If It's Knowledge That You Crave...

then I'm sorry to say, I just might not have anything for you today. Sure, I could offer my thoughts on the Steelers 2007 roster, the preseason pluses, minuses, drama and everything else that's been relevant recently. But let's face it, the bottom line is, preseason is preseason. It is good for 1. Making sure your team is not completely worthless (check), and 2. Checking out how the young guys fare (A+ to most of our guys). So I guess my analysis is that I am excited about the upcoming season and can't wait to see the Steelers pound on the Brownies this coming Sunday.

The personnel? I like it. They kept all the guys they should have and got rid of the guys they should have (see Verron Haynes, Ryan McBean, et al). Now all that's left is to play some football.

However, since Sunday's game is still a few days away, and I'm feeling kind of saucy this morning, I thought I might try and exercise a little humor here. So enjoy today's main feature (hopefully appearing above), and as usual, if you have any pressing issues, news tips, kind words, or just want to say hi and let me know you enjoy my entertaining dialog, feel free to shoot me a quick note.

Cheers!

- The C Man

Random Links you might be interested in:

• Dude from The 40-Year Old Virgin is a Steeler fan...weird.
• Larry Foote getting shit for being a lowly former Wolverine...Oddly enough, no mention of anyone messing with LaMarr Woodley...coincidence? PS - Appalachian State, seriously, as if we needed another reason to shit on Michigan.
• Dick LeBeau's Mantra - "You have to adjust to us, we're not going to adjust to you."
• Steelers are FOCUSED after 4-1 preseason and months of anticipation...

I've Got Really Awesome Timing...yep...

Whoa, even I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted anything. If anyone was disappointed, please accept my sincerest apologies. I mean it's not like I was trying to neglect OFTOT (long acronym, I'm aware), but sometimes paying the bills is just kind of important (not to mention feeding oneself). So work called urgently and I answered. Every. Single. Day. From start to finish.

Anyways, hopefully that fire drill is over and I'll be able to focus completely on the task at hand: the upcoming 2007 Steelers regular season.

I've missed a lot over the past week, but now it's prime time. We're just one week away from the "official" (regular season) dawning of a new era in Steeler football. The Mike Tomlin dynasty...or so we all hope. Please check back daily for musings, analysis, random internet crap of interest and anything else I can find that is Steeler-related and noteworthy.

With that, here's a [moderately] brief round up of what I would have written about, had I even had time to breathe over the past 9 or 10 days (how long is it really? I lost count...):

• First and foremost, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that I wasn't invited to participate in the AOL Fanhouse "Steelers Roundtable" discussion with JJ Cooper (Fanhouse Steeler-expert); Ryan Wilson (Fanhouse and Heels, Sox and Steelers; and Neal Coolong (Die Hard Steel); regarding the Dan Kreider situation. Considering I've been pretty "vocal" on the subject (see here and here...plus you may have noticed the poll), I would think they might oblige to let me weigh in on this timely topic. Oh well, guess I might be considering myself just a bit more credible than I really am. Still, I'll just be over here in the corner crying if you don't mind...


• Brett Keisel needs to shut up and take his fine like a man. I don't really care whether he thought the hit was legal or not. I wasn't exactly proud of what happened to Carson Palmer two years ago, and I certainly wasn't proud of what happened against the 'Skins. Sure that hit wasn't intentional or anything, but still. If you get a fine, deal with it. It was $12,500. If Brett Keisel can't spare $12,500, then there's something wrong with that picture.


• This whole Whisenhunt brain drain thing is getting a little old (or would that be body drain?). This week, Mike Barr (PS - Ken, he's all yours man). Next week, undoubtedly Chukky Okobi and Verron Haynes. Dude, how about scouting some other guys?


• The roster is set, but nowhere to be found are (as mentioned) Chukky Okobi and Verron Haynes, as well as 21 other guys, including 3 of the Steelers 2007 draft picks: Ryan McBean, Cameron Stephenson and Dallas Baker, all of which I was hoping would pan out. Oh well, can't win 'em all. I'll take Timmons, Woodley, Spaeth, Sepulveda and Gay any day of the week. And hey, at least we know who our starting Center will be.


