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Steelers Beat Broncos in Denver

Pat — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:34:35 +0000

In front of a national audience and on Monday Night Football, the Steelers put a beat down on the Broncos in Denver. I’ll admit, I was a little uneasy about this game and thought there was a chance for the Broncos to come out on top in this one, if it was close in the 4th quarter.

Going into the 2nd half, I thought, here we go, another 2nd half collapse by the Steelers. This was one of those times I didn’t mind being wrong. After a few mistakes in the 3rd quarter, Ben decided he was going to take control of the game.

Wow, is all I can say about Ben and his performance last night. The guy gets a lot of criticism about his play and unwillingness to get rid of the ball. I say this is a good competitive trait and not a downfall. Ben played a damn good game last night and showed his critics that he is a good quarterback. Strike that.. a great quarterback.

The offensive line gets a ton of criticism from everyone (me included) but they are creating some huge holes and running lanes for Mendenhall. I was impressed with the time Ben had on a lot of the passing plays, sure they collapsed a few times and made some assignment mistakes but overall, they played well.

The defense played at their level of smash mouth football and completely stopped the Broncos from running the football. Actually, they stuffed the run and with the pressure on Orton they controlled the flow of the game. Troy brought his A game, Carter made some big plays, Kiesel played a great game and the line backers kept Orton hurried and under pressure.

This creates some urgency with the Bengals coming to town this weekend, I think this is a MUST WIN game for the Steelers, they have to beat the Bengals at home to stay on top of the AFC North and set themselves up to win the division.

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Steelers Go Wide Left Against the Bears

Pat — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:53:21 +0000

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

Steelers @ Patriots – The season changes…

Pat — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:21:52 +0000

Going into this game I was very worried and after the first possession I was extremely worried. Big Ben comes out and throws an INT on the first series and NE converts it to a TD. Being at Foxboro and thinking about our record against the cheating Bellicheck, I knew this was going to be a good game.

Until halftime…

When the Patriots missed the field goal going into halftime, I had a feeling the momentum was going to change. In fact, I told my wife that we would make a few adjustments and kick their asses in the second half.

And then…..

The defense decides to come out and completely dominate the Patriots in the second half. I am loving this and can’t believe the 30 unanswered points.. WOW

I’ll give the Defense some huge props and also to Big Ben for recovering from the big interception. I’d also like to give Willie Parker some props for coming back and having a big game.

Patriots….. Smatriots…. LOL

Go Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!

9 and 3 and leading the AFC North once again!

Great Game Against Jacksonville!

Pat — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:22:59 +0000

`The first thing I need to do is give Big Ben some credit, I’ve been busting his chops for the last few weeks. Big Ben played an incredible game and was one of the keys to winning this game. Great job Ben, The Steeler Fanatic and Steeler Nation appreciates the effort.

There were some other great contributors to this game, Mewelde Moore had a phenomenal game and really took the pressure off Ben and gave the O-Line some confidence. We really needed that boost. Hines Ward, Heath Miller, Nate Washington and Sanantonio Holmes all had great games making Ben’s job much easier.

The defense was on fire and despite some stupid penalties which cost us 2 touchdowns, they stopped the run and put the much needed pressure on Garrard. Dick LeBeau disguised the blitzes so well, no one knew he was blitzing. I heard Madden say at one point near halftime that Jacksonville thinks the Steelers have been blitzing on every play and they have only blitzed once…. that my friends is funny stuff.

John, John, John, just because we only put 5 men on the line of scrimmage and not 8 doesn’t mean we aren’t blitzing. Lay off the scotch and concentrate on the game. I guess we disguised our defensive schemes pretty well.

Overall, it was a well played game and with Baltimore losing, puts us in a great position going into a much needed Bye Week. Get some rest and everyone get healthy.

Go Steelers!

Pat Lovell

Steelers Head into Jacksonville Hurting..

Pat — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:56:22 +0000

The Steelers are heading into this game against Jacksonville with an injury report that’s bigger than the 700 Billion dollar bailout list of bank debt. Not quite that bad but we’re pretty beat up after the last two games.

Lately Jacksonville has had our number lately but I think we can beat them if we focus on a few key areas. 1. Keep Garrard in the pocket and don’t give him any extra time 2. Stop the run and 3. Protect Big Ben, if we can do this, we have a shot at winning this game.

I know the players have to have the end of last season replaying in their minds. We had 2 heart breaking losses last year at the end of the regular season and again in the playoffs. You know they are going to pressure Ben, that seems to be the consensus this year. Pressure Ben and he makes mistakes, that has to stop.

I know I’ve been hard on Big Ben this year but he makes a ton of bad decisions once the pocket collapses or his go to receiver is covered. Oh yeah, it’s not 100% Ben, the O-Line needs to take some of the responsibility as well, they have allowed 15 sacks already this year…. ouch.

