They play at the beginning of the game when they are introducting the Steelers? It is the one that starts with a bass drum beat and then the electronics kick in.  anyone know the name or the artist? I'd like to find it on I tunes if it is available.  Definitely a song that gets you pumped up.  It is getting to be like steeler weather outside today and hopefully stays nice and cold for the game sunday.

Specifically, Palm Springs area?  I'm heading out there for vacation and might try to go to a sports bar for either one of the last two games. 

Great game yesterday!!! Can't count out #7 at all.  Maybe we're evolving into a team that can't grind out a lead late in the game by running the ball but one that other teams fear if our o gets the ball late in the game.

Game ball goes to either Timmons or Fox for some big heads up plays at crucial times. 

Hi all,

I wanted to revisit a post I made about a month ago looking at the average sacks per game on Ben and look at the 5 up front over that time and where we've gone in the draft and free agency over those years.

2004--2.3 sacks per game

2005--1.9 sacks per game

2006--3.1 sacks per game

2007--3.1 sacks per game

2008--3.2 sacks per game

Now I want to cross reference those seasons with the o-line and their selection in the draft (some of these folks--Hartings, Mahan, Hartwig--obviously were not drafted by the Steelers, I just show in which round they were drafted) and who the Steelers took in that draft year for o-line

2004--Smith (2nd round), Faneca (1st round), Hartings (FA, 1st round) , Vincent (undrafted) , Ross (5th round)/Took Starks in 3rd round, Lacy in 6th

2005--Smith (2nd round), Faneca (1st round), Hartings (1st round), Simmons (1st round), Starks (3rd round)/Took Essex in 3rd round, Kemo in 6th

2006--Same starters as above/Took Colon in 6th, Philip in 7th

2007--Smith, Faneca, Mahan (FA, drafted in 5th), Simmons, Colon (6th)/Took Stephenson in 6th, Stapleton signed as undrafted

2008--Smith, Kemo (6th), Hartwig (FA, drafted in 6th), Simmons (1st), Colon/Took Hills in 4th

I know that they say protecting the qb is the job of 11 men, but can we take issue that the 2005 1.9 low average and an o-line of 2, 1, 1, 1, and 3 round picks is better than a 2008 3.2 average and an o-line of (now) 3, 6, 6, undrafted, and 6?  There has to be something there.  Add to that that three of the picks the Steelers used on o-line--Lacy, Philip, and Stephenson--are not with the team any longer. 

Now look at total rushing yards in terms of where the Steelers ranked in the league:

2004--2nd in league, 2464, 4.0y/a

2005--5th in league, 2223 yds, 4.0 y/a

2006--10th in league, 1992 yds, 4.2 y/a

2007--3rd in league, 2168 yds, 4.6 y/a

2008--20th in league (as of today, 751 yds)

While the sack total has gone up, the rushing yds per attempt have as well.

Is our o-line better suited to running the ball?  If so, does that mean we should go back to a traditional I formation and even find a fb?  Is our offensive philosophy--whether it comes from Arians or handing it over to Ben more--ill suited to our personnel?  Thoughts?

OK, nothing too groundbreaking here, just trying to step back and allow us to speculate on what could be the cause(s) of the uptick in sacks since 2004:

Based on sacks per regular games started

2004--2.3 per game

2005--1.9 per game

2006--3.1 per game

2007--3.1 per game

2008--4 per game thus far (eagles game obviously skews this)

I know that the coach is fond of the "it takes 11 guys to protect the qb (and he is including the qb in this number, so we don't get an extra protector)".  But there must be some explanation:

Ben got slower after accident on motorcycle in June 2006

Super Bowl hangover means everyone is still slower

O-line coaching (but 2007 same as 2006 numbers)

O-line changes (rt and rg different in 2005, center different in 2006 and 2007, rt different in 2007, lg different in 2008)--not counting fill ins like starks' time at lt for part of last season

Ben getting more control of the play calling and protections in 06(?) 

