Beer We Go Steelers

Steelers square off this week with Jacksonville. I will try and cobble a game report together depending if I can see the game in the NY market.

Also we were totally remiss in not writing about “The Bus” this week and will have something.

While it didn’t matter and was an exhibition there were some very good signs and some very bad signs during Sunday’s games. Here is the Beer We Go Take:

-Number one rule of preseason, don’t get hurt. Steelers broke the rule as steady but unspectacular kicker Shaun Suisham is out for the season. Look for a new kicker to be signed this week. (BTW tough night for kickers as it looks like former Steeler “Skippy” Reed pulled his drunk show and was kicked out of the game Sunday night.)

-Ryan Shazier is a monster and Timmons can still lay the wood. I have said all along the Steelers front seven looks very special, they certainly showed signs of that Sunday night. They have a “Thunder and Lightning” quality that was apparent.

-Stephon Tuitt has “anchorability” he was immovable at the point of attack and had to be double teamed at the point of attack.

-Dri Archer can still be special. He needs to get better and learn his abilities, but he is a “HR” hitter when called upon.

-If Big Ben gets hurt…we are dead. That isn’t exactly news but the Steelers look very shaky without Ben. Landry Jones had a nice first half and then faded away rather quickly. To be fair he had some opportunities that other players “messed” up. He also didn’t play with any of the Varsity playmakers. I don’ think he played poorly but he certainly didn’t make a great case.

-Alejandro Villanueva is going to push to make the team and send Mike Adams home. He had a good game and was the best lineman Sunday night. He played great and graded out near perfect. He is also just downright massive.

-Jesse James might have played the worst game I have ever seen. He was downright awful. I am pulling for him but the competition for the number two tight end is WIDE open now. He did nothing to help his case and every Steeler fan should be praying for Heath Miller to stay healthy.

-The biggest question mark is the secondary and they still don’t look great. It is hard to make that statement given it wasn’t the entire starting secondary but nobody impressed me or stood out.

-The Steelers have so many good WR it is embarrassing. Even the backups, backups look like playmakers. Shakim Phillips WR may make the practice squad absolutely torched the Vikings first round pick Trae Waynes several times.

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It was a good start for the Steelers tonight!

Good News:

-Dri Archer and Landry Jones both had flashes tonight.

-Ryan Shazier was laying the wood in the first half.

-The defense was physical!

Here are your training camp quick hits for this week:

-The Steelers defense is being underestimated by most of the National Media. SURPRISE. Lindy’s picked the Steelers to finish in 3rd, Sporting News picked the Steelers 2nd. The strength of schedule is scary, no question. The Steelers usually rise up to the competition.

-Senquez Golson, the long awaited DB draft pick, looks like he is headed for season ending surgery. That is a terrible blow for the season, but not something that can’t be overcome.

-….because the Steelers had a great pickup in Brandon Boykin! Boykin is outspoken, has the right attitude and should push to start.

-I was honored that Jerome Bettis, The Bus, retweeted one of my tweets about the Steelers defense. It’s pretty simple, I like the defense and think we are going to be excellent this year. The secondary is still a huge question mark, but the front seven could be one of the best we have ever had.

-The Steelers most likely will start FOUR number 1 picks at LB this season; Jarvis Jones, who will breakout this season, Bud Dupree who looks like he has been playing here for years, the speedy Ryan Shazier, who can be a huge difference maker and the Pro Bowl veteran Laurence Timmons. With the backups being Sean Spence, Vince Williams, Arthur Moats, possibly Howard Jones and the very scary and dangerous Silverback James Harrison in the wings. They are deep, fast and nasty. Look for the bounce back we have been waiting for.

-The D-Line will compliment them nicely. Look for a breakout season from Stephon Tuitt and the continue excellence of SteelHead Heyward. Mt. McCullers will have a second season to show his stuff. We need steady play from Steve McLendon.

-Mike Adams, might be at the end of the line. Look for Alejandro Villanueva to push him. The Steelers are dreadfully thin at Tackle so keep an eye on the waiver wire or an undrafted free agent.

-The WR will again be downright scary for opposing teams.

