Beer We Go Steelers

Because of the Bye Week, this is technically the 3/4 season report.

What has gone right? 

It has been a very strange but exciting beginning to the season. The Steelers sit a half game out of first place and have started to turn up the offense (5th in the league) and have improved on defense.

Le’Veon Bell is better than advertised and does everything extremely well. He can catch, run and block. He has been a huge addition and a key to the Steelers record.

As in past seasons the Steelers Wide Receivers are plain awesome and despite losing Manny Sanders, have actually gotten better. Antonio Brown can make a case that he is the best receiver in football. Markus Wheaton has really stepped up and despite some lapses has been everything that one could ask for. Martavis Bryant is scary good and he has not yet scratched his potential. All the veterans have contributed.

Speaking of veterans, Heath Miller, James Harrison and Brett Keisel have all had turn back the clock for some years. Miller has been great and nothing short of it. Harrison and Keisel both have contributed and helped keep the defense in games. It is fun watching these guys.

What has gone wrong?

Injuries have been awful again, losing Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier, Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu all have missed time. The pass rush has been nonexistent and the defense is a long way from the days of Blitzburgh!

The Steelers continued their trend losing to the dreck of football. They almost were upset by Jacksonville and Tenn. but pulled both games out. For those who are scoring at home the Steelers lost two games to teams who are now 4-18. All we need to do is lose to the Raiders for the Crappola Trifecta.

Reasons for Concern: The defense needs to find a pass rush. The Steelers can beat ANYONE…and proved they can lose to anyone. So that scares me. The offensive line needs to hold up and the young guys need to stay on the field and bring this thing home!

Offensive Game Beer: Has to be Antonio Brown again, he has 1100+ yards receiving and 88 catches. He narrowly beats out Ben Roethlisberger who would have been the game beer winner, if not for the Jets game. Le’Veon Bell who does everything well.

Defensive Game Beer: James “Silverback” Harrison who came off the couch to lead the team in sacks. While the defense has been mediocre at best, Silverback has stepped it up.

Disappointment of the first half: Losing to the F-ing Bucs on my Birthday and the loser Jets in NY. The Bucs had a spirited game and worked hard for the win, they kind of caught the Steelers flat footed. The Jets was inexcusable. They played flat all day and again if they won either of those games they are in first place. If they won both they would be in first place and tied for the best record in the NFL. It amazes me how the Steelers could lose to either team considering how lousy both are.

Most Improved: I am going with Markus Wheaton. He looks like he can be a huge factor and a key to the pass happy offense.

GRADES:

QB: A-, Big Ben has played extremely well except for the Jets game. He gives the Steelers a chance to win every week.

RB: A-, This could have been an A+ if Blount didn’t get himself kicked off the team this week. Le’Veon Bell has performed beyond expectations. Unfortunately, right now he is a party of one. Will Johnson has done his usual good job.

WR: A+, This crew is plain great, They have a Superstar Antonio Brown, They have two young stars on the way up Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant, two cagey veterans in Darrius Heyward-Bey and Lance Moore and a middle of the road rookie in Justin Brown.

TE: B-, Heath Miller has played extremely well. Matt Spaeth has filled his roll well. Michael Palmer has made a few appearances.

OL: C+, The line has played fairly well. They too are getting better and need to show improvement. Marcus Gilbert should get comeback player of the year, after being humiliated on Thursday Night Football he stepped up big time.

DL: C-, Have played okay, looked great in some games, looked terrible in other games. This is the same note as last year, Brett Keisel has played well in spot duty. I am looking forward to the combination of Stephon Tuitt, Mount McCullers and Steelhead Heyward. That should be the varsity with Keisel, Thomas and McClendon working their way into the rotation.

LB: C+, Jason Worilds has all but disappeared on defense. He has four sacks but doesn’t seem to be much of a factor. James Harrison has done great and seems to be getting better but is also 36. Arthur Moats, Sean Spence and Vince Williams have done nicely in spot duty but all lack consistency.  Lawrence Timmons has played consistent and is an unsung hero. Ryan Shazier is exciting but has been injured most of the Season. Jarvis Jones has been sidelined with injuries.

