SteelerWatch

Steeler fans — and fans of every team not based in Tennessee — breathed a collective sigh of relief as second-year Titans quarterback Vince Young was announced as the 2008 Madden Posterboy.

For those of you living under a rock since the turn of the century, every player to have been featured on the cover of the game since 1998 (the 1999 edition of the game) has missed significant time or suffered bad statistical years either in the season during which the game was released, or in the year for which the game was released.

Garrison Hearst was the first player on the game’s cover, in 1998 (game year 1999). In the first game of the playoffs, Hearst broke his ankle and missed the next two seasons while recovering.

Barry Sanders was featured on the 2000 cover (1999). Just before training camp that season, Sanders retired without warning, never to play again. In some countries (Australia, New Zealand and some European nations) Dorsey Levens was on the cover. He did just fine the year the game was released, but in 2000 (the game year), he gained just 224 yards rushing and receiving.

For the 2001 edition of the game, Eddie George graced the game’s packaging. He had a phenomenal year in 2000, the year of the game’s release, with career highs in yards and touchdowns. In 2001, the game year, he had a career low for yards.

The list goes on:

• 2002 (2001 season) - Daunte Culpepper: Season-ending knee injury in game 12 (Dec. 2001).
• 2003 (2002 season) - Marshall Faulk: Season-ending ankel injury; never again rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season
• 2004 (2003 season) - Michael Vick: Broken leg during pre-season; missed 11 regular-season games
• 2005 (2004 season) - Ray Lewis: Broken wrist in week 16; Season-ending injury in week 6 of 2005 season
• 2006 (2005 season) - Donovan McNabb: Season-ending surgery following 10th game of the season
• 2007 (2006 season) - Shaun Alexander: Broken foot; missed six games

The question is: if Roethlisberger was to be featured at some point, would his 2006 season count retroactively toward the curse?

The Steelers (finally) made a second unrestricted free agent signing this year, inking former Cleveland Brown Nick Eason to a one-year deal. The defensive tackle will add some depth to a talented, but shallow, group that includes current starters Aaron Smith (re-signed this year) and Brett Kiesel.

The urgency of signing a DT for depth was exacerbated last week when UFA Rodney Bailey was signed by the Cardinals, adding to the former members of the family who have already made their way to Arizona — including former Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who filled the head coach position that was left vacant when Dennis Green was fired after the 2006 season.

The contract is believed to be for the league minimum.

During this traditionally slow time for the Steelers, it’s logical that good news would be hard to come by. So, to fill the void, SteelerWatch has posted the first edition of our official Mock Draft, covering picks 1 through 16. Check it out and give your feedback!

This is a big season for Pittsburgh. And I don’t mean because of a new coaching staff, coming off a weak season, the departure of Joey Porter (and the subsequent mauling of new Bengals uber-weenie Levi Jones in a Vegas casino), or anything else that has made for big headlines in the ‘Burgh this offseason. I mean the fact that, including the preseason, they play a total of 1) 21 games, and 2) no fewer than seven games nationally televised. That’s a full one of every three games.

But enough about that. Here’s how the finer points stack out:

• - Season opener on 9/9 in Cleveland
• - Home opener on 9/16 versus Buffalo
• - Whis and Grimmbo take on their old team in their new home, 9/30
• - Bye week is Week 6
• - Ugly stretch starts a week before the bye, with consecutive games against Seattle,@Denver, @Cincy and against Baltimore
• - Sunday night games on 10/21 (@Denver) and 12/2 (home versus Cincy)
• - Monday night games on 11/5 (home versus Baltimore) and 11/26 (home versus Miami)
• - Thursday night game 12/20 (@St. Louis)
• - Regular season finale 12/30 at Baltimore

Analysis
The key this season will be a strong start. The season begins with four very winnable games: @Cleveland, versus Buffalo, versus San Francisco, @Arizona. The tough stretch mentioned above follows immediately, so it will be important to establish momentum headed into that mess. After Baltimore the team gets a little bit of a breather, home versus Cleveland and against the Jets in the Meadowlands. Miami could be a toss-up, depending which Daunte Culpepper shows up — but it’s a return home for Porter, so emotions will be high on both sides of the ball.

After Miami is another tough stretch, with Cincy coming to town, then a road trip to New England and back home to take on the Jaguars. The Patriots have an insane number of draft picks this year, including two in the final third of the first round and four compensatory picks. The Jags have committed to Byron Leftwich this season, which SteelerWatch believes is a mistake, and he could prove to be the pivotal player in that game.

The team better take it to St. Louis, because the regular season finale in Baltimore will be a heck of a challenge and momentum will be crucial. Depending on the current situation in the division and the conference, a lot could be on the line — including a division title or even home-field advantage.

Expect Tomlin to use the first four games, and the majority of preseason, testing out the possible 4-3 looks that we could use to confuse the tougher teams on the schedule, and possibly to play the Ravens a little conservative at home to prepare for a season-ending sneak attack.

Conclusion
The games probably couldn’t have fallen much better. The season starts with a string of very winnable games, and expect Tomlin to start attacking early and often to establish himself in the league.

Were the suspensions of Pacman Jones and Chris Henry punishment enough?

