Beer We Go Steelers

What has gone right?

After a strange beginning which included dropping two games, to teams that were plain awful, the Steelers quietly crept back to 5-3! They seem to be getting better every week, highlighted by bumping off the Super Bowl Champion NY Giants.

The Offense is a HUGE gone right. After the nonstop chatter of; “Does Ben like Todd Haley?” The numbers speak for themselves. Ben has been sacked less, his numbers are great and the offense is FINALLY running the ball again. I always felt Arians offense was a good “between the 20’s” offense. Haley’s offense has been more consistent, dependable and exciting. Everyone has been involved and they are finally using one of our best weapons, HEAAAAATHHHHHHHH. Miller is poised to have his best season and probably the best season in Steelers history at tight end. I can’t say enough about how well this team is moving the ball. They are a legitimate threat on every third and long.

The receivers have been taken for granted, they are the best in the NFL, and if Wallace straightens out this team will be hard to beat. 

The running backs after a slow start, are pounding the football again. Jonathon Dwyer, Rashard Mendenhall and Ike Redman have done a great job picking up after each other and they give the Steelers the luxury of having three solid backs.

It is funny, when I began writing this I used last years as a guideline and I could nearly plagiarize it.

The secondary, has gotten better every week and Keenan Lewis, is developing as fast as his mouth, into a fine player. Ike Taylor, had a tough start to the season but came back strong three weeks in a row and gets it done, including winning Defensive Player of the Week Honors. Ryan Clark has been great and an absolute thumper. Will Allen fortified the secondary in Troy’s absence and he has been steady and dependable.

The coaching has been outstanding. Mike Tomlin is a great coach! He has lead this team through adversity and has kept an even keel and looks like he put together the right formula again!  

Dick LeBeau, who drew some early fire, once again proved his worth and what he is all about. I literally laughed at the “predictable” criticisms and all the other nonsense. He has put together another good defense without arguably his best player and with getting nothing out of the linebackers. (YET) The Steelers starting 11 hasn’t been on the field together for more than four plays all year. Somehow they slowly, but surely are creeping down in the standings in stats. They have kept the team in games and while it sucks to lose two fourth quarter leads to awful teams, it shows your character when you rebound from that. We never lost faith at BWG in LeBeau and he continues to amaze me.

Sean Kugler, deserves credit as well. BWG believes in Sean and never lost faith after last season. The turnaround of this line has been nothing short of amazing and they are finally starting to mash up front again, ask the Bengals and the Giants how the Steelers O line is playing these days.  

What has gone wrong?

The linebackers are not the same caliber as they have been in the past. Silverback has been virtually invisible since knee surgery, Woodley has been in and out with a hamstring injury. The front seven which has been the cornerstone of this franchise has been respectable but not up to Steelers standards. Only, Lawrence Timmons has been outstanding. Larry Footer has put together three very good weeks in a row after a tough start.

The D-Line has shown flashes but again seems to be a step behind their past play. I would like to see Cameron “Steelhead” Heywood and Ziggy Hood step up bigger in the second half. Steve McClendon has done well in limited duty.

I would also like to see one special teams return without a flag. The Steelers have been getting penalized nonstop on special teams.

INJURIES, INJURIES, INJURIES seriously can you remember a better draft class for the Steelers…getting decimated by injuries. DeCastro is probably done for the year, Spence is done for the year, Rainey is injured, I don’t even want to bring up Ta’amu. Troy hasn’t played in weeks and will be out against the Chiefs this week. LaMarr was out, Keisel, ALL the running backs, Pouncey and Gilbert. Silverback has been playing through injuries all year. Injuries are a part of the game but seriously this has been ridiculous.  

Mike Wallace! While he showed what he can do Sunday v. the Giants he has had several big drops and his battle for a contract seems to be a factor in his play, never a good sign.

I will give a pass to losing to Peyton Manning in his first game back, but losing to the SUCK-hole Raiders and the lousy Titans was plain awful. Those teams had no business being on the field with the Steelers and the fact the Steelers let them off the hook is the difference between 7-1 and 5-3.  

Reasons for Concern: While the defense has been better, it is hard to forget those two huge defeats! I think every BWG fan had a stomach ache when Eli got the ball back in the Giants game with 4 minutes left. The Steelers are done with injuries, anymore injuries and we are cooked. 

Offensive Game Beer: Has to be “Big” Ben Roethlisberger. He is actually getting better and better as a QB and now he isn’t constantly looking through his ear hole after getting drilled. He is making better and smarter plays.

