|
Post by achebeautiful on Jan 24, 2006 21:29:28 GMT -5
"Roethlisberger Has People Talking About Passing Game" Tuesday, January 24, 2006
By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com
When you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, you think about the ground game. It's a staple that has been there for years, from the days of Franco Harris in the 70s until Jerome Bettis today. And, it's still a major key and always will be.
But today, when people are talking about the Steelers win over the Broncos in the AFC Championship game, they are talking about the passing game. Yes, the passing game. And for good reason – quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"He's everything you want in a quarterback," said guard Alan Faneca. "We wouldn't be where we are today without him leading our offense. I think he's just more relaxed this year, and it comes through experience. It's not just X's and O's. He still understands the basics, but he also has that game-feel. I think teams know we're going to try to run the ball on them, and they want to make Ben beat them. These past few weeks Ben's been doing just that."
Roethlisberger has had an amazing post-season this year, completing 50 of 72 passes for 680 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 125.8.
"It's his confidence," said wide receiver Hines Ward of the way Roethlisberger is playing this year. "He's not going out and saying 'I have to put it all out on my shoulders.' He's playing football and letting his team work for him. He's starting to have trust in everybody He does a great job managing the game, throwing the ball where it is supposed to be thrown.
"When you do that, you gain a lot of confidence. Guys are going to do whatever it takes to make a play for him. It's like night and day. He's playing with a lot of confidence. I know he's not putting up a lot of stats like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, but he needs to be mentioned with the great quarterbacks of today. He's been the leader on this team."
Against the Broncos Roethlisberger completed 21 of 29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He made smart decisions and managed the game to perfection.
"He was incredible," said Bettis. "He did everything he had to do, and, you know, from last year to this year, he's a different quarterback. You know, he has an understanding of what he needs to do to manage his football team and the plays he makes with his feet and throwing the ball. He's amazing. He's definitely our leader."
The Steelers relied heavily on the pass in their wins over the Colts and the Broncos in the playoffs, and will need a strong passing game when they face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5 in Detroit, Michigan.
"A lot of people said that if we have to throw the ball, we can't win the game," said Roethlisberger. "Myself, the line, we took offense of that. The last couple weeks, we've proven that's not the case. We have to keep going and make sure we remain a balanced offense like we have been doing."
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Jan 25, 2006 18:17:28 GMT -5
"The Extra Week Is Extra Nice" Wednesday, January 25, 2006
By BOB LABRIOLA
This time, there were no slip-ups, no chances for the opponent to make false claims and then use those claims as motivation. Back in 2001, life changed all over America because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Because the idea of playing football so soon after that tragedy was a ridiculous notion, the NFL adjusted its regular season schedule, which ultimately led to the period between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl being sliced from two weeks to one. That was the year the Steelers finished 13-3 and were scheduled to host the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field. The Steelers spent one day that week on the logistics of taking their entire staff, players, coaches and families to the Super Bowl, as was mandated by the NFL. When what the Steelers did became known, the Patriots used that as incentive for their players, even though they also had been required to send team representatives to the same league meetings because it's impossible to move that many people that far within 24 hours. And they had to be there in 24 hours, because the conference champions were required to be on site the following day. But that served as a lesson to the Steelers, as did their experience in Super Bowl XXX in 1995, and the team used all of that to make the plans this time around. During the week leading up to the game against the Broncos in Denver, Super Bowl were two words that weren't heard at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex. Everything changed, however, once the Steelers returned home as the champions of the AFC. Thank heavens for the extra week before Super Bowl XL. "I think the biggest benefit is that we can try to get all this done before Thursday so we can come in here Thursday with the focus on football," said Coach Bill Cowher. "It is an opportunity that you want to share with a lot of people, and the logistics of going through that can be overwhelming at times with all the requests. "At the same time you can't forget what we're going in there to do. I think that allows you to not feel rushed or overwhelmed by