08 Jan
published in category: Ike Taylor, Sports Talk Radio on Tuesday, January 8th, 2013 – 10:16 am
Just e-mail sportstalk@tribweb.com with Ike in the subject headline and your name and address in the body of the e-mail. Don't forget to listen to the Ike Taylor Show every Tuesday at 2pm.
07 Jan
published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, January 7th, 2013 – 11:20 am
After 113 days of no NHL, hockey is back as the NHLPA and NHL have reached a collective bargaining agreement. The deal is for ten years with the option for both sides to opt out after eight seasons have been played. Of the changes that have taken place the main points are; revenue sharing between players and owners will be a 50-50 split (down from 57-43% in favor of the players), a lower salary cap (down about ten percent from $70.2 million this year to $64.3 million next year), and a maximum contract length of seven years (eight if the player is resigning with their current team).
All of these numbers are great and everything because what they really mean to NHL fans is that hockey is back. There are however some winners and losers that come from this new CBA.
1) Ten year agreement- The fans and laborers directly involved with the NHL season are the true winners here. Ten years is twice as long as the last CBA and will give long term security to those who rely on the hockey season in order to make a living i.e. the vendors, ushers, ticket takers, security guards, etc. who work at the arenas. With the sporadic nature of how Gary Bettman was announcing the cancellation of games it was nearly impossible for those responsible for scheduling arena events to make up for the games that were no longer going to be played.
2) 50-50 revenue split- The owners got the upper-hand here. Last year the NHL reported earnings of nearly $2.9 billion. Many fans I've spoken with simply say what's the real difference between 57 and 50%? The NHLPA should just take the deal and get back to playing hockey. In this case the real difference between 57 and 50% is around $203 million.
3) New salary cap- The players are the losers here, especially those who are nearing the end of their current contracts and in the incoming draft class. With a lower cap there will be less money available to resign players therefor salaries will gradually decrease across the league.
4) Seven year max contract- The players do win this one. Reports coming from New York during the negotiations were that the league was very serious about limiting the maximum length of new contracts to five years.
I wouldn't go as far as saying that all is hunky-dory between the two sides but they seem to be getting along well enough to finally start playing in the same room again. That being said I am exceptionally excited about the prospect of hockey being back. Although it was never truly gone completely I must admit waking up a couple days ago at 8 a.m. to catch the U20 Championship game between the United States and Sweden was a little odd to me (now I know how west coast football fans feel).
So, what does all of this mean for the Pittsburgh Penguins? Currently both the Penguins and NHL websites do not have a schedule posted; however the CONSOL Energy Center ticket office site lists Friday, January 18th versus the Montreal Canadiens as the "season opener" so read into that what you will. A short season for the Penguins seems to be an exciting proposition. After falling flat in the post season the last couple years maybe a short season will fit in well with the play-style and age of the team. At an average of 28.2 years of age the Penguins are the 7th oldest team in the NHL. Last year's Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings were right around the middle of the pack in terms of average player age ranking 18th out of 30th however their opponents, the New Jersey Devils, were the oldest team in the league on average. Examining the new CBA as it pertains to the Pens down the road suggests that keeping some key free agents may be a difficult task for GM Ray Shero. Of the 23 players on the current roster 19 will be some type of free agent within the next two years. Most notably after the 2013-2014 season Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Brandon Sutter, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, and Matt Niskanen will all be free agents. With the salary cap dropping it will be interesting to see which players will end up staying with the team for the long term. This is a potentially worrisome notion but for now there is one thing on my mind: IT'S HOCKEY SEASON!
References:
http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/21176/breaking-down-the-nhls-new-cba
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/04/18/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NHL-revenue.aspx
http://www.capgeek.com/penguins/
http://www.quanthockey.com/TS/TS_AverageAge.php
http://www.pittsburghticketsales.com/consol-energy-center-tickets.php
02 Jan
published in category: Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 – 9:02 am
It's safe to assume most, if not all, Steelers fans are happy to see 2012 come to a close. In a span of 12 months the Steelers lost to Tim Tebow in the wild card round of the playoffs, then went 8-8 missing the playoffs altogether the following season.
