Pittsburgh Steelers 2010 Offseason Positional Review - Offensive Tackles
by cgolden on Feb 9, 2010 10:23 AM EST
23 comments
Onward with our breakdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers roster as the 2010 offseason gets underway.
Other positional reviews: Tight Ends, Wide Receivers, Running Backs and Quarterbacks 
Age and 2009 Stats: 28 years old (1/10/82) - 16 games started, seven penalties and eight sacks allowed
Contract Status: Signed through 2012
2009 Analysis: For the first time since 2005, Starks started every game this season but that doesn't necessarily mean that he had a great season. Playing offensive tackle with Ben Roethlisberger is certainly no easy task but by all accounts Starks had an inconsistent season. After a spectacular first half of the season, that included very good games against the Vikings' Jared Allen and Broncos' Elvis Dumervil, Starks faded down the stretch, as did the Steelers team as a whole. He can still struggle with speed rushers at times but inconsistency seems to be the biggest problem and he's still never developed into the mauling in-line blocker that his size (6-8,345) would suggest.
2010 Outlook: Make no mistake about it, Max Starks will be the starting left tackle in 2010. Any hopes or wishes that he'll be cut are pipe dreams at best. He's still owed quite a bit of money and with uncertain contract situations across the rest of the offensive line, Starks isn't going anywhere. Maybe a new offensive line coach will help shore up some of the flaws or maybe a slight change in offensive philosophy will help but either way, sink or swim, Starks will be the starting left tackle as long as he's healthy.
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Congratulations To Coach LeBeau On The Well Deserved And Overdue Hall of Fame Honors
by Blitzburgh on Feb 8, 2010 5:39 PM EST
14 comments
"We love coach LeBeau. I don't think there's anything we wouldn't do for him."
- safety Troy Polamalu on NBC Sports in January, 2009.
As you probably heard by now, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has been included in this year's class of Hall of Fame inductees! It's quite an honor for the 72 year old. Here's an overview of some of his accomplishments in the league as both a player and a coach.
Playing Career:
1959-1972: Detroit Lions (defensive back)
- 3x Pro Bowl selection ('65, '66, '67)
- 62 career interceptions (still 8th best in NFL history despite the drastically increased opportunities for DBs to accumulate INTs since LeBeau's playing days).
- Played in 171 straight games during one stretch for the Lions. I believe that is still an NFL record for the position.
Coaching Career:
1973-1975: Philadelphia Eagles (special teams coach
1976-1979: Green Bay Packers (defensive backs coach)
1980-1983: Cincinnati Bengals (defensive backs coach)
1984-1991: Cincinnati Bengals (defensive coordinator)
1992-1994: Pittsburgh Steelers (defensive backs coach)
1995-1996: Pittsburgh Steelers (defensive coordinator)
1997-2000: Cincinnati Bengals (defensive coordinator/asst. head coach)
2000-2002: Cincinnati Bengals (head coach)
2003: Buffalo Bills (assistant head coach)
2004-???: Pittsburgh Steelers (defensive coordinator)
- LeBeau will be enshrined in Canton next summer partially because of his defensive innovations - most notably the 'zone blitz' which he began tinkering with in the early 1980s.
- It was not really until his tenure in Pittsburgh though that the idea really came to life. Before being named defensive coordinator in 1995, LeBeau helped stabilize the Steelers secondary in the first years of the post-Chuck Noll era in Pittsburgh. Those were nervous times and LeBeau more than did his part to give the organization and its fans that they were more than heading in the right direction.
- In those three years coaching the Steelers DBs, LeBeau's secondary never finished outside the top 10 in passing touchdowns allowed.
- In 1995, LeBeau's first year as DC, Gregg Lloyd set career highs in interceptions (6) and forced fumbles (3)
- Levon Kirland benefited from LeBeau's zone blitz scheme, notching a career high 4 interceptions in 1996, while terrorizing quarterbacks with blitzes up the shoot when not dropping in to coverage.
- Chad Greene recorded 13 sacks in 1996, the year Kevin Greene departed for Carolina. Greene was a beast in his prime, but he also was made to look a lot better than he really was by the system he was playing in.
- Then there's James Harrison more recently...I could go on, but the point is, Dick LeBeau has turned great athletes in to great football players. And he's done it for a long, long period of time.
"Everything I do is because of (LeBeau)," Harrison said. "If he doesn't call that defense that puts me in a position to make plays, I wouldn't be talking to you now."
I could list all of the accolades LeBeau's defenses have collected over the years; all the individual honors his players have won. But that's not really the point. It's the entire body of work that makes Coach Dad such a living legend and so deserving of the ultimate honor - enshrinement in Canton, Ohio in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's an overdue honor for LeBeau, but as they say, better late than never.
