Beer We Go Steelers

We are headed to the ‘Burgh, to take on the Raiders!

The mid-season report will be done next week.

Ben Roethlisberger had two late turnovers and the Steelers lost to the Bengals Sunday…most likely ending their hopes for a 2015 Division Title. Roethlisberger looked like a guy who missed a month of football, he was slow and completely out of rhythm. The biggest loss though wasn’t on the scoreboard. It looks like Le’Veon Bell’s season is over after a horrendous knee injury.

The offense just didn’t click all day. After the first drive the Wide Receivers were nonexistent. The Steelers ran the ball fairly well, but kept making mistakes when they got close to the red zone. While there were many issues, three second half turnovers by Roethlisberger basically doomed the Steelers. Two were back to back.

The defense had a solid bounce back game. I also liked McClendon in the end spot with Mt. McCullers in the middle. The defense held tough for most of the day but couldn’t close out the Bengals to end the game. Cam Heyward had a monster game, as did James Harrison. The front seven is rounding into form. The much maligned secondary made some nice plays, but again Antwon Blake looks overmatched. He had a spectacular pick which looked like it could have been the game winner, but he struggled most of the day.

The Bengals basically guaranteed themselves the division title with a gutsy performance. We will get another shot at them later in the season!

Here is the good news……we are still poised for a big second half if everything comes into place. The defense responded extremely well, after the disaster in Kansas City. They made several great plays and they fly around the field. Unfortunately, we haven’t put the varsity offense on the field all year. If that changes, and the defense plays like it did yesterday, we are going to be alright.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Going with someone who didn’t actually play yesterday, Myron Cope! Who invented the Terrible Towel which is a staple for Steelers fans and has been ripped off all over all the professional leagues. He was a vaudevillian character and every announcer in all sports pales in comparison to him. Also Considered, “Steel-Head” Heyward! He had a monster game, Heath Miller who could be the Mayor of Pittsburgh if he ran on Tuesday!

Where I watched the game: Home with the family and kids. The beer of choice was Guinness Blonde, which was awesome! KGB made homemade Quesadillas that were outstanding. The kids had a nice day but everyone was disappointed. KGB called the Blake interception! I knew we were in trouble when my beloved 65Inch TV died in the AM.

My Stat of the week: Heath Miller, 10-105 receiving, The WR’s couldn’t get going all day and Heath was there grinding it out all day! It was a tremendous performance and it is yet another option for the Steelers.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers season starts next week. The goal is to go 6-2 and push further and further forward. Anything less and we might not make the playoffs. This is a must win game against the resurgent Raiders, I am happy to report that we will be there and look for a Big Ben Bounce back!!! Also photos from the game will be coming.

The Steelers were beaten to the punch all day and lost to the Chiefs! It was a total team breakdown as the Steelers played poorly on both sides of the ball. There were flashes of brilliance but in the end the Steelers just didn’t make enough plays to win.

Landry Jones came back to earth and while he wasn’t awful, he had three turnovers, two of which were absolutely critical. The first turnover was a fluke play on a tipped ball by Antonio Brown, the second was a killer as the Steelers were driving at the end of the first half and it was a three point swing to them. His end of game fumble sealed the Steelers loss.

The defense was absent all day. The Linebackers had a terrible game, missing several tackles. They also had no answer for Travis Kelce , who converted several big third downs. The defensive line was non existent and it was reminiscent of when Aaron Smith would miss a game, without Stephon Tuitt the line was lousy. They were torched by the unheralded Charcandrick West. The lone highlight was watching Mt. McCullers drop into traffic and break up a pass play by basically ecplipsing West.

The offense just didn’t click and had several miscues, stats don’t tell the story as they had a 100 yard receiver and a 100 yard rusher. But they made several mistakes with a some key dropped passes and some Landry Jones misfires. I am not going to single out anyone but it was just a rotten performance. It was good to see Antonio Brown get some catches and Martavis Bryant is awesome. Le’Veon played the best game of the day.

Not trying to make light of it, but the Steelers were badly outplayed for about 20 minutes of the second half and that made the difference. This is one of the games that you need to move on from. The Steelers went 2-2 during Ben’s absence and easily should have gone 3-1 with the terrible loss to Baltimore. Sunday wasn’t the Steelers day.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Going Le’veon Bell who played well and grinded out his yards again. Also Considered, Alejandro Villanueva who played a great game…until the last sack by Tamba Hali which sealed the loss. Otherwise it was an admirable job.

Where I watched the game: Home with the family and my neighbors. It was a great day and great spread.KGB made home made pepperoni bread and we had Chicken Parm and Spaghetti for dinner. Sam Adams light was my beer of choice but to no avail. I posted the picture on twitter yesterday.

