Tree of Life

06 Oct

Tomlin updates injuries and talks kicker change

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday, October 6th, 2015 – 1:13 pm

Tomlin previews the game vs. the Chargers. Updates on injuries. Explains kicker change. Ken Laird, Josh Taylor and Tim Benz with reaction to Tomlin Press Conference. Tuesdays on TribLIVE Radio are brought to you by Walnut Capital Real Estate Services serving your real estate needs in Pittsburgh and surrounding counties with a combined 28 years of experience. Susan Gill and Kevin Dolney of Walnut Capital Real Estate Services are here to help whether you’re a property owner, investor or first time buyer. Looking to buy, sell or lease residential or commercial property? Walnut Capital Real Estate Services is just the right fit for you. Call them at 724-861-0800.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

06 Oct

Dupuis injured for Pens

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday, October 6th, 2015 – 12:24 pm

Dupuis will be out 4-5 weeks for Pens. Pirates vs. Cubs at PNC Park Wednesday night at 8pm. Bengals, Steelers and the AFC North. Brought to you by Invisible Fence Brand creating happier homes where pets can safely play in the yard out of danger.

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Mark Kaboly joins Ken Laird and Guy Junker to talk about Ben Roethlisberger possibly coming back soon? Martavis Bryant being back brings the deep threat for Mike Vick.

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Brought to you by Duffy’s Beer and much more in Pleasant Hills! Your South Hills headquarters for beer, pop, snacks, vapes, home brewing supplies and all your party and tailgating needs for this week’s game!

Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

05 Oct

Stillers 365 and Around the NFL

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, October 5th, 2015 – 2:39 pm

Stillers 365 brought to you by Mr. Rooter Plumbing with 24\7 Emergency Service, by Mr. Magic Car Wash and by By Garland Insurance- At Nationwide. Josh Taylor goes around the NFL with Russell Baxter.

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The Steelers signed free agent kicker Chris Boswell.

Boswell was with the New York Giants for the team’s 2015 offseason and training camp. He spent one week of the 2014 season on the Houston Texans’ practice squad. Boswell originally signed with the Texans as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Rice on May 16, 2014.

To make room on the roster, the Steelers released kicker Josh Scobee.

Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

05 Oct

Pirates vs. Arrieta

published in category: College Sports on Monday, October 5th, 2015 – 12:44 pm

The Pirates have a date with Jake Arrieta on Wednesday, as they will face off against the Chicago Cubs in the infamous Wild Card game. As we know, this will be the Pirates third straight Wild Card appearance and they currently hold a 1-1 record in the previous two. Anything can happen, right?
The task ahead will be a difficult one as Jake Arrieta has channeled his inner Bob Gibson since the beginning of June. Just for a little perspective, the Cubs are 20-3 since Arrieta started on June 4 and his ERA in that span is a miniscule 1.21. Over the past two months, his ERA sits at a historical 0.41 ERA. What is even more fun is that his ERA against our beloved Pirates is 0.75 in five starts. But enough about the numbers, we get it, Jake Arrieta is good. How on earth are the Pirates going to beat him in a one game playoff?

Get to him early
In the four starts in which Arrieta has given up four earned runs (the most he’s given up in a start this year), at least two runs were scored in the first three innings. Arrieta has also walked 11 batters in the first inning, more than any other inning this year. Be patient early, as nerves will present in this do or die game. If they don’t want this game to come down to the bullpens, the Pirates must strike early. Getting an early lead would be crucial to calming down not only the fans, but loosening up the players a little bit. Jake Arrieta has pretty much cruised all year and hasn’t face much adversity. If he gets down early, he very well could be different pitcher.

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Eye for an Eye
What a lot of people are forgetting about this game is that the Pittsburgh Pirates have a premier ace as well. Gerrit Cole has been phenomenal this year and has been great against the Cubs, holding a 2.13 ERA in four starts and striking out 11.4 per nine innings (the most against any team he has faced this year). Cole has pitched in the postseason. In the 2013 NLDS, Gerrit shut down the Cardinals in Game 2 then lost in Game 5. He knows the intensity and potential heartbreak of pitching in the postseason that Arrieta has not yet experienced. If the Pirates offense can’t put up some runs against Arrieta, Cole is will have to shut it down and make it a bullpen game.