Defensive Game Beer: Ike Taylor! He draws the best receiver and always holds his own! He also gets penalized “unfairly” as every receiver now lobbies for a flag after missing the ball. He has turned his season around and has played an outstanding brand of BWG football! Honorable Mention goes to Lawrence Timmons who is keeping the front seven in games.

Disappointment of the first half: Has to be Mike Wallace, the drops are adding up and he isn’t the factor I thought he would be. I also have to say Silverback. We are giving him a pass because he is hurt but he isn’t the disruptive force that we are used to.

Most Improved: Keenan Lewis, who turned mediocre play, into pro bowl caliber CB play. Willie Colon who is MAULING people up front from the Guard spot. The whole O-line could be on this list but Colon is the guy who seems to be making the best case. I also am going to throw Jonathon Dwyer on here. Dwyer has done nothing but produce since he has been called upon.

GRADES:

QB: A, Ben has done a great job and he is playing the best football of his career. He even had a great punt! No Leftwich or Batch sightings, PRAY we only see them in a mop up roll!

RB: B, after struggling early, the Steelers have recorded three weeks in a row of 100+ yards rushing with Jonathon Dwyer and Ike Redman. I also want to say how great it is having Will Johnson on the team, he has played terrific!

WR: B+, A great effort and they have been deadly on third downs. Mike Wallace needs to play better and get back to being himself.

TE: A-, Awesome work by Heath Miller who is the best in the game. Also nice performances by David Paulson and Leonard Pope. 

OL: C+, Slow start to the year, but now they are mashing. The left side of the line has begun to come together very nicely.

DL: C+, Have played okay, but not to where they need to be yet. I believe their best football is still to be played.

LB: C+, Need to get healthy and get Silverback up and running and this will be an A by the end of the season. I wouldn’t want anyone else’s LBs, I just want ours to be healthy.

DBs: B, The numbers are improving. If they get Troy back this will be a major strength of the team. They have been getting better every week.

What does part two look like: Without any more serious injuries, this team should finish at 11-5. The Chiefs game is going to be the indicator. If the Steelers put an ass whipping on the Chiefs then you know we are on our way.

BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!

The Steelers overcame a travel nightmare, a hostile vitriolic crowd, three very bad calls, and a ten point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Super Bowl Champions! It was a tremendous victory for the Black and Gold over the best opponent they have played this year.

The Defense played its most complete game of the season, shutting down the Giants running game and keeping Eli Manning off pace all day long. Dick LeBeau, who three weeks ago was considered washed up, dialed up another virtuoso game plan. After surrendering 4th quarter leads in every game they have lost this year, the Steelers held arguably the best fourth quarter QB in check to seal the victory. The front seven closed every gap and the secondary was air tight. They held the vaunted Giants offense to 13 offensive points and 182 yards. Keenan Lewis and Ryan Clark both were called for nonsense penalties that resulted in the Giants only offensive touchdown. Ike Taylor picked off his first pass of the year.  

 It was another great game for “Big” Ben Roethlisberger who clearly outplayed Eli Manning. Ben had two costly turnovers, one of which was completely incorrect. But despite that, he did a great job overall and when the game was on the line made every play that he needed to, including a huge end of the game 3rd down completion. The star of the offense was Ike Redman, backed up by the o-line, which pulverized the Giants Pro-Bowl front four for 158 yards on the ground. They pushed the Giants all over the field.

The receivers also played well, with excellent performances by Manny Sanders, who caught the first TD: a great back of the end zone snatch, Mike Wallace who took a hot route read and turned it into a 51 yards TD, and Jericho Cotchery who did a great job filling in for the injured Antonio Brown.

The lowlight of the day was watching Shaun Suisham’s failed run on a fake field-goal attempt. It was a gutsy call by Mike Tomlin and he deserves credit, but it also proved near disastrous and I don’t think there could have been anyone slower on the team to run it. The Steelers were down by three and he went for the TD.

Another Week another set of injuries were losing Antonio Brown and Chris Rainey who looks like he might be done for the Year.

With all the adversity it was a great win for the Steelers! It was a heavyweight showdown and the Steelers delivered the knockout blow! 

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Ike Redman, who gashed the Giants offense after a two-game absence and set career highs with 147 yards rushing on 26 carries. He also scored the winning TD on a 1-yard run. Also considered: the offensive line, who paved the way for the 147, Big Ben, who is a perennial star, and Keenan Lewis, who played a great game.

