Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at
12:18 pm
The Pittsburgh Steelers second OTA session of the 2013 season got underway on Tuesday minus a few veteran players as safety Troy Polamalu, safety Ryan Clark and cornerback Ike Taylor were not in attendance, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Twitter.
It was rumored that Polamalu would return to California this week to continue his offseason training with his trainer as he attempts to finally put his calf injury problems behind him for good. As far as Taylor goes, he dropped hints last week during the Steelers first OTA session that he could be hit or miss for the remainder
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Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at
11:07 am
In a few more days the Pittsburgh Steelers second OTA session of the 2013 season will be completed and the calendar will flip over to June. With the arrival of June comes the arrival of $5.5 million in additional salary cap space for the Steelers as the March release of guard Willie Colon will finally hit the ledger. So how will the Steelers spend their new found riches?
By the end of this week the Steelers could very well have seven of their nine draft picks under contract with only linebacker Jarvis Jones and running back Le'Veon Bell left to sign. In total, the four remaining unsigned draft
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Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at
8:20 am
Just a little more than year ago, former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Keenan Lewis predicted that he would make the Pro Bowl in 2012. That prediction didn't come true of course, but Lewis played so well that he got himself a five-year, $25.5 million contract from the New Orleans Saints this past offseason.
The Steelers didn't try to prevent Lewis from leaving because they have confidence that third-year cornerback Cortez Allen can replace him. However, as Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Tuesday, Allen isn't going to follow the lead of Lewis when it comes to guaranteeing
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Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at
6:05 am
Prior to suffering injuries to his rib and shoulder in the Week 10 game against the Kansas City Chiefs last season, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was on pace to throw for 4,066 yards and 30 touchdowns. While those injuries might have only cost him three games in total, it was clear that he wasn't the same quarterback once he returned.
Now, roughly five and half months removed from the injury that derailed the Steelers 2012 season, Roethlisberger appears to be fully recovered and ready for 2013.
"The biggest factor is that there have been no setbacks," said Roethlisberger,
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
7:46 pm
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace has taken to Twitter Monday evening in attempt to clear the air about several comments that he made this past week to the local media that were easily perceived to be shots at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wallace, as you can see in the attached tweets, wanted to make it known that he is forever grateful for the opportunities the Steelers organization gave him and that he still feels as though the players on the Steelers roster are his brothers.
https://twitter.com/Wallace17_daKid/status/339166235226943490
https://twitter.com/Wallace17_daKid/status/339166473895415808
https://twitter.com/Wallace17_daKid/status/339166687129661440
In
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
7:18 pm
The Pittsburgh Steelers will begin their second OTA session of the 2013 season on Tuesday and below are a few of the things that we will be hoping to learn about the team this coming week.
Bueller?...Bueller?..Polamalu? - Last week the Steelers were only missing rookie wide receiver Markus Wheaton, who cannot participate until the mini camp because of Oregon State not yet graduating. There have been a few rumblings that safety Troy Polamalu might decide to stay back in California this week to continue his training and therapy on his calf, but there has yet to be confirmation on that.
Hamstrung
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
5:43 pm
When talking or writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers salary cap situation in the past, I often refer to the team having to pay for the sins that come with having a franchise quarterback under contract as to the main reason why it seems the organization is always up against the number. Unfortunately, several in the fan base can't wrap their head around this concept and instead want to point to Omar Khan and general manager Kevin Colbert mismanaging deals and the cap as to the reason why the team is always perceived as being one that is in "salary cap hell."
Granted, the Steelers front office
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
3:59 pm
Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Hebron Fangupo arrived in town late in the 2012 season via waivers from the Seattle Seahawks and ever since his arrival, we haven't heard much from him. David Todd of ESPN 970 Radio, however, managed to catch up with the BYU product last week during the first OTA session of 2013 season to see how he is adapting to the nose tackle position in the Steelers 3-4 defense after playing defensive tackle in the Seahawks 4-3 front.
"The defense here is different from what I'm used to," said Hebron, who says that he currently tips the scales at 325 pounds. "What I'm used
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
2:33 pm
Heading into the 2012 preseason, it was looking as if it was only a matter of time before then-rookie guard, and Pittsburgh Steelers first round draft pick, David DeCastro, would overtake Ramon Foster for the starting right guard spot on the offensive line. However, a serious knee injury suffered by DeCastro in the third preseason game against the Buffalo Bills meant that Foster was the unquestioned starter and he would go on to prove just how versatile he was as the season progressed.
Foster was rewarded this past off-season for his 2012 efforts, that included him playing both guard spots and
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
1:28 pm
Season 3, Episode 106 of The Terrible Podcast is up and co-host David Todd and talk about the recent comments made by Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace about the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as safety Ryan Clark making it clear that he is wanting to play past the 2013 season. Will the Steelers give him the extension that he is seeking?
Davis and I also wrap up some left over talk from the Steelers first OTA session that last as they get ready to start their second session on Tuesday.