DBs: C-, The “new” look secondary has performed fairly well. Antwon Blake and Brice McCain with William Gay have been doing okay. Mike Mitchell has not been the addition we have hoped. Troy Polamalu is still a factor but has been out for two plus weeks. Will Allen has done an okay job filling in but the team is different with Troy on the field. Cortez Allen has been a complete disaster and looks lost. Ike Taylor has been gone almost the whole season. He can still be a factor.

Coaching: C-, The coaches are doing C work right now. The record and where they are in the standings is passable. Losing to the Bucs and Jets is just inexcusable and downright embarrassing. The Steelers also have had strange wins like the Texans and the Titans. They need to put the petal to the ground here for the next five games.

What does part two look like: The Steelers have both the division and a first round bye within reach. They need to keep Ben vertical, and they need to continue to work on their offense and find the right combination on defense. Logic dictates the Steelers will split with Bengals beat the Falcons and Saints and drop the game to the Chiefs. I figured on 10-6 at the beginning of the season with a possible 11-5 with some luck and 9-7 if we stink up the place. Of course I figured a much different W-L total to get us there but somehow we are there.

BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!

The Steelers reversed the trend of losing to the bottom feeders with a 4th quarter comeback over the Tennessee Titans. Using a tough ground game and some timely defense, the Steelers overcame a week performance.

The Steelers were intent on getting the ground game on track and they did just that, Consistently feeding Le’Veon Bell the ball. Bell carried the first six plays and had three runs of 12 yards or longer on his first eight rushes. He had his new career-high of 204 yards and he grinded the Titans down.

Antonio Brown was back after a terrible game against the Jets, Brown extended his NFL record streak in the first half, he had six catches including three third-down conversions. He finished with nine catches and 91 yards, including the winning 12-yard TD. Martavis Bryant made a few rookie mistakes but is still a very exciting prospect, Dri Archer is almost a forgotten man now. Old Reliable Heath Miller put together his usual solid game.

Ben Roethlisberger struggled most of the game and made some key mistakes, but in the end he gutted it out and led the Steelers down the field in the 4th quarter. He finished with 207 yards and at no point did he seemed rattled by the deficit.

The defense made several timely plays, despite a mediocre pass rush all night. William Gay had a feast or famine night with a pick Six to put the Steelers up 10 points, then he was torched by former Steeler Nate Washington for a score at the end of the first half. The Steelers also had trouble covering Chase Coffman who scored a touchdown as well. The secondary came together though and all but shut out the Titans in the second half while the front seven kept the Titans paralyzed  on the ground. The Brett Kiesel revival continued and the Steelers are employing him perfectly. Mt. McCullers had a nice showing in his first start.

The Steelers played far from a perfect game but this time they were able to over come it!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Not much thought needed here, Le’Veon Bell who chewed up 204 yards on the ground with a Touch down and put the Steelers in position to win the game. Also Considered: Coach Munchak for helping lead a win on his old turf and beating two former Steeler coaches! That was the Janicks suggestion. Antonio Brown, who seems to have shaken off the Jets game, Vince Williams who was all over the field!

Where I watched the game: Buckley’s again for our last Prime time game! Great crew of people including KGB and our two older boys, Billy and E-Roc who was repping BWG. Our friends Matt, Jen and Dean. The beer of choice was Sam Adams and they I switched to Miller Lite.

My Stat of the week: 204 Yards rushing for Le’Veon Bell. Who joins the top five performances in Steelers history for a single game!

My thoughts on Next Week: The much needed BYE week, hopefully we get Troy and Shazier back. During this week we will publish our thoughts on the “first half” of the year.

Despite a raucous pro-Steelers crowd, the Steelers continued the disturbing trend of losing to sub 500 teams, as they completely showed up flat against the New York Jets. The Jets scored 17 points in the first quarter and held on to win 20-13, despite, being dominated in every offensive category.

