Preseason Preview: What I Want To See from the Steelers VS Washington

Week two of the NFL Preseason kicks off for the Steelers tonight, when they travel to Washington DC to take on the Redskins.

As the preseason goes, this is the second worst week of the preseason.  Week one, is exciting because, to be honest, it is the first football we have seen since the Super Bowl.

Week three is exciting because that is the real final dress rehearsal for the regular season, when starters normally play at least the first half.

Week four is when the soon to be cut players get to show why they shouldn’t be, and week two is people trying to avoid first cuts.

Tonight, without Big Ben starting, the first question is not, who will be the starter, but how much playing time is Dennis Dixon going to get with the first team?

Everyone knows that Charlie Batch is a capable backup.  Dennis Dixon, entering his second season, should get some playing time with the first unit, IF, Mike Tomlin believes he is even close to competing with Batch for the No. 2 spot.

Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall are both going to dress for the game tonight.  It will be the first time since week four of 2008 since they were both available for the same game.

The real question is, will Isaac Redman get any playing time with the first unit? Mike Tomlin said last week he would like to see him against the “varsity” team. Does that mean that Redman may actually have a chance to take playing time from Parker or Mendenhall?

Hines Ward should not even dress for this game. I have no question on what he can do. I would like to see the combination of Holmes, Sweed and Wallace with the first team, against the Redskins first team.

The Offensive line.  The line did not play great last week, but there was not a lot that the first team even tried to do. It appeared to be straight up blocking, with nothing mixed in.

I am probably going to have to wait until next week, to see how they really do in a dress rehearsal.

As for the defense.

I would like to see how Ziggy Hood does with the first unit. I am not expecting to see him play as good as Aaron Smith, but I would like to see him against the Skins first team.

Not only that, I would love to see Sonny Harris, and how he is coming along against starters.

As for the Line backers, I stated last week that Keyaron Fox and Bruce Davis are two to watch in the future, and that they could be the next great Steelers LB’s that you haven’t heard of.

When it comes to the secondary, I need to see more of Keenan Lewis. There are reports that he may be cut. I would like to see him get more playing time before I am ready to throw in the Terrible Towel in on him.

I find it hard to believe that Pittsburgh is going to just cut a third round pick, even though they have done so before.

And last, but not least, I can’t wait to see Daniel Sepulveda booting 50-yard punts again. I didn’t think it would be possible to miss a punter, but he really makes a difference on special teams.

Ben Roethlisberger Injured In Last Training Camp Practice In Latrobe

During the final day of training camp under former coach Bill Cowher, the Steelers were treated to a special “movie day” to conclude the ritual of two a day practices.

Instead of a movie, the terror was on the field in Latrobe.

As reported by Mike Logan of ESPN 1250 in Pittsburgh, Max Starks fell and rolled up on Ben Roethlisberger’s leg.

The injury is believed to be to Roethlisberger’s achilles tendon.

Jim Wexel of scout.com said via his twitter account, that it is not believed to be a tear. The only cure for a torn achilles tendon is season ending surgery.

Per the profootballtalk.com report, Roethlisberger is walking on it, and it is not believed to be torn.

A comment from Roethlisberger said, “I’ll be alright”.

Plaxico’s Second Chance Will Depend on Mike Vick’s Success

As the smoke has cleared on the Mike Vick drama, Plaxico Burress is set to begin his own time behind bars after pleading guilty to weapons charges in New York.

For Mike Vick, the waiting game is over. He has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, getting his shot at redemption.

Everyone deserves a second chance—let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

But Plaxico’s second chance may directly tie in to Mike Vick’s.

If Mike Vick becomes a model citizen, does nothing wrong, plays to his potential, and again becomes a star in the NFL, look for teams to be more willing to sign Burress when he becomes a free man.

If Vick can not keep his nose clean, becomes a headache to the Eagles, does not stay out of trouble, then teams will be a lot less willing to give Plaxico a second chance, once his is due.

There is a saying “once bitten, twice shy.” NFL teams were quick to say how they would not sign Vick due to his history.  The only teams willing to take a chance on him, were teams that already have an established quarterback on the roster.

The Eagles, with Donovan McNabb, and the Cincinnati Bengals, with Carson Palmer, are the only teams that showed interest.

Both teams, if Vick becomes a problem, could immediately cut him, and no real damage would be done to the team.

The many teams with serious quarterback issues, St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco and others, who have no established Quarterback on the roster, showed no interest.

Had Vick not gone to prison, and was a free agent, he probably would have received a contract from one of those teams for Eli Manning type money.

So, as Plaxico watches for the next year plus, there will be no man on the face of this earth rooting for Mike Vick to be successful as one Plaxico Burress.

Plaxico Burress Pleads Guilty, Will Spend Two Years In Prison

According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, via Twitter, Plaxico Burress has pleaded guilty to weapons charges at an arraignment this morning in New York.