• Since Willie Reid seems to have forgotten the concept of kick returns, the Steelers astutely went out and got [now] ex-Falcons return man, Allen Rossum. Nice to have that insurance for the short term, but let's think longer term - is Allen Rossum the answer to that problem? I don't think so. Someone needs to spend some time with Reid and/or Santonio and make one of those options work. Either that, or we re-address the situation at year's end (again).


• Steelers say they are Super Bowl material. 'Nuff said.


• Looks like we'll be all over Charlie Frye week 1...been there, done that. I'd actually rather him than Derek Anderson...and Cleveland, that's pretty sad.

I could go on and on, but I won't. Point is, of all weeks between February and September to miss, how could I miss the week before the regular season's commencement (technically that's this coming week but you know what I mean)? Let's just hope that was the last extended absence for at least the next five months...and I'm off to the bar to watch the Steelers-Carolina replay. Cheers!

I'm A Little Veclemped...Talk Amongst Yourselves...

Not much time to write today and well, hey, it's Friday. So I may not even get anything else posted. But here's a list of things I MIGHT talk about if I WERE posting today. Use your imagination for witty dialogue:

• Steelers continue to delude themselves and the public saying they will throw more to the Tight Ends...
• Ryan Clark v. Anthony Smith -- the proverbial "brains" versus "brawn" battle...
• Alan Faneca honored by being named to Sports Illustrated's list of Greatest Steelers...and Brett Keisel's...oh man love in August...how cute...
• Big Ben, Super Bowl winning QB and aspiring male model...
• In case you're wondering what a bunch of dudes who play football for the Steelers have to say about Michael Vick...
• Bill Cowher not missing Latrobe...
• Read what the Baltimore media thinks about Coach Tomlin...
• Adam Schein's new mantra - "Pay 'em when they earn it"...or something like that...
• Modern Day version of "The Playmaker" (except way less selfish and dramatic) - Santonio Holmes...I can dig it...
• File under things we've all been thinking and saying for way too long this preseason...

And that's all she wrote folks. Back on Monday...maybe sooner...how's that for suspense...?

Oh No, We Suck Again!

Just kidding. But in all seriousness, I was pretty unimpressed with what both the offense and defense did against Washington this weekend. First of all, 0 points off our starters who played basically the whole first half (at least Ben did) is pretty piss poor.

Even beyond that, there were a number of things I noted in the first half of Saturday's game (which I watched Sunday...and yes, only the 1st half...what're you gonna do), including:

• Verron Haynes looked better than all running backs. How many times in the recent past have you been able to say that? 7 rushes for 30 yards. Not too shabby. Speaking of running backs though, Gary Russell, 7 rushes for 24 yards, not bad either.


• It's seconds from the end of the 2nd Quarter, we're on the 'Skins goal line, and we false start? I'm sure this was because Ben was trying to snap the ball and Mahan just didn't hear him, but blame is not important. What is, is that it happened and as a result we had to settle for a field goal. That just isn't going to fly in the regular season.


• McFadden getting beat by Brandon Lloyd for that TD in the 2nd quarter wasn't exactly a slick move. I don't believe we were in man coverage so maybe "getting beat" is the wrong term but however you slice it, McFadden was responsible for covering Lloyd and he obviously did not do that well enough. This was just disappointing for me because he has been so good lately and was jockeying for a starting job. Not that this will negatively impact that but just that it will be duly noted.


• Was anyone covering Chris Cooley at any point? After first 2 or 3 catches you'd think we'd pay more attention to a pro bowl TE. Just so we're clear, Cooley (the TE) finished with 5 catches for 60 yards! You think Todd Heap will do any worse? Kellen Winslow? We need to be able to keep these guys under control. Didn't look promising on Saturday.


• On a brighter note, the punt coverage looked pretty good and Willie Reid didn't fumble. Actually, he had 2 kick returns totaling 37 yards. Hey, could be worse.


• O-Line still does not look like it's there. As Ed Bouchette pointed out in his recap, not having Marvel Smith at left tackle is a big problem, the only solution to which seems to be moving Alan Faneca into that spot. Max Starks clearly is not able to play there (nor is he really able to play his true position but that's another story) and Trai Essex did not exactly impress on Saturday. So that's one problem. But generally we just looked week in pass protection. That's gotta get better and fast.