Cornerbacks Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown had some interesting things to say in interviews so we
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Monday, May 27th, 2013 at
10:02 am
By Jeremy Hritz
Excitement has been generated by the Pittsburgh Steelers selection of wide receiver Markus Wheaton in the third round. The 22-year-old rookie from Oregon State has been compared to both Mike Wallace and Hines Ward, though he has yet to get a rep in OTAs as he is still attending college classes.
In Sunday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Alan Robinson discusses the prospects of Wheaton becoming a productive player in his first season, and he references some high praise that the rookie was the target of from NFL Network analyst, Daniel Jeremiah. Jeremiah calls Wheaton a receiver that
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Sunday, May 26th, 2013 at
11:33 pm
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace sure has been vocal about his former team ever since signing a $60 million contract with the Miami Dolphins on the first day of free agency this past off-season and this past week it appears that he took a few more veiled shots at the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft, according to Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.
"Everybody has a college mentality around here," said Wallace about the vibe surrounding the Dolphins right now. "It’s a lot different than where I came from. Everybody’s hungry. Everybody
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Sunday, May 26th, 2013 at
1:43 pm
The Pittsburgh Steelers allowed free agent cornerback Keenan Lewis to leave uncontested this off-season because they are confident third-year cornerback Cortez Allen can easily fill his shoes. Allen was a guest Sunday morning on 93.7 The Fan and as asked about the confidence that he has in the team this upcoming season despite the losses that they've had.
“I feel confident in our ability to compete,” Allen said. “The environment within the locker room I think has not changed as far as what we expect from each other and what we expect for of this organization. We still do have the key
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Sunday, May 26th, 2013 at
10:44 am
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May and it is usually celebrated by citizens as a long weekend. The day should be used a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
Several Memorial Day parades are taking place this weekend and on Saturday U.S. Army veteran and former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rocky Bleier was the grand marshal at Myrtle Beach’s Memorial Day weekend parade.
Steve Palisin of the The State spoke to Bleier this weekend about how taking the football field
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Sunday, May 26th, 2013 at
9:51 am
With the first OTA session of the 2013 season out of the way for the Pittsburgh Steelers, defensive end Ziggy Hood decided to go back home to Amarillo, Texas for the weekend and Terrence Hunley of the Amarillo Globe-News caught up with him after he was presented an award for donations that he made to the local Khiva Shrine Center.
Hood, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, was asked if that fact makes it an even bigger year for him in 2013.
"I try not to get into all that," said Hood, the Steelers first-round draft pick in the 2009 draft. "Every year is a big year. The main
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Saturday, May 25th, 2013 at
1:02 pm
By Jeremy Hritz
What can we expect from Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in the 2013 season? After being courted by the New England Patriots, Sanders signed an offer sheet that many believed the Steelers would not match. However, by the end of the matching deadline, Sanders had been retained, and the Steelers did not acquire an additional third round draft pick, to the chagrin of many in Steelers Nation.
The detrimental effects of Mike Wallace and his egocentrism are still fresh in the minds of his former teammates, coaches, and fans, and a repeat experience with Sanders has
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Saturday, May 25th, 2013 at
9:20 am
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran free agent punter Brian Moorman a few days after the 2013 NFL Draft and the consensus at the time of his signing was that he was being brought in to push second-year punter Drew Butler in training camp. However, as Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out on Saturday, Moorman's resume, combined with his link to Steelers new special teams coach Danny Smith, might mean the organization really doesn't have much faith in Butler at all.
Moorman, who is entering his 13th year in the league, played for Smith for three seasons from 2001-2003 when
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Saturday, May 25th, 2013 at
7:02 am
A few weeks ago, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark served as an intern at ESPN, as he wants to pursue work in the media when his playing days over. Being as 2013 is the final year of Clark's current contract, it's easy to speculate that those days could be coming soon, but the veteran suggested otherwise in a Friday report by Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider.
Wexell reports that while bantering with Clark about his potential upcoming media career during the third and final practice of the Steelers first OTA session of the 2013 season on Thursday, that Clark told him he still loves the game
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Friday, May 24th, 2013 at
3:47 pm
Even though they chose not bring back defensive starters James Harrison, Casey Hampton and Keenan Lewis this off-season, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense still ranks as the oldest in the league, according to a study done on all 32 teams by Mike Sando of ESPN.com.
While Sando doesn't give the average age for the offensive or defensive units of each team, it's not hard to figure out that the average age of the Steelers projected starters on defense in 2013 is 29.2. That really isn't that surprising being as five of those 11 players, Troy Polamalu (32), Larry Foote (32), Ike Taylor (33), Ryan Clark
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Friday, May 24th, 2013 at
1:18 pm
Like several other young players on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster, 2013 is a make-or-break year for third-year cornerback Curtis Brown, who is trying to put a disappointing 2012 season behind him and show the organization that they didn't waste a third-round draft pick on him back in 2011. David Todd of 970 ESPN Radio caught up with Brown on Wednesday after the Steelers first OTA practice of the 2013 season and asked him what he did during the off-season to prepare himself for 2013 and where his focus is right now.
"Working harder than I ever worked before," said Brown. "Worked out in Houston
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