The Steelers run defense has had its problems this season, especially in the first four games, but you can't help but notice how good the pass defense has been thus far. Entering the Sunday night divisional game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers are ranked first in passing yards allowed per game (171.6) and passing yards allowed per play (5.22). They also broke out a heavy press man coverage this past week against the New England Patriots and held the great Tom Brady to just 198 yards passing, 69 of which came on the Patriots last scoring drive. While they have allowed 10 touchdown passes Read more [...]

I hope you enjoyed the press man coverage that Dick LeBeau used almost exclusively this past Sunday against the New England Patriots because I know I certainly did. LeBeau has been visibly laying that ground work of this switch ever since James Harrison has been sidelined as the Steelers have been forced to play more dime and big nickel with 6 defensive backs over the last 4 weeks and perhaps even longer. The real early sign that LeBeau had this up his sleeve was against the Cardinals two weeks ago when rookie Cortez Allen saw the field for 10 snaps in the dime. Up until that point, Allen only Read more [...]

Thanks to his five touchdown passes and 228 yards passing this past Sunday against the Titans, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been nominated for the FedEx Air & Ground player of the week award. Roethlisberger tied his career best in touchdown passes for a game and only had one ill advised interception on the afternoon. Roethlisberger played Sunday on a bad left foot and favored it throughout the game. He mixed in several key short passes and nice play action fakes on the way to a Steelers 38-17 win. Roethlisberger was 24 of 34 on the day and finished with a 116.2 quarterback rating. Also Read more [...]

It did not take Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to recover as a fan favorite as he is ranked 5th overall in jersey sales according to new data released by NFLShop.com from the period running from April 1-Aug. 30. Troy Polamalu is the top rated Steelers player in jersey sales as he finished 3rd overall behind Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews of the Packers. In total there are six Steelers players in the top 20 as Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, James Harrison and Rashard Mendenhall also made the list. The Steelers edged out the Packers in overall jersey sales with the Cowboys finishing 3rd overall Read more [...]

I wrote back in mid April how the Steelers cornerbacks did not get enough credit last season as they played the Dick LeBeau system pretty well. It seems everyone only wants to remember the loses against Saints, Patriots and Packers though. Most seem to forget that those three teams all have pretty good quarterbacks and all three indeed had pretty good games against the Steelers. Two of those three games were still very winnable for the Steelers. The latest article by Football Outsiders takes a look at how the Steelers defense did against various numbers of wide receivers sets. The Steelers ranked Read more [...]

Another week and another edition of the ESPN.com position power rankings have been released as voted on by the ESPN bloggers and journalist. As you would expect, the top spot goes to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as he received 6 of 8 first place votes and two second place votes. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning finished second with 72 points that included just 2 first place votes, 4 second place votes and 2 third place votes. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finished fifth, one spot behind Aaron Rodgers from the Packers. The highest vote Roethlisberger received was a fourth place vote Read more [...]

I wanted to take a long hard look at the Steelers redzone woes in 2010, so I used a crude successful play formula to get a better look at both the passing game and running game for the Steelers on plays inside the opponents redzone. Now defining a successful play is very tricky, but I will I tell you the criteria I used in the stats and tables below. Generally, a play is deemed as a success when the following occurs: 40% of yards‐to‐go are gained on 1st down; 60% of yards‐to‐go on 2nd down; or 100% of yards‐to‐go on 3rd & 4th down. So in other words, a pass or run play on 1st and Read more [...]

Emmanuel Sanders fractured his foot in the Super Bowl and will need surgery according to a post on his Facebook page. Speaking of Sanders, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians thought the foot injury Sanders suffered that knocked him from the game played a factor. It caused the Steelers to shuffle personnel in their multiple-wideout sets. Gerry Dulac looks at how the Steelers coaching staff might turnover next year including Arians and linebacker coach Keith Butler. The Steelers are 10/1 odds to win it all next year in 2012 Super Bowl XLVI. Right behind the Packers at 7/1 and Patriots at Read more [...]

Below is the Super Bowl XLV charted stats of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers against the Steelers defense along with pass rush numbers, formations and personnel used by the Packers and the defense the Steelers were in. Also the blitz numbers. as you can see, Rodgers was damn good against everything thrown at him despite the 3 sacks. The Packers offensive line and backs did a great job of picking up the blitz as Rodgers was not hit or pressured much all night. He was able to get the ball out quick and throws were on the money for the most part. According to my numbers, he was 11 of 15 against Read more [...]

Here we are and here we go. One more win and the Steelers capture their 7th championship, but to do so they must get past another storied and classy franchise in the Green Bay Packers. The Packers deserve to be in this game and have made the run as the 6th seed much like the Steelers did back in 2005. The Packers have an offense that can go vertical through the air and strike with the big play behind the arm of Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers 2010 defense has been consistent all year, and very strong against the run. The Packers coaching staff is also littered with several former Steelers players and Read more [...]

It should be no secret to you now that rookie center Maurkice Pouncey likely will not play in Super Bowl XLV due to a fracture in his ankle and a high ankle sprain. Adam Schefter reports he is for sure out and I expect Mike Tomlin will confirm this next week as well. Also still not looking good for Aaron Smith right now either. Dick LeBeau was on Sirius NFL Radio the other night and you can hear it here thanks to one of my Twitter followers who recorded it. I will also pop in this LeBeau interview way back from 2 years ago at media day when Steve Mariucci interviewed Coach Dad. NFL.com Senior Read more [...]

PITTSBURGH STEELERS MEDIA AVAILABILITY MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2011 Location:  Omni Fort Worth 1:30 PM CT Head coach MIKE TOMLIN press conference Texas E and F Ballroom 1:50 PM CT PLAYER AVAILABILITY (following Coach Tomlin) Texas E and F Ballroom The following players will be available to the media simultaneously: T FLOZELL ADAMS LB JAMES FARRIOR DE BRETT KEISEL QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER WR HINES WARD LB LAMARR WOODLEY GREEN BAY PACKERS MEDIA AVAILABILITY MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2011 Location: Read more [...]

I thought it would be fun to look at Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passing stats in the 3 playoff games against different types of rushes. I have the overall totals in the first table and then each game broken down by each time he dropped back in order that it happened. I also logged the scrambles as well as the plays that resulted in a penalty on either the offense and defense. In addition I logged whether or not the opposing team blitzed and the personnel that was blitzing. The numbers are pretty much what you would expect from Rodgers. When teams have only rushed 3 and 4 pass rushers, Read more [...]

Coming off of a five game losing streak, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin decided to do something about it himself, with a little help from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as well. After kicker Jeff Reed kicked a 43 yard field goal to put the Steelers up 30-28 with 3:58 left in the game, Tomlin did the unthinkable. Tomlin approved an onsides kick in attempt to keep the pourous defense off of the field, but Ike Taylor was flagged for an illegal touching of the ball when it did not travel 10 yards before being recovered. The Packers took over at the Steelers 39 yard line and Packers quarterback Aaron Read more [...]

Losing 5 straight games and falling almost completely out of playoff contention has put head coach Mike Tomlin a position to see exactly what type of coach he is. The Steelers need a ton of help to make the playoffs and they must start by helping themselves. On offense it would be advisable to run quick releases and slants in the passing game to get the ball out of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's hands quicker. Roethlisberger was sacked 8 times in Cleveland and the Packers pass rush is 8 times better than the Browns. Also getting running back Rashard Mendenhall involved more in the passing Read more [...]