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Pittsburgh-San Diego: The Steelers Sunday Night Report Card

Published: October 6, 2009

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The Steelers came out on fire, offense and defense alike. Taking a 28-0 lead in the third quarter, this game appeared to be over.
Once again, the Steelers struggled to close out the game, due to a couple of unfortunate events. A fumble by Stefan Logan on a punt return, which in my opinion should have been called down as his forward progress was stopped.
Following the Chargers touchdown that resulted from the fumble, Ryan Mundy was unable to catch an onside kick that hit right in the chest. This gave the Chargers another touchdown and the Steelers only had a seven-point lead.
The Steelers offensive picked back up where they left off and continued to dominate the Chargers defense any way they chose to. Roethlisberger and Mendenhall led the team into field goal range, and Jeff Reed got back to being J-Money and hit the field goal to seal the win.


The Report Card

Quarterbacks: Roethlisberger was given more freedom this game and well…he was simply Roethlisberger. He torched the Chargers defense through the air on the first drive and the trend continued.

He thew the ball 33 times, completing 26 passes for 333 yards. He made key plays to keep the Steelers defense resting on the sideline, and keeping a gassed Chargers defense on the field. He threw two touchdowns, a nice touch pass to Heath Miller in the corner of the end zone and a short pass to Mewelde Moore who made a few guys miss to put the ball in the paint. Most importantly Ben didn’t turn the ball over he recovered his only fumble. A

Running Backs: An injury to Willie Parker would sideline him for the week, leaving Rashard Mendenhal with starting duties. The Steelers also activated Isaac “Red Zone” Redman from the practice squad to add to the backfield depth.

Mendy was in the doghouse the previous week with a few bad practices, and didn’t step on the field in the Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He apparently got the message as he took over this game.
The Steelers have had success running on San Diego in the recent past, and that trend continued. Mendenhall hit the hole, fast and violently, which is what Pittsburgh has been missing.
He broke off a few big runs and helped put the Chargers away with the late running attack that the Steelers have been missing to close out games. Mendenhall has put himself in position to take the starting job away from Parker with a few more good performances.
He carried the ball 29 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 26 yards. Mendenhall also showed his mean side in pass protection; he wasn’t scared to throw his body at pass rushers to give Roethlisberger some extra time.
Mewelde Moore also did his part once again, quietly being the Steelers most consistent player. On third down, teams better watch this game, he’s Pittsburgh’s version of Kevin Faulk. Moore had a receiving touchdown as he caught the ball made defenders miss and broke a few tackles barreling his way into the endzone.
He also threw a touchdown out of the backfield to Heath Miller in the back of the endzone. Redman did not see the field. Mendenhall A+ Moore A Redman Inc

Fullbacks: The Steelers brought back Carey Davis earlier in the week after an injury to David Johnson in last week’s game. Davis didn’t have a problem getting back in the swing of things and Mendenhall followed his block several times to get the hard yards. Davis B

Wide Receivers: Limas Sweed was inactive for this game, after a key drop in Cincinnati, Tomlin has put Sweed in the doghouse. That left Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, and Shaun McDonald as the Steelers receivers corps for the week four game against San Diego.

Hines Ward once again was the workhorse. Why do people let this guy go wide open? Ward grabbed eight passes for 113 yards. He kept the chains moving several times, though he did have two key drops late in the game. One almost resulted in an interception for the Chargers defense.
Santonio Holmes again has not been as effective as he was against the Titans in week one, but he did his part. He pulled in four balls for 52 yards, and made no mistakes.
Mike Wallace continues to be a big part of this offense.  He had a 35-yard reception on the first drive after Ben sat in the pocket all day and then found Wallace on the sideline. Wallace is really starting to take blocking seriously, he made a few key blocks that helped Mendenhall break open decent runs.  McDonald has one catch which was called back on a holding penalty. Ward A Holmes B Wallace B McDonald Inc.