Unfortunately, 2013 doesn't look promising either.
For starters, the offense is going to take a step back. Mike Wallace, despite is inconsistencies, is a deep threat because of his speed. The Steelers will certainly miss that aspect, especially since Emmanuel Sanders proved he's nothing more than a fringe slot receiver. Meanwhile, Heath Miller will miss a significant amount of time due to his knee injury and the fact that he's not Adrian Peterson.
Rashard Mendenhall will be gone, forcing the Steelers to use Ike Redman and Jonathan Dwyer. How'd that work out this season? The Steelers could draft a running back but, the draft is very shallow at that position. Without a feature back in the game plan, it really wont matter who is healthy on the offensive line.
Todd Haley might be gone to fill a head coaching position and while many Steelers fans would be happy to see him leave, the offense would have to learn a completely new system under a new offensive coordinator, the third in three years.
With no running game, no Pro-Bowl tight ends, a wide receiving core that features a 36 year old, and a new offensive coordinator, how in the world is Ben Roethlisberger going to 1) stay upright and 2) lead his team to the playoffs?
Then there's the defense.
Casey Hampton will be an unrestricted free agent as soon as the season concludes. If he re-signs, he'll be 36 years old by the first week of the 2013 season. If he leaves, that would leave Steve McLendon as the starting nose tackle. Unfortunately, McLendon is too tall (6'4) and too "thin" (280 pounds) to be a run-stuffing nose tackle. And Alameda Ta'amu clearly isn't ready to take over that position. With an aging Brett Keisel and a doormat nicknamed "Ziggy", the defensive line might be in serious trouble come September.
As for the linebackers, Lawrence Timmons had a solid season after getting off to a slow start. It looks like he is starting to become one of the best inside linebackers in the game. Larry Foote will be 33 in June although that really doesn't matter at this point. Foote was excellent for most of the season and he should be just as good next season, assuming he re-signs.
After Timmons and Foote, the linebacker situation is a train wreck.
James Harrison will either re-sign for less money or he'll be gone. Either way, the Steelers aren't getting the same player they had four years ago. Harrison has chronic back and knee problems which affected his ability to rush the passer this year. He'll be 35 in May so it might be time to move on. Unfortunately, none of the second string players (Jason Worilds, Chris Carter) are any good, so the Steelers might be forced to bring back Harrison assuming he wants to take less money and fit under the cap.
LaMarr Woodley went from Gregg Lloyd to Kendrell Bell in the span of two seasons. Woodley was given $60 million to rush the passer and be a game-changer. Instead, he's constantly hurt and completely ineffective. There have been a lot of warranted questions raised about his conditioning since he seems to have hamstring problems all the time. Of all the defensive players, Woodley is the biggest key towards pushing this defense in the right direction.
The secondary is going to take a hit as well. The Trib's Alan Robinson tweeted earlier today that Keenan Lewis will test free agency, citing that the Steelers took too long to negotiate with him. I guess Lewis didn't get the memo that multi-year deals are handed out AFTER a team sees you play well, not before. At any rate, Cortez Allen could fill that starting role and probably do an OK job as a cover corner. But the secondary just got a little thinner with Lewis's departure.
It's interesting to hear so many people talk about how "old" Troy Polamalu is when he's only 31. Ironically, fans expect Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor to return without any issues despite being two years older than Polamalu. The bottom line is, both safeties are past their prime and the Steelers top cornerback is entering his 11th season coming off of an ankle injury.
Obviously this is all speculation and there's nine months between now and opening kickoff of the 2013 NFL season. The Steelers still need to go through free agency and the draft before molding their best squad of 53 players. My take may be viewed as pessimistic but it's more realistic than expecting this team to go out and win 11-12 games next season.
Happy New Year.
30 Dec
published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, December 30th, 2012 – 6:59 pm
PLAXICO BURRESS TD ICES GAME… HOW ABOUT HIS FUTURE WITH PITTSBURGH?
