Author Archives: Steve Alan

About Steve Alan

Steve, known by most as TTF, is owner of TheSteelersFans and administrator of the best Steelers message board on the net. Big fan of strong coffee and hardcore Steelers fan from womb to tomb.

Le’Veon Bell Traveled To Philadelphia On His Own

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As I reported last night, LeGarrette Blount traveled with the team by plane to Philadelphia yesterday. Le’Veon Bell did not travel with the team’s charter, most likely because he was busy having blood work done to be tested for a DUI.

According to Ed Bouchette, and confirmed by other reporters, Bell did later travel to Philadelphia on his own. I wouldn’t really expect to see him suited up tonight, though. Aside from the possible discipline the team may give the pair for yesterday’s transgressions, the team could fine Bell $10,930 for missing the flight to Philadelphia under Article 42, section 1 of the collective bargaining agreement.

Blount Travels With The Team To Philly, Steelers Issue Statement

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After being cited for possession of marijuana today, Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount traveled with the team to Philadelphia. Le’Veon Bell did not travel with the team. The Steelers play the Eagles Thursday night on NFL Network. It’s possible that Bell missed the plane due to reportedly being at the hospital to have a blood test performed.

The Steelers public relations spokesman issued a statement regarding Bell and Blount. “We are aware of the reports and still gathering information,” said Burt Lauten via a release. “We will have no further comment at this time.”

Report: Bell And Blount Cited For Marijuana Possession, Bell DUI

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It is being reported that LeGarrette Blount and Le’Veon Bell were arrested for possession of marijuana today after a traffic stop. Colin Dunlap reports that the two were pulled over by Ross Township police today, and that police found 20 grams of marijuana in their possession. Bell was also cited with DUI according to Dunlap.

The two were in a black camaro with an unidentified woman who was also charged. According to police, they were cooperative. According to AP reporter Will Graves, they were pulled over around 1:30 PM. Police detected marijuana smoke from the camaro, which was operated by Bell. All three in the vehicle claimed possession of the marijuana. Charges will be filed against them through the mail, as the charges are misdemeanors. Bell was taken to the hospital, where he had blood drawn and tested for DUI.

Steelers Sign Brett Keisel To 2 Year Deal, Al Lapuaho Waived

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The Steelers have made yesterday’s news official by announcing the signing of Brett Keisel. The financial terms are not available, but it’s a 2 year deal for Keisel. Keisel will travel with the Steelers to Philadelphia on Thursday, but is not expected to play (obviously).

To make room for the signing on the 90 man roster, the team has waived defensive lineman Al Lapuaho. Lapuaho was signed by the team to a futures contract in January.

Keisel says that he’s been ‘training his tail off’ during the offseason. “It means a lot to be back,” said Keisel (via Steelers.com). “There really is no place like here, no place like home. It was tough, just the unknown. For them to give me the opportunity to come back means a lot to me and I can’t wait to get back to work. I still have a little time to not only get to know these men I am going to go to battle with, but just get back into football stuff. I feel great. I have been training my tail off with the thought that I am going to be back. It looks like all of that training has paid off.”

NFL Practice Squads Have Increased To Ten- Eligibility Rules Change

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The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to expand practice squads for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The current rules will be reinstated in 2016 if an extension to the new agreement is not made.

Starting at noon on August 31st, teams will be allowed to add up to 10 players to their practice squads, up from 8 in previous years. Here’s a breakdown of the NFL practice squad eligibility rules under the current system from the collective bargaining agreement.

To be eligible, a player can not have been on the practice squad for more than 2 seasons.
- A player may qualify for a third practice squad season if their team maintains no less than 53 players on the active/inactive list at all times.
Serving on the practice squad for three or more regular season or post season games constitutes a practice squad season.
A player cannot have an accrued NFL season. An accrued season is comprised of having been on the active list during 9 or more games in a season.

The expanded practice squads add a couple new eligibility rules. First, what constitutes a practice squad season has changed. Instead of the 3 game requirement, it’s now 6. Secondly, the additional 2 players who can be added to the practice squad, may have 2 accrued seasons. This is great news obviously, as it allows so many more players to be added to a practice squad who were not previously eligible.

Practice squad players earn a minimum of $6,300 a week in 2014. That’s $107,100 for a player on the practice squad for the full 17 weeks.
Don’t forget- for a player to be placed on a practice squad, he must first clear waivers.