it in a short period of time. One week's time is tough. People have done it; I don't envy that." What had become the normal procedure for the Steelers in the latter part of the season was that the players were off on Mondays and Tuesdays following wins, and then the preparation for the upcoming opponent began at full speed on Wednesday morning. With some extra time to play with between the win over the Broncos and the game against the Seattle Seahawks, Cowher brought the players in on Monday for a meeting that included detailing the plans for getting the players' families to Detroit for the game. "Basically our players came in (Monday)," said Cowher. "We talked a little bit about last Sunday's game. We kind of went through the logistics of what next week will entail in terms of the tickets, the travel?particularly as it relates to family and friends. The players will be in the process of getting all that information back in the next couple of days. "The coaches will be game-planning during that time, and so we'll come in and work Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Monday we'll go to Detroit. We'll get off the plane and have a light workout, get used to the facilities at the Silverdome where we're going to be working that whole week. Tuesday is media day. Then we'll have a basic Wednesday, Thursday and Friday." The thing that makes the Super Bowl more difficult than any other game on the schedule is that even though it will be just another game once the ball is teed up, everything that happens leading up to that moment is very, very different. The only player on the Steelers roster with any first-hand experience of that is Willie Williams, who happened to be with the team for Super Bowl XXX. "There are some things that you can share with [the players] like the demands, what the game was like, the pregame part of it and all the things that lead up to it," said Cowher. "There are some things that you share. I've talked to some people around the league as well. It has been 10 years. We're trying to just inform them of what to expect but it's still going to be a football game once that ball is kicked off. It still comes down to execution." And Cowher will try to make things as normal as possible during the preparations stage, so that when it comes to execute, the Steelers will be able to execute. "The distractions are going to be there (in Detroit)," said Cowher. We'll put most of [the game plan] in this week. This is going to be an important week of work, there's no question about that; not that next week won't. We'll talk about what they'll be facing going there. "We've got some guys who have not been there before but we have a lot of coaches who have been there before. We'll try to educate them to help them understand what it's going to be like next week. But this week is a very important week, no doubt."
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Jan 25, 2006 19:12:20 GMT -5
Subject: Fw: A STEELER NATION
(this came to me in an email) A bit of a long "read," but an EXCELLENT commentary ..... especially if you have "ROOTS" in the 'burgh!!!!! January 21, 2006
By Scott Paulsen (radio DJ, WDVE)
Think about this the next time someone argues that a professional sports franchise is not important to a city's identity: In the 1980's, as the steel mills and their supporting factories shut down from Homestead to Midland, Pittsburghers, faced for the first time in their lives with the specter of unemployment, were forced to pick up their families, leave their home towns and move to more profitable parts of the country. The steel workers were not ready for this. They had planned to stay in the 'burgh their entire lives. It was home. Everyone I know can tell the same story about how Dad, Uncle Bob or their brother-in-law packed a U-Haul and headed down to Tampa to build houses or up to Boston for an office job or out to California to star in pornographic videos. All right. Maybe that last one just happened in my family. At this same time, during the early to mid-eighties, the Pittsburgh Steelers were at the peak of their popularity. Following the Super Bowl dynasty years, the power of the Steelers was strong. Every man, woman, boy and girl from parts of four states were Pittsburgh faithful, living and breathing day to day on the news of their favorite team. Then, as now, it seemed to be all anyone talked about. Who do you think the Steelers will take in the draft this year? Is Bradshaw done? Can you believe they won't give Franco the money - what's he doing going to Seattle? The last memories most unemployed steel workers had of their towns had a black and gold tinge. The good times remembered all seemed to revolve, somehow, around a football game. Sneaking away from your sister's wedding reception to go downstairs to the bar and watch the game against Earl Campbell and the Oilers - going to midnight mass, still half in the bag after Pittsburgh beat Oakland - you and your grandfather, both crying at the sight of The Chief, finally holding his Vince Lombardi Trophy. And then, the mills closed. Damn the mills. One of the unseen benefits of the collapse of the value systems our families believed in - that the mill would look after you through thick and thin - was that now, decades later, there is not a town in America where a Pittsburgher