"We'll see how it goes," Burress said after the game when asked about his future with Pittsburgh. "I'm pretty sure I'll sit down with Kevin [Colbert] and Coach [Tomlin], and we'll see what happens. I understand this is a business but for myself I'm going to keep working hard and preparing as if I'll be back somewhere."
Burress played six games with the Steelers in 2012, but was inactive for the team's two pivotal games against Dallas and Cincinnati in Weeks 15 and 16 before returning to grab a touchdown in a meaningless Week 17. Burress said he had no regrets.
"All I can do is prepare," Burress said. "I don't look back on the past couple of weeks or anything like that. I have the utmost respect for Kevin Colbert and Coach Tomlin and then decisions that they make. I was just trying to support my guys as best I could. I know I can still go out and do some good things, play some good football, get on the football field and stay healthy. I still feel that I can run and do some things pretty well, so we'll see."
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he was impressed with Burress' progress since joining the team in late November.
"We'd love to have everybody back, because you develop a friendship and these guys are teammates," Roethlisberger said. "If he's back, that'd be great. He's got plenty of game. You could really see it start to come back. Every week he kept getting his legs back. He was playing really good football."
Burress' touchdown with 3:20 remaining in Pittsburgh's win over Cleveland put the game out of reach at 24-10. For Plaxico, it was a vintage red-zone catch.
"It was nice, it was fun," said Roethlisberger. "They kind of double [teamed] him every time we got down there, but that time they didn't. I tried to look the linebacker off and big body down there made a good catch. He got inside the corner and he's a big target so I could kind of put it anywhere. I threw it up high and he made a play."
"They pretty much told me early in the week that I was going to go out and get some reps," Burress said. "I was just trying to get the defender on my back. He was kind of sitting in the throwing lane where we wanted to throw the ball, kind of on a sharp slant, but Ben just put it up in a place where I could get it and it was a great throw. I wasn't going to let it go, that was for sure. It just feels good to get into the endzone since I haven't been this whole season. It feels good."
CHEAP SHOT
Early in the second half of Pittsburgh's 24-10 victory over Cleveland, Browns DT Phil Taylor sent Steelers RT Kelvin Beachum out of the game with a concussion on a blindside hit, well away from the play where RB Jonathan Dwyer was on the ground after a 12-yard run.
Taylor was a marked man for the rest of the game and the teams squared off several times after whistles with pushing and shoving.
"You know I don't like to say negative things about people," Steelers LT Max Starks began afterward. "It was a cheap hit on Kelvin [Beachum] today. Actually [Taylor] tried to hit me earlier in the game but I saw him out of the corner of my eye and kind of slowed down so he just chipped me. Kelvin, it was a blatantly cheap play. [Dwyer] was on the ground, and he went and blindsided [Kelvin] late. That's something we just don't go for, especially this late in the year. That's just uncalled for and that's just classless. From that point forward we just stayed ahead of the curve."
"That was just uncalled for so it sparked a little bit more in us," running back Issac Redman said. "That's why you kept seeing a little pushing after the whistle. When you don't got nothing to play for and you're the type of person that guy is… he just has no morals. Even his own players were like, 'I don't understand that.' That's a cheap shot, that's not what this game needs. I really look down on him for that."
Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey was in the middle of several scrums the rest of the way, but was actually the most forgiving of Taylor.
"He got a hit in on Beachum, man, that caused him to go out of the game," Pouncey said. "From there, guys were trying to protect their buddies and going after him a little. It's ball, man, sometimes guys slip up and make mistakes but I'm pretty sure he'll apologize. The NFL will deal with that and be tough on him."
THE END FOR HAMPTON AND FOOTE?
They've been teammates on the Steelers defense, one year aside, since 2002. Both are upcoming unrestricted free agents.
Longtime friends and co-workers, NT Casey Hampton and LB Larry Foote spent plenty of time walking and talking together during both pre- and post- game time at Heinz Field as the 2012 Steelers season ended with a 24-10 victory over Cleveland.
"I tried to get in the zone there a little bit," Foote said. "A lot of good times. A few bad times but a lot of good times. Hopefully it ain't the last time."
