Beer We Go Steelers

Well the brief glimpse of the lockout being over is now done which casts a pall over everything that happened over the last few days. It also puts the Priority free agents on hold for awhile which again just really sucks. The Steelers have done well with the Free Agents so I am dissapointed.

On the positive side of things, The Steelers needed to address the aging defense and the struggling O-Line. They did that! At least on paper the draft looks like they got solid value for their picks and guys who will be able to contribute.   

Here is the BWG synopsis of the draft:

Pick 1: Cameron Heyward, DE: As I stated the day he was drafted, this is a great “Steelers Pick”, I don’t think he will put up huge numbers but he will do a great job. Not to mention that he is carrying the torch for his deceased dad, who had a spectacular if unstatistically heralded career. Of course my early knickname and you heard it hear first is STEELHEAD HEYWARD!!!

Pick 2: Marcus Gilbert, OT: To me this will be the steal of the draft. I have a feeling Mr. Gilbert will be starting. Obviously, it would have been great to get Maurkice’s twin brother but this seems like the next best thing. He plays both tackle spots and he has enough speed to play guard for the Steelers. I liked this pick and I am hoping he is the second coming of Marvell Smith!

Pick 3: Curtis Brown, CB: I actually pegged Aaron Williams to be the first round choice for the Steelers. While he is not as physical as Williams, Curtis Brown was the better selection and the Steelers got it right. He is a better cover guy and can step in right away. While he most likely won’t be elite, he will be a solid addition.    

Pick 4: Cortez Allen, CB: WHO? I have to be honest I have no idea who this guy is and he wasn’t in any of my draft guides. This feels like a stretch and we have washed out on these type of picks before. I am holding out hope but not optimistic. Why you should be optimistic, I thought Joe Burnett was going to be the next Ike Taylor, he wasn’t even Ike Turner!

Pick 5: Chris Carter, OLB: Looks like a depth pick and a special teams guy. Honestly, you are an outside linebacker coming to the Steelers. You only have to beat out Lamar Woodley and/or James Harrison to start! Yeah good luck with that!

Pick 6: Keith Williams, G: Looks like a project guy at Guard. Not sure he has the speed to be a Steelers guard but he is an absolute MAULER! He loves to mash, so I hope he makes it! I like what Sean Kugler did last year so I have faith this is going to be a good pick.

Pick 7: Baron Batch, RB: This is a funny pick. I have read three different scouting reports and none of them were consistent. At best it looks like he has the chance to be a solid 3rd down back and he was worth taking a flyer on. At worst he will be done by the end of training camp!

The Steelers selected Craig Heyward with their first pick in the draft. Two things about this pick, first it will never look spectacular on paper, it was a great choice. Second thing is this guy was born to be a Defensive End in the 3-4 defense! He appears to me to be the heir apparent to Aaron Smith and he has hometown roots!

Will do a complete draft analysis upon completion!

Some Clarification:

So, it appears as if  there is some difference of opinion with the Captain on these lists. The one person who I absolutely whiffed on was Aaron Smith, he was a huge STEAL. I probably should have put him in Carnell Lake’s spot and put Carnell on the top five picks of all time, because second rounders are hard to argue as steals.  Again though, look who the first two picks were.  Also, by leaving one spot open I opened the door to a huge debate on who should be number five. When I publish this as a book I might make that as an edit.  

The Second whiff was John Jackson, he is one of the greatest Tackles in Steelers history and he was a tenth rounder!!! That was a steal. Adding to my MEA CULPA are honorable mentions Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley.

The Top Picks of the Last Thirty Years:

I am going to trudge on and I hope this clarifies everything. Joe Boningo who is a radio announcer here in NYC said something once that stuck with me. “I hate the Steelers because even when they lose, they win!” Great statement,”They have a bad year and draft Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu. we have a bad year and draft Dewayne Robertson and Bryan Thomas.” He was comparing us to the Fortunes of our AFC Championship rival the Jets. While the Jets have seemed to fix that problem, as you look back now,  you know what?  He was right! The Steelers while they have their share of busts don’t miss on day one! 

Here are my choices!

