While not totally unexpected and certainly on the horizon for a while now, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially took two punches to the nose on Thursday as it was reported the veteran nose tackle Casey Hampton would indeed require ACL surgery on the left knee he injured in the Wild Card game against the Denver Broncos and veteran backup nose tackle Chris Hoke made his retirement official. Heading into the offseason, Hampton has been at the top of the list of possible players the Steelers will need to cut or restructure to get underneath the projected salary cap number of $125 million when the Read more [...]

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 [...]

I did not get too deep into observations in my game recap yesterday as I wanted to re-watch the game a few times before commenting deeper. I will keep this format all season long as I do not believe one can give good and accurate observations on just one viewing of a game. With that said, he are some things I observed from the game a few time through it. You can no longer call Mike Wallace a one trick pony. Team's try to focus on taking away the deep ball away on now, only to play off and give up the underneath stuff which he gladly takes. Even when pressed he can get open. The sight adjustment Read more [...]

Another Steelers draft pick is signed, sealed and delivered today as first-round draft pick Cameron Heyward has agreed to terms on Friday. It is a 4-year deal with a club option on the 5th year I believe and Heyward was only a little late for the first day of on field work. He did manage to get some limited practice time in today during a rain shortened practice. Heyward said he was sorry for being late and that he would make up for it. He is excited to be a part of the best defensive line in the NFL and learn from defensive line coach John Mitchell. He said playing for the Steelers was "life-long Read more [...]

The Steelers have finally announced their 18 undrafted free agents they will sign to contracts this morning and included in them are three players that will have many eyes on them during training camp and stand out above the others. These three players have perhaps the best outside shot at making the Steelers 53 man roster out of camp. South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders is the most intriguing of the three players I have identified as he had his draft stock drop significantly after he was suspended his senior season for having lied to NCAA investigators over an inquiry into improper contact 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 [...]

The Steelers drafted defensive end Cameron Heyward, from Ohio State with the 31st pick in the 1st round of the 2011 NFL draft. More info coming shortly with a complete profile. Heyward is a classic 5 technique defensive end that played in the Ohio State 3-4 defense and his father was former NFL running back NFL running back Craig Ironhead Heyward. Heyward started 46 of his final 47 games for the Buckeyes, appearing in 52 games since getting the starting job during the sixth game of his true freshman season. He was utilized at all four positions on the defensive front for Ohio State and his 15 Read more [...]

Doing mock drafts is like arguing with your wife, you are sure to never win. As more and more scouting reports come in and you watch hours and hours of whatever footage you can find on a player, your mind starts playing tricks on you. I read and watch everything I can get my hands on leading up to the draft and after every mock draft I do I am never happy with. The scenarios are endless. I guess I am lucky in that sense though that a bad day for me is having a bad mock draft. It beats arguing with the wife as well. In all of my mock drafts I take into account the Steelers needs, draft history, Read more [...]

Steelers Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert had a Q&A session with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine and met later with a small group of Pittsburgh beat writers in Indy covering the event. We will be compiling all the 2011 NFL Combine results as they come in complete with official weights and measurements. This is the 3rd year we have provided wall to wall coverage of the numbers. As expected, Steelers did not use the transition tag on cornerback Ike Taylor, but Colbert said Thursday there have been some preliminary discussions about a new contract before the collective bargaining Read more [...]

It is expected that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will announce on Tuesday that left defensive end Aaron Smith will be lost for the season with torn triceps and thus the Steelers will place hin on injured reserve and need to sign one or even perhaps two defensive ends to the roster depending on the health of Brett Keisel. Following the win in Miami, the Steelers have only four healthy defensive linemen on the 53 man roster in the form of Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke, Ziggy Hood and Nick Eason. They also have a healthy Steve McLendon and Al Woods on the practice squad. Hampton and Hoke have both Read more [...]

The Steelers are coming out of their early bye week with a 3-1 record and getting back their star quarterback. Before we get into week 6 of the season, I wanted to post 10 things we have learned about the 2010 Steelers through the first 4 games. Offensive Line Not That Bad - One of the biggest concerns headed into the 2010 season was how quick the offensive line could gel together. Veteran center Justin Hartwig was released and rookie first rounder Maurkice Pouncey started right out of the chute. Right tackle Willie Colon injured his Achilles over the Summer and veteran left tackle Flozell Adams Read more [...]

The Steelers are half way to playing with house money for the first four games after slipping past Atlanta last week in week 1 of the NFL season. The win was huge and takes a ton of pressure off of the team immediately as they head out for their first road game of 2010. A win in Nashville would be epic and put the Steelers in a fantastic position heading into week 3. Per my usual here, below are 7 keys to the game that I believe the Steelers need to focus on to beat the Titans and a game prediction at the end. No Big Johnson Outside - For me to tell you how dangerous Titans running back Chris Read more [...]

Yesterday was an incredible win by the Steelers and it might end up being one of the most significant wins of the season when we get to December. Time will of course tell, but the Falcons were no push over on both sides of the ball and with starting Ben Roethlisberger out the first four games, the Steelers need to go only .500 or better to be in good shape upon his return. The Sunday win is the first of two needed wins in the four game stretch, but was also a costly one as starting left tackle Max Starks went down with a serious high ankle sprain and nose tackle Casey Hampton injured his hamstring Read more [...]

Now that we have confirmed the Al Woods practice squad signing, I have done a little research on him and compiled a few nuggets and video on him. First you can read New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton comments on the release of Woods. The Saints traded with the Cardinals and moved up to take the former LSU standout defensive tackle in the 2010 draft by trading their pick in the fourth round and their sixth-round pick. You can read his Saints bio right here while it is still up. Make sure to hit the MORE button to expand it. You can see his NFL combine highlights right here. Here Read more [...]

Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell says he feels great about the defensive line going into camp. Starters Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel are all healthy and in great shape while Ziggy Hood should be able to contribute more this year as he is playing with better pad level, using his hands better and staying on his feet more this offseason. Mitchell hopes to rotate in Hood, Nick Eason and Chris Hoke to keep the line fresher with no drop offs this season. Steelers.com has part 2 up of the "Ask The Steelers" segment with rookie running back Jonathan Dwyer. The supplemental Read more [...]