The Steelers got their first AFC North divisional win this season on their third try Sunday as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-17 on the road this afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium. The Steelers defense sealed the win this week as cornerback William Gay stepped in front of an Andy Dalton pass intended for Jerome Simpson with 2:33 left in the game. Gay also was responsible for the other interception in the game as he tipped another pass intended for Andre Caldwell that was ultimately intercepted by linebacker Lawrence Timmons. It was the first time this season the Steelers defense forced two Read more [...]

The Steelers are still stinging from their Sunday night loss in the finals seconds to the Ravens, but must regroup quickly for another division game on the road against the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals. This is a must game if the Steelers still want to have any shot at winning the division as a loss would make them 0-3 in division play. The Bengals are the surprise team in the division and should not be faulted for playing an easy schedule to start the season. As I do each and every week, here are my 7 things to watch for this week against the Bengals as the Steelers look to move to Read more [...]

Below is the defensive participation chart for the Steelers week 9 game versus the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday night. Quite a bit more base defense this week as you can tell by the snaps Casey Hampton played. In total, it looks like 50 of the 77 non-penalty snaps were base. 18 snaps were in the dime or big nickel with Cortez Allen or Ryan Mundy on the field and another 9 in plain nickel. Interesting that Lawrence Timmons was actually not on the field for several snaps as he normally plays every snap when healthy. Still not many snaps for Cameron Heyward, but Stevenson Sylvester doubled Read more [...]

As I do every week, here are more of my observations from the Steelers loss to the Baltimore Ravens last night after going back through the game now. I will have much, more content from this game later on today. I mentioned it before and certainly understand the reasoning why Mike Tomlin defers when he wins the toss, but I still do not like it. It is not like the defense needs a boost of confidence. I would rather see the offense get lathered up first to start the game. The game looked like it was going to get off to a similar start as week 1, only worse, as Ray Rice went 76 yards for a touchdown. Read more [...]

The Steelers are 6-2 at the half way point of the 2011 season so I thought it would be fun to hand out some mid-season awards before they take on the Ravens tonight. I was going to post these Friday night, but thought it would be fun to poll Steeler Nation first to see what they think as opposed to just putting up my selections. Here are the links to all the polls I put up and I have my selections and reasoning below for each in addition. Best Offensive Lineman My Choice - Max Starks - Many would think this is a slam dunk award for center Maurkice Pouncey, but since Starks has returned, the Read more [...]

Here we go again! Steelers Ravens re-match and I do not think this game will let down the prime-time viewership. The Ravens really took it to the Steelers back in week as they ran away with a 35-7 win. The Steelers did not help their own cause in the game by turning the ball over 7 times. So many things have changed since week 1 as the defensive line has a different starter and the offensive line has 3 different pieces. The Steelers have key linebacker injuries, but also get back a few linebackers that have been out a while. Should the Steelers win this game, it will give them a firm 1 game lead Read more [...]

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gave his normal injury update today during his usual Tuesday press conference today, but he only ruled out guard Doug Legursky for the Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens so far. Tomlin tried to make it seem like linebackers James Harrison, James Farrior and LaMarr Woodley all have an outside chance of playing this week, but in reality that is likely far fetched based on the other reports floating around. Harrison himself has stated he will not play on Sunday and both Farrior and Woodley are rumored to miss several weeks. Farrior has a bad calf injury and Woodley Read more [...]

Below are the Steelers coverage stats for the week 8 Sunday afternoon game against the New England Patriots. They are broken down by play and include down and distance, line of scrimmage, direction, yards gained, yards after catch, personnel the offense used, defensive package, number of pass rushers and whether or not the defense blitzed on the play. The big thing that sticks out this week is how good the defense did for the most part at not allowing many yards after the catch against a team that has made a living off it this season. On 24 completions the Patriots had 91 yards after the catch, Read more [...]

A fast and furious day as far as Steelers injury news goes concerning their linebacker unit as Ed Bouchette is now reporting that right outside linebacker James Harrison will play next Sunday night against the the Baltimore Ravens baring a setback. Harrison has missed the last four games after fracturing his right orbital bone against the Texans back in week 4. Harrison had surgery the following Wednesday and head coach Mike Tomlin speculated at the time that Harrison would miss a month at that time. Bouchette talked to Bill Parise, Harrison's agent, and was told that Harrison's eye improved Read more [...]

I have gone back through the Steelers game against the New England Patriots now a few times and jotted down some more observations that I did not include in the post game recap. I do this every week as it is impossible to see everything just one or two times through a game. Many will judge off of a stat sheet and it is what sets this site apart from the rest as we actually watch the games more than just one time. Here we go. The Patriots were so protective against the long ball early on that is opened up the middle of the field for Heath Miller and Ben Roethlisberger took it. The Steelers Read more [...]

Week 8 is here and it is indeed Patriots week as the Steelers come back home to Heinz Field to host the New England Patriots. The Steelers will once again be without James Harrison, Doug Legursky and Chris Hoke this week, while Hines Ward and James Farrior are looking less likely to play by the hour. While not a must win game for the Steelers, it certainly will not hurt things if they were to win this week and settle the score next week against the Ravens. It would give them the inside track at winning the AFC North based on the remainder of the schedule. As I do each and every week, here are my Read more [...]

Voting is now open for the 2012 Pro Bowl game that will be played Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. The Steelers have several players you can vote for per the usual and here is the rundown of the players that can ve voted for on offense, defense and special teams. You can vote here. Steelers Offense: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger - After a rough start against the Ravens he has really come on strong the last few weeks. Running Back Rashard Mendenhall - Certainly not the best start and he missed a game due to a hamstring injury. Fullback David Johnson - Plays both tight Read more [...]

I have gone back through the game to do my initial breakdown and start some charting. Here are my expanded observations not mentioned in the game recap of the Steelers week 7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. What can you say about Mike Wallace that has not already been said and seen on tape? It amazes me how teams continue to give him free releases and fail to bracket over the top with a safety at times. The long touchdown Sunday was classic miscommunication it seemed and blown assignments mixed with Richard Marshall biting on play action. The Cardinals should have taken a timeout there as it Read more [...]

Below are the Steelers coverage stats for the week 7 Sunday afternoon game against the Arizona Cardinals. They are broken down by play and include down and distance, line of scrimmage, direction, yards gained, yards after catch, personnel the offense used, defensive package, number of pass rushers and whether or not the defense blitzed on the play. The big number that sticks out is of course the 73 yard touchdown to running back LaRod Stephens-Howling after a 5 yard catch with James Farrior in trail. That truly inflated the yards passing allowed and was nearly half of the yards after the catch Read more [...]

The Steelers knocked of the Arizona Cardinals 32-20 today on the road to move to 5-2 on the season. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 26 of 39 passing for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns to Mike Wallace, Heath Miller and Emmanuel Sanders. Roethlisberger was sacked twice during the game, but did a great job of spreading the ball around to several different receivers including the running backs. The running game produced 91 yards on 28 carries. Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb was 18 of 34 passing for 272 yards and was sacked twice by outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley. Woodley also forced a safety Read more [...]