The top five picks of the last Thirty Years:

5. Heath Miller: This is the hardest spot to pick because I seriously had a rough time deciding between Jason Gildon, Joey Porter, Aaron Smith(Who both qualified as steals), Casey Hampton, Louis Lipps (4th best receiver in team history),  and Alan Faneca(Big Red) who was one of my favorite players in history. I also could have chosen a bevy of all-pro linebackers, if I did the best linebackers drafted in the last thirty years list it would be eight Steelers, Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor! But having to choose, I am going with Heath Miller. Why? Because I consider him the unsung hero of the team and the safety valve for the Steelers. I also would say he is the best all around player at his position. He catches and blocks better than any other tight end. He fell to the Steelers by sheer luck while the Jets, who needed a tight end, traded their first rounder for Doug Jolley. It worked out nicely! Well at least for the Steelers it did! 🙂

4. Dermonti Dawson: He was picked in the second round and he was the heir apparent to the Steeler Center Dynasty taking over for “Iron” Mike Webster. Dawson was equal to the challenge and Chuck Noll even let him use the shotgun, which Noll despised. He was durable, athletic, and arguably the best center in the history of the NFL! Damn good pick!

3. Rod Woodson: What can you say about Rod? Well I can say he was arguably the Best Cornerback in the history of the NFL. He was on the 75th anniversary team and his athleticism and ferociousness was unmatched by anyone to play his spot. When you look at his contemporary, which would be Deon Sanders, Rod could cover like Deon but he could hit like Mel Blount(ask Warren Moon) and he shut down an entire side of the field with both running and passing.

2. Troy Polamalu: Again, I am going for quality and he is the best player the Steelers have drafted in the last ten years, and with the exception of Rod, probably the best player they drafted in the last thirty years. He is just an absolute force. I commented last year, Ryan Mundy did a fine job filling in for him, but that is like asking a mere mortal to fill in for Superman. The Steelers are 14-4 with Troy and 5-7 without him during the regular season. So why isn’t he number 1?

1. Ben Roethlisberger: Because Big Ben is! All I have to say is that Ben is the difference maker. Obviously, it is disappointing to lose the Super Bowl, as I still cry out in the middle of the night, but without him we would have had no shot.. 

I don’t think it is a coincidence that the Steelers didn’t win a Super Bowl from 1980 through the day Ben showed up. He is the difference maker. The Steelers defense of the 90’s rivals any in the history of the NFL and the reason they are not considered, is because they didn’t win the Super Bowl. They didn’t win because they didn’t have a QB to get them there.  Brister, who was one of my favorites, was erratic, Neil O’Donnel was solid but not spectacular, Kordell was the best athelete to ever be Steelers QB but he never could get it done in a big game, Tommy Maddox, another guy I love, was a retread, who played on shear guts. Ben made the difference. He is athletic, strong, has a great arm and has a great track record. So we are clear and I don’t mince words, his first Super Bowl was mediocre but he carved up the Colts and made the game saving tackle, he BBQ’d the Broncos at Mile High and without him the Steelers aren’t even in the Super Bowl. As for beating the Cardinals, I will let the performance speak for itself. It is the stuff of legend.

This year was what it was and as Mike Tomlin says, “Sometimes Gun-Fighters get shot.” We got shot this year. Don’t bet against Ben next time around!!!   

Can’t wait to hear the feedback!!!

So… I wanted to do a post on the draft and I will also have a draft preview as we get closer. I, however, HATE mock drafts and refuse to  publish one.

I can’t go all the way back to the beginning, but did want to do the Top Picks of the last thirty years.

The Top Five Worst Draft Picks in the last thirty years:

5: Gabriel Rivera: I would have given him an incomplete instead of saying he was a bad pick , the only reason I have Gabe on this list is because we passed Dan Marino on the board to draft him. It is said that until his dying day Art Rooney chastised his sons about that. Gabe eventually started to get it and he was beginning to play well when he had the accident. This is a case of we will never know what would have happened. Marino would have probably gotten his elusive ring if he came to the Steelers. Gabe Rivera probably would have developed into a solid player. But as they say we will never know!

4. Jamain Stephens: You can’t say he was a bust because no one EVER thought he was any good. I seriously have no idea how this could happen? The Cowher first round picks rarely missed, but this was an absolute disaster! The guy was just out of juice from Jump Street.

3. John Rienstra: After not picking in the top ten for nearly 15 years the Steelers were bound to get a pick to get the team back on track. They DIDN’T. Rienstra was a guard and just absolutely tanked as a Steeler. He became a journeyman and lasted seven seasons or so in the NFL. The reason he isn’t higher on the list?? Originally, I had him slated for number one, but truthfully there wasn’t much after him to write home about. There were some nice players, but no guys who jumped off the page.