Sunday’s game:

-Starters should get one series maybe two.

-Players who are most on the spot: Dri Archer, who looked outstanding in the first preseason game last year, but was a disappointment overall. Landry Jones, who is running out of some days. With Gradkowski getting out of the gate slow this may be Jones’ last and best chance.  Cortez Allen who is looking good early on in camp. He is a big piece of the puzzle.

-Most important is NO ONE GET HURT!!!

First and foremost it is great to be back!!! We are now up to 1400+ subscribers and we expect to be over 2500 by the start of the season. I am grateful, humble and excited for the 2015 season.

Stay tuned and we will be posting every week now moving forward!

The Steelers in desperate need of defensive backfield help picked… another linebacker! However, I am not going to pan the pick unless we miss today on DB. Absolutely love this kid and he is the prototypical 3-4 linebacker.

Stay tuned!

The 2015 NFL draft kicks off tomorrow and the Steelers have some work to do! The offense is in great shape and will look for great bargains or can’t pass up guys, the Defense needs a reload…not a rebuild. The building blocks are in place, the Steelers need to focus getting on Defensive Backfield help.

Needs:

1. Cornerback:

Current: The Steelers struggled at the cornerback position most of last season. Cortez Allen looked lost, Ike Taylor showed every second of his age and ended his illustrious career. Brice McCain and Antwon Blake both had flashes of brilliance but also looked overmatched at times. McCain left town and is headed to Miami. Blake will be back but it is hard to see him as more than a nickel or dime back. William Gay played well all year and will go to camp as the starter.

The Draft: This years draft is not a great one for Corner but there are several good looking prospects that the Steelers can get sitting at 22. No matter what happens the Steelers need to spend at least two picks on this spot. Last year we missed two great prospects, so this is a must address. I would also consider trading out of 22 if you can get better value.

2. Outside Linebacker:

Current: This is another position that must be addressed in the first three rounds. The Steelers have lost Jason Worilds to retirement. He had an inconsistent season and struggled at times. Jarvis Jones is running out of “some days” and this is his make or break year. I think he will benefit from a leadership change and I wouldn’t count him out. James Harrison, our beloved Silverback, will be back and he had a great comeback season. Again, I wouldn’t count him out but it isn’t realistic to have him as an every down linebacker at 37+ years. He needs to be in on pass rushing series to make his season last. Howard Jones is someone to keep an eye on in camp:

The Draft: This years draft is solid but again not great at OLB. There are several great value picks here. The Steelers also look at “tweener” Defensive Ends and there are several that can be had late to sure up this position.

3. Safety:

Current: An era ended when Troy Polamalu retired and ended his Hall Of Fame Career. It is impossible to replace a Troy Polamalu as he is a once in a generation player. The Steelers have Shamarko Thomas who was drafted as the heir apparent, but like Jarvis Jones is running out of “some days”. This is his make or break year. The Steeler brought back Will Allen who is a capable backup but can’t be the starter. Mike Mitchell had an awful season and needs to step it up or he will be out of the ‘Burgh.

The Draft: The Steelers will struggle to grab a huge impact player in this spot. There will be several huge upside prospects toward the last two days of the draft.

The rest of the  positions:

QB: Look for at least one pick spent on this.

RB: Not a dire need with the signing of De’Angelo Williams but look for the Steelers to grab a banger if one falls in their lap. The draft is deep with good backs.

WR: The Steelers have the best WRs in football and it is hard to see them investing in this spot.

TE: Absolutely need to take a long hard look. Heath Miller is about to wind down his Canton worthy career and the Steelers have no heir apparent ready.  Their are a bunch of great upside prospects but no clear cut can’t miss guy

OL: After years of this being a huge liability the Steelers have a very good interior line and underrated Tackles. Not a major need but always worth a look as great values can always be had.

DL: The Steelers need some D-Line hep at depth. But Stephon Tuitt and Cam “Steelhead” Heyward have it locked down on the ends. I don’t see anyone who jumps out but the Steelers will almost certainly draft a DT.

ILB: The Steelers are set inside.

Specials: Brad Wing scares me but not half as much as the idea of wasting a draft pick on a punter.

