Tag: Pittsburgh Steelers (Page 20 of 61)

      NFL Week 5 MVP, COY and ROY power rankings

      October 17, 2010 /

      You think it’s hard to predict the games and standings from week to week? Try picking MVP candidates. There are five or six different candidates emerging every week. We’ll do this as one post again today and start separating them out next week. And I’m sure by this time Tuesday everything will be turned upside down again. Enjoy the games today everyone!

      MVP Power Rankings

      1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—He didn’t play last week and yet the Eagles still won, but barely, on the road in San Fran. Against a team that still hasn’t won a game yet. And hence my case is made again. And when Kolb and the Eagles lose at home to the Falcons today, fans in Philly will be chanting Vick’s name, which will have made my case again.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Steelers defense finally falters as Joe Flacco steps up for Ravens

      October 3, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 03: Anquan Boldin of the Baltimore Ravens runs after a catch in front of Bryant McFadden of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the game on October 3, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      If you had gotten Mike Tomlin liquored up before the season started and asked him if he would take a 3-1 record without Ben Roethlisberger, it’s highly unlikely that he would have responded with a “no.” He may have even admitted that he would have taken a split without his starting quarterback.

      But considering his Steelers were so close to a 4-0 start, he must be disappointed today.

      For three weeks, Pittsburgh’s defense had played better than any unit in the league. But on Sunday against the Ravens, their secondary cracked late and Baltimore was able to steal a 17-14 victory in the final minutes.

      I’ll be honest, after Joe Flacco threw that lame excuse for a pass to Anquan Boldin on a 4th and goal with just under three minutes remaining (the one that had little to no chance of being caught by Boldin), I thought the game was over. But the Steelers couldn’t kill the rest of the clock and when Flacco got a second chance to lead his team to victory, he didn’t falter.

      Flacco completed all four of his pass attempts for 40 yards on the Ravens’ final drive, which ended with a T.J. Houshmandzadeh 18-yard touchdown reception with roughly 30 seconds remaining. Flacco shredded Pittsburgh’s secondary, which failed to cover a couple sideline routes and then allowed Houshmandzadeh to get behind them on the final play. Pundits said before the season started that the secondary was the Steelers’ biggest weakness (save for Troy Polamalu, of course) and it showed today.

      But give credit to Flacco. All three of the Ravens’ running backs were banged up and the third-year quarterback stepped up when he had to. There hasn’t been one quarterback (that includes Matt Ryan and Vince Young) who has looked good against Pittsburgh’s defense this year, but Flacco managed to.

      Now that Big Ben is set to return next week, it’s going to be fun watching the Steelers and Ravens battle it out in the AFC North.

      External Sports, NFL

      Starting Dennis Dixon forces Steelers to get back to their roots

      September 12, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 12: Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs through the Atlanta Falcons defense during the NFL season opener game on September 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      For decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been known for two things: playing defense and running the ball down opponents’ throats.

      Under head coach Mike Tomlin, they haven’t gotten away from playing defense, but the running-the-ball-down-opponents’-throats-thing has kind of gotten away from them.

      On Sunday, they did both things well in a hard-fought 15-9 win over the Falcons in overtime. They held Atlanta’s offense to 58 yards rushing and three field goals, while gaining 143 yards on the ground, which included a 50-yard touchdown burst by Rashard Mendenhall to win the game.

      One thing that will get overlooked about Pittsburgh’s big rushing day was the fact that they had to start Dennis Dixon at quarterback because Ben Roethlisberger was suspended. With Dixon under center, the passing game was extremely limited. And with the game being tight throughout, OC Bruce Arians almost had to keep the ball on the ground and his young quarterback out of pivotal passing situations.

      The end result was a big win for a Steelers team that needs to at least split their first four games while Big Ben is out. Dixon certainly wasn’t flawless (he skipped throws into receivers all day and threw a brutal interception late in the first half with his team driving for a score), but he made a couple of key throws to keep the chains moving in the second half and allowed the defense and Mendenhall to win the game in the end.

