Beer We Go Steelers

I hate to admit this but I love the new color rush jersey! But of course, unless they make them in a historic player, I can’t own one. The reason is I am cursed with football jerseys, pretty sure hockey too, but that I can’t confirm, because it only happened twice. I also am cursed with giving them as gifts.

Here is my story:

#12 Terry Bradshaw: This was technically my Dad’s jersey but he gave it to me. Brad not only left the Steelers after I received it, he went on to write a book bad mouthing Chuck Noll, didn’t go to Art Rooney’s funeral and so on and so forth…btw I purchased his away jersey a few years back…I met him in person and he was a complete jerk. But hey that probably has nothing to do with his jersey right?

I started buying my own jerseys:

#26 Rod Woodson, Home, he blew out his knee the first game of the season against the Lions, the jersey came the Tuesday after he was injured, Rod played only one more game for the Steelers. (Super Bowl), I still wear this for my Turkey Bowl every year.

#58 Jack Lambert, Home, one tough son of gun and the face of Steelers toughness. Jack is doing very well and has a great life. I think he was too tough for the curse.

#36 Jerome Bettis, Home, I figured I would go offense. I picked THE BUS!!! One of my favorite all time Steelers and one tremendous player, he was the cornerstone of the Steelers of the late 90’s. I bought this jersey and the Steelers turned their fortune around and began their slow climb back. The Bus had a great year… but by next year he was injured and never rushed for 1000 yards again.

#55 Joey Porter, Away, I picked Joey Porter over Jason Gildon because he was the future and not the past and he was on the brink of greatness…until he got shot in the ass, in some crazy story! He did have a nice career after that however.

#97 Kendrell Bell, Home, one of my favorite draft picks and an absolute force in the middle. This was the first jersey I ever wore to Heinz Field, he again represented the future…he again was injured and he never recovered. He stood on the sidelines in a track suit for two years.

#75 Joe Greene, Home, this is my gamer and my favorite jersey I own. I wear it to every game, unless it is a special occasion. Happy to say nothing happened to Joe, although pretty sure he was fired from the Cardinals after I bought it. Need to confirm.

#52 Mike Webster, Home, I figured maybe it was time to stick with historical, I needed one of the greatest players in Steelers history, it was between Mr. Mike and Rocky Bleier the American Hero. I chose Mike Webster who made the Hall Of Fame, it worked the curse was lifted…but then it happened, he freaking died after falling on some very sad and difficult times, that prompted the CTE debate. BTW Love that guy! Somewhere Rocky Bleier is smiling and breathing a sigh of relief.

#86 Hines Ward, Home, He played great and never had an issue! Steelers lost when I wore it, but that one I will chock up to bad luck. HOWEVER, pressed my luck…bought KGB a “designer” Hines Ward shirt, he was gone the next season!

#7 Ben Roethlisberger, Home, I was given this as a gift, Ben doesn’t often miss and his career has been stellar with the Steelers, of course a year after I was given the jersey, he got into trouble, (NOT going to rehash that) and was injured several times, but stills thrives with the Steelers.

#63 Dermonti Dawson, Home, not only one of the greatest players of all time, probably one of the best people, I have ever met! Love this guy, couldn’t miss with Dermonti, bought his jersey…he ran into some serious business issues! HOWEVER, he did make the Hall of Fame and is on the comeback trail, so maybe the curse can be temporary.

#43 Troy Polamalu, Home and Away, needed a new away jersey, who better than Troy, who was a superstar, long term contract and one of my favorite players to watch. Injured his MCL first game of the season (2009) and then was injured again late in the year. He only played five games all year. Of course, he still had a fairly productive career, so the curse wasn’t career ending. He seems to dislike the Steelers now.

#56, LaMarr Woodley, Away, this was a gift from KGB and to make it worse, I bought her the home one as well because he was her favorite player. I wore it to Church in England and to Stonehenge, in 2013, he was injured and never really recovered…left after the season. BTW he is out of football right now, might have been the double purchase that did him in.

