Tree of Life

23 Jan

Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor faces surgery on thumb

published in category: Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 – 1:16 pm

Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor will undergo surgery on his left thumb Tuesday.

Taylor broke his thumb on the second play of the Steelers` 16-7 loss to the Redskins last Friday night.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that he expected Taylor to miss two to three weeks. Tomlin was evasive after practice today when asked if that timetable has changed or if Taylor will have to wear some sort of cast after he is cleared to practice.

Taylor called the injury a "freak accident." When asked if he will be ready for the Steelers` regular-season opener in Baltimore, Taylor said, "I don`t know. I`ve got to wait on the doctors."

Taylor has been one of the Steelers` most durable players, and it will be a surprise if he isn`t ready for the Sept. 11 opener.

"Ike`s a warrior," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "He`s going to play."

In other injury news, rookie running back Baron Batch is scheduled to have surgery on his left knee Wedneday.

Batch tore his ACL last Wednesday in a non-contact injury.

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Posted in Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

23 Jan

Bruce Arians Announces his "Retirement" by Dominic Errico

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 – 10:22 am

Well Steeler fans, many of you have gotten your wish.

Bruce Arians announced his "retirement" from the position of offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I use that word lightly because there are a lot of indications that the Steelers ownership wanted a change to be made.

During his tenure as OC, the team went to two Super Bowls and won one of them. He was also the wide receivers coach from 2004-2006 which coincided with the 2005 Super Bowl championship run.

Were the Steelers an offensive juggernaut under Bruce Arians? That depends on your definition of the term. Under Arians, Ben Roethlisberger posted two 4000 yard passing seasons. We saw six 1000 yard receiving seasons, Mendenhall hit the 1000 yard mark twice and we saw a 1000 yard season out of Willie Parker in 2007.

That yardage did not always equal success on the scoreboard. The Steelers never ranked higher than 9th in the NFL during any of Arians six seasons. Conversely during that time frame New England never ranked LOWER than 8th in scoring even when Tom Brady was injured for almost the entire season.

No one can dispute that the Steelers are usually able to move the ball up and down the field. It's the redzone playcalling that leaves many Steeler fans scratching their heads. Calling a delayed handoff when you are in the shadow of your own end zone and taking a safety is simply infuriating.

Pounding the ball at the one yard line makes sense. Giving it to Mewelde Moore instead of Isaac Redman does not.

Now that Arians is gone the focus will shift to who will replace Arians as OC. Some names have popped up immediately. The leading internal candidate was running backs coach Kirby Wilson, but he remains hospitalized trying to recover from the horrible burns he suffered in a house fire before the Denver game.

Quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner might earn a promotion if he has a strong rapport with Ben Roethlisberger, but if you promote from within you run the risk of falling into the same trap or running the current offense. I think it's pretty clear the Steelers need to move in a new direction, especially with all the weapons they now have on offense.

If we look outside the organization we see names like Todd Haley and Jim Caldwell. Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements is now likely out of the mix with Packers OC Joe Phillbin taking the head coaching gig in Miami. Clements should earn a promotion to run the Packers offense.

I like Todd Haley. He did a lot of great things with the Arizona offense that basically carried an 8-8 wild card team to within a few minutes of upsetting the Steelers in the 2008 Super Bowl. If you upgrade the offensive line a bit, I think this offense would have an easy chance of being a lot more explosive than that Cards team. Imagine how much Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace could improve with a teacher like that.

Jim Caldwell I'm not as fond of. In my opinion, Peyton Manning ran that Colts offense, not his coaches. The Colts completely fell apart offensively without Peyton in the lineup. I think that shows how strong of a quarterback Manning as well as provide an indictment of how poor the coaches were. New England hardly missed a beat when Tom Brady was lost for the season a few years ago.

Regardless of who the pick is, there is a lot of strong potential for this Steelers offense. Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace are superstars. Heath Miller is one of the most underrated tight ends in the game.

You also have strong veteran presence in Hines Ward and Jerricho Cotchery if they decide to return to the Steelers next year. Add in Emmanuel Sanders who continues to show improvement and that is a lot of weapons in the passing attack.

