We are living in an age in which the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense is becoming more well-known for iconic hair as opposed to intimidating play on the field. Troy Polamalu has his flowing locks. Brett Keisel? Well, his Yukon Cornelius beard is no more.

Keisel’s beard was sacrificed in the name of charity Thursday night in his annual Sheard Da Beard event. Members of the Steelers organization, including Dan Rooney, were on hand to help Keisel rediscover the face behind the beard.

Who is that man?

“I’ve got to admit it’s pretty unique,” said Tomlin of the event. “After six years here I can’t tell you that it surprises me.

“I like him with the beard. I think it’s his natural state. I think this thing has taken off and given him the opportunity to do what he probably likes to do anyway, which is not shave. He is a larger than life character and I think the beard fits his personality.”

Keisel’s annual event benefits cancer programs at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at UPMC.

“Brett’s beard really has taken on a life of it’s own and Shear Da Beard has become a great annual event to support cancer programs and research at Children’s Hospital,” said Christopher Gessner, president, Children’s Hospital. “We’re extremely grateful to Brett, and more importantly to his wife Sarah for letting him grow the beard back each season.”

Is It Bigger News When A Coach Leaves To Coach Somewhere That Is Not Arizona?

The Steelers’ offense is down another coach. Wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery has left the Steelers to become a co-offensive coordinator at Duke.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin has had a busy off season hiring new coaches, so what’s one more? I don’t pretend to know everything there is about coaching wide receivers, but I hope whoever gets the job stresses the “catch the damn ball” technique that is all the rage these days.

On Tuesday the Pittsburgh Steelers held “Heroes at Heinz Field”, an event honoring injured veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Many Steelers, including Brett Keisel, Max Starks, Doug Legursky, and Ziggy Hood were on hand to give thanks to those who served.

“It’s amazing to see all of these guys,” said Keisel. “Speaking from a military family I really appreciate their service. They are the true heroes. We are honored to be able to share a little bit of what we do with them.

“I was talking to a kid who had to use a walker and he just turned 21 years old. It puts into perspective the sacrifice they make on a daily basis.”

» Continue reading “Pittsburgh Steelers Honor Military Heroes”

• With the regular season nearly upon us, the Pittsburgh Steelers have voted on their offensive and defensive team captains. Ben Roethlisberger will do the honor of serving as offensive captain, and on defense Brett Keisel will serve as captain for the first time in his career. Presumably Brett Keisel’s beard will serve in an honorary role as beard captain. It is interesting to note that this is the first time since 2003 that neither Hines Ward nor James Farrior will be serving as captains as they were both victims of the front office’s March Massacre.
• Rookie linebacker Sean Spence has been placed on Injured Reserve. Spence injured his knee in Thursday’s preseason finale against Carolina and will be out for the season. 
• James Harrison returned to practice after sitting out all of training camp and preseason with a knee injury. It’s still wait and see as to whether or not he’ll be ready for next Sunday’s opener in Denver, but right now I’ll take this progress.

Pittsburgh Steelers 38 Buffalo Bills 7

The injury bug is back again, with a vengeance. First round draft pick David DeCastro left early in the game with what Mike Tomlin calls a “potentially serious” knee injury. I’m an accountant, not a doctor, but even I can tell it’s not a good sign when a player has to ride the cart. In other injury news, Brett Keisel left the game with a high ankle sprain. Thankfully Brett Keisel’s beard was not injured on the play.

But now that we have the doom and gloom out of the way, how about some good news? Ignoring the first quarter, the Steelers offense looked to be in control most of the game. Antonio Brown continues to make a name for himself with 7 receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger capped off the first half with an impressive 98 yard touchdown drive. The offense actually finished drives by scoring touchdowns, instead of their usual standard of settling for a field goal.

On defense turnovers were the name of the game. Lawrence Timmons forced a fumble recovered by Ziggy Hood. Troy Polamalu and Robert Golden had interceptions on Vince Young. I’ll give the Steelers’ offense credit, the actually capitalized on these turnovers and scored touchdowns. Who knew that the offense and defense could work together like this? Let’s do this in the regular season, boys!

Outside of the injuries, the Steelers have quite a few positives heading into next week’s final preseason game versus the Carolina Panthers. Hopefully the starters will see very limited playing time and will be covered in bubble wrap from head to toe.

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  Run Hines, ruuuuuuuuun!

  “The Dark Knight Rises” premiered over the weekend, thus launching the silver screen debut of a few Steelers both past and present. I managed to catch a glimpse of Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Keisel, Bretty Keisel’s beard, and Mike Wallace. I certainly hope the Academy keeps these brief, but stirring performances in mind come Oscar season.

• In non-Batman news, the Steelers recently re-signed Max Starks. Starks will provide depth and veteran leadership to an offensive line that has gone under a major overhaul this offseason.
• Speaking of the offensive line, the overhaul continues. The Steelers have cut OT Jonathan Scott. Scott was the starting left tackle at the beginning of the season last year, but was eventually replaced when the Steelers re-signed Max Starks in the middle of the season.