Several Steelers Look To Set League and Franchise Milestones in Week 14

by Neal Coolong on Dec 3, 2011 12:00 PM EST

Individual milestones don't have any specific effect on the outcome of a game, says most players and coaches.

It's hard to imagine, though, they don't serve as a source of pride for the team.

If that's the case, the Steelers are very likely to be a proud bunch in Sunday's Week 13 game against Cincinnati.

A slew of Steelers offensive players look to top individual milestones Sunday. Most notably, WR Hines Ward needs just nine receiving yards to become the 19th player in NFL history with 12,000 receiving yards. That's more than Hall of Fame WRs Michael Irvin, Don Maynard and Lance Allworth.

He trails Houston's Derrick Mason by 70 yards for 18th all time, and is currently has the third-most receiving yards among active receivers (Atlanta's Tony Gonalez is first with 13,093 and Mason has 12,061).

Fellow WR Mike Wallace needs 61 yards to break the 1,000 yard mark for the second consecutive season. He currently has 931 yards in 11 games this year, meaning he needs another 468 yards in Pittsburgh's final five games to break Yancey Thigpen's 14 year old club record. His 1,257 yards last year was the seventh-highest total in team history.

TE Heath Miller needs five catches to break Elbie Nicke's 54 year old team record for receptions by a tight end. If Miller gets those five grabs, he will have gotten to that mark in 104 games. Nickel did it in 131 from 1947-57.

With 15 more completions, QB Ben Roethlisberger will break Terry Bradshaw's team record of 2,025. Roethlisberger also needs to be sacked two more times to set the franchise high in that category as well.

OLB LaMarr Woodley needs two sacks to become the franchise's sixth player to get 50 career sacks. If he gets that Sunday, he will have done it in just 69 games - or, 44 games faster than James Harrison, who's currently the fastest to get to that mark (113).

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great...

Post neal, u just gave me my 5 steelers to watch……bring on the bungles!!! Oops I mean bengles….dambed word checker!!!! Lol

by moonsteeler on Dec 3, 2011 12:15 PM EST via mobile reply actions

great...

Post neal, u just gave me my 5 steelers to watch……bring on the bungles!!! Oops I mean bengles….dambed word checker!!!! Lol

by moonsteeler on Dec 3, 2011 12:15 PM EST via mobile reply actions

damit.....

Bengals

by moonsteeler on Dec 3, 2011 12:20 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Roethlisberger also needs to be sacked two more times to set the franchise high in that category as well.

I could live without this

"I think every quarterback should believe they’re the best. Do I think there are better quarterbacks than me? Possibly. But would I take anyone else with the ball in their hands at the end of the game? I don’t think so." - Ben Roethlisberger-

by Mini Hulk on Dec 3, 2011 12:27 PM EST reply actions

My thoughts precisely.

I’m hoping we’ll give it a miss.

"If you're not getting better, I don't care what business you're in, you're a dead man. I try to look critically at the mistakes that I make and try to learn from them, like our team does." - Mike Tomlin

by Rebecca Rollett on Dec 3, 2011 10:38 PM EST up reply actions

Woodley

That is a crazy stat, I guess Harrison got game credits before he was a starter but for him to be the fastest and Woodley break it by 44 games, that’s unbelievable!

by SteelCity G on Dec 3, 2011 12:55 PM EST reply actions

Yeah

That is an amazing stat. With all the great LB’s and DL in Steelers history, it’s hard to believe nobody has gotten to that mark in fewer than 113 games. Who has the most sacks in Steelers history?

by NW86 on Dec 3, 2011 1:40 PM EST up reply actions

jason gildon with 77

by TomlinsPuffyJacket on Dec 3, 2011 2:16 PM EST up reply actions

Hines Ward and Michael Irvin

When Hines Ward is on the 2017? Hall of Fame ballot, expect lots of nonsense about his numbers not being the same as other receivers from the 1990s onward. There’s a certain segment of fans who turn sports statistics into some kind of mathematical equation, and just don’t see the whole picture. For example, one blogger on Pro Football Reference actually tried to suggest Vinny Testaverde should receive HOF consideration based on some formula he put together. Nonsense, Testaverde only had a few good seasons in his long career, and both of us will have to buy tickets to see the Canton museum.

Back to Ward. In some respects, Ward has similarities to HOFer Michael Irvin. Both players are the all time receiving leaders for prestigious franchises. Both excelled in the postseason, and helped their teams win multiple super bowls. Neither receiver had quite the numbers of other great receivers.

