Blogged Verification

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens Preview

Can you feel it???

Tonight is going to be a good one. The last time the Baltimore Ravens played the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger was simply stunning. He threw FIVE touchdowns in the FIRST HALF!!! Do I expect a repeat though…

NO. And here is why.

We played horrible last week offensively and Ben Roethlisberger is still sore from that beating. The secret is out, our offensive line stinks right now and if we can’t stop the Eagles than imagine what the Ravens can do. Baltimore has won four of the last five matchups and have looked pretty decent through the first two games. This game will be more of a challenge for them however, their first two games came against division opponents and this will be the most difficult out of the three. I do expect the Ravens to come out physical and play us tough like they usually do (minus the 38-7 can of whoop ass we layed on them last year) but I don’t expect them to win. Defensively we will put pressure on rookie QB Joe Flacco who will in turn make some favorable plays for Steeler fans. I don’t expect a high scoring battle but I do predict that the Steelers will pull it out. My prediction for tonight is…

Steelers 18 Ravens 10

 

Willie Parker And Casey Hampton Are Out For MNF Matchup Against The Baltimore Ravens

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without injured Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker and nose tackle Casey Hampton for Monday night’s home game against Baltimore.

Parker, who had 243 yards in the Steelers’ first two games before being held to 20 during a 15-6 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday, has a sprained left knee that occurred late in that game.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin did not say Tuesday if Parker might miss more than one game.

With Parker out, first-round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall will make his first NFL start. Mendenhall, from Illinois, has 28 yards in 10 carries during limited playing time — partly because he fumbled three times in the final two preseason games.

Hampton, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman the last four seasons and the key to the Steelers’ run defense, has a strained groin. He will be replaced by Chris Hoke, who made 10 starts in 2004 after Hampton injured a knee.

Defensive end Brett Keisel, who sat out the Eagles game with a calf injury, is also out. He may be sidelined for a month or more.

Ben Roethlisberger, sacked eight times by the Eagles, injured his right hand late in the game but is not expected to be limited in practice, Tomlin said.

Tomlin said no personnel moves will be made along the offensive line, despite the repeated breakdowns in protection that had Roethlisberger constantly ducking defenders. The Steelers (2-1) were held to 160 yards, with 33 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Parker was leading the NFL in rushing with 1,316 yards when he broke his right leg on a carry early in the Steelers’ Dec. 20 game at St. Louis last season. Without Parker, the Steelers ran for only 92 yards combined in their final two games, a 27-21 regular-season loss at Baltimore and a 31-29 wild-card playoff loss at home to Jacksonville.

That inability to run the ball effectively without Parker led the Steelers to draft Mendenhall.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Week 3 Power Rankings

 

This might be the first week where my team has lost and I have stayed consistent with the posts. Congratulations to me. Anyways, here are the power rankings for week 3.

1.Dallas Cowboys
2.New York Giants
3.Denver Broncos
4.Tennessee Titans
5.Buffalo Bills
6.Philadelphia Eagles
7.Pittsburgh Steelers
8.Green Bay Packers
9.Carolina Panthers
10.New England Patriots
11.Washington Redskins
12.Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13.San Diego Chargers
14.Indianapolis Colts
15.Jacksonville Jaguars
16.Arizona Cardinals
17.Baltimore Ravens
18.Minnesota Vikings
19.New York Jets
20.New Orleans Saints
21.Chicago Bears
22.Atlanta Falcons
23.San Francisco 49ers
24.Seattle Seahawks
25.Miami Dolphins
26.Cincinnati Bengals
27.Cleveland Browns
28.Oakland Raiders
29.Houston Texans
30.Kansas City Chiefs
31.St. Louis Rams
32.Detroit Lions

Gerry Dulac’s Week 3 Report Card

Quarterback

It’s hard to entirely fault Ben Roethlisberger when he was sacked eight times and would have been sacked four more if he didn’t manage to scramble across the line for a 1- or 2-yard gain. Still, he threw his first interception of the season, lost two fumbles and got caught for a safety on an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone. What’s more, his longest pass play was 16 yards.