Also look at Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman and the pieces are in place for a solid running game as well, perhaps if the new OC decides to use a fullback we'll see immediate improvement.

No matter what though, many Steeler fans have gotten what they wanted.

I just hope they don't come to regret it.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

20 Jan

Statement by Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin on Bruce Arians

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, January 20th, 2012 – 11:19 am

Bruce Arians has informed me that he will retire from coaching. I appreciate his efforts over the past five years as the team's offensive coordinator and for helping lead our offense to new heights during his time with the Steelers. I am grateful to Bruce for contributing to our success and wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

20 Jan

Khem Birch Needs to Grow Up by Dominic Errico

published in category: College Sports on Friday, January 20th, 2012 – 10:31 am

So let me get something straight. Khem Birch calls his former Pitt teammates "self-absorbed" but is upset that they didn't respect him because he was an "All-American?" It's all well and good to exceed at the high school level, but once you move up to the college ranks and don a uniform for your new school, none of that matters anymore.

Maybe if Birch stopped being such a prima donna because he wasn't getting enough playing time and worked on improving his skills he would have gotten the playing time he craved. Maybe if he had taken the time outside of practices and games to be part of the team socially, he would have seen that these guys are a team and want to win together.

Jamie Dixon doesn't seem to care about egos. If you play for him you know it is all about the team. That's why I find Birch's comments about the team being self-absorbed to be laughable.

I also find it laughable that Birch thought Pitt was going to play a fast uptempo game all of a sudden. Maybe in a year or two as all the new recruits began to mesh together, but this year was always going to be the style of basketball Pitt fans have been accustomed to during this run of success.

Don't get me wrong, every player wants the numbers. That's why we compete in sports. We want to shine. No one wants to be the worst player out there. Birch wants to standout but I'm not sure he's willing to do the hard work. His former prep coach said that Birch didn't like the physical play in games and of course we all know when the going got tough, he quit on the team.

I think the best part was the fact he didn't even seem to know he'd lose some eligibility by transferring to UNLV. Who the hell is advising this kid? It's probably family members who have been feeding his attitude since he was a kid. "You're better than everyone else. It's not your fault, it's theirs."

It's not easy to go from being the top dog and it's obvious Birch wasn't ready to handle the adversity. It's just a shame he has to lash out at those he abandoned and try to tear them down just to make himself look better. That shows an awful lot of immaturity.

Unfortunately these days a lot of people seem to be lacking the work ethic that used to define this country. Everyone wants to take shortcuts. Everyone wants to be handed a six figure wage fresh out of college. No one wants to pay their dues or do the grunt work.

I don't even think Birch grasps the situation either. In an interview earlier this week he was asked if he had any regrets about quitting on Pitt midseason and he flat out said no. He doesn't think he did anything wrong. What do you expect from someone who goes by @MTLsGift. Yeah everyone is blessed to have this gift in their lives.

Time to grow up Khem…

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Posted in College Sports

 

17 Jan

Kris Letang Close to Returning by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 – 8:41 am

Seemingly lost in all of the concussion talk involving Sidney Crosby is the recovery process of Kris Letang who has missed 20 games due to a concussion.

Now, it appears #58 is ready to make his highly anticipated return to the Penguins. Multiple sources have confirmed that Pens GM Ray Shero has openly stated that Kris Letang has been cleared to play and will undergo a few practices before possibly returning as soon as this week. While Sidney Crosby remains the obvious top story, maybe the the focus should be on Letang. After all, the Penguins have proven that they can win without Crosby (at least in the regular season) as long as they have Staal, Malkin and Fleury.

And Letang.

Since Letang's injury, the Penguins are 9-11-0 and have moved from the top seed in the East to the eighth seed. The reason? Obviously the injuries to Michalek, Staal and Crosby haven't helped, but the biggest problem is the lack of a playmaker on the blue line. Statistically, it hasn't been close. Despite playing in 20 less games, Kris Letang still leads all Penguins defensemen in points. While Matt Niskanen and Paul Martin are capable of being puck moving defensemen, neither of them possess the shooting ability nor the creativity in the offensive zone. Martin, especially, has allowed too many odd-man rushes due to his ill-timed and poorly executed pinches on the offensive side.

