Pittsburgh Steelers Blog - 2011 Welcome To our Pittsburgh Steelers Blog for 2011.   Our Prediction for this year is 9-7 We hope its better but an aging defensive line, an unproven offensive line and a weak secondary could cause the team to lose some games.

Steelers Off season 2012

The off season so far as a number of players facing surgery for late season injuries.  These include Pouncey, Hampton, Kiesel, Legursky, Mendenhall and others.

Our prediction for Steelers players who may retire or get released.

Hines Ward, Arnez Battle, Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, Melwelde Moore, Jamon Merideth, Trai Essex, Chris Kemouto, Aaron Smith, Chris Hoke, Casey Hampton, James Farrior, Bryant McFadden & Wil Allen.

Some others that would not surprise us include Rashard Mendenhall, Max Starks, James Harrison

Some restricted agents could mean even more players could be gone, these include Mike Wallace, Jericho Cotchery,  William Gay, Byron Leftwich, Anthony Madison, Daniel Sepulvida, Ramon Foster, Doug Legursky, Keenan Lewis, David Johnson and Ryan Mundy.

Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has retired, sorta.  He was not offered a contract.

Veteran defensive lineman Chris Hoke retires, we wish him nothing but the best.

Ryan Clark will replace Ed Reed in the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Casey Hampton is to have surgery on his ACL.

Bruce Arians has accepted the Offensive Coordinator position with the Indy Colts.

Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Big Ben all played well in the Pro Bowl.

Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson is still in serious but stable condition in UPMC.

The Steelers are banged up as Rashard Mendenhall has been placed on IR with a torn Acl.  Anthony Madison has been signed to the active roster.

Expect Woodley & Legurski return to the lineup.  Ryan Clark is out for this game because of the Denver altitude and his health condition, Ryan Mundy and Will Allen will replace him.

At this point Cortez Allen and Keenan Lewis could miss this game because of injury.

Steelers Lose In OT To Denver  29-23

The season ended for the Steelers when Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos scored on a pass and run in overtime.

The Steelers came back and tied the game but mistakes in the last drive cost them the game.

Issac Redman was the star of the game for the Steelers.

Good luck to the Broncos as they face New Englad.

Expect Big Ben & Pouncey to return to the lineup.

Congratulations to Antonio Brown, this years MVP and to Marcus Gilbert - Rookie of the Year.

Steelers Beat Browns 13-9

The Steelers struggled against division rival the Cleveland Browns.  The defense hade a decent game especially Troy, Ike Taylor and Timmons.  Rashard Mendenhall, Cortez Allen and Keenan Lewis all went down with injuries.

A bad game for Issac Redman who had two fumbles.

The Steelers ended up 12-4, way better than what we expected.

The Steelers take on the Rams on Saturday, this would be a good game to sit Ben and everyone else who has an injury.  It's not likely the Steelers will win the division.

Steelers Beat The Rams 27-0

Charlie Batch lead the team to victory and Rashard Mendenhall rushed for over 100 yards to beat the St. Louis Rams 27-0.

As of Saturday both Big Ben & Pouncey are questionable.  James Harrison has been suspended for one game.  Jason Worlids will start in his place.

Pouncey has been ruled out for Monday Nights game which means Doug Legursky will play center and Trai Essex left gaurd.

Steelers Lose To 49'ers   20-3

Big Ben had a bad game throwing numerous picks and the clock management was bad as well.  Mendenhall still is not the back we need him to be.

The game was delayed twice because of power failure, James Harrison tweeted about it.

This is the first of two meetings the Steelers have with the Browns, its a Thursday Night game.  Let's hope the Steelers don't look past this game.  It looks like Woodley, Carter, Battle, Dwyer and maybe Foster won't play.

Chris Hoke needs surgery on his neck, its likely his playing days are over.  Best of luck to this fine player and person.

Steelers Edge Browns 14-3

The Steelers had a rough time but they beat the Cleveland Browns 14-3.  Antonio Brown had another big game.  Big Ben injured his foot and Pouncey left with a leg injury as well.  James Harrison put a big hit on Colt Mc Coy, expect a fine or suspension.

Lemarr Woodley returned to action but was replaced after he re-injured his hamstring

Steelers Destroy Bengals  35-7

Big Ben had a nice game along with Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown as the Steelers crushed the Bengals 35-7.  Wallace caught two TD passes and Brown had a punt return for a TD.  The defense was strong with James Harrison leading the charge.

The Steelers play the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday Night with Ben Roethlisberger nursing a broken thumb on his throwing hand.

Don't expect Hines Ward to get a lot of playing time, Antonio Brown has taken over as the starter.

Steelers Edge Chiefs  13-9

The Steelers barely beat the Kansas City Chiefs 13-9 in a game where neither offense showed much.  The only touchdown was Wesley Sanders caught a 2 yard pass and kept booth feet in for the score.  Could this guy be a rookie of the year?

The Steelers lost Troy & Pouncey in the first half, Troy had a head injury and Pouncey was sick.  Offensive line had a bad day as well with penalties.

