The 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers Christmas carol videos are beginning to be posted on steelers.com and today the first of four videos is now up. It opens with head coach Mike Tomlin giving Christmas greetings to all Steelers fans. The Steelers defensive linemen open up the carol singing by performing "Winter Wonderland" and Chris Hoke steals the show as usual with Ziggy Hood a close second. They also get help from defensive line coach John Mitchell, but Casey Hampton is nowhere to be found. The tight ends are up next with a very off key rendition of "Sleigh Ride" and the specialist follow them with Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 9-3 on the season with their 35-7 thrashing Sunday of the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field. I have gone through the game a second time and here are my notebook observations from the game. The Steelers special teams were very special indeed on Sunday. Rookie Cameron Heyward really sparked things on the block of the early field goal attempt and fellow rookie Curtis Brown had two nice solo tackles and assisted on another. You can see why he was touted as such a good special teams player at Texas. Stevenson Sylvester caused the fumble that was recovered by Emmanuel Read more [...]

The Steelers have released two new versions of the Myron Cope Terrible Towel. One is Spanish version and the other a Halloween version. That Halloween version better not include the color orange. William Gay joined 93.7 The Fan yesterday to talk about the win over the Titans and what they’re looking to accomplish going forward. He also keys us in on positional meetings. Dale Lolley checks in with a good article on Antonio Brown and the weapon he has become on special teams as a return man. Ken Laird has the transcripts up from the Bruce Arians, Dick LeBeau and Al Everest sessions with Read more [...]

I just finished up going through the game again and below are more observations from the Steelers 38-17 win over the Tennessee Titans this afternoon. I understand the reason why Mike Tomlin put the defense out on the field to start the game but I do not agree with it. I get the message he is sending, but really would rather the offense take the ball instead. Just saying. The defense got off to a rough start on the very first play by the Titans as Chris Hoke was cut block and Chris Johnson went off left tackle for 21 yards. It was 1 of only 3 explosive plays allowed on the day however and Read more [...]

The Steelers close out their 2011 preseason tonight as they take on the Panthers on the road in Charlotte. The Steelers had another strong showing last week against the Falcons and tonight is the last chance for a few players to make a big enough impression to make the team or the practice squad. Do not look for many of the starters to play tonight as this game will be used to look at the bubble players mostly. There still will be a few things to watch for though in the most meaningless game of the preseason. As I do every week, here are my 7 things to watch for tonight against the Panthers. Bronco Read more [...]

David Todd and I recorded a new episode of The Terrible Podcast this morning and discussed the play against the Redskins last Friday and talk about a few roster battles that are left to be settled. Hines Ward says he is focused on just one thing right now and that is playing Baltimore in week 1. He says he even watched their first preseason game against the Eagles and focused on their new cornerback Jimmy Smith as well. Doug Legursky, Ramon Foster and Keenan Lewis all addresses the media after Monday morning's walk through and the interviews are all up on Steelers.com. Legursky and Foster Read more [...]

The first Steelers preseason game is in the books and now it is time to post my 2nd version of the 2011 Steelers Final 53 Man Roster Prediction. If you missed the pre training camp 53 man roster projection edition, you can read it here. There will be 3 more of these as we slowly work our way down to the final prediction following the last preseason game against the Panthers. Quite a bit has changed since my last prediction. Free agent tight end John Gilmore was signed since my last prediction as was wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. Rookie running back Baron Batch tore his ACL and will likely Read more [...]

Thursday at Steelers camp was the day every football fan was waiting for and the Steelers even pushed back practice in hopes that the new labor agreement would be ratified. The CBA was finally ratified later this afternoon and now hopefully we will have 10 years of labor peace. It should be noted that the Steelers as a team voted against the ratification to make a statement. It was not a majority no vote according to Mark Kaboly, but it goes in books as a team no vote. David Todd and I recorded a new episode of The Terrible Podcast today and it includes our interview Wednesday with undrafted Read more [...]

Several members of the Steelers coaching staff honor the fallen heroes on Memorial Day in this video tribute. Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, Dick LeBeau, John Mitchell, Carnell Lake, Jerry Olsavsky and Al Everest all say a few words. Free safety Ryan Clark says no defensive workouts are scheduled during the lockout and that the long time off is good for healing bodies. Rocky Bleier was in studio on Friday on 93.7 The Fan to voice his displeasure with the new NFL rule changes. Bleier doesn’t think the teams he played on the during the 70's would have been able to play under these rules. Linebacker Read more [...]

Plain and simple the Steelers need this win to nail down the #2 seed in the AFC and get a first round bye in the playoffs. Below are what we deem to be 7 keys to the game for the Steelers to beat the Browns in week 17. Pressure Colt - The last time the Steelers faced the Browns in week 6, the defense sacked Colt McCoy 5 times and registered multiple pressures. Both James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley should both be well rested after the Thursday night week 16 game back on the 23rd of December. Brett Keisel has been playing lights out as of late since returning from a hamstring problem and can Read more [...]

That left side of the line was very scary mixed in with Maurkice Pouncey missing time. Mike Tomlin was getting tight end Matt Spaeth ready to play tackle. Sounds like Chris Kemoeatu might be sidelined next week. Too early to tell. I can tell you that Jonathan Scott does not get many snaps at left guard. He is not a great left side option at tackle or guard. Better on the right side. If the injuries keep up, they will likely need the Aaron Smith roster spot pretty soon. It is fine to wait for him if you have the space. Need to stay healthy. I bet Ben Roethlisberger wishes he had that one pass Read more [...]

The Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-13 in the 3rd game of the 2010 season. Below are my recap notes and nuggets I kept on the game along with my observations. I have much more coming on this game and am working through the night. These are initial reactions of mine as I am about to watch the game a second time and begin working up tape selections. Below are the notes I compiled throughout the game. remember these are initial reactions one time through the game. What can you say about Charlie Batch? As I showed you last week, he played a good game. This week the receivers caught the Read more [...]

John Butler, the son of former Pittsburgh Steeler defensive back Jack Butler, is beginning to actively campaign for his father to be considered for the NFL Hall of Fame. Here is a link to the website, jack-butler.com and we invite Steeler Nation to help the cause. Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke joined Seibel and Starkey on 93.7 The Fan to discuss the Steelers efforts through the first two games of the season and more particularly the game against Tennessee. Ed Bouchette's weekly Steelers chat is up and posted on the PG Plus blog. Hint: Make sure to clear your cookies. [phpbay]Steelers Read more [...]

How nice was it to see a kickoff returned by us for a touchdown instead of the opposing team? This play set the tone for the day and immediately took the crowd right out of the game. Special teams coach Al Everest is already paying dividends and the speed of Antonio Brown can not be ignored in the return game going forward. Below we have the aerial view breakdown of the touchdown return by Brown against the Titans this past Sunday and the players involved. Read more [...]

Opening Statement: So much has happened since the final 2009 season game against Miami and the start of the season must be a welcome sight for the Steelers players and coaches. The preseason was a bit of a blur and was overall a success until quarterback Byron Leftwich went down with a MCL injury in the final game against Carolina. The roster has been paired down to 53 and features 8 rookie draft picks and 17 players 30 years of age or over, 10 of which are defensive players. The picture heading into the 2010 season is pretty clear for the Steelers as franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Read more [...]