BTW I think Jameis Winston is going to be a huge bust if he stays out of trouble long enough to actually play in the NFL.

BEER WE GO STEELERS!!!

So as many of you know, Troy Polamalu has decided to hang them up and today Ike Taylor announced his retirement too. It is the end of an era and the close of one of the great partnerships in football history. I thought about the year they were both drafted and my draft day story.

I was in NYC and actually at Radio City Music Hall on the day of the draft, that’s the good news, the bad news I was seeing “Dora the Explorer” live on stage, (Which my kid was terrified of.) and the draft was still at the Sheraton, NY. Since the Steelers were drafting so late there was no way I could miss the Steelers pick. However, for the first time in team history, The Steelers traded up in the first round, giving its 27th, 92nd (third round) and 200th (sixth round) picks to Kansas City in exchange for the 16th pick in the draft. I missed the pick!

The Steelers selection Troy Polamalu! At that moment Steelers history was made and the journey started for Troy and the Steelers. His career has been an amazing highlight reel of high flying plays and timely stops.

The Steelers whiffed on pick 2 at 59. Alonzo Jackson was a washout at best. They had no pick in the 3rd round so that made the 4th extremely important. Guess what they did it? They nailed it, in the 4th round they grabbed Ike Taylor at 125 overall. Taylor’s career was unspectacular but still excellent and he is one of the key contributors to the Steelers success. 

The Steelers had 1/2 of their base secondary for the next decade or so. The rest of the draft was a bust, the Steelers missed on three of the five players taken but they hit HR’s on the two they got right.

Troy is a sure Hall of Famer and Ike is a step below, but both deserve our admiration and respect. They helped lead us to two Super Bowl victories and three AFC Championships. The defense in their tenure ranks number one overall. Most of all they both represented everything a Steelers should be, humble greatness, punishing defense and a reserved dignity!

With the Super Bowl now in the rear view mirror and the Dark Empire that is the Patriots reigning over the NFL as new champs, I figured it was time to do my season in Review!

First and foremost, the season was a success and a testament to the excellent Coaching of Mike Tomlin! The Steelers returned to the top of the division despite some serious deficiencies in their defense. The last loss of the season is always a bitter pill to swallow and losing to the Ravens of course makes it worse, but that shouldn’t resonate on the great work that the Steelers did.

2014 Game Beer winner:

It is a tie between Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell! The voters were split and lets be honest, it will cost us one extra T-shirt if LeVeon or Antonio Brown cash it in. I wouldn’t want to snub either one of them. They both absolutely dominated the year!

My Favorite “Road” Game: 

Buckley’s (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buckleys-Irish-Pub/141369932624782) in Center Moriches! We hung out with our friends Matt and Jen and had a great time as the Steelers walloped the Texans!

Honorable Mention: The Irish Exit in NYC on second ave! I highly recommend this spot! I only got to watch about half the game there but it was the Colts game and the crowd was nuts!

My Favorite Road Game: NONE. We only went to one Away game.

Honorable Mention: The Steelers losing to the Jets in a classic trap game. It was like a Steelers home game, but the  Steelers fell. It was a fun day as KGB and I went with my buddy Bill and good friends Christine and Mike. Mike made Jello shots including black and gold! Very thoughtful! But I am still pissed we lost!

My Favorite “Home” Game: Steelers wrecking the Bengals while KGB and I watched with the family at the house. My son Dante called the Bomb to Bryant! We had 100 snacks and the kids were bouncing off the walls! Also dropping 43 on the Ravens and watching Silverback terrorize Flacco should get an honorable mention!

My Favorite Home Game: This was easy because I only went to one game in the ‘Burgh again. If the Steelers win this game, this is probably my favorite game I have ever been to. The fact that they came up short kills me because I was with my entire family! I have to put things into perspective though. I got to sit with Tom Janicki and we had a tailgate with the BWG Original Chapter(more on that later). It also was most likely Brett Keisel’s last game as a Steeler, I am willing to sacrifice that piece of history for one more season of course. I also got to see Jahri Evans (Bloomsburg Alumni play)

My Favorite Snack for any game: KGB’s “Kielbasa in a blanket” with Hot Mustard! They are awesome and just amazing.

