December is here, and that means two things: I really should start my Christmas shopping, and I can’t start my Christmas shopping because the Steelers are making their final push for the playoffs.  Coming off a huge upset win in Baltimore against their division rival the Ravens with 3rd string QB Charlie Batch, the team received excellent news when HC Mike Tomlin announced on Thursday that Ben Roethlisberger would resume his role as starting QB when the San Diego Chargers come to Heinz Field for the week 14 matchup.

The 4-8 Chargers season is all but over, having lost 7 of the last 8 games.  Just this week President Dean Spanos was doing damage control when it was reported that he had already decided to fire HC Norv Turner and GM AJ Smith at the season’s end…although he never directly said it wasn’t true.  The Chargers are 0-14 when playing at Heinz Field, and it’s likely the Steelers will make it 0-15.  Then again, we all know the Steelers have a tendency to let weaker teams hang around and struggle to put the game away early. » Continue reading “Steelers Eve: San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers”

Ben Roethlisberger made “all the necessary throws” according to HC Mike Tomlin (Lake Fong/Post-Gazette)

 Pittsburgh Steelers @Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger will start vs. Chargers wp.me/p1eeeh-Un

No, I’m not gullible enough to believe everything I read on the internet, but this came from the team’s official twitter account.  OLB LaMarr Woodley summed up our feelings very economically:

 @LaMarrWoodley

Welcome back ben

Pittsburgh Steelers 23 Baltimore Ravens 20

Step back from that ledge, Steeler Nation. After last week’s embarrassing performance in Cleveland and Charlie Batch starting against the Ravens, things weren’t looking to great for the Steelers.

Chill out, y’all. Charlie Batch has got this.

» Continue reading “World’s Oldest Man Leads Steelers To Victory In Baltimore”

Week 13

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens

Time: 4:25 PM

TV: NBC

Site: M&T Bank Stadium

Last Meeting: 11/18/12, L 10 – 13

Baltimore Ravens on Aerys: The Purple Nest

The Pittsburgh Steelers get set to take on the Baltimore Ravens… again. And they will be doing so without Ben Roethlisberger… again. But before you think this is just a repeat from Week 11, Troy Polamalu will be back. So, yay.

As last week’s game proved, an impressive defensive effort means absolutely diddly when the offense has eight fumbleceptions. Polamalu has always been the thorn in Joe Flacco’s side, but if Charlie Batch and company play as poorly as they did last week Troy’s return may not be enough for the Steelers.

» Continue reading “Week 13 Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens”

You’d have to be living under a rock to be unaware of the countless injuries the Pittsburgh Steelers have sustained this season, and Week 12 was no exception.  Several more players went down in the slugfest vs the Cleveland Browns, resulting in a mind-boggling shift of players on the active roster and practice squad.  Check it out:

1. RT Marcus Gilbert, hoping to return from an ankle injury, suffered a setback and was placed on IR.
2. Rookie T Mike Adams, the 2012 2nd round draft pick who has been filling in for Gilbert, suffered an ankle injury and will reportedly miss “significant time”.
3. Rookie Kelvin Beachum will likely start in place of Adams, whom he relieved during the Browns game.  It will be his first NFL start.
4. 2012 1st round draft pick RG David DeCastro, who sustained a knee injury during preseason, was activated from the “IR with designation to return” list.  It is unclear if he will start, as Ramon Foster has played well in his absence.
5. LG Willie Colon has been sidelined with a swollen knee and may sit this week again…rumor has it that if Colon can’t play, ProBowl center Maurkice Pouncey may slide into the guard position, leaving backup Doug Legursky to fill in at center.
6. Rookie G John Malecki continues to bounce between practice squad and active roster.  This week, he’ll again be on the list of 53.
7. WR Antonio Brown practiced well this week and is expected to make his return against the Ravens.  This is good news indeed.
8. With Brown returning, rookie WR David Gilreath was released to make room on the roster.  The Steelers would likely have signed Gilreath back to the practice squad, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed him off waivers.
9. Other rookies that were released were lost to other teams as well: WR Toney Clemons was signed by the Jaguars and G Ryan Lee was signed by the Saints.
10. To fill out the practice squad, T Joe Long (brother of Dolphins 1st round pick Jake Long), G Justin Cheadle (no relation to the actor Don Cheadle),  and WR Bert Reed (not in any way connected to paper towel dispenser killer K Jeff Reed) were all added.
11. RB Jonathan Dwyer will get the start over Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall, who sits at #3 on the depth chart after fumbling twice on 4 carries against the Browns as part of the turnover marathon.  I guess Dwyer’s fumble was the least offensive?
12. WR Mike Wallace got a mini-demotion and now shares the starting position with Emmanuel Sanders opposite Antonio Brown.  Sanders has performed well in AB’s absence.

1. LaMarr Woodley will sit out with an ankle injury, and Jason Worilds will again start opposite James Harrison.  Both Worilds and Harrison have been performing well recently.
2. QB Ben Roethlisberger if officially out vs the Ravens, and Charlie Batch will again get the start.  Byron Leftwich continues to recover from rib fractures.
3. WR Jerricho Cotchery is also trying to return to the field from his rib injury, but don’t expect him to play this week.  Plaxico Burress will fill his spot.
4. After playing a mere 1.25 games this year, safety Troy Polamalu may finally make his return this week.  The #1-ranked defense has been playing so well the past few weeks, I think a lot of fans have stopped missing him.
5. Safety Ryan Clark has managed to avoid even minor concussions since he started wearing his new, big (unfashionable in his opinion), kevlar reinforced helmet.  Looking good, Ryan.

