Heading into Sunday’s game, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a pretty clear problem: New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. In just four games against the Steelers, Gronkowski has averaged 100.8 yards per game and has seven touchdowns. Ooof. So, how can the Steelers stop the tight end? There are, of course, the more basic options — jamming him, getting physical with him, quadruple covering him — but those are far from foolproof. So what about other ways of preventing the Patriots’ ... Read More
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Rob Gronkowski problem
It’s October, which means it’s time to watch all the scary movies you can get your hands on. In the Pittsburgh Steelers’ case, that kind of horror film might just be the game tape of tight end Rob Gronkowski and his New England Patriots after Sunday’s game. Gronkowski has long been the Steelers’ kryptonite. In his four games against them, he’s averaged 100.8 yards/game and has seven touchdowns. Only the New York Giants, Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams have given up ... Read More
Steelers assistant investigated for assault
According to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter, Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends coach James Daniel is currently under investigation by NFL Security for allegedly assaulting a New England Patriots fan at halftime Thursday night. NFL investigating Steelers' assistant coach for allegedly assaulting a Patriots' fan Thursday night: http://t.co/nsTO6hY5fZ — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 11, 2015 The alleged incident with the fan occurred prior to and after half time of the Steelers loss ... Read More
Three up and Three down: Steelers vs. Patriots
Each week this football season, Pittsburgh Sporting News will take a look at the positives and negatives from that week's Pittsburgh Steelers contest in Three up and Three down. Let's start with last night's season-opening 28-21 defeat against the New England Patriots. Three up: •For starters, did DeAngelo Williams find the fountain of youth, or what? Any concerns about Williams being able bridge the two-game gap until suspended All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell can return were put to rest ... Read More
AM Joe: What went wrong?
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Friday, September 11, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Pirates (83-56) were lucky to not lose any ground in the NL Central after their loss to the Brewers last night. The Cardinals also lost, keeping the Bucs 4.5 games back of the Redbirds. Charlie Morton will toe the rubber for the Pirates tonight. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh The votes are in! We asked and you answered in yesterday's reader poll, in ... Read More
COLUMN: Enigmatic Steelers must learn quickly from mistakes
Forget, if you can, for just a few minutes about how much you loathe Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. No matter your opinions or beliefs, or mine, they were the better, more complete football team on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. With all of the focus on the many alleged cheating tactics used over the years, it is not likely these 2015 Patriots participated in any illegal acts on that wet field in this game. Brady, the ... Read More
Steelers Report Card: Grading Steelers Week 1 loss to Patriots
Many expected the Pittsburgh Steelers to get blown out Thursday night to begin the season against the defending Super Bowl champions. And while that wasn’t the case, they did come up short on the scoreboard. Despite starting the season out on a bad note, there were some positive things coming from the black and gold. With that being said there were also plenty of negatives. Let’s take a look at how the Steelers graded out in our first Steelers Report Card of the 2015 ... Read More
Steelers secondary can’t handle Gronk, Patriots
The Steelers secondary will have nightmares of Rob Gronkowski. The New England tight end scored three touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 28-21 win over Pittsburgh in the NFL's season opener on Thursday night. The first half was dominated by the hosting New England Patriots who took advantage of a lackluster visiting Pittsburgh Steelers defense. The Steelers played better in the second half of the game, but it would not be enough to topple the reigning Super Bowl Champions. Coming into ... Read More
Week 1 preview: can the Steelers stop ‘Gronk’?
After months of waiting to finally kick off the 2015 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will face the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium with kickoff set for 8:30 tonight on NBC. If history is any indication, the Steelers will have an uphill climb to come out with a victory. Since the NFL started having the defending Super Bowl champion host the "kickoff game" in 2004, the home team has a 9-2 record over that span. Considering that the Steelers have struggled ... Read More
Fourth annual PSN NFL predictions
It's hard to believe that another NFL season is starting tomorrow, isn't it? Maybe it's the play of the Pirates all summer, or maybe the product is getting less and less desirable to watch on the field. Either way, I'm not the only one who has had enough of Deflategate or Tebowmania Part 2. I'm ready to watch some action on the field. For the fourth straight year, I'll take a shot at predicting the division winners, playoff matchups and Super Bowl winner, as well as the individual awards. ... Read More