hines Ward would have higher receiving totals if he had played on a team that threw the ball more in his career, and his Hall Fame credentials are very solid in my mind. I may be a homer here, but I do believe that the accomplishments and playoff numbers support it very well.

BTSC Video Feature: Steelers Rookie Mike Wallace

2009-10-29T07:30:10Z

More photos » by Don Wright - AP

Browse more photos »

I've been wanting to incorporate some more multimedia elements to Behind The Steel Curtain. I've always had some interest in doing a podcast, but have stayed away for now. Instead, you can expect more videos in the future thanks to my oh-so-awesome lady friend. and her willingness to help me with her Final Cut Pro editrix abilities.

She's a new NFL fan - being from Kansas, she was raised on college hoops - and it pains me to say that her strongest allegiance is to Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens. I've explained to her the utter horror of her being a Ravens fan - and she laughs and dutifully spends most Sundays with me cooking up good grub and watching Steelers football. Nevertheless, she also occasionally 'slips up' and steers her attention to how the Ravens are doing. Sigh. Can't have my cake and eat it too, I suppose.

Thankfully we have a rookie of our own from Ole Miss that was teammates and friends with Michael Oher. Mike Wallace. He's easy to take a liking to - scrappy, tough, fast, excitable but not cocky. So he's become her favorite Steelers player and watching him keenly has managed to keep her mind off Oher and the Ratbirds :)

So, with that introduction out of the way, take a look at our first creation - a look at the first seven weeks of Mike Wallace's productive young career. As we compile more footage and get a bit more experienced putting these together, we hope we can make some good looking videos to supplement the litany of writing provided by me, mary rose, drinkyourmilkshake and every last one of you all. Cheers. - Michael B.-

State of the Union: Steelers 5-2 at the Break

2009-10-28T23:45:57Z

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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One game short of the mid-season mark, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves with a 5-2 record and tied for the lead in the AFC North Division with Cincinnati. Stopping to reflect during the bye week, the glass is definitely more full than empty. Steeler Nation yearns so much for perfection, sometimes it harpoons whatever shortcomings the latest game delivers. Utopia would have the Steelers passing for 375 yards, rushing for 175, shutting down opponents defensively and not committing turnovers every single game.

The NFL is not Utopia. Last I checked, those other guys get paid handsomely, have full coaching staffs, high-tech facilities and don't buy into the Steelers having their way all the time. We've lost fourth-quarter leads, given up kickoff returns, missed field goals, dropped passes and at times not blocked or tackled very well. These maladies are a part of life in the NFL. While we cannot insist on avoiding them, we can hope that shortcomings can be corrected as opposed to having insufficient personnel. I believe the former as opposed to the latter and thus, hope springs eternal.

The Steelers have had several pleasant surprises through the first seven games. At the top of the list is Rashard Mendenhall. The guy is becoming more entrenched each week into the present and future of the Steelers. Not notoriously big or fast or quick, Mendenhall somehow blends all three together. He catches passes out of the backfield and can block the blitz. Statistically, Mendenhall has rushed for 418 yards in just 78 carries for a 5.4 average, ranking him third in the NFL in yards per carry among runnings backs with at least 75 carries. This coming from a man who missed virtually all of last season with an injury and up until Game 4 this season, was in Mike Tomlin's nonexistent doghouse. If this momentum continues, and Mendenhall keeps his head on straight and stays healthy, he will be the long-term answer. He shows instincts of busting outside and picking up huge chunks of yardage. Yes, he has fumbled, but they seem to be correctible. The last two were the result of fluke strip when he thought he was down and then not knowing where the goal line was. Yes, they are frustrating but yes, they are correctible with maturity (I hope).

Another surprise is the improved play of the Steelers' offensive line. By no means a finished product, each man on the line has stepped up a little which means collectively they have stepped up a lot. Max Starks is earning every penny of his new contract and is getting more comfortable with each game at left tackle. He is taking on the best NFL pass rushers and holding (don't take that literally) his own quite well. Kemo, Hartwig and veteran Trai Essex are getting along great in chemistry class holding down the middle of the fort. The right side, Essex and Colon, is the area where Mendenhall is gaining most of his yards, sometimes impressivlely. Like Mendenhall, the O-line is far from a polished product, but it is no longer the liability it has been in recent times. At least at the moment, the arrow is pointing up.

Mike Wallace is another surprise and is playing like we all hoped ~~Limas Sweed~~ he would. Rookies need to be awfully special to have impact with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Wallace is having impact. Already with 368 receiving yards and a pair of scores, Wallace is eighth in the NFL with a 17.5 reception average and tied for 10th with eight catches for plus-20 yards. Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes are not surprises, but make up the best trio of receivers in the NFL this season. Ward is fourth in the league with 42 receptions, second with 602 yards and tied for the lead with 10 catches of plus-20 yards. Holmes has 30 receptions for 497 yards (10th), carries a 16.6 average (11th) and has eight grabs of more than 20 yards (tied at 10 with Wallace). Maximizing production and opportunity, 28 of Holmes' 30 receptions have moved the chains. There are not enough footballs to statistically do all three wideouts justice, but consider this: combined they have 1,467 yards (210 per game), a staggering 26 catches of 20-plus yards and almost 16 yards per catch.

Heath Miller has certainly not missed the party. His 40 receptions are 6th in the league and first among tight ends. With a solid 50 yards per game, Miller is tied for 10th in the league with four touchdowns and is 5th among tight ends with 17 first-down catches. It is hard to imagine anyone more consistent than Heath Miller.

Offensively, of course, the center of attention is Ben Roethlisberger, who is having a Pro Bowl season. He is second in the NFL with 2,062 passing yards, second in completion percentage (70.4), second in yards per attempt (9.25) and fifth with a 102.6 quarterback rating. Perhaps just as important as the statistics show, Big Ben seems to have a better feel for what the offensive line can do. He seems prepared to fire quickly if needed, but also has the instinct to wait for something longer if the line gives him time. This quarterback/O-line chemistry has not always existed.

