How is www.firebrucearians.com not registered yet? That game plan was clearly the work of a coordinator over thinking a game plan on a bye week. And Mike Tomlin shouldn't have let it happen. I know he is a defensive coach, but he has to get some control over what can only be described as Arian's ego. One of the best rushing teams in the NFL against the worst rush defense in the NFL and we start off with a Tight End screen? And don't get me started on the number of screen passes. And Ben, stop with the home run ball every single time. Are there any timing routes in the playbook? Yes, Ben is good at avoiding the rush, thankfully considering our line, but why is waiting 5-10 seconds. Run some slants, some quick outs. Throw to a spot on the field where you know the receiver is going to be.
Our defense cannot be out on the field that long and be effective. The players tire and can't be as aggressive in that attacking system, not to mention the thin air in Denver.
There is no excuse for not lining up two tight ends and putting Dan Kreider in the game and shoving it down Denver's throats.
I'm going to goDaddy to register a domain name.
Showing posts with label Mike Tomlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Tomlin. Show all posts
10/23/2007
9/25/2007
Week Three - Steelers 37, 49ers 16
The Steelers moved to 3-0 with another lopsided victory on the scoreboard, but once again, what does it mean? The competition has clearly been inferior, and even San Francisco was able to hang in the game until early in the fourth quarter. The defense continued to dominate, the offense was efficient and the special teams had its best game yet. And that led to another 20-plus point victory for the home team. Plus, the victories in the first two weeks went down another notch as both of those teams (Cleveland and Buffalo) lost on Sunday. With that said, it was a very solid performance and didn't give anyone a reason to think the Steelers are not a contender for a sixth Super Bowl. But I still want to see how they react to the first sign of adversity with a tough opponent.
The Good
With the struggles of the big four running backs (LaDanian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Frank Gore), Fast Willie is fast looking even more and more like a top-three back in the NFL this year. He currently leads the league in rushing, and despite no touchdowns again this week, he is making his impact felt all across the Steeler offense, as his early success running the ball gave Ben Roethlisberger a chance to take some shots down the field in the second half. Despite the absence of leading TD scorer Matt Spaeth, Roethlisberger continued to get the tight ends involved, as Heath Miller led the team with four catches for 82 yards and Jerame Tuman caught a touchdown pass. The defense was a bit soft on the first possession but was outstanding for the rest of the game after that. As I said earlier, the special teams had its best showing of the season. Allen Rossum's kickoff return for a touchdown led the Steelers back from their only deficit this season. Jeff Reed continued to kick at a Pro Bowl level, despite shaving his head. Rookie punter Daniel Sepulveda booted a kick inside the 10-yard line, where Bryant McFadden made a great play to save it before it went into the end zone.
The Bad
Pittsburgh once again let an opponent hang around too long. In the first two weeks, that meant Cleveland and Buffalo not out of it until the third quarter. And this past week, it was San Francisco hanging around until the fourth. Mike Tomlin's men need to have that killer instinct to be able to put teams away when given the chance, otherwise, that will come back to haunt them later in the season.
The Ugly
The Steeler defense held the 49ers out of the scoreboard for most of the game, but the stats show that it wasn't a dominating performance, at least in terms of total yardage. Sure, Pittsburgh held SF to 289 yards, but the Steelers themselves gained only 350 yards. San Francisco gained 5.1 yards per play, and that number will have to be reduced against better competition.
Up next: Arizona (1-2)
The Good
With the struggles of the big four running backs (LaDanian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Frank Gore), Fast Willie is fast looking even more and more like a top-three back in the NFL this year. He currently leads the league in rushing, and despite no touchdowns again this week, he is making his impact felt all across the Steeler offense, as his early success running the ball gave Ben Roethlisberger a chance to take some shots down the field in the second half. Despite the absence of leading TD scorer Matt Spaeth, Roethlisberger continued to get the tight ends involved, as Heath Miller led the team with four catches for 82 yards and Jerame Tuman caught a touchdown pass. The defense was a bit soft on the first possession but was outstanding for the rest of the game after that. As I said earlier, the special teams had its best showing of the season. Allen Rossum's kickoff return for a touchdown led the Steelers back from their only deficit this season. Jeff Reed continued to kick at a Pro Bowl level, despite shaving his head. Rookie punter Daniel Sepulveda booted a kick inside the 10-yard line, where Bryant McFadden made a great play to save it before it went into the end zone.