Although Hampton wouldn't admit to getting emotional.
"No, man, that's Foote," said Hampton. "We were just hanging out enjoying it. That's my dog."
Will they be back together in 2013?
"I'd love to be back, ain't no question that I want to be here," Hampton said. "That goes without saying. I want to be here, but we'll see. I played alright, man, fought through injuries and just did what I could do. Defense ended up pretty good. At the end of the day we didn't get to the playoffs or do what we wanted to do, but defensively we played pretty good."
Both Hampton and Foote played all sixteen games on the year, with Foote taking extra responsibility with a starting role in place of the retired James Farrior.
"I was healthy," Foote said. "Early in the season, the defense was probably bottom 20 [in the league], I couldn't sleep. My mind was just saying, 'Farrior. Farrior. It's my fault!' But other guys backed me up and we got this thing to number one [yardage against]. From an individual standpoint, I've been healthy and put some good film out there, so I'm pleased."
Pressed as to whether he thinks he'll be back, Foote trended towards a 'Yes.'
"I'm saying 'Yeah' because we finished number 1, I'm healthy, and I played good," Foote said. "But they make think something else, you never know. Me being 32 and me loving this place and I tried somewhere else before and it didn't turn out too good. The ball's in the Steelers court without a doubt, but things just have to add up and make sense. If they want me back, they'll bring me back. No, you know upstairs they keep it professional and we're supposed to do the same. So I'm quite sure in a month or so they're going to come up with a plan. If it was my choice they'd bring us all back, especially on defense. We were the number one defense in the league. Kevin Colbert, he knows how to run the team better than me. It was fun. It's going to end one day, hopefully it's just not today."
HOW ABOUT MAX STARKS?
Technically, Pittsburgh Steelers LT Max Starks didn't play every single snap in 2012 for the team.
"Does field goal unit count?," Starks asked with a laugh. "Because I didn't play it for like the first nine weeks of the season."
However, almost 1,100 snaps of offense are in the books as Starks played all 16 games this year following ACL surgery in January.
"I finished off every offensive snap," Starks finally declared. "It's been a blessing. Adrian Peterson isn't the only one that has a strong ACL and can finish strong. When you look at where I was six months before training camp going in, having surgery on the 20th and then reporting in camp and starting the third preseason game… it was a long road but well worth it. It was a great opportunity and God truly blessed me with an opportunity to be able to play every snap this year."
Starks admitted earlier in the week that he may be forced to sign elsewhere this offseason, with the Steelers having drafted offensive tackles in the second round each of the last two years. However, Starks said he didn't get too misty-eyed thinking about it during the team's 24-10 season ending win over Cleveland.
"No, I had some grass stains left on my socks, so I saved a part of Heinz Field in case I do go," Starks said as he laughed again. "I've had nine years, I have a lot of memories here. So it wasn't anything that made me want to savor it extra long. But it's been a great run if this is the end of it here in Pittsburgh. It's always good to go out with a victory. We didn't want to finish below .500 which we haven't done in nine years. I'm very happy about that. Also, it was Cleveland. You never want to get swept by Cleveland. It was a good feeling to finish out. It didn't finish the way we wanted it to, but it was a good exclamation point to the end of the season."
Pressed on whether he thinks he'll return to Pittsburgh for a tenth campaign, Starks said it was too soon to say.
"I don't know. We just finished this game, so obviously those things don't happen until March," Starks said. "It's two months until I really figure it out, or close to it before I really know anything. I don't know what the future holds, but I'll prepare for whatever opportunities arise. I'll be ready to see what happens."
STARKS' CRITIQUE
Pittsburgh Steelers LT Max Starks isn't one to break into angry postgame tirades after games or seasons.
However, he has certainly been know to offer thoughtful introspection on why things do or don't work.
The latter was the case after the team's 24-10 victory over Cleveland ended an 8-8 season for the Steelers, as Starks was asked what needed to change going for Pittsburgh's offense heading into 2013.