Lastly on offense, in addition to all that we've seen, it is worth noting an element that we haven't seen. That is, the perpetual bashing of Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians. I have been in the minority as a member of the Arians Fan Club, perhaps as a high-ranking officer, because I've maintained that the offensive line was the problem with the offense and Arians was the fall guy. Arians biggest problem of late is to call more plays for Mendenhall and Holmes, while maintaining the touch levels for Hines Ward and Heath Miller. His only hope for that is to lobby the NFL for 20-minute quarters. Steeler Nation is clamouring for more Mendenhall, while Tone is quietly hoping for more on his plate. The pie is only so big. If everyone deserves a bigger piece, then it must be a damn good pie.

The bottom line is that the Steelers are fifth in the NFL in passing yards per game, seventh in total yards per game and 13th in points per game. Moreover, Arians and Roethlisberger have put the offense in position to win every game this season. Were it not for two missed field goals in Chicago, and a dropped perfect touchdown pass in Cincinnati, the Steelers would be undefeated. The Steelers have played 424 minutes of football this season. Incredibly, they have only trailed in 15 of those minutes.

Turning to the other side of the ball, saying the Steelers' defense has slipped from a year ago, while perhaps true, is as fair as saying Babe Ruth slipped in 1929. When you establish a standard not seen in recent times, less than standard seems below par. The Steelers are 10th in the league in points allowed (18.4), and consider that many of those points came on two kick returns, two pick-sixes, a fluke punt-return strip and the aftermath of an on-side kick. The Steelers are so paranoid about kickoff returns, they settle for pooch kicks that give opponents the ball across the 40-yard line where the defense starts in the hole. Cleveland's lone scoring drive started close to the 50 after the Steelers refused to kickoff anymore. All that considered, 10th place in scoring defense is quite acceptable.

The Steelers' defense ranks second in rushing yards per game (76.6), 15th in passing yards (214.4) and eighth overall (291 yards per game). Those aren't bad at all, but not what the Nation is used to. The Nation is also not accustomed to the defense giving up back-to-back game winning drives by opponents (Chicago and Cincinnati). On one hand, you can say that Troy Polamalu's absence was the difference in those two losses. On the other hand, you can say that a single injury should never make that much of a difference. We've got to be better than that.

I really believe the Steelers' secondary is playing better that what 214 passing yards per game might indicate. With Pittsburgh leading early and often in every game, opponents have been forced to fire away. Quality quarterbacks such as Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer, Phillip Rivers and Brett Favre have been forced into urgency. Even Detroit and Cleveland, in catch-up situations, are capable of racking up some yardage. Considering what has been coming at them, Ike Taylor, William Gay and Ryan Clark have held their own relatively well, especially without Troy. I've seen a good many deep passes with those guys johnny-on-the-spot. Troy, of course, is special. He is like an exotic sports car. When finely tuned with all the parts working, his performance is a combination of beauty and precision. When a part or two is not quite up to snuff, he's in the shop.

Not surprising, Brett Kiesel, Casey Hampton, James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons have performed above-the-line against the run. We almost take that for granted. Aaron Smith's absence is going to hurt, but that is precisely why the Steelers drafted Ziggy Hood. A first-round selection, Hood can no longer hide in Mike Tomlin's oven. He'll rotate with veterans Nick Eason and Travis Kirschke, but if every other NFL team can throw their first rounders into the fray on a regular basis, why can't Pittsburgh? As they say in Ziggy's college state, Missouri, it's time to "show me" something.

The most glaring weakness of the Steelers' defense is their inability to get off the field. They are 24th in the league in allowing first downs (125) and 26th in allowing third-down conversions (43.3%). If you factor in the opponents cashing in on four of five fourth-down plays, the Steelers are among the bottom of the barrell, 28th, allowing third and fourth down conversions. Making matters worse, and this is only an empirical observation, it seems to me that many of those third and fourth downs came with long distances. They don't feel like one-yard cheapshots, but 8-10-12 yarders that make you scream. The fact that opponents have been in so many third-down situations indicates that the defense has been stingy on first and second downs. That's the good news. The conversion rate is the bad news, and clearly the difference between this season and last. Perhaps other teams have smartened up to the Steelers' mantra of refusing to allow the big play, so they reach success underneath. Should we tighten the screws a bit and sacrifice a little vulnerability to some splash? You know Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau is in the lab during this off week with concoctions brewing.

Another hole in the Steelers' defense, at least until the fourth quarter Sunday, was the minimal number of created turnovers and splash plays. The Steelers are in the middle of the pack with five interceptions and five fumble recoveries. It was great to see the defense rise up huge against the Vikings, and maybe we'll see more of that ahead. It was also good to see the sack total continue to climb. The Steelers are now tied for second with 21, mainly because Deebo is heating up.

Special teams took a step forward last season, and have gone two steps backward thus far this season. The ugly habit of allowing kickoff returns for touchdowns does more than hand over seven points, as if that's not enough. It also puts the team in a defensive mode, as mentioned earlier. Instead of aggresively attacking the return team, the Steelers are operating scared with high, short kicks and the result is ridiculous field position. One of the reasons (though not all) the defense has fallen from its lofty numbers is that special teams is not doing them any favors. This notion of "kicking scared" must come to an end.

The punting has been better since Daniel Sepulveda's return, but it also would have been better had Bobby Walden returned, and he's 71. Sepuveda isn't going to the Pro Bowl, but he is solidly in the top half of NFL punters with a 44.8 average and 40.9 net. He also has 10 punts inside the 20. That's all we ask. The return game is both good and poor. Stefan Logan is 6th in the league with a 25.3 kick-return average. You get the feeling he is going to pop one soon. The news is not so good with punt returns, where the Steelers have a milktoast 6.6 average, 22nd in the NFL. Missing two field goals cost us a ballgame, but I still contend Reed slipped on one of them after the rain destroyed a field that needed repair work. Then again, what's a guy from Pittsburgh doing talking about field conditions?