Andrew McCutchen
The pride of Pittsburgh must come up huge in this game. McCutchen is batting .348 off of Arrieta in his career and .333 against him this year. He has had by far the most success against the Cubs’ ace this year as Neil Walker is the only other Pirate hitting higher than .200 against him. Its obviously going to take more than McCutchen to do damage against Jake Arrieta but it is essential that he be a primary source of the offense.

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Don’t Try to Kill the Ball
The last time the Pirates faced Arrieta, they almost didn’t get a hit. Throughout the game, many hardy cuts were taken and the Pirates had 13 swings and misses. Arrieta struck out nine batters through seven innings and the rest was history. The Pirates must focus on staying short to the baseball and making contact. Odds are they are not going to take Arrieta deep as only one Pirate, Pedro Alvarez, has a career home run off of him. It was an inside-the-park home run.

Get Lucky! (Or Play Defense)
Baseball is a funny sport. Crazy things can happen. Maybe Arrieta throws the ball over his first baseman’s head. Maybe Cueto drops the ball. One thing is certain. For the Pirates to get the lucky breaks, they must play solid defense. Sadly, that may be harder than actually getting to Arrieta as the defense has been shaky all year. It will be interesting to see what lineup Clint Hurdle goes with Wednesday. Will it be focused towards offense or defense? Whatever the lineup may be, the Pirates MUST play sound defense to win this game. If they can play solid defense and catch a break here and there, they Pirates will find a way to win this game.

Prediction:
More than likely, this game will be close all the way until the end. More than likely, this game will low scoring. That is why baseball and sports in general are so great. You can’t really predict anything. I mean, look at the AL this year. Only the Royals return to the playoffs this year from last. Therefore, my prediction will be off the wall. The Pirates will win this game 11-9 in a slugfest. Pedro Alvarez will hit a go-ahead two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning after Joe Maddon chose to stick with Pedro Strop rather than going to a lefty. Ironically, that home run will save Alvarez after his huge error that allowed the Cubs to score two runs earlier in the game. The Buccos will then go on to win the World Series.

Posted in College Sports

 

05 Oct

Pitt Defense leads team to big road win

published in category: College Sports on Monday, October 5th, 2015 – 10:39 am

PantherLair Postgame Show-Pitt gets big road win over Virginia Tech. Coastal Division looks even more winnable now. Good, bad and ugly plus three key plays from the game.

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GAME STORYLINES
• Pitt looks to build on its 3-1 start when it hosts ACC Coastal Division foe Virginia this Saturday. The Panthers are back at Heinz Field following three consecutive away games. Pitt completed its road swing with a 17-13 victory over Virginia Tech in its ACC opener.
• The Cavaliers visit Heinz Field with a 1-3 mark. However, their three losses are to teams with a combined 12-3 record (UCLA, Notre Dame and Boise State). Virginia defeated Pitt last year, 24-19.
• A win over Virginia would give Pitt its first 4-1 start since the 2009 season. The Panthers have opened with a 4-1 record five times in the past 15 seasons. Since joining the ACC in 2013, Pitt has never won its opening two league games.
• The Panthers enter the Virginia contest with 699 all-time wins. A victory over UVA would make Pitt just the 19th Bowl Subdivision team to achieve 700 all-time wins.
• Pitt boasts one of the country’s most productive defenses. The Panthers own national top-5 rankings in quarterback sacks (second, an ACC-best 4.25 sacks/game), rushing defense (fourth, 71.3 yards/game) and total defense (fourth, 243.8 yards/game).
• With their seven sacks at Virginia Tech, the Panthers now have 17 through four games. In comparison, the Panthers had only 19 sacks in 13 contests last year.
• Twelve different Pitt players have been in on sacks this season. Senior defensive end Ejuan Price paces the team with three sacks followed by senior linebacker Nicholas Grigsby with 2.5.
• On the other side of the ball, Pitt features a viable All-America and ACC Offensive Player of the Year candidate in receiver Tyler Boyd. The junior leads the ACC in receptions (8.7 avg.) and receiving yards (91.3 avg.) per game. Boyd is the nation’s active career leader with 6.52 catches per contest.

Posted in College Sports

 

05 Oct

Pirates vs. Cubs Wednesday night

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, October 5th, 2015 – 10:21 am


Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

02 Oct

Steelers Coaching Decisions in loss

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, October 2nd, 2015 – 11:24 am

Steelers lose to Ravens in OT. Scobee misses two kicks, lots of questions on play calls and coaching decisions. Did Vick play well enough to win? Was offensive gameplan too conservative? Why did Bell not get the ball more in short yardage situations?