The Bad
Pittsburgh once again let an opponent hang around too long. In the first two weeks, that meant Cleveland and Buffalo not out of it until the third quarter. And this past week, it was San Francisco hanging around until the fourth. Mike Tomlin's men need to have that killer instinct to be able to put teams away when given the chance, otherwise, that will come back to haunt them later in the season.
The Ugly
The Steeler defense held the 49ers out of the scoreboard for most of the game, but the stats show that it wasn't a dominating performance, at least in terms of total yardage. Sure, Pittsburgh held SF to 289 yards, but the Steelers themselves gained only 350 yards. San Francisco gained 5.1 yards per play, and that number will have to be reduced against better competition.
Up next: Arizona (1-2)
9/10/2007
Week One - Steelers 34, Browns 7
Mike Tomlin did something that no other Steelers coach has done - he won his first game in Cleveland. Of course, those other coaches presumably played against real Cleveland teams rather than the pseudo-professional squad that took the field on Sunday. Here's a question for you - if you're a Browns fan, is it worse to follow this team than it was to deal with Art Modell taking your franchise to Baltimore and then watching the Ravens win a Super Bowl? The incompetence was evident throughout the game, but the lowlight for Cleveland was clearly the muffed punt snap by punter Paul Ernster, who was signed Saturday because starter Dave Zastudil decided to tell coach Romeo Crennel over the weekend that he felt like he might hurt the team if he played with an injury. Maybe Crennel should have flipped a coin to decide who his punter should have been. Wouldn't be a new strategy for him. Anyways, back to the travails of Ernster, who couldn't field a perfect snap and then finally retrieved the ball and kicked one off the side of his foot while on the run. If that wasn't bad enough, the Browns were whistled for FOUR penalties on the play. Just a few plays later, Ben Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward for a beautiful TD pass and the rout was on. Anyways, here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of this week's game.
The Good
The defense played great for Dick LeBeau on his 70th birthday. The pressure on the quarterback looked much better than last year, especially from the linebackers. Ike Taylor had a sack and an interception in his first step toward recovering his 2005 form. Roethlisberger was efficient, and threw four TDs and no picks. Even though his percentage wasn't great, you can chalk up a lot of that to dropped passes. And the Steelers even threw to the tight ends, with Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth catching touchdowns!
The Bad
The aforementioned dropped passes would have come back to haunt the Steelers against probably 30 other NFL teams. Luckily this was Cleveland. The offensive line wasn't exactly dominant, especially in the first half before the Browns basically gave up. Allen Rossum looked like he was intent on proving Tomlin right for trading for him a week ago, but in his haste to field and return every punt that went his way, he left me with a feeling that a similar attitude this week could lead to one of those fumbled punts that troubled the Steelers throughout 2006 and have already made Andy Reid want to try some of his sons' drugs in 2007. And the wasted field position in the first half makes me nervous for the future. And Cedric Wilson wasn't very involved in the offense, so I'm sure we'll hear from "Plaxico Without the Height" pretty soon.
The Ugly
The Browns. Plain and simple. Its hard to tell how good this Steelers team is because Cleveland played one of the worst games I've ever seen an "NFL" team play. The Steelers should have been up 35-0 at the half, but despite the wasted opportunities, the game was still never in doubt.
Up next: Buffalo (0-1)
The Good
The defense played great for Dick LeBeau on his 70th birthday. The pressure on the quarterback looked much better than last year, especially from the linebackers. Ike Taylor had a sack and an interception in his first step toward recovering his 2005 form. Roethlisberger was efficient, and threw four TDs and no picks. Even though his percentage wasn't great, you can chalk up a lot of that to dropped passes. And the Steelers even threw to the tight ends, with Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth catching touchdowns!