Melwede Moore had a fumble inside the Chiefs 5 yard line that was recovered by the Chief.

The Steelers had 3 interceptions including one by Keenan Lewis that sealed the win for the Steelers.

Hines Ward had four catches but was not productive.  Mike Wallace had a bad game with only 2 catches and some drop balls.  Antonio Brown continues to impress, we believe he is Pro Bowl material.

The Steelers travel to Paul Brown Stadium to face the Bengals on Sunday.  The Bengals are the biggest surprise of the Nfl with a 6-2 record.  

This will be a challenge to the Steelers offensive line as the Bengals rotate defensive linemen and always have a fresh group on the field.

Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton has been impressive.

LaMarr Woodley, Emanuel Sanders and Arnez Battle will all miss the game with injuries.  Legursky, Farrior, Ward and Cotchery are all expected to return.

Ryan Clark was fined $40,000 for a big hit in the Ravens game.

Al Woods, a defensive end has been signed and Morty Ivy was released.

Steelers Beat Bengals  24-17

In one of the most impressive wins of the season the Steelers beat the Bengals.

Big Ben had a good day and used almost all of his receivers to attack the Bengals defense.  Cotchery and Wedsley Saunders had key catches.  Antonio Brown looks like a pro bowl receiver.  Mendenhall had 2 rushing TD's including an impressive 9 yard run.  Heath Miller had a tough game as he bobbled a pss and it got intercepted and he was called for offensive interference which cost us a TD to Cotchery.

On defense Troy had a big game against the run and Willie Gay came up with a big interception, Gay looked really good.  Lawrence Timmons also had a good game.

This should be one of the best games of the year as the Steelers have really improved compared to game one and the Ravens are not playing as well.

The Steelers are really weak at linebacker as Woodley, Farrior, Harrison and Worlids will likely miss the game.

Morty Ivy has been activated to the 53 man roster.

Legursky and Emanuel Sanders are probably out as well.

Daniel Sepulveda was injured in practice and is being put on injured reserve.  Jeremy Kampinos has been re-signed to the team.

Ravens Beat Steelers  23-20

Well this game was a lot closer than the season opener but again the inability to get a first down and the defense giving up a big play left the Steelers on the losing end of this crucial conference game. 

Big Ben had a nice game along with Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace.

William Gay gave up the touchdown at the end of the game but I would say William Gay is the most improved player on the team.

The Steelers have their toughest test of the year against the New England Patriots.  Lets hope Dick LeBeau has a game plan to beat Tom Brady.

Hines Ward is questionable but Casey Hampton should return.

Steelers Upset Patriots  25-17

QB Ben Roethlisberger was spectacular as he beat the New England Patriots using a variety of receivers.  Heath Miller and Antonio Brown Brown had outstanding games.

The Defense minus many regulars also played great, even rookies such as Cortez Allen and Chris Carter played some quality minutes.  Larry Foote and Ike Taylor led the defense and Lemarr Woodley had 2 sacks but left with an injury.

The Steelers Take on Arizona, a team they are quite familiar with.

This week Troy was fined $10,000 for talking on a cell phone to his wife after he was injured in last weeks game.

Injury updates:  Hampton, Smith, Legursky are all out, Worlids, Menenhall and Chris Hoke are questionable.

Steve McLendon will make his debut at NT for the Steelers, don't be surprised if the Steelers sign a defensive lineman for one game.

Aaron Smith has been put on injured reserve.

Steelers Beat Cardinals 32-20

Ben connected with Mike Wallace on a 95 yard pass play as the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals.

Ryan Clark had an interception and Lemarr Woodley had 2 sacks.

Week 6

The Steelers come off of an impressive win vs the Titans, this week will be another challenge as they must find a way to stop Jones-Drew.

Injuries are still a concern as James Harrison is out and a number of others who missed last week are questionable.  Marcus Gilbert probably won't play so it looks like Jonathan Scott will play right tackle.

Expect Mendenhall to be ready to play against the Jaguars, we hope that Coach Tomlin splits the time equally between Redman, Dwyer & Mendenhall.

The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the first half and actually should have scored 40 points against the Jags but the offensive cooled off in the second half.  Rasard Mendenahll had a great game with a 68 yard run.  Mike Wallace also scored on a long TD pass from Big Ben.  Max Starks gave up a sack and was not as good this game as he was in the last.  Doug Legursky left the game with a dislocated toe and will probably miss the Cardinals game.

Brett Kiesel had a great game as he had two sacks.  Woodley also came to play and had sacks as well.  Chris Hoke left the game early with a stinger and was replaced by Steve McClendon who did a nice job.  Troy had a big game making some key tackles but went out after his head hit the knee of Jones Drew.  William Gay had a decent game as he made some key tackles.
What has happened to Lawrence Timmons? I couldn't believe how he missed the tackle on a rookie QB that really doesn't run well.

As of Monday the report on Ben is he has no broken bone in his foot but its possible he could still miss the game.