So here we sit at 5-2, equally as close to 7-0 as we could be 3-4. I like the idea of re-tooling and re-energizing with a bye week while our next opponent, Denver, gets beaten up in Baltimore, win or lose. Here we go Steelers, here we go. Keep the faith, brothers and sisters of the Nation.

With Visions of Hall of Fame, Hines' Sight is 20-20

2009-10-27T22:10:49Z

Most of Steeler Nation already believes that Hines Ward has earned his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Outside the Nation, the ballot box is not so stuffed. In fact, you'll find many who debate that more work needs to be done. I have been in more than a few cat fights with rivals who hate us, hate Ward, and refuse to give Hines his due. So be it for the moment. Their time is running out.

There is no question that the recent metamorphosis of the Steelers' offense is helping Hines Ward prove to the Doubting Thomas's that he belongs. Thus far this season, the line has raised its level of play to become adequate in the run game and "above the line" in pass protection. Rashard Mendenhall seems to be the perfect running back in the system; a little size, a little speed, a little quick, able to block the blitz and able to catch out of the backfield. Heath Miller is having a blast, Tone is making first downs and Ben is having the time of his life distributing the ball all over the field. Together, everybody is eating.

Perhaps no one is enjoying the offense coming of age more so than Hines Ward, who might be putting the finishing touches on his Hall of Fame discussion. Though quiet this past weekend, Ward is leading the NFL in receptions covering 20 yards or more (10), is second in receiving yards (602) and is fourth in total receptions (42). Ward is lingering on several NFL career receiving lists that, with reasonably modest acceleration, could put him on the very highest level of all-time NFL receivers.

There are only five players who have passed the 1,000-catch milestone. Ward stands at 842 and can join that list with reasonable expectation. He has 74 touchdown receptions and 10,382 receiving yards. Fifteen more touchdowns and 1,800 more yards put him in the top 10 in both of those fraternities. If those things happen, the discussion ends.

But let's take a look at the here and now, and compare Ward to receivers already in Canton. It is not fair to go back far in time, since the game has changed so much. Don Hutson dominated his position every bit the way Jerry Rice did the same, but Hutson's numbers are a far cry from Rice's due to the way the game has evolved. Thus, let's just compare Ward to the six Hall of Famers who have retired since 1985.

**Hall of Fame Wide Receivers Retired Since 1985**
Name	Receiving Yards	Touchdown Catches	Receptions	Pro Bowls	Super Bowl Titles
Michael Irvin	11,904	65	750	5	3
Charlie Joiner	12,146	65	750	3	0
Steve Largent	13,089	100	819	7	0
James Lofton	14,004	75	764	8	0
Art Monk	12,721	68	940	3	3
John Stallworth	8,723	63	537	4	4
Hines Ward	10,382	74	842	4	2

Only Steve Largent has more TD catches (Ward will pass Lofton any day now), and Ward has more receptions than Largent. Of course, Ward is not only "competing" against those already inducted, but also with six other active players (below) who will have lobby groups of their own.

**Active Receivers With Some Hall of Fame Credentials**
Name	Age	Receiving Yards	TD Catches	Receptions	Pro Bowls	Super Bowl Titles
Issac Bruce	36	15,134	91	1,018	4	1
Torry Holt	32	13,067	74	896	7	1
Derrick Mason	34	10,442	54	816	2	0
M. Muhammad	35	11,076	61	831	2	0
Terrell Owens	35	14,364	140	969	5	0
Randy Moss	31	13,766	120	886	6	0
Hines Ward	33	10,382	74	842	4	2

Looking at this list, Ward is already ahead of Derrick Mason and Muhsin Muhammad. He is also younger. It is a no-brainer that Terrell Owens and Randy Moss will pose for the bust. That leaves Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, teammates for many years, who are right there with Hines. The third group (below) are those receivers who are not in the Hall, no longer active, but have numbers that deserve some level of discussion. There are 10 in this bunch.

**Retired Receivers With Some Hall of Fame Credentials**
Name	Receiving Yards	TD Catches	Receptions	Pro Bowls	Super Bowl Titles
Tim Brown	14,934	100	1,094	9	0
Chris Carter	13,899	130	1,101	8	0
Henry Ellard	13,777	65	814	3	0
Irving Fryar	12,785	84	851	5	0
Marvin Harrison	14,580	123	1,102	8	1
K. McCardell	11,373	63	883	2	1
Andre Reed	13,198	87	951	7	0
Jerry Rice	22,895	197	1,549	13	3
Jimmy Smith	12,287	67	862	5	0
Rod Smith	11,389	70	849	3	2
Hines Ward	10,382	74	842	4	2

First off with this list, remove Jerry Rice. He gets his own wing. Tim Brown, Chris Carter and Marvin Harrison have also earned a ticket. Like Owens and Moss, if you catch 100 touchdowns and surpass 10,000 yards, you should go straight to the Hall without passing go or collecting $200.

Looking at the whole ball of wax, those already in and those still playing or retired with discussion numbers, Ward has three intangibles also in his favor, none of which should be taken lightly. First, he is an unquestioned leader. Not all elite receivers are leaders. In fact, some are malcontents and even peripheral liabilities. The football world knows Hines Ward is the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh Steelers and his ballot will be reflected accordingly.

Second, it is universally known that Ward is one of the best blocking receivers, if not the best, to ever play the game. Time and time again his blocking acumen is referred to as the gold standard. He has elevated the notion of receivers blocking to a higher level. The NFL has gone to the extent of changing a rule after a legal Hines Ward block. Ask Mel Blount, when they name a rule after you (informally speaking), you have taken a piece of the game to another level. That's Hall of Fame.

Third, Ward is a big-game player. He has two Super Bowl rings. Hall of Fame voters don't take that lightly. Just ask Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. Moreover, he is one of only six receivers in history to have achieved a Super Bowl MVP. Only franchise mates Lynn Swann and Santonio Holmes, in addition to Fred Belitnikoff, Jerry Rice and Deion Branch, join Ward in that elite fraternity.