The Bad
The aforementioned dropped passes would have come back to haunt the Steelers against probably 30 other NFL teams. Luckily this was Cleveland. The offensive line wasn't exactly dominant, especially in the first half before the Browns basically gave up. Allen Rossum looked like he was intent on proving Tomlin right for trading for him a week ago, but in his haste to field and return every punt that went his way, he left me with a feeling that a similar attitude this week could lead to one of those fumbled punts that troubled the Steelers throughout 2006 and have already made Andy Reid want to try some of his sons' drugs in 2007. And the wasted field position in the first half makes me nervous for the future. And Cedric Wilson wasn't very involved in the offense, so I'm sure we'll hear from "Plaxico Without the Height" pretty soon.
The Ugly
The Browns. Plain and simple. Its hard to tell how good this Steelers team is because Cleveland played one of the worst games I've ever seen an "NFL" team play. The Steelers should have been up 35-0 at the half, but despite the wasted opportunities, the game was still never in doubt.
Up next: Buffalo (0-1)
8/14/2007
Tuesday News from the P-G
Hooray, Fast Willie Parker is going to get on the field this weekend. This can't happen soon enough for me, its already tough enough to justify taking him #1 overall on my Fantasy Football team. It will be interesting to see how long Tomlin keeps the starters in this next game. Usually the third preseason game is the one where the starters get most of the work. However he treated last game just like the first so this one will probably be played like their second game, which means maybe the starters will see a quarter.
However this article about Faneca seemed like nothing more than a stir up the shit with
the disgruntled player.The article, titled Faneca debates versatility question, basically asks Faneca if he was asked to move to left tackle because of injury would he. He says yes, because he would do anything to help the players on the field. But first he expresses some doubt about it. Is it really necessary to fan this flame? It really does seem like asking a disgruntled player a question hoping to escalate an already tenuous situation. When the player doesn't take the bait you go ahead and try and escalate the situation anyway. Maybe Bouchette is making his move to try and get with the New York Post? Or maybe I'm crazy, and people actually care about this.
8/12/2007
Preseason Game No. 2 - Steelers vs. Packers Recap
The Black and Gold made their first appearance of the 2007 season at Heinz Field on Saturday night for a game against the Green Bay Packers. Both teams' starters struggled a bit, though the Steelers second team got out to a 9-0 lead before the Packers rallied in the second half for a 13-9 victory.
The game was blacked out in my area but replays are being shown multiple times this week on the NFL Network (see previous post). However, I was able to listen to Bill Hillgrove and Tunch Ilkin's radio broadcast for most of the game, and here are my thoughts:
The no-huddle offense that Bruce Arians had Ben Roethlisberger and the first team offense come out with is tough to exhibit in a preseason game. First of all, Arians is obviously going to want to hide a lot of the wrinkles the team has been working on in order to save them for the regular season. Secondly, the no-huddle is very dependent on a quarterback being in rhythm, and that's tough to ask that of Ben on the very first series of the game. And thirdly, and most importantly in my mind, the no-huddle is much more effective to use against a defense that is worn down at a later point in the game. Its not as if the Packers were gasping for air after three plays. I'm excited to see how the Steelers utilize the new package this year, but for this game, it didn't work.
Charlie Batch looked very good again. He's proving (if he hasn't already proved it) that he is one of the most dependable and serviceable backup signal callers in the league. Batch was 3 of 5 for 97 yards and a touchdown, with the score being on a 41-yard pass to Walter Young. Brian St. Pierre came in for the second half and was 10 of 23 for 99 yards in mostly ineffective play.
The offensive line is definitely a concern. For as good as the line looked last week in roughing up the Saints' defensive front, the opposite happened this weekend. The Disgruntled Alan Faneca was out, and that obviously hurt, but the Steelers gave up three sacks from the left tackle position, where Max Starks got some playing time in a tryout role as opposed to his normal right tackle spot.
