#1) 3-1-CIN 1 (7:40) 39-W.Parker left tackle to CIN 1 for no gain (31-R.Williams; 68-J.Fanene). The short yardage woes continue. If Ben is your best short yardage back, then use him. We found out after the game, Rashard Mendenhall was in the dog house. Every team we play, knows we can not run on the goalline. #2) 4-4-CIN 35 - (1:15) (Shotgun) 7-B.Roethlisberger pass incomplete short left to 10-S.Holmes [68-J.Fanene]. Penalty on PIT-78-M.Starks, Offensive Holding, declined. Not sure what Mike Tomlin was thinking here. You are leading 13-0 and have one of the most talented punters in the Read more [...]

Sometimes stats lie and such was the case in the Sunday 23-20 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati. The Steelers defense allowed just 283 yards of total offense, but 156 of them came in the fourth quarter. The Steelers entered the fourth quarter with a 20-9 lead, but allowed 2 long drives by the Bengals while failing to score themselves. The Steelers seemed to be trying not to lose this game instead of trying to put away the Bengals. For the first time in his Steelers coaching career, head coach Mike Tomlin made several crucial coaching mistakes in one game. The first being at 1:15 left in the first Read more [...]

Below are my picks for the week 3 games around the NFL. You get what you pay for them. 9-7 in week 2 & 21-11 overall. Tennessee Titans 27 New York Jets 17 Houston Texans 30 Jacksonville Jaguars 27 Philadelphia Eagles 20 Kansas City Chiefs 17 Baltimore Ravens 24 Cleveland Browns 10 New York Giants 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 Washington Redskins 23 Detroit Lions 21 Green Bay Packers 34 St. Louis Rams 20 San Francisco 49ers 21 Minnesota Vikings 20 New England Patriots 17 Atlanta Falcons 16 Chicago Bears 24 Seattle Seahawks 10 New Orleans Saints 31 Buffalo Bills 27 San Diego Chargers 23 Read more [...]

Below are seven matchups or things to look for on Sunday as the Steelers travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Chris Henry vs Steelers Secondary - Although he only has 2 catches for 23 yards in 2009, Henry has had some good production against the Steelers. If the Steelers get defensive backs get sucked in on the running game, Henry can hurt over the top. Henry has been battling a quad injury, but is still dangerous deep. Ochocinco vs Ike Taylor - Somebody will be kissing somebody's baby for sure after this one. Face Me Ike has done well in the past versus Ochocinco. Ike needs to make Read more [...]

Both the Steelers and Bengals head into the Sunday match-up at Paul Brown Stadium at 1-1 and one game back to the Baltimore Ravens. This is the first division game for either team in the 2009 season. Despite being without strong safety Troy Polamalu, the Steelers are relatively healthy. Backup strong safety Tyrone Carter, who was victimized for both of the Chicago Bears touchdowns, has recovered from his thigh injury and should start. Wide receiver Limas Sweed should be back from his one game absence as well. On offense the Steelers running game must build on it's week 2 performance against Read more [...]

Before I move on to Cincinnati, I had one final thought on the Bears game. The fourth quarter drive that followed the Bears game tying touchdown was an important one in the outcome of the game. Starting at their own 29-yard line, Ben Roethlisberger and company began the march down field using the no huddle offense. Taking nearly 3 minutes off the clock, the Steelers were faced with a crucial 3rd and 2 at the Bears 25 yard line. The field at the time was very wet from the rain and was a bit chewed up from nearly a whole game being played on it. It had been re-sodded earlier in the week and players Read more [...]

Having re-watched both 2009 games 5 times each, it is clearly apparent that running back Willie Parker has lost "it", in fact he has lost several "it's". To make sure, I replayed a few games from the 2006 season and it is obvious. First, the look in Parker's eyes, it is a different look, a look of un-sureness and lacking fire. Fast Willie could indeed be concerned about his contract, his home life, his health or many other things associated with life, but the eyes do not lie. Second is the burst. He may well indeed still be Fast Willie Parker, but he does not hit the holes fast anymore. Willie Read more [...]

Depending how serious the injury to Tyrone Carter is, the Steelers more than likely will make a roster move this week on defense. Depending on what free agent strong safeties are available, the Steelers may resort to promoting Tuff Harris from the practice squad. In order to create room, the Steelers will likely release one of three players. These include linebacker Arnold Harrison, tackle Tony Hills or kick returner Stefan Logan. It will unlikely be Logan as he has proven to be worth his spot despite the fumble on the final kick-off return late in the game on Sunday. If Carter does not check out Read more [...]

Below are 6 huge plays that played a huge role in the Steelers loss to the Bears on Sunday. Sure you could easily add 12 more to this list, but there is no denying how important all 6 of these were. 1. Roethlisberger Interception - The Steelers were driving and had a 1st and 10 at the Bears 38 with 13:37 left in the half. Bears defensive end Alex Brown blew past Max Starks on the inside to hit Roethlisberger just as he was releasing the ball. The pass was intended for Mike Wallace, but fluttered under thrown and was intercepted by Charles Tillman at the Bears 5. Had the ball not been intercepted, Read more [...]

Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould hit a 44-yard field goal with just 20 seconds left in the game to give the Bears a 17-14 win versus the Steelers on a rainy day at Soldier Field. The Bears final drive started on their own 33 yard line after Steelers kicker missed a 43-yard field goal with 3:23 remaining that would of taken the lead. The miss was Reed's second of the game as he also missed a 38-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter on the wet and recently re-sodded field. The Steelers offense played fairly well on a wet day. The running game improved slightly on last weeks dismal performance Read more [...]