The offense floundered all day and despite playing against the worst secondary in football, the Steelers didn’t take many shots down the field. The Jets did a great job pressuring Ben Roethlisberger and he looked off and out of synch all day with receivers. He threw a momentum crushing interception into triple coverage.  While at some point we expected him to come back to earth, I don’t think anyone expected it do be that bad, against a team that is signing guys off the street.

The offensive line struggled early in protection but got it together in pass protection. The down side was they couldn’t seem to create running room all day, and the Haley offense seemed to just give up on the run. Le’Veon Bell found very little room to run, the lone bright spot being he is now the single season receptions leader, eclipsing John L. Williams.

The defense had trouble with contain and Michael Vick escaped pressure several times, he was the wild card in the game and the Steelers really didn’t have the answer.  But after a horrendous first quarter, they knuckled up and held the Jets in check for the most part.

The high point, Shaun Suisham hit the longest field goal of his career, the low point was every other thing on special teams. Suisham missed a chip shot field goal, Antonio Brown muffed a punt.

It was just a terrible game for the Steelers all day, they made several key mistakes on offense, with four turnovers, they had lapses on defense, and missed a chip shot field goal.

The best thing is to turn the page and reverse the trend against the Titans next week.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Honestly, I have no idea who would even qualify, the game was that strange. Everybody sort of sleep walked through the game.

Where I watched the game: At Met Life Stadium, with a pro Steelers crowd, who were extremely disappointed. I went with KGB, my buddy Bill and his buddy Mike, also our friends Christine(Jets) and Mike. They made jello shots, and we had a great tailgate! Very disappointed, also Bill and I are 0-2 when going together!

My Stat of the week: 2-16, yup I stole this stat from last year. That was the combined record of the Bucs and Jets. I literally could see this coming a mile away and I am disgusted that we lost. If the Steelers won just one of these two extremely winnable games, they would be in first place right now. Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have lost NINE times to teams that have finished 6-10 or worse. I am a huge Tomlin supporter but that is a disturbing fact.

My thoughts on Next Week: I expect a bounce back week and for the Steelers to absolutely jump the Titans off the bus. They will be in primetime and will be out for blood.

Rack up another big win for Ben Roethlisberger and the Black and Gold as the Steelers whupped the Ravens 43-23. The night belonged to Ben Roethlisberger again, as he passed for 340 yards and threw for SIX Touchdowns a new NFL record for a two game span. He wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was against the Ravens but he absolutely torched the Ravens.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO

My “GAME BEER” goes to: We are giving out two this week! DUH Part two…Big Ben again, passing for 340 yards and a whopping six touchdowns! And Silverback! Who put on a show with two huge sacks and several pressures. Also considered; Antonio Brown who caught 11 passes and just played out of his mind, Martavis Bryant, Lawrence Timmons who had 11 tackles and played great.

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB in front of a crackling fire. The beer of choice was Sam October which was great. Only downside, I almost knocked a 5oo dollar, 300 pound mirror off the wall when Matt Spaeth caught the sixth touchdown of the game!

My Stat of the week: SIX Touchdowns by Ben Roethlisberger a new NFL record for two games and he honestly wasn’t as sharp as usual.

My thoughts on Next Week: We will actually be in attendance for the Jets game. This game SCARES the hell out of me. It is the classic trap game and does anyone else remember the Bucs game, or the Raiders last year?

The Steelers offense put up a mind boggling 51 points to out distance the Colts. Big Ben Roethlisberger set team records in touchdown passes (6 TDs), passing yards(522) and completions(40) in leading his team to a huge victory!

Everything clicked Sunday and I mean everything for the offense, Roethlisberger hit nine different receivers, Antonio Brown had his usual great game including an awesome one handed catch in the end zone. Martavis Bryant left very little doubt about his draft status as he absolutely looks like a star in the making. Markus Wheaton and Heath Miller had tremendous games.

The Steelers grinded out a solid running performance, behind a tremendous performance by the offensive line, Ben dropped back 49 times and never hit the turf once.