2. Huey Richardson: The legend goes that the Steelers had three guys on their draft board ready to go and all three were picked in succession, so they scrambled and picked Richardson. They would have been better off picking a name out of a hat. He was gone after one very uninspiring season, traded for a 7th rounder, and his career was over in two. The only reason he isn’t first is that 7th round pick was Jeff Zgonina, who had a good run with the Steelers and a very solid and long NFL career! This was absolutely a complete and utter failure. The good news is that he seems to be very successful after football and he narrowly escaped 9/11.  

1. Tim Worley/ Tom Ricketts: In Steeler lore this is the gruesome twosome! You get two first rounders and you miss on both of them. Miss might be an understatement. Sam Toperoff author of “Lost Sundays” hit the nail on the head with Worley, he recognized he lacked character. After he finished football his last season at Georgia, he never went back to college as in left in November never to be seen again. He was a train wreck waiting to happen! It happened. Ricketts was never the road plow he was supposed to be and kind of faded into the sunset. I even tried to Google him and he doesn’t appear in the Top Ten!

The Top Five Draft Day Steals in the last thirty years:

5. Hardy Nickerson: The 1987 draft was one of the most underrated in Steelers history. It produced one Hall of Famer and two very worthy candidates including Hardy Nickerson. He was an excellent middle Linebacker and had a tremendous career.  

4: Hines Ward: The best receiver in Steelers history! He was a compensatory selection and he made the most of it. A Super Bowl, MVP, a sure Hall of Famer and a linebacker trapped in a WR body. He is the epitome of everything Steelers. Not to mention he is a heck of a dancer!

3. Darren Perry: He was the Steelers 8th overall pick in the 1992 draft. He led the team in interceptions and was the solid playmaker that allowed Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake to use their athleticism. He had 32 career picks and ranks in the Steelers top ten. I however am pissed at him because he helped coach the Packers in the last Super Bowl. 🙂 He was still a great pick and underrated!

2. Carnell Lake: As I documented earlier, “The Emperor” missed the first two in the 1989 draft by a mile. However, the draft was still a success. How do you miss your TWO first round picks and still have a good draft?? Very simple: Draft Carnell Lake second! He was one of the most versatile and important players in the Cowher dynasty and he saved the Super Bowl season when Rod went down. I am also happy to report he is back with the team as a coach!! The Steelers also drafted, Jerry Olsavsky who had a nice career with the Steelers and Pro-Bowler Carlton Haselrig.

1. Greg Lloyd: In 1987 the Steelers got the Anchor of their Defense in the 1st round of the draft; Rod Woodson. Well the only thing I can say to dispute that is they got Lloyd in that draft too and he might have been just as much of an anchor. Lloyd was an absolute killer and one of the best linebackers in Steeler history. He actually was considered for a long snapper spot and as a 6B pick was one of the best steals in the NFL Draft! Whenever I hear people say that “The Emperor” Chuck Noll was through at the end I laugh and look at who and what he produced. This draft basically was the beginning cornerstone of the Cowher Dynasty. 

Coming soon “The Top Picks of the last Thirty Years!”

First and foremost it is great to be back! As you know we are still in a work stoppage but I have reason for optimism.

I am also sorry that I have not kept up with Dancing with the Stars. I have taken some flack for that and apologize. Rest assured I am rooting for Hines Ward and think he is great!

Anyway, thank you for the more than 2000 post that I received. I will review everyone and publish what I can!

Hines Ward delivered another excellent performance tonight on Dancing with the Stars!

To vote for Hines: 18008683403

I was watching all the critics kill Ben and the Steelers as a team for that matter this week and I thought about something that one of my true heroes once said:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Something, occurred to me this week as I kind of hid out and got over the loss. We are damn lucky to be Steelers fans. This season was a great ride and I am so proud to have been a part of it in some small way. If I asked you this time last year would we be here no one would have said yes.

It also spurred me to do a season review of BWG Steelers and recount my favorite moments:

My Favorite “road” game: 

This was Nathaniel’s hands down in Rochester. The Bartenders were awesome as our crowd was extremely rowdy, the company was great and it is a true Steelers bar after some questionable years!  

