My God I’m playing on the field, I’m in the game, OH MY GOD HERE COMES THE BALL, hey is Big Snack making a move on my gatorade on the sidelin-oh crap….Oh, Ow seem to have hurt my wrist, darn, whoops looks like there booing me…time for plan B, knock out the next Raven that gets near me…

Oh yeah I’m gonna do it. I’m a longhorn. I’m a steeler. Holy crap I’m a pittsburgh steeler. I just burned that corner like toast working overtime. Damn that’s a nice pass by Ben. Is my first TD catch going to be in the AFCCG? DOH! I effed that up really bad. Damnit. Damnit. damnit. Oh crap I have to get back to the line. Heath’s got a nice pass. Damn you ravens i’ll teach you to laugh at me. DIE IVY!!!!!!!!

As I have said before, I think the block may be really significant. It gave him a quick positive when he felt like a fool and embarassed in front of the football world. He had a later significant catch and they won the game. So, he kind of gets off the hook with something tangible that actually helped his team. Without it the guy may be a basket case.

Sure could use his height in the red zone. A new weapon they don’t have currently.

anyone have any good ones?

Sweed, so far, a less then impressive receiver lined up on the outside. He gazed at his QB, concentrating, seeing and feeling the upcoming play. Big Ben looked to his right before the snap, gazing at his rookie wide out. With a thudnerous “hike” the ball snapped back into Ben’s hands. The strong arm QB took several steps back and gazed the field, looking for that perfect opportunity.

In the mean time, Sweed, with quick movements and long strides breaks down the sideline……He stutter steps in classic fashion. The brilliant moves leaves the defender in the dust as Sweed, the rookie, blazes down the field with great speed with one though in his mind “I’m open!.”

Ben has yet to find a receiver. He’s been looking, searching, and scrambling looking for that option. The all of a sudden, out of the corner of his eye, he catches Sweed. Ben thinks, “yes, theres the one.” At this point Sweed looked like a saint, a hero, a god leaving streaks of light as he swiftly strides toward that glorious endzone. Ben raises his arm in a beautiful fashion hurls the ball towards the open receiver.the perfect pass is an amazing site, one to behold. With the ball in the air Sweed realizes he has a Touchdown. He says to himself, “heres your chance to shine.” the ball begins its rapid descent. It comes closer to Sweeds hands, he sees the TD coming….he feels it. The ball hits his hands, he knows he’s got it……….but in that split second afterwords he looks at the Raven’s sideline…..sees Flacco’s uni brow and instantly thinks “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!?……..”

The ball hits the ground……the TD a distant memory.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/steelers/2009-01-22-limas-sweed_N.htm

The knock on him coming out was his route running, and he was said to have pretty solid hands. He’s gotten pretty good separation on multiple occasions, but has dropped the ball. He’s still got an awful lot of potential. If it takes him a year to put it together, I can wait.

I wonder if the dropped pass isn’t, on some level, a decent thing. WR’s tend to have enormously swollen egos. Its almost part of the job description.

It seems to me that the Steelers purposefully keep their young guys off the field and feeling like rookies. Not the just the WR’s either. Look at Woodley and Timmons. I have no doubt in my mind that physically those guys could have come in and played at a very, very high level last year. I think on some level – after some growing pains they would have physically outperformed against some of the starters, although mentally they would lag a bit behind. Look at players like Philadelphia’s Deshea Jackson or New Englands Jarod Mayo. They are coming into schemes that are just as complex as the Steelers – but they are having breakout seasons in their rookie years, because they are in there on every snap.

I think the Steelers make sure that their young players grow up humble. When was the last time you saw a rookie – any Steelers rookie – be a star on the team? Kendrell Bell? And we know how that one ended.

I think ultimately this type of player development affects both the players and the character of the team. The players come up slower, but they learn from the veterans. It doesn’t matter if you are – Lawrence Timmons – the most gifted athlete on the field, you are going to spend a year or two learning from Larry Foote and James Farrior. You are going to ride the bench behind them and learn character, class and competitive fire.

In the end, I think that shapes the whole character of the team. This is not a team of individual stars. The WR’s learn to block, the defenders stay in their gaps instead of going for individual stats.

So yes, Sweed had a horrible rookie year, in the three of four moments where he got off the bench. Yes it would have been better if he his 7th catch of the season was a 50yard dagger in the AFC championship game. But I for one, am not worried. I think that Sweed is learning what it means to be a Steeler WR. I hope that this coming off-season he will be working out with Tone and realizing that what he WAS in college means nothing. He’s just a rookie again with a whole lot of work to do before he gets taken seriously in Pittsburgh. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.

The dropped pass wasn’t nearly as bad as the garbage injury deal. At best, he wasn’t smart enough to know we had one timeout left and would need it to kick a field goal. At worst, why would you add insult to injury by laying on the field and making a fool of yourself? That does not speak well.

If the Steelers lost that game 14-13, Limas Sweed would get run out of town. He would be the new Neil O’Donnell. It’s easy to forgive and forget when you win anyhow and everybody is feeling good now. But had we lost 14-13, stop and think about what we would be writing now.

All that said, I still believe his mistakes can be overcome. He is good enough to have gotten that open in the first place. He sees Hines blocking and tries to emulate. He did come back and make a key third-down catch. All in all, I am looking forward to having this guy. Great things could lie ahead.