BTSC Steelers Daily Six Pack- Case of the Mondays Edition
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Apr 6, 2009 3:40 PM EDT
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PrintIX- Byron Leftwich was asked to win one game last year and he did that for the Steelers in Week 9 against the Washington Redskins. Now the Redskins are sniffing around Leftwich to compete for their number two spot. NFL teams love to sign guys that have burned them in the past, Wes Welker is a great example. Bill Belichick said he watched him burn him twice a season for a few years and decided he would be a perfect fit for their team. The reason Mike Tomlin signed Allen Rossum was because he had returned a kickoff for a touchdown against one of his former teams. It's an interesting trend and it's possible that Leftwich could squeeze into the starting lineup in Washington with the newly unhappy Jason Campbell.
X- Twelve Steeler starters will be free agents after the 2009 season, and seven of those twelve will be 30 years or older. The only consolation could be the extra effort that players tend to display during a contract year might give us a scary looking team that has it's sight on a third Super Bowl victory in 5 years.
XIII- The dates and times for the pre-season match-ups have been finalized for those fans that are planning on attending the four exhibition match-ups. It looks like only one of the four games will be nationally televised, so all of us out of market fans will have to rely on the excellent commentary from BTSC.
XIV- Steelers running back coach, Kirby Wilson is hosting a non-contact football camp at L.A. Southwest College in June for middle school and high school students' in grades six through twelve.
XL- Cornerback is one area that the Steelers will certainly be targeting during the draft, but depending on which players are available we could take one as early as the first round, or wait until later in the draft for a player that might take additional time to develop. Steel City Insiders goes over the top CB prospects in this years draft with insight on who the Steelers' covet and who might be available.
XLIII- Blitzburgh Blog has a post about Larry Foote and they think he is the most unsung talent on the Steelers roster. My favorite guy who gets little publicity is newly re-signed LB, Keyaron Fox. What player on the current roster or from the past do you think was or is the most unsung of his team?
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Good six pack 'Shake!
I’ll give you two unsung guys from the 70’s:
On defense safety Mike Wagner. I think he was a “glue guy” who held things together and helped everyone else play better.
On offense guard Sam Davis. Steady, reliable, never really remember him missing games. His trapping and pulling sprung Franco on many a run.
Face Me, Baby
Ike Taylor. He may not be "un"sung, but he is definitely undersung. This guy is the reason the Steelers can play the way they do. When you have a corner that can man up on another team’s #1, guys like Troy P, Ryan Clark, and James Harrison are free to do what their thing. Without Ike, the Steelers would need to change their scheme to account for star receivers.
I don’t need to remind you how frustrating the days of DeWayne Washington and Chad Scott were. Even with a formidable pass rush, the defense was never dominant with either of those guys as the primary corner (even Deshea did not perform well covering the other team’s #1).
Ike catches flak because he can’t catch. But that’s not what he’s asked to do. He’s asked to shut down top receivers, not make highlight reels or All Star teams. In another system, Ike might be able to play aggressive on curl routes and make 6 picks a year and get burnt thrice a game (a la the Cromarties). Instead, he does what is asked of him. And, he’s actually understated for a corner. Most corners are divas who celebrate and pout like the WRs they cover. Ike just waves that hand in front of his face (excluding that one terrible personal foul he incurred this year).
by CarlWeathersMustache on Apr 6, 2009 5:36 PM EDT reply actions
Unsung player
For the record, Keyaron Fox would have been our second choice. He was oustanding this year.
In the end, Foote’s been around a little longer and has still never received much attention. We thought it was his turn, he’s put in the time and is as sure of a thing as they come.
Bam @ Blitzburgh Blog
Unmentionables
I’ve done a few posts about unmentionable players (those who rarely get mentioned). Kiesel was the first. William Gay was the second, though he’s certainly been mentioned since McFadden left.
Anyway, Foote is another who deserves more notice. I would add that he has the best sack dance on the squad. His foot stomp is simple, apropos, and just the right amount of insulting to the other team. It looks way better than Woodley’s awkward karate-kick-that-might-be-a-sumo-squat.
speaking of LBs
Look at this sick arsenal. Our starting 4 may be set, but i would say we have some competition for back ups and special teams. I’m anxious to see what some of these dudes grow into behind the fantastic 4.
James Harrison = NFL Defensive Player of the year
LaMarr Woodley = could be next year’s DMVP
James Farrior = leader of our #1 D
Lawrence Timmons = or is this next year’s DMVP
Larry Foote = just makes plays man
Keyaron Fox = special teams demon
Patrick Bailey = Steelers Rookie of the year
Andre Frazier = special teams beast
Arnold Harrison = don’t forget about this guy, solid contributor in 06 & 07
Bruce Davis = verdict still out, but allegidley hand-picked by Tomlin and ready to go in 09
Donovan Woods = did something to make the team with all these dudes, good athlete
Don’t forget these guys that they have probably already found:
LB UDFA #1: Another solid find by the FA to compete in camp with Bailey, Woods, etc. ST standout in pre-season, hits like a monster.
LB UDFA #2: Great as a ST gunner, able to drop into coverage very well in pre-season.
Look for unnamed #1 and #2 to push the lower rungs of the steelers LB arsenal to perform.
Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.
How about...
