I posted a while ago about how the Steelers could possibly have some salary cap wiggle room with linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons because of the way that their new contracts were structured. It seems like the Steelers did not wait though to just work with the roster bonuses as Brian McIntyre reports that the Steelers have restructured the contract of Woodley to lower his 2012 salary cap charge from $11.5 million to $4.94 million. Reportedly they lowered the base paragraph 5 number of Woodley from $3.4 million down to $700,000 and paid the difference of $2.7 million along with the Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II sat down with a few members of the Pittsburgh media on Tuesday for a half hour interview to discuss the Steelers past season and look ahead to 2012. You can read the question and answers here on the Post-Gazette blog. When you read through everything there were not too many surprises if you ask me, but I will go over the main talking points below with my own comments and view points added to a few of the things that Rooney said. Even though we do not usually learn too much from these interviews every offseason, it is just good to hear some of the things Read more [...]

When you look at the daunting salary cap issues that the Pittsburgh Steelers have facing them in 2012, there seems to be some wiggle room on at least a couple of the high priced contracts of linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons and it comes as a result of how the new contracts each signed prior to the start of the 2011 season were structured. In 2012 Woodley has a $5.5 million roster bonus due to go along with his $3.4 million base salary and his amortized portion of his signing bonus which is $2.6 million. His 2012 cap hit is currently scheduled to be $11.5 million. The Steelers Read more [...]

By Jeremy Hritz Before the 2011 Steelers season even began, a gaggle of random acts of immaturity unrelated to anything on the playing field raised serious reasons for concern. LaMarr Woodley ran off at the mouth on the NFL Network that Joe Flacco would not win a Super Bowl “in his lifetime;” Rashard Mendenhall foolishly shared an insensitive personal perspective about 9-11 on Twitter; James Harrison bashed his teammates in Men's Journal, not to mention Roger Goodell, who honestly, probably deserves some of it for his crusade to sissify a man’s game. Throw in the revered veteran Hines Read more [...]

Below is the defensive participation chart for the Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card game loss versus the Denver Broncos this past Sunday in Denver. The Steelers were in their base defense for 44 of the 55 non-penalty plays Sunday against the Broncos. Just 11 plays in the nickel sub-package. Nose tackle Casey Hampton left after just 2 plays with his ACL knee injury and left defensive end Brett Keisel left with an injured groin after 11 non-penalty snaps. Steve McLendon, Ziggy Hood and Cameron Heyward all finished out the game on the defensive line. LaMarr Woodley saw 37 snaps and Jason Worilds Read more [...]

The playoffs begin today for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they take on the Denver Broncos in the 2nd AFC Wild Card game of the weekend in Denver. With a win, the Steelers will move on to face the New England Patriots next Saturday. As I have done each and every week this season, here are my 7 things to look for against the Broncos. Also included is my score prediction for the game. Seeing Red - Isaac Redman will make his second career start at running back now that Rashard Mendenhall was lost for the season last week with a torn ACL in his right knee. His first start came back in week 5 against Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up practice preparations on Friday for their AFC wild card on Sunday against the Denver Broncos and the Friday injury report has some expected bad news as center Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) did not practice for a second straight day due to aggravating his injured left ankle during practice on Wednesday. Pouncey is listed as questionable this week, but Gerry Dulac reported earlier today that he will not play Sunday. With Pouncey expected to be out, guard Doug Legursky (shoulder) will likely get the start at center against the Broncos after practicing fully again Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their on-field practice preparations Thursday for their upcoming AFC wild card game Sunday against the Denver Broncos and the Thursday injury report is now out. Defensive end Brett Keisel (groin), cornerback Cortez Allen (shoulder), linebacker James Harrison (toe), safety Troy Polamalu (calf) and running back Mewelde Moore (knee) all sat out for a second straight day. Moore and Allen will not play Sunday. Center Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) did not practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday and there is some concern he will not be able to play against Read more [...]

By Jeremy Hritz Sure, the ankle of Ben Roethlisberger is hurt. Probably even more so than it was last week. Yes, Rashard Mendenhall is done for the year, and possibly until October. Correct. The up-and-coming corner Cortez Allen is out, and Keenan Lewis, though he will play, is dealing with a hamstring. Combine all of this with the return of Doug Legursky and LaMarr Woodley, both who may still have lingering effects from their injuries, and what you have is a recipe for Mile High loss, right? Wrong. The Pittsburgh Steelers of 2011 are a team who have, won in the face of adversity and overcome Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on practice field Wednesday getting ready to take on the Denver Broncos this coming Sunday in one of the two AFC wild card games. Despite finishing 12-4 on the season the Steelers must travel to Denver who won the AFC West with an 8-8 record as the Steelers earned the 5th seed because they did not win the AFC North. The first injury report of the week is now out and it shows that cornerback Cortez Allen (shoulder), running back Mewelde Moore (knee), linebacker James Harrison (toe) defensive end Brett Keisel (groin), safety Troy Polamalu (calf) did not practice Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin met the media today for his weekly press conference in preparation for the Steelers AFC wild card game this coming Sunday on the road against the Denver Broncos. Tomlin previewed the Broncos on both offense and defense and updated the injury status of running back Rashard Mendenhall, cornerback Keenan Lewis, cornerback Cortez Allen, running back Mewelde Moore, guard Doug Legursky and linebacker LaMarr Woodley to name a few. Injury wise, Tomlin said Mendenhall (knee) is done for the year with his ACL injury and they are working towards specifics of when Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns today in Cleveland at Cleveland Municipal Stadium as the Steelers look to move to close out the regular season 12-4. Ben Roethlisberger will get the start today at quarterback and Maurkice Pouncey will get the start at center. The Steelers will dress three quarterbacks today. Chris Kemoeatu will start at left guard and Jason Worilds will start at left outside linebacker. The Steelers ruled out two players on Friday and below are the rest of the 7 inactive players today on the inactive list released 90 minutes before kickoff. Steelers RB Mewelde Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns Sunday at Cleveland Municipal Stadium as they look to close out the regular season at 12-4. Most of the inactives for this week are pretty easy to decipher with two players already ruled out on the Friday injury report and one listed as doubtful. The big question is who is the 7th inactive this week on the list? As I do every week, here is the prediction of the 7 game inactives for Sunday and a few notes on each of the players. The official inactive list of players will be announced 90 minutes before kickoff and I will have them posted on the Read more [...]

I have tracked the TOX stat all season long as it relates to wins and losses every week in the NFL as I love the stat. Half of that stat revolves around explosive plays, plays of 20 yards or more, and the ability of teams in the NFL to not only create them on offense, but not allow them on defense. Many have criticized the Steelers run defense all year long, especially how it relates to allowing explosive runs this year. The defense allowed just 1 run last year of 20 yards or more and this year they have allowed 7. That might seem like a big deal, but it really isn't when you factor in that Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their final practice preparations on Friday for their final regular season Sunday game against the Cleveland Browns on the road in Cleveland. The final injury report of the week is out and it shows that guard Doug Legursky (shoulder) and running back Mewelde Moore (knee) have both been ruled out for the game as expected. Legursky suffered a shoulder strain last week against the St. Louis Rams, while Moore is still recovering from an MCL knee sprain suffered in the Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. Linebacker LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) is listed Read more [...]