Other injuries include Mendenhall, Arron Smith, Jason Worlids & Mewelde Moore.

This would be a good week to get Jonathan Dwyer into the game and sit Mendenhall out as his play so far is quite poor.

Steelers Win 38-17

The Steelers were impressive as Big Ben threw 5 touchdown passes and Jonathan Dwyer ran for over 100 yards leading the Steelers to a 38-17 win over the Titans.

Max Starks played at pro bowl level and Chris Hoke looked like Casey Hampton circa 2003 as both lines dominated.

Lemarr Woodley and Cameron Heyward had sacks and Ryan Mundy caught a pass on a fake punt.

Next week I would use the same offensive & defensive lines even if it means keeping out Hampton & Smith.

This will be a tough week as the Texans have a strong offense and a decent pass rush.

Fines were handed out this week to Antonio Brown & James Farrior

Steelers Lose  17-10

Another poor performance by the black & gold.  The offensive line continues to struggle.  Trai Essex had a horrible game and Marcus Gilbert turned in another poor performance.

The defense could not stop the run as Adrian Foster ran for over 150 yards including a 42 yard TD run where Woodley & Troy both missed tackles.

There were a number of injuries including Big Ben, Aaron Smith, Mendenhall, Worlids & Moore.  Expect some of these players to miss the Tennessee game.

This is a different Indianapolis team without Peyton Manning but the Steelers must assume they will not easily win this game.

Injury update for this game include Brett Kiesel doubtful with a leg injury and Bryant McFadden & Jericho Cotchery are still nursing hamstring injuries.

Steelers Win 23-20

The Steelers just barely beat the Indianapolis Colts with a last second field goal to improve their record to 2-1.  The team did not look good at all.

The offensive line was pathetic especially at the two tackle positions.  Jonathan Scott's performance was one of the worst ever seen.  Marcus Gilbert didn't do much better.  Doug Legursky actually had a decent game throwing a couple of key trap blocks.

Mike Wallace, Heath Miller & Mewelde Moore had good games for the offense.

Ben Roethlisberger looked ok but he did throw a pick and lost two fumbles, both fumbles were the fault of both offensive tackles.

On Defense Troy Polamalu along with James Harrison and Ike Taylor had a good game.  Arron Smith should retire, his play is not even close to previous yeaars, other defensive lineman looked bad as well.  What has happened to Lawrence Timmons, he looks slow this year and is out of position.

The Steelers will have to have their best performance of the year if they are going to be competitive against Houston.

Injuries this pas game included Marcus Gilbert, Doug Legursky and Jonathan Scott.

The Steelers have had another big setback as starting right tackle Willie Colon had surgery on his tricep and is out for the season, Colon was placed on injured reserve.  The Steelers picked up Jamon Meridith who played for the New York Giants and added him to the 53 man roster although its doubtful he will ever dress for a game.

Marcus Gilbert the second round draft pick is the new starter at right tackle.  Let's hope he is up to the task.

Steelers Win 24 - 0

The Steelers defeated a very weak Seattle team 24-0 on Sunday to put their record at 1-1.  The team looked good but not great, they should have won 42-0.  Ben played well and had no interceptions but he did sustain a knee injury but only missed two plays.  Mike Wallace had another good game as well as Issac Redman who had a 22 yd run for a TD.

Ramon Foster filled in at left guard and did a great job, Marcus Gilbert played ok but it looks like he may be good.

On Defense just about everyone played well. Larry Foote and Steve McLendon even had sacks.  Brett Kiesel went out with an injury.

This week will be a real test to see how the Steelers do on offense and defense.  

On offense our young wide receivers look great and QB Ben Roethlisberger looks good too. 

On defense Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel look good along with Troy Polamalu.

Injuries to Jonathan Scott & Marquis Pouncey on the offensive line and James Harrison is not 100% on the defense.
Bryant McFadden should play but we expect him to split time with Keenan Lewis.

The Steelers opened the season with an embarrassing lose.  Ben Roethlisberger had a terrible game with 5 turnovers and 2 other turnovers by running backs.  The offensive line was not especially Jonathan Scott, he really should be replaced.  On defense things were not any better, James Harrison just played average and so did Lemarr Woodley, Woodley did have one sack.  Troy Polamalu looked like he had no idea what was going on.  Bryant McFadden should probably be replaced and we'd like to see Cortez Allen replace him and not Keenan Lewis.

The only bright spots were Mike Wallace had a good day receiving and so did Emanuel Sanders.  Mendenhall had a costly fumble but did have a couple of nice runs and Issac Redman looked good.  Ike Taylor made Lee Evans invisible.

The Steelers didn't realize how good the Ravens are.  Their secondary came to play and they have a good pass rush and are solid up the middle.

James Harrison left the game with a knee injury, he needs to split time with Jason Worlids and Farrior needs to split time with Larry Foote.

Aaron Smith just doesn't have what it takes to play every down, Ziggy should play 75% of the time.

Next up its Seattle at home, lets hope they can bounce back.