July 26, 2007

All Eyes on Latrobe, PA...

How many times in your life do you think you could say that?? Well I guess if you're reading this you're a Steeler fan so probably once a year, but think about it from an outsider's perspective.

It's not surprising that there has been much analysis already offered about the Steelers '07 training camp and it's impact on the outlook for the '07-'08 season. Brand new, 34 year old head coach. QB coming off of a disappointing and injury/trauma-plagued season. Virtually and all new staff. I could go on and on, but the basic premise is the same. The 2007 Steelers will be scrutinized heavily because this is not going to be the same team you saw in 2006. All this talk about new schemes and new techniques isn't just a bunch of hot air (from what we know so far). So everyone will be waiting to see how the "new regime" in Pittsburgh fairs - Starting right now in Latrobe.

That said, I'm going to try and run through a few articles I've read thus far, being as effective as possible while still exercising full control over economy of language (starting now...). Hopefully I'll be able to provide updates/posts at least once a day for all you rabid blog readers.

  • SI.com's Don Banks Top 10 Burning Training Camp Questions: [listed #1]: Will Ben Roethlisberger quickly buy into head coach Mike Tomlin's new program in Pittsburgh? Obviously Banks does not read the Post-Gazette...Ed Bouchette would be very upset.

  • FoxSports.com's Adam Schein's "Stories to Watch As Training Camps Begin": Again listed as #1 is Camp Tomlin. Main foci - Team working harder than ever while "falling in love with coach," Big Ben taking more of a leadership role, "Running sprints with offensive line," and the witty characterization of Tomlin's players devotion to him as coach - they'd run through a wall for him...sounds good to me.

  • Yahoo! Sports Preseason Power Rankings: Steelers listed under "muddled middle" by both writers, Jason Cole and Charles Robinson - Cole has them at 16, Robinson at 20. Yet, both guys have the Bengals in their top 10. So what have we learned? Yahoo! Sports doesn't know shit about the NFL. Anyone care to disagree?
Plus, for your general amusment, here's an index of some other Steelers training camp coverage I've seen thus far:
1. USA Today
2. SI.com
3. ESPN.com

Maybe more later, if you're lucky...or is that if I'm lucky? Hmmm...

3 comments:

domski43 said...

They just put up bleachers in Latrobe. Hair or weave?

Black n Gold said...

I absolutely love that the Bungles are being highly-ranked again. Yeah, don't worry about all that off-the-field stuff, the media surely won't bring it up after each and every loss or game in which they even remotly struggle. It's just comical at this point. They won't win more than 8 games, and if they struggle early, you may hear rumblings about Marvin Lewis getting canned.

domski43 said...

Unfortunately for the Steelers, rankings or no rankings, the Bengals along with the entire AFC North are tough teams. Maybe not the Browns...yet. Year after year of early draft choices has to work out eventually. The Bengals have a lot of weapons, but Willis McGahee in Baltimore is scary! The Ravens ripped the Steelers a new one twice last year. (I was there to witness the second game) It was embarrassing. Adalias Thomas or not the Ravens D is still stacked, while McNair is getting old he has been a thorn in the Steelers side since his days in Tennessee. New Season...New Rules!