By Jeremy Hritz In 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers won a Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks with receivers Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle El, and Cedrick Wilson. Again in 2008, the Steelers captured their sixth Lombardi against another NFC West opponent in the Arizona Cardinals with Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Nate Washington. Wilson, Randle El, and Washington were solid, Holmes was clutch, and Ward is a future Hall of Famer. Outside of Washington, none of these guys were burners who could successfully get vertical, but they were all reliable and able to be depended on for earning crucial first Read more [...]

While we await more detailed word on the status of Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Wesyle Saunders following the report that he has been suspended for the first four games of the 2012 season, it definitely throws the thought into ones head that the tight end position could now end up being a possible need in the upcoming 2012 draft in April. Four games is of course a quarter of the regular season and that leaves only veteran Heath Miller as the lone reputable tight end under contract right now as David Johnson is slated to be a restricted free agent. While Johnson will more than likely be retained Read more [...]

The recent report by ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen suggest that Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II did not retain offensive coordinator Bruce Arians for 2012 because Rooney wants the team to shift the offense back toward its blue-collar identity of years past. Well, what exactly does he mean by blue-collar identity? That could mean several things, run more, work ethic, etc. I know what Mortensen is likely implying here and of course the media and fan base will jump right to the idea of running more as he hints in his report. First, there remains a ton of speculation to the Read more [...]

The week 17 offensive line breakdown report for the Pittsburgh Steelers win this past Sunday against the Cleveland Browns is now complete and overall it was a very solid game for the offensive line as everyone scored 90% or higher. The Browns really did not get that much consistent pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and there front 4 were very inconsistent at defending at the point of attack. Here are the scores and a recap of each lineman. TOTAL POSPLAYER PLAYSGOOD BADGOOD % SP H LGChris Kemoeatu 75714 95%.51 0 LTMax Starks 82775 94%02 1 Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 65 of The Terrible Podcast is up and with David Todd still on the injury report with (blackjack), Nick Richetta joins me once again this week and we start by recapping the Steelers Wednesday injury report as they get ready to take on the Denver Broncos Sunday in the AFC wild card game. Nick and I move on to start breaking down the matchup on both sides of the ball and get in a lengthy talk about Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and running back Willis McGahee as it relates to the Broncos use of the option offense. We discuss how the Steelers will likely try to defend against it and Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns Sunday to close out the regular season at 12-4. As I do every week, here are my deeper post game observations after going through the game tape a few more times. The sack by Lawrence Timmons on the Browns opening saw Timmons come on a delayed blitz and he took on fullback Owen Marecic. Marecic did not hold his block long and Timmons spun away back inside for the sack. Jason Worilds should get a little credit on the play for taking right tackle Artis Hicks up the field to open up the lane. Great tackle on Josh Cribbs by Keenan Lewis on the Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers head into their Sunday game against the Cleveland Browns looking to get their 12th win of the season. With a little help from the Cincinnati Bengals, they could get a first round bye as well should they take care of the Browns. This is the final regular season game of 2011, so there are also a few milestones in reach for a few Steelers players in this upcoming. Let's have a look at a few obvious and not so obvious ones and the chances each player has at reaching them. Hines Ward - You would have to be hiding underneath a rock to not know that Ward needs just five receptions Read more [...]

The week 16 offensive line breakdown report for the Pittsburgh Steelers win this past Saturday against the St. Louis Rams is now complete and overall it was a pretty solid performance as everyone scored 86% or higher. The Rams run defense was pretty poor and the Steelers unit was able to push them around on quite a few plays and even get second level blocks on their linebackers, including James Laurinaitis. TOTAL POSPLAYER PLAYSGOOD BADGOOD % SP H RT/TEMarcus Gilbert 220 100%00 0 CDoug Legursky 220 100%00 0 C/LGTrai Essex 51465 90%01 0 Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the St. Louis Rams 27-0 Saturday at Heinz Field and improved their record to 11-4 on the season. I have made it back through the game again twice and here are my further observations from the game not included in the regular game recap. The opening stop of Rams running back Steven Jackson by Troy Polamalu, as he blew by the attempted block of wide receiver Danario Alexander, set the tone for the type of day he would have. Polamalu finished the game with 6 total tackles, second most on the team. he was all over the field Saturday. Ike Taylor would have had the Read more [...]

If you are looking for a good pregame read, make sure to check out the Steelers official game release for the Saturday game against the St. Louis Rams. Undrafted rookie running back John Clay was promoted to the 53 man roster from the practice squad on Friday and gave an interview to his hometown paper after he heard the news. Clay says he was told he will be on the punt return team on Saturday against the Rams. Rookie tight end Weslye Saunders sat down with Teresa Varley for an interview in the latest edition of Steelers Speak. Saunders really gives a good interview and tells about how he Read more [...]

The week 15 offensive line breakdown report for the Pittsburgh Steelers loss Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers is now complete and overall it was not a good night as far as pass protection went up the middle and on the left side as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had pass rushers on him quite a bit and not a lot of room to step up into the pocket with his lead bad ankle. The pass protection started off OK, but deteriorated, especially in the second half. The run blocking was adequate, just not great. TOTAL POSPLAYER PLAYSGOOD BADGOOD % SP H RGRamon Foster 71656 Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the San Francisco 49ers 20-3 Monday night and dropped to 10-4 on the season. I have made it back through the game again and here are my further observations from the game not included in the regular game recap. The first drive started well and included several quick, short passes that were easy throws for Ben Roethlisberger. The interception was him forcing the ball as neither David Johnson nor Mike Wallace had any separation. The throw he should have made was to Antonio Brown underneath on the shallow cross. Roethlisberger also showed the predictable early signs Read more [...]

Power outage! OK, I got the easy one out of the way, but in reality it was a lost opportunity as the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 20-3 to the San Francisco 49ers Monday night at Candlestick Stadium. The kickoff of the game was delayed thanks to a power outage caused by a transformer and the Steelers own transformer, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, was short on his own consistent power in the loss. Roethlisberger made the start despite an injured left ankle suffered in week 14 against the Cleveland Browns and he just wasn't right all night. He was 25 for 44 on the night for 330 yards, but threw 3 Read more [...]

Several Pittsburgh Steelers players will have cameo roles in in the newest Batman movie, Dark Knight Rises, that was filmed in Pittsburgh. A member of the Steelers ownership group, Thomas Tull, is the film's executive producer and a football game scene was filmed at Heinz Field for the movie. Wide receiver Hines Ward is one of the many Steelers players that have a cameo in the football game scene and Ward has surfaced in the latest leaked trailer for the film that you can see below. Ward is running into the endzone with the football as the ground collapses behind him and he turns around to see Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 54 of The Terrible Podcast is up and David Todd and I get right into the Pittsburgh Steelers 14-3 win last night over the Cleveland Browns and start off with tipping our hat to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his ability to come back in the second half despite a nasty looking ankle injury. We recap the other injuries and wonder if center Maurkice Pouncey might be the one we should worry about the most being able to play a week from Monday against the San Francisco 49ers. During the injury talk we talk about the brief appearance of Charlie Batch in the game. Not very good. Next Read more [...]