#92 James Harrison, Throwback, My favorite Steeler of the last five years. I couldn’t miss on Silverback…he injured his knee, left and went to the Bengals…again though, came home and played great last year. So maybe that one is lifted.

#59 Jack Ham, Throwback “bumble bee”, One of the five best OLB of all time. A great player, I chose him for my throwback. Jack is doing well! Maybe it doesn’t affect guys named Jack?  

#68 L.C. Greenwood, 1930’s throwback, got to meet LC and he was one tough guy! When I purchased my first throwback, a jersey LC never would have worn, I still decided to buy it with LC’s number…he too died, literally within a year and I was wearing the shirt the day he died. I was in England at the time. I wore it to the first game after his death.

#99 Brett Keisel, Throwback “bumble bee”, technically, I think this was KGB’s purchase but for the sake of the story, here we go; this was a gift for Hailey, “Little Miss Tailgate”, not only was Brett injured, we were AT THE GAME HE GOT HURT, he never played again!!

#26 LeVeon Bell, (T-Shirt jersey) I bought this as a gift for Eric. (E-Rock). At the start of last season…Suspended for four games (Happened before I bought the shirt) but then was injured and missed the end of the season.

#33, Merril Hoge, Away, happy to report Hogey is doing great!!! But bought this last year, so say a prayer for Merril!!

NON-STEELERS:

#14 Neil O’Donnell, JETS HOME, this was a gift given to me by my buddy who was a season ticket holder, so I would have something to wear to the games. He picked Neil because he was a Steeler of course and unlike most fans I had no animosity about him leaving, His career in NY was a borderline disaster.

#16 Vinny Testaverde, JETS HOME, I am a native NY and Long Islander, so when the Jets reached the AFC Championship game, I bought the jersey for a party and was pulling for them all the way. Also, Vinny is a NY guy, the Jets lost of course and Vinny T. was injured game one the following year.

#92 Michael Strahan, GIANTS AWAY, hosted a business event and the Giants were on Monday Night Football. I also consider the Giants and the Steelers like brothers. So I was happy to rep Michael. It actually worked out well and I don’t think anything terrible befell him. Unlike my next guy…

#17 Plaxico Burress, GIANTS HOME, went to the Dallas-Giants game in 2008, the Steelers were Monday Night Football and went to that as well. I wanted to rep the Giants, especially against the Cowboys in solidarity with the Giants fans…Who better than Plex? He was a Steeler and a terrific player…towards the end of the season, he literally SHOT HIMSELF and was sent to prison!

 So you be the judge?

After a slow start, a turnover and a near turnover, the Steelers came back and wrecked the Redskins! After recovering his own fumble Ben Roethlisberger, never looked back as the Steelers rolled to a 38-16 victory

Ben Roethlisberger, who was missing, the retired Heath Miller, the injured Markus Wheaton and the suspended Martavis Bryant, threw three touchdowns, after shaking off some early rust. He passed for 151 of his 300 yards and two of his three touchdowns in the first half. He attacked the Redskins with a precision passing game that included two huge Fourth Down conversions including a 29-yard touchdown to Antonio Brown. You could literally hear the air leave the stadium at that point, the Steelers never trailed again in the game.

Antonio Brown had a spectacular night, pulling in two touchdowns. He finished with eight catches for 126 yards and continues to be an unstoppable force. Rookie Eli Rogers chipped in with six catches for 59 yards including a fourth down conversion. He made the best of his opportunity and will push for playing time. Both Jesse James and DeAngelo Williams contributed to the passing game with clutch catches.

DeAngelo Williams had a great night, he continued a slow build and put together a monster second half, rushing for 105 of his 143 yards and scoring on a 16-yard run. He also pounded out two third and shorts. The offensive line just punished the Redskins front seven and eventually wore them down.