And then there's Brooks Orpik who BADLY misses Kris Letang, at times. Orpik has recently picked up his hitting which is the basis of his defensive ability. However, it has become noticeable that he has been uncomfortable moving the puck out of his own zone. With a system that functions on puck control, Orpik needs Kris Letang, a player he has been paired with in the past.

Overall, the Penguins looked to be trending upward. With the news of Kris Letang on the cusp of returning, along with Sidney Crosby visitng Dr. Carrick to relieve his dizziness, the Pens could get on a streak before going on a run after the trade deadline. While it is still too early to predict if, much less when, Sidney Crosby will return, it looks as though Penguins fans will have Kris Letang back on the Penguins' blue line sooner rather than later.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins

 

16 Jan

Patriots-Ravens: Which is the lesser of two evils? by Dominic Errico

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers, Wrestling Reality on Monday, January 16th, 2012 – 10:42 am

Steeler fans are used to rooting passionately against the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.

In terms of AFC teams, there is no bigger rival than the Ravens, although the Patriots led by Tom Brady are pretty close.

It's safe to say most Steeler fans were hoping the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans could pull off upsets in their divisional round matchups against these hated foes, but it wasn't in the cards.

So now we're left with the ultimate no-win scenario for Steeler fans. Do you root for the division rival you despise with every inch of your soul or do you root for Tom Brady? Gatorade Bath (Harbaugh) vs. Spygate (Belichick)?

This should be a question in the popular party game "Would You Rather?" Would you rather see the Baltimore Ravens get over the stigma of being unable to perform in the playoffs or would you rather see Tom Brady's smiling face mugging for all the Super Bowl reporters? Maybe this time he won't laugh if the Giants also make it and predict a low scoring affair.

So who will The Voice be rooting for in the AFC Championship game? This might not be the answer many of you are expecting, but I am going to root for…

I think I need to pick the….

Give me a minute here. This leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I'm pulling for the…

…Baltimore Ravens.

I cannot stand cheaters, and from the moment the Spygate scandal came to light, I could never respect the Patriots again. For all the talk of how Belichick was some kind of coaching genius, it loses a ton of luster when we find out he had to cheat to give himself an edge.

The hatred for the Ravens is born from the fact that Baltimore and Pittsburgh are two teams that play football the way it is supposed to be played. Hard hitting, tough, physical football.

We hate Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata, and Ed Reed with a passion but only because they are a division rival. I admire the fact there's another team in the NFL willing to play this style of football.

Granted, they need to learn a little humility and act like they've won something recently by not dumping Gatorade on their coach after a regular season victory.

Plus, look at the silver lining in this matchup. At least one of them is guaranteed to lose next week.

I've met a lot of Baltimore football fans from my days announcing for the Erie indoor football team. Baltimore was one of their big rivals for a few years and those guys love their football as much as Pittsburghers love the game. You have to respect that.

Doesn't mean I have to like it.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers, Wrestling Reality

 

13 Jan

Pitt's Losing Streak by the Numbers by Daniel Dudley

published in category: College Sports on Friday, January 13th, 2012 – 3:54 pm

Pitt's Losing Streak by the Numbers.

After being embarrassed by Rutgers 63-39, (fewest points scored at home since 1950) on Wednesday night, the Panthers are in danger of having a season to forget.
Pitt (11-6, 0-4), has lost their fifth straight game, their longest losing streak under head coach Jamie Dixon. And with the schedule they have coming up, I wouldn't bet on the losing to stop anytime soon.

Here are some interesting numbers to look at from Pitt's five game slide:

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Posted in College Sports

 

13 Jan

Should the Steelers Trade Mike Wallace by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, January 13th, 2012 – 8:52 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers head into the 2012 offseason with some major decisions on the horizon. After another 12-4 record, the Steelers were bounced from the first round of the playoffs. While they played well enough to be the number 1 defense in the league, the team was left with more questions after the season than before the season.