The guy who was the darling of Steeler Nation last week, RB Carey Davis, didn't get the ball this week, though he did make some nice special teams plays. However, undrafted rookie Gary Russell looked good once again. After rushing for 41 yards on eight carries against New Orleans, Russell led the Steelers with 56 yards on nine attempts against the Packers. Najeh Davenport started once again in place of Willie Parker and had 34 yards on seven carries, though 21 of those yards came on one run. Kevan Barlow had 25 yards on six carries, including a 17-yard burst.
As for the receivers, Walter Young is trying his best to stay off of the practice squad this year. Young had two catches for 50 yards including that touchdown. Santonio Holmes continued to look like he's in for a big year, with a 49-yard catch and run. Nate Washington didn't even drop a pass!
The special teams play had its ups and downs. Daniel Sepulveda boomed five punts for an average of 49.8 yards, including a 59-yarder in the second quarter that went out of bounds inside the 20-yard line. Cedric Wilson staked his claim to be the punt returner with two runbacks for an average of 19 yards. However, Jeff Reed had a PAT blocked.
Defensively there were no individual standout performances, though rookie William Gay had another solid game, including recording the Steelers' only sack. Pittsburgh held Brett Favre to 2 of 7 passing for 7 yards. So for those keeping track at home, Favre and Drew Brees have combined to go 3 of 13 for 13 yards against the first-team D. Not too shabby. Up next for the Steelers is the third game of the preseason, Saturday at 8 p.m. at Washington.
The game was blacked out in my area but replays are being shown multiple times this week on the NFL Network (see previous post). However, I was able to listen to Bill Hillgrove and Tunch Ilkin's radio broadcast for most of the game, and here are my thoughts:
The no-huddle offense that Bruce Arians had Ben Roethlisberger and the first team offense come out with is tough to exhibit in a preseason game. First of all, Arians is obviously going to want to hide a lot of the wrinkles the team has been working on in order to save them for the regular season. Secondly, the no-huddle is very dependent on a quarterback being in rhythm, and that's tough to ask that of Ben on the very first series of the game. And thirdly, and most importantly in my mind, the no-huddle is much more effective to use against a defense that is worn down at a later point in the game. Its not as if the Packers were gasping for air after three plays. I'm excited to see how the Steelers utilize the new package this year, but for this game, it didn't work.
Charlie Batch looked very good again. He's proving (if he hasn't already proved it) that he is one of the most dependable and serviceable backup signal callers in the league. Batch was 3 of 5 for 97 yards and a touchdown, with the score being on a 41-yard pass to Walter Young. Brian St. Pierre came in for the second half and was 10 of 23 for 99 yards in mostly ineffective play.
The offensive line is definitely a concern. For as good as the line looked last week in roughing up the Saints' defensive front, the opposite happened this weekend. The Disgruntled Alan Faneca was out, and that obviously hurt, but the Steelers gave up three sacks from the left tackle position, where Max Starks got some playing time in a tryout role as opposed to his normal right tackle spot.
The guy who was the darling of Steeler Nation last week, RB Carey Davis, didn't get the ball this week, though he did make some nice special teams plays. However, undrafted rookie Gary Russell looked good once again. After rushing for 41 yards on eight carries against New Orleans, Russell led the Steelers with 56 yards on nine attempts against the Packers. Najeh Davenport started once again in place of Willie Parker and had 34 yards on seven carries, though 21 of those yards came on one run. Kevan Barlow had 25 yards on six carries, including a 17-yard burst.
As for the receivers, Walter Young is trying his best to stay off of the practice squad this year. Young had two catches for 50 yards including that touchdown. Santonio Holmes continued to look like he's in for a big year, with a 49-yard catch and run. Nate Washington didn't even drop a pass!
The special teams play had its ups and downs. Daniel Sepulveda boomed five punts for an average of 49.8 yards, including a 59-yarder in the second quarter that went out of bounds inside the 20-yard line. Cedric Wilson staked his claim to be the punt returner with two runbacks for an average of 19 yards. However, Jeff Reed had a PAT blocked.