• On another bright note, Santonio looked great as the starting split end. 2 catches for 51 yards in limited action is alright by me. He showed some of that speed we wanted to see and clearly he's going to become quite a weapon. Rock n' Roll.


• William Gay had yet another INT. Kid is a machine! Getting him in the 5th round seems to be a steal. Sure, we could've taken Revis in the 1st round but apparently we may have made another great decision. Gay has been exceptional this preseason...whereas Revis has yet to play (or did he play the other night? I didn't really watch that game).


• I think I might owe DeShea Townsend an apology. I've been touting McFadden as the right option at starting corner opposite Ike Taylor, and saying how DeShea is older, and a little on the short side. But who cares if he's making plays. From what I saw, he had a nice sack and played some pretty nice coverage. Overall he looked good. Cheers DeShea!


• Woodley continues to kick ass, with a sack and two solo tackles in Saturday's game. Going to be a tough decision where to put him this year. He's still young but he's already shown he's ready to run with the big boys. I'm curious to see where this nets out...


• Another dominant force was Sepulveda. 50 yard punt avg! I can dig that...I mean hopefully we won't be punting all that often, but if we have to, I wouldn't want anyone else performing that duty but SEPULVEDA!


• Last but certainly not least -- No TDs? None? We better get ourselves together. No TDs against Cincy and Baltimore will = no win. Especially since our first team offense couldn't even get a score out of an entire half of play!

So all in all not the best effort we've put forth. Still, this coming week is another test, and hopefully we will use the results of this game to correct mistakes and come out stronger on Sunday against cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. What did you all think of the game? Any other spots of promise? How did the 2nd half go? I only saw the first couple minutes...

And That's Not All...

Thought I was done with the news/notes for tomorrow's game. Yet here I am back at the keyboard...well, I'm at a keyboard virtually all day, but you understand.

Just ran across this AP story about tomorrow's game. Apparently the Redskins first team offense has gone SIX straight preseason games without scoring a single point!! According to Santana Moss - "at this stage, with this offense, with this team, it's almost like now or never." Tough break for them, having to go up against our Big Nasty D this weekend. Hopefully we're able to do a good enough job to keep that streak alive and well. Sorry Santana, better luck next time my friend...that is, if all goes well (for us). Though, it should be noted that the last time the 'Skins first team offense registered a point was against the Steelers back in '05, so I guess we have to be confident but not arrogant (oops).

Other notes include:

• Portis and Rock Cartwright are out for the 'Skins so it's the Ladell Betts show. Not much less scary than if it were Portis. Actually, might be more scary.
• Starting for their prized left tackle Chris Samuels, currently injured, will be an undrafted free agent, Stephon Heyer. I like those odds. Woodley on an undrafted free agent? It's time to make the doughnuts.
• Skins Center Casey Rabach sums up the lack of preseason first string scoring nicely - "That's kind of the objective...If we move the ball up and down between the 20s, we'd feel pretty good about that, but the ultimate goal is to get in the end zone, and you kind of go home unsatisfied if you can't get in there."...Uh, yeah man. Isn't that the point of the game...as Herm Edwards has so eloquently put it, "You Play To Win The Game."

Contrastingly to all this, Mike Tomlin's objective was - "We have to try to master the things that require no talent." So what does that mean? Well understandably it means remembering how to "play hard, play fast, and know assignments." Precisely the kind of thing that's going to lead to success this season. Thank god for Tomlin...what a guy.

Oh and PS - remember Antwaan Randle El? Yeah, me neither. Whatever happened to that guy?

Notes and What Not - Steelers v. 'Skins...

Tomorrow night. At FedEx Field. Everyone. Gets. Laid.

Ok so that's a line from PCU (if you haven't seen it you're either only 19 or you are severely deprived), but it does look like the Steelers first team offense and defense are going to get a little more work this weekend than they have the past couple preseason games. At this point, Tomlin is obviously getting close to his final evaluations, trying differnt options at different positions and in different capacities, so we can expect to see some unusual things. Positive unusual things? Who knows. But potentially yes.