Best of all, Ward is only 33 and a half years old. He is proving this season that he has a lot of gas in the tank. The best may be yet to come. And for all of the non-believers and Ward bashers, get your licks in while you can. Your time is running out.

Debunking Any Notion That The Steelers Failed To Run The Ball Enough Yesterday

2009-10-26T21:33:20Z

This oh-so-eloquent excerpt comes from a recent fanpost.

Can the Steelers just be a bit smarter about play calling during crucial times of the game when it behooves them to take the time off the clock and Mendenhall has proven himself to be quite capable of handling the load...........34 needs the ball 20 times a game MINIMUM!!!! good grief!!!

There was additional griping about the number of running plays called in other games this season. I'd agree that it made little sense how few runs were called against the Cleveland Browns considering the flow of that game and the success that the running game had been having the previous week and earlier in the contest against the Browns. But against the Vikings yesterday, the way the game unfolded dictated how many carries Mendenhall received. Let's take a look at every last play and drive Pittsburgh had yesterday to get a better understanding of how the flow of the game limited the number of touches he had.

Drive #1:

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	14 yards
#2 (1st and 10)	Pass	Sack -8 yards
#3 (2nd and 18)	Pass (Miller)	6 yards
#4 (3rd and 12)	Pass (S. Holmes)	Incomplete

Analysis: Obviously Pittsburgh has to throw on 2nd and 3rd down there after the 8 yard sack on 1st down. Not an ideal way to start the game offensively, but promising I suppose that Mendenhall's first carry was so successful.

Drive #2:

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Pass (Mendenhall)	-1 yards
#2 (2nd and 11)	Run (Mendenhall)	3 yards
#3 (3rd and 8)	Pass (Moore)	Incomplete

Analysis: Again, Arians doing just fine trying to get Mendenhall involved early. A screen pass to him followed by a run on 2nd and 11. Mind you, Arians isn't famous for running on 2nd and 11. Then on 3rd and 8, what can you do but pass? Nice start for the Vikings defense as the Steelers offense feels their way around unsuccessfully.

Drive #3:

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Pass (Ward)	3 yards
#2 (2nd and 7)	Pass (Holmes)	Incomplete
#3 (3rd and 7)	Pass (Wallace)	10 yards
#4 (1st and 10)	Run (Wallace)	13 yards
#5 (1st and 10)	Pass (D. Johnson)	4 yards
#6 (2nd and 6)	Run (Parker)	2 yards
#7 (3rd and 4)	Pass (Holmes)	TD nullified by penalty
#8 (3rd and 14)	Pass	Sack -4 yards

Analysis: Oh my God! We didn't run the ball! And he moved right down the field for the first score of the game. Had it not been for Heath Miller's pass interference on the opposite side of the field where the touchdown occurred, the Steelers would have had the game's first touchdown and a 7-0 lead. This was a nice drive, partly set up by the nice reverse call to Wallace. When you run against the Vikings, you're usually not going to have much success in between the tackles where the two Williamses are collapsing everything. Well done by the Steelers offense here.

By the way, if you ask me, that's a great rule about receivers setting picks for their teammates. There's already way too many built in rules favoring the quarterback and the passing game. No need to give them one more by allowing them to set screens for one another. Too slippery a slope.

Drive #4

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	2 yards
#2 (2nd and 8)	Pass (Miller)	6 yards
#3 (3rd and 2)	Pass (Ward)	Incomplete

Analysis:Now, here's the first drive in the game where fans might question what Bruce Arians was thinking. At this point, the Steelers running game was neither dominant nor dormant. But as we all should know by now, Arians doesn't run the ball very frequently -read hardly ever - in 3rd and short situations.

Drive #5

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	-2 yards
#2 (2nd and 12)	Pass (Miller)	7 yards
#3 (3rd and 5)	Pass (Moore)	Incomplete

Analysis: Again, the Steelers tried to run the ball, but a -2 yard play on 1st down put them behind the 8 ball. The Steelers have actually been very good in 3rd and 5 type situations, so what can you say when a pass to Mewelde Moore goes incomplete? Not much. Remember though, that 2nd down play - the pass to Heath Miller for 7 yards - is exactly the type of play that is more or less a 'running play'. Big Ben's completion rate to Heath Miller is ridiculously high - near 90 % - so it makes perfect sense to throw to him there on 2nd and 12.

Drive #6

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Pass (Holmes)	14 yards
#2 (1st and 10)	Pass (Wallace)	Incomplete
#3 (2nd and 10)	Pass (Miller)	9 yards
#4 (3rd and 1)	Run (Moore)	6 yards
#5 (1st and 10)	Pass (Holmes)	Incomplete
#6 (2nd and 10)	Pass (Wallace)	22 yards
#7 (1st and 10)	Pass (Spiked ball)	Incomplete
#8 (2nd and 10)	Pass (Wallace)	40 yards (TD!)

Analysis: Okay, we're in the 2 minute drill here, so not many opportunities to run the ball. Thank goodness for our explosive aerial attack and veteran quarterback though. It was important I thought to get points and some momentum here before halftime, as much of the 1st half had been unproductive for the offense as they felt their way around what Minnesota was trying to do defensively.

Drive #7

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	16 yards
#2 (1st and 10)	Run (Wallace)	6 yards (+15 yard penalty)
#3 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	9 yards
#4 (2nd and 1)	Run (Mendenhall)	No gain
#5 (3rd and 1)	Run (Roethlisberger)	2 yards
#6 (1st and 8)	Pass (Holmes)	Incomplete
#7 (2nd and 8)	Run (Roethlisberger)	-1 yards
#8 (3rd and 9)	Pass (Ward)	Incomplete

Analysis: A nice opening drive to the 2nd half for the Steelers, catalyzed by the running game. The Steelers weren't able to punch the ball in to the end zone after breaching the Vikings red zone, but I don't see how you can complain that they didn't go to the running game enough or failed to try to establish Mendenhall early and often after intermission. A field goal by Jeff Reed put the Steelers ahead 13-7.