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB, the NY BWG Crew and my buddy Mike and his lovely family. The beer of choice was IC Light and Sam’s Winter. We had Pizza and a Calzone the size of a toilet seat, which Mike was kind enough to treat to. It was bittersweet because we live in NY and with all the craziness this week, a gas shortage, and no electric, we had to skip the game in person. We also had to skip our home and home with the BWG Pittsburgh crew. We ran the TV on generator power and had a great time!  

My Stat of the week: The stat of the week is 147 Yards on 26 Carries. While that is Ike Redman’s line, the stat represents three weeks in a row that a Steelers running back rushed for over 100 yards. Todd Haley’s offense is really shaping up!

My thoughts on Next Week: This is the classic trap game against the Chiefs, after beating the Champs, as the Rat birds are on the Horizon! But an important story line is that Todd Haley is going to want to run it up on his former employers so watch for a Steeler blowout.  That’s right… I am calling for a blowout!

So unfortunately we didn’t get to post the game report last week. We survived Hurricane Sandy! This included an Eight Hour Escape trip from our beloved ‘Burgh, a gas shortage and day six without electric! I am writing this using a generator. We will post all the pictures this week from the ‘Skins game and we will report on the Giants game. Which because of the hurricane the Steelers can’t stay in NY and we will not be able to make the game. Tom Janicki and Captain Tailgate had to cancel their trip to NY. 

This is a very special game this week with several stories surrounding it; including the Ben v. Eli saga, the Rooney Family v. The Mara Family, which is a battle of football royalty. The Super Bowl Champs v. the Steelers. The Question of who Rooney Mara will root for?(I might have just made that up.) Also this is a battle between me and all my friends whose loyalty to the Black and Gold ends when they play Big Blue. Only my BWG brothers are invited here tomorrow. When the Steelers play the Jets its fun here but not the same buzz as the Steelers v. the Giants. Looking forward to the game!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

We landed in the ‘Burgh today, took in the sites including the Heinz History Center. We had lunch at Peppi’s and dinner at Primanti’s.  What we really want now is a STEELERS VICTORY!

It looked like it might be a tough night at first, but in the end the Steelers put together a nice division win, 24-17 over the Bengals. After a lousy start in which they fell behind by 11 points, with several gruesome mistakes including dropped passes, an interception, and a lost fumble, the Steelers dominated the Bengals on both sides of the ball!

The Steelers’ much maligned defense came up big for the first time this season. A deflection by Ziggy Hood and a key pick by LaMarr Woodley changed the tone of the game late in the first half. We held the Bengals to just 163 yards through the final three quarters of the game and kept the fourth lead intact. Ike Taylor held AJ Green to just one catch. He played a tough game all night and kept AJ under wraps.

The running game finally got rolling. Jonathan Dwyer, the running back that never goes away, played for the first time since his fumble in Oakland. He rumbled for 122 yards, the first 100 yard game this season for the Steelers, and he grinded out 70 second half yards including the game clincher. Chris Rainey ripped off an 11-yard TD run on a counter play to put the Steelers ahead. It was a razor sharp cut and he flew through the hole.

Big Ben put together a solid, if unspectacular, day. He had several key 3rd down conversions and despite two turnovers he made the plays that he had to. The offensive line, specifically backup center Doug Legursky and Willie Colon, played a great games and really handled the Bengals front four.

Mike Wallace had probably his worst day as a Steeler and he had three horrible drops. Conversely, Antonio Brown had a huge day and would have thrown a TD if Baron Batch didn’t misread it. Heath Miller is, well, Heath Miller. He did a great job helping in pass protection and he is having a breakout season, catching his 5th TD of the year. Manny Sanders made a huge play on the game winning score. The offense is finally clicking and despite the media playing up the Ben and Todd Haley soap opera, the numbers don’t lie. This team can score and looks like they can run with anyone.

It was a good night and it is back to the Burgh for the RG3 Show!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: The Steelers offensive line, That’s right… the WHOLE O-Line gets a game beer. They were banged up, but put together a great protection package and Willie Colon was blowing up the Bengals up front. Also considered, Jonathon Dwyer, who pounded out 100 tough yards and Ike Taylor for holding AJ Green who is plain awesome to one catch

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and my buddy, Mike Inzerillo, the Pool King of New York! The beer of choice was Long Board IPA from Kona, great Beer, we skipped the snacks as it was a late game! I also texted with BWG President Tom Janicki all night. No word from the Captain I am afraid! 

My Stat of the week: The stat of the week is a great one… 1 for 8. That is how many catches AJ Green had against Ike Taylor. That is a great day for Taylor. The one catch he did make was for a TD, but it was hard to fault Ike Taylor because it was excellent coverage.