As reported on profootballtalk.com, Burress was to be in court at 9:30 a.m. EST, and the plea deal came just prior to that.

The felony weapons charges that Burress was facing carried a minimum sentence of three- and-a-half years, and the plea deal is rumored to carry a two-year prison sentence.

 

The Cleveland Browns: Second Verse Is Same as the First

In 1991, the Cleveland Browns hired a man that would one day become a coaching legend.

He would coach his team to the only undefeated regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and lead his team to the most recent Dynasty in the NFL.

The man’s name is Bill Belichick, and none of that was done with the Cleveland Browns.

Belichick coached the Browns until 1995, when then owner Art Modell fired him prior to moving the Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens.

Since returning to the NFL, the Browns have not had much luck with their coaching decisions.

Chris Palmer was first hired to lead the expansion Browns, using the first overall pick in the NFL Draft to take the strong armed Tim Couch (really, Couch?).

Who was passed up on, to take Couch? Donovan McNabb (pick No. 2), Edgerrin James (pick No. 4), Champ Baily (pick No. 7), not to mention, Mike Ditka willing to trade the New Orleans Saints’ entire Draft, plus additional picks the following year, for Ricky Williams.

Next was Butch Davis, then Terry Robiskie, the whole while, watching former coach, Bill Belichick turn the New England Patriots into a Dynasty.

The Browns could not become successful.

New owner Randy Learner decided that he needed to get the old magic back. To bring in someone that can coach as Belichick does, someone who could bring the franchise back some respect.

So, Learner’s first shot at this was Romeo Crennel. Crennel spent 2001-2004 as defensive coordinator for Belichick with the Patriots. Crennel went with the blessings of Belichick, because he was ready to move on.

What he did not have in Cleveland that he had in New England was the talent that was put around Belichick.

Crennel and the Browns suffered through his first two seasons with 6-10 and 4-12 records, respectfully. Finishing last in the AFC North both times.

After improving the Browns in 2007 to a 10-6 record, Crennel was awarded a two-year contract extension. In 2008, the Browns again faltered to 4-12, costing Crennel his job.

Eric Mangini did not come directly from New England to Cleveland. His first stop was as the head coach of the New York Jets.

When Mangini told Belichick that he was taking the Jets’ job, Belichick was not thrilled, saying that Mangini, with only one season under him, was not ready.

Mangini did not agree, and the animosity between the two remains today.

In his first season as a head coach in New York, Mangini led the Jets to a 10-6 record and a wild card playoff berth, only to fall to the Patriots.

In his second year, the Jets fell to 4-12, and in his third, with Brett Favre, the Jets started out 8-3, only to again miss the playoffs at 9-7.

Mangini was promptly fired, and almost immediately hired by the Browns when no one else was interviewing him.

Will Mangini be able to capture the Bill Belichick coaching greatness? Or will he become another Romeo Crennel?

Attention Steeler Nation, Mike Tomlin IS NOT Bill Cowher.

It was 1992 when the Pittsburgh Steelers changed head coaches for the first time in 24 years. Prior to that, Chuck Noll roamed the Steelers sidelines.

Chuck Noll was the face of the Steelers turnaround. He turned them around from one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL to the only team in history to win four Super Bowls in six years.

When Cowher took over the team, he was a rookie head coach. He had been a coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs for three years before joining the Steelers.

At his introductory press conference, Cowher stated that if he lasted three years, he could go to his 20th high school reunion as the head coach of the team he grew up rooting for.

Cowher lasted longer than three years, becoming one of the most successful coaches in the history of the NFL. Cowher’s record was 149-90-1. Including playoffs, his record jumped to 161-99-1.

In five of Cowher’s first six seasons, the Steelers won the AFC North, finishing second in 1993, but still qualifying for the playoffs.

It was not until Cowher’s third year that he won his first playoff game, only to lose in the AFC Championship game to the San Diego Chargers 17-13.

The following year, the Steelers took the AFC, by advancing to play the hated Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. Cowher again fell short of delivering the fifth Lombardi trophy to the Steel City, 27-17.

Cowher was beginning to be compared to the man that brought him into the coaching world, Marty Schottenheimer.  Schottenheimer, who is also respected as a great coach, also never won a Super Bowl.

Unlike Schottenheimer, Cowher was known as a fiery coach.  He was quick to yell at players, coaches, even a referee from time to time.

He would be so wound up, spit would fly from his lip regularly.

His intensity is why Steeler Nation loved him so much. We knew that as long as Cowher was on the sidelines, no one would be permitted to give anything but everything they had.

It was not until 2005, when Cowher would eventually shake the monkey off his back by defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

At the conclusion of the game, Cowher handed the trophy to Dan Rooney, and said this is for you.

