2012 was a phenomenal year for Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller, who registered 71 catches for 816 yards and 8 touchdowns, but when you go even deeper into his stats, you will find that the aforementioned stat line still doesn't do his Pro Bowl season justice, nor does it equate to him being ranked the 97th overall player on the Top 100 Players of 2013 list. For starters, Miller caught 70.3% of the passes thrown to him in 2012 and that ranked him 6th overall among the tight ends that caught 30 or more passes last season. Miller's team leading 368 yards gained after the catch in Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have predominantly been a heavy right handed running team over the course of the last several season, but in 2012 they were extremely right handed and really just a team that ran between the two guards. If you look at the table below, which runs from the left side to the right side, you will see that only 4% of all combined rushes went off left end and that only 7% of all rushes went to left tackle. To better illustrate the numbers, 71% of all of the Steelers runs last year went between the two guards and that was easily the highest percentage off all teams in 2012. Read more [...]

During the regular season, I write quite a bit about explosive plays of 20 yards or more as it relates to teams winning and losing games, but I have wanted to look at big plays produced by all of the teams running backs and fullbacks for some time now. The stats below reflect plays produced by running backs and fullbacks by team in 2012 that went for 10 yards or more and these are also broken down by rushes and receptions. These should by no means be considered official, but they should be very, very close. As you can see, the New England Patriots were tops in the league last season with Read more [...]

While he only played just over 560 snaps on defense last season, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen certainly made the most of them as he registered two interceptions, three forced fumbles and 10 passes defensed in 2012, his second season on the league. The Steelers thought highly enough of Allen that they allowed fellow cornerback Keenan Lewis to run off uncontested to the New Orleans Saints as a free agent. Lewis, while he didn't register any interceptions last season, did have 23 passes defensed to go along with one forced fumble and 71 total tackles. 2013 will mark Allen's third Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed free agent tackle Guy Whimper earlier this week and I have since been asked on Twitter about the sacks that he gave up last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars as well as the penalties that he committed. I figured I would knock out both of those questions in one post, so below are the penalty stats for Whimper for the past two seasons as well as animated GIFs of the five sacks allowed he was charged with last season. In total, Whimper played only 392 plays on offense in 2012 and gave up 5 sacks, 6 quarterback hits and 15 hurries during those snaps to go along Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for nearly 1,800 yards last season at Michigan State and I wanted to have a look at his splits in order to get an idea how he ran directionally. Being as there isn't a site that has those stats, I was forced to scrape them myself from the play-by-play on Yahoo, as they are the only site that I know of that list run directions. Unlike the NFL, however, they only use right, middle and left. After scraping these stats, I had the right amount of carries, 382, but the total yards are off by 7. This could be that Yahoo might list fumble Read more [...]

Ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft, the speculation has been running rampant as to what it means for starter Ben Roethlisberger. If you look back through the history of the draft, you can clearly see why Roethlisberger shouldn't be losing any sleep. Dating back to the 1993 NFL draft, there have been a total of 142 quarterbacks drafted from round four and on, according to Pro Football Reference. Of those 142 quarterbacks, 53 have failed to even attempt a pass. Only 50 of those 142 quarterbacks have attempted more Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is making the rounds at ESPN on Wednesday and that included him being a guest on The Scott Van Pelt Show to talk about being a restricted free agent this offseason as well as what he sees for himself in 2013. With Mike Wallace now gone via free agency to the Miami Dolphins, Sanders was asked to talk about his role in the Steelers offense will be this coming season. "It increases," said Sanders. "I move up to the No. 2 receiver. I'm going from the No. 3 and I'm looking forward to it. That No. 3, you only get three or four targets and you got Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost wide receiver Mike Wallace to free agency this offseason and they addressed his loss in the 2013 NFL draft with the selection of Oregon State wide receiver Markus Wheaton in the third round. Wallace of course was known for his explosive plays of 20 yards or more and his ability to the top off of coverages. Will Wheaton become the kind of player to do that? When you look at Wheaton's college stats from last year, you will see that he had 18 catches that went for 20 yards or more. That equates to nearly 20% of his 91 total catches. In addition to that, Wheaton had Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Florida State linebacker Vince Williams with their second of two six round picks in the 2013 NFL draft. This is the compensatory selection. All-ACC (Honorable Mention) Phil Steele Postseason All-ACC (Second Team) Under Armour Senior Bowl Selection 2012: Senior who started all 14 games for FSU at the middle linebacker spot...helped Florida State's defense lead the nation in yards allowed per play (3.86), rank second nationally in total defense (254.14 ypg) and rank in the top six nationally in scoring defense (14.71 ppg), rushing defense (92.29 ypg), Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Oklahoma wide receiver Justin Brown with their first of two six round picks in the 2013 NFL draft. Height: 6'3.1" Weight: 207 pounds Hand: 9 1/2 inches Arm: 32 inches Wingspan: 79 inches Vertical Jump: 30 1/2 inches Broad Jump: 9'9" 40-Yard Dash: 4.59 seconds 20-Yard Shuttle: 4.37 seconds Three-Cone Drill: 6.95 seconds 60-Yard Shuttle: 11.41 seconds Season G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD Long PR Yards Avg. TD Long 2009* 10-0 5 78 15.6 0 27 7 41 5.9 0 20 2010* 13-13 33 452 13.7 1 45 15 77 5.1 0 15 2011* 13-13 35 517 14.8 2 69 27 220 8.1 0 33 2012 13-13 73 879 12.0 5 46 22 299 13.6 1 90 Career 49-39 146 1,926 13.2 8 69 71 637 9.0 1 90 2012 Started Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Oregon State wide receiver Markus Wheaton with their third round pick of the 2013 NFL draft. Todd Haley press conference audio: MARKUS WHEATON Wide Receiver Oregon State University Beavers #2 5:11.0-182 Chandler, Arizona Chandler High School Mountain Pointe High School OVERVIEW A challenge that was accepted by Wheaton and cornerback Jordan Poyer prior to the 2012 season thrust the Beavers into the national title picture, as they approached the midway point to their regular season schedule undefeated, but an upset loss to Washington saw OSU Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Michigan State running back Le'Veon Bell with their second round pick of the 2013 NFL draft. Todd Haley press conference audio: LE’VEON BELL Tailback Michigan State University Spartans #24 6:01.3-244 Columbus, Ohio Groveport Madison High School OVERVIEW One look at Bell’s frame, power and inside rushing ability, and you can see why Spartans fans and National Football League scouts have likened the junior to a former Michigan State All-American ball carrier, T.J. Duckett, who also tipped the scales at close to the 250-pound level, yet showed Read more [...]