One of their biggest questions involves re-signing Mike Wallace who is a restricted free agent this summer. In his first eight games of the season, Wallace was unstoppable catching 43 passes for 800 yards and 5 touchdowns. Two of his touchdowns came on passes of 81 yards and 95 yards. However, down the last half of the season, Wallace was constantly double covered which led to Antonio Brown's emergence as the first player to have a 1000 yards receiving and returning.

Wallace is one of the top receivers in the game and, at age 25, he's only going to get better. His explosive speed is a natural gift while his route running has improved over his first three seasons. With the prime of his career still in front of him, Wallace has a chance to make a lot of money in the offseason.

But, here is the problem.

The Steelers, as it stands, are almost $20 million over the salary cap.
Some of the best receivers in the league (Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson) make $10-15 million per YEAR.
Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders will be restricted free agents after next season.
Pittsburgh also has some holes at other positions that need to be addressed. Casey Hampton just had his second ACL surgery of his career while Chris Hoke had neck surgery a few months ago. Both players are in their mid-30s and they both play nose tackle. Hampton already saw his decline season in 2011 and if he needs time to rehab, not only is it going to be impossible to get him into game shape but he'll likely be ineffective as a starter.

While Hoke's contract is up and he is expected to retire, Hampton may want to come back. But, with $5 million still counting against the cap, would the Steelers be able to afford him? And if they did bring him back would he really make a difference? If you thought the rushing defense was bad earlier this year, just wait until next year if the Steelers have to rely on Steve Mclendon.

The Steelers also have to address the middle linebacker position as James Farrior may also retire in the offseason. If that is the case, then either Larry Foote takes over for Farrior or Stevenson Sylvester gets a crack at the starting lineup. Foote will be 32 in June while Sylvester hasn't shown enough that he belongs in Dick Lebeau's system.

The Steelers also need a left tackle since Max Starks went down with a torn ACL as well. Ben was constantly getting pounded to start off the first month of the season. It was only until Max Starks showed up that he started finding ways to injure himself by not throwing the ball away (too soon?). Starks will be gone giving Willie Colon yet another chance to start at Roethlisberger's blindside. Since Colon has barely played the last two seasons, it is hard to predict whether or not he can stay healthy for a full season. Also, throw in the fact that Chris Kemoeatu will likely get cut and you have more holes at the O-line with very little money to spend on fixing them.

So where does Mike Wallace fit in all of this? As a trade piece:

Stay with me on this. Trade Mike Wallace for a first round pick and use both picks to shore up the defense.

At 6'5, 350 lbs, Memphis' Dontari Poe fits the perfect mold for a nose tackle and he could instantly replace Casey Hampton (assuming he lives up to his potential). Then, with your second first round pick, select either Dont'a Hightower from Alabama or Vontaze Burfict from Arizona State. Hightower was the captain to one of the greatest defenses in the last 50 years of college football, while Burfict has been touted as the greatest player to come out of ASU since Terrell Suggs in 2003. Since Burfict has a history of taking stupid penalties, the Steelers would probably err on the side of caution and take Hightower who, theoretically, could be the better player.

Selecting both players instantly turns one of the older defenses in the league to an extremely youthful defense; well, in the front seven, anyway.

The Steelers can then turn their sights on finding more offensive linemen, a runningback and maybe another late-round wide receiver. At the same time, Antonio Brown slips into the wide receiver spot, Emmanuel Sanders moves into the second spot, and Jerricho Cotchery becomes a reliable pass catcher in the slot. While the offense would miss the big play ability of Mike Wallace, maybe the trio of Brown, Sanders and Cotchery will make them gameplan for shorter, higher percentage completions which will also give Heath Miller the chance to make an impact as a pass catcher.

I know, the idea seems insane. Really? Trade away one of the best wide receivers in the game? What would Ben do without a flashy wide receiver who can catch 80 yard bombs?

Probably the same thing he did in the 2008-2009 season.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 



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