My thoughts on Next Week: I will be in the ‘Burg, with Little Miss Tailgate and KGB! The Steelers face RG3 and the Redskins. I will be excited to see the Gatorade, Subway Sandwich, Selling Super Athelete. The Steelers should hold on to nip the ‘Skins!

After putting together a fourth-quarter comeback to take a seven-point lead, the Steelers allowed the Tennessee Titans to score twice in the final four minutes, 26-23, and won the game on Rob Bironas’ 40-yard field goal with no time left. It was a huge disappointment as BWG was in attendance.

Ben Roethlisberger passed for 363 yards, including an 82 yard bomb to Mike Wallace that broke Terry Bradshaw’s career passing yardage record with the Steelers. I figured this out YESTERDAY as I helped my daughter with a school report, so I didn’t even get to celebrate it. He has 28,066 in his career; Bradshaw 27,989. Congrats to Big Ben!

It was an utterly terrible game by the defense, who couldn’t hold any of the leads they were given. Ike Taylor was crushed by the refs on several calls. The secondary was diced up by a less than stellar passing attack of the Titans. Keenan Lewis dropped what would have been the game clinching interception.

The Titans, who lost the last four games by 21 points or more, kept the Steelers on their heels all game and they made the big plays when needed.

It was truly a lousy performance and the worst I can remember under Mike Tomlin. They now have close to 10 days off to try and right the ship.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Shaun Suisham for belting a 52 yard field goal. He also gave it a hell of a boot on the 54 yarder, even though he came up short. I have been critical of Suisham, but I have to give him credit. Also considered, NO ONE! Seriously this game sucked that bad.

Where I watched the game: At LP field with my friends Teri(Who wore the BWG colors), Don and my buddy Taki. Taki came up with a chant to drive the home crowd crazy. The place was packed with Steeler fans and we drowned out the Titan’s fans most of the day. The Titans management handed out some bootleg Pro Breast Cancer Towel to compete with the Terrible Towel. Seriously they are Pro breast cancer down there!!!

My Stat of the week: The Titans were 9-16 on 3rd down. They also crushed the Steelers defense in the 4th quarter.

My thoughts on Next Week: I couldn’t come on here and predict a win. I think the Steelers will muster one more fight and HOPEFULLY will play the Starting defense. Buckle up!

Quick hits are coming tomorrow. LOTS to catch up on.

The Steelers, despite losing both LaMarr Woodley and Troy Polomalu, outlasted the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 16-14. Shaun Suisham kicked a field goal with no time left to lift the Steelers over the Philadelphia Eagles.

It was a sloppy game for the Steelers offense but they made the plays when they needed them and they rallied for the first time this year. Big Ben was a little off and didn’t put together his best performance. But he did put together the game winning drive which included two third-down conversions. The protection was very good and the O-line played its best game of the year.

Rashard Mendenhall restarted the stagnant running game and the offense pulled it out. The Wide Receivers had one of their worst games in recent memory but again made the big plays when they needed them. Manny Sanders had a huge 3rd down catch.

The defense which has been maligned all season put together a good game. The Defensive line was terrific as they produced two sacks and kept Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy in check. The linebackers put together their best defensive efforts with Silverback pushing around the Eagles and Lawrence Timmons making several key plays.

The game was horribly over officiated and the Eagles cheap shot after every play. It made for a tough game to watch in the first half but any victory works for me right now.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Rashard Mendenhall, He was back in a big way. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry in his first game since anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Also considered, Lawrence Timmons who was all over the field and caused a big fumble. Shaun Suisham, who kicked the game winner!

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and the Kids! The beer of choice was IC Light and KGB made wings and Sausage and peppers! 

My Stat of the week: The Eagles offense managed only 246 total yards. They were greatly assisted by some over officiated penalties as well. Not bad for a Defense which again was missing two of its best players (Woodley and Polamalu) but still put together a solid effort.

My thoughts on Next Week: Next week is in two days! The Titans are awful and this should be a win. But this team has been up and down all year. I will be in attendance in Nashville!

While we certainly needed it and it is very important, I hate the bye week. I had to listen to a double week of how bad the Steelers suck after the Oakland jerkaround session. Here is a couple of points:

-The running game has been bad, but the offense has been excellent and they have been playing without Mendenhall who certainly put himself in a good spot with negotiating!

-Dick LeBeau went from being a genius to old and predictable. SIMPLY WRONG. The Steelers have struggled to generate much of a pass rush and the secondary was awful in Oakland. But I also think having a pair of healthy former Defensive Player of the Years would certainly fix many of the problems. I believe in LeBeau and if you are writing him off, you haven’t watched the Steelers over time. LeBeau is solid and will get us through. Before we write off the defense, let’s see how they do when they have the FULL 11 guys on the field.