This was almost as touching as when the Steelers won their first Super Bowl in 1975. Andy Russell handed the game ball to Art Rooney Sr. and it was a moment that will be remembered forever.

Less than two years later, when Bill Cowher decided to call it a career, the Steelers coaching search started again.

Unlike most teams, they were not quick to sign the biggest names that were available, nor were they interested in following the route of hiring the “trendy” college coach.

There were two men on Bill Cowher’s roster that most people thought had the best chance of getting the job: Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm.

Still, the Rooney family was not going to be quick to rush to a decision. While they interviewed their candidates, Ken Whisenhunt decided he couldn’t wait for the Steelers to make a decision, and signed on to be the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach.

Everyone thought Russ Grimm was a lock, and there were even rumors that Grimm agreed to a contract. But the Rooney family decided to go the same route they went with in Bill Cowher.

Mike Tomlin was signed away from the Minnesota Vikings, where he had been the defensive coordinator for only one year.

Tomlin led the Vikings to the top rushing defensive unit in his only year as a defensive coach. He began his career with Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay in 2001 as the secondary coach.

Unlike Cowher, Tomlin'[s playing days were not on the defensive side of the ball.  He played wide receiver and tight end at William and Mary.

In 1995, instead of trying his hand in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Tomlin decided to learn to be a coach, and coached at the college level (1995, Virginia Military Institute, 1996, University of Memphis, 1997, Arkansas State University, and 1998-2001 at the University of Cincinnati).

Watching Tomlin on the Steelers sideline, he reminds a lot of people of a young Bill Cowher. He yells when he needs to, and is calm when he needs to be.

You can see him laughing with the refs before the game, but when the game starts, Tomlin is ready to do what few people before him have been able to.

Tomlin runs his team the way a general runs his troops. Dick LeBeau is the defensive coordinator, and calls the defensive plays. Bruce Arians is the offensive coordinator and does the same.

Tomlin does not micro-manage his coaches, but assists them to be the best they can be. He fires up the players and gets them to be the best they can.

In the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last 40 years, there have been only three men that have had the honor to coach the greatest franchise in the NFL. All three have won Super Bowls.

All three of them have been very different in the way they coach. All three have had success.

Tomlin is the fastest of the three to achieve the success he has. In only his second year, he not only won his first playoff game, but he won his first Super Bowl (it took Noll four year and an immaculate reception to win his first, and Cowher three years to win his first).

If history is set to repeat itself, then Tomlin can one day be considered the best coach in the history of the Steelers. Although that may seem a stretch right now, in time it can be proved.

And Steeler Nation gets to go along for the ride.

The Cincinnati Bengals Made an Offer to Michael Vick

When Tony Dungy said earlier this week that there would be a Michael Vick signing sometime this week, there was much speculation on where Vick would end up.

There were a lot of rumors that had him going to either the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots. This was probably because they have strong franchises with good coaching staffs, and that’s really what Vick needs.

When it was announced last night that Vick has reached a two-year agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles, I thought that would be a great fit. 

Andy Reid is a good coach, with a strong organization. Donovan McNabb is a solid starter, so Vick will have the chance to get back to game speed.

There was a rumor on profootballtalk.com that there was another team that was interested in signing Vick as well.

Turns out, per Jay Glazer, that other team was the Cincinnati Bengals.

Seriously, how could we all not see this coming? 

Bengals owner Mike Brown, who is notoriously cheap, offered Vick a two-year contract worth $2.3 million dollars.

There were reports that the Bengals were trying to clean up their organization. I am not saying that Vick did not deserve another shot at playing in the NFL. He did. But the last team that should have signed him would be the Bengals.

The Bengals are a team that targets players that have problems, and breeds more problems. Ask Chris Henry.

Had Vick gone to Cincinnati, he may have never been in trouble. But, if you are an alcoholic, you shouldn’t go to work in a bar.

Not that you would be forced to drink, but the temptation would be there.

The best thing Vick could have done was sign with the Eagles. 

Congrats Philadelphia Eagles fans. It will be an exciting season. And congrats to Michael Vick, who has already shown his decision making has gotten better.

Preview: Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers

There has been a lot of talk in the last month about the “rematch” of Super Bowl XLIII. The reality is, the only thing that this game has to do with Super Bowl XLIII is the teams playing.

The excitement comes from the beginning of the new season. Even though a month from now, we are all going to be saying how boring these preseason games are, they are better than nothing.

There is not a lot to learn about either the Steelers or Cardinals that we are going to learn tonight. These are two teams that have had very little change this offseason.

Bryant McFadden has changed uniforms, and will be playing from the visitor’s sidelines.

Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm make their first trip to Pittsburgh since leaving for Arizona.

But the big questions will be, how long will the starters be in the game?

How will McFadden play opposite of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie?