My Stat of the week: Stop me if you heard this one before…2-10 the combined record of two of the teams the Steelers lost to this season. The Steelers handed the Ravens their only win with a terrible finish and just didn’t play well yesterday.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers need to bring their A-Game vs. the Bengals. Dropping the loss to the Ravens again rears it’s ugly head, the Steelers will be right back in contention with a win!

The Steelers pulled the upset with some Landry magic over the Cardinals! After being dominated for most of the first half, the Steelers rallied around third string Quarterback Landry Jones. Jones threw a pair of touchdown passes to Martavis Bryant who returned from his suspension and led the Steelers to victory over a tough  Arizona team.

Jones stepped into his first NFL regular season game finished 8 of 12 for 168 yards and the two scores. Bryant caught six passes for 137 yards and he looks like the playmaker he was last year. Ripping off an 88 yard touchdown that was spectacular in sealing the game and catching the first touchdown of the game in a back of the end zone leaping catch! Le’Veon Bell with a stacked box grinded out 88 of the toughest yards you have ever seen. He fought and fought and eventually the Steelers O-line wore down the Cardinals front seven.

While the offense struggled in the first half the defense absolutely kept the Steelers in the game. The defense held the league’s highest-scoring offense to just 13 points, even though the Cardinals had 21 first downs and 469 yards offense. For the second game in a row, they held the opponent under 56 yards rushing and 3 yards per attempt (2.8). DE Cam Heyward had two tackles for loss in the run game and was on fire all day. James Harrison played his best game of the year. Silverback was in for the injured Jarvis Jones and had the only sack and a forced fumble that led to the first touchdown. He also wrecked an Arizona defender for taunting after the Mike Mitchell interception. Lawrence Timmons had a first-quarter interception, with an assist from Vince Williams and Arthur Moats had a tackle for 2-yard loss on third-and-2 at the Steelers 19 that forced the Cardinals to settle for a field goal when it was 15-10. The secondary bent but again did not break!

Chris Boswell, aka “Little Bos” looks like a keeper, he banged out 3 field goals including a 50+ yarder. It was a relief to see a good kicking game.

The only downside of the game is that Kelvin Beachum looks lost for the year. His injury looked horrific. He has been a steadying force for the Steelers and is in his contract year. He is a terrific player and represents what the Steelers are all about. Alejandro Villanueva will have his hand full replacing him.

There was a lot of hype about Bruce Arians and Mike Tomlin. The results speak for themselves and while Arians is a two time NFL coach of the year, once again the Steelers came out on top, with a gutsy performance by Tomlin.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: If you follow us on twitter, it is of course Landry Jones and Chris Boswell. Both did great work yesterday and kept the Steelers train on the tracks. It was a great day and a game I will remember for a long time. Also Considered: Martavis Bryant, who could easily make a case and of course OUR HERO Silverback  James Harrison who absolutely was a force yesterday.

Where I watched the game: After consideration of watching it at Irish Exit in Manhattan, I decided to take a later train and watch it with my amazing kids and My awesome Better 3/4 KGB. Because I had a professional commitment I had a meeting in the city, so food was light. KGB made me the greatest sandwich ever, with was Stuffing, Fresh Turkey and Cranberry. The beer of choice was Sam Adams Light which I absolutely loved!

My Stat of the week: 1-0 Landry Jones Record as the Steelers Quarterback, He did an outstanding job and breathed life into a Steelers team that was struggling.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers have a tough Kansas City that is just itching to get back in contention. I would sit Ben one more Week and roll with Landry. Either way look for a Steeler grind out.

In a wild finish the Steelers took their first lead of the night with no time left on the clock, beating the San Diego Chargers. It was easily one of the gutsiest calls in Steelers History! Le’Veon Bell ran the Wildcat offense and ran it off tackle left, made a second effort and had the game winning score!

The Steelers still had one timeout left, and narrowly missed winning it on a great effort by Heath Miller one play earlier. Coach Tomlin turned to Bell to provide the win…he delivered. The Steelers mangled the clock as did the refs when the Steelers took over possession. So there was no chance to kick a field goal despite having one timeout when the Steelers went for it. Bell lined up in the shotgun and took the snap, he exhausted the clock as he picked his hole to run through, in the end he made a huge play.

Michael Vick again struggled with the offense, but he bookended a mediocre second quarter (in which the refs completely missed Pass interference on a Hail Mary) and terrible third quarter with a good first quarter and a great fourth quarter where he looked like he finally had command of the offense. A huge 72 yard strike to Markus Wheaton tied the game up. And on the last drive, we finally saw some Vick magic with an awesome scramble for 24 yards putting the Steelers in a position to tie the game, he also threw the pass to Heath Miller that nearly won the game.