Drive #8

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Run (Holmes)	1 yard
#2 (2nd and 9)	Pass (Miller)	7 yards
#3 (3rd and 2)	Pass (Holmes)	Incomplete

Analysis: This is really the only place where fans could legitimately argue that the Steelers should have tried to run the ball a bit more. With the defense just having stuffed the Vikings at the goal line and in need of a breather, it was unfortunate that the Steelers offense was sent back to the sidelines after just three plays. Again though, those short little passes to Heath Miller for 5-7 yards are very much like running plays in this offense. That said, a run on 3rd down to Mendenhall might have been a better call than passing there.

Drive #9

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	17 yards
#2 (1st and 10)	Pass (Mendenhall)	Incomplete
#3 (2nd and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	5 yards
#4 (3rd and 5)	Pass (Holmes)	45 yards
#5 (1st and 10)	Run (Mendenhall)	5 yards (Fumble)

Analysis: Okay, what's the complaint here. Bruce Arians dialed up the run here and it was effective. The problem of course was Mendenhall fumbled inside the 5 yard line. It was the second week in a row he's coughed it up. Not good. But again, no legitimate gripes with a lack of running plays being called.

Drive #10

Play	Play Call	Result
#1 (1st and 10)	Pass (Miller)	3 yards
#2 (2nd and 7)	Run (Moore)	4 yards
#3 (3rd and 3)	No play	5 yards (penalty)
#4 (1st and 10)	Run (Moore)	6 yards
#5 (2nd and 4)	Run (Moore)	-2 yards
#6 (3rd and 6)	Pass	Sacked -10 yards

Analysis: What do you want here? The Steelers ran the ball up 20-17 trying to milk the clock and hold on to the lead. The running game was doing just fine, but on that -2 yard run by Moore, he did a poor job of trying to dance outside rather than just plunging ahead for no gain or perhaps 1 yard. I still think we would have thrown on 3rd and 3 or 4 because that's what Arians tends to do. And we've been remarkably successful in those situations. But again, a very appropriate blend of runs and passes for this situation. And if you're wondering why Mendenhall only got 10 carries, well he would have gotten a few more if he hadn't fumbled on the Steelers previous possession.

Conclusion

There you have it, 10 drives total for the game. Only four in the second half thanks to Brett Favre and the Vikings being on the field for much of the 2nd half. If you look at the context and flow of the game, you can quickly see that the game dictated how many carries Mendenhall got. Could he have maybe gotten 3 or 4 more carries somewhere along the way? Sure. But to just bark 'He needs 20 carries a game, minimum NO EXCUSES' is just random barking without even turning one's mind on to think about how the game unfolded. This offense will continue to need to evolve as it incorporates our talented 2nd year running back more and more. But it's still going to be a pass-first team for the most part and that's just fine. Look around the league at the best teams out there. All are pass first teams. That's the way this league is now. Anyway, nothing to complain about yesterday in terms of the play calling. Minnesota played a very nice game defensively and then played ball control with their offense for much of the 2nd half. A tough, hard fought win by the Steelers.

Steelers Defense Delivers Knockout Punch In 4th Quarter, Knock Vikings From The Ranks Of The Undefeated

2009-10-26T05:36:08Z

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

14 days ago: A Pittsburgh Steelers fan cheers from the upper deck of Heinz Field during the first quarter of an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Wow, the Pittsburgh Steelers find a way to win for the fourth consecutive week. The defense hadn't really won a ballgame for the Steelers this year, and on Sunday they again had their struggles defending the pass. But for the first time all season really, Dick LeBeau's defense came up with multiple game-changing plays that dictated the outcome. Here's some preliminary thoughts about the 27-17 victory.

* There are still some troubling issues with the Steelers defense, but the good news is that they're starting to make some of the big plays that they weren't making to start the year. Through the first five games of the season, the Steelers had forced just 4 turnovers. The past two weeks, Pittsburgh's defense has 6 takeaways. The two turnovers Dick LeBeau's defense created today were not just run of the mill takeaways either - both were returned for touchdowns. And both came in the 4th quarter with the Vikings on the march. LaMarr Woodley got things started by taking a Brett Favre fumble 77 yards for a score. Keyaron Fox then intercepted a muffed catch by Chester Taylor and took it the other way for a game-clinching 82 yard score. Credit to the D for stepping up and making a play when their backs were against the wall, but color me still concerned about how much this defense continues to bend in the passing game. It didn't break today but it most likely will unless they can make things much, much tougher for those opposing quarterbacks who are disciplined, experienced and accurate enough to dink and dunk their way down the field.

* This defense is going to continue to need big plays like that if they hope to repeat as AFC North champions. The defense is still struggling against the pass otherwise. Brett Favre threw for 334 yards and the Vikings converted a very healthy 9-of-18 on 3rd down. Minnesota had three drives of 13 plays or more which helped them win the time of possession battle by almost 14 minutes.

* Wacky stat of the game #1 - Total plays: Minnesota 78, Pittsburgh 49.

* Wacky stat of the game #2 - Minnesota 1-5 TD efficiency in the red zone; Pittsburgh 0-3.

* Wacky stat of the game #3 - Minnesota 16 first downs through the air; Pittsburgh 14 total first downs.

* William Gay had 8 tackles on Sunday, increasing his season total to 30. Only James Farrior, Ryan Clark and James Harrison have more tackles. In case you were wondering, I don't necessarily think this is a good thing. I tip my hat to Gay for playing hard and for making some nice plays in each of the Steelers first seven games, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's the weak link not only in the team's secondary, but the entire defense as well. Teams are going right at Gay most weeks, hence the high tackle totals. And they're definitely making him pay when he gives his man too big a cushion. I don't have the exact total on me, but there were at least four or five plays where Favre quickly slung the ball out to the wide receiver that Gay was defending. Again, I'm not disgusted with the way he's playing or anything. It's just he's not nearly as physical as the player he is replacing, Bryant McFadden. I said I was worried about his play before the start of the season more than anything else with this team. That sentiment has not changed for me one bit.