Special Thanks:

Writing this blog is a labor of love,  something I enjoy doing and in some ways it is cathartic.

First and foremost we want to thank the readers, we are grateful to you because it makes us feel like we have an obligation to friends and Steelers fans to keep this going. We are over 2000 Subscribers now!

A special thanks to The Janickis, Tom Janicki, the founder of Beer We Go Steelers and hosts us every year for a game! He also hosted my Cousin Vinny and his son Vinny this year. I am grateful to Tom for his friendship and his love of all things Steelers! He is my brother in Black and Gold!

I am thankful to Ben Harkins and his crazy brothers! We tailgate once a year with the Harkins brothers and it is always memorable. This year they hosted my entire family at the “Terrible Bra and Grill”. They introduced my son Billy to “Riot Punch” which in retrospect might not have been our best move! The tailgate culminated in a Marshmallow fight!

I want to thank our dear friends Matt and Jen, despite their own team allegiance they joined us for every “road” game and we had a great time!! I am officially putting it on the record that I forgive Matt for jinxing the Steelers on my Birthday! He absolutely jinxed them.

I want to thank former Steelers Robin Cole, Barry Foster and Louis Lipps. They made our only tailgate this year, something we will talk about forever. Specifically I want to thank Mr. Cole who couldn’t have been nicer to my family! He represents EVERYTHING that is great about being a Steelers fan!

That brings me to Dermonti Dawson, John Jackson and Franco Harris. I have said this before and will restate it, it is very difficult to meet your “heros” because they often have a habit of letting you down. I met all three of these guys, at the Joe Namath Golf Outing,

John Jackson is literally a gentle giant, he was funny as hell and couldn’t have been a better guy. He introduced me to his group and said meet my buddy Beer We Go on the course. Terrific guy! He also told a celebrity (Who I am not allowed to mention) to be keep his mouth shut when the celebrity said something extremely negative about Big Ben and the handling of his “situations” by Mr. Rooney. He was polite but the look he gave, made the celebrity understand that you don’t talk smack about the Rooneys.

Franco Harris, is exactly as advertised, a quiet gentleman who couldn’t have been more polite and nicer, I actually felt bad for bothering him. He was speaking with Ed “Too Tall” Jones. He needed golf clubs and I was quick to try and lend him mine. (The club helped him out.) Next year should be cool and I can’t wait to see Franco. He was very gracious about the T-shirt as well!

Lastly but certainly not the least, I have met Dermonti Dawson three years in a row. He could possibly be one of the best people I have ever met. Forget the fact that he is arguably (to me he is the best) the best Center in the history of the NFL and a HOF, he is truly one of the most polite and nicest people ever. He made some impression on my friends and I. He went out of his way several times for me because I was a Steelers fan and he truly represents the goodness in all celebrity athletes. He also loved the BWG T-shirt!

I want to thank all my kids, for the first time we packed the entire family up and brought EVERYONE to the ‘Burgh. With five kids in tow you can imagine the logistical challenge and expense. They never complained once! Made the most out of the trip and enjoyed every minute of the game and tailgate. The trip included a trip to Pepis, a shopping trip to the Strip District, a ride on the Incline and drinks on the top of Mount Washington and of course, a trip to Primanti Bros. not once, not twice but three times in three days! Billy, Eric, Hailey, Luc and Dante…I hope your Steelers trip showed even a little bit why I love this team! When the Steelers fell to the Saints my heart sunk, not for me but for my kids! But what buoyed me through the rest of the season was soon as the whistle blew. My son leaned over to me and said, “We get to come again next year right?”

Most of all I wanted to thank KGB, my amazing girlfriend who despite her own misgivings, gave up Thanksgiving weekend to go to the ‘Burgh. She cooked a veritable feast every week of game day snacks. Hosted people for games, went out for games on “School” nights and put up with nonsense. I didn’t throw anything all season and I didn’t F-Bomb (that often) in public places. See Babe I am growing up! Love You BEER WE GO!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

We will be here all offseason and next week will be a quick hits about Coach LeBeau, The Bus and all things Steelers!