Following the 2013 NFL combine, Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, and several others for that matter, had Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones atop their prospect rankings. These rankings were also released after Jones had been poked and prodded by every team doctor who wanted to check out his the spinal stenosis in Indianapolis. In a matter of two months time, Jones found himself still on the board come time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to select the 17th pick of the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. Here is what Kiper wrote about Jones in late February after deciding to sit out the combine. Jones still must Read more [...]

The 2013 NFL draft will get underway in New York City Thursday evening, so it is now time for my final Pittsburgh Steelers mock draft of the year. Mock drafts are never satisfying to me as the odds of getting all of the picks correct really doesn't exist. The process, however, is satisfying, as I get a chance to watch a lot of tape and read a ton of material on several of the draft hopeful players. You will notice at the bottom of every selection there are nine additional players listed that I considered in each and every round. In round six, however, I duplicated the nine as both picks existed Read more [...]

Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert has been linked to the Pitttsburgh Steelers in several mock drafts this offseason as a possible first round selection. While it doesnt appaear that Eifert has made a pre draft visit to Pittsburgh, we will still pass on the draft profile that our scout buddy Dave-Te Thomas sent to us on him. TYLER EIFERT Tight End University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish #80 6:05.3-251 Fort Wayne, Indiana Bishop Dwenger High School OVERVIEW The tight end position has undergone quite a few changes since first being incorporated into the offensive game plan Read more [...]

As far as we know, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't have West Virginia  wide receiver Tavon Austin in for a pre draft visit, but he has long been associated as being a first round selection possibility if still on the board at 17th overall. Our scouting buddy Dave-Te' Thomas was kind enough to give us his detailed scouting report profile on him, which you can read below. TAVON AUSTIN Wide Receiver/Return Specialist West Virginia University Mountaineers #1 5:08.3-172 Baltimore, Maryland Dunbar High School OVERVIEW Austin is a classic case that “big things come in small Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers had Georgia wide receiver Tavarres King in for a pre draft visit several days ago, and once again, our scouting buddy Dave-Te' Thomas was kind enough to give us his detailed scouting report profile on him, which you can read below. TAVARRES KING Wide Receiver University of Georgia Bulldogs #12 6:00.2-192 Mount Airy, Georgia Habersham Central High School OVERVIEW The Bulldogs football team featured some of the elite defensive players in college over the last few years, overshadowing a consistent, yet unspectacular offense under the guidance of quarterback Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly had Alabama running back  Eddie Lacy in for a pre draft visit on Saturday, and once again, our scouting buddy Dave-Te' Thomas was kind enough to give us his detailed scouting report profile on him, which you can read below. EDWARD “Eddie” LACY Running back University of Alabama Crimson Tide #42 5:10.2-223 Geismar, Louisiana Dutchtown High School OVERVIEW After patiently waiting for his opportunity while playing behind Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, both first round selections in recent drafts, Lacy “exploded” on to the national Read more [...]

According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Alabama running back Eddie Lacy visited the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. Lacy had a lackluster pro day just last week and several reported that he looked both unprepared and out of shape for it. He reportedly ran 4.57 and 4.60 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He measured in at 5110, 231 pounds and posted a 33.5 inch vertical jump to go along with a 7.33 three cone drill time. In 37 games at Alabama, Lacy rushed for 2,402 yards and 30 touchdowns on 355 carries for a 6.77 yards per carry average. He also chipped in another 338 yards Read more [...]