I can't pinpoint one or two causes, so I'd love to hear opinions.  I just don't want our franchise qb having to be scraped up off of the turf this season or in the future

Just on a whim, I went here and saw this article (and I just read for the articles!)

http://www.maxim.com/BenRoethlisbergerisJustanOrdinaryGuy/articles/40391.aspx

Good work, though I don't think many people are rubbing shoulders with steel workers or coal miners in bars much anymore around here anymore, but if it adds to the mystique, why not?  Good article portraying him as sort of the anit-Brady and anti-Manning.  Can't wait to see him for a good half tomorrow.

Willie Colon said the linemen are more receptive to Larry Zierlein's coaching than they were a year ago, and that could translate into a more cohesive unit.

Colon, who will try to fend off a challenge by Starks for the starting job at right tackle, said the departure of seven-time Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca via free agency allowed Zierlein to assert his control over the linemen.

Faneca and Zierlein had some history prior to last year, as the latter coached the former for two seasons when they were at LSU in the 1990s. And Colon said Faneca did anything but try to sabotage Zierlein in the coach's first season in charge of the Steelers' offensive line.

Couple of points:

I had never heard Zierlien coached Faneca before (I must have missed that one).  Were they unfriendly then?  Or was this just a product of Grimm not getting the head coaching gig?

I'm not sure how much weight I give to Colon's comments--is he just blowing smoke?  I know that Faneca was not happy with the Tomlin choice and that he was close with Grimm, but sabotage? 

Any thoughts?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_561456.html

I dunno.  The Pirate Parrot dealt drugs in the 1980s.  The Penguin mascot brawled with Van Damme in sudden Death.  Even the Ingots tried to take out Buddy Dial.  Are the Pierogies' noses clean?  Now we have rationale for hating on mascots in the burgh.  

Bumped from the Diaires. Cool little package of info from nervesofsteel about Big Ben's record against the rest of the NFL. Hint: It's very good.

-Blitz- Big Ben's ready to start his 6th NFL season. With five seasons under his belt, he's completed the NFL battery.  With the way the NFL schedule rotates now, it takes 4 years to play every team in the league (each season playing your own division, another AFC division, an NFC division, and two games based on record) and Ben is now ready to start again with the NFC East like he did his rookie year.  

Mildly interesting stuff if you'd like to peruse:

2004. NFC East, AFC East, AFC North, Jags, Raiders
      
2005. NFC North, AFC South, AFC North, Pats, Chargers
      
2006. NFC South, AFC West, AFC North, Dolphins, Jags
      
2007. NFC West, AFC East, AFC North, Broncos, Jags

REGULAR SEASON ONLY--55 games started, 9 games handled by Maddox or Batch not counted
7-0 vs Browns
6-2 vs Bengals
3-2 vs Ravens
2-0 vs Dolphins
1-0 vs 18 clubs
1-1 vs Chargers and Jets
1-2 vs Pats and Jags
0-1 vs Colts, Cards, and Raiders
0-2 vs Broncos

Only team Ben has yet to play is the Packers, started by Batch in 2005.  Other starts by Batch or Maddox have come against teams Ben has played at some other point (Browns (1), Jags (1), Raiders (1), Bills (1), Ravens (3), Dolphins (1))

40 wins, 15 losses (winning % of 727%)

Not bad at all--winning records against all the teams in our division, losing records to teams in the upper eschelon of the NFL (excluding Raiders, Cards, Jets) and he beat the Broncos and Colts when it counted the most

at the age of 78.  Loved turning down the tv to listen to the cope.  I was born in '74 so I don't remember alot of the glory years, but Myron could get you fired up.  My all time favorite call was his in a game in 1997 when the Steelers came back to beat Baltimore and it was kicked off by a reverse that Will Blackwell ran back.  Someone won season tix for life from that play and Cope was just going nuts.