By Jeremy Hritz Jim Irsay, who is becoming more eccentric with each passing day, and the Indianapolis Colts wasted no time in hiring a replacement head coach for Jim Caldwell. Nor did they hesitate in hiring a new offensive coordinator. Within eight days, Chuck Pagano, one-time defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, was hired to replace Caldwell, with the embattled and “retired” Bruce Arians following a few days later. Some Steelers’ fans may be looking at the Colts with envy, not because the history and tradition of the Colts’ franchise, but because of the swiftness that Read more [...]

How quickly things change. Gerry Dulac reports that Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton said today that he will have surgery on Friday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Hampton injured the knee early in the Steelers AFC Wild Card game against the Denver Broncos and all of the early reports suggested that Hampton would not need surgery. Defensive end Brett Keisel told DVE on Wednesday that he thought that Hampton would still not need surgery as well, but that of course was one player talking about another player. According to Dulac, this will be the third time Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Sean Kugler was on with 93.7 The Fan this morning to talk about Bruce Arians and the interest he has, or lack there of, in the open offensive coordinator position. He also talked about what quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner brings to the table should he get promoted to the position. Kugler also addressed the Marcus Gilbert to left tackle in 2012 speculation as well as the health and progress that Maurkice Pouncey has had in the league thus far. Kugler also gave a breakdown of the draft process from the Senior Bowl on, as it relates to position coaches like Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Ryan Clark has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster in place of Baltimore Ravens injured safety Ed Reed. This will be the first trip for Clark to the NFL’s annual all-star game. It was announced just a few days ago that linebacker James Harrison was added to the Pro Bowl as he will replace Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs. At least three Steelers players have made the Pro Bowl every season dating back to 2001. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Mike Wallace, center Maurkice Pouncey, safety Troy Polamalu and kick returner Antonio Brown were voted in to Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert announced today on Twitter that he will undergo shoulder surgery Wednesday morning. Gilbert noted that he had been playing with the injury all season. It is unclear which shoulder Gilbert will need to get fixed at this time. Gilbert was the Steelers second-round pick out of Florida in the 2011 NFL draft and started 12 regular season games this past season at right tackle after starter Willie Colon went down week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens with a triceps injury. Gilbert played just over 900 snaps for the Steelers including the playoffs during Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison will have to put his snow plowing job search on hold as it was announced tonight that he has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster. Harrison reportedly will be replacing Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, who will miss the game with an injury. This will be the fifth straight trip to the Pro Bowl for Harrison. He recorded 9 sacks and 59 total tackles in 11 regular season game this past season. Harrison will join teammates Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown on the AFC roster. Maurkice Pouncey and Troy Polamalu were also voted Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will not play in the 2012 Pro Bowl in Hawaii due to an injury according to the Denver Broncos website. Polamalu will be replaced on the AFC roster by Broncos safety Brian Dawkins as a result according to the site. Polamalu had 91 tackles during the regular season and recorded 2 interceptions, 1 sack and recovered 1 fumble that he returned for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts back in week 3. Polamalu was selected to his seventh Pro Bowl this year, his sixth as a starter and also earned Associated Press first team All-Pro honors as well. Earlier Read more [...]

The Pro Football Writers All-NFL Team was announced today and Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey and safety Troy Polamalu both made the team. Pouncey and Polamalu also earned Pro Bowl selections for their play in 2011 as well as first-team All-Pro honors. Below is the PFW/PFWA 2011 All-NFL team OFFENSE QB Aaron Rodgers - Packers RB Maurice Jones-Drew - Jaguars RB LeSean McCoy - Eagles WR Calvin Johnson - Lions WR Wes Welker - Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski - Patriots C Maurkice Pouncey - Steelers OG Jahri Evans - Saints OG Carl Nicks - Saints OT Jason Peters Read more [...]

Onward we go with our player by player breakdown of the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers free agents. We are still looking at the restricted group and next up is offensive lineman Doug Legursky. Player: Doug Legursky Position: Guard/Center Experience: 3 Years Free Agent Status: Restricted 2011 Salary Cap Hit: $525,000.00 2011 Season Breakdown: Legursky was a very busy guy in 2011 for the Steelers. He started the season as the starting right guard after getting the job late in the preseason as Chris Scott, Tony Hills and Ramon Foster failed to nail it down. He started the first three games Read more [...]

By Jeremy Hritz There is going to be much debate moving forward about which current Pittsburgh Steelers free agents will return to the for the 2012 season. The debate will be much less about which soon to be free agents on other NFL teams will join the black and gold next year. Historically, the Steelers are wary of signing coveted free agents, opting for mid-tier to somewhat above average guys such as Jerricho Cotchery this year, or a few years back, Cedrick Wilson. Some of these offseason free agents have worked out well for the Steelers in longtime captain James Farrior, who came from the Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey had surgery on his injured left ankle on Thursday and is currently in a cast presumably for the next several weeks. You can see the casted left ankle in the picture below as he signs his limited edition 2012 Pro Bowl shirts. Pouncey says he will be ready for training camp in Latrobe according to his Twitter feed. Pouncey originally injured the ankle in the 2010 AFC Championship game against the New York Jets and it sidelined him for the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers as a result. He started the first 13 games for the Steelers in 2011 but Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 68 of The Terrible Podcast is up and with David Todd tied up in New York, Nick Richetta helps co-pilot the show today and I get the thoughts from Nick from the AFC Wild Card Game against the Denver Broncos from an offensive perspective to start things off with after we get through the latest headlines. Nick and I talk about the offensive line, running backs and wide receiver in addition and get to several questions from Twitter followers and emailers as well. Make sure to follow Nick on Twitter at @SteelerCityKid117 and if you want to buy him a cup of coffee, you can send him Read more [...]

Scott Brown reported this morning that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will take quarterback coach Randy Fichtner with him to Hawaii for the 2012 Pro Bowl as a guest. This news means that Roethlisberger likely has every intention of playing in the game right now and it will be interesting to see if he is still forced to wear the special shoe as support for his injured left ankle that hobbled him the final quarter of the season. Roethlisberger suffered the badly sprained ankle against the Cleveland Browns in week 14 and only missed the week 16 game against the St. Louis Rams Read more [...]

Scott Brown reports this afternoon that Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton is not scheduled to undergo surgery in the near future to repair the ACL he injured Sunday against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Wild Card game. Hampton only played 2 defensive plays in the game before suffering the injury and did not return to the game. brown reports that Hampton will try to work his way back from an ACL injury with a combination of rest and treatment. Hampton is heading into his final year under contract and is set to count $8.057 million against the 2012 salary cap. He is also believed to have Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey is having surgery today presumably on his injured left ankle and as a result will likely have to bypass the Pro Bowl. Pouncey started 14 games for Steelers this past season, but he re-injured the same left ankle against the Cleveland Browns in week 13 that forced him to sit out the Super Bowl last February. The aggravation prevented him from playing in week 14 and week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams, but he returned to play in the final regular season game against the Browns. Leading up to the AFC Wild Card game against the Read more [...]