Defensively there were no individual standout performances, though rookie William Gay had another solid game, including recording the Steelers' only sack. Pittsburgh held Brett Favre to 2 of 7 passing for 7 yards. So for those keeping track at home, Favre and Drew Brees have combined to go 3 of 13 for 13 yards against the first-team D. Not too shabby. Up next for the Steelers is the third game of the preseason, Saturday at 8 p.m. at Washington.
8/08/2007
Preseason Games on NFL Network
This year the NFL Network is televising all 52 preseason games not broadcast on National TV. This is great news for those with the NFL Network. Most of the games will be taped not live and many will be from local stations. The NFL Network will use the announcers from both teams, one for each half.
Here is the television schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the NFL Network, so fire up your TIVOs
Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers will air Sunday, August 12, 2007 at 5pm NFLN.
(The game will be played Saturday August 11 at 7:30pm)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Redskins will air Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 2pm NFLN
(The game will be played Saturday August 18 at 8:00pm)
Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers will be aired live on NBC's Sunday night Package at 8:00pm August 26, 2007.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers will air Sunday, September 2 2007 at 11am NFLN
(The game will be played Thursday August 30th at 8pm)
The last game is a pretty brutal turnaround but the last game usually doesn't see many starters play for very long. The preseason games are great for watching the young talent that could be the future of the team. Carey Davis and William Gay both had great plays in the Hall Of Game and it will be interesting to see if they continue or if others step up. It will also be interesting to watch the defense adjust and see if any of Mike Tomlin's philosophy sneaks in.
8/06/2007
Quick Hit Thoughts From the HOF Game
The Hall of Fame game is in the books and football season has officially started. The Pittsburgh Steelers rolled the New Orleans Saints. The first preseason game means next to nothing but it was nice to see the players hitting hard and executing well so early in the season.
Here are some quick thoughts from the game.
Hopefully Cedric is happy now. He got most of the looks when he was in the game and did well with them. He's needs to stop complaining and recognize that this is a team where you sacrifice stats for wins. He is becoming a short Plaxico Burress in his attitude, it will be interesting to see how long Tomlin and Hines Ward are going to put up with that.
Woodley looked solid in his time in the game, breaking up a pass by diving in front of the receiver.
The overall defense looked strong and looked like a Dick LeBeau defense.
Nate Washington needs to learn how to catch if he is ever going to make an impact on this team.
Great to see all the coverage problems have been fixed. The refs saved Reid on that fumble. The Steelers have to do better in that respect.
Carey Davis looked very solid. It will be interesting to see if he can keep the pace up. He was more impressive than Najeh or Barlow.
St. Pierre's fade to Santonio was beautiful. As was Ben's deep toss to Cedric.
Hey Robert Meachem, welcome to the NFL, a guy named Gay laid your ass out.
7/23/2007
The Not So Lazy Days of Latrobe Are Here!
I happened to be looking at my calendar yesterday and noticed that it was only two weeks until the Steelers kick off their preseason schedule in the Hall of Fame game against the Saints. Wow. Now I'm excited to see how many two-a-days Mike Tomlin can fit in before that contest, as your 2007-(hopefully)2008 Steelers will report to St. Vincent's College in Latrobe today at 4 p.m. for the start of training camp. Here are a few links to get you ready for camp:
The P-G's excellent two-part feature on our new fearless leader (Part I) (Part II)
Ed Bouchette's Five Pressing Topics
Bouchette's Position-by-Position Look at the Team - Love the description of a Hines Ward as a "Rolex in a Timex Body" and Ricardo Colclough, summed up by "the bloom is off his rose".
The Trib gives us a look at what diversions the players are bringing to camp. I like Nate Washington, second-guessing himself after being asked the question, after first saying that he'd bring a TV.
"No I take that back, a computer. I have to have Internet. I love playing on the Internet, anything from e-mailing, MySpace, playing little games on the computer to YouTube."
Here's John Harris of the Trib's "Five Issues Steelers Must Address"
In the Beaver County Times, Mike Bires has a Q&A with Tomlin.
And just in case you haven't had enough of it, here's the BCT's version of Five Burning Questions.