Tight Ends: Heath Miller seems to be getting more involved this year in the passing attack. He had his second eight-reception game of the season. Arians held Miller out of the gameplan last week, but this week he stole the show. Miller had two touchdowns and several blocks to seal off the edge in the running attack. Spaeth was non-existent in the passing game, He whiffed on a few blocks and made one good block in the fourth quarter. Miller A+ Spaeth Inc.

Offensive Line: I can’t say enough about the improvement of this offensive line. It was apparent early in the season the pass blocking had greatly improved, and now the last two weeks you can really see the run blocking coming around. Less penalties than last year, but you’d still like to see one or two a game at most. Kemo had a strong effort and it showed. Starks had a late holding flag negating McDonald’s only reception. Colon and Starks were opening running lanes on nearly every play. A-

Defensive Line: San Diego hardly ran the ball, when they did the defensive line didn’t have much of a problem allowing the linebackers to hit the holes. In passing situations the defensive line did what they were supposed to, force people to block them and allow the linebackers to come around the edges. B+

Linebackers: The linebackers haven’t been producing many sacks or turnovers so far this year, they got plenty of pressure this game. Rivers was just getting the ball out of his hands very quickly and several times just as he was getting hit.

James Harrison recorded two sacks in the game, and who would have guessed it, his third forced fumble of the season. Timmons applied pressure on Rivers several times forcing him to throw and did well against Gates when assigned to him.
Timmons also dropped an interception when he jumped the route, he broke up the play to force the punt. Woodley had a few quarterback hurries, outside of that he and Farrior were quiet. Harrison A- Timmons B+ Woodley C+ Farrior B

Defensive Backs: Ike Taylor played very well.  He was covering Vincent Jackson most of the game and did a damn good job with a few pass breakups.  Most importantly, no pass interference calls on Ike.

Gay played solid, but he was beat by Chambers on a 3rd-and-11 early in the game and luckily Chambers dropped the pass.
Ryan Clark was his normal self, throwing his body at anyone and everyone. It seems he gets hurt at least once a game, but is usually back two or three plays later. He recorded six tackles (three solo).
Tyrone Carter was rarely heard from. Ratliff got alot of playing time this game and he didn’t do bad, but he didn’t do good either. He took a poor angle on Chambers touchdown catch and run in the fourth quarter. Taylor A Gay B+ Clark B Ratliff B- Carter B

Special Teams: For the most part the special teams did a good job at bottling up Sproles, he did almost break one kick return for a big game, but was contained late. I don’t blame Logan for the fumble on the punt return, I feel the play should have been blown dead. You just have to feel he will break a huge return very soon. Jeff Reed got his swagger back, Sepulveda had an average punting day. The punt coverage was great. B

Offensive Coordinator: Bruce Arians allowed Ben Roethlisberger to run this game for the most part, the passing attack was introduced very early to the Chargers. Ben moved the ball at will and that opened up the passing attack.

The offense wasn’t near as vanilla as it usually is with Arians calling shots. I was very pleased this game with Bruce Arians; he had a rare productive evening. A


Defensive Coordinator: Dick LeBeau was dialing up the right blitzes early on, Rivers was getting the ball of just in time and had a quick clock in his head. The defense made the necessary plays to get the ball back to the Steelers offense on third down, and force a San Diego punt.
Once again in the fourth quarter, the defense was getting torched. Doesn’t make much sense to me, but something has to change. The second half last season was when the defense shined (barring the Super Bowl). Now it just appears to be the achilles’ heel of the defense and it all comes back to coordinator Dick Leeau. C

Head Coach: Tomlin had the team ready to bounce back and get back in the win column. The team was fired up to start the game and got off to a quick start. Luckily he didn’t have any tough decisions to make on the goalline as the Steelers had no problem running the ball in on 1st-and-goal. Tomlin showed some guts for going for a 4th-and-1 from his own 31-yard line. Roethlisberger fell forward for the first down and kept the drive moving. A

