Finally, football has returned to Pittsburgh…
After an unusually long off-season following a disappointing 8-8 campaign, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take the field hoping a dubious mix of aging veterans and unproven youngsters will lead them back to the promised land. First up this Sunday is an appointment with the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field.Read More »Know Thy Enemy: Tennessee Titans
A sea of Terrible Towels. Obnoxiously long lines at the gates as security personnel search each bag like they’re afraid Bane might show with a nuclear bomb – Something the NFL has mercifully attempted to fix with their Draconian new purse policy. A chorus of fans chanting “Heeeeath” after pretty much any tight end makes a catch. “Renegade” playing on the scoreboard.
All things which contribute to the experience of attending a Pittsburgh Steelers game at Heinz Field. On the flip side, there are just as many things one doesn’t expect to encounter. Empty seats. Cheerleaders.
Well, starting this Sunday when the Steelers kick off the 2013 season by welcoming the Tennessee Titans to the Big Ketchup Bottle, there will be a new aspect to the game day experience: Band Geeks.Read More »Steelers Add Official Band Geeks
The Pittsburgh Steelers have elected their team captains for the upcoming season. The four captains are Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Clark, Brett Keisel, and Maurkice Pouncey. Ben and Pouncer obviously represent the offense while Clark and Keis stand for the D. The Steelers usuallly have a special teams representative but for whatever reason it appears they won’t this season. Perhaps when they play less shitty they’ll be granted a seat at the big boy table. Read More »Steelers Name Team Captains
With rosters set and the regular season looming, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to sign eight recently cut players to their practice squad. I make a lot of jokes about “practice squad fodder” but in today’s injury-filled NFL, the practice squad has become increasingly important. With no disabled lists or reserve rosters, the practice squad is now football’s version of AAA as the place teams can turn to when they need to call up a replacement. At least two practice squaders have been added to the main roster and seen playing time in each of the past two seasons.
Introducing the 2013 Steelers practice squad *drum roll*…Read More »Steelers Set Practice Squad
Lost among all the activity surrounding the 53 man roster was news that Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl tight end Heath Miller has been activated off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Don’t get too excited over the prospect of shouting “HEEEEAATTTTH” after a clutch third down catch yet, though. Heath is still working his way back from the catastrophic knee injury he suffered in last year’s season finale. This is more or less a procedural move.
Under the NFL’s bizarre injury policies, players on the PUP can’t do anything but lay on the training table and stand around the sideline. For Miller to actually practice with the team, he needed to be placed on the active roster. Until he puts on the pads and starts throwing blocks and running routes, I wouldn’t expect to see him in the starting line-up anytime soon.Read More »Heath Miller Activated Off PUP
With a T-minus five days left until the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off the 2013 season against the Tennessee Titans, the team has finally declared a winner in a couple of the preseason’s key position battles. Jason Worilds inherits James Harrison‘s old spot at outside linebacker. Meanwhile, Isaac Redman will be the Black and Gold’s featured back, at least until rookie Le’Veon Bell can work himself back from injury.
Neither of these developments are particularly surprising. Read More »Worilds, Redman Named Starters
The Pittsburgh Steelers final 53 man roster was full of surprises. Jonathan Dwyer getting cut was obviously the biggest one although the fact they kept two of the worst backup offensive lineman I’ve ever seen was another. I mentioned in that post that Steelers GM Kevin Colbert was probably scouring the waive wire looking for any veteran who could be an upgrade over the guys they were forced to keep. Granted, a nice orange traffic cone would be an improvement over the current second stringers.
Lets hope Cody Wallace is better than a traffic cone.Read More »Malecki Cut, Steelers Add Veteran Lineman
The Pittsburgh Pirates are the talk of the baseball world. Their rise from hapless laughingstocks to legitimate playoff contenders is something Pittsburgh sports fans have been waiting for for twenty years. Some attribute their success to a mixture of blossoming draft picks and shrewd trades. However, smart fans know the Bucs owe their success to one man in particular:
Zoltan.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers suddenly the second most talked about sports team in the ‘Burgh, drastic steps needed to be taken. On the eve of what most experts expect to be another average season, the Black and Gold needed some of the Bucs’ mojo. So they did the only thing they could do. They signed Zoltan.Read More »Steelers sign Zoltan, Steal Pirates’ Thunder
I didn’t see this one coming…
And, no, I’m not talking about the Patriots cutting Tim Tebow. Can anybody believe we lost a playoff game to that guy?
The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the first teams to cut down to 75 men. When it came time to set their final 53 man roster, though, they were one of the last. As I waited and waited on Saturday, I immediately grew suspicious. The longer it takes, the more likely it is the team is debating cutting somebody nobody thought would be cut.
Jonathan Dwyer, come on down. Don’t forget to bring your playbook with you.Read More »Dwyer Not Among Your 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers
Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers rested almost half their starters during the team’s final preseason game. Mike Tomlin made the mistake of announcing this beforehand and fans reacted accordingly. I’m sure he got a stern talking to because when you make it obvious that a game doesn’t matter, people don’t watch and more importantly they don’t show up to pay overpriced parking or buy watered down beer. So this year, Coach T kept his intentions to himself.
Not that anything different happened. Last night, the Steelers played their fourth and final preseason game. And last night, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor, LaMarr Woodley, Brett Keisel, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, and even backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski all didn’t dress.
It was Scrub-a-poloza in Carolina last night as the Black and Gold went 0-fer the preseason, falling to the Panthers 25-10. Thus concludes Pittsburgh’s first winless preseason since Bill Cowher’s final season back in 2006 and only their third in nearly 50 years. Again, the worst team ever, the 0-16 Detroit Lions, went undefeated that preseason so these games are hardly an accurate predictor of the season to come. Still, it doesn’t exactly instill one with a great deal of confidence coming off a miserable 8-8 campaign.
So, what’s Tomlin’s assessment of his team pulling a Detroit this preseason?Read More »Steelers Preseason Mercifullly Ends