Training camp has quickly approached with players reporting this Friday to the comfortable confines of St. Vincent College for the 48th season. This season like the rest has numerous storylines that we’ll be covering throughout camp. But one of the most interesting ones are camp battles and the 2013 Steelers are in no shortage of those. A look to get you ready for the official start of football season. OLB: Jason Worilds/Jarvis Jones One of the big two Steelers’ fans will be watching ... Read More
All 22: Red Zone Route Combinations
In our last look in the red zone, we focused on a Charlie Batch mistake that led to an interception. Today, we’ll focus on the opposite; an excellent red zone route concept that gave the Raiders a relatively easy six points. Personnel: Deuce Route Concept: Slant/Wheel Defense: Base 3-4, Cover 1 Result: Three Yard TD by Darius Heyward-Bay Pre-snap shot of the Raiders’ formation and a markup of Oakland’s route concept. One of the most common red zone route concepts. The #1 receiver at the ... Read More
Maurkice Pouncey: A Rebuttal
It would be an understatement to say this has been an offseason Roger Goodell would like to forget. Get to training camp everyone. Peyton Manning, start throwing to Wes Welker. Tim Tebow, do anything. For a time, it seemed the biggest wave made in Steelers’ camp was Mike Wallace sending a few choice words from Miami. Sticks and stones, right? All things considered, everything was calm. Enter photos of Maurkice Pouncey wearing a “Free Hernandez” cap. Ka-boom. Predictably, fans were ... Read More
Pouncey Needs to Correct Off-field Antics
Maurkice Pouncey has been the consummate professional for the Pittsburgh Steelers organization since being drafted in 2010. In his rookie campaign, Pouncey Started in all 16 games, was selected to the Pro Bowl, and got high praise from arguably one of the best Centers in Steelers history, Dermontii Dawson. “Maurkice is going to be a phenomenal player. For him to make the Pro Bowl his rookie year, and you can just see his work ethic and the way he is as a player. I think he is driven and ... Read More
Is Landry Jones the Successor to Big Ben?
The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise is well versed in the dichotomy of competing now vs. preparing for the future. This is proven by the team's overall record for the past two decades. Only three sub .500 seasons ('98, '99, '03), and two more where they finished that respective year at 8-8 ('06 & '12). That leaves 15 winning seasons (I didn't even need a calculator to figure that stat) out of 20. In case you are wondering, the team's overall record over that time span, 1992-present, is ... Read More
Steelers’ Roethlisberger ranked No. 7 on ESPN QB countdown
Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may be the most unconventional quarterback in the NFL according to ESPN's Ron Jaworski, but at the end of the day all he does is win. In his career Big Ben has won 69 percent of his starts including the playoffs. That alone was good enough for Jaworski to rank Roethlisberger at No. 7 on his current countdown of the starting quarterbacks in the league. Jaworski had some very kind things to say about Roethlisberger, which included him ... Read More
What if?
Throughout life, we find ourselves asking the question, "what if" to numerous topics. As it pertains to sports, there are a lot of these moments. What if Roberto Clemente never hopped on the plane to Managua to provide supplies to victims of the earthquake? What if Barry Sanders and Jim Brown didn't retire in the prime of their career. Would they be No. 1 and No. 2 on the all-time rushing list instead of Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton? What if Twitter or social media sites were around ... Read More
Adding veterans would be a good idea for the Steelers
The 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers have an abundance of young talent on the roster. However, veteran leadership with proven track records would be a welcomed addition to training camp. The Steelers definitely have some questions heading into camp which is right around the corner as to who is going to start. While I am a firm believer of promoting from within, it's never a bad idea to have depth at pivotal positions. The Steelers will open up training camp with over $4 Million in salary cap space ... Read More
Steelers among most aggressive red zone teams in NFL
For years, the major complaint from Steelers' fans towards former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was that every time the team drove down the field, they often had to settle for field goals rather than touchdowns. Visually that perception may not have changed much during Todd Haley's first season employing his "dink and dunk" offense, but when the Steelers got into the red zone, Haley's play calling became surprisingly more aggressive. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 59.3 ... Read More
Out with the old and in with the new for the Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off an underwhelming season last year going 8-8. For a team that believes every year is a championship season, this doesn't sit well with players, coaches, management and fans. It is time for the Steelers to shed the players that have lost a few steps and no better time to do it than to do it in training camp. Guy Whimper has yet to play a snap in the city of Pittsburgh and hopefully it stays that way. Whimper had only 392 plays on offense in 2012 with the ... Read More