* I still miss Anthony Madison on special teams. The Steelers surrendered yet another kickoff return on Sunday. There were plenty of people responsible for Percy Harvin breaking off the 88 yard kickoff return, but perhaps none more than Jeff Reed. Reed not only didn't force Harvin back to the middle of the field - which is definitely rule #1 - but he also just gave his best matador impersonation by meekly flailing at Harvin as he ran by him. Bad, bad stuff from Reed.

* To his credit, Reed had a nice day kicking the ball. Both of his field goal attempts were relative 'chip shots' (39 and 27 yards), but his kicks looked crisper and an improvement over how he had been kicking the ball earlier in the year, even on his made attempts.

* A tough day for the Steelers offense. Pittsburgh mustered just 259 total yards, by far their lowest output of the season. However, the Steelers did average 5.3 yards per play, not a shabby number. The problem was settling for two field goals in the red zone and a Rashard Mendenhall fumble inside the 5 yard line. That's a lot of points left on the board. Credit the Vikings defense though - they took Hines Ward out of the game for the most part, bottled up the run for much of the afternoon, and did a superior job of not letting Big Ben break free from would-be sacks.

* Anybody else notice how many deflections the Vikings had at the line of scrimmage? I'm not sure of the number but it seemed like there were at least three or four balls batted down by Vikings defensive linemen. That rarely happens with the 6'5" Ben Roethlisberger. A job well done by them.

* I'd like to break down the play with pictures in the near future since we have a couple of weeks before the next game, but Big Ben's touchdown strike to Mike Wallace at the end of the 1st half was gorgeous. The pass was thrown with plenty of zip, but it also had just the right trajectory to fall over the Vikings first line of defense in the secondary and down in to Wallace's breadbasket before the last line of defense could get to #17. A truly perfect throw by Big Ben.

* Not to sound overly negative, but I haven't been that impressed by Daniel Sepulveda. He's been fine and a decided upgrade over what the team was getting from the punting game last year in his absence. But he's no Mike Scifres or Shane Lechler. I've still yet to see him really boom or place a punt that made me say 'wow'.

* Bet you didn't know that it was the first time in NFL history that there were 3 touchdown returns of at least 75 yards during the 4th quarter of a game. It was awesome watching the Steelers defense block for both Woodley and Fox on their respective runbacks. Percy Harvin on the other hand didn't need much help on his touchdown.

* I have been extremely impressed by the way Santonio Holmes has been playing during the Steelers four game winning streak. Santonio only had 2 receptions for 59 yards, but he continues to impress me in the running game and blocking down field for his fellow WRs after the catch. Hines has clearly rubbed off on him, and I'd imagine that both he and Hines are having the same effect on rookie Mike Wallace. It was unfortunate that Holmes didn't get his TD reception in the 1st quarter when Heath Miller was called for pass interference.

* Speaking of Mike Wallace - the rookie out of Ole Miss continues to earn the confidence and trust of his teammates and coaches. Wallace had 3 catches for 79 yards and a TD. Kevin Colbert and his army of scouts definitely found a keeper in #17. He's going to be a treat to watch over the years.

* My phrase for Mewelde Moore after we signed during the 2008 free agency period - 'one mans trash is another man's treasure'. Who would you rather have if you were Minnesota? A 30 year old Chester Taylor taking up nearly $4 million in cap room or a 27 year old Mewelde Moore who takes up less less than half the cap space that Taylor does. Moore is reliable and even keeled with his performance. Taylor is more up and down. It wasn't the easiest catch in the world, but on the play where Keyaron Fox returned the interception for a touchdown, the ball hit Taylor's hands. He's got to make that play. Anyway, I'm just glad we have Moore on our side.

* Congratulations to David Johnson. The 7th round tight end out of Arkansas State caught his first career pass late in the 1st quarter. Good stuff David!

* I'll wrap this up for now, but a job well done by the Steelers defense against Adrian Peterson. AP had just 69 yards on 18 carries and was largely unable to do much against the stout Steelers rush defense. Peterson still had some nice runs and of course that beastly play in the passing game against William Gay, but you have to be impressed with the Steelers ability to contain him without Aaron Smith for the entire game and Lawrence Timmons for part of it. Kudos to guys like Nick Eason, Travis Kirschke, Ziggy Hood and Keyaron Fox for filling in admirably.

* Now it's Pittsburgh's turn for their BYE Week before heading to Denver to take on the Denver Broncos. I think it's a great time for the BYE. The team has lots to feel good about but plenty to work on. A little rest to heal up some aching bodies and then it's time for the second half of the season and hopefully another run at securing an AFC North crown and potentially even a 1st round BYE in this year's playoffs.

Late Game Thread

2009-10-25T20:29:20Z

Another day, another heart attack.

The good news is, that like the cardiac kids of last year the Steelers found a way to win.

The stat hogs (Rivers, Brady and Manning) had great days. Ben didn't shine statistically, but we won one. It would be nice to have that and 400 yards in the air, but if you have to choose between the two it's a no brainer.

So on to the late games.

The important one for us of course is Cinci at Chicago - the two teams who beat us this year.

Obviously we are all Bears fans on this one.

Poll

Will the Bears beat the Bengals putting the Steelers in first place in the AFC Norde

Yes

52 votes

No

127 votes

Tie (good enough for us!)

2 votes

181 votes | Poll has closed

Second Half thread - Steelers Vikings 10-7

2009-10-25T18:57:10Z

First half lead.

Wallace playing great

Defense looking solid

Let's make this happen and finish like it's 2008

I think

that's

enough

letters?

Right?

Minnesota Vikings (6-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) - Week 7 Open Thread (1st Half)

2009-10-25T10:27:29Z

You know the routine. Let's convene and enjoy the seventh of our 17 to 20 precious weekends each autumn and winter when there's football.

Enjoy your Sunday at the game, with friends, family or God forbid, even at work.

Let's get that four straight W. Go Steelers!

Be blessed Steeler Nation.