Steelers Agree To Terms With Brett Keisel

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The Beard is back. The Steelers have agreed to terms with veteran defensive end Brett Keisel according to multiple reports, and Keisel confirmed the news via his Twitter account. According to sources, the deal is expected to be finalized very soon.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/501850676541280256

https://twitter.com/bkeisel99/status/501847963434745856

https://twitter.com/bkeisel99/status/501855180376510465

Reports had Keisel headed to Arizona for a physical earlier today, but Keisel obviously never made it there. Shortly after that news started circulating, it was reported by a Cardinals reporter that Keisel declined the invitation to visit the Cardinals.

https://twitter.com/kentsomers/statuses/501834013364219905

While stories circulated this spring that Keisel wouldn’t play for the minimum, I still expect his contract to qualify for the veteran minimum benefit. For Keisel, that would be a $955,000 base salary, with a $65,000 signing bonus. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if the team offered him slightly more than that though, as there is cap room to allow it.

Steelers Extend RT Marcus Gilbert

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The Steelers have extending right tackle Marcus Gilbert. The financial specifics are not immediately available of course, but the new deal is for 6 years. Sources indicate that the 6 year deal is for $30 Mil. I wrote recently that his deal should be in the $5 Mil per year range. We’ll have to wait to see what the guarantees are, which is all that’s truly important. This extension makes Pouncey and Gilbert both under contract through 2019.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/501832537811853312

Gilbert has had his struggles, but he’s definitely shown improvement since Mike Munchak was brought on board. About the extension Gilbert said via the Steelers website, “It means I am locked in hopefully as a Steeler for the rest of my career. It’s a blessing to work for a great organization, the Rooney family, Kevin Colbert and Coach Tomlin. Just to be around in Pittsburgh, where they show you so much love, I couldn’t be happier and in a better place.”

Gilbert is the only lineman who started every game in 2013.

Several Players Ruled Out Or Questionable For Thursday’s Game

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Coach Tomlin addressed the media this afternoon during his pregame press conference. The Steelers have been fortunate on the injury front so far this summer. Here’s a look at the players Coach Tomlin ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

TE Eric Waters (Concussion)

CB Shaquille Richardson (Lateral Knee Injury)

OL Cody Wallace (Finger Fracture)

LB Jordan Zumwalt (Groin)

Tomlin also listed LS Greg Warren (Knee) and OG Bryant Browning (Dislocated Shoulder). Warren isn’t expected to return until mid-September and Browning was waived/injured yesterday. He has until 4:00 pm today to pass waivers.

Coach Tomlin said they’d leave the light on for the following players, some of whom will be an 11th hour decision.

S Will Allen (Hamstring)

RB Tauren Poole (Hamstring)

FB/TE Will Johnson (Hamstring)

CB Devin Smith (Hamstring)

There were some players whom Tomlin did not name, but said they’d hold “some other guys” out as they do during this time of year.

[Gif] Johnny Manziel Gives The Redskins The Finger

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Rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel added a little Johnny Football class to Monday Night Football tonight. While the cameras were fixed on the Browns QB, Manziel flips the bird to the Redskins sideline. Here’s a gif.

It’s unknown exactly what prompted the sideline salute, but many might view it as improvement over his trademark cash gesture. Perhaps he thought he saw Dan Snyder on the sideline. Kidding aside, no flag was thrown, but the league will surely be sending a fine Johnny’s way. The first time fine for profanity (towards fans officials or other teams) or unsportsmanlike conduct is $11,025.

During the post game press conference (the Browns lost), Manziel was asked about the inappropriate gesture. “I get words exchanged with me throughout the entirety of the game, game after game … I need to be smarter than that,” he said. He added, “I should’ve been smarter. It was a Monday Night Football game – the cameras were probably solidly on me.”

H/T to @rheddpanda

Steelers Preseason Game Two: Offense And Defense Snap Counts

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Here are the snap counts for the Steelers offense and defense during Saturday night’s victory over the Bills. The tables below can be sorted by name, position, participation, etc.

OL Wesley Johnson saw a big increase in playing time from last week, as coaches got a long look at him at center.

Landry Jones saw a big dip in time under center this week from week 1, but was the number 2 QB after Ben Roethlisberger left the game.

Steelers Snap Counts- Offense

[wpdatatable id=13]

On defense, S Troy Polamalu and LB Ryan Shazier saw their first playing time of preseason, and both hit the ground running with 37 snaps. LB Howard Jones saw a significant increase in playing time, as did CB Brice McCain.

DE Brian Arnfelt and DE Nick Williams both had their playing time reduced this week, while DE Josh Mauro’s went up.

Steelers Snap Counts- Defense

[wpdatatable id=14]