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.

Contract Extension For Marcus Gilbert Could Get Done This Week

Leave a reply

If reports are to be believed, the next player to have their contract extended by the Steelers will be Marcus Gilbert. According to Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette, the Steelers are trying to extend Gilbert, and the deal could get done this week.

There have been reports throughout the summer that Gilbert was seeking an extension, and the team had been negotiating with his agent. As recently as a couple weeks ago, Gilbert said that the Steelers were working on a new deal with his agent Drew Rosenhaus.

From the Trib:

Tackle Marcus Gilbert, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, said his agent Drew Rosenhaus has been talking to the Steelers about a contract extension. “We will know in a few weeks,” Gilbert said. “I am either going to get it now or wait it out. For me, it is all about getting better with my guys.”

Gilbert has shown improvement and looked solid in the preseason opener. A few weeks ago, Craig Wolfey and Tunch Ilkin both agreed that Gilbert looks better, and that his base and stance have improved thanks to Mike Munchak.

When looking at contract values, you should avoid focusing on APY (average per year), but I’d expect his extension to be in the $5 Mil APY range.

Ryan Shazier Expects To Play Saturday Night

Leave a reply

Rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier told reporters today that he expects to play Saturday night in the Steelers 2nd preseason game. Shazier suffered what coach Tomlin referred to as “just a little boo-boo” to his right knee over a week ago, and hasn’t resumed practicing since.

In an interview this afternoon, fellow linebacker Lawrence Timmons said that Shazier is expected back by the end of the week. While wearing a big band aid of sorts on his knee, Shazier confirmed that he expected to play against the Bills Saturday night, but couldn’t say exactly when he’d return to practice this week.

The Steelers have regular practice today and tomorrow, then host the Buffalo Bills for joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday.

Steelers Preseason Game One: Offense And Defense Snap Counts

Leave a reply

Here are the play counts for the preseason opener against the Giants. The tables below can be sorted by name, position, participation, etc. On offense, Mike Adams toted all of the snaps at left tackle after Kelvin Beachum came out of the game. Ramon Foster left the game early due to an eye injury, and Chris Hubbard took his place.

Derek Moye and Justin Brown were on the field more than any other member of the receiving corps, with Moye getting the majority of the targets. Matt Spaeth and David Paulson got the majority of the snaps at tight end, with Blanchflower and Waters only seeing a handful of snaps.

Steelers Snap Counts- Offense

[wpdatatable id=9]

On defense, there were no real surprises. After the 1st team defense finished their brief exhibition, the backups picked up the bulk of the snaps. Cam Thomas is listed as DE, but he played nose as well. Thomas also subbed in and out with the 2nd and 3rd team. Loni Fangupo saw very limited time at NT, before Dan McCullers came in and saw the bulk of nose duty. With Troy out, Will Allen played opposite Mike Mitchell, and Sean Spence was starting opposite Lawrence Timmons with Ryan Shazier out.

Steelers Snap Counts- Defense

[wpdatatable id=10]

What We Learned From The Steelers Loss To The Giants

Leave a reply

There was plenty of good and bad in the Steelers first 2014 preseason game. Here are some takeaways from the loss to the Giants.

The first team offense looked pretty sharp with their starting quarterback at the helm…until they got to the redzone. The Steelers are no strangers to redzone problems, but I’m going to blame the vanilla and rather meaningless play calling of the first preseason game. It would have been nice to see an offensive touchdown scored at some point during the night, but we’ll have to be patient.

Dri Archer is dangerous. On the first drive Archer took a Roethlisberger screen pass 46 yards and it looked like he was holding back.

It’s premature to say the starting offensive line will be a bright spot this year, but they played pretty well last night. David DeCastro looks like David DeCastro. The man is a technician and looked to be in top form. Of the two times I watched the game, DeCastro’s performance stood out as the best on the line. I’ll review the offensive line play in more detail in a future article.

Markus Wheaton looked pretty good. He had a 10 yard gain on an end around and caught a Gradkowski pass on a deep post route for a 28 yard gain.

Martavis Bryant needs work. I would expect after reviewing last night’s film, he’ll be the subject of some heavy coaching this week. A muffed punt (why was he even returning?), a dropped pass that resulted in Bryant punching the ground, followed by a fumble by Bryant that killed a potentially game winning drive.

Brad Wing showed off some of that nice hang time, but he also showed how inconsistent he can be. I can’t see him being the Steelers punter this season if he shows more of that.