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TEAM
• The Steelers are now 21-18 against the Ravens in the regular season in their series history, including 12-8 at home.

• The Steelers are now 7-7 against Baltimore in primetime games in the regular season.

• Pittsburgh is now 9-6 against Baltimore at Heinz Field in the regular season since the stadium opened in 2001.

• The Steelers are now 5-2 against the Ravens in the month of October and 3-2 at home in October against Baltimore.

• Pittsburgh is now to 8-8 all-time on Thursday Night Football, including 6-2 at home.

• The defense matched a 2015 single-game high with 5.0 sacks (Sept. 20 vs. San Francisco).

• The Steelers are 425-273-2 during the regular season since 1970.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin
• Is now 84-48 during the regular season, including 48-18 at home.

• Is now 8-9 all-time against Baltimore the regular season, 5-4 at home.

• Is now 33-16 against the AFC North all-time during the regular season and 19-6 at home against the conference.

• Is now 22-9 in the month of October as the Steelers’ head coach and 13-3 at home in October.

QB Mike Vick
• Made his 112th career start and first as a Steeler and completed 19-of-26 passes for 124 yards with one touchdown for a passer rating of 95.7 and rushed for 33 yards on nine attempts.

• Threw his first touchdown pass with the Steelers to WR Darrius Heyward-Bey from nine yards out in the third quarter, his 132nd career touchdown pass.

Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

02 Oct

Steelers squander chance to bury Ravens by Brandon Walker

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, October 2nd, 2015 – 9:30 am

The Baltimore Ravens notch their first win of the season Thursday right as they defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-20 in overtime. Justin Tucker made a 52 yard field goal with 5:13 remaining in the overtime. The Steelers (2-2) turned the ball over on downs in Baltimore territory on each of their overtime possessions and Josh Scobee missed field goals of 49 and 41 yards in the 4th quarter. The second miss with just over one minute remaining in regulation enabled Joe Flacco to lead the Ravens (1-3) on a 7 play 58 yard drive to set up a 42 yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation. The Ravens scored the game’s last 16 points and outgained the Steelers 356-263, won the time of possession 37:43-32:09 and gained 21 first downs to the Steelers 17.

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It seems like neither team looked like they wanted to win the game. The second half featured missed field goals by the Steelers, a fake field goal attempt by the Ravens and questionable play calling on fourth down by both teams. I feel that Coach Tomlin lad lost faith in Josh Scobee after the two missed field goals and he felt like he needed a touchdown to win the football game and that is why it can be rationalized that he would go for the first down. However the play calling especially on the last play of the first drive in overtime when he sent Alejandro Villanueva out wide and tried to run the wildcat was almost reprehensible. That being said I thought Michael Vick played an efficient, but not spectacular game with going 19 for 26 for 124 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions.
The difference in this game was the Ravens defense in the second half. Baltimore allowed 87 yards and no points on the final seven Steeler possessions after they gave up a touchdown which was set up by Flacco fumble at the Ravens 26 yard line. The defense stepped up despite the Steelers having good to excellent field position in the fourth quarter and in overtime. Also Joe Flacco did not have his best game (20-33, 189 yds. 1 TD, 1 INT), but he made the throws when he absolutely had to make them. Justin Forsett rushed for 150 yards on 27 carries and Baltimore rushed for 191 as a team after averaging only 72 yard per game in their first three games. Although the Steelers did have trouble with the run, but they played a decent game on defense with collecting five sacks and forcing two turnovers on Flacco. However, as the second Ravens possession of the second half proved that the defense still has a long way to go when it regards with consistent execution especially while they are not at full strength on offense. Flacco made it look a little too easy on that six play, 80 yard drive.

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Injuries
• Ravens WR Steve Smith Sr. left the game in the fourth quarter with a back contusion and did not return
• Steelers WR Markus Wheaton left the game with a right angle injury but did return
Facts
• Forsett’s 150 yard rushing total is the second most by an opposing running back against the Steelers under Mike Tomlin. Arian foster ran for 155 yards for the Houston Texans in 2011.
• The Ravens allowed a 100 yards rusher for the first time in 29 games when Lavion Bell rushed for 129 yards
• Antonio Brown’s streak of 35 straight regular-season games with at least five catches and at least 50 yards ended Thursday night when he finished with five catches for 42 yards.

Next
Ravens: vs Browns 10/11 1:00 CBS
Steelers: at Chargers 10/12 8:30 ESPN

Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 



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