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Key 2010 NFL Offseason Dates
by Blitzburgh on Feb 8, 2010 4:26 AM EST
17 comments
More commentary to come about the tremendous news from this weekend - Dick LeBeau's induction in to the Hall of Fame. For now, a quick run down of the key offseason dates in the 2010 NFL offseason now that the 2009 season is officially in the books. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for winning Super Bowl XLIV. After falling down 10-0 early, the Saints raced past the Colts for a 31-17 victory. The win marked New Orleans' first ever SB title. I was of course thrilled to see Drew Brees play so well. I knew he had it in him to be one of the best in the game when he left Purdue. He sure validated his status as one of the game's best this evening. Now that New Orleans has one, let's get back to accumulating more Lombardis back in Pittsburgh!
To the dates.
February 8th: Waiver system begins for 2010 season
February 11th: First day clubs can designate franchise or transition players
February 24th - March 2nd: NFL Scouting Combine (Indianapolis)
February 25th: Deadline for clubs to designate franchise or transition players
March 5th: Start of Free Agency
March 15th - Offseason workouts can commence
March 21st-24th: NFL Annual Meeting
April 22nd-24th: 2010 NFL Draft (ridiculous that it's 3 days!)
May 24th-26th: NFL Spring Meeting
Late July: Steelers Training Camp.
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Congratulations, Dick LeBeau, 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee
by ncoolong on Feb 6, 2010 5:46 PM EST
52 comments
No one has contributed more to the game in your induction class than you, coach. Congratulations!
Discuss below
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Skip The Pre-Game Yawn Fest, Watch Hines and LaMarr Bowl Instead!
by Blitzburgh on Feb 5, 2010 6:06 PM EST
5 comments
Hey it's Super Bowl week - last year I got totally inundated with email from companies and marketers. This year not as bad being that the Steelers are at home watching this year rather than playing in the Big Game. Nevertheless, I got a heads up about Hines Ward and LaMarr Woodley participating in NBA star Chris Paul's celebrity bowling tournament. The preview of the event can be found below - looked like a fun time for a good cause, and if there's ever a time I were to watch bowling, it just might be the few hours before the Super Bowl and an event featuring two Steelers players.
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Steelers Legend "Bullet" Bill Dudley, Rest in Peace
by maryrose on Feb 4, 2010 4:44 PM EST
18 comments
The history of the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the Immaculate Reception was a well-documented series of painful memories. Sometimes the woes of the team were self-inflicted, sometimes it seemed like the football gods were just not going to let them succeed and sometimes they just couldn't find the right chemistry. In the case of Bullet Bill Dudley, one of the greatest players ever to wear a Steelers uniform, it was a combination of all three. Dudley passed away in his home state of Virginia after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 88.
After nine years of failing to field a winning ballclub, the Steelers found themselves with the first pick in the 1942 NFL Draft, coming off a one-win season in which three different head coaches took turns losing football games. With that first pick, the Steelers took a running back out of Virginia, Bullet Bill. Dudley came into the NFL and proceeded to lead the league in rushing when that was basically all the league did. His 696 yards were alot back then. The Steelers finished 7-4, a substantial upgrade from their 1-9-1 mark of 1941.
As fate would have it, when the Steelers finally had the crown jewel of the NFL, World War II gutted NFL rosters for more important matters. Dudley became a fighter pilot in the Pacific for the next two and a half years. Dudley came back to play for the Steelers in 1945. The next season, 1946, he might have had the finest season any player has ever had in the NFL. On offense he led the league in rushing with 604 yards, on defense he led the league with 10 interceptions, and on special teams he led the league in punt returns. No one before or since has ever come close to that trifecta. He led the league in 12 categories in all three phases and was obviously the NFL's Most Valuable Player.
Dudley never left the field. Over the course of his illustrious career interrupted by war, he scored 18 touchdowns as a receiver, 44 as a runner, threw six touchdowns as a quarterback and scored four as a return man. On defense, he intercepted 23 passes and scored on two of them. He successfully kicked 33 field goals and 121 extra points.
As the Pre-Immaculate Reception Curse would have it, Dudley and his new head coach in 1946, Jock Sutherland, could never get along. Dudley's strong suits as a great athlete were instincts and creativity. Sutherland insisted upon precision and standardized repetition. The oil and water were just never going to mix. I had a chance to visit with Bullet Bill in New York City in late 1997 and told him what a huge Steelers' fan I was. He was adamant about the Steelers being a championship team in the late 1940s if only he and Sutherland could get on the same page. "All the elements were in place and we were a hungry bunch who was primed to win it all," he lamented.