Player of the Week


Rashard Mendenhall

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com


Early Redskins Roster Predictions

Published: May 11, 2009

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Now that the draft and rookie camp—that allowed some additional player tryouts and signings to happen—are done, and the Redskins are likely done adding players to the roster and it’s time to have a guess who will and won’t make the roster.
Obviously this is pure wild guess work at this point because no mini/training camp or preseason games have happened and the tangent of injuries or late additions via trade have happened. Not to be put off though, I’ll do this several times over the offseason in order to monitor the camp battles as they go on.
Quarterback
(3) Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Colt Brennan
No surprises here, Brennan may get closer to Collins as the No. 2, but 2010 looks more likely.
Running Back
(5) Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, Dominique Dorsey, Mike Sellers
Four of last year’s backs return and are joined by former CFL star Dominique Dorsey who might be the “Darren Sproles” type everyone will now want.

Tight End
(3) Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Todd Yoder
Same as last year.
Wide Receiver
(5) Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El, Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, James Thrash
It’s possible others are kept if performances dictate. James Thrash as the veteran gets the nod at present and the best chance the likes of Roydell Williams and D.J. Hackett have to make the team is injury.
Offensive Line
(9) Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Stephon Heyer, Jon Jansen, Jeremy Bridges, Chad Rinehart, Edwin Williams
The right tackle job is open at this point, but I think Spehon Heyer wins it. Edwin Williams has a shot as an undrafted free agent to make the squad as the backup center.
Defensive Line
(9) Albert Haynesworth, Cornelius Griffin, Andre Carter, Phillip Daniels, Brian Orapko, Kedric Golston, Renaldo Wynn, Anthony Montgomery, Lorenzo Alexander
Orapko will also see some time as a linebacker. Alexander is being asked to do what Demetric Evans did last year and play both end and tackle. The last three are the ones who will have to hold off any challenges from players outside looking in at present.

Linebacker
(7) London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh, H.B. Blades, Chris Wilson, Cody Glenn, Robert Thomas, Alfred Fincher
This promises to be one of the most interesting battles of the summer. The outside linebacking spots are very much up for grabs. McIntosh should secure one, but who’ll play on the other side. Orapko is being promised some time there, Chris Wilson is making the trip back from the defensive line to try linebacking and H.B. Blades got plenty of action there last season. Fincher looks to be around for special teams and at this point Cody Glenn makes it as the highest place rookie from him and Robert Henson.
Cornerback
(5) Carlos Rogers, DeAngelo Hall, Fred Smoot, Kevin Barnes, Justin Tryon
The first four should be locks although Fred Smoot could be pushed by rookie Kevin Barnes and if he is then potential may challenge experience for a lesser role. Justin Tryon makes this version of the prediction, but he is very much on the edge after a disappointing rookie year.
Safety
(4) Laron Landry, Chris Horton, Kareem Moore, Reed Doughty
Doughty returns from IR but could see a strong challenge for his spot. Possibly a fifth safety rather than a fifth corner is kept due to Greg Blanche’s use of the cobra (three safety) package.
Kicker
(1) Shaun Susiham
Suisham had a terrible second half of 2008 and faces a challenge from the strong-legged Dave Raymer, but at this point, Suisham is on top until moved.
Punter
(1) Hunter Smith
Smith has Dirk Johnson to beat out, but he is a quality veteran who should solidify the position for the ‘Skins in ’09.
Long Snapper
(1) Ethan Albright
Actually faces a challenge from fourth-year man Jeremy Cain, but should easily survive.
Practice Squad
(8) Chase Daniels, QB; Marko Mitchell, WR; Robert Henson, LB; Lendy Holmes, S; Darrel Young, LB/S; Eddie Williams, FB; Derek Walker, DE; Robert Agnone, TE

The practice squad is full of prospects I think can really push for roster spots come camp. Robert Henson could be a special teams demon and that is always a good way to earn a roster spot. Derek Walker could find a spot on the DL if he can show his apparent lack of special skills doesn’t matter and that, like in college, he just manages to produce. Chase Daniels gives Jim Zorn another QB development project to work with.

At this point, favor fortunes the veterans or incumbents until camps and preseason games begin.


The 2009 NFL Draft, Cards On The Table.