While Vick survived another week, the night belonged to Le’Veon Bell, the plan was clearly to run the ball. Bell had some big runs of 25 and 32 yards in the first half when he rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries. On the night he finished with 111 yards, his second 100-yard game in a row, and of course the game winning score.

The defense had a very good game, after sleep walking through the opening drive. Antwon Blake made a huge play as he jumped a comeback route and returned an interception for 70 yards. Jarvis Jones had a terrific game as he had his first sack of the year, he also recorded a forced fumble. Cam Heyward was held on nearly every play and was caving in the O-line. Lawrence Timmons and Sean Spence played great games and stuffed the Chargers running game. The secondary was leaky but made the plays when needed.

The coaches deserve a ton of credit as well. Mike Tomlin is a winner! I could care less what the media and what most fans say. He coaches to win not to cover himself. That to me is what a leader does! He would have been CRUSHED in the media if they lost. But in the end Bell delivered.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Michael Vick,  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Great week and I am in such a good mood not even going to bring up special teams 🙂

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Le’Veon Bell! The Bus Jerome Bettis tweeted it best, “way to trust your horse” He delivered and has stepped up when we need him most. Also Considered: Mike Tomlin who had the guts to make the call!

Where I watched the game: Back at Buckley’s! To be honest, I nearly called an audible and went somewhere else, but in the end stayed loyal to my local pub! My partner in crime as always was KGB! She was super supportive and looked dynamite in her BWG shirt. Matt the bartender hooked us up with seats and our own TV. He is a good buddy and he helped make it a cool night, we met two awesome Steelers fans Mike and Courtney(Who was going crazy in the second half), we also hung out with my buddies Jeff and Rob! We had real wings(HOT), boneless wing(Teryaki Bomb)  and clams, which were awesome! Josh the Bengals fan didn’t try and poison us!  I drank Miller Lite in honor of Beer We Go Steelers. It was a terrific night and I am grateful to Buckley’s for being awesome hosts!

My Stat of the week: Is 111 Yards marking the second week in a row Le’Veon Bell has gone over a hundred. he continues to be a work horse!

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers have a very tough test coming this week  with the Cardinals in town. These are not your Dad’s Phoenix (St. Louis) Cardinals. They have Bruce Arians who has something to prove.

Bell Photo Courtesy of the Post Gazette! Getty Images

So since I slacked on the game report last week, figured I should “atone” for my slacker-ocity (That’s a word, I don’t care what people say.) I have been very focused on my other sports passion…alas not the Pirates but the New York Yankees. Totally pulling for the Pirates but the Yankees are my team. Something occurred to me last night as I cuddled in my bed with KGB still tossing and turning over sports. I have great kids, this is the stuff I worry about. Then something came to me and I slept all night until KGB set off the alarm three times (In honor of the Three Rivers no doubt)…The Steelers are going to be just fine.

I know I am a fan and a freaking blogger to boot, what do I know about football to make such a bold prediction? I am buoyed not by fan passion or by idle blood lust for all that is black and gold. I simply found solace in the facts and the rich history that we cherish so much as Steelers fans.

Let me tell you some facts; number one, Martavis Bryant is back and with him, Markus Wheaton, Darrius Heyward-Bey and of course the incomparable Antonio Brown, the offense is going to break out even if we had Rick Strom as QB, let alone a slinger like Michael Vick. Ben is slated to return in KC. Couple that with a vastly improved offensive line, the best one two running back combo and something special is bound to happen. Oh yeah we also have Heath Miller and Will Johnson who both are playmakers at their spots. Man for man no one can take on our offense.

While that is exciting, what I am most excited about is wait for it…THE DEFENSE. I love this front seven and now everyone is jumping on my bandwagon nationally. Putting Bud Dupree and James Harrison opposite each other was brilliant. They are an absolute force. I also love Jarvis Jones with Arthur Moats and that rotation is stout and scary. Someday, it will be Jarvis and Dupree and when both come into their own, teams will be in big trouble!

The middle linebackers are the best in football bar none. The Steelers are FOUR deep at Middle Linebacker. Vince Williams who is really the odd man out is a good run stopper and a bona fide thumper, he doesn’t even play a 1/4 of the snaps. Sean Spence has been nothing short of a miracle and his “second” year he has shown improvement after a very good year, last year. Lawrence Timmons should be a Steelers folk hero. He comes to work everyday an excels. What more could you ask for? He also dishes out whippings pretty regular and was a force on Thursday night. Leaving the best linebacker prospect I think I have ever seen. Ryan Shazier has to stay on the field. The fact that he was injured in garbage time really hurts, because he is an unstoppable force when he has his legs under him. His speed and power are the best I have seen in years.

