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.

Ben Roethlisberger Named FedEx Air Player Of The Week

Big Ben received another accolade for his performance during last week’s victory at home over the Detroit Lions. He has been named the week 11 FedEx Air player of the week. The runner’s up were Carson Palmer and Cam Newton.

http://www.nfl.com/voting/players-air-and-ground/2013/REG/11

Ben threw 4 touchdowns and a total of 367 yards. His NFL passer rating was 119.4.

This is the first time since  2011 that Ben has received the award, and the 6th time in his career. If you’re curious, here’s the list of the others.

  • Week 9,  2007
  • Week 16, 2007
  • Week 5, 2008
  • Week 15, 2009
  • Week 8, 2011

Looking At Jason Campbell’s History Against Dick LeBeau

This Sunday, QB Jason Campbell will face Dick LeBeau’s defense for the third time in his career. So far, the score is Steelers Defense- 2, Campbell- 0. The first meeting was when Campbell was the Redskins quarterback during week 9 of 2008. The game was in Washington, and coincidentally, the only player to score for the Redskins that day was Shaun Suisham. Campbell was sacked twice that night, threw for 206 yards, and two interceptions. The Steelers won 23-6. Campbell played well that season up until that game.

The second time Campbell faced the Steelers defense was week 11 of 2010. Campbell was the Raiders quarterback then, and the game was at Heinz field. His performance that day was so bad that he was benched in the 3rd quarter and Bruce Gradkowski replaced him for the remainder of the game. Campbell was sacked 6 times, threw for 70 yards, and had 2 passes intercepted.

You probably remember that game as it was the one where Richard Seymour punched Ben Roethlisberger in the face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNkKvXAbkDg

Back to Campbell, he’s coming off a pretty bad performance last week, where he had 3 interceptions against the Bengals. The Browns will hope to establish the run game early and not have to win on Campbell’s arm. This Sunday, the forecast in Cleveland is windy, with gusts up to 25 mph and wind chill in the single digits and teens. It’s certainly a good recipe for a 3rd W in the LeBeau column.

Steelers And Browns Week 12 Injury Report

Here’s a rundown of the week 12 injury report.

OUT: Stevenson Sylvester (hamstring) and Shamarko Thomas (ankle).

QUESTIONABLE: Brett Keisel (foot), LaMarr Woodley (calf).

PROBABLE: Kelvin Beachum (hip), Ramon Foster (ankle), Heath Miller (not injury related), Emmanuel Sanders (foot), and Fernando Velasco (knee).

Brett Keisel said he did some things in practice today and is hopeful he’ll play on Sunday. It sounds like he has a better chance to play than Woodley does. Ramon Foster said the plan is for him to play on Sunday.

For the Browns:

OUT: TE MarQueis Grey (hamstring).

DOUBTFUL: LB Craig Robertson (knee).

QUESTIONABLE: DL  Armonty Bryant (back).

PROBABLE: OL Mitchell Schwartz (Toe), RB Fozzy Whittaker (knee), LB Paul Kruger (finger), P Spencer Lanning (knee), RB Willis McGahee (knee), and OL Jason Pinkston (ankle).

 

Steelers And Browns Thursday Practice Participation

Kelvin Beachum, Ramon Foster, Heath Miller, Emmanuel Sanders, and Fernando Velasco were all full participants in practice today. Steven Sylveser was limited. Brett Keisel, Shamarko Thomas, and LaMarr Woodley did not practice. Woodley was limited in practice yesterday, so it’s uncertain if he had a setback or if he was held back as precaution by the coaching staff.

Matt Spaeth returned to practice today and participated on a limited basis. Afterward, Spaeth spoke with the media. “I did a little individual stuff and some team stuff. Didn’t do a lot, but did a little bit of everything. It felt good to be back.”

For the Browns:

DNP:

TE MarQueis Gray (hamstring), LB Craig Roberson (knee)

Limited:

DL Armonty Bryant, OL Mitchell Schwartz (toe), RB Willis McGahee (knee)

Full:

P Spencer Lanning (knee), RB Fozzy Whittaker (ankle), OL Jason Pinkston (ankle) LB Paul Kruger (finger)

Officiating Crew Announced For Browns Game

The officiating crew for Sunday’s game at Cleveland has been announced. Terry McAulay is the referee.

The other members of McAulay’s officiating team are umpire Scott Dawson, head linesman Greg Bradley, line judge Mark Steinkerchner, field judge Terry Brown, side judge James Coleman and back judge Lee Dyer.

McAulay was the referee responsible for the controversial call that led to “Bottlegate” in Cleveland back in 2001. If you’re not familiar with it, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5e3Bw_yLSY

Matt Spaeth Returns To Practice Today

The Steelers have announced that Matt Spaeth is returning to practice today. During his press conference on Tuesday, Coach Tomlin mentioned that Spaeth may return this week after evaluation.

Now that Spaeth is back to practice, the team has 21 days to decide whether or not they will activate him to the active roster. If he was activated then, he would be in the mix to return for the Sunday night match up against the Bengals.

Steelers Vs Browns TV Distribution Map

The Steelers face the Browns on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The game airs at 1:00 Est on CBS with Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots as commentators. This will make the 121st regular season meeting for the two teams. The game will not be very widely distributed as you can see on the map below.

steelers-vs-browns-tv-map

 

H/t to the506.com

Early Games

RED- Chargers @ Chiefs

BLUE- Jets @ Ravens

PURPLE- Steelers @ Browns

TEAL- Jaguars @ Texans

Late Games

GREEN- Colts @ Cardinals

YELLOW- Titans @ Raiders

You either get the early game or the late game. Not both.

Jerome Bettis And Kevin Greene Are Hall Of Fame Semi-Finalists

The list of 25 remaining Pro Football Hall of Fame semi-finalists were announced tonight. Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene made the cut. Greene has been a Hall of Fame semi-finalist for the last seven years. The Bus was a semi-finalist last year, but ultimately did not get the 80% needed to make it in.

I’ll just leave this here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28fW-eKa36E