• Yes (67%)
• No (33%)

Total Votes: 12

 Loading …

NFL Commish Roger Goodell is finally taking a stand in an area that his predecessor generally stayed away from: off-field incidents involving players.

At the owners’ meetings Goodell made a point of saying he would no longer tolerate players winding up in trouble with the law. Unfortunately, he never mentioned specifics on how this would be handled.

He met last week with Bengals’ receiver Chris Henry and Titans’ defensive back Adam “Pacman” Jones to discuss their prior offenses — both have been charged with numerous counts of criminal activity, and Henry spent time this off-season in prison — and today the NFL announced that the two have been suspended. Jones, considered one of last season’s best rookies despite the run-ins with the law, will sit out the entire 2007 season, and Henry will miss the first eight games. Both will need to apply for reinstatement before they can rejoin their teams following their punishments.

Was it enough? Maybe in Jones’ case, but not for Henry. If an example truly needed to be made, it was to the city of Cincinnati, where nine Bengals were arrested in a nine-month span, including multiple arrests for Henry. Bottom line: both players should have been forced to sit out the entire season, and both should have been notified that any future arrests — anything beyond a speeding or parking ticket, really — would absolutely, 100-percent-guaranteed, result in a lifelong ban from the NFL.

What do you think? Drop a comment now!

Head coach Mike Tomlin recently poured out his corner-lovin’ heart about highly paid 2006 underachiever Ike Taylor, who late last season became former coach Bill Cowher’s whipping boy. Used largely as the scapegoat for a defense the underperformed as a whole — in fact, it could be argued that the secondary was actually the best part of the entire unit — Taylor was benched for the final few games last season, making way for Bryant McFadden, who will likely bump fellow cornerback Deshea Townsend from the starting lineup.

The story here isn’t Tomlin’s admiration of the still-capable prospect; Tomlin was a secondary coach in Tampa Bay and defensive coordinator in Minnesota last season, so he knows a thing or two about coaching cornerbacks. And we all know that, while Taylor had a bad season last year and has even been derided here on SteelerWatch for his lack of quality play in 2006, he’s more than capable of shutting down the best receivers in the league and has the afterburners to roll with the fastest guys in the league — should he actually choose to use that speed.

No, the story here is that Tomlin’s show of affection essentially rules out the cornerback position for a draft on day one. SteelerWatch’s favorite player in the draft is Darrelle Revis, inarguably the most exciting defensive player to watch last year. While there are more pressing needs than cornerback in Pittsburgh, I certainly hate to concede that they will have to skip over Revis, and that such a talent could fall into the hands of a potential opponent. Possibly even the New England Patriots, who have two picks in the first round and could use someone to play beside or behind current franchise player Asante Samuel.

Now I’m seriously bummed out.

For anyone doubting the Steelers’ ability to build the team through the draft, just consider this statistic: seven of their last nine first-round draft picks are still with the team — and all are starters. They are Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Kendall Simmons, Casey Hampton and Alan Faneca. Three are All-Pros (Polamalu, Hampton, Faneca) and three more are virtually a lock for the Pro Bowl eventually (Holmes, Miller, Roethlisberger).

Even though there has been football practice every August at St. Vincent College, the school hasn’t had a football team for almost 45 years. That will all change this fall for the Bearcats, and they will play their home games on a field named for former Steelers head coach Chuck Noll.

The college, which annually hosts Steelers training camp, will restart its Division III varsity football program for the first time since 1962, and they have begun constructiuon on seating for the field that will hold a modest 1,050.

The college has other structures named for Steeler-related personalities, including Rooney Hall, a dormitory used by the Steelers each summer during training camp.

Information from this post gathered from Steelers.com

The Steelers yesterday played host to Oklahoma defensive lineman Ryan McBean, one day after visits from Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman and Hawaii defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis.

Pittman, even smaller than Willie Parker at a meager 207 pounds, may be used as depth behind Parker if drafted. However, a running back likely will not be drafted in Pittsburgh until day two.

More importantly, the visits from two defensive linemen is a very telling sign that the Steelers are attempting to bolster a front three (or maybe four?) that played well in 2006 but generated virtually no pass rush. McBean, at 286 pounds, would likely fit in either as a 3-4 end or, if he can add another 15 to 20 pounds, at defensive tackle in a 4-3 alignment.

Alama-Francis, on the other hand, is viewed as the prototypical 3-4 end and has been compared to Luis Castillo by numerous sources. He is likely to be a mid-second round pick, which means he may just fall right into the Steelers’ laps. However, his stock has been rising lately and he could find his way up a few spots.

Preseason looks like more of the same, to a certain extent, in 2007. Philadelphia (Week 3, Aug. 26) and Carolina (Week 4, Aug. 31-Sept. 2) both show up on the schedule again, for at least the fifth consecutive year each. Likewise, Washington (Week 2, Aug. 16-20) is on the schedule for the second time in three years. The Week 1 (Aug. 9-13) opponent is Green Bay, and the team plays this year in Canton, Ohio’s Hall of Fame Game versus New Orleans. We’ll call that Week 0 for the sake of continuity.

As I mentioned in the past, the Hall of Fame Game is a “bonus” game, and it will give new coach Mike Tomlin the most possible preseason games to get his team ready. That’s something most of us prayed for after last season anyway, new coach or not.