cannot feel at home. Nearly every city in the United States has a designated "Black and Gold" establishment. From Bangor, Maine to Honolulu, Hawaii, and every town in between can be found an oasis of Iron City, chipped ham and yinzers. It's great to know that no matter what happened in the lives of our Steel City refugees, they never forgot the things that held us together as a city - families, food, and Steelers football. It's what we call the Steeler Nation. You see it every football season. And when the Steelers have a great year, as they have had this season, the power of the Steeler Nation rises to show itself stronger than ever. This week, as the Pittsburgh team of Roethlisberger, Polamalu, Bettis and Porter head to Denver, the fans of Greenwood, Lambert, Bleier and Blount, the generation who followed Lloyd, Thigpen, Woodson and Kirkland will be watching from Dallas to Chicago, from an Air Force base in Minot, North Dakota, to a tent stuck in the sand near Fallujah, Iraq. I have received more email from displaced Pittsburgh Steelers fans this week than Christmas cards this holiday season. They're everywhere. We're everywhere. We are the Steeler Nation. And now, it's passing from one generation to the next. The children of displaced Pittsburghers, who have never lived in the Steel City, are growing up Steelers fans. When they come back to their parents' hometowns to visit the grandparents, they hope, above all, to be blessed enough to get to see the Steelers in person. Heinz Field is their football Mecca. And if a ticket isn't available, that's okay, too. There's nothing better than sitting in Grandpa's living room, just like Dad did, eatin g Grandma's cooking and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just like Dad did. So, to you, Steeler Nation, I send best wishes and a fond wave of the Terrible Towel. To Tom, who emailed from Massachusetts to say how great it was to watch the Patriots lose and the Steelers win in one glorious weekend. To Michelle, from Milwaukee, who wrote to let me know it was she who hexed Mike Vanderjagt last Sunday by chanting "boogity, boogity, boogity" and giving him the "maloik". To Jack, who will somehow pull himself away from the beach bar he tends in Hilo, Hawaii, to once again root for the black and gold in the middle of the night (his time), I say, thanks for giving power to the great Steeler Nation. All around the NFL, the word is out that the Pittsburgh Steeler fans "travel well", meaning they will fly or drive from Pittsburgh to anywhere the Steelers play, just to see their team. The one aspect about that situation the rest of the NFL fails to grasp is that, sometimes, the Steeler Nation does not have to travel. Sometimes, we're already there. Yes, the short sighted steel mills screwed our families over. But they did, in a completely unintended way, create something new and perhaps more powerful than an industry. They helped created a nation. A Steeler Nation.
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Jan 27, 2006 18:19:42 GMT -5
"It Still Hasn't Sunk In Yet" Thursday, January 26, 2006
By Teresa Varley
As players finalized their plans for Super Bowl XL, some were still wondering is this really happening. Even though they get plenty of reminders, for some it just hasn't sunk in. "It's so exciting," said defensive end Brett Keisel. "Everyone I've talked to I still feel like I am dreaming. I wake up in the morning and think are we really going to the Super Bowl. I have to ask me wife, this is really happening isn't it. It's an incredible feeling. I feel blessed to be here." Others share his sentiment. "It won't hit me until we are walking out onto the field and see all of the madness that goes with the game," said cornerback Deshea Townsend. "It hasn't hit me yet," said cornerback Ike Taylor. "When we get there, and all of the media attention, it will hit." Guard Alan Faneca has experienced the disappointment of losing the AFC Championship game in 2001 and 2004. He knew what it was like when he came to work the day after those losses. This year, it was completely different. "It hit me Monday morning when we came back in for our team meeting," said Faneca. "Seeing all of the guys it really sunk in that it's not over with, we are moving on to the Super Bowl. "That was the best working Monday ever. That feeling after we lost twice that was a terrible day, a terrible feeling. It made it sweeter knowing what it feels like to lose." The entire City of Pittsburgh is electric right now. Black and gold is everywhere, Steelers flags are on cars and homes, and the Terrible Towel waves proudly, even at last night's Penguins game when Sidney Crosby waved one following the team's win at Mellon Arena. "Everywhere you go you feel the love of the city," said running back Willie Parker. "You have the love of the city. People are backing you 100%. That's the great part of it. It can't get any greater than this – playing for a Super Bowl." Townsend was at the taping of the Jerome Bettis Show at Heinz Field on Wednesday night and got to experience first-hand the excitement in the city. "It's great to see the way people are," said Townsend. "Everybody is excited. That is why we play. Even when we were 6-10, 7-9, the stadium was still full. To be able to bring such excitement back is why you play the game."