To make this work, you need to be tough up front. Steelhead Heyward is the best player on the Steelers defense. He is an absolute playmaker and our best defensive end since Aaron Smith. Stephon Tuitt is coming into his own and really dominated the game on Thursday of last week. Steve McClendon needs to continue to improve, teaming him with Mt. McCullers is a great idea and watch these guys get it done. McClendon is athletic and after two years of getting pushed around, looks like he is making the leap the coaches expected.

The secondary is a work in progress and I even tweeted Coach Tomlin to find out why Brandon Boykin has barely played. This is still the Achilles heel of this defense. But they have shown improvement and within two years the Steelers completely rebuilt a sagging defense.

Special Teams is the Achilles heel of the Steelers. Josh Scobee should have been an awesome pickup, instead he cost at least one game and maybe two. They have had several mishaps on special teams over the years. Some years it gets better but it has been a specter of the Steelers since 1973! We just have to white knuckle it and hope we solved the kicking issue. Again I put faith in our Coaches.

Being a student of history I always find solace and answers in the past. November 4, 2001 the Super Bowl Champion Ravens came to Heinz Field. The Steelers smacked them around all game, but couldn’t put them away. Kris Brown missed FOUR Field Goals and the Steelers lost by three. Does that sound familiar? Here is the box score:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200111040pit.htm

The Next time they played…the Steelers jumped the Ravens on Sunday Night Football with Bobby Shaw gashing the Ravens with a 90 yard touchdown. Box Score:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200112160rav.htm

What makes this story better…they squared off in the playoffs and the Steelers sent the Super Bowl Champions home and did it by a wide margin. Box Score enclosed:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200201200pit.htm

So that is my rant for today, hope you are on board and thanks for reading.

Forever Forward!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!!

In a game of many twists and turns the Steelers, gave the Ravens their first win of the season. A loss last night would have all but buried the Ravens and they were well on their way, but some back luck, awful kicking and lousy execution cost the Steelers.

The coaches are going to take a beating this week. Let me tell you something, that’s not right. First off I think Tomlin coaches to the situation better than anyone. If Scobee was Scobee the Steelers would have won by two scores easily. Scobee just was unreliable, and the Steelers tried to coach through that.

Todd Haley is getting creamed for his play calls. Nice try, but it is revisionist history. All the “strange” plays he tried would have worked if they were executed properly. He deserves our kudos for getting Vick ready in three days.

I apologize the week kind of got away from me. Before, everyone jumps off the roof, here are my takeaways:

-The Steelers played with their second string Quarterback and all but dominated the game.

-Michael Vick looks shaky but he also is good enough to get us back to Ben. He didn’t lose the game.

-Even without Shazier the Steelers were tough up front.

-Josh Scobee kicked his way out of a job.

-Where is Boykin?

-I really like this team! I think they can do great things when everyone is healthy.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Ross Cockrell, who made two huge plays in the game including a game changing interception. Also Considered: Lawrence Timmons and Stephon Tuitt wreaked havoc all day.

Where I watched the game: At my house with three out of four of my best friends in the world. It was a great night except for the ending. BTW the Steelers continue their trend of ruining my birthday parties! The Beer of Choice was pumpkin and KGB made so many snacks I can’t begin to explain it. We absolutely dominated the food.

My Stat of the week: Is 5 sacks by the defense. The Steelers also decked Joe Flacco eight times including one time when he was looking through his ear hole. The defensive stats didn’t tell the story, the Steelers beat the Ravens up all game.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers will absolutely beat the Chargers. They need to out physical the Chargers up front and that should be the difference.

The Steelers gutted out a tough win against an out matched but game St. Louis Rams team. The Steelers won 12-6 and made several big plays but they lost big, as Big Ben Roethlisberger was injured. As of press time it is unknown how bad it is. The rumor is it is only four weeks, which Michael Vick is good enough to get us the split, however, the Steelers haven’t done and MRI yet, so not sure how they can make that call.

The game was a study in two halves as the Steelers completely dominated the first half and hung on for dear life in the second. It was the defense who delivered in the second half. The front seven without Ryan Shazier still had a great game, Stephon Tuitt had a monster game as he is rounding into form, he recorded a sack, two sacks for a loss and was all over the Rams. Steve McClendon had a huge stop and Lawrence Timmons and Sean Spence made several key plays.