 We had a great time with the local BWG crew and my business associates all had fun rooting on the Steelers. My friend and client Penny N. saw me sitting at a table of all Steelers fans and said,”Man you really are a man of the people.” Of course I am slightly ad-libbing because let me tell you it was flowing that day!!! I of course lost everyone’s name pictured here and hope they will write in. Afterwards we brought BWG merriment to the AHL Americans Hockey game. (We were tossed by the second period.) I have had a long standing argument with Mike Rooney on the merits of Rochester as a city, I yield to him now and must say ROCHESTER IS STEELER’S COUNTRY!!!

Honorable Mention: The Stadium in Saratoga!

My Favorite Road Game: It was only an exhibition game but tailgating with the New York Rooney’s at the opening of the New Meadowlands Stadium was kind of special. I had a great time and the Steelers smacked up the Giants real good. I love beating the Giants because they, like the Steelers are footbal royalty. They’re a great franchise who remind me of the Steelers of the NFC. Plus living in NY the Giants fans are like the Steelers fans so it is a great rivalry. I love rubbing Ben v. Eli in their face as deep down they wish they took Ben first. This extended my Giants wins streak in NY/NJ and I didn’t have to fight Mike or his dad which works out nicely when you need a ride home! Only down side was the idiot liquor control agent who tried to pick a fight with me because of the Steelers gear. The Giants security staff stepped in and handled the matter fairly. I was appreciative!

My Favorite “Home Game”: Divisional Playoff game at KGB’s! Had the crew there and was excited as the Steelers came back and beat the Ravens in one of the greatest comebacks in football playoff history! KGB put out a ridiculous spread of food and we had a great time.

My Favorite Home Game: This was easy because I only went to one game in the ‘Burgh. I had to see the Steelers beat Cincinatti. Out of all my past trips to the ‘Burgh, my most dissapointing was the loss to the Bengals in 09. 

This Year I knew it would be different, despite the fact that it was raining and the Steelers started out very slow, it was a great game and one of my favorites I have attended! The only thing that was dissapointing is that Tom and I didn’t hang with Captain Tailgate at the game. The Captain drank a bottle of his namesake (Captain Morgan) the night before and proceeded to tell everyone the way it is at a holiday party. Man he was a jerk that night!

The Post which stirred the most controversy: Big Ben Rides Again! Every week we field several comments and questions about the postings. That post still gets comments as does the next week when I “defended” Ben. We were congratulated and vilified and it really spurred the popularity of the site.We will continue to post for the whole offseason and hope you will stay with us!

My Favorite Snack for any game: This is going to be more controversial then the Ben post. I also risk drawing the ire of my KGB as she cooked up a storm this year and made every game day an experience with great food. But, I am going with Steeler Nachos by Jackie! Jackie R. is like my sister as I grew up with her and know her since I am 12 years old! Her nacho’s on looks alone garner the award.  

Honorable Mention: KGB’s Saugage and Peppers and Fried Chicken Cutlets. During the Dolphins game E ROC and I ate like 4 pounds of them. Jason from BWG Pittsburgh; Pierogies are out of this world! A game day staple everytime I come to the ‘Burgh! 

President Tom Janicki, The Captain and I are going to do a season recap together next week.

The Post Gazette is reporting that Hall of Fame, Coach LeBeau has made a decision to stay with the Black and Gold!

He will sign a one year agreement and be back coaching the defense next year. He is one of the classiest people in the NFL and a brilliant defensive mind!

The Steelers quest for the a seventh Super Bowl was held in check Sunday as the Green Bay Packers held the Steelers off for a 31-25 win! This marks the return of the Vince Lombardi trophy to Green Bay and the end of a dream in Pittsburgh!

The Steelers buried themselves early with a 21-3 deficit giving up 14 points on two turnovers! As I have reported almost every week, the only way the Steelers could lose is to turn the ball over. It is the simplest formula in sports, the team with the plus side of the turnover ratio wins. The Steelers turned the ball over THREE times for 21 points. That is a ridiculous figure and the fact that they still were in a position to win is amazing to me. It is a good testament to the coaching staff that had a pretty dismal day.

Statistics can never accurately explain a story. The Steelers had great stats and for the most part had a productive day. The issue was they never made the plays when they needed it most and again, the biggest stats, turnovers, were the killer! 

At no point was there panic, even down 21-3, as I knew the team could come back. The offense made several great plays and rallied to get right back in the game. The defense made some key stops to keep the game close and the Steelers somehow managed to be in position to take the lead back.

But in the end, they just couldn’t do it.