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Jan 28, 2006 13:00:05 GMT -5
"National Magazines Guess, Too" Saturday, January 28, 2006
By BOB LABRIOLA Steelers.com
"I told you so." Even though the over-use of those four words may have sent thousands of married couples into counseling, to sports fans they might make up the most satisfying sentence of all. NFL fans wait anxiously for the national publications to come out with their forecasts for the upcoming season, but often those forecasts turn out to be nothing but bad guesses. And when those guesses are bad, fans can revel in that almost as much as they revel in the "unexpected" success of their team. The 2005 Steelers have made a living recently by playing up their role as underdogs, and really, that started back in July. In the Sept. 9, 2005 edition of The Sporting News, NFL Insider Dan Pompei had the Baltimore Ravens winning the AFC North and the Steelers missing the playoffs. "The defense is a strong unit," wrote Pompei about the team, "and you know the Steelers will be able to run the ball. The question is: Will Ben Roethlisberger take a step back? It's not going to get easier for him ? defenses are more aware of his abilities, and he doesn't have Plaxico Burress anymore." If Pompei missed badly, two other writers for The Sporting News picked the Steelers to win the Super Bowl. Senior writer Dennis Dillon had the Steelers defeating the Philadelphia Eagles; assistant managing editor Carl Moritz picked the Steelers over the Carolina Panthers. Paul Zimmerman, whose nom de plume is "Dr. Z" in Sports Illustrated, also had the Ravens winning the AFC North, but he did pick the Steelers as an AFC Wild Card team. Zimmerman had the Steelers losing to Indianapolis in a Divisional Playoff Game. Pro Football Weekly showed the Steelers too much respect, as it turned out, because the publication picked them to win their division. But in a poll of each of Pro Football Weekly's eight staff writers, nobody had the Steelers winning even the conference championship. Four of the eight picked New England, two actually chose the Raiders, with Indianapolis and Kansas City each getting support from one writer. But in this arena, the Steelers took a backseat in the disrespect department to the Seattle Seahawks. In The Sporting News, only two of nine correspondents even picked the Seahawks to make the playoffs, and nobody had them advancing even as far as the NFC Championship Game. "This team has the capacity to be pretty good," wrote Pompei about Seattle, "but something has been missing. Matt Hasselbeck is a fine quarterback, though he could use some better receivers. The defense has new pieces, and how well those pieces fit in could determine where the Seahawks finish." Zimmerman didn't pick the Seahawks to make the playoffs; Pro Football Weekly gave them the nod as the best team in the NFC West, and managing editor Mike Holbrook was the only writer to pick them to advance to Super Bowl XL, even though he had them losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. When it comes to preseason predictions, fans should remember one thing before becoming too excited or too angry about what they read: caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Jan 28, 2006 13:04:25 GMT -5
Hey, I'm really thrilled that the Steelers are in the Super Bowl! Today after work I went and bought a long sleeve AFC Champion Super Bowl XL Pittsburgh Steelers shirt! But the thought occured to me that maybe I'm pouring it on a little thick with all of these posts. If so, I am sorry. It is not intended as 'in your face.' I am just sharing what is a very exciting experience for me. So, let me know if it's a little overmuch. I'll stop immediately! Until then, I will continue to share the excitement!
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Feb 4, 2006 12:55:26 GMT -5
I'm getting pumped about tomorrow's big game! I just bought a cd of fifteen Pittsburgh Steelers songs that will serve to leading in to the game tomorrow. Question: who is your favorite Steeler (I realize the answer may be none.) For me it is Troy Palamalu on defense and Hines Ward on offense.
|
|
|
Post by ocelot on Feb 4, 2006 13:02:02 GMT -5
I like Troy Palamalu. I guess he is probably my favourite Steelers despite what he did against my Colts.
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Feb 4, 2006 18:10:32 GMT -5
Steelers ready to kick things off Saturday, February 4, 2006
It's the eve of the biggest game in their careers and the Steelers are ready to get things rolling. It's been a week filled with media commitments and the hype leading up to the game, but now, that's all behind them.
There is one goal, one focus, one reason for being in Detroit. It's all about winning Super Bowl XL.