Art Rooney reluctantly sided with the coach in agreeing to trade Dudley to the Detroit Lions. The Steelers, under duress, received peanuts in return. Dudley continued his Hall of Fame career elsewhere. Adding insult to injury, Dudley had some of his best games against the Steelers after he left them.
"I really don't know why," said Dudley. "Jock was gone and I loved Art Rooney, so there was no animosity or hard feelings. Somehow I had my best games against the Steelers, touchdowns, interceptions, everything." Go figure.
After football, Dudley was elected to serve four terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. Dudley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966. Rest in peace, Bullet Bill.
18 comments | 2 recs |
BTSC Daily Six Pack - Big Snack Fires First 'Bullet'
by Blitzburgh on Feb 3, 2010 5:11 AM EST
124 comments
IX- I had no idea. Tom Moore, the longtime maestro of the Indianapolis Colts, was once the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yup, the only offensive coordinator Peyton Manning has ever worked with in the NFL orchestrated the Steelers offense in the 1980s. Moore was the receivers coach from '77-'82 before being handed the reins of the offense in 1983. He would be fired after the 1989 season following nearly a decade of unimaginative and stagnant offense. As Ed Bouchette astutely noted:
Chuck Noll hired Moore in 1977 to coach his wide receivers in an era in which Noll served as his own offensive coordinator. Moore helped develop the new passing attack they used in '78 when the rules changed and suddenly Terry Bradshaw's offense turned into one of the best in the league at throwing the ball.
"We went to the Super Bowl in '78 and '79 and we got more involved in passing and we still had the good running game, we were two-back because that's what our personnel dictated," Moore said.
Anyway, time's change, people change...and it helps having Peyton Manning making you look good. It's hard to deny though that Tom Moore has been one of the most accomplished offensive minds in football this past quarter century.
X - I hate to go here, but some somewhat entertaining speculation on the Bill Cowher front. Courtesy of? None other than Jerome Bettis. Bettis has speculated recently that Cowher is holding out for the New York Giants job. It does actually make some sense. Coughlin might be on somewhat thin ice heading in to next season considering how they've played since the midway point of the 2008 season. Cowher would then potentially be teaming up with one of the other few family run organizations in sports - the Giants. He'd have a veteran quarterback in his prime years, an organizational commitment to doing things the right way, and a history of playing a brand of football that's familiar with Cowher. Who knows though what will happen. The Giants could very well make another run next year, which in turn would probably grandfather Coughlin in to his job there for quite some time.
And, as Cowher is quick to point out:
"That’s Jerome," Cowher said. "It’s like us (the CBS analysts) up here. We say things to throw it out there and who knows? I haven’t talked to Jerome in two years."
XIII - Congratulations Troy Polamalu! #43 was named to the NFL's All Decade Team. He's the only current Steeler to make the team, though former Steelers Alan Faneca and Joey Porter were named to the squad as well. Solid honor for the likely Hall of Famer. I really can't wait to see the gold standard of highlight compilations someone puts together when Polamalu's career is over.
XIV - I'm bad. I admit it. But I just couldn't help it. Want to read a mediocre article about Tim Tebow and how the Steelers should draft him if he were available in the 3rd or 4th round (a ridiculous premise in and of itself)? Check it out here (shocking, Bleacher Report!). Okay, I wasn't actually going to be unnecessarily snarky until I got to the comments and read this gem:
Good characterization of Tebow's traditional Steelers mentality, a real throwback to the Chuck Nolan era. That said, you're probably right that we won't see him as a starting quarterback.
.God Bless the collective rationality and intelligence of you all here. I'll just say that...
XL- Well that didn't last too long. The love affair between Joey Porter and the Miami Dolphins might not last more than three years. Listen to Porter sound like a victim here; or if you're sans audio, read a quick overview about his 'plight' here. I recommend the audio interview though when/if you get a chance. For the record, I don't entirely blame Porter for his frustration - he feels he was underutilized coming off a monster year in '08. Still, look at your payday my man. Then realize it's probably best to keep your mouth shut.
XLIII - We've gotten our first taste of what the negotiations between the Steelers and Casey Hampton might look like. I wrote about the subject late last week, Hampton went on the record recently to say that having the Franchise Tag slapped on him would be a 'slap in the face.' Stay tuned.
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The Chief
by 5020 on Feb 2, 2010 1:49 PM EST
20 comments
The question posted under the "get to know you" thread about favorite Steelers moment got me thinking. Many younger fans probably never saw this. Many older fans probably had tears in their eyes and alcohol running through their veins and don't remember 1/12/75. Hope you enjoy. This is a GREAT moment in Steelers history. Probably one of the first outside the Immaculate Reception. It starts about 38 seconds into the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YROIZmet1_Q
20 comments | 2 recs |
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