Steelers Go Wide Left Against the Bears

The Steelers went into Chicago as the reigning Super Bowl Champs and riding the high of beating the Titans in overtime at home 10 days ago. They came out and dominated the first quarter controlling the ball for over 12 minutes and scoring on their first possession of the game.

Then came the 2nd quarter and the rain. I don’t know if it was the weather or the adjustments but the Bears turned around and dominated the 2nd quarter tying the game and going into halftime tied 7-7.

Well, you know how it ends….. Jeff Reed misses 2 field goals in the 4th quarter and Robbie Gould hits one with 30 seconds left in the game to win it.

I don’t know what to think about this game. We looked good for the most part, ran the ball decent (for a change), stopped the run (as usual), special teams played well and Ben played well except for a few under thrown balls but, I’m not sure that wasn’t from the rain.

The defense…. It’s funny how a team can take advantage of a starter being hurt and the Bears did that, well. They abused Aaron Carter all day long.

We are feeling the loss of Polamalu right now and Carter and the rest of the Defense need to step up. Did you notice the big plays took place right in front of Carter? I don’t think the two TD’s happen either, if Troy is in there. I don’t think the big pass plays to the Tight End happen either. We need Troy back and fast.

I’ll go easy on Reed after this game, he has done way too much over the last few years to get crap for missing a couple field goals, on the road and in the rain.

The loss stinks but it’s a long season and we know where the weaknesses were in this game. Time to regroup and go into Cincinnati and beat the Bengals.

Go Steelers.

Pat Lovell

Written by Pat Lovell - The Steeler Fanatic
Pat has been following the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 30 years and is known worldwide as "The Steeler Fanatic". If you are interested in contributing to this website or would like Pat to contribute to your Blog, Website or Publication, Click Here.

Steelers Home Opener Photos

Some photos from the Steelers home opener on Thursday, Sept. 10th, 2009

Written by Pat Lovell - The Steeler Fanatic
Pat has been following the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 30 years and is known worldwide as "The Steeler Fanatic". If you are interested in contributing to this website or would like Pat to contribute to your Blog, Website or Publication, Click Here.

Steelers Win Home Opener in Overtime

What a day.

I started the day getting up at 5am, eating breakfast, checking email and heading out on the road to Pittsburgh. I arrived at my Dad’s house around 1pm and was on the road to the game by 2:30. We got to our spot in the parking lot around 3:30.

We headed into the stadium around 6:30, walked through the Great Hall to see the new Super Bowl XLIII trophy (it was awesome and I’ll post a photo here in a while). We headed to Club West early for some food and and were in our seats early. It’s not every year, you open the season as the reigning Super Bowl Champions. I knew they would have a great opening ceremony and I was right. They started with a video montage of the Super Bowl, raised a giant 6 time champs flag and fireworks. The crowd was loud, proud and ready for some football.

Leading up to the game there were many activities going on around the stadium. Tim McGraw was live in Point state park, The Black Eyed Peas were there as well and they both played songs for the beginning of the game. I’m not a big fan of either, so it was ok for me. The excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd was great though.

Kickoff!

This is a good place to start the critique of the game, ladies and gentleman, we have a kick/punt returner and probably the best since Randle El left. Logan started off with a 40 yd kickoff return and did a great job all game. He’s going to be a big help this year.

The Offense was a little flat at first but Ben hooked up on a few nice passing plays. He also proved to me that he needs the pressure of the clock to make him very good. He was exceptional at the end of the half, the end of regulation and the OT. He is cool as a cucumber when the clock is ticking.

We are going to be in trouble unless Tomlin gets this running game in shape and that starts with the offensive line. We have 4 healthy running backs and need to take advantage of this now. Total Offense Grade = C (the running game brings this average way down) Big Ben and the WR crew Grade = B+

The Defense… wow. Troy came out and took control of the game early. He was in on every play, made some great tackles and a highlight reel interception. That one hand grab was incredible. We stopped the run and until Troy went out hurt, we dominated the Titans. After Troy went out, the Titans took advantage and did very well. Defensive Overall – Grade B+

The punter… Sepulveda was a stud and I am glad he is back. He backed the Titans up several times and bailed us out of some situations with his leg. Special Teams Grade = A

We played well when we needed to and walked away with a big overtime win but it cost us Troy Polamalu and the O Line is going to be criticized for a week. I think they are down playing Troy’s injury, the official report is MCL ‘sprain’ and after seeing that injury on tape, he is going to be out 8-12 weeks (in my opinion) and that will hurt us.

A great day and I’m glad I went to the game, it was a great time.

Go Steelers.

Pat

Written by Pat Lovell - The Steeler Fanatic
Pat has been following the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 30 years and is known worldwide as "The Steeler Fanatic". If you are interested in contributing to this website or would like Pat to contribute to your Blog, Website or Publication, Click Here.

Steeler Fanatic adds Discussion Forum to Blog

In celebration of the 5th year anniversary of The Steeler Fanatic, I decided to add a discussion forum. Once you register (it’s free) you can read and post to the forum. We will be discussing The Steelers, the NFL, Fantasy Football, Steeler Bars, A ticket exchange (buy and sell tickets) and more.

If you are already registered with the blog and received an email about this, you can login and start posting on the forum. If not, simply register here – Click Here to Register

Tell your friends and let’s make this an active community of rabid Steeler Fans.

The link is in the top menu or you can Click Here to go the the Steelers Forum.

Pat Lovell

Written by Pat Lovell - The Steeler Fanatic
Pat has been following the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 30 years and is known worldwide as "The Steeler Fanatic". If you are interested in contributing to this website or would like Pat to contribute to your Blog, Website or Publication, Click Here.

The NFL Season is Here! I’m Ready for Some Football

Ok, first let’s remember that The Steelers are going into this season as the defending Champions and 6 time Super Bowl Champs! I’m still riding the high of going to the Super Bowl with my Dad, Son and Cousin, it was a weekend that will go down in history as one of the best weekends of my life.

I’m also very excited to be going back to the game and seeing the 6th trophy and welcoming the Champs back to the NFL! We are definitely in contention to make a repeat visit to the Super Bowl. Yep, I said it. We have a very good chance with pretty much the same team as last year. Actually, right now we are a better team than last year.

But I digress, I’m ready for some football and glad the pre-season is over at the same time. Thank goodness, we got through the pre-season with minor injuries but a couple do worry me.

Big Ben and Willie Parker both are going into week 1 with injuries that could end up much worse if not healed properly before they start playing. I’m really hoping Ben stays healthy and this injury doesn’t bother him all season. Willie, on the other hand, can be replaced pretty quickly with Mendenhall, so that’s not too bad.

I’m not going to critique the pre-season play, I’ll wait until after Thursday before I give a review and prediction of this year’s team.

Go Steelers!

Written by Pat Lovell - The Steeler Fanatic
Pat has been following the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 30 years and is known worldwide as "The Steeler Fanatic". If you are interested in contributing to this website or would like Pat to contribute to your Blog, Website or Publication, Click Here.