Running backs

Among the curious decisions was not giving rookie Rashard Mendenhall some playing time until late in the fourth quarter in a game in which Willie Parker tied his career low with 20 yards on 13 carries. Parker’s longest run was 8 yards and there just wasn’t a lot of room for him to maneuver. Of course, the first thing Mendenhall did when he got in the game was drop a pass in the flat.

Receivers

The protection was so bad that the offense had to keep extra players in to block and couldn’t afford to send more than three receivers on pass routes. After not catching a pass in the first two games, Nate Washington had a team-high five, though two came on the final drive when Byron Leftwich was the quarterback. Hines Ward had four catches, but, like Santonio Holmes, had a big drop.

Offensive line

Other than managing 33 yards rushing on 19 attempts and watching their quarterbacks get sacked nine times, the offensive line was terrific. The linemen never did pick up the Eagles blitzes and, even when they did, they got beat in individual matchups. Willie Colon had a nightmare game, allowing DE Juqua Parker to get 2 1/2 sacks and hurry Roethlisberger four other times.

Defensive line

The Eagles finished with modest rushing numbers — 65 yards on 23 attempts — and their longest run was 11 yards. But they also lost RB Brian Westbrook for the game on the second offensive series. His replacement, Correll Buckhalter, finished with 43 yards. DE Travis Kirschke did a solid job filling in for injured Brett Keisel, tying for the team high with seven tackles.

Linebackers

The Steelers never really adjusted their scheme after Westbrook left the game, using a lot of nickel defense to defend against short passes to Buckhalter. But Buckhalter beat LB James Harrison around the corner on the only TD in the game. Larry Foote had 1 1/2 sacks, even though he didn’t play a lot in the second half because of the nickel defense, and OLB LaMarr Woodley also had a sack.

Defensive backs

It wasn’t a shutdown performance by the secondary, not when Donovan McNabb completed his first 15 passes and converted third-and-17 and third-and-14 situations. But they didn’t allow any big plays and came up with three turnovers. Bryant McFadden was outstanding, intercepting a pass, recovering a fumble and breaking up another pass that was intercepted by Troy Polamalu.

Special teams

The coverage units weren’t as spectacular as they were in the first two games, not after allowing a 37-yard return on the opening kickoff. But they were solid after that. Mitch Berger came back after a poor performance in Cleveland with two 53-yard punts and three inside the 20. And Jeff Reed had a career-best 53-yarder among his two field goals.

Coaching

Good decisions and preparation rarely are factors in a game in which the offense doesn’t score a touchdown against a defense that gave up 41 points six days earlier. And their inability to adjust to the Eagles pressure and pick up their blitzes was the biggest reason for those deficiencies. Give Mike Tomlin credit for challenging a play that was overturned and ruled an Eagles fumble.

Ben Spent Most Of His Time Here On Sunday

I have no words…

I was thoroughly disappointed with the way we played yesterday. I don’t have many negative words for the defense which was the only positive spark yesterday but our offense gets many expletives. The offensive line played like s***, I have never seen such terrible f****** protection since last year against the Ravens. I knew I should reserve judgement on the way our line has held up in the first two games because we were not blitzed against frequently. NINE sacks and a safety is atrocious and even though Ben did not play well when he had time I do not fault him as much as I fault Marvel Smith, Chris Kemoatu, Justin Hartwig, Kendall Simmons (his mind may have been somewhere else) and Willie Colon.

In addition to our offensive line play we went away from the running game too early a.k.a our bread and butter. Willie Parker was held under 100 yards for the first time this season and he wasn’t even close this time. It took me some time to even log on and write this post because I spent last night in an alcohol bath ashamed of our play and play calling…

Somebody tell me why we didn’t kick a field goal on 4th and 10. I understand Mike Tomlin’s explanation of we weren’t moving the ball but at least give your team a chance. Anyways congratulations to my friends who are Eagles fans and to my Steeler fans we know we have work to do because the secret is out…

Our offensive line is comparable to the economy except in this case we have no bailout. Up next comes the Ravens and I hope/pray/meditate/wish we can do better than we did this week.