Here's a few notes I got from this morning's Post-Gazette report, some related to tomorrow's game, some of just general preseason relevance:

• Possibilities on the O-line:
  • Trai Essex at Left Tackle
  • Willie Colon at Right Tackle
  • Marvin Philip, still has a long way to go to even be included in conversation with Chukky Okobi and Sean Mahan
  • Max Starks winning the One For The Other Thumb "Weakest Link" Poll, so far garnering all votes (though only 3 votes have been logged...jagoffs)
  
  
• Willie Parker and James "Silverback" Harrison to play...finally. Still no Timmons though.


• Ryan Clark will probably start at Free Safety for the injured Anthony Smith. Also may be holding his ground amidst Smith's bid to overthrow him in the starting role...mixed feelings on that.


• Gary Russell's blocking and maybe pass catching skills will likely be tested, as Tomlin evaluates him for the final roster.


• Walter Young, this one's anybody's guess but Tomlin loves his determination (it's his 4th camp with the Steelers).


• Nate Washington, dropped a couple passes, nothing to lose sleep over and it's certainly not due to lack of confidence.


• Brian St. Pierre, "some teams keep two quarterbacks, some teams keep three...what Brian has done to this point has not been disappointing"...Straight from the horse's mouth.

Plus, here's some other random shit to write home about...sarcasm is thick today:

• Everyone's favorite Sports Illustrated Columnist, Peter King, has posted his "All-Future" team for 2012. Steelers players included - Zero, Steelers Coaches included - One. Yep, King (catching us all by surprise, since he overlooks the Steelers pretty readily) noted Mike Tomlin to be the Dream Team Head Coach of the future. Guess it's not all cobwebs in that noggin' Peter.


• FoxSports.com's Steelers Team Report focuses on the Steelers moving away from Dan Kreider into a non-fullback offense. In doing so, they point out the Carey Davis/John Kuhn factor -- that one or the other will likely make the cut as a tailback/fullback. Guess the end may really be near for Kreider and the Steelers...I'm fighting back my tears...seriously.


• Even the Baltimore Sun is getting in on The Smoking Gun's outing of the Steelers hotel demands the other day...


• More bad news for Cincy...not like I care, we'd beat 'em with Hines Ward playing DE!

That's all for now, have a great weekend dudes and dudettes!

Movin' On Up...

Good news on a Thursday morning! Mike Tomlin announced two fairly significant modifications to the team's starting lineup for this weekend's game against the Washington Redskins.

Among the "improvements" (relative term of course) are -

• Bryant McFadden starting at right Corner over Deshea
• Santonio Holmes starting at Split End over Cedrick "The Entertainer" Wilson

What this means for the longer term is anybody's guess, that is at least with any degree of accuracy, but I'm pretty sure it means Tomlin is willing to give these guys a shot at starting if they're able to perform when given the chance, NOW. In my opinion, and I'm sure I'm not alone here, both of these are inevitable "changes." McFadden and Santonio are the future, while DeShea (no offense to him) is definitely the past and Wilson was never really meant to play that central a role in the Steelers passing attack. He has made great contributions thus far, but there's a reason we drafted Santonio so high last year.

Something to keep an eye on...

The Real Deal, Period.

Lest ye think LaMarr Woodley is not hardcore, witness the YouTube magic below. Some crafty individual caught this video of our new prize gem as he blew through Najeh Davenport. Check it out, it will only make you love the guy more.

And if you've got 6 minutes or so, this 2007 Preview is worth a look...just strings together a bunch of footage from preseason thus far.

If You See This Man, Buy Him A Beer...

So the picture...yeaaaaahhhhhhh...You guys out there may not know him, but this man's name is Drew and you'd never tell from the picture, but he's a Steeler fan (and also a good friend). Drew's heading across the country right now, making stops in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and god knows where else. Apparently yesterday he stopped off in Bengal country to talk some trash, maybe race Ocho Cinco and obviously desecrate a Carson Palmer jersey. No real reason for posting this other than it made me laugh. Still, if you see him, buy him an 'Ahrn or two.

Anyways, so yeah, we had a preseason game this Saturday, huh? Sidenote - this airing games after they've been played thing is really not working for me, sorry NFL Network. What I want to know is what else was worth showing at 5:30PM on Saturday that wasn't Steelers v. Packers? Needless to say by the time I went to watch the game at the bar on Sunday, I already knew how it had turned out (thanks to the non-stop barrage of news, particularly sports news these days). But despite all that, and the fact that I had seen probably the most notable play of the game, I wanted to go check out how we fared overall.