Below are my picks for the week 2 games around the NFL. You get what you pay for them. 12-4 in week 1. Oakland Raiders 31 Kansas City Chiefs 17 Tennessee Titans 23 Houston Texans 21 New England Patriots 34 New York Jets 27 Green Bay Packers 27 Cincinnati Bengals 17 Minnesota Vikings 26 Detroit Lions 10 New Orleans Saints 24 Philadelphia Eagles 20 Atlanta Falcons 17 Carolina Panthers 13 Washington Redskins 13 St. Louis Rams 10 Arizona Cardinals 20 Jacksonville Jaguars 17 Seattle Seahawks 24 San Francisco 49ers 23 Buffalo Bills 34 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 Cleveland Browns 27 Denver Broncos Read more [...]

Below are seven matchups or things to look for on Sunday as the Steelers travel to Chicago to face the Bears. Carter/Mundy vs Bears Receivers - Every Steeler fan in the free world knows that safety Troy Polamalu is out for a while. Enter Tyrone Carter and Ryan Mundy. Carter will get the start with Ryan Mundy getting some dime package work. If it takes 2 people to fill the shoes of Polamalu, so be it. The Bears will try to exploit the safety play for sure. Carter needs to play like he knows how to and within his game. Polamalu is very instinctive and very explosive, Carter just needs to be Carter. Ward, Read more [...]

Both the Steelers and the Bears head into Sunday's match-up at Soldier Field missing a key player on defense. The Steelers are without Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu who is out with a MCL knee sprain and the Bears lost Brian Urlacher for the season to a dislocated wrist. In addition to Urlacher, the Bears are also going to be without free agent strong-side linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa. Nick Roach and Jamar Williams look to split reps in the absence of Tinoisamoa while veteran Hunter Hillenmeyer looks to fill Urlacher's shoes. For the injured Polamalu, the Steelers will start veteran Tyrone Carter Read more [...]

As Sunday steadily approaches and Wednesday and Thursday practices have been completed, you can read the tea leaves to get a good idea on who might be inactive for the Steelers in week 2 versus the Bears. Lawrence Timmons is still likely a week away from returning and the play thus far by Keyaron Fox eases the notion of trying to rush Timmons back. Limas Sweed sprained his foot in the team portion of practice on Wednesday and failed to work on Thursday as well. This may be a good thing as Shaun McDonald will now be active and can exploit the soft zone in the Bears linebacking core that will be Read more [...]

The 2009 Chicago Bears bare some resemblance to the 2008 team that ranked 21st in passing offense, 26th in total yards per game and 21st in total yards per game on defense. Sure Jay Cutler has replaced Kyle Orton at quarterback and 3 new starters on the line have been added, but realistically the offense is still the same. The Bears offense revolves around second year running back Matt Forte. Despite rushing for 1238 yards in 2008, Forte only had 3 games in which he rushed for 100 yards or better. Forte is more than a ball carrier as chipped in 63 catches for 477 yards in 2008, but once again it Read more [...]

Chicago is not a Steelers type of town. All time the Pittsburgh franchise is 1-10 against the Bears in Chicago dating back to October 18, 1936, when the then Pittsburgh Pirates lost 26-7 to the Bears. The Steelers were 0-10 in the windy city until Norm Johnson kicked a game winning overtime field goal on November 5, 1995 to end the streak. That game also marked the last time the Steelers have played in Chicago. In the modern NFL era, the Steelers are 1-4 against the Bears since 1969. Below is a look at those last 5 games in Chicago. Pittsburgh Steelers 37, Chicago Bears 34 (OT) - Sunday, November Read more [...]

You know second year tackle Tony Hills was not happy upon seeing his name on the inactive list for Thursday night's game versus Tennessee. What probably was even more painful was seeing rookie undrafted free agent lineman Ramon Foster was active instead of him. Hills has yet to make a game day active player list since being drafted by the Steelers in the 4th round of the 2008 draft. With an undrafted rookie swing man now ahead of him, the days are numbered until Hills is off the active roster. Head coach Mike Tomlin had openly said before the season started that he was not happy with the offensive Read more [...]

While the overall time frame on the total amount of games that safety Troy Polamalu will miss for Steelers, the one thing we know for sure is that he will miss the week 2 game on Sunday versus the Chicago Bears. The Bears too will have major injury concerns as well after their Sunday night game versus the Green Bay Packers. Starting middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, will reportedly undergo surgery for his dislocated right wrist on Monday and all signs point to him being out several weeks. In addition to Urlacher, strong-side linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament Read more [...]

Below are my picks for the week 1 games around the NFL. You get what you pay for them. Atlanta Falcons 20 Miami Dolphins 17 Baltimore Ravens 27 Kansas City Chiefs 13 Carolina Panthers 17 Philadelphia Eagles 14 Cincinnati Bengals 31 Denver Broncos 10 Cleveland Browns 20 Minnesota Vikings 16 New York Jets 27 Houston Texans 24 Indianapolis Colts 27 Jacksonville Jaguars 20 New Orleans Saints 45 Detroit Lions 17 Dallas Cowboys 33 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 Arizona Cardinals 20 San Francisco 49ers 17 New York Giants 19 Washington Redskins 13 Seattle Seahawks 28 St. Louis Rams 17 Green Bay Read more [...]

With the start of the new NFL season has come the birth of another curse. The Head and Shoulders curse took it's first victim on Thursday night when safety Troy Polamalu sprained his left MCL in the first half. Polamalu recently had is first shampoo commercial air on Saturday night. How many more victims will this curse claim? Please Troy and all other current Steelers, no more commercials. That goes for you too, Jeff Reed. I know you are just itching to do a hair gel or shampoo commercial now that Troy has made it vogue. Do not do it. I hear that Sheetz is out of paper towels in the bathroom again. Read more [...]