"There is a lot of excitement, but at the same time, we know we came here for one reason, and that's to take care of what we came here for," said running back Willie Parker. "It's about business.
"Every team always expects to go to the Super Bowl. That's just something you have to put in your players' minds, put in your teammates' minds and coaches' minds. At the beginning of the year, our goal was to make it to the big dance and win."
For two weeks the teams have been waiting for Super Bowl Sunday. It's been two long weeks, and tonight is going to be a long night as the players try to keep themselves calm.
"It seems like it's been a long time since we played our last game," said tight end Heath Miller. "Our focus is on our game plan and Sunday. It will be a normal Saturday night. I plan to get plenty of rest. I'm sure I'll toss and turn a little bit. I've done that many times this year."
Head coach Bill Cowher will address the team on Sunday morning. What he is going to say is not something he plans out, instead it comes from the heart, it flows as his thoughts and emotions flow.
"What exactly I'll say, I'm not exactly sure right now. It's kind of a last-minute thing," said Cowher. "The biggest thing right now is not to make this game out bigger than what it is. I think it's very important to do that.
"We've talked each day about making sure we prioritize the things we're doing and not lose sight of where we were seven weeks ago, and keep reminding them about that. We've played well in the last seven weeks, because we've prepared well. We've played a little bit with a chip on our shoulder and recognizing that we've got a tough road ahead of us and we took nothing for granted.
"And we cannot afford to think that we're going to show up and just by showing up we're getting it done. We're not going to do that. We've had good weeks of work, and we recognize there's a fine line there. There's been a sense of urgency and a desperate state we've played in the last seven weeks, and I don't think Sunday will be any different. We understand the magnitude of the game. But it cannot affect how you play the game."
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Feb 5, 2006 10:02:35 GMT -5
It's all about football now for Bettis Sunday, February 5, 2006
It's been a hectic week for running back Jerome Bettis. He is living a dream, playing in his first Super Bowl in his 13th season in the NFL. And he is playing it in his hometown of Detroit.
He has been given the key to the City of Detroit, it was declared Jerome Bettis day in Detroit. His mom made dinner for his teammates. He went to a Pistons game. He filmed his television show. He held a charity bowling tournament. He has been interviewed by everyone in Detroit with a camera. He has had his picture taken for the book he is writing with everyone he came in contact with.
But that is now all behind him.
Today, it's Super Bowl Sunday, and it's all about football.
No matter what he has done all week, his focus has been clearly on the Seattle Seahawks. He knows the challenges they present. And he knows running the ball will be a key.
"We're going to have to do that," said Bettis. "There's no question about it. We're going to have to be able to run the football to win."
That running game starts up front with the offensive line, a unit that has been a steady force for the Steelers this season, but really stepped it up when things mattered most.
"Those are the guys who get us going. They're the engine in this car," said Bettis. "I really believe, right before the Chicago Bears game, with four games left, I think they really turned the corner. I think everything started to really click right about then. And, from then on, I think that group has been playing probably the best of anybody on our team.
"If they play well, we win and, obviously, if they don't play well, then we're not going to have much success. They're able to give us all the support we need. They're definitely our backbone."
Another key for the success of the offense will be protecting the ball. Nobody knows that more than Bettis, who fumbled late in the divisional playoff game against the Colts. But for the most part, the Steelers have protected the ball and Bettis thinks that is a key to getting where they are today.
"Not turn the football over," said Bettis of what they have done differently this year. "I think if you look back in years past, we've always turned the football over and that's always been our Achilles heel when we've gotten to the playoffs and in the big games that we found a way to lose as opposed to now finding a way to win. And hopefully that carries on to the Super Bowl."
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Feb 5, 2006 16:37:25 GMT -5
HERE WE GO, STEELERS! BIG NASTY "D"!!
|
|
|
Post by ocelot on Feb 5, 2006 22:09:46 GMT -5
Congrats to the Steelers on winning the Superbowl!
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Feb 5, 2006 22:10:34 GMT -5
;D ;D ;D YAAAAAAAHOOOOOO!!!! ;D ;D ;D
|
|
|
Post by achebeautiful on Feb 5, 2006 22:11:11 GMT -5
Thanks, Leona!
|
|