The defense held the Redskins to under 360 yards, it was apparent that the game plan was limit big plays and keep the Redskins in check. The did both, holding the Redskins to just three field goals and a late touchdown.  Ryan Shazier had an outstanding game and was all over the field. Sean Davis had a very nice debut and Robert Golden’s first week as a starter was a success. James Harrison had an interception in the end zone to put the exclamation point on the game.

Mike Tomlin going for it on Fourth Down twice and then going for the end zone on top of it was not only gutsy but it put the Redskins on their heels and they never recovered. It was a very good game plan and it was executed well.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

The Game Beer: I am going with Big Ben and stats have nothing to do with it. It’s about attitude and reliability, he just plays as a big game QB and last night missing several of his key personnel he delivered.

Where I watched the game: FedEx Field for my first home opener! The tailgate was great and turned into a block party after the game the Washington Fans were really fun to watch the game with, they were  passionate but not disrespectful. The Redskins management handed out their own towel but it didn’t really help. As usual the Steelers fans had a great showing. The Beer of choice was Iron City which I flew down in my luggage!

My Stat of the week: Two for Two on fourth down conversions. I wouldn’t want any other coach than Mike Tomlin! Both plays show his belief in the team and even the Redskins’ fans felt they were being outcoached.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers face the Bengals and it’s going to be a fist fight again…these teams bring out the worse and best of each other. The stat of next week, might be the body count!

This weeks Jersey: Joe Greene, Home Black, my gamer.

I was surprised about Doran Gran and Steve Johnson but the rest seemed pretty obvious. Look for some movement if they can grab some secondary help after todays cuts.

So the final preseason game is here and the Steelers of course had significant injuries although nothing fatal so far:

What we know?

-Cam Hewyard might miss opening night against the Redskins but I have a feeling he won’t!

-Ladarius Green will indeed be on the PUP list and the Steelers.

-No Starters, but the last three spots on the roster are up for grabs.

-Bruce Gradkowski is done and most likely finished as a Steeler.

-Zach Mettenberger was a great pickup!

-JAMES HARRISON IS NO CHEATER!!!

So we enter the pivotal week three of the dreaded preseason:

What we know?

-Landry Jones is in serious trouble. After a mediocre performance Week 1 he absolutely stunk up the joint in Week 2. His only saving grace is that Bruce Gradkowski has a hamstring issue and Dustin Vaughan looks way to raw right now.

-Ross Cockrell has a good chance at starting. He has played nicely and done a good job when called upon. The Secondary is a work in progress.

-Whoever scouts Steelers receivers is pretty good at it. The Steelers keep rolling out solid receivers every week of all different shapes and sizes. Eli Rogers looks like he could be a good find. Sammie Coates is starting to play bigger!

-The Steelers are starting to clear cap room…so Antonio Brown or Dave DeCastro will be significantly wealthier by Sept 12th. Would love to see both signed.

-Vince Williams is definitely going to be a part of the future and Laurence Timmons may be in his swan song year.

-LeVeon will only miss three games.

-James Harrison will not be missing any after that bogus Al-Jazeera report. The NFL should say case closed and let everyone move on with their lives.

-Daryl Richardson is probably not Willie Parker the Second! I think Fitz will beat him out and Fitz needs to “redeem” himself.

What’s a mystery?

-We still haven’t seen the first team offense or what they are capable of?

-Senquez Golson might never see the field as a Steeler.

-Ladarius Green and Artie Burns are both a mystery right now? Green is suffering from some injury that can’t be verified or at least has been compromised? Burns hopefully will play tonight.

-Can Jarvis Jones play in this league? and furthermore is Bud Dupree going to improve off of last year?

We won’t see the film until Sunday!

Okay so last week’s preseason game was a mild success. The result is irrelevant, most important thing is that no one was injured and for the most part the first and second teams played well.

The Good:

-Daryl Richardson had a great game and has the pressure on Fitz Toussaint.

-James Harrison and the defense stepped up when needed!

-Darrius Heyward-Bey made a strong case to win the Martavis Bryan sweepstakes. After an early drop he made a great catch for the offensive touchdown.