"You can't have as much uncertainty going into a week," Starks said, speaking on the team's sporadic running game and frequent rotation of backs. "Being more definitive, so to speak, about who your starter is, who your main guy is, and then who are your auxiliary and situation guys. Early on we didn't have that and it was kind by-committee, trying to feel it out. Going into next year, clear and defined roles right after training camp if there's battles and there's a clear cut winner that comes out."
And Starks also jokingly suggested a group change in exercise techniques.
"And also lack of injuries," Starks continued. "We probably need to get more flexible as a team. Might need some yoga and pilates classes, we had a lot of injuries this year. We had the talent, we had the personnel. We just need to be more definitive and more cohesive as a unit."
28 Dec
published in category: College Sports on Friday, December 28th, 2012 – 8:49 am
PITTSBURGH, PA — Auditions for the 2013 Pittsburgh Power SPARKS Dance Team will be at Club One Fitness in Shadyside (6325 Penn Avenue). Following three preliminary audition sessions on January 16, 19 and 20, the finalists will gather on Friday, January 25 at Jergels Rhythm Grille in Warrendale, PA as the 2013 squad will be determined in a 5:00-7:00 p.m. competition that is open to the general public.
The SPARKS perform at each of the 9 Pittsburgh Power home games at CONSOL Energy Center, as well as make appearances at community and sponsor events around the Pittsburgh area. The SPARKS are paid per game and for select appearances, and also receive complimentary gym memberships, tanning, team gear, and other perks. Entering their 3rd season, The SPARKS Dance Team continues to be the perfect balance of technique, beauty, and entertainment! Last season's SPARKS squad was recognized as the top dance team in the AFL in 2012.
The Power will not charge a registration fee for any of the prospective dancers at the tryouts. All participants must be at least 18 years of age (with valid identification). A full list of audition requirements, including suggested attire, can be found at pittsburghpowerfootball.com.
The Pittsburgh Power open their 18-game Arena Football League schedule at home on Saturday, March 23 against the Utah Blaze at CONSOL Energy Center. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.
PRELIMINARY AUDITION LOCATION/DATES
Club One Fitness – 6325 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Wednesday January 16 (6:00-10:00 pm)
Saturday January 19 (12:00-5:00 pm)
Sunday, January 20 (9:00 am-2:00 pm)
The first 30 minutes will be for registration. All preliminary tryouts are closed to the general public.
24 Dec
published in category: College Sports, Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, December 24th, 2012 – 10:05 am
The first annual Three Rivers Classic will start on December 28th and run through December 29th. The tournament will feature four Division I college programs, each playing two games at Consol Energy Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The four programs are Penn State, Robert Morris University, Ohio State, and University Miami of Ohio. We will preview each team throughout the week starting with Robert Morris.
The Colonials enter the Three Rivers Classic on a five game unbeaten streak, the fifth longest in the country. They are 3-0-2 in their last five games with wins at Holy Cross, Ohio State, and Penn State. RMU will face Penn State in the first game of the tournament and although Penn State is in their first year as a varsity Division I sport, the Colonials know the Nittany Lions will be a tough matchup based on their meeting on December 15th.
"'It was an intense, physical, aggressive hockey game that leads well into the first game of the Three Rivers Classic,' Schooley assessed of the 3-2 win at PSU. 'It was a good start to our rivalry as Division I hockey programs.'" (-RMUcolonials.com)
Physical is just the way head coach Derek Schooley likes his hockey team to play. While not a notably big squad, the Colonials will hit and scrap with anybody as evidenced by their nine penalties against PSU.
RMU overcame a 2-1 deficit midway through the game to win 3-2. On paper, the Colonials are a better team, but with a two week layoff the question is, will they maintain their edge and extend their streak to six games?
If they do, it will certainly be with forwards Zach Hervato and Adam Brace leading the charge. Both players lead the team in scoring with twelve points and a combined +14 rating. Meanwhile, goaltender Eric Levine has had a solid season thus far, registering a .941 save percentage and 2.19 goals allowed. He is 4-0-2 in his last six starts.