Published: April 25, 2009

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This year’s draft will begin in just a few hours. Typically, the Arizona Cardinals are in the thick of the draft discussion since they typically have a top ten pick every year. Last year was clearly not a typical year for the Cardinals, and therefore do not have a top ten pick. With that said though, the Cardinals are in the thick of draft dicussion because of two players they already have under contract.

The Anquan Boldin stories/rumors have reached a fever pitch this week. There is a lot of information, and a lot of misinformation regarding the future of the three time Pro-Bowl receiver.

Information:

Boldin has wanted a new contract since the Cardinals gave Larry Fitgerald a new contract last year that pays him nearly twice as much as Boldin.

Despite the fact that the Cardinals consider Boldin one of their “core players”, they announced publicly that they were willing to listen to trade offers from other team.

If the Cardinals trade Boldin they will lose a huge part of their passing attack, to offset this loss. They will need to acquire an immediate impact running back-through the draft or trade to bolster the Cardinals rushing attack, which finished the 2008 season in dead last.

Misinformation:

The asking price for Boldin starts at a first and third round draft choice. Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves has denied this, he has maintained that the Cardinals are not actively seeking to trade Boldin, therefore no “asking price” has been set.

One trade offer has been made to the Cardinals as of Friday. Yesterday Graves confirmed there was one trade offer made which the Cardinals rejected.
Was it a real offer? Were there other offers?

The Tennessee Titans have offered the Cardinals LenDale White and their second round pick in exchange for Boldin. This offer may or may not be a bluff to get the Ravens, Giants, Eagles, and other teams to raise their offer.

Yesterday the Cardinals denied they lowered their asking price for Boldin. They may not have lowered their price, but considering that earlier this week, the Cheifs traded ten time Pro-Bowler and future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez for a second round pick next year, it is entirely possible that the Cardinals may in fact be willing to trade Boldin for less than their original asking price.

My Prediction:

My favorite of the speculated trade offers is to trade Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens for LeRon McClain and a third round pick.

I hate the idea of trading Boldin away, but he and his agent, might become too much of a distraction if Boldin is not dealt. With this trade the Cardinals would acquire a big, strong, young bruiser of a running back. This would certainly lead to Cardinals to finally cut Edgerrin James and free up $5 million worth of salary cap money to extend Karlos Dansby and/or Adrian Wilson.
The move would also allow the Cardinals to use their first round pick on the best DE/LB available. Especially since last February Ben Roethlisberger showed everybody just how badly the Cardinals need a pass rusher that can get to the quarterback.

If you have a solid running game, and a good defense, you can afford to lose a top flight wide receiver in the off-season.

Just ask the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers. Who was their offensive coordinator again?

This off-season, the Anquan Boldin trade speculation has been building up like a really good hand of poker. After all the bluffing and raising, eventually every player has to lay their cards on the table.

With the draft only hours away, the river card will be dealt, but before everybody shows their hands there will certainly be an interesting last round of bets. Anquan Boldin certainly has value, but is anybody willing to go all-in to get him?


Ranking 15-11, Best Current Quarterbacks

Published: April 24, 2009

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Continuing our countdown 15-11, everyone on this list has 80+ starts. That makes for an accurate  percentage of each players win loss record. As we go down the countdown we will find a couple guys who I fear have benefited from a couple big wins.

With less starts one or two games can really make a difference in the QB’s overall standings. With 80+ starts, that is not the case with this group.

In my opinion, everyone on this list is an above average QB. None of them rank up there with the best, but they all help their team win more games then the average QB would.

Biggest surprise on this list;

If I am surprised at all it would be that a couple of these guys didn’t crack the top 10. I thought Roethlisberger in particular might be a little higher. All of these guys are career starters who have led their teams to a lot of wins.

The Explanation of how each player’s scores are calculated can be found here. League average QB’s Winning  Percentage.