-Landry Jones put in a decent effort and made a case to win the backup job.

-The offensive line looked very solid.

The Bad:

-Tackling was mediocre.

-Sean Davis has a long way to go.

-Bruce Gradkowski went out after a promising start.

-Dustin Vaughan has the look and the arm of an NFL QB, but his results were awful.

Tonight the Steelers host the cross state rival Philadelphia Eagles.

-NO Ben, No AB, NO Le’Veon Bell

-Need to see who will step up in the secondary tonight?

-NO ONE CAN GET HURT

-Who wants Martavis’ spot?

-Lets see who is going to make the case to make the team?

The Steelers are back tonight…well at least a bunch of guys wearing Black and Gold uniforms. There are several scratches tonight and it doesn’t look like any of the early draft picks will be playing. Also, Ladarius Green is out, with headaches. So why would we watch?

Well BECAUSE IT IS THE STEELERS!!!

Several spots are open and will need to be filled:

-Does Landry hold off Gradkowski?

-Who is going to win the Tight End sweepstakes. Heath Miller has huge shoes to fill both on and off the field. Jesse James this is your time to shine!

-Anthony Chickillo will push for playing time and there are several openings for depth on defenses.

-With Senquez Golson looking to be an injury bust, who can play Cornerback?

-What will the middle linebacker depth look like?

-What will the defensive line depth look like? Is this Mt. McCullers break out year?

-Who will take Bryant’s spot at WR?

-The Steelers need to see a bunch of running backs, especially if Le’Veon Bell is going to be gone for four games!

So there is some intrigue tonight and you know what else…it’s the Steelers!!!

Camp is open here are some Quick Hits for July 29th:

-Le’Veon Bell is becoming a huge distraction, did he fail a test, did he not fail a test, who knows, but either way this is a distraction. You want big money, you better act like a big boy. very disappointed

-This is Mike Tomlin’s 10th camp and arguably the best team he has ever had!

-Welcome back Dave Johnson TE and part time FB and say goodbye to Matt Spaeth! This also opens up Jesse James chance to make the team!

-Dave DeCastro and Antonio Brown are awaiting contract extensions. Both should get them!

-BTW Antonio Brown’s car might be the coolest car EVER!!!

-New TE Ladarius Green and longshot WR Shakim Phillips will start camp on the PUP list.

-Below is the Camp Schedule provided by the Post-Gazette;

The Steelers completed the 2016 draft and the national media perception of the results is mixed. Here is the BWG Take on it.

1 (25). Artie Burns, CB, Miami

BWG TAKE: This was EXACTY the pick the Steelers needed and he will make an impact right away. Has all the tools and should be a great fit. The Pick has been panned but to me he won’t miss and he has the right attitude and size. He has NFL size and speed, with a good camp he could push to start.

2 (58). Sean Davis, S, Maryland

BWG TAKE: This one felt like a stretch especially with Von Bell waiting to be scooped up. However he is very FAST and hits like a cement truck, so he has the tools. He also has CB experience.

3 (89). Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State

BWG TAKE: A versatile tweener that seems like a depth pick and most likely a 3-4 end. Powerful interior lineman.

4 (123). Jerald Hawkins, OT, LSU

BWG TAKE: This as the steal of the draft. He will challenge for playing time next year. Hawkins is a nice, athletic tackle with experience at both left and right tackle. He had graded out way better than the fourth.

6 (220). Travis Feeney, OLB, Washington

BWG TAKE: He will be a special teams ace and eventually push for playing time. Plays like he was shot out of a cannon!!!

7 (229). DeMarcus Ayers, WR, Houston

BWG TAKE: Loved this pick as well. A tough shifty and quick receiver, he is was one of the most productive wide receivers in college football in 2015. This might be the steal of the draft and he will play special teams as well!

7 (246). Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple

BWG TAKE: He reminds me of Vince Williams. He is an old school thumper who had a great college career. Smart and driven! This could be the Beachum of this draft.

Will review UFA tomorrow.