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”

Pittsburgh Steelers 17 Carolina Panthers 16

The knee gods giveth, and the knee gods taketh away. Again.

Last week we saw the return of Max Starks, who came back from injuring his ACL in January’s playoff game. The warm tingly feeling of Starks rejoining the Steelers once again had barley worn off before top draft pick David DeCastro went down with a severe knee injury of his own.

This week, Casey Hampton made his first start since that fateful game in January in which he too injured his ACL. This time third round draft pick Sean Spence went down with what Head Coach Mike Tomlin calls a “significant” knee injury. You hate to see so many young players go down with injuries right before the start of the season.

As for the rest of the game, it wasn’t a pretty affair, but the Steelers held on for the win. Fifth round draft pick Chris Rainey had punt return touchdowns of 78 and 90 yards called back due to penalties. He didn’t have much in the way of official yards on the night, but this should catch some attention on special teams.

The Steelers wrap up the preseason by going 3-1. They very well could have been 4-0 or 2-2, but who’s counting? Heading into the regular season they have a few issues with injuries and depth. Losing two top rookies to knee injuries doesn’t help. But the standard is the standard and the Steelers must move on and focus on the regular season and the Denver Broncos.

Preseason Week 3

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills

Time: 7:00 PM

Site: Ralph Wilson Stadium

Last Meeting: 11/28/10, W 19-16 OT

The preseason keeps on rolling along as the Steelers travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. The starters will play at least the first half, possibly longer depending on the whims of Mike Tomlin. I’d like to see if the offense or defense can accomplish… anything. The starting offense didn’t muster much beyond Antonio Brown’s TD. On the other hand, defense started out strong against Andrew Luck and the Colts, but fizzled out before the backups took the field.

In other news, Max Starks will start the game at left tackle. Starks started training camp on the PUP list after injuring his ACL in the Playoff Game That Shall Not Be Named. The Steelers had a plethora of ACL injuries in January, and Starks is the first to return to action. Here’s hoping he hasn’t been rushed. While Mike Adams hasn’t been the answer just yet, rushing Starks potentially does more harm than good.

Top Five Burning Questions

• Will Mike Adams actually block anyone?
• How will the tight ends feature in the offense against the Bills?
• Can the defense create more turnovers this week?
• Will the offense actually score touchdowns?
• Who will have the majority of carries at running back?

Ah, training camp. It’s a wonderful time of year. A new football season is just around the corner. Steeler Nation will make the trek out to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA just to catch a glimpse of Steelers football. It just makes you want to sing “Kumbayah.”

But alas, we’ve lost that Kumbayah feeling.

Mike Wallace remains unsigned, and the Steelers have suspended negotiations with the young receiver. If Wallace wants a long term deal, he must first sign the $2.472 million tender offered by the team. Once he signs, then negotiations are back on the table.

» Continue reading “Wallace Watch 2012: Steelers Suspend Negotiations”

• 

  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.

Forget planking.

Tebowing? How quaint.

No, the latest and greatest new fad is sweeping through the Steelers organization: ACL injuries. Rashard Mendenhall, the apparent trendsetter, tore his ACL in Week 17′s contest in Cleveland and missed the Steelers’ lone playoff game.

In the Wild Card game in Denver, both Max Starks and Casey Hampton left early due to ACL injuries. Starks and Hampton will be evaluated as to whether or not they will need surgery.

In non-ACL injury news, Yukon Cornelius Brett Keisel left the game due to a severe groin injury. He will also be evaluated for surgery.

Perhaps it was a good thing the Steelers were eliminated early. They don’t have anyone healthy enough to play. Fortunately, the Steelers have plenty of time to rest up, heal, and get ready for next season.

By photo taken by flickr user SteelCityHobbies (flickr), via Wikimedia Commons

Ben Roethlisberger put in a full practice on Wednesday, and in all likelihood will play against the Browns in Cleveland. His teammates think he’s ready.

“He looked all right,” Hines Ward said. “I don’t know if he really ran around or stuff like that. He looked good so, with a week [off], he’s feeling a little better, it definitely helped him.

“I’m sure he wants to get a little playing time before we head to the playoffs, considering we don’t know the circumstances of what’s going to happen.”

Tackle Max Starks didn’t have the best view of Roethlisberger since he lines up to block in front of him but said, “He didn’t seem like anything was wrong” and predicted he would start. “I would assume so if he’s taking snaps, yeah.”

Roethlisberger think’s he’s ready as well.

“The pain is always going to be there. I can deal with the pain, I’m not worried about that. I think the biggest thing is not set myself up to get hurt in other ways or hurt it worse. If I’m a sitting duck back there that’s probably not the smartest thing in the world to do. But if it’s just the pain, I’ll deal with that.”

Hopefully Roethlisberger is out there long enough to work off any rust and stay sharp for the playoffs, but not long enough to injure anything else.

Steelers 38 Titans 17

This was the game the Pittsburgh Steelers needed.

With many key players sidelined with injuries, the Steelers needed players to step up and make big plays. Ben Roethlisberger was 24 for 34 with 228 yards, 5 touchdowns, and an interception on an ill-advised pass at the end of the first half. Max Starks and the offensive line gave him plenty of time.

Rashard Mendenhall spent the entire game on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and Mewelde Moore was out with an ankle injury. But that’s okay. Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer stepped up and combined for 156 rushing yards, including a nice 76-yard run by Dwyer.

The the defense being relatively quiet so far this season and James Harrison out, somebody not named Troy Polamalu had to start making plays on defense. LaMarr Woodley finally came to play this season. He had 1.5 sacks and an interception on the day. The defense put plenty of pressure on Hasselbeck and held Chris Johnson to 51 yards rushing.

The Steelers still have plenty to work on for next week, however a win is a win and I’ll take it.

There sure is a lot going on in Steeler Nation.

• Earlier in the week the Steelers signed Max Starks in an attempt to do something to the offensive line. Starks is expected to start on Sunday against the Titans.
• Hines Ward says that it’s time for the offense to step up and carry this team. I appreciate the sentiment and agree to an extent, but I’d like the Steelers to step it up on BOTH sides of the ball. That can be done, right?
• The NFL fined Maurkice Pouncey for sheer stupidity a late hit in last Sunday’s game in Houston. While Maurkice may be out $7,500, his late hit nullified a 14-yard run and took away the momentum the offense was building at the end of the half.
• And on the injury front, the Steelers will be without Casey Hampton (shoulder), Aaron Smith (foot), Chris Kemoeatu (knee), Mewelde Moore (ankle), and Jason Worilds (quad).