While the offense gave up 34 points they actually played better than the numbers indicated. Cortez Allen is an absolute disaster in coverage right now and the tackling was suspect. However, Antwon Blake and William Gay both made huge plays.

James Harrison and Brett Keisel continued their revival and the front seven terrorized Andrew Luck all day long. He only was sacked twice but was absolutely pummeled on every series.

It was a great win.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: DUH…Big Ben, during the game The Janick sent me a text saying we should give him a case of beer. What a day! It was one for the record books. Also considered; Antonio Brown who caught a mind blowing 10 passes, Heath Miller who went over 100 yards, James Harrison and Brett Keisel who turned back the clock on Sunday

Where I watched the game: This is a tricky one, I tried to watch it on my phone as I had a professional commitment but no luck, once my phone started blowing up I dashed to a great Steelers Bar in NYC, which was loaded with Steeler fans. I only got to see the last minutes of the first half and then watched the Steelers clinch it at Emmett O’Lunneys, The beer of choice was IC light and Harp.  

My Stat of the week: 520 Yards by Ben Roethlisberger a new Steelers record and it was the second time in his career that he passed for over 500 yards a new NFL record.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers need to keep the foot on the gas with the offense. A win Sunday puts them right back in the think of the race.

The Steelers struggled early then proceeded to jumped the Texans with a 3-minute onslaught that included, two turnovers, a touchdown pass THROWN by Antonio Brown and a wake up call by the defense. After letting the Texans score on three straight possessions the Steelers just unloaded.

The linebackers stepped up and swung the momentum back to the Steelers after playing 26 minutes or so of a horrid first half. Jason Worilds finally appeared and forced a huge Arian Foster fumble, that was recovered by Sean Spence. Lawrence Timmons play was just gutsy, almost literally as he puked on the field then deflected a pass to Brett Keisel for an interception. He also had a huge sack coming off the edge. Timmons and Spence both made big stops on short yardage and they snuffed out the Texans offense in the second half. It was a good turnaround effort.

The secondary continues to struggle again, Cortez Allen was the biggest culprit. However, Brice McCain had a good game as did William Gay and Troy Polamalu and Mike Mitchell both maintained law and order after the first half. Mitchell had a big strip that all but sealed the Steelers win in the second half.

The offense continues to be inconsistent and Monday was no exception. One thing that can’t be disputed is that the talent on the team is deep and exciting to watch. Antonio Brown continues to be a star and performs at a high level every week, as does Le’Veon Bell. Martavis Bryant showed flashes of his talent and while it is a work in progress, the Steelers offense looks like it could be awesome. Big Ben played well, throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. The protection, even without Marcus Gilbert, was great. Mike Adams did a nice job filling in.

The Special teams would have had a GREAT week except for getting caught sleeping on a fake punt and nearly fumbling the desperation onside kick. Otherwise the coverage was great and Ross Ventrone (Fake Troy) and Robert Golden both stood out this week.

Three minutes changed the entire game…and hopefully the season!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Both had solid games and continue to be the backbone of the offense. Also considered; Lawrence Timmons and Mike Adams

Where I watched the game: BUCKLEYS!!!, With a great crew of fans, including KGB, my buddy Matt and his awesome GF Jen. We won the raffle which included some t shirts and an Islanders drinking glove. The beer of choice was Guinness but to change mojo went back to old faithful, Miller Lite.  

My Stat of the week: 24 points in less than three minutes is my kind of stat. It was wild few minutes for sure!

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers will need to keep moving the ball and keep Andrew Luck off the field. They need to play a complete game on both sides of the ball, if they have any shot of beating the Colts.

For one quarter the Steelers played like the Steelers used to play, running the ball and playing solid defense…and then it was over and the Steelers were dominated by the Cleveland Browns falling to last place in the AFC North. It was the worse loss for the Steelers ever to the “new” Browns dropping the game 31-10.