The first team defense looked pretty good aside from allowing a running back to take a handoff 73 yards for a touchdown. Cam Heyward was pushed off his gap, Lawrence Timmons was egregiously held, and some mistakes and bad angles in the secondary led to the Giants running back finding the endzone. The Steelers were in Nickel run defense. S Mike Mitchell looked like he might have been out of position, and S Will Allen missed the tackle to stop Rashad Jennings. Steve McLendon wasn’t in on the play. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Stephon Tuitt looked ready for primetime. He contained his gaps, he got penetration even while being held, and looked pretty darn good against the Giants starters. It was just the first preseason game, but he should contribute early, and he sure looked the part of a Steelers defensive end.

Jarvis Jones can sack. No really, here’s proof.

Sean Spence made an amazing comeback. He looked solid last night, especially for a guy who many thought might never play football again.

Tauren Poole pulled himself ahead of the other second tier running backs last night with his special teams play. The other backs in that group were unimpressive, though, that’s typically the case.

Lastly, based on the quarterback play last night, let’s collectively pray that Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t miss a game this season. Gradkowski looked very rusty for much of his time under center last night. Landry Jones looked a lot better than he did last year, and he was a victim of the talent around him at times last night, but he still has warts.

Preseason Week One: Steelers Inactives Versus Giants

Leave a reply

The Steelers have announced their inactives for tonight’s matchup against the NY Giants. The list isn’t as long as it could have been based on the status of some of the players on Thursday. Here’s the list:

LB Ryan Shazier (knee)

NT Steve McLendon (concussion)

WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (concussion)

TE Michael Palmer (undisclosed)

With McLendon sitting out, Stephon Tuitt should be in the starting lineup tonight at DE. Shazier’s absence could give Sean Spence extended reps at ILB. With Palmer out, TE’s like Eric Waters will get a chance to shine.

It appears that there haven’t been any changes to the Giants inactive list since my post earlier. If there are, I’ll update accordingly. Steelers will be wearing their white road jerseys tonight.

Looking At The NY GIants Players Who Are Out Tonight

Leave a reply

Here is a look at the NY Giants players who will not be playing tonight. If there are any last minute surprises, I will post them in the official inactives post later this afternoon.

WR Odell Beckham Jr.
KR Trindon Holliday
RB Peyton Hillis
CB Trumaine McBride
LB Jon Beason
LT Will Beatty
TE Daniel Fells
TE Xavier Grimble
DT Mike Patterson
DT Kelcy Quarles

LT Will Beatty is coming off a surgery, and he missed their first preseason game. With Beatty out, Charles Brown will get his reps like he did last week during the Hall of Fame game. With Beatty out, Jarvis Jones should have an easier time tonight. With DT Mike Patterson out, Jonathan Hankins will get the start at LDT tonight.

The Steelers inactives are not out yet, but I’ll be posting them as soon as they become available.

Rookie Ref At The Helm For Steelers Giants Game

Leave a reply

Tonight’s game against the Giants at Met Life Stadium will feature the exciting debut of some Steelers rookies, most of whom many of us are anxious to see. Another rookie is making his debut tonight, however his first appearance will be much less anticipated. While not exciting news, it’s noteworthy nonetheless.

With the departure of Mike Carey, the league hired rookie official Bruce Allen as a referee this year. Allen was a ref in the ACC for 8 years, and officiated a couple of the big bowl games. He participated in the NFL’s new advanced officiating training program last year as a back judge, but it’s rare for a rookie to call a NFL game as a referee. So rare in fact, that it has happened since the 1960’s.

Here’s a look at the complete lineup for tonight’s officiating crew. I know it’s just the first preseason game, but knowledge is power.

[table]

Pos., No., Name, Years Exp.

R, 122, Brad Allen, 0

U, 11, Fred Bryan, 5

HL, 48, Jim Mello, 10

LJ, 100, Tom Symonette, 10

FJ, 67, Doug Rosenbaum, 13

SJ, 97, Tom Hill, 15

BJ, 6, Kirk Dornan, 21

[/table]

In the first 6 preseason games, there were 25 defensive holding calls and 9 illegal contact calls. Obviously the league is making it a point of emphasis this year, so we’ll see if it’s a factor in tonight’s game against the Giants.

Is Brad Wing A Roster Lock Due To Lack Of Competition?

Leave a reply

This summer’s heated punter competition is pretty one-sided so far. Actually, it’s completely one-sided and it’s not a competition. Two weeks in to camp, and Adam Podlesh hasn’t put his pads on yet. That leaves former LSU standout Brad Wing all to himself.

