Beer We Go Steelers

“This isn’t how I wanted this chapter of my career to end. I did everything in my power to remain a Steeler and finish what I started here 14 years ago.”– Hines Ward

It was fairly obvious after the season ended despite his best efforts that Hines Ward would not be back. It will be made official this week if not today. The heart and soul of the Steelers is moving on! In an ever changing game this was inevitable but doesn’t make it any easier. While he was considered the best blocking wide receiver in NFL history, he was a heck of a pass catcher too.

Ward has six 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and just missed two more, posting 975 in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. He also returned eight kicks for 210 yards.

Those are Hall of Fame numbers and he is probably the third greatest receiver in Steelers history. But measuring him with numbers doesn’t tell the whole story of course. He was EVERYTHING a Pittsburgh Steeler player is supposed to be. He is community minded, team oriented and most of all tough as Steel. Losing him, will be a huge locker room loss as he is a top character guy.

If Franco can go play for the Seahawks then Hines can go play somewhere else. My hope is he goes to the Atlanta Falcons, his home town team! I don’t think he should retire.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/1494/hines-ward

So despite the fact that the Steelers season ended almost a month ago, this is our first weekend without football. I think KGB is secretly happy, although everyone misses the Steelers here. It was a very good season and we had some amazing moments. While everyone is disappointed at losing, there has to be a certain amount of pride in going 12-4.

Season review of BWG Steelers and my favorite moments:

My Favorite “road” game: 

This was Saratoga and “The Stadium”. I hung out with my business associates who are some of the whose, who of Long Island education! When it was announced that the Steelers would be the Sunday night game for our conference, My friends at SCOPE asked me to bring my Steelers banner and my good friend Terry C. called me to find out what we were doing for the game! Everyone was pulling for the Steelers, the game was pretty lousy(The Colts) but the Steelers pulled it out and it was a great night! 

My Favorite “Home Game”: This was a tough one. We had so many great moments this season. The highlight was beating the Patriots to me, but we did half that game at my golf club. I am going to go with the Cardinals game. He had a ridiculous spread from Uncle Guiseppes. We had my flag football teamates over and my amazing Steeler kids!!

My Favorite Home Game: This might be my favorite game ever! I have been to Heinz field every season since it opened and I have been to some amazing games. But there is something special about taking your amazing girlfriend and my oustanding daughter to the game! Of course this would have been a moot point if the Steelers didn’t just crush the Bengals. Adding to the bonus of this was I saw my Steelers “Godfather” Walter Butler at the Pittsburgh airpot on the way home!

The Post which stirred the most controversy: We had a quieter year this year, but we have over 7000 comments waited to be reviewed and posted. So stay tuned on this one. Stealing George’s flag got alot of interesting comments! The Rooting for the Giants was the one that got the most interesting responses from support to derrision.

My Favorite Snack for any game: This is easy this year. We had so much great food but the snack that was everyone’s favorite was “Pigs in a Blanket” Made with Turkey Keilbasa, Honey Crescent Rolls and hot mustard. EVERYONE ate those every week and when we didn’t serve them for Super Bowl we had a lot of funny looks!

Upcoming Stories: Free Agent recap and salary cap casualties, My Jersey Curse and my Origins as a Steelers fan.

“All my early memories in life revolved around the Steelers. Those things have stayed with me and are a part of who I am and what I am. In my mind, this is the greatest organization and the greatest team in the NFL, and that comes from the heart.” – Todd Haley

The Bleacher Report is reporting; that the Steelers are hiring Todd Haley as Offensive Coordinator. This is a great move for many reasons. One he should have never been fired as Head Coach of the Chiefs and has a strong offensive mind. He also has Steeler roots as his father was the Player Personnel Director for the Steelers for nearly twenty years. Dick Haley also played cornerback with the Steelers!

Lastly, this will shut Ben up after his stupid little tantrum last week. Arians needed to go. I agree he did a good job but the Steelers offense went dark so many times in key situations. This is a good move for the Steelers as he will help bring balance back to the offense without giving up the vertical game.

Get bigger and better up front and watch what this offense can do!

Congratulations to the New York Giants! I was very happy for my friends last night as the Giants won and played a great Super Bowl. Something also occured to me, last night. We need to get back to our rightful place in the NFL pecking order. KGB noticed I was a little melancholy, I thought about how we let number 7 slip away last year.

The Steelers had a great year this year despite some horrendous injuries. Its hard not to feel that we should have done it this year!  

I am very happy for the Giants and they proved offense sells tickets but defenses wins championships! Eli Manning can put all those Peyton questions behind him finally. He is a true gentleman, plays the game tough and easily can lay claim to being a top tier QB! 

I look forward to facing the Giants this next season in NY.  We need to get back to the big stage and I think the core of this team has one last shot at it!

Did anyone else notice that since Spygate the Patriots have been beaten in every big game? The Steelers players sure noticed! They were all over their tweet accounts and Facebook blasting the Patriots.