Despite being 6-4-2 on the season, the Colonials are 1-2-1 at home and considered the hometown team in relation to the three other programs. The winner of the RMU-PSU matchup will face the winner of the Ohio State-Miami of Ohio contest.
23 Dec
published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, December 23rd, 2012 – 5:29 pm
Josh Brown kicked a 43-yard field goal with four seconds remaining after Ben Roethlisberger threw a costly interception for the second consecutive game and the Bengals made the AFC playoffs – and eliminated the Steelers – with a 13-10 victory Sunday at Heinz Field.
The game looked like it was headed to overtime, but Roethlisberger was picked off by Reggie Nelson at the Steelers' 46 with 14 seconds to play. Andy Dalton then hit A.J. Green down the Cincinnati sideline for 21 yards to set up Brown's second field goal of the game.
The Steelers (7-8) dropped their fifth in six games and are guaranteed of at least their worst record since they went 8-8 in 2006. The Bengals (9-6) made the playoffs for the second straight season, the first time they've done that in 30 years.
Last week, Roethlisberger's interception in overtime created Dallas' game-winning field goal in a 24-21 Cowboys victory.
The Steelers' top-ranked defense shut down the Bengals' running game and mostly contained Dalton, but their offense did almost nothing except for a 60-yard Roethlisberger-to-Antonio Brown touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half.
The Steelers will finish the season next Sunday with a meaningless home game against the Browns.
Brown is 8 for 8 for Cincinnati since signing earlier this month to replace an injured Mike Nugent.
19 Dec
published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 – 5:47 pm
MOOD OF THE LOCKER ROOM
Ramon Foster:
"We're just moving on because we control our own destiny still. We have nothing to be down about. We want to redeem those losses that we gave but we can't be down about it. If we go in the tank right now we'll be sitting at home in January."
Issac Redman
"I feel like we're putting everything behind us now. We understand our playoffs start now. With the team that we have and the focus that we have right now, Coach Tomlin said 'this is playoffs.' We're a dangerous team because we're focused like it's the playoffs right now and most teams aren't."
INJURY NEWS
The Steelers gave Wednesday practice off to S Troy Polamalu (preventative veterans' day off), as well as DEs Cameron Heyward and Al Woods (undisclosed non-football related), while limiting T Mike Adams (ankle), CB Keenan Lewis (hip), and WR Emmanuel Sanders (rib).
It's still early in the week, but it feels like Kelvin Beachum will get another start at RT as Adams' is working back to full health.
CB Keenan Lewis was talking as if he'll definitely play Sunday despite falling hard on his hip last Sunday. And fellow DB Cortez Allen was back to full participation as he has recovered from his groin pull.
Running back Rashard Mendenhall also worked through a full practice, but there's no clear indication to what extent he'll be used in the game Sunday. My hunch is he'll dress for sure, but the team will keep Jonathan Dwyer in the starting role with rotating running backs throughout the game continuing.
The Bengals' DE Carlos Dunlap was ill, while T Andrew Whitworth (head), RB Cedric Peerman (ankle), and K Mike Nugent (right calf) were limited in Cincinnati practice.
SANTA PLEX, GRINCH WALLACE
After Wednesday practice, Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress handed out customized team bathrobes to his fellow wideouts, and to his starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"Just showing my guys a little token of appreciation and give them something that they can use around here," Burress said. "Around this time of the year it's cold walking around the locker room. You can wear it here, wear it at home. I got Ben one [too]. I think he thinks it's a blanket, he hasn't opened it up yet. The small guys have the one size fits all, but myself and Ben since we're 6'6" we have them custom made a little bit longer."
Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders were showing theirs off and wearing them around the locker room.
"Big homie Plex bought them for us for Christmas," Wallace said. "Definitely a nice gift. I'm waiting for the money man AB [Antonio Brown] to get us something next. He's got a job to do to top Plax, though. I look like a boss with this on."
Does also Wallace plan on buying gifts?
"Nah, I gotta get some cash," said Wallace. "Those are the guys with all the cash so they get to buy the gifts."
