Back in the States and Ready for some Football

I’ve been out of the country for a couple of weeks and I’m ready to watch some NFL Football! I did get to see some Rugby while in England and to be honest, I found the game very interesting. It’s different than our football but with no pads and no helmets these guys are crazy. Luckily the Steelers had their bye week while I was gone so that saved me from missing 2 games.

I really like the position we’re in this year and the team is playing well. Barring a few injuries, we’ve looked good except for the Arizona game. I really think the Steelers overlooked them and counted that as a win before they played. You just can’t do that in the NFL. Plus going against half our old coaching staff made the loss even worse.

So, what’s in store for this year’s Steelers? I have a feeling it’s going to be a very tough post season for the AFC, with the Colts and Patriots both playing like championship teams, they are going to be hard to beat. Not impossible, but hard to get by. I think at this point, we are right there with the Pats and Colts and can’t wait until we get to play them.

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.

The worst call in NFL History….

… more on that later..

The game today showed what Steeler fans have known since the Pre-season, the Big Bad Steelers are Back! A complete game today played by all facets of the team. The offense did a great job with Big Ben showing he has matured well and made some very smart decisions on the field today. The running game is solid with Parker and Davenport racking up some serious yardage.

Special teams has improved immensely, scoring a TD today and giving the offense great starting position when they had the chance. This game proves how important special teams is to a team both kicking and receiving.

The defense is BACK and I love it! Dick LeBeau is pulling out all the stops and it shows, thank goodness they didn’t switch to the 4-3..

Now.. to the title of this blog post. How on earth can the official make the call that the pass was incomplete on that play.. I’m dumbfounded. There are two calls that could be made on that play. Down by contact or Interception.. where in the hell did they come up with incomplete pass.. wow. It didn’t have an effect on the game but for goodness sakes, you had an extra two minutes to get that call right and completely blew it. Great job refs.. sheesh.

Next week we are off to St. Louis, lets just hope they don’t overlook this below average team.

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 Buffalo to go 2 and 0

The Steelers wore their throwback uniforms on Sunday, but it was definitely the 2007 version of the team that came out and easily defeated the Buffalo Bills 26-3 at Heinz Field, improving their record to 2-0 on the season.

After not getting into the end zone in the first half, counting on Jeff Reed’s four field goals for their offensive output, the Steelers came on strong in the second half and scored two touchdowns to seal the win.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 21 of 34 passes for 242 yards, a touchdown and one interception. Willie Parker carried the ball 23 times for 126 yards, his second 100-yard game of the young season.

While the Steelers offense amassed 420 yards, the defense held the Bills to 223 yards and kept them out of the end zone.

It was great to see Batch come in and mop up while Ben was resting on the sidelines, couldn’t have been a better day.

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 to the Packers 13-9

The Steelers’ Saturday night game with the Green Bay Packers was the home game debut for head coach Mike Tomlin’s game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers lost the game 13-9 to a 1-1 record in the pre-season. While the game didn’t go as sweet as it did against the Saints last week, Tomlin saw numerous negatives mainly from the backups. A fumble and a blocked field goal were a few things that went wrong for the team.

Last week, we saw that the Steelers’ starting unit was able to score on their opening drive by throwing the ball against the Saints’ secondary. Ben Roethlisberger looked as if he was back into his 2005 form. But, on third down, Roethlisberger was stripped from his blind side by Cullen Jenkins, who recovered the ball for the Packers. This was exactly one of the reasons why the Steelers failed to make the playoffs last season, many turnovers.

Like a true quarterback, Roethlisberger tried to bounce back on the following possession but couldn’t. His night ended 2 for 2 for 14 yards and 1 turnover on two series. Second string quarterback Charlie Batch went 3 for 5 for 97 yards with 1 touchdown, and third string quarterback Brian St. Pierre finished 10 for 23 for 99 yards.

The defense held their own just like they did last week. The starting unit made one play after another, showing a lot of athleticism on the field. Safety Troy Polamalu was everywhere on the field for the starting unit, both in Brett Favre’s face and in coverage of a receiver. In back to back weeks, the Steelers’ defense has held the opposing teams’ starting unit scoreless. Just as they did to Drew Brees, they made Favre look uncomfortable. The Future Hall of Famer went 2 for 7 for 7 yards against the Steelers’ rough neck defense.

So far in the pre-season, the Steelers’ starting unit has been looking good. Although that fumble worries me because it happened on the first possession. Imagine if they would have played throughout the whole game. We wouldn’t know how many turnovers they would have had.

I’m sure they’ll go back to practice and correct the situation at the offensive line, particularly Roethlisberger’s blind side. The starters have only turned the ball over once in the two pre-season games played, which is showing good signs from last season.The backs-ups didn’t play as well as they did last week. After a 6-0 in the first quarter, and leading 9-3 at the half, the offense failed to score and the defense gave up 10 points in the third.

I don’t know if the Steelers knew that the backup quarterback Aaron Rogers could run or not. If they didn’t, they were definitely surprised. The back-ups pass rushing was nonexistent in the game for the Steelers’ third units. Rogers got where he wanted anytime he wanted. They gave up 168 yards total passing and a touchdown and a 20-yard run to this guy.

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.

Mike Tomlin Impresses some Diehard Fans

The line began forming presumably before the skies turned a ghastly purple, thunder rumbled and the rain began to pour. By the time Mike Tomlin, the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, saw the mass of people gathered around a sign advertising his appearance to sign autographs at the end of a recent practice, he was already drenched with water rolling down the brim of his cap. Up on a hill, the team’s owner, Dan Rooney, sat in an idling car, waiting to talk to his coach.

A team official gently suggested maybe rescheduling for a drier day. Another coach, probably any other coach, would have said yes.

But Tomlin glanced at the throng gathered in a sudden summer monsoon, all of them there for him, and shook his head. “As long as they’ve been waiting . . .” he said softly, letting his words trail off. Then he walked to a small tent at the front of the line, pulled out a black Sharpie pen, said “Hey bro!” to the first child in line. And he signed every mini helmet and Terrible Towel thrust into his hand, posed for pictures with each fan and laughed and shook hands until the crowd was finally exhausted.

Tomlin just gained a ton of respect from many fans including The Steeler Fanatic. Way to go Mike!

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.