“Told you, cheaters never win!!!!!!!!!” – Silverback

“0-2 post spy gate! Just saying!! Cant spell ELIte w/o Eli!! Night my friends!” – Ryan Clark

I think like most Steeler fans I am rooting for the Giants this weekend. I always pull for them as they remind me of the Steelers of the NFC. Great tradition and family ownership!(Sort of)

Wellington Mara was very good friends with Art Rooney and helped get him in the NFL. The Rooney’s and Mara’s have a family relation. One of Wellington’s grandsons married one of  The Chiefs Granddaughters.

Plus all my boys were pulling for the Steelers last year! So I owe them this year! Rooting for the Patriots is like rooting for Mr. Potter at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life”!

This is a no brainer for me, GO BLUE!  

Chris Hoke was a great role player and anchored the D-Line in a 15-1 season!He will go down as one of the franchises great backup players. While he started only 18 regular-season games in 11 seasons he was a key role player in the Steelers success. The team’s record in his 18 starts — all at nose tackle for an injured Casey Hampton — was 17-1.

He will be missed! Next Man Up!

This is a great photo, but we have to get back to the Super Bowl next year!

The Patriots beat the Ravens for the AFC Championship.

I will do the final season report during the week. I figured I should do something constructive v. stealing George’s Patriots flag again while I am watching the games.

Here is my final Report Card for the 2011 Season.

GRADES:

Coaching: A, Mike Tomlin won double digits for the fourth time in five years and avoided a Super Bowl hangover by making the playoffs. It would have been easy to rest on his laurels but the Steelers roared back after a horrendous loss to the Ravens and the Texans. He is a great coach, after picking Coach Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin the Rooney’s should be in charge of picking the President. Bruce Arians has retired and I think everyone is frustrated that the Steelers can’t run the ball consistently. That being said his development of Ben Roethlisberger is one of the reasons the Steelers have been a contender every season. He deserves our respect and gratitude. Dick LeBeau is the greatest defensive coordinator in NFL history. The defense despite several key injuries held opponents to the fewest points in the NFL, keep in mind they had 35 dropped on them in week 1! 

QB: A-, Big Ben had a good season putting up more than 4000 yards and throwing for over 21 Touchdowns. He also sustained several injuries but was rarely sidelined. He is as tough as anyone in the NFL and played in Cleveland after getting his lower leg nearly ripped off. The downside, he turned the ball over 21 times, none more costly than on the last drive of the Broncos game. He still is the QB I would want and we at BWG believe in him! Charlie Batch does what he does, he wins in short doses when called upon. If this is his last season with the Steelers I will remember him as a great contributor who did what was needed!

RB: C-, It was a disappointing season for Rashard Mendenhall and when he finally got on track it ended with a serious knee injury. His numbers were respectable, but it was probably the worst season of his career. Ike Redman was outstanding and will push for playing time next season. Mewelde Moore did a nice job and so did Dwyer and Clay when they did spot duty.

WR: A, It was a great season for the wide receivers as Manny Sanders and Antonio Brown emerged as bona fide threats. Mike Wallace was awesome at the beginning but eventually slowed down. Hines Ward was slowed by injuries and was eventually phased out of the offense. He did get his 1000th catch. He is truly a great Steeler!

TE: A, Heath Miller continued to be a great threat and played his best game in Denver.  He is one of the best in the game, Wesley Saunders has developed nicely and was a nice pickup. Dave Johnson played well as a great H-Back and was excellent as a blocker when called upon! (which wasn’t often enough)

OL: D-, It was a terrible season for the offensive line. At one point or another every player was injured and they never got the running push that was needed. The protection was brutal, as Ben was nailed 40 times! Several players had good flashes, but no one was consistent, except for Maurkice Pouncey who was excellent but for the second season in a row missed the biggest game of the year.

DL: B+, It was a very good season for the defensive line that lost several of it’s key players. Aaron Smith appears to be done for his career and he was an awesome Steeler. Casey Hampton, when healthy was an elite run stopper and he too appears to be in the twilight of a great Steeler career. Brett Kiesel played his best season, which is saying something. Ziggy Hood and “Steelhead” Heywood have begun to develop and the future is bright for this unit.

LB: B-, The strength of this team, was crushed by injuries. Silverback and LaMarr Woodley only played together four times all season. James Farrior was inconsistent and is beginning to struggle in coverage. Lawrence Timmons needs to be more in control of his pace of play. If healthy this is the best group in the NFL. They also have great looking prospects in Worilds and Sylvester.

DB: A, This would have been an A+ but the Denver debacle kind of soured a great season. That being said the numbers speak for themselves. The Steelers secondary had a great season and again have young exciting talent that is beginning to develop. Ike Taylor played excellent all season until he was torched in Denver. Ryan Clark played his best season as a Steeler. Troy played well and was a huge factor in several games. Keenan Lewis will be a starter next season!

BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!