Differences were the fact Ward didn’t have a HOF caliber QB throwing to him until 2004, while Irvin had Troy Aikman. Ward was the better blocker, while Irvin the better deep threat. Also, Ward will finish with roughly 1000 receptions, while Irvin had “only” 750. And we have to consider Ward had the disadvantage of playing outside in a northern climate, while players like Irvin, Carter, Moss, Harrison, Brown, etc. did not.

Bottom line, Ward will eventually get into Canton, because voters do look beyond the numbers.

by SteelStealth on Dec 3, 2011 1:47 PM EST reply actions

Wards receiving numbers are fine. Going into last season there were 15 players on the all time receptions list ahead of him. 14 of those players needed more games to reach the mark Ward was at that point, & the only one who got there faster was….

Jerry Rice.

The Ravens are pus*ies compared to the Steelers. - Peyton Hillis 2010

by malaki on Dec 4, 2011 12:01 PM EST up reply actions

like to see Wallace just have a big game

it has been awhile, I know that he is being covered closer and that is why a guy like Brown is getting more grabs. also like to see Ward have a better game than recently

Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all

by Rickfansince76 on Dec 3, 2011 3:33 PM EST reply actions

WHO'S BRIAN COE?WHY DID I GET A SARCASTIC MESSAGE RE THE BTSC POOL?

Someone named Brian Coe emailed me regarding the BTSC football pool with the following sarcastic garbage: “So you not only get zero for forgetting to make your Thursday night pick, but also get a point taken off your overall total? Really??? That’s weak.”

I have never heard of a Brian Coe. What an ignorant shitbag clown!

Brian at brian_coe2002@yahoo.com I do not know who you are or who you think you are, but I am a very very very busy man running two businesses.

I was unable to get onto the CBS BTSC pool sometime around Week TWO or THREE long long ago. Why would you be writing such sarcastic crap to me now? Why do you care and can you please forgive me? Thank you very much.

Loathing the Habs with every fibre of my being since 1963.

by Pyramid Power on Dec 3, 2011 4:44 PM EST reply actions

Chill out

It was a group message that everyone in the pool got. Brian (no idea who that is btw) was complaining about the system, not attacking you personally. Read “one gets” instead of “you get” and it makes more sense. Took me a while to figure that one out too

by Simonsen on Dec 3, 2011 6:22 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

We're certainly competitive in the BTSC Pool...

I was going to pen a sarcastic response to Mr. Coe here, but considering I don’t know where any of this came from, I figure it’s better that I don’t.

Follow me on Twitter

by Neal Coolong on Dec 3, 2011 7:47 PM EST up reply actions

hahahah

by klompus on Dec 4, 2011 5:54 PM EST up reply actions

Here's Hoping...

That Ben doesn’t break the sack record (during this game, at least)
Here’s also hoping that the current starting O-line config has a chance to play some games together and gel some.
If not, Ben’ll break that record (and hopefully he’ll break just a record, and not some part of his body that hasn’t already been broken) sooner rather than later.

Bound to cover just a little more ground.

by Steeliver on Dec 3, 2011 6:19 PM EST reply actions

How about a milesone..

Mendy running for 100 yds vs an AFCN opponent?

A man is innocent untill proven guilty...Even if it's Ben Roethlisberger!
'I rather have a German division in front of me than a French division behind me'..General George Patton
" I don't care if he has two horns and a tail, as long as he is anti-communist"..General Douglas MacArthur..
"The way to end our dependence on foreign oil is to keep our tires properly inflated"....B. Hussein Obama
"Government is not the solution to our problems, it is the cause of them" Ronald Wilson Reagan..40th President of the United States

by nycsteelerfan on Dec 3, 2011 7:01 PM EST reply actions

That would be sweet.

by Rebecca Rollett on Dec 3, 2011 10:39 PM EST up reply actions

Hines

The one big remaining stat is the 1000 Reception plateau. That one has some cache with HoF voters. Ultimately, I don’t think he will need it, because the argument for him is: how can you leave out the Steelers all time leader in receiving, who outpaced Swann and Stallworth… And was a superbowl mvp. Plus, he was one of those guys so good at what he did— like LT, like Deacon Jones, like Mel Blount— that they had to change the game around him.

That said, 1000 is still 15 receptions away. That means three catches per game the rest of the way. I do expect him to heat up for one last good day… Something like 6 for 100. Think Bruce will throw him at least one screen per game … Maybe that explains the screens vs KC?

by Steelzombie on Dec 3, 2011 7:09 PM EST reply actions