IX-Teams in the National Football League are notoriously secretive regarding injury situations and some teams much more so than others. (Think the New England Patriots under the Bill Bellicheck regime). The Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike Tomlin have been what you could categorize as secretive much of Mike Tomlin's era and at a minimum you could categorize them as being "vague" regarding players injuries. (Think the mysterious Limas Sweed "non-football" related issue last season.) So, while is shouldn't be surprising to read the Pittsburgh Tribune's article on Troy Polamalu's knee injury last season, it was actually incredibly surprising and scary. Troy's qoutes in the article are very troubling including the following quote:
"If it didn't heal correctly, I guess maybe I would have needed surgery, and if I would have needed surgery, it would have been career-threatening."
X-After the Steelers signed former Virginia Tech defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor and listed him as a fullback many of us BTSC'ers were quite confused especially considering that no evidence could be found that Taylor ever was a fullback or had any experience at the position. Well luckily the Pittsburgh Post Gazette shed some light on the situation with a short profile on Demetrius and the fullback position as it is currently used in Pittsburgh. I have sincere doubts that Taylor will end up on the active roster, but he could be an interesting player at 6 foot, 270 pounds lining up in the backfield.
XIII-Michael mentioned this morning that he is very lucky to have Dale Lolley aboard for his 2nd annual Maple Street Press "Pittsburgh Steelers Annual." Lolley seems to have his pulse to the Steeler organzation as well as Ed Bouchette and Jim Wexell many times and tends to be a bit more candid, certainly more so than Bouchette. His blog NFL from the Sideline is one of my favorites especially during off-season workouts and training camps. He also takes the time to answer many of the comments posted on his blogs and multiple times the information he relays in those comments is more insightful than anything you will be able to get in the Post Gazette or Tribune Review. Anyways, here is a link to his initial mini-camp thoughts.
XIV-It's never a bad time for a video of someone getting tasered; especially when it is a Philadelphia fan. (I guess we can all wish it was a Baltimore Raven's Fan (Cough, Cough: Mr. Malor). Here is an article on the incident; and video after the jump. Any thoughts on whether the staff should of tased the intruding fan?
XL-Ken Laird of ESPN 1250 took a look at the roster battles after the first mini-camp concluded this weekend and some surprise players could be on the outside looking in according Laird including special teams aces Anthony Madison, Patrick Bailey, and Andre Frazier along with an uphill battle for younger players like Kraig Urbik, Tony Hills, and all-pro world beater Isaac Redman.
XLIII-Our friends over at Bleeding Green Nation, the SBNation site for the Philadelphia Eagles has an interesting discussion on the state of the Dallas Cowboy's offensive line, specifically related to their age. In their breakdown they go over the entire starting offensive lines for all 32 teams and the Steelers have the 10th youngest line in the NFL (this is assuming that Maurkice Pouncy gets the start this season). It's an interesting tid-bit for a line that has long-been criticized considering they looked much improved last season and could certainly be a highlight in the 2010 season if they can play well together under new O-Line coach Sean Kugler.