Beer We Go Steelers

On a day that the fans and organization honored the late Dan Rooney, the Steelers made it two in a row as they beat the Vikings. The Defense put together a vintage performance as they pushed the Vikings all over the field and hammered late replacement Case Keenum.

The defensive line had a dominant performance anchored by Steelhead Heyward. Like Stephon Tuitt last year, he made up for the absence of his teammate and put together a dominant performance. Heyward had six tackles, including four that netted a total of minus-6 yards, and he was all over Keenum. Tyson Alualu and Javon Hargrave closed the running lanes.

Despite an injury to T.J Watt, the linebackers put together an outstanding day. Ryan Shazier continues to fly all over the field with eight tackles and Vince Williams had a huge game, laying waste to the Vikings running game. The pass rush was excellent despite only netting two sacks. Bud Dupree made a brilliant return and chimed in with one sack and broke up a pass. Anthony Chickillo came in for Watt and was disruptive. Keenum never had time to pass, so the Secondary was never really tested.

The offense still looks like a work in progress, but it is obvious how many weapons the Steelers have. Ben Roethlisberger struggled in the first half and was all over the place, despite throwing two great touchdowns. He settled in and stayed within the offense and moved the ball well in the second half. After a slow start last week, Martavis Bryant showed why he is a game breaker. Bryant had only three catches, but his touchdown was all his playmaking abilities and he hauled in a 50+ yard catch. Ju-Ju Smith had his first career touchdown on a well executed shovel pass. Mike Zimmer’s plan was to shut down Antonio Brown and he did it, which opened up spots for Eli Rogers, who had four catches for 43 yards.

Le’Veon Bell had a nice bounce back week grinding out 87 very tough yards. He still looks rusty but by the end of the game he was starting to get his feel back.

Two weeks in a row the Special Teams had solid contributions and two weeks in a row, Tyler Matakevich made a big play, stopping a ridiculous fake punt on the Vikings side of the field that led to a field goal. Little Bos hit all his field goals after getting a Mulligan on a 51 yarder.

The Steelers handled a tough Vikings team and are now on to Chicago!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: We have to go with Cam Heyward, who set the tone on a defense that held the Vikings to single digit in scoring. Also, considered: Tyler Matakevich for two weeks of Special Teams success

 Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and the “Tailgate Kids” also our neighbors came for the second half. KGB made awesome flatbreads, spicy Meatball and Hot Sausage. Mike and Christine brought homemade Sausage bread. We had baked Penne for dinner! As for Beer, we went with Leinekugel Harvest Patch Shandy and KGB did Bud Light Lime.

My Stat of the week: 30.3 average yards per catch for Martavis Bryant. He is an absolute force to deal with when he plays. If he could stay out of trouble this could be a HUGE year for him.

My Thoughts on next week: This game SCARES me to death. With  the Ravens looming, it is the classic trap game, that has plagued the Steelers in the Tomlin era. The Steelers should absolutely demolish the Bears, but they need to show up and play.

This week’s Jersey: With all the flag protests still being talked about, I moved up my Franco Harris, Salute to the Military jersey up this week!

The Steelers overcame several mistakes and were able to hold off the upstart Cleveland Browns. Despite racking up a whopping 13 penalties for 144 yards and gaining less than 300 yards of total offense, the Steelers still prevailed.

The Steelers offense never clicked all day. Le’Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant both looked extremely rusty as neither really factored into the win. Bell was tentative and looked like someone who didn’t practice. He finished with just 32 yards on 10 carries. His last run of the day was his biggest for 15 yards and it sealed the win for the Steelers. Bryant, had only two catches for 14 yards and struggled most of the day.

Ben Roethlisberger had a workman like game putting up 263 yards and throwing two TD’s. However, he also looked rusty and threw a crucial interception that breathed life into the Browns chances. The Browns played their Safeties deep, so the Steelers dinked and dunked them to death.

Antonio Brown, saved the day for the Steelers offense, catching the game clincher on a “chuck and hope” throw from Roethlisberger. If there was any question of his value, he answered it yesterday. He took control of the game putting up more than half the Steeler offense with 182 yards and making several great catches. Jesse James reiterated his pitch to be the starting Tight End, he had six catches and both Touchdowns!

The defense, did a terrific job against a game but overmatched Browns offense. It always starts up front and even without Bud Dupree and losing Stephon Tuitt on the first series, the Steelers dominated. The Browns could only muster 57 yards rushing on 25 carries. Many of those yards came on 3rd and long situations. The pass rush was impressive, registering seven big sacks.

