A pair of struggling teams will clash Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field when the Buffalo Bills (3-6) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6).  The Bills, though likely out of the playoffs for a league-leading 14th consecutive season, have lost four games this season by ten points or less to playoff contenders, home against New England, Cincinnati, and Kansas City and at the New York Jets.  They have also been without rookie starting QB E.J. Manuel, who was hurt in their loss at Cleveland in Week 5, ... Read More

Ben Roethlisberger had a call in interview to the morning show on 102.5 WDVE this week in which he discussed, among other things, how long he holds onto the ball before throwing.  It’s a known fact that he ranks pretty far back in the pack as far as time to release, and he is cognizant of this.  He has stated many times that he does not go into the huddle saying to the other 10 guys “Hey, I’m gonna hold on to this a little bit and try to make a play and see what happens”. Roethlisberger wants ... Read More

With the season now just being, "Thank God there's only eight games left," instead of, "We have eight more games to try to turn this thing around," the question some Steelers' fans have pondered is, when should the Steelers sit Ben Roethlisberger for the rest of the year?  At what point do you chalk this year up as a loss, as well as cut your losses?  That answer is probably at no point this season, but the reality is, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Since the Steelers would 99.9 percent never ... Read More

We are in the midst of a rare and miserable NFL football season in which the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6) are not exactly among the league's elite.  After an 0-4 start and two consecutive devastating losses at Oakland and New England, they are buried in the AFC North, and unofficially out of the playoff discussion just midway through the season.  There is a crop of core players and youthfulness at most positions who are either continuing to try to improve for the future or who may be fighting for ... Read More

It's officially the halfway point in the Pittsburgh Steelers season. Sitting at 2-6, it hasn't gone the way most people thought or wanted it to go. At the eight-game mark, you know who you are, and so do the fans. Some of the staff members at Pittsburgh Sporting News — Michael Waterloo, Brian Gossett, Jon Pennline, Matt Shetler, Matt Welch, Andrew Barlow, Dom Errico and Drew Brown — give their Most Valuable Player, Least Valuable Players, Surprising Players, Disappointing Player, Play of the ... Read More

The Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel has been cleared to practice and is expected to start on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Manuel hasn't played since suffering a knee injury in Buffalo's Week 5 game against Cleveland. The Florida State product has been impressive in his four full games for the Bills, as he's passed for 985 yards and five touchdowns, leading his team to a 2-2 record. Despite their performance last week against the Patriots, the Steelers enter their game ... Read More

After another, umm, eventful Steelers game on Sunday, I checked the comments to the recap on Pittsburgh Sporting News. It's kind of been a normal routine for me after each game. Each week, or should I say, after each loss, I see the same comments over and over and over again. People want Mike Tomlin and Todd Haley fired, Ben Roethlisberger traded or cut and other solutions (excuses) that seem routine. Now, I've been on record many times saying that the main problem for the Steelers failures ... Read More

There is a distinctively sad air to the general population of this region, and it has been building for several months now.  Spreading like wildfire as of late, the origin of your malaise is widely misunderstood.  I have been tirelessly researching with the assistance of noted psychologist Dr. Miller-Lite, as well as consulting with a lifelong Detroit Lions fan to uncover the true nature of this malady, and as it turns out, the disease already has a name.  Gridiron Hopelessness Affective ... Read More

Last week, a fellow colleague wrote an article debating on whether or not Ben Roethlisberger is an elite quarterback in the NFL. A war of words ensued, as Pittsburgh's faithful came to the defense of their quarterback. In the article, a couple of interesting facts were pointed out: Roethlisberger has zero MVP awards; In the three Super Bowl appearances, he's never been crowned Super Bowl MVP; Ben has never been named All-Pro; He’s had only one season where he was in the top five in ... Read More