HORSESHOES AND HAND GRENADES
Although the Pittsburgh Steelers ran for only 69-yards as a team in their loss in Dallas last Sunday, they nearly broke a 78-yard TD run from Issac Redman on the final play of the third quarter in a 17-17 contest that would have been in contention for one of the NFL's most impressive runs of the season.
Getting the carry out of a sidecar in a shotgun formation, Redman burst off left tackle where Max Starks had collapsed the line of scrimmage and followed behind tight end Heath Miller who had locked up Dallas OLB Anthony Spencer.
Redman then broke four tackles, finally spinning out of an attempt from Cowboys' CB Mike Jenkins to bring him down as Redman shot up the left sideline. With Miller hustling ahead and having another block set on last defender Brandon Carr, all Redman had to do was stay in bounds and he was likely gone for a score. However, Redman's foot hit the chalk line and the whistle blew, holding the run to 22-yards.
"Man, I can't even watch the play because I'm like 'Come on! If I just stay in bounds,'" Redman said. "It would have been interesting. I feel like my momentum had me going out. I tried to stay in bounds, tightrope it as much as I could but I guess I stepped out. My eyes got so big. They started blowing the whistle I was like 'No! No!' I didn't think I stepped out."
Of course, almost doesn't count.
"That's pretty much the story," Redman said. "Like AB [Antonio Brown's] punt return [and fumble], I feel like that's been the story of the games. Close and almost ready to put it away, or almost could do this. It's tough. The past couple of weeks has been like that."
NOT MALKIN, ATKINS
Pittsburgh Penguins star Geno Malkin is locked out from making plays in Pittsburgh these days, and the Steelers hope to do the same to another Geno. Their playoff fate may depend on it.
According to the website Pro Football Focus, Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins is the best DT in the NFL in 2012. PFF lists Atkins as having 69 quarterback disruptions, ahead of second-place high profilers Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy.
A Pro Bowler in 2011, Atkins has gone from fourth-round draft pick long shot in 2010 to the best in the business in just three seasons.
This week, Steelers LG Ramon Foster will see a lot of him.
"I saw him last game [while playing right guard in our first meeting]," said Foster. "I see him every game we play them, actually. He's a good D-lineman, man. I think he's one of the best if not the best D-lineman in the game right now. You've got to respect that guy, and you've got to really study that guy. You can't go into the game thinking that you're going to take a play off, it's just not possible."
Atkins already has the Bengals record for sacks by an interior lineman with 10.5, besting Dan Wilkinson's 1995 mark. He also leads the Cincinnati coaches' tallies of QB pressures (33) and tackles-for-loss (13). In the first meeting with the Steelers, Atkins had a sack as he bull rushed then-LG Willie Colon into Ben Roethlisberger's lap. He narrowly missed another as Ben slipped his grasp.
"He has a great motor, he's a strong guy with good leverage," said Foster. "You can't be slow to take off on this guy he'll definitely come around and embarrass you. He's coming right off the snap. His leverage, he's down the middle of most guys' chests. Most guards in this league are tall and he's right there with the leverage. You've got to be really balanced with your base in this type of game."
Bengals OT Andrew Whitworth agrees with leverage being Atkins' key to success, coupled with toughness.
"Geno's quick, like most small D-tackles," Whitworth says. "He's a quicker, athletic guy. But the thing that separates him from all others is he has insane exceptional strength. He's a really, really strong guy for a smaller player. That's what takes him to a whole other level. It's hard to deal with a guy who's below you and under you. It's hard to get your hands down there to control him."
All that said, don't expect the Steelers to double-team him the entire game Sunday.
"No, because we get paid in this league too," Foster said. "You're going to have to have him one on one, that's just part of it. It's not like we're going into this game 'we're double teaming this guy.' He's successful on plays, but we are too. You can block a guy for 79 plays but that one play that you give up on him since his name is called for a play it'll look like we didn't do our job the entire game. For him, two tackles and a sack is a great game. I'm not going to say the guy is invincible or anything, it's just you can't take a play off on him."