The offense moved the ball up and down the field, but once again could not get in the end zone. Whoever is making the play calls, seems lost. It was run first for sure, which would have been refreshing, until it was short yardage situation then the plan was throw it down the field. It is impossible to figure the offensive game plan out, whether it is passing long on several short yardage opportunities or watching 5′-8″ 183 pound Dri Archer running dives into the line.

Ben Roethlisberger has been awful these last few weeks, he over threw and under threw receivers all day long. He completed just 50% of his passes and looked completely lost. The protection was solid all day, but it never translated to points. The offense has scored two touchdowns in the last two weeks against the Browns and Jaguars, two of the worse teams in the league. It was a terrible performance.

Le’Veon Bell, LeGarrette Blount and Dri Archer were able to run the ball well, but once the team found itself buried under and avalanche of points. The Steelers had to abandon the run. Antonio Brown put on his usual dynamic performance but he was the lone bright spot in the passing game.

The defense also seems to have lost it’s way. The coverage is awful, there is no way to put it other than that. Cortez Allen had a horrific game and was constantly beat for big plays, couple that with the ineffective play of Dri Archer and again you have to wonder if the Steelers really should have addressed the Cornerback position in the 3rd round.

The front seven looks completely undisciplined and was gashed on several misdirection plays because of over pursuit and failure to maintain their gaps. Brett Keisel had to tackle Cameron Jordan 4o yards down the field on a reverse bootleg. And will there ever be a pass rush again? Where is Jason Worilds? Where are the Dick LeBeau blitz packages? What has happened to the defense, former Coach Cowher said the Steelers are now soft on defense and it is hard to argue.

The special teams reared it’s ugly head again. Brad Wing fumbled a long snap that cost the Steelers three points and seemed to swing the momentum over to the Browns. Dri Archer is a disaster right now in kick returns.

The Steelers have lost to the Browns before of course, but since the “new” Browns have shown up, I can’t remember a loss where I felt the Steelers didn’t blow the game. The Browns thoroughly won this game and dominated it.

It’s on to Houston next week.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: NOBODY, Seriously, we have said it before but for the first time in the history of Beer We Go Steelers, We aren’t giving out a game beer!

Where I watched the game: At the house, with my 8 year old son Dante, sitting next to him for a game is how I imagine watching a game with Troy would be, he bounces all over the place and is up and down on the couch off the couch. We went out at half time and threw the ball around the yard. KGB and Little Miss Tailgate went food shopping during the first half. KGB made Italian Panini sandwiches with a little held from Citarelli’s, in Eastport. The Beer of choice was Sam again and then we switched to Dos Equis to try and change the luck. NO GOOD

My Stat of the week: The score was 31-10, my stat/fact it was the worse loss to the Browns since the Steelers were creamed 51-0 in opener of 1989!

My thoughts on Next Week: Scared to death. How could I post anything other than that. There is no way the Steelers can be favored in this game.

The game was close, but in the end the Steelers held on and closed out the Jaguars for a much needed win. After, a tough loss last week the Steelers defense came up big holding the Jaguars to under 250 yards and keeping rookie Blake Bortles out of the end zone.

The offense looked out of synch all day and Ben Roethlisberger had a costly fumble for the second week in a row. He passed for over 270 yards and wasn’t intercepted but he only generated one Touchdown against one of the worst teams in football. Ben completed passes to 11 different receivers including the only touchdown of the day to Michael Palmer. The offense moved the ball pretty well but again slowed down in the second half, they made mistakes and just couldn’t score. In the end they did what they needed to pull out a victory.

The defense held it together and the secondary played its best game of the season. Cortez Allen and Willy Gay both had great bounce back games and Brice McCain grabbed a pick six to seal the victory. The front seven gave the Jags all it could handle and they all but abandoned the run. It was great see James Harrison and Brett Keisel make big plays to keep the defense on track.

The Special teams also had a nice bounce back game as well.

A victory is a victory!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Brice McCain returned an Interception for a touchdown that sealed the Steelers victory, it was a big play and swung the momentum. Also Considered: Le’Veon Bell, who had 118 total yards.