T.J. Watt in his debut battled grizzled veteran Joe Thomas and came away with two sacks and a big interception after he had a costly penalty. It was a terrific debut and he continues to impress. Javon Hargrave and Steelhead Heyward, in his return, put up 2.5 sacks between them and pushed the Browns line around.  Ryan Shazier was all over the field tying Watt for the team lead in tackles with seven. Anthony Chickillo, filling in for the injured Dupree, was in DeShone Kizer’s face all day , dumping him for two sacks as well as contributing on special teams with a Touchdown.

It is always great to see special teams contribute and Tyler “Tackle Machine” Matakevich blocked the first Browns punt which lead to Chickillo’s Touchdown, the Steelers’ first blocked punt for a touchdown in 19 years. “Little Bos” was on the money as usual. Jordan Berry struggled and needs to pick it up.

The Steelers looked lethargic at best and not ready for the game and that is on the coaches. That being written, style points don’t matter and a win is a win. The Steelers start out 1-0

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: We have to go with Antonio Brown, who almost singlehandedly won the game. He is this week’s Game Beer player for the clinching catch.  Also, considered: T.J Watt for an outstanding rookie debut. Jesse James for two TDS and Anthony Chickillo for coming off the bench and putting on a show.

 Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and the “Tailgate Kids”. We did pictures for opening day outside. We had cheese, crackers and meats for snacks. As for Beer, we had to send IC Light to the bench after the lethargic start and went with Leinekugel Harvest Patch Shandy. Spaghetti and Meatballs was the celebratory dinner.

My Stat of the week: ELEVEN…wins by Ben Roethlisberger in Cleveland “Whatever it’s called now” Stadium. Roethlisberger passes Derek Anderson as the winningest QB in Cleveland since they rejoined the league. Since we added this section to the blog, this is now my favorite stat! DeShone Kizer is well on his way to breaking this, but as of now it belongs to Big Ben! If 11 sounds familiar to any Browns fans who read this…11 is where the Steelers drafted Ben after the Browns drafted Kellen Winslow at SIX!

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers are going to be crucified this week about how poorly they played. The Vikings are a tough team and Mike Zimmerman knows the Steelers well. Look for another tough fight with the Steelers pulling out.

This week’s Jersey: I started the season with Mike Webster 52 Home. Had several ideas and made some changes but in the end my heart is with the O-Line and with one of the greatest players to ever grace the Steelers!

So we are REALLY back now! This year’s team has all the tools. The Steelers are clearly going for it as the Joe Haden acquisition and the J.J. Wilcox trade demonstrates. The team will be formidable and is an absolute Super Bowl contender.

Here are your 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers:

The Steelers uncharacteristically stepped out of their comfort zone and signed Joe Haden. Looking to improve the secondary, the Steelers grabbed Haden after he was cut by Cleveland.

The Steelers finished the pre-season with a 3-1 record with a comeback win against the Panthers.

In a game, I didn’t see live, the Steelers dropped a Preseason game to the Colts. I haven’t reviewed the film yet so will try and get something out tomorrow morning. WORST BLOGGER EVER, sorry guys the week got away from me!

The Steelers squeaked out a preseason win against the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons. Here are a few quick notes from the game:

What went right:

-Not too many injuries, which is always most important.

-Martavis Bryant saw action for the first time in 15 months and he looked pretty good. He made some nice plays but he also looks like he has a lot of work to do. The Steelers are absolutely loaded at receiver.

-James Conner had a nice day against the second and third team defenses of the Falcons. What actually surprised me, was how nimble he was and quick on his feet. He is definitely more than just a banger.

-The Offensive Line depth looks pretty solid.

-The OLB depth looks great!

-A Special Teams! Yes that isn’t a typo…Little Bos nailed a 40 plus yard field goal. Jordan Berry was the unsung hero of the second half pinning the Falcons all day and Trey Williams had a return Touchdown.

-Jordan Dangerfield certainly made a case to stick with the team this season!

What went wrong:

-The majority of the “varsity” defense were decimated by Matt Ryan in his only series for 91 yards, and further decimated by Matt Schaub in his only series. The secondary struggled most of the game until they gave way to the fifth stringers.

-Joshua Dobbs, had a horrible game, he looked indecisive and he had happy feet. He threw a ridiculous interception as well on a backhand flip to Jake McGee.

-James Conner had a respectable day, but had the “drops” including a big one on third down.

BEER WE GO STEELERS!

After a successful camp in Latrobe, The Steelers will play their second preseason game today, matching up against the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons as everyone in the free world knows are coming off the biggest Super Bowl choke job in history.

Here are some things to look at:

-James Conner will get the lion share of the snaps today at RB. He will get a very long look as Le’Veon Bell is still holding out. Conner is a great story and a between the tackles banger.