Ryan Clark? This guy put a hurtin’ on players last year. If you were a wide receiver coming across the middle you had better have your helmet screwed on tight. Troy Polamalu gets all the attention (and deserves it) but Clark plays football like a Steeler should play football….Balls to the wall, sacrifice your body, punish your opponent and he does it all rather anonymously.
Ok, this is not to give you guys crap or stir up controversy, just tellin the truth here dealing with a Steeler. No joking around.
Ok, so one of my good friends’ brother currently lives in Miami. I regularly keep in touch with him and at around 1:30 am last night, he gives me a call. It is rather loud at first and I had a hard time making out what he was saying. But it gets quieter and I finally here this….
“Lawernce Timmons, the Linerback for the Steelers, is in this club right now that I am in. He is in VIP section with all his crew smoking weed.”
This was repeated to me multiple times. Just letting you guys know the inside scoop on your team. Better hope a picture does not emerge from this. No BS either guys.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Wow, I’m totally going to root for the ravens now. The steelers are good-for-nothings, and the ravens players…I hear they are practically angels.
Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.
Hey, I didnt post this to give you guys crap
Dont you want to know when your players are being bad?
(I feel a ray is a murderer coming from someone soon)
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
You posted out of the goodness of your heart to inform us of this ever dire situation. Thank you.
Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.
meh
I’ll worry when there’s proof. I know plenty of Raven haters who if they saw Suggs at a club from a distance in a VIP room smoking something they’d immediately assume it was a doobie and tell everyone how awesome the Steelers are for not having those kind of guys.
Now if he gets caught with this, i’ll be annoyed. And I’m sure the Steelers would suspend him accordingly for one game. Then we’d move on.
by Chicago Steeler on Apr 7, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Unsung Steelers in the 70s
I will go with Teo Bell. he and Sheel were awesome on special teams. The Steels had great special team play in the 70s a aspect of the game many over look.. Teo and Donnie were great gunners for them…
I was thinking of Theo Bell too
He was a reliable punt returner as I remember. Didn’t take many of them all the way, but he never seemed to get less than 7-8 yards and always made the first one or two guys miss.
FYI on the lewis murder thing!
give it up man he was framed. The other 2 guys that got arrested with him got off completely and they had public defenders… he just was forced to sign up for a obstruction charge and pay a heavy fine so he could get out to play ball.
I am very aware that he did not do it
I said that comment because it seems that the only thing most steelers fans have to say these days is that Ray Lewis is a murder and you all beat us 3 times.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
So basically you read this post as:
IX: Ray Lewis is a murderer.
X: Ray lewis, lewy, ray-ray, the lew-lew lew-lew,murderer.
XIII: Baltimore. Three times. Beat.
XIV: Ray-Ray, thug, felon, anti-hero.
XL: Beat baltimore twice in regular season, once in playoffs.
XLIII: Ray-ray, still a murderer.
I am impressed with your ability to read between the lines.
Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.
Correction
All steelers fans have to say to us Ravens fans has to deal with Ray and beating us 3 times. I say something like Woodley is not better then Suggs. Most responses I get is “RAY MURDERED TO PEOPLE! GET BEAT 3 TIMES!”
Not necessarily you cause you are a well thought out fan, but a lot of these other low lifes.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2009/4/6/824964/all-afc-north-defence
Good point, all I hear from Chicago Steeler, NYSteelerFan, and Steeler_ are “RAY MURDERED! BEAT BALTIMORE”. Bunch of low-life, classless jerks.
Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.
Please dont make me go through the archives over at our blog for 2 hours
I could show you possibly 30 plus comments where the words Ray and Murderer are used in the same sentence.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
most of the are made by Steelguy99...won't take too long
hahaha
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Apr 7, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Switching the subject
I want to get back to item IX in the original post, the Byron Leftwich situation. Word from the FO seems to be that the Steelers would be willing to keep both Batch and Leftwich, assuming the latter doesn’t receive an attractive offer to go elsewhere. That gives us 4 quarterbacks for presumably 3 roster slots. Unless they try to convert Dixon to a wideout, it seems like Batch has the least upside (on the field) of Ben’s 3 understudies. Does anyone know what the rules are regarding moving from a coaching position to the active roster? Charlie Batch is such a valuable guy—good in the locker room, great in the community, smart mentor for a young QB like Dixon. Could they keep him around as a coach and/or scout, but activate him in an emergency if one of the others goes down?
we had discussed this earlier on i believe..
The conclusion we came to with no hard facts was that it probably doesn’t violate any current rules, but that is would be nearly impossible because a coach wouldn’t have nearly enough practice reps or be in the type of shape that it takes to play football. The major problem I see would be the contract situation, the Steelers would have to offer him a contract and it would be fully guaranteed, plus his coaching contract would also probably be active…
I think its a long shot, Batch will either be with the team as a player or a coach, but I doubt both.
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Apr 7, 2009 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Jason Campbell...
seems to be using the trade speculation concerning him to work harder and make himself a better QB. Gotta be a fan of the young man for that…
As far a “unsung” players are concerned,let’s go pretty far back. Don’t know about unsung…..but if Fu would have had Rich Erenberg’s heart,he’d be a Hall of Famer…
+1
Good call on Campbell. That guy has been nothing but class his whole career.
by Chicago Steeler on Apr 7, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions
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