Pregame Zone Blitz: Vikings at Steelers

2009-10-24T12:36:13Z

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

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It's a personal grudge-match for PZB; Steelers vs. the hometown Vikings. Far too many bets riding on this game, and perhaps it's because these are the two teams PZB hears about the most often, but it looks like two mirrored teams will be squaring off at Heinz Field. Both teams can make arguments supporting them having the best three-deep receiving corps in the league. Both have dominant edge pass rushers. Both have highly successful quarterbacks with reputations to gut out wins late. All signs point to this being a close one. Maybe it comes down to the kickers. At the very least, we know our kicker looks for fights as opposed to backing away from them.

Here's what our opponents are saying.

Opponent Web Sites/Forums

Gonzo with the Daily Norseman will be "severely disappointed" if he sees CB Karl Paymah in anything short of a special teams capacity.

Not to worry, it looks like Benny Sapp will get the starting nod for the injured Antoine Winfield.

PZB pities you if you look like Brad Childress, but at least you could win Vikings/Lions tickets.

Anthony21 of the Daily Norseman says Minnesotans can pony up the cash to build the Vikings a new stadium.

It's a good time to remember former Vikings coach Jerry Burns, and his submission for Greatest Post-Game Rant of All Time.

I'm not sure if Ericj69 from the Daily Norseman understands that fan support is not the bottom line for a team moving. It's about money, and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf wants a new stadium. Unless the people of Minnesota vote to build him one, he's moving the team.

Last Game

"This is the best I've ever seen him play." - Steelers tight end Heath Miller on Ben Roethlisberger

It's cliché to suggest Roethlisberger is punishing Cleveland for not drafting him when they had the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft.

It's about close to a reality as it gets, though.

Roethlisberger put on an individual clinic Sunday, throwing for 417 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburgh's 27-14 victory, that was way more lopsided than the score indicates. If it wasn't for a bizarre sequence in the third quarter that saw five turnovers in 12 plays between the two teams, Pittsburgh could have had 600 yards of offense.

Cleveland dropped eight back into coverage at times, and Roethlisberger completed passes. Cleveland rushed eight guys at times, and Roethlisberger completed passes. Cleveland threw foreign objects and rosin into Roethlisberger's eyes, and yes, he still completed passes. Well, he would have if they did that.

While PBZ doesn't want to try to create an impression that doesn't exist, that Browns defense isn't as bad as Pittsburgh's 543 yards indicates. In stretches, they looked like a physical, cohesive unit. It was as if parts of their team forgot Eric Mangini was their coach, or their Prozac kicked in or something.

Opponent Spotlight: WR Sidney Rice

"I wasn't expecting the ball because it was a run play." - Vikings WR Sidney Rice, on the playcall before a 63-yard reception against Baltimore in Week 6.

Third-year receivers are commonly (cliché?) seen as players who are finding their stride. Ironically, the stride of Sidney Rice is what has made him a sleeper high-end wide receiver in the NFC.

He may not have found his mental stride in his first two seasons in Minnesota, but his incredible physical ability is helping make up for that.

And when he gets both working for him? Look out.

That process may be accelerated with the addition of a quarterback not known for convention. Brett Favre may in fact be the perfect passer for Rice. This was illustrated by a 63-yard completion that blew the game open for Minnesota in Week 6, en route to a 33-31 victory.

Rice thought it was a run play. Maybe if he knew Favre intended to throw the ball, he would have been able to earn the extra eight yards he left on the field before the end zone.

He's just one component to a lethal array of weapons at Favre's disposal. It doesn't appear rookie Percy Harvin will play (shoulder), Bernard Berrian is adjusting to Favre more each game. TE Visanthe Shiancoe leads the team in touchdowns with five. Rice, though, wasn't expected to be leading the team in receptions (23) and yards (409) after six games.

Rice's size and quickness off the line make Favre drool, and as guaranteed as pregame close-up shots of Ben Roethlisberger and Jared Allen, Rice will run a slant or a quick post, Farve will hit him in stride. While it's not guaranteed, Rice has a decent chance to take any of those passes to the house. He's been doing it all season.

Much like Roethlisberger is doing for the Steelers, Favre is using all his receivers, but Rice is emerging as their main weapon, and Pittsburgh's ability to slow him down will be instrumental in its success in Week 7.

Steelers Spotlight: QB Ben Roethlisberger

"It is a mark of how good Ben Roethlisberger is that he threw for 417 yards, with two touchdowns, and no one noticed. It's becoming routine." - Peter King, Sports Illustrated

Minnesota's secondary is in dire straits. With Pro Bowl CB Antoine Winfield wearing a walking boot to protect his sprained foot, the Vikings have several unappealing options in case he can't play. One, Minnesota can move nickel back Benny Sapp to the LCB position, which will put special teams guru Karl Paymah, who curiously chose to let Ravens WR Mark Clayton to his inside while he was defending the sideline, giving up a 32-yard touchdown last week, to the nickel. Or, they could use rookie (and yet to achieve activated status) Asher Allen at the nickel spot.

Ya think Roethlisberger, fresh off a 417-yard display against the secondary-weak Browns, isn't licking his chops over the thought of any of those match-ups?

Roethlisberger has a favorable match-up against the Vikings defense, especially considering his elusiveness and ability to buy time in the pocket. The Vikings have had difficulties in their deep secondary, which has caused some big games for opposing quarterbacks and tight ends. Roethlisberger can utilize his multi-faceted receiving corps and TE Heath Miller for big gains, provided his head remains attached to his neck after the constant pressure he'll feel from DE Jared Allen.

Don't ask me, though, let's go to the experts. If you want to get some analysis from a kid with a bad moustache, foul mouth, massive Pittsburgh accent and ADHD, he's your guy.

Even better, it gets followed up by the kid from Two and a Half Men:

I See You

I see you, Steelers wide receivers. I see you because you're trying so hard not to be seen by your opponents, and it's working. Don't think the fact Hines Ward now leads the NFL in receiving yards has escaped our attention. Only Browns Defensive Coordinator/Allman Bros. Roadie Rob Ryan forgets about Hines Ward, hence the reason, Hines, you dialed his defense up for 159 yards and a touchdown.