Past list rankings;

Best current Quarterbacks, ranking 50-41

Best current Quarterbacks, ranking 40-36

Ranking 35-31, Best current Quarterbacks

Ranking 30-26, Best current Quarterbacks

Ranking 25-21, Best current Quarterbacks

Ranking 20-16, Best current Quarterbacks

Total = Total number of Games Started
Wins = Total number of Games Won
Exp W% = Expected Wins for that player (League Average projected Wins)
Diff = The QB’s Total Difference compared to the league average QB
Avg G Diff = Difference divided by total Games started. -25.2 = 25.2% worse then the league average QB and apparently the bottom end of our grading system.
Total (beneath players name) = Total of games played in that group
% Of Total Games = The % of games player played in that group
QB Winning % = the QB’s winning % in that group, 1 = 100%

RANK

 Quarterback

1-

 10

11-

 15

16-

 20

21-

 25

26-

 30

31-

 35

36-

 100

Total

Wins

Exp W%

Diff

Avg G Diff
   

Wins

 Losses

Wins

 Losses

Wins

 Losses

Wins

 Losses

Wins

 Losses

Wins

 Losses

Wins

 Losses          
  NFL Avarage Win %

93.8%

  

74%

  

55.2%

  

42.9%

  

24.1%

  

16%

  

7.10%

            

15

 Jake Delhomme

16

 0

8

 2

12

 10

11

 7

2

 6

2

 4

0

 3

83

51

45.4

5.5

6.7
Total

16

  

10

  

22

  

18

  

8

  

6

  

3

            
  % Of Total Games

19.2%

  

12%

  

26.5%

  

21.6%

  

9.6%

  

7.2%

  

3.6%

            
  QB Winning %

100%

  

80%

  

54.5%

  

61.1%

  

25%

  

33.3%

  

0

            

14

 Drew Brees

13

 0

9

 0

17

 7

9

 10

4

 13

3

 13

0

 8

106

55

47.5

7.4

7
Total

13

  

9

  

24

  

19

  

17

  

16

  

8

            
  % Of Total Games

12.2%

  

8.4%

  

22.6%

  

17.9%

  

16%

  

15%

  

7.50%

            
  QB Winning %

100%

  

100%

  

70.8%

  

47.3%

  

23.5%

  

18.7%

  

0

            

13

 Marc Bulger

8

 0

8

 1

8

 4

8

 6

6

 9

2

 12

0

 15

87

40

33.7

6.2

7.1
Total

8

  

9

  

12

  

14

  

15

  

14

  

15

            
  % Of Total Games

9.1%

  

10.3%

  

13.7%

  

16%

  

17.2%

  

16%

  

17.2%

            
  QB Winning %

100%

  

88.8%

  

66.6%

  

57.1%

  

4%

  

14.2%

  

0

            

12

 Matt Hasselbeck

24

 0

4

 2

11

 5

11

 7

6

 12

2

 11

0

 8

103

58

50.5

7.4

7.2
Total

24

  

6

  

16

  

18

  

18

  

13

  

8

            
  % Of Total Games

23.3%

  

5.8%

  

15.5%

  

17.4%

  

17.4%

  

12.6%

  

7.7%

            
  QB Winning %

100%

  

66.6%

  

68.7%

  

61.1%

  

33.3%

  

15.3%

  

0

            

11

 Ben Roethlisberger

29

 1

4

 1

10

 2

5

 5

2

 4

1

 5

0

 2

71

51

45.3

5.6

7.9
Total

30

  

5

  

12

  

10

  

6

  

6

  

2

            
  % Of Total Games

42.2%

  

7%

  

16.9%

  

14%

  

8.4%

  

8.4%

  

2.8%

            
  QB Winning %

96.6%

  

0.8%

  

83.3%

  

5%

  

33.3%

  

16.6%

  

0

            
  NFL Avarage Win %

93.8%

  

74%

  

55.2%

  

42.9%

  

24.1%

  

16%

  

7.1%

            

No. 10 will be posted within a day or two!

I will count all the way down to the QB who graded out the highest. Please check back to find out where your favorite guy placed as well as our No. 1 overall leader.


NFL Draft: Favorite Five

Published: April 21, 2009

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As you read and watch all the players in the upcoming NFL draft, you can’t help but find you really like some players, even if you know the chances of your team getting (or wanting them) are slim.