Not that Podlesh isn’t out for good reason. His wife is getting ready to deliver a baby, and it’s reportedly a difficult pregnancy. There has been no word on when or if he may arrive to camp, but let’s face it…camp is almost over.

When asked about Podlesh being out, Wing said, “What I try and do is focus on myself. You can’t let the other guy dictate your performance. That’s been easy for me to do because Adam is not here.

“In my mind, it doesn’t matter if there are two or three guys competing, you know what you have to do and what the coaches require, and that’s all I’m worried about.”

The Australian born punter was a rock star at LSU, and that wasn’t just a persona. He was arrested for battery in 2011, though the charges were later dropped. He was suspended from the Chick Fil A bowl in 2012 for allegedly failing a drug test for at least the second time. There was some media hype about him being prone to excessive celebrations, but really that stemmed from this great fake that got reversed due to a somewhat BS taunting call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT_TGuoLdmk

LSU ultimately told the punter he wasn’t welcome back even though he had two years of eligibility left. After going undrafted last year, he was signed by the Eagles to see if he could unseat veteran punter Donnie Jones. He failed the team’s conditioning test, but was later cleared to play. After being with the team through training camp, he was let go during their first round of roster cuts.

The Steelers weren’t worried about Wing’s torrid past, though. After signing the left-footed Aussie, Kevin Colbert said he wasn’t worried about his character. “No. Brad got married recently. He has a child,” Colbert said at the national scouting combine. “Players mature as the years go on. If we weren’t comfortable with his character we wouldn’t have signed him.”

Pittsburgh was second to last in net punting yards last year, averaging just 37. While ball placement and positional punting are important, having a big leg that can keep the ball in the air can almost certainly give the team a competitive edge on special teams. Wing was putting on a clinic at camp earlier this week. By some accounts he was putting up impressive 5.5 plus hang times on some punts. “When I signed here, coach Tomlin and (special teams) coach (Danny) Smith both preached to me that hang time was very important,” Wing said. “So, that’s something I’ve spent a lot of time working on.”

A reasonable person may be inclined to argue that having only one punter at camp equates to said punter making the roster- unless of course he’s unhealthy or just plain terrible. The team proved last season that anything can happen at the position, though. Drew Butler beat Brian Moorman in last summer’s punter battle, only to be waived shortly after when the Steelers signed Zoltan Mesko. A couple months later, Mesko was out and McBriar was in.

In the end, it’s anyone’s guess what the team will do next month, but we’ll be able to get a good look at Wing tonight.

No Charges For Maurkice Pouncey Today

Leave a reply

I reported yesterday that some people close to the Pouncey case believed misdemeanor charges could be coming as soon as today against Maurkice Pouncey. According to Miami Herald reporter Adam Beasley, prosecutors will not be pressing charges today.

Beasley writes that police detectives have now met with Miami Dade prosecutors, and that they want to review all of the information before making a decision as to whether or not they’ll proceed with battery charges. According to Beasley, Miami police detectives feel that they have probable cause for a misdemeanor battery charge, but being that it isn’t a felony offense, the decision falls to the state’s attorney office.

Being that state prosecutors are the ultimate decision makers on the matter, and they’re just beginning to review the evidence and information in the case, I wouldn’t expect any charges to be brought forth against Maurkice Pouncey any time soon. Of course, they may in fact decide that there isn’t a case for battery at all. Time will tell.

Apparently A Fire Extinguisher Led To The Colts Cutting Chris Rainey

Leave a reply

Like many people sitting at home tonight, Chris Rainey was watching a NFL preseason football game. That’s probably about where the similarities end though. Rainey was cut by the Indianapolis Colts a little over a week ago for undisclosed reasons. While watching the Colts play the Jets tonight, Rainey used Twitter to show that he may be a little bitter over his release.

When former teammate Dan “Boom” Herron scored a touchdown against the Jets, Rainey wrote: “Nice TD Boom even tho u was in the hallway with me that nite when we was horsing around with the fire extinguisher. Man up like i did.” The running back continued, “Yea im piss watchin the colts game when i should be out there too. Even tho i didnt break no f**kin team rules, not even.”

Rainey has since deleted the posts from his Twitter account, though I imagine some damage is already done. When you’ve been recently cut for disciplinary reasons and are looking for a new team, making headlines with Twitter rants probably doesn’t make getting work any easier.