The maligned secondary stepped up when the Steelers needed it most, they made key plays including Will Allen’s back breaking interception. He returned it 19 yards and setup the field goal. In the end the Rams only managed 258 Yards against the Steelers.

The offense would have had a huge day, but once Ben went down it was “turtle mode” keep the ball and protect it. Le’Veon Bell was his usual workhorse self, he put together a solid game when the Steelers decided to take the air out of the ball. Antonio Brown had another monster day and the Rams literally couldn’t stop him. Whenever the Steelers needed a first brown, they would chuck it to Brown.

Michael Vick looked shaky at best and this was what we were all afraid of. The Steelers are going to need a lot of help to make this work around Vick. He is certainly good enough to get us at least a split over the next 4-6 weeks. There

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Stephon Tuitt and Antonio Brown. Both were outstanding and both were huge contributors to the win! Also Considered: Le’Veon Bell on a successful return.

Where I watched the game: At “The Stadium” In Saratoga, My usual spot when I come here. KGB accompanied me, The Beer of Choice was the local beer out of Glens Falls. KGB and I had Boneless Wings, Regular Wings and Crab cakes. Also Saratoga chips which I munched on the whole game. I literally didn’t eat dinner afterwards.

My Stat of the week: Since I am posting on Tuesday instead of Monday and the Game is Thursday, my Stat of the Week is 1-5 the Steelers record against the Ravens without Big Ben. Charlie Batch pulled the big win against the Ravens.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers have a fast turnaround as they play a Ravens team that is clinging to it’s life. If Ben was in this game is a no brainer, but Michael Vick will be a wild card in this. This could be the back breaker so the Steelers need to gut it out and finish off the Ravens.

The Steelers came out hot and kept the 49ers on their heels all day, cruising to an easy win for the 2015 Home Opener. Ben Roethlisberger torched the 49ers secondary all day long, the Steelers moved the ball  at will and kept the 49ers off balanced.

The 49ers game plan was to line up three tight ends and run it. That proved to be a huge mistake, as the Steelers were ready for them. The front seven is going to be outstanding and Sunday the Steelers showed why. Ryan Shazier put on a show and he looks like he could be the anchor to this defense, racking up a massive 15 tackles with three for a loss. Bud Dupree racked up his second sack in as many games. Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt are downright nasty, they absolutely crushed Carlos Hyde, including knocking him from the game.

The secondary stayed in check all day and continue to absolutely lay the wood. With Mike Mitchell and Antwon Blake delivering several big hits. The coverage is still a little leaky but kept Cole Kapernick in check. WHERE IS BRANDON BOYKIN?

While the defense was good, the offense was down right GREAT. Antonio Brown should be the mayor of Pittsburgh right now. He absolutely is an unstoppable force. Darrius Heyward-Bay did his best Martavis Bryant impersonation, making a 41 yard catch. The Steelers slowed down in the second half but then dialed it up whenever they needed it. DeAngelo Williams put up a workman like 77 yards on 20 very tough carries. He banged in three rushing touchdowns. Next week Bell is back, but Williams should see some playing time. He did and outstanding job.

All of this is not possible without the work of Ben Roethlisberger who played a great game and the offensive line who smacked the 49ers front seven around all day. Not sure how bad Big Ben sweats but if he didn’t he wouldn’t need to wash his uniform as the 49ers never laid a glove on him.

The only true negative if you could call it that was Josh Scobee continues to make EVERYONE nervous but looks like he is about to turn the corner.

The Steelers needed a bounce back and a strong statement and they did both.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

San Francisco 49ers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Video Highlights, Recap from Week 2

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I announced it on twitter yesterday, the stats speak for themselves, Antonio Brown. He just absolutely put together a huge night, more below! Also Considered: Ben Roethlisberger who is well Ben Roethlisberger and Ryan Shazier who just absolutely was flying all over the field.

Where I watched the game: At my house with a small smattering of my children and my KGB. KGB made four kinds of flatbreads, all were delicious. The Beer of Choice was STEEL Reserve double tall boys. Let me tell you two of those and you would feel like James Harrison hit you.

My Stat of the week: Was going with 2-2, which represents the Steelers conversions on 2 point conversions was pretty cool, but have to go with one of the more impressive streaks in the NFL Antonio Brown has now reached 34 straight regular-season games — 35 including the playoffs — with at least five catches and 50 yards. The guy is a player!

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers need to reverse the recent trend of losing to teams they should beat. This is the easiest game on the schedule and the Rams will try and run on the Steelers, this is a classic trap game so need a great effort this week.

Game Day is now passed the half way point!