Regardless, I have five favorite players for this draft and wherever they end up, I’ll watch their careers with interest, and hopefully I can bump this blog in a few months time and make myself look clever. If they suck, this piece gets forgotten.

Aaron Maybin, Defensive End, Penn State
Maybin is a classic tweener who will either be a DE in a 4-3 or a 3-4 rush linebacker. On the face of things, he has come out too early, is too light (playing weight was 230 pounds at the end of last season) and the Penn State program has not being churning out the best defensive talent in recent years. However, I kind of hope Maybin ends up on a 4-3 team and is used as a pure pass rusher.

In that role I think he can give a team eight to ten sacks with a pure speed-burst off the edge. Sure, he’ll get smothered and nullified at times, but he also has some skills that could see him play a little linebacker.

In the long term, he could possibly be a very versatile player who can play early downs as a linebacker and then put his hand on the dirt to rush the QB in obvious passing situations.
Character wise, he goes 100 percent every play and is a hard worker who is a leader of men—all things that will stand him in good stead as he starts his professional career.

Alphonso Smith, Cornerback, Wake Forest
Aaron Curry is getting all the hype for Wake Forest in this draft, and rightfully so, but Smith is someone who could make an instant NFL impact and will only miss out on being an early first-rounder because of his lack of height.

He is a true playmaker with great ball-hawk skills, pure speed, quickness, tackling ability, and return skills. He also makes up for his lack of height with superb leaping ability.

I am confident he will make a fast NFL impact. He is known to take gambles, so you will see his aggressive nature act as his undoing at times.

He may have a bit of a hard time with some of the league’s real big receivers, but you’ll also see big plays to his new employer’s advantage.

Alphonso Smith youtube highlights

Rhett Bomar, Quarterback, Sam Houston State

Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez, and even Josh Freeman will all get their headlines this draft day as very probable early first-round picks, but Brett Romar is as talented, if not more, than any QB in this draft.

He messed up his college career after a really promising start as an Oklahoma Sooner. After getting in to Sam Houston State, he blew out his knee.

However, while his character has questions, young people do make mistakes, and his talent is going to get him a pro shot. He can make all the throws, throw well on the run, and is super competitive and confident; he truly believes he is going to be a heck of a quarterback.

My guess is he goes late round two or early round three and he’ll have to bide his time. However, if he gets a shot and can keep himself in line, he’ll take it with both hands and feet and be a quality starter in the NFL.

Cornelius Ingram, Tight End, Florida
A lot of draft preview pieces talk about how a certain player could go higher had they stayed for their senior year, and while it is likely true of a lot of guys, you also understand why they make the jump when consdiering guys like Cornelius Ingram make the considered choice only to blow out their knee in practice and miss the entire season.

Ingram is a one-trick pony in that he is a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. As a blocker, he has a lot to learn, but he does have the frame to grow.

His competitive streak should assist him in becoming a complete player.

As a receiver, though, he has a ton of talent: speed, quickness, soft hands, leaping ability, body control—he is a mis-match waiting to happen in the right system.

At this present time he may need a year to fully find his feet and get into prime shape, but down the line he promises to be a really good receiver who, with the right situation and some hard work, could really develop into a nice find for someone.

He also has that basketball background that is popular in today’s tight ends.

Brian Robiskie, Wide Receiver, Ohio St

Brian Robiskie’s father is currently Falcons WR coach (and former Redskins interim coach) Terry Robiskie, so you can imagine he has had just a little more tuition than most receivers coming out in this draft.

Robiskie doesn’t have burning speed or explosion, but he is a superb route runner with soft hands. He works hard, is competitive and smart, and of all the wide receivers in this draft, I think he could be the one to make the quickest contribution.
Further down the line, he may not reach quite the peaks of some others.

I believe he can be a solid No. 2-type receiver for an NFL right off the bat and have a long, productive career.

Brian Robiskie youtube highlights

Everyone has their favorites in the upcoming draft; who are your’s?


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