      Pittsburgh fans had to love what they saw today. That was good ol’ fashioned Steeler football at its best.

      External Sports, NFL

      Can Leftwich and Dixon keep the Steelers afloat until Big Ben returns?

      August 24, 2010 /
      8-14-10: Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich during the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Detroit Lions game in Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

      Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the affects that Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension could have on the Steelers’ quarterback position.

      After trading Santonio Holmes to the Jets in the offseason, some feel as though the Steelers’ biggest weakness is at receiver. But Hines Ward continues to be the model for production and Mike Wallace is turning heads as a potential deep threat. I also like promising sixth-rounder Antonio Brown and there have been reports that third rounder Emmanuel Sanders could beat out Antwaan Randle El for the No. 3 receiver job by the start of the season.

      If I’m the Steelers, receiver isn’t my main concern – quarterback is.

      As of this writing, Ben Roethlisberger is still slated to miss the first six games of the season due to a suspension. That number could be reduced to four games, but Roger Goodell has yet to make announce his decision either way.

      But even if it’s only four games, the Steelers still have to be concerned about getting off to a slow start with either Byron Lefwich or youngster Dennis Dixon at the helm. They host the Falcons in Week 1 before facing the Titans and Buccaneers in back-to-back road games. They host the Ravens in Week 4, their bye is Week 5 and then they play the Browns at home in Week 6 before going on the road to Miami in Week 7.

      While it’s a rather fruitless endeavor to try and predict the success of teams in preseason, it’s probably safe to assume the Falcons, Ravens and Dolphins will be playoff contenders, while the Titans will be improved as well. I’m sure if the Steelers can play .500 ball while Big Ben is out, they’ll take it. But what if Leftwich and/or Dixon put them in a hole early in the season?

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Goodell may reduce Big Ben’s suspension to four games — how would this impact his fantasy value?

      August 7, 2010 /
      31 July 2010 - Latrobe, Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER ( ) signs autographs and jokes with fans during the first practice of the 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp held at Saint Vincent College. Photo Credit: Jason L Nelson/AdMedia

      Per the USA Today:

      The only sure thing is that Roethlisberger will sit out at least the four games. However, the commish likes the way the quarterback has reacted to the suspension. (Click here for Steelers’ schedule)

      “He is doing great,” Goodell said. “… I’ve been encouraged by what I have seen. He’s understanding the seriousness of the issue. I think that’s a very positive development.”

      For those fantasy owners who made it through my rather extensive QBBC article (or at least read the parts printed in bold), Roethlisberger is an interesting middle- to late-round pick this year. He’s usually underrated because the Steelers are still perceived to be a running team when in recent years they have been far more willing to throw the ball. And now this suspension has depressed his value even further.

      But it looks like the commissioner may reduce his suspension from six games to four, and if he does, it would only serve to enhance Roethlisberger’s already appealing fantasy value.

      As outlined in the aforementioned QBBC article, Roethlisberger forms a nice platoon with both Eli Manning and Matt Ryan (and, by the way, Joe Flacco). If Goodell reduces his suspension to four games, it means that he would return in Week 6 after the Steelers’ bye. That matchup is against the Browns, and it’s a tasty matchup indeed. In fact, it’s better than any of the matchups of the other QBs in play. The question is, would you want to start him in his first start of the season? Wouldn’t he be rusty?

      That’s your call, but I wouldn’t be afraid to start him, not if he’s facing the Browns after he’s had two weeks to take all the snaps in practice. It wouldn’t be that much different than the first game of the season.

      The downside of the lowered suspension is that his average draft position is probably going to rise. Still, only the savvy owners are going to jump on a guy that is going to miss four games; In recent years, Brandon Marshall and Steve Smith both went about two rounds later than they should have because they were facing suspensions. Generally speaking, Big Ben is an undervalued 7th or 8th round QB, which means he’ll likely go in the 9th or the 10th.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, News, NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