The one thing I want to point out in particular is Special Teams. They certainly were "special," weren't they? Last week Jeff Reed misses a field goal, this week he has an extra point blocked, even though I keep hearing reports out of Latrobe that he's nailing like 15 in a row, some from like 55 yards out. I guess this isn't a huge concern just yet, but seriously, the kicking game should be a pretty sure thing. There will be no excuse for missing field goals and extra points during the regular season. The good news is that having that extra point blocked didn't stop Jeff Reed from partying that night...we call that dedication folks...AND on the bright side (yet again), Sepulveda looked superb. The one kick I think we all particularly liked was the one that sailed 50+ yards and bounced right around the Packers 15 and out of bounds, like he planned it perfectly. This dude is gonna be a great asset...'nuff said.

Other than that, I admit, I was kind of in and out when watching, but here's a few more "quick" thoughts (because yes, it was a pre-season game and no sense dwelling too much on the minutiae):

• Marvel Smith looked worrisome at left tackle. We all saw the two plays in a row. Najeh stuffed on the first, Ben blindsided on the second, forcing a fumble. But it's not like Max Starks is a viable option either (though he is sporting a sick "do" these days, hat tip - JJ Cooper). So it would seem time to start entertaining other possibilities seeing as how Ben's gonna need a lot of protection if we're throwing the ball THAT much this season.


• Tomlin may have lost his 1st game at Heinz Field, but you know who else lost their 1st preseason game at home? Bill Cowher...AND Chuck Noll. So not like we were worried anyways, but just further reassurance that Tomlin is still solid as Steel. Maybe the problem was he was wearing Khakis and not his normal all black, Darth Vader look.


• The starting defense has been pretty damn Nasty thus far in preseason. Is this all because of LaMarr Woodley? Probably not, but from what I'm reading, his success may lead to him seeing more playing time than expected, particularly on passing downs. Not bad for a rook.


• Both Santonio and Walter Young had 40+ yard receptions. Obviously I'm more excited about the Santonio play, but we'll have to keep an eye on Walter Young as added firepower for this "new look" offense...PS - supposedly this weekend we'll see Big Ben for at least a quarter AND get more of a glimpse at this no-huddle offense business...preseason excitement is mounting!(see also links below)


• Najeh Davenport is STILL not doing much to prove his value in short yardage situations. Of course, neither is Kevan Barlow, and we all know Verron Haynes just isn't healthy enough for that yet. So what then? Well as it seems so far, having Carey Davis and Gary Russell may prove to be more of a blessing than we originally thought. Davis definitely has shown, in my opinion, that he's ready for that role or any other role we're able to give him. Though his action as a tailback was limited this past weekend, the weekend before, he showed both an ability to run between the tackles and gain significant yardage to the outside. Still evaluating, but I can dig it. Russell on the other hand, was given the keys on 2nd and short a couple of times on Saturday, and converted on both. So, as Jim Wexell says, maybe we should try him in 3rd and short situations...duh!

I think that about does it for my reflections on last weekend. Hopefully like I mentioned, this weekend we will start to really see what kind of game the Steelers are going to bring, with Ben likely to play more than a series, and Willie Parker (see below) penciled in to play. One thing to definitely watch is who we trot out to play left tackle this week and how they play.

But now that this discussion is through, check out the links below for interesting news of the past couple days. Oh, and don't forget - if you live in the mid-west, keep an eye out for Drew, he'll probably be thirsty and ready to chug a beer with you. Cheers!

These Scream Read Me:

• Looks like we shall see the preseason debut of one Fast William Parker soon...
• For that matter, Big Ben may play at least a quarter this coming weekend...Oh yeah, and his hand's ok...bad news for the 'Skins!
• Madden '08 is now available...and the people rejoiced!
• Steely McHandjob responds to all you homophobic assholes...god, why do you all have to be so mean...
• Oh and by the way, Steely even "penetrated" his way into the Daily Collegian...must be a hot button campus issue...
• Good news for Pitt, Pat Bostick has resurfaced and is ready to play some foosball.
• Bad news for Pitt, he's got one less standout to throw the ball to.
• Good news for Penn State - Now that Posluszny is gone, Dan Connor is ready to play big brother in Happy Valley...