The game is about to start, get out your terrible towels and start the cheer. Here we go Steelers, Here we go! Make Myron proud and get LOUD!

Pat

Penguins are in the Finals!!!

Pat — Sat, 24 May 2008 23:28:22 +0000

Sidney Crosby is well aware that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

He promises the Penguins have learned, and that Game 1 of their Stanley Cup final series against Detroit — 8 p.m. tonight at Joe Louis Arena — will not resemble his first road playoff experience.

Crosby and Co. were humbled last season by Ottawa at Scotiabank Place in Game 1 of an opening-round series. They lost, 6-3, and the score was not indicative of how shell-shocked the Penguins admittedly were.

The Penguins know they must win at least once in Detroit to raise the Cup, and they would prefer to accomplish that task tonight, or at least before the series shifts to Mellon Arena next week for Games 3 and 4.

Some players are convinced starting a series on the road is an advantage. I think the Penguins can take advantage and win one on the road!

Meaningless game ends up a loss

Pat — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:43:05 +0000

The Steelers got behind early and tried valiantly to mount a late comeback, but lost to the Baltimore Ravens 27-21 at M&T Bank Stadium.

â€œWe are disappointed we didnâ€™t get the job done,â€ said head coach Mike Tomlin. â€œThe loss was similar to a lot of our losses in that we have some self-inflected wounds early. The spirited effort we displayed throughout the game wasnâ€™t enough to bring us back at the end. I am disappointed by the loss, but proud of these men in the way they fight and continue to fight in the face of adversity.

â€œWe have to do a better job of securing the ball. You canâ€™t turn the ball over. We have to take advantage of opportunities when we have them.â€

The loss sends the Steelers into the playoffs as the number four seed and they will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Heinz Field in the Wild Card round on Saturday, January 5.

Another big win for the Steelers

Pat — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 15:41:49 +0000

The Steelers were in need of a win and got just what they wanted when they defeated the St. Louis Rams 41-24 at the Edward Jones Dome.

The victory improves their record to 10-5 and keeps them on top of the AFC North, ahead of the Cleveland Browns who play Cincinnati on Sunday.

But the win didnâ€™t come without a big price tag. Running back Willie Parker was lost on the Steelers second play of the game with a fractured fibula.

Najeh Davenport stepped in for Parker and the ground game didnâ€™t miss a beat as he carried the ball 24 times for 123 yards and a touchdown, and added two receptions for 44 yards. Ben Roethlisberger completed 16 of 20 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Nate Washington.

â€œIt was a big win for us; a win of course that we needed,â€ said head coach Mike Tomlin. â€œItâ€™s good to see this team bounce back with what was a team effort. The guys answered the bell. They responded and stepped up and made plays at critical times. The guysâ€™ roles got expanded during the course of battle, like it does at times. I thought they answered.

Are the Patriots THAT good?

Pat — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:36:14 +0000

The Steelers held their own early on, but the Patriots pulled away in the second half and defeated the black and gold 34-13 at Gillette Stadium.

The loss puts the Steelers at 9-4, still holding a one-game lead in the AFC North over Cleveland who defeated the New York Jets. The Patriots remained unbeaten at 13-0.

The Steelers were down by only four at the half, 17-13, but the offense wasnâ€™t able to the ball in the end zone in the second half while the Patriots exploded.

â€œThe Patriots were the better team today,â€ said head coach Mike Tomlin. â€œWe couldnâ€™t stop them consistently and couldnâ€™t make critical plays when we had to, particularly in the second half. We have some work to do. We have a ways to go. If thatâ€™s the measuring stick, we arenâ€™t close.â€

Steelers lose to the Jets in OT

Pat — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:30:57 +0000

For the second week in a row the Steelers battled from an early deficit, but this time it wasnâ€™t enough as the Steelers fell to the New York Jets, 19-16 in overtime at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.

The Steelers are now 7-3 and still maintain their hold on first place in the AFC North with a one game lead over the Cleveland Browns.

The Jets marched down the field on the opening drive for a touchdown and then added a field goal to hold a 10-0 first quarter lead. The Steelers tied the game at 13-13 in the third quarter and took a 16-13 lead in the fourth quarter. But the Jets fought back to send it into overtime and Mike Nugent hit a game-winning 38-yard field goal in overtime.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 15 passes for 195 yards, but was under pressure and sacked seven times, while avoiding several others thanks to his elusiveness. The running game never got going for the Steelers, with Willie Parker carrying the ball 21 times for only 52 yards.

Jets running back Thomas Jones carried the ball 30 times for 117 yards, the first time the Steelers defense allowed a 100-yard rusher in 34 games.