Will McFadden be matched up against Limas Sweed?

How will William Gay do against Fitzgerald and Boldin?

Is Lawrence Timmons ready to replace Larry Foote?

Will Rashard Mendenhall or Willie Parker play better?

What about the Steelers offensive line?

With Edge gone, Arizona does not have a running back on the roster with more than two years experience, who will replace him?

Not all these questions will be answered, but there is one statement I can make: The Steelers and Cardinals offseason is officially over.

It is time to lace up the cleats, and buckle the chin straps. Are you ready for some football? I AM!

A Great Reason Not to Smoke: Quitting Causes Nightmares!

Recently I decided to quit smoking. It is a nasty habit, but near impossible to quit, at least without some help.

I went to a doctor prior to leaving Florida, and he gave me a prescription that would help me. I decided that my best chance to succeed would be to wait until I was settled in Pittsburgh.

The doctor warned me that one of the side effects was the possibilities of nightmares. I had no idea how right he would be.

Last night, as I fell asleep, and faded into my “happy place”, things just didn’t seem right.

I was taken back to 2004. I was sitting in my living room with my son, watching the NFL Draft. It started out just like the real draft, then things got very strange.

When the Detroit Lions were on the clock, and they traded with the Browns, the nightmare began.

Paul Tagliabue walked across the stage, and said, “With the sixth pick in the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select, quarterback out of Miami of Ohio, Ben Roethlisberger.”

My jaw hit the floor.

Then in my dream, I was fast forwarded to the Steelers pick, and again Taglibue was walking across the stage, and said, “With the 11th pick of the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select, J.P. Losman…”

At this point, my dream starts fast forwarding through the last five years, only stopping briefly here and there, to show me what happens with the Browns and Steelers.

In 2005, Ben Roethlisberger leads the Browns to their best record since returning to the NFL. J.P. Losman, replacing an injured Tommy Maddox, finishes the season 1-5, before being benched for Charlie Batch.

In 2006, Pittsburgh, drafting 10th, selects QB Aaron Rogers. Cleveland wins the division for the second time in a row, making it to the AFC Championship game, losing to the Broncos.

Cleveland loses to Seattle in the Super Bowl in 2007, while Pittsburgh finishes 8-8.

Finally in 2008, my dream stops at the AFC Championship game, Cleveland at Pittsburgh, as Ben Roethlisberger is running on to the field in a Browns uniform, there is an earthquake.

The stadium starts to shake, until I realize it is my wife, shaking me, trying to wake me up.

She said “Honey, what is wrong? You keep screaming and saying NO, NO, NO?”

Ignoring her, I jumped up, ran to my trusty computer, and saw it was all just a dream.  None of it was real.

Big Ben is still a Steeler, J.P. Losman is playing in the UFL, and the Cleveland Browns still suck.

This must be how Dorothy felt when she was back in Kansas. There is no place like home!

The Hall of Fame Game: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The NFL preseason officially kicked off with the Hall of Fame game on Sunday night.

The Hall of Fame game concludes the weekend festivities in which the newest entries to the Hall are enshrined and the beginning of the football season has begun.

Here is my “Good, Bad, and Ugly” for the start of the NFL season.

 

The Good

The NFL season has begun.  What can be better than that?  It has been six months since we saw the Steelers and Cardinals in the Super Bowl, and I know we have all missed it.

I know in a month from now, we will all be saying how excited we are that the “real” games are starting, but for now, this is good enough for me.

Chris Collinsworth.  It is never easy to replace a legend, and John Madden has left some very large shoes to fill. Collinsworth is the man that has been tapped to fill them.

 

The Bad

On the Tennessee Titans/Oilers’ first possession, they lined up in punt formation on 4th-and-10 from the Bills 40 yard line.

Instead of punting the ball, they ran a fake punt.  The play worked to perfection when AJ Trapasso, a rookie, ran the ball in for a touchdown.

As great as the play worked, is the first drive of the first preseason game really when you want to show the world that you have this play in your playbook?

Every football fan in the world, at least the die hard ones that were able to, were watching this game.  You know every coach was. 

Bad call, Jeff Fisher.

On the Bills first series, they started off in the no-huddle offense.  Again, it started out working great, and though not as bad as the fake punt, is the first drive of the first playoff game really when you want to show teams you are going to use the no-huddle?

Neither of the coaches are rookies, with Jeff Fisher being to most tenured coach in the NFL with 15 years with the Titans, and Dick Jauron has coached in the NFL since 1985.

 

The Ugly

Those uniforms.  All the way around.  The Titans/Oilers, the Bills and even the Officials.

I thought the color went out on my TV.  Refs wearing Orange uniforms?  I thought the black and white were supposed to be neutral?

Prior to the game, Al Michaels was saying there were going to be, I believe, four games this year when they use the throwbacks. 

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