Where I watched the game: At the house, the plan was to go to Buckley’s and my best friend Mike came over. We decided to ride it out here. I had to run two TV’s so he could watch the Giants. KGB made some Garlic Dip and Hummus. The beer of choice was Sam Adams Octoberfest which was awesome.

My Stat of the week: The stat of the week is going to Coach LeBeau; The Steelers improved to 18-2 against rookie QBs during Coach LeBeau’s second tenure. Pretty impressive. Also 11 different Steelers caught passes.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers will beat the Browns in Cleveland. The Browns are riding a hot hand and the Steelers will most likely be the underdogs, but will pull it out.

The Steelers continued the embarrassing trend of losing to the bottom-feeders in the league, It has been a recurring theme the past three seasons and yesterday you could feel it coming. This game was a complete and total breakdown on all facets of the ball.

The Steelers started slow, revved it up and then broke down. After putting together a dominating performance last week, the Steelers offensive line struggled against Tampa Bay’s front seven. Ben was sacked five times, some of which were his fault. But Mike Johnson burned Kelvin Beachum and Cody Wallace for a sack that caused a fumble. That led to Tampa’s first score. The Tampa Bay defense had only three sacks coming into the game.

Ben Roethlisberger was the bright spot of the game he threw for over three hundred yards and moved the ball relatively at will…until the critical end of game drive. The Steelers made several key mistakes and despite having great games Antonio Brown and Heath Miller both recorded drops.

In what is becoming another damaging trend the Steelers continue to rack up the penalties. They are second in the league in penalties and racked up a whopping 13 penalties for 125 yards Sunday. The refs have been totally over officiating every game, but only one or two were questionable calls. The one negative I will say about the refs were they missed several blatant holds including one on Sean Spence that led to a Touchdown.

The Steelers continued to get little pressure up front. Jason Worilds has all but disappeared and Arthur Moats played well but had a costly penalty. James Harrison was on the field for a long time Sunday and battle double teams all day. Sean Spence played admirably but didn’t have the impact that I thought. Lawrence Timmons played his best game of the season. The secondary played okay but had lapses all day that let Tampa Bay pull this one out.

The Special Teams which had been a bright spot this season, finally reared it’s ugly head, Brad Wing shanked a 29 yard punt that basically put the Steelers against the wall. Suisham finally missed a field goal.

There was plenty of blame to go around and this one will hurt for awhile.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am giving this to Ben Roethlisberger who passed for 314 yards and three touchdowns, despite two huge drops by Heath Miller and Antonio Brown. Also Considered: Sean Spence, he didn’t play as good as he can, but the fact that he was out there shows what kind of player he is and character he has.

Where I watched the game: Back at the house, with my family for my birthday. KGB put on a ridiculous spread, including Homemade Crab Cakes, Chili, Pigs in the blanket, mini-Grill Cheeses, and her secret recipe coleslaw. The beer of choice was Yuengling again. I watched with my family, and dear friends Matt and Jen. The outcome ruined what was a perfect day.

My Stat of the week: The stat of the week is 245 Yards. That is what Mike Glennon passed for in the second half Sunday. RIDICULOUS

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers better come out fast and better cream the Jaguars or the season is over.

Here are your quick hits for 9-26-14:

-I am upset about Ryan Shazier and he will be missed, but I am equally excited to see Sean Spence play and he will get it done in Shazier’s absence.

-This isn’t technically a trap game, but the Bucs are extremely dangerous. First off they were humiliated on Thursday night football. The have a great coach who knows Tomlin well.

-Also let’s be honest, the Steelers have a habit of dropping these games, 6-31-1, that is the combined record of the Raiders, Vikings and Titans who the Steelers dropped all 3 games to last season. NO LET UP AND LETS KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING!

-Welcome back Silverback! I have no delusions that you can’t turn back time, but he brings an attitude and if they can limit his snaps, I know he will be effective.

-Sunday is my 41st Birthday, the Steelers are 3-5 on 9-28 all time and last won when I turned 24! I want a Birthday WIN!!