The End of A Mediocre Season….

Mike Tomlin’s first season as head coach of the Steelers has come to an embarrassing end. Overall, I think Mike did an OK job his first season, fighting through injuries and trying to see where he fits in the scheme of things. Tomlin needs to revamp this defense and get some solid performers in place if we are going to be in contention for the Super Bowl again. We need new corners, a couple down lineman and a couple more linebackers with some attitude. The offense doesn’t need major restructure just some lineman that want to protect the quarterback and everyone to come back healthy next year. Special teams have been up and down but mostly down, we’ve lost more games because we’ve allowed the big run back than we have for poor tackling on defense. So, all in all, I give his first season a C, he was average at best.

Onto last nights game against the pathetic Jaguars. How did we let this team off the hook and win in our backyard, twice! I can’t believe what I saw last night. I told my wife, after Garrard’s 2nd big run on 3rd down, we need a linebacker to sit back and ’spy’ him so he doesn’t break off these big runs. I’m blown away that LeBeau didn’t put a ’spy’ in, especially on that big 4th down to win the game. He was doing it all night, why the heck couldn’t they see that.

Ben, Ben, Ben… what can I say, he made some very bad decisions but I can’t blame him fully because the lineman don’t give a crap and don’t offer up any protection. I think they feel, he’ll scramble so why should we block anyway. The O line needs to be a HUGE priority for next season or we end up with the same scenario.

The defense played a pretty good game but really blew it on the big 3rd down plays and couldn’t stop Garrard from rushing for 1st downs when it was crucial. For next season, we need 3 dedicated, hard core pass rushers/run stoppers or it’s time to explore Tomlin’s 4-3 defense. Oh, please replace Taylor and Townsend with two above average corners, this experiment has run it’s course….

Can anyone stop the Patriots? I sure hope so and I would honestly like to see Brett Favre go out in style and win the Super Bowl.

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 lose close one to the Jaguars

The Steelers made a valiant comeback effort, tying the game late in the fourth quarter, but Jacksonville came right back down the field and scored, defeating the Steelers 29-22 at Heinz Field.

The loss drops the Steelers to 9-5 on the season and has them tied with the Cleveland Browns, although they hold the edge in the AFC North because of head-to-head competition.

All-around, it was a performance that did not please head coach Mike Tomlin.

“I will be straight to the point this afternoon. We are not playing well enough to win right now,” said Tomlin. “That is the reality of it. We can’t look to anyone else to solve our problems. The answers to our problems are right in that room. That is what I just told that football team.”

Ben Roethlisberger completed only 16 passes for 146 yards, but had three touchdown passes, setting a Steelers record for most touchdown passes in a season with 29. He was often under pressure, getting sacked five times.

The Jaguars running back combo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew hurt the Steelers defense that couldn’t find a way to stop them as they combined for 216 yards. Quarterback David Garrard completed 17 passes for 197 yards and threw three touchdowns, and escaped without a sack. The Steelers had one interception, but dropped several other opportunities.

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 beat Bengals again!

The Steelers got off to a slow start, but quickly turned things around and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 24-10 at Heinz Field.

The win improves the Steelers record to 9-3 on the season and gives them a two-game lead in the AFC North after Cleveland lost to Arizona earlier in the day.

“It is great to get another win, particularly in our division and at home,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “We did fall short of perfection like we have in just about every game we have played thus far, but the guys were resilient. They didn’t blink. They stayed the course and were able to get it done.

“You have to find ways to keep stacking the wins and sticking them with the rest of them and moving forward. We were able to do that tonight.”

Wide receiver Hines Ward had 11 receptions for 90 yards and had two touchdown receptions with the second being Ward’s 64th career touchdown, a new Steelers record as he surpassed John Stallworth.

“Hines Ward was Hines Ward tonight,” said Tomlin. “I am excited and happy for him. It is a tremendous honor and one he truly deserves. I’m sure he will continue to move forward and playing winning ball for us.”

Ben Roethlisberger completed 21 of 32 passes for 184 yards, two touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown.

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 beat Dolphins in the Mud Bowl

It wasn’t pretty, but nobody said it had to be as the Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins 3-0, improving their record to 8-3 and maintaining a one-game lead in the AFC North, while the Dolphins fell to 0-11.

The game was a defensive battle in adverse weather conditions, which delayed the start of the game and made the field tough to play on.

“I’ll start by saying it was great to get a win tonight,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “It was a great team victory with a lot of positives to point to in the game, first and foremost, the work of our defense as a collective unit. Any time you hold someone scoreless, regardless of the conditions, it’s a great performance.”

Jeff Reed pulled out the win for the Steelers with a 24-yard field goal with 17 seconds left on the clock.

“It was a test of our character tonight,” added Tomlin. “It took 59-plus minutes to get that one done. Jeff (Reed) banged one home for us, and I don’t want to miss pointing out our long snapper [Greg Warren] and holder [Daniel Sepulveda]. In those conditions, it takes all three of them plus protection. It was a great win. We’ll stack it up with the rest of them and move forward.”

Ben Roethlisberger completed 18 of 21 passes for 165 yards, but was sacked five times. Hines Ward had nine receptions for 88 yards, while Willie Parker passes the 1,000-yard mark for the season while gaining 81 yards on the night.

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 beat Ravens 38-7

The Steelers remain on top of the AFC North with the 38-7 win, improving their record to 6-2 while the Ravens dropped to 4-4.

Linebacker James Harrison turned in a performance that those before him had to be proud of as he had eight solo tackles, one assist, three and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played a phenomenal game, completing 13 of 16 for 209 yards and five touchdowns.

“It’s a great win for us tonight,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “The men just responded to the situation the way we had hoped. We had some outstanding performances by some men. Ben (Roethlisberger), James Harrison of course, those two guys were spectacular, but I don’t want to devalue the team effort. I like the way this football team played tonight and we got the win.”

Roethlisberger left the game in the third quarter after going down hard and remaining down for several minutes following a 45-yard completion to Santonio Holmes. Charlie Batch came in for Roethlisberger for a series, and then Roethlisberger returned for one series, before being replaced by Batch for the majority of the fourth quarter.

The defense shut down the Ravens offense, which put up 58 points in two games against them last year, allowing Steve McNair 13 completions for just 62 yards and an interception.

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.