-I was very sorry to hear about Chuck Pagano, the Coach of the Colts. While he isn’t Steelers, he is part of the NFL family and we need to keep a good thought for him.

The Steelers coughed up a ten point fourth quarter lead and dropped their second game of the season 34-31 to Oakland. The Raiders outscored the Steelers 13-0 in the Fourth Quarter capped by Sebastian Janikowski’s 43-yard field goal with no time left for the win.

It was an awful game for the defense that looked slow and tired throughout the fourth quarter. The Steelers had no pressure up front, and the secondary was leaky the entire game because of it. The defense also was horrendous against the run, getting gashed for a huge gain by Darren McFadden to tie the score in the first. McFadden finished with 113 yards. The Raiders put up 34 points while only holding the ball for less than 24 minutes.

The Steelers made several costly mistakes including two back breaking fumbles. Antonio Brown had one of those days that young players sometimes have. He had two fumbles, one that basically put Oakland back in the game. Jonathon Dwyer also had a terrible fumble that allowed Oakland to tie the score right before the half.

The Special Teams allowed Mike Goodson to go 54 yards and had a TD called back. They were El Stinko for the first time this season.

Ben Roethlisberger and Heath Miller both had tremendous games, as Roethlisberger racked up 384 yards and threw four TD’s including two to Miller who is having the breakout season we predicted! Mike Wallace also had eight catches and ten different Steelers caught passes. That was the only bright spot of a very dismal day.

The running game still has not taken off. The leading rusher for the Steelers was Ike Redman but he only banged out 27 yards. The Steelers rushed for 54 yards on 20 carries. The rushing statistics have decreased with each game and have gotten worse every, single week. They need to be more consistent and the offensive line needs to open us some holes.

The defense just hasn’t found its groove yet. The Steelers actually went for it on their side of the field because Coach Tomlin didn’t have the confidence in them to stop the Raiders. That is downright disturbing!

The Steelers badly need Silverback and Troy back ASAP.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Ben Roethlisberger, It was a great performance and he was nearly flawless! He could have won the Game Beer any of the first three weeks and this week we can’t overlook what Ben has done! Also considered; Heath Miller for his two TD catches, as well as WALLACE who had a great game.

Where I watched the game: At a bar called the Stadium in Saratoga. I also had to do business during the game, as several of my clients came to check in on me. The Steeler turnout at the bar was lousy with no Steelers section. I sat with Eagles fans that were in their own version of Hell, and my friend Steve Hubbard who is a Raiders fan. I also met a Bay Area native who rejoined Raider nation named Todd! I was drinking “Saratoga” Beer and the food and service were outstanding. The game itself was not.

My Stat of the week: This is a bad one, I am afraid. The Raiders rushed 21 times for 119 yards! That is just awful and the front seven had one of the worst games I have seen in a long time.

My thoughts on Next Week: Not sure what to expect right now. The Eagles looked awful Sunday, but so did the Raiders the week before. Look for a SLUGFEST in the battle of PA with the Steelers squeaking it out.

Meeting your hero can sometimes leave you disappointed. You have expectations, and they often fall short of the pedestal that you put them on. Last week at the Joe Namath Golf Outing, I was lucky to meet one of my all time favorite players, Dermonti Dawson. He was arguably the best Center in the history of football, but that doesn’t even come close to telling the story. He is an even better person than he is a Center or football player!

Besides being humble, Dawson is one of the nicest people I have ever met. A Hall Of Famer who was quick to point out that he was busy, but you know, “good busy”. He shared stories of Mike Webster and what he learned from Mike. He spoke of playing Bethpage Black and how he had to take pictures for his father and he took the time to know my name and my friends’ names.

Dawson also saved me from a huge blunder. I was so excited to meet him, I forgot to ask him to sign my hat. Dawson asked, “Hey can I sign your hat?” I had LC sign it last year and he noticed. He also reminded me that John Jackson was at the outing too and LC Greenwood  was back. 

At the reception, Dawson found me again and asked if I able to see John Jackson. He had told John to look for me. I did get to meet Jackson, with an unlikely assist from Ratbird all world tackle Jonathon Ogden. (Who by the way is another great person.)

It was one of the greatest experiences and it was all to support the March of Dimes!

http://www.marchofdimes.com/?gclid=CJ71jaTZxrICFcXb4AodxW4AVw