So as the national media prepares to jump off the Big Ben Bandwagon, I can tell you I, for one, was proud of his efforts. Yes, two turnovers that led to 14 points is simply atrocious. What I liked though, is that he never gave up and made a good accounting of himself and finished strong. It is easy to scoff now, but I can tell you I thought; give us the ball with two minutes, one timeout and Ben will make it happen. He didn’t do it this time but he will be back. I am certainly not going to put the goat horns on Ben, not for one second!  

The Steelers ran pretty much at will, and that I felt that would be why they would win. But again it was a turnover that would derail them.  Rashard Mendenhall’s fumble was the back breaker. I would point out ALL the turnovers were the backbreaker, but that was the final nail in the coffin as the Steelers couldn’t recover.

Focusing on the positives, Hines Ward is a warrior. I can’t say enough nice things about him as a player and as competitor. I laughed when I read he would be a non-factor. He racked up 78 extremely tough yards and a touchdown. I have harped on it all season and I will say it again, I love this receiving core and seeing the ghost of Randle El was nice as well! This is a major strength for the Steelers moving forward.  

Sean Kugler should be the mayor of Pittsburgh! If you have a crisis I am putting this guy on it. The offensive line played extremely well, Ben was sacked once but he had ample protection. The running game grinded the ball out to the tune of 126 yards on the ground. That is simply great. I wanted Anthony Munoz over Sean Kugler, because he was a big name and probably one of the greatest tackles of all times! I couldn’t have been more wrong. Well to be truthful, I wanted Mean Joe Greene over Bill Cowher and I wanted Russ Grimm over Mike Tomlin so maybe I have been “wronger”! But, he deserves enormous credit. The patchwork line ran all over the World Champs and basically shutout Clay Matthews Jr.! Can you imagine what this line will be like next year when we have both tackles back, a healthy Pouncey and Doug Legursky!  

Although, I have been killing the refs all year and they have been abysmal, I thought Sunday’s game was one of the best officiated games of the year. I thought they made excellent calls all day and I couldn’t argue with any calls or non calls the whole day. The last play was the right call. I wish it wasn’t but I have to be honest and that was the right call!

As for the Packers, the guy who deserves the credit was Aaron Rodgers. He played a great game and did an excellent job. He certainly was deserving of the MVP and my hat goes off to him. If I had to hear one more time about Brett Favre’s shadow I was going to puke. This guy is a winner and he proved it Sunday. Greg Jennings has the makings of a true superstar as well, very classy and a solid player! It was a great night for them and I would take nothing away from their performances!

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers!

The SUPER BOWL FACTS:

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Hines Ward! A true warrior and I hope he is back next year! Honorable Mentions: The Offensive Line, who played great and LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison who didn’t get the press this week that they deserved in light of Clay Matthews Jr. and totally outplayed him.

Where I watched the game: KGB’S and we hosted over 20 BEER WE GO FAITHFUL. Everyone brought something great with my favorite being Steeler Nachos! The pictures will be coming! I am actually eating leftovers as I type this. We had a tailgate out in the driveway which garnered a few honks. We pounded the Iron City and the Iron City light without mercy!

My thoughts on Next Week: This is going to be a long offseason, especially with labor issues looming. We are going to publish EVERY week here and sometimes twice a week. I also will allow guest writers of BWG and I invite feedback. Next week I am going to recap the season and post a ton of pictures! Stay with us!

From Tom Janicki

Less than 24 hours!!  Oh Mama!!

First and foremost, this is the first and last Super Bowl that I will not be on location.  I am home nurturing the birth of tradition, Captain Jr.  Regardless of where you are tonight, if you are a true Steelers fan, your emotions should be starting to get the best of you!!

With that said, We, the BEER WE GO NATION are well represented in Dallas.  Tonight brought a tear to my eye!  I was watching the Steelers Special on KDKA live from Woody’s Bar in Dallas.  In the background broke out a BEER WE GO STEELERS chant led by Brandon Machi who repeatedly offered shout outs to Captain Tailgate and the Beer We Go faithful; Brandon, you are all heart and your actions are well received by not only Steelers but Beer We Go Nation.  Enjoy the game buddy!!

We also want to give our best to our other BWG Nation Members who will be down there, Jason Hrebik who is our chief chef during tailgates and my brother Ted Janicki, who once brought the Terrible Towel to the mountains of Afghanistan!

We love you all guys, bring home number 7!!!