-The Offensive line will have a few different combinations as the first team is a little banged up. Look for super sub Chris Hubbard and BJ Finney to get very long looks. Matt Feiler, will also move around, he saw time at Tackle and Guard in last weeks game. We are pushing for Feiler to make the team.

-Mike Hilton is this years camp darling. After the Steelers signed him to the practice squad in December, he has lit up camp and looks like he will press to be on the main roster. With the constantly injured Senquez Golson being on the shelf and 3rd round pick Cam Sutton missing most of camp, this is Hinton’s opportunity to continue to run away from the pack.

-All eyes will be on TJ Watt who is coming off a great first showing. Watt looked terrific in his debut against the Giants and seems like a high motor kid.

-No Big Ben and no AB today, look for Bart Houston to get another look and Joshua Dobbs, who will start. Dobbs started shaky but made a nice comeback against the Giants. Not sure the status on Landry Jones before game time.

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The preseason is always tricky…it is easy to get nervous or to get too excited. Fridays game had flashes of brilliance and a few concerns. Beer We Go was in attendance, here is our take on it.

What Went Right:

-Mike Hilton, this year’s camp darling, continues to impress and had a great game. Hilton had a sack for a 10-yard loss, a quarterback hurry, a stop on fourth-and-two, four defensive tackles, two special teams tackles and made a huge impact.

-T.J. Watt, put on a clinic and had a huge motor all game. He started at right outside linebacker, played almost the whole game and had two sacks.

-The Steelers defense had seven sacks and an interception. Arthur Moats had a terrific game!

-Cobi Hamilton made the most of his opportunity hauling in a huge 28 yard TD pass.

What Went Wrong;

-Injury…JuJu Smith-Schuster was injured with a concussion.

-Joshua Dobbs, struggled in his debut. But did show signs of promise. He tossed the 28 yard TD to Hamilton and recovered after a very shaky start.

Tomorrow the Steelers start camp at St. Vincents in Latrobe. The clock is ticking on this core of players and on the Roethlisberger Era. barring injuries of course, this team has everything needed to be a Super Bowl Champion!

Of course the first rule of camp is NO ONE GET HURT! Second is get in shape and lets see what we have!

Here are your quick hits for 7/25/17, night before Camp.

-Le’Veon Bell most likely will not be in camp…who cares? While both sides have legitimate points in his contract situation. Him being in camp means very little. He hasn’t played a full season ever, so camp is a non-issue. He will eventually sign his Franchise Tag and will be ready for game one against the Browns. Look for James Conner to get his reps. The Steelers also have other capable backs in camp.

-Alejandro Villanueva may also not come to camp. This would be a mistake on both sides, the Steelers should give him a better contract and Villanueva should take the money and play for a bigger and better contract in two years. He is a solid LT but still needs work. Reps are essential for his development and he will only get those in camp and with playing time. However, unlike Bell he has more leverage because the Steelers are very thin on O-Line. He is a high character guy, so don’t expect a distraction.

-As far as development, nothing is more important than the maturation of the defense. The front seven is one of the best in football. They added T.J. Watt to help the pass rush, with Bud Dupree coming back and the ageless James Harrison already in place. The Inside Linebackers are “Hustle and Muscle” Ryan Shazier, who is outstanding and Vince Williams, an old school mid-field thumper. Put those guys together with Javon Hargrave, back for a second season after a great campaign, Stephon Tuitt who played excellent, while anchoring the defense last season and Cam “SteelHead” Heyward coming back for a full year. This could be a special group!

-Artie Burns and Sean Davis will sure up the secondary and look for Senquez Golson to finally see the field. He is my sleeper pick for 2017.

-Whoever scouts WR for the Steelers is pretty good at it. The Steelers need to put someone opposite Antonio Brown who inked his new contract. Martavis Bryant is the front runner and until his off field issues derailed his career, he looked to be a breakout star. Sammie Coates and JuJu Smith Schuster (who needs a nickname) will press for a spot, both have a ton of upside. Don’t count out Eli Rogers, Demarcus Ayers and Cobi Hamilton who all have particular tools. Darrius Heyward-Bey is a special teams ace and is solid when called upon.

-Jesse James, (KGB’s favorite player) has the TE spot to lose.

-Backup QB should be a fun battle to watch, Landry Jones, who acquitted himself nicely last season will be back, but it is only a matter of time until Joshua Dobbs is nipping at both Landry and Ben’s heels.

-Lastly, this will mark the first time in well over 50 years that Ambassador Rooney will not be at camp. It will be a very somber moment when he is not on the sidelines. He had an amazing life and it is easy to find comfort in all he accomplished. This years Beer We Go Shirts will have a Mr. Rooney tribute, so stay tuned!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!