The P-G's excellent two-part feature on our new fearless leader (Part I) (Part II)
Ed Bouchette's Five Pressing Topics
Bouchette's Position-by-Position Look at the Team - Love the description of a Hines Ward as a "Rolex in a Timex Body" and Ricardo Colclough, summed up by "the bloom is off his rose".
The Trib gives us a look at what diversions the players are bringing to camp. I like Nate Washington, second-guessing himself after being asked the question, after first saying that he'd bring a TV.
"No I take that back, a computer. I have to have Internet. I love playing on the Internet, anything from e-mailing, MySpace, playing little games on the computer to YouTube."
Here's John Harris of the Trib's "Five Issues Steelers Must Address"
In the Beaver County Times, Mike Bires has a Q&A with Tomlin.
And just in case you haven't had enough of it, here's the BCT's version of Five Burning Questions.
7/02/2007
The Dungy Coaching Tree of Woe
New Steeler head coach Mike Tomlin comes from the Tony Dungy coaching tree. You'd think right away that learning from the most-recent Super Bowl winning coach would be a good thing. That may turn out to be true, but in the first year? Let's see what Tony and the other Dungy disciples did in their first seasons.
Tony Dungy - 1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs finished strong in those (not so) classic old jerseys, going 5-2 before switching to the pewter uniforms and making the playoffs in Dungy's second season. But still, 6-10 is 6-10.
First-year record: 6-10
Herman Edwards - 2001 New York Jets
Herm took over from Bill Parcells and had a strong first season with most of Parcells' personnel left over, taking Gang Green to the playoffs.
First-year record: 10-6
Lovie Smith - 2004 Chicago Bears
Injuries took their toll on the Bears in Smith's first year, though the defense improved nearly 10 spots in league rankings.
First-year record: 5-11
Rod Marinelli - 2006 Detroit Lions
The last of the Dungy disciples to get a head job in the NFL before Tomlin debuted last year in Detroit. While 2006 was a struggle for the Lions, Jon Kitna apparently thinks 2007 will be better.
First-year record: 3-13
To sum it up, Tony Dungy and his disciples are a combined 24-40 in their debut seasons as head coaches, an average year of 6-10. Somehow it doesn't feel like Steeler Nation will be happy with that record this year.
P.S. - The other Dungy disciple who went to a high-profile coaching job was Mike Shula, his former offensive coordinator with Tampa Bay. Shula's record in his first year at Alabama? 4-9.
Tony Dungy - 1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs finished strong in those (not so) classic old jerseys, going 5-2 before switching to the pewter uniforms and making the playoffs in Dungy's second season. But still, 6-10 is 6-10.
First-year record: 6-10
Herman Edwards - 2001 New York Jets
Herm took over from Bill Parcells and had a strong first season with most of Parcells' personnel left over, taking Gang Green to the playoffs.
First-year record: 10-6
Lovie Smith - 2004 Chicago Bears
Injuries took their toll on the Bears in Smith's first year, though the defense improved nearly 10 spots in league rankings.
First-year record: 5-11
Rod Marinelli - 2006 Detroit Lions
The last of the Dungy disciples to get a head job in the NFL before Tomlin debuted last year in Detroit. While 2006 was a struggle for the Lions, Jon Kitna apparently thinks 2007 will be better.
First-year record: 3-13
To sum it up, Tony Dungy and his disciples are a combined 24-40 in their debut seasons as head coaches, an average year of 6-10. Somehow it doesn't feel like Steeler Nation will be happy with that record this year.
P.S. - The other Dungy disciple who went to a high-profile coaching job was Mike Shula, his former offensive coordinator with Tampa Bay. Shula's record in his first year at Alabama? 4-9.
6/05/2007
That Will Be Enough, Mr. Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger apparently reiterated that he and Coach Cowher were never tight and that he likes Coach Tomlinn because treats him like a man and doesn't yell at him. Let's review some facts:
1. Bill Cowher told Ben to wear a helmet if he was going to ride his motorcycle, even called him out in public. Ben didn't do it, busted his head.