But what about Santonio Holmes? Leading the NFL in first down percentage (min. 2 catches per game, are we clear on that this time?), and 8^th in the NFL in receiving yards (438). ‘Tone has 28 grabs, 26 of them have gone for first downs, and he's averaging 15.6 yards per catch.

Then Mr. Mike Wallace...Coach Tomlin is right, the game's not too big for you. I haven't heard many descriptions that are as fitting for a player as that is for you. You were drafted due to your speed, but it's your versatility that's going to land you on the All-Rookie Team. You're running sharp routes, catching passes underneath and over the top, but more than anything else, you're playing the game without a sense of fear. How many Browns did it take to get you out of bounds on that reverse in the third quarter? Two Browns got credit with a tackle on that play, but one more step, and you would have scored the most inspiring touchdown of the season.

It wouldn't surprise us at all to see ‘Tone grabbing eight passes for a buck 59, Ward hauling in five catches for five first downs and Wallace blocking as if his contract depended on it.

Put simply, the three of you are forming into the quietest but best all-around receiving group in the game. PZB can't see one of you without seeing the other two.

Key Stats

Pittsburgh's 543 yards against Cleveland was their biggest offensive game in 14 years.
Combined record of Vikings road opponents this year: 1-16.
Minnesota is 6-9 since 2007 when Adrian Peterson rushes for less than 100 yards.
The Steelers haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in their last 24 games.
QB Brett Favre has completed 75 percent (63-for-84) in the Vikings last three games (3-0).

Quick Hitters

WTF?: I didn't watch the replay, but how did former Steelers WR Nate Washington manage to lose 22 yards on one reception? Oh wait, I know, because he left the defending champions for the Terrible Towel-jinxed Titans. Tennessee has lost seven straight since proudly declaring themselves Pittsburgh's superior, including a 59-rip dismantling at the hands of New England in Week 6. The wheels have officially come off that bus. Quick! Get off their bandwagon!

Tempting: Having direct access to Chad Ochocinco? Like, we can call him a tool 24 hours a day? That may just be too much fun to be permitted. If we really had no life, a group of Steelers fans could get together and just spam the hell out of him. While I'm sure Jordan Palmer and his buddies have years of experience in such technological ventures, I wonder if their app could handle massive amounts of messages just saying things like "you suck," and "what a loser," or "Mamma call him Johnson, I call him Johnson."

Steeler Bar Google Map

2009-10-23T23:02:48Z

A couple months after the Super Bowl, I was brain storming with Blitz about possible features for this site. During the conversation we hit upon the idea of a google map for Steeler Nation. The main purpose of the map would be to help people find Steeler Bars - that is places to watch the game on Sunday.

In any case, it's testament to my laziness that it has taken me nearly 8 months to get this post up. However with some big deadlines looming on the school and work front, I figured this would be the perfect time to work on it.

I like to think of procrastination as a double edged sword. A sword that usually sits in the closet and isn't pulled out till the very last minute.

View Steeler Bars and Steeler Nation in a larger map">

Why a google map?

As many of you know the Post-Gazette has a great listing of Steeler Bars.

Why should we waste our precious time (or in some of your cases your employers precious time) re-inventing the list? There are two good reasons:

First, the Post-Gazette list is a fairly static list. You have to go through the PG to add or delete a bar. There is no additional information available about any of the bars - for example - do they have audio of the game? Are they a Steeler only bar or a big sports bar with the Sunday ticket etc.? With the google map YOU (that is all of Steeler Nation) will be able to go online and edit the list.

Second, you can't see the locations of the bars in the Post-Gazette list. In fact you can only search by state. With the google map you will be able to just type name of the city (or address) and see all the bars and landmarks around it.

How to add a bar or a landmark

First click on the link below. If you have a google account you should be ready to edit. If not you will need to create one. This is easy and should take all of two seconds. (You do not need G-Mail to have a google account)

Once you are on you can edit at will.

A couple of tips:

1. You can search for your bar by name on Google maps. Many of the bars already have business listings on Google maps. If you find it you can simply add by clicking "Save to MyMaps". Just make sure that you save it to the Steeler Bars and Steeler Nation map. You should be able to see it in the drop down menu.

2. If you can't find your bar on a search of google maps you can simply add it to the map by searching the address and then adding the address (along with the name) in the same way.

3. Write something about the bars you know. Let us know if they have audio for the games, what the crowd is like etc. Be as brief or fancy as you like.

Overall Google maps is pretty amazing. If there is anyone who knows the program well and wants to add cool features that map, please do.

Some extra instructions here for anyone who is have a hard time.

View Steeler Bars and Steeler Nation in a larger map

What next?

So far, I have only put a couple of bars.

To start with, it would be great if everyone on here could just add a couple of the places that they know well. This is especially important if you live outside of Pittsburgh and go to a local place to catch the game.

I will be adding some of the ones from the Post-Gazette list as time goes on - anybody else who has time should feel free to add their own.

As the list grows, it will hopefully turn in to a comprehensive resource for Steeler fans around the world.

Landmarks apart from Bars

It might also be interesting to add certain landmarks. I am not sure exactly what that would entail, but essentially think of it as a way to put interesting Steeler things on the map. Maybe you know a place that has a 20 foot tall statue of Jack Lambert or a life sized wax statue of Franco Harris making the immaculate reception. That might be worth putting on the map. Perhaps a store front that someone really did nice

via farm4.static.flickr.com

A couple Simple Rules:

Although other stuff might come up only a few things strike me as potentially problematic.

1. Posting private information. If you know where Mike Tomlin lives, good for you, but keep it to yourself. There is no reason the rest of the world needs to know.

2. Wrong or misleading information. Not sure there is too much we can do with an open community, but let's all try to police it as best as possible. Be on the look out for information that looks outdated, wrong or misleading.