The 2012 NFL draft taught me a very valuable lesson tonight and that is to never say never. Stanford guard David DeCastro falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers is an example that we can point to for several years to come. The 22 year old guard was supposedly unobtainable for the Steelers unless they were to trade up into the top 15 to get him. At best I thought he could have fell to around pick 20, but that was in my most wildest scenarios. None of those scenarios included what happened Thursday night in New York. So how did the best guard in the draft that recorded 316 knockdowns, 68 touchdown-resulting Read more [...]

By Jeremy Hritz It is hard to believe that football fans still have a little over four months to agonize through before enjoying a regular season NFL game. And while Pittsburgh fans are finding some distraction in the Penguins (for better or worse), nothing can replace the void left behind by the end of the 2011 NFL season. Small indications that the season is getting near are starting to burgeon, like the release of the 2012 schedule and the draft being only a few days away. With the schedule release, we can begin to draw some conclusions and make some assumptions about the Steelers chances Read more [...]

By Cian Fahey While it may have absolutely no bearing on this year's draft class, or reflect the Steelers' ability to evaluate and draft talent, it is always interesting to try to gauge the quality of this year's draft by comparing it to previous ones. The Pittsburgh Steelers are picking 24th in this year's draft, which can be considered unusually high compared to recent years, as such I will now look through the past 10 players to go 24th overall in the draft and how they fared in the NFL. 2011—The New Orleans Saints select Cameron Jordan 24th overall. Jordan didn't have a very good Read more [...]

By Christina Rivers The Steelers organization revealed their 80th Anniversary 'throwback' jerseys on Tuesday much to the disdain of many Steelers fans.  The most common comment on social media site Facebook was that the uniforms, in 1934 and for the upcoming season, make the boys look like they are "on a chain gang" or a group of inmates straight out of prison.  The good news?  The team is only scheduled to wear them twice during the 2012 NFL season. Personally, I find the outfits a bit over-the-top, but I can think of some throwbacks (not necessarily the Steelers jerseys) that could Read more [...]

By Christopher DiMarino I frequently visit NFL.com and their stories fuel many of my articles. I like the perspective of how much coverage a league website gives the Steelers. This time, I saw a quick breakdown of the schedule that was just released. I already broke down the opponents, but now we have a concept of timing. The first thing I saw was a week 4 bye week. I will take an early bye week over a late one like this past year (week 11). I think a bye week is a good opportunity to recover from a slow start, and helps injured players come back and contribute. The opener is against the newly Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 schedule has now be released and it includes 5 primetime games on it. Those nationally televised primetime games at Heinz Field include one against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. (ESPN), and another on Sunday night, Nov. 18 at 8:20 p.m. against the Baltimore Ravens (NBC). Pittsburgh’s other national primetime games include road games on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Tennessee Titans (8:20 p.m. – NFL Network) and Sunday, Oct. 21 at the Cincinnati Bengals (8:20 p.m. – NBC). The season opener against the Denver Broncos will be on Sunday night, Read more [...]

Scout.com is reporting that University of California linebacker Mychal Kendricks has a pre draft visit scheduled this week with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kendricks reportedly has visits lined up this week with the Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, Baltimore Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons in addition. Kendricks measured in at the NFL combine at 5111 and weighed 239 pounds. He has 31 5/8 arms to go along with a 9 3/8 hand size. He ran an unofficial 40 time of 4.47 seconds to go along with a short shuttle time of 4.19 seconds. he benched 225 pounds 24 times and posted a vertical jump of 39 1/2 to Read more [...]

By Cian Fahey There is a lot of speculation that the Pittsburgh Steelers will pick up a nose tackle for the future in an early round of the upcoming draft. However, the Steelers have lost a veteran contributor at the position since last season and may be looking to add experience and depth instead, or as alongside, a young prospect. Chris Hoke was a long-standing fixture in the Steelers defense despite only starting 18 games throughout his career. Hoke was a permanent fixture in the rotation when healthy and an outstanding backup for Casey Hampton who was capable of coming in and starting or Read more [...]

By Christopher DiMarino Can you feel the excitement growing in Steeler Nation? With just over 3 weeks remaining before the draft (April 26th), every fan is on the edge of their seats. There seems to be a blitzkrieg of draft profiles and mocks popping up all over the web and I am enjoying all of them. The draft is unlike anything else in football because of the magnitude of differing opinions both on prospects and likely team decisions. I’ve been especially impressed when reading the comment wires on how many Steelers fans have legitimate opinions and can back them up. The first round pick Read more [...]

Cornerback William Gay of course signed with the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend after five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and he joined John Harris on Trib Live Radio to talk about his time in Pittsburgh and the opportunity he now has ahead of him in Arizona. Late in the interview Harris asked Gay if the money was the real reason he chose to sign with the Cardinals instead of the Steelers and Gay replied, "The Steelers offered a contract as well. It really wasn't about the money. It was just where can William Gay grow within these two years, that I was going to sign with either team, Read more [...]

If you have read this site for a while or are a long time listener of the podcast, you know that I have long been worried about the feet of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders ever since his second surgery. As I have stated before, you never like to hear about young player having problems with their feet early on in their careers, especially if they play a skill position like running back or wide receiver. Head Coach Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday from the NFL owners meetings that he too has fears similar to mine when it comes to Sanders and his ability to stay healthy. Ed Bouchette Read more [...]

By Cian Fahey William Gay is officially no longer a Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback, there is a gulf that needs filling in the team's secondary. Gay may not have been a fan-favorite in Pittsburgh, but he did have an impressive season last year while playing a versatile role. Gay started outside in the team's base defense, but moved to the slot in nickel packages as Keenan Lewis moved outside. Lewis should step into Gay's starting role outside, but the nickel corner position will now need to be filled by one of the team's rookies from last season. Despite the fact that Curtis Brown was expected Read more [...]

It is now being confirmed that Pittsburgh Steelers unrestricted free agent cornerback William Gay has indeed signed with the Arizona Cardinals and will not be returning to the Steelers in 2012. Gay started at the left outside cornerback spot for the Steelers in 2012 from week 2 on after Bryant McFadden lost the spot following the week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. When the Steelers would go to their nickel sub-package last year, Gay shifted inside to the nickel corner spot and Keenan Lewis came in as the left corner. Lewis appears to be the odds on favorite now to replace Gay initially, but Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Ryan Clark was present at his Alma mater LSU on Thursday for their annual pro day to show support for the players taking part in it. Clark managed to give a couple of interviews, as you would expect, and one of those was with 104.5 ESPN radio in Baton Rouge. Clark mostly talked about the pro day process and the success of the LSU program, but he did manage to slip in a shot at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who passed down the harsh discipline to the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday as a result of the Bountygate investigation. Clark was asked about the important Read more [...]

By Christopher DiMarino Part of knowing your team is understanding their competition (as the saying goes, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer). It is very important to see what teams the Steelers will play in the 2012 season and which may provide the biggest challenges. We all know that the Black and Gold will square off against the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens twice in the 2012 season. However, there are 10 other teams the Steelers will get meet on the field as well. Those teams are: Home KC SD NYJ PHI WAS Away DEN OAK TEN DAL NYG This Read more [...]