I don’t know about you, but all this roster movement makes my head spin…I need to rest up for the big game Sunday.  Steelers vs Ravens is always huge, and never more so than this week.  Ravens will essentially clinch the division with a win.  If the Steelers can pull off the upset, who knows?

Cleveland Browns 20 Pittsburgh Steelers 14

This sums up the Steelers’ offensive effort in one simple image.

The Steelers were playing without Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of the offense decided to take the game off as well.

How else can you explain the million fumbleceptions given up by the offense?

With the third-string quarterback starting for the Steelers, the running game was going to be the primary focus. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the entire running back corp came down with a severe case of fumblitis. Rashard Mendenhall kicked things off in the Fumble Sweepstakes, but Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, and Chris Rainey also managed to fumble the ball.

Not to be outdone, Charlie Batch threw three interceptions.

It’s rather telling that the best looking Steelers throw on the afternoon came on a last-ditch lateral by Mike Wallace.

The defensive unit put forth another spectacular game in a wasted effort. Considering the sheer amount of turnovers and the field position advantage the Browns had, this game should not have been this close. Credit the Steelers’ defense for pushing the Browns out of field goal range.

» Continue reading “Steelers Fumble Game Away Against Browns”

Week 12

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

Time: 1:00 PM

TV: CBS

Site: Cleveland Browns Stadium

Last Meeting: 01/01/12, W 13-9

Charlie Batch and the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in yet another AFC North mach-up. The Browns may be a 2-8 team, but they are not to be taken lightly. The Steelers have had more than their fair share of issues with teams with losing records this season. Two of their loses came to the Oakland Raiders and Tennesee Titans, and the Steelers have looked less than impressive against the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs. With this being a divisional match-up, it could be another one of those ugly close games that the Steelers are all too familiar with this season.

» Continue reading “Week 12 Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns”

The latest starting quarterback for your Pittsburgh Steelers, ladies and gentlemen.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback merry-go-round continues another week as Byron Leftwich will be out due to broken ribs sustained in Sunday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Third string quarterback Charlie Batch will get the start for the Steelers against the Cleveland Browns.

Leftwich appeared to have injured himself after tumbling in the end zone at the conclusion of his 31-yard touchdown scramble. This is not the first time Leftwich has injured himself by running with the ball. He missed all of last season with a broken arm which he sustained by falling on it awkwardly in a preseason game versus the Atlanta Falcons.

Charlie Batch is no stranger to climbing up the depth charts to start for the Steelers. While Ben Roethlisberger was serving his suspension in Week 3 of the 2010 season Batch, got the start due to injuries to Leftwich and Dennis Dixon.

» Continue reading “Steelers Injury Report: Leftwich Out With Broken Ribs, Batch To Start”

Preseason Week 4

Carolina Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Steelrs

Time: 7:00

Site: Heinz Field

Last Meeting: 12/23/10, W 27-3

The final preseason game is upon us, and I hope the Steelers training staff has taken extra care to wrap all the players in bubble wrap. Traditionally, the starters play very little, if at all, in the last preseason game before the regular season kicks off. With the rotten luck the Steelers have been having in the injury department, I would hope that the starters sit this one out. 

James Harrison, who has spent the entire preseason on the PUP list, was finally activated from the list. He will not dress for the game, but should be ready for the season opener in Denver. Mike Wallace, back from his summer vacation holdout will not be able to play, due to the standard acclimation period.

Guys will be fighting for roster spots, so this game isn’t completely meaningless. For them at least. But let’s see what happens in this final tune-up before we start playing for keeps.

Top Five Burning Questions

• Who gets more playing time: Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch, or Jerrod Johnson?
• The defense has been pretty good at creating turnovers, will they be able to keep this up?
• Now that Shaun Suisham is the sole kicker, how will he fare?
• Does Antonio Brown see much playing time?
• Will any of our running backs step up?

Pittsburgh Steelers 26 Indianapolis Colts 24

If the whole point of football is to kick the most field goals, the Steelers dominated this game. In reality, the Steelers were kind of meh. At best.

The Steelers jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead thanks to a couple of highlight-reel plays by Antonio Brown and Ike Taylor. Brown’s 57-yard TD reception started off as a simple screen pass, and then he broke a couple of tackles, crossed the field to avoid defenders, and then did a flip into the end zone. I don’t know how you can get any more Madden NFL than that. Meanwhile, Ike Taylor boost the lead to 14-0 on a pick six, which is amazing enough for Ike Taylor.

While the starters played into the second quarter, they did nothing since Taylor’s interception. The offense stalled and the defense allowed Andrew Luck to move the ball all over the field. Charlie Batch came in to relieve Ben Roethlisberger, but the Steelers were unable to get anything going on offense. Possibly because Batch was under a lot of pressure.

David Gilreath essentially willed the Steelers to win, what with him actually catching the ball and his awareness of the first down marker. Back-up back-up quarterback Jerrod Johnson also showed some great awareness of the first down marker by scrambling for a first down, and then cutting back into the field to keep the game clock rolling late in the game. His scramble help set up the game-winning field goal, which was actually blocked by the Colts.

Other observations:

• The Steelers showed a very run-heavy offense. Jonathan Dwyer was the leading rusher with 43 yards on 8 carries, despite injuring his shoulder in last week’s game in Philadelphia. Newly signed Jason Ford had 42 yards on 8 carries late in the game.
• The Steelers managed to win the turnover battle and time of possession.
• Unfortunately they continued their habit of settling for field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. Stop that.
• Ryan Clark was all over the field making plays. As usual.
• LaMarr Woodley had the Steelers’ only sack on the evening. The Steelers had plenty of opportunities for more sacks, but poor angles and lousy tackling did them in.
• I don’t care which defense is in. You can’t give up a first down on third-and-long.

The Steelers will have a short week of practice, as they travel to take on the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.