Signing off is me, a proud fan of the 2-1 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let Me Know What You Think???

Sorry for the three day hiatus. I wasn’t gathering any thing really worth posting but in hindsight I could have placed some updates on a few things.

I have been doing this blog site for a little bit and I am really starting to see my traffic increase which I would like to thank everybody who visits my site for. It is with that stated that I would like to ask for your feedback. Let me know what you think of my site, I do this for you guys and I want to make sure that you like it. If there is anything you think I can improve on please let me know. I am not a stubborn guy (except for when it comes to my Steelers I think we can do no wrong) so any additions or subtractions to the blog you feel would add to its success please let me know. Once again, much appreciation for the support and leave a comment to show your approval or displeasure of the blog. Thanks!

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles Preview

This is known in Pennsylvania as the Keystone battle.

Last time these two teams met it was in Pittsburgh in Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie year and the Eagles were 7-0. In comes the 6-1 Steelers who beat the Eagles handily 27-3. That was Pittsburgh but Philadelphia is a different story…

The Steelers have not won in Philadelphia since 1969 and are 0-7 since then. Both teams boast brilliant defenses coordinated by arguably the two best in the game. Dick LeBeau is the defensive whiz for the Steelers and Jim Johnson heads the Eagles. The Eagles lead the NFC in points per game (37.5) so it will be up to the Steelers (allow only 11.5 ppg) to bring that average down a bit. The Steelers have a potent offense but do not fare as well in shootouts as other teams do. DE Brett Keisel will be out for this game and it will be up to one of our aged defensive lineman reserves to hold him down.

This game concerns me for reasons I will only let my fellow blog readers know (my roommate is a huge Eagles fan and I refuse to let my guard down about my unbeatable Steelers) that. For one, the Steelers have not won their in years and Lincoln Financial Field is not the friendliest place for a road team to play. Second, Donovan McNabb is healthy and anybody who knows football that when he is healthy he is easily one of the league’s best quarterbacks. In addition to that Roethlisberger has a sore shoulder and if he is forced to make many throws in an offensive showdown which may occur, how will his arm fare throughout the contest.

When it is all said and done though I do feel that we can come out victorious by sticking to Steelers football and running the ball. They have a tough run defense but I believe our offensive line is up to the job. We may be without OL Kendall Simmons for the game, his wife is expecting their third child and Mr. Simmons will make sure he is there (stand up guy). we do have people who can fill in his slot but we would definitely lose a notch (some things are more important however). If we get to McNabb and sack him a few times like I think we can I believe we win this game. My prediction…

Steelers 24 Eagles 18

Vote RB Willie Parker For FedEx Ground NFL Player Of The Week

Another Steeler player is nominated for a weekly award and this time it is “Fast” Willie Parker.

Parker posted his second consecutive 100-yard game in a hard-fought 10-6 Steelers road win over the Cleveland Browns. Parker rushed for 105 yards on 28 carries.

Click Here To Vote

Vote S Troy Polamalu For GMC Sierra Defensive Player Of The Week

Can we make it two weeks in a row that a Steelers player wins GMC Sierra Defensive Player Of The Week? I think we can if we all pull together as fans and vote for our long haired friend.

Polamalu recorded his second interception of the season, defended two passes and made one tackle for a loss to help the Steelers defeat the Cleveland Browns, 10-6.

Click Here To Vote

P.S. – I just wanted a reason to post some goofy Polamalu videos

Let’s Greet This Converted Browns Fan

Let’s give this guy a big Steelers welcome. He has finally joined the dark side. Sorry Cleveland but in the words of Jay-Z, you lost one!