2. Bill Cowher trusted Ben to play in the opening season game last year agaisnt Jacksonville, too quickly after appendix surgery. I was at that game, Charlie Batch could have won that game. After the game Ben claimed to have had a 104 degree fever. Have you ver had a 104 degree fever, it sucks, you can't move or play football. Although everyone backed off of that statement, if Ben felt like he wasn't well enough to play he owed to his team, teamates, coaches, and fans to step aside. That is what a man would do.
3. He singlehandley cost the Steelers the Raiders game with absolutely game killing interceptions on the goal line in what statistically should have been a blowout.
There were numerous other occasions where Ben, who lead the league in interceptions last year made bad mistakes but these three really stick with me. Remember, the Steelers missed the playoffs by one game, if either of those two had been victories, Pittsburgh could have gone to the playoffs.
Last season Ben Roethlisberger received a pass from the media and the fans, but the fact remains that if he would have played average in a couple of games, just average, the Steelers would have at least had a chance to defend their title.
I am perfectly willing to give Ben a pass as well after all the great things that he has done, but Ben, please stop talking. Every time you talk about problems with Cowher, or how he treated you like a kid it makes me want to slap you! You acted like a little kid last year and if that is how Bill Cowher chose to treat you, maybe he had a reason.
1. Bill Cowher told Ben to wear a helmet if he was going to ride his motorcycle, even called him out in public. Ben didn't do it, busted his head.
2. Bill Cowher trusted Ben to play in the opening season game last year agaisnt Jacksonville, too quickly after appendix surgery. I was at that game, Charlie Batch could have won that game. After the game Ben claimed to have had a 104 degree fever. Have you ver had a 104 degree fever, it sucks, you can't move or play football. Although everyone backed off of that statement, if Ben felt like he wasn't well enough to play he owed to his team, teamates, coaches, and fans to step aside. That is what a man would do.
3. He singlehandley cost the Steelers the Raiders game with absolutely game killing interceptions on the goal line in what statistically should have been a blowout.
There were numerous other occasions where Ben, who lead the league in interceptions last year made bad mistakes but these three really stick with me. Remember, the Steelers missed the playoffs by one game, if either of those two had been victories, Pittsburgh could have gone to the playoffs.
Last season Ben Roethlisberger received a pass from the media and the fans, but the fact remains that if he would have played average in a couple of games, just average, the Steelers would have at least had a chance to defend their title.
I am perfectly willing to give Ben a pass as well after all the great things that he has done, but Ben, please stop talking. Every time you talk about problems with Cowher, or how he treated you like a kid it makes me want to slap you! You acted like a little kid last year and if that is how Bill Cowher chose to treat you, maybe he had a reason.
5/16/2007
So Far So Good for Coach Tomlin
Mike Tomlin has handled the Alan Faneca situation perfectly, at least to this point. He can’t cater to one player no matter how much he needs him, but he also doesn’t want to piss him off. This article demonstrates the balanced approach he is taking perfectly. He makes sure to compliment Faneca, calling him a real pro and then points out that he has no control over contracts. And, as has been pointed out, both Ben and Troy have big paydays coming up, and while neither may be as good as Faneca right now they are both younger and are the respective faces of the offense and defense. Those are the economics of the NFL today. It will be an interesting drama to watch play out and while there isn’t much hope of Faneca being a Pittsburgh Steeler after this season, it seems like Mike Tomlin is going to get a good full season out of him.
4/20/2007
Q & A With Ben
Here's a semi-interesting article where he at least addresses Tomlin, Faneca's absence and the loss of Joey Porter. Not a ton of news but it certainly seems like the players are walking on eggshells about Faneca.
Faneca Skips Minicamp
Alan Faneca didn't show up for Mike Tomlin's first minicamp today. Though the workout is voluntary, that's never a good sign for a team leader with a new coach. I must say, though, I'd be a lot more worried if Faneca's rants in the past had come to fruition. Remember, after all, that he is the one who criticized Ben Roethlisberger when he first moved into the starting role, and if he had his way, Tommy Maddox's front yard would probably have a lot more trash on it.
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