Category Archives: Steelers News

Officiating Crew For Steelers Vs. Bills

The Steelers host the Bills tonight at Heinz field. Kickoff is at 7:30 and Gene Steratore’s officiating crew will be reffing the game.

[table]

Pos., No., Name, Years Exp.

R, 114, Gene Steratore, 12

U, 102, Bruce Stritesky, 9

HL, 106, Wayne Mackie, 8

LJ, 108, Gary Arthur, 18

FJ, 25, Bob Waggoner, 18

SJ, 116, Mike Weatherford, 13

BJ, 105, Dino Paganelli, 9

[/table]

Steratore is from Peters Township, southwest of Pittsburgh. Steratore got a page in the Steelers book of lore when he made a controversial ruling on a fumble, which led to a Steelers field goal victory against the Dolphins in 2010.

Steratore’s crew threw 21 penalty flags last week, including 2 for defensive holding, and 1 offensive pass interference.

[Audio] Arthur Moats: ‘Joey Porter’s Intensity Is Contagious’

Leave a reply

When he was hired back in February, there was some debate about how much of an impact Joey Porter could have on the Pittsburgh Steelers this year. After how much fire he’s brought to training camp, and the special attention he’s given to the outside linebackers, I think that debate has been put to rest.

Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats was on Buffalo sports radio’s The John Murphy Show last night talking about playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the interview, Moats was asked what it was like to work with Joey Porter.

“Oh man, Joey Porter…he’s a great guy to be around and the thing is, with me being on the outside he’s there everyday with me, and ultimately, the same intensity you would see him play with, that’s the same intensity he brings to the meeting room, the same intensity he brings to the practice field, and ultimately any time you get a guy with that type of mentality around you, it’s contagious. So not only does he have that mentality, but now all of the guys in the locker room and in the outside linebacker room get that same mentality, and that’s why I think we’re going to have a lot of success this year.”

Moats also said that his excitement to work with Dick LeBeau helped seal his coming to Pittsburgh. “Anytime you think about Coach Dick LeBeau I mean, he’s a legendary guy…and everyone knows the success that he’s had coaching defenses and even as a player.

“So, anytime you’re coming out and you have the opportunity to play for somebody like that and a legendary defense, I mean, you’re kind of jumping at the opportunity,” said Moats. “After meeting with Coach LeBeau and being able to sit down with him, and share some of the ideas he has and things like that, you definitely get excited about it.”

The former Bills 6th round pick went on to share what it’s like to play for Coach LeBeau. “Man it’s a great feeling to play with a guy like him and the thing is this- he’s seen so much as far as, you know, different schemes and different things that happen on the field from a player’s perspective and from a coach’s perspective, so nothing catches him off guard, so he’s always able to talk to you and basically just help you to understand what you need to be looking for, and he’s very attention to detail type guy and that’s what makes him very [inaudible] and have such success at this level.”

Moats also talked about Ryan Shazier, his role in Pittsburgh, among other topics. You can listen to the full interview below.

[Video] Brief Melee During Thursday’s Steelers Bills Joint Practice

4 Replies

While no major brawls broke out during yesterday’s practice, it wasn’t quite as “peaceful and professional” as the joint practice on Wednesday. Following Wednesday’s practice, Coach Tomlin praised the professionalism and etiquette of both teams.

“I thought there was great etiquette,” said Tomlin. “I appreciate the restraint and professionalism by both teams. I think that doesn’t get reported often enough. We like to turn on the TV and see gory, unfortunate incidents like what happened between Dallas and Oakland, and we’re here to prove that teams are capable of coming together and doing it in a productive and professional manner. I compliment both teams for how they did it today.”

Tempers flared more on Thursday, and although there were no Raiders vs Cowboys type battle royals, I doubt Tomlin will be praising either team for their restraint or professionalism.

In the video below taken by a spectator at yesterday’s practice, you can see Steelers center Cody Wallace get into it with Bills defensive tackle Landon Cohen. From there it escalates and both teams get involved. The skirmish peaks when Antonio Brown throws punches at veteran DT Kyle Williams.

Interestingly enough, LaGarrette Blount tries to play the role of peacemaker during the melee. During a later altercation, Blount tries to diffuse the situation by going to the Bills sideline to calm an angry player down, but is called back by Tomlin and Haley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYJ3CZQxd5U

Video Of Sammy Watkins Beating Lew Toler Goes Viral For Some Reason

Leave a reply

The Steelers hosted the Bills for the second and final day of joint practices at Latrobe today. There were roughly 8,000 or so fans in attendance for the conclusion of Steelers training camp, and while the fighting was kept to a minimum, there was plenty of action for the swarm of onlookers.

Receivers were putting on a show tonight with cornerbacks getting burned on a regular basis. You’d think I was referring to Steelers DB’s getting owned based on the title of this article, but actually it was the Steelers receivers who were regularly taking the Bills cornerbacks to school.

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/500050239836147712

https://twitter.com/BCTBradford/status/500045774500413440

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/500045774907260928

Here’s a great video showing just how good some of the Steelers receivers were in one on one drills with the Bills DB’s.

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

Regardless of how impressive the Steelers receivers were, what apparently gets clicks is Sammy Watkins beating a slow, short, undrafted rookie cornerback in a one on one drill. To add insult to injury for Toler, his name is getting misspelled at all of the major sites that I’ve seen this posted at. Here’s the clip shot by Mark Kaboly of the Tribune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiF7mSHsmcM

It’s probably going to sound like I’m dumping on Toler, but that’s not my intention. No doubt he’s grinding everyday, working as hard as he can in hopes of getting on a practice squad this year. Having said that…he ran a 4.61 at his pro day. Watkins, the 4th overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft runs something like a 4.31 give or take. Obviously there’s a lot more to this incredible mismatch than 40 times. Toler didn’t play a down in the Steelers first preseason game. He’s at the bottom of the depth chart. Behind Isaiah Green. Behind Devin Smith. There’s no way he’ll make the 53 man roster and it’s safe to say that he’s unlikely to make the Steelers practice squad. As I said in jest earlier regarding the next Watkins video to go viral~

https://twitter.com/TheSteelersFans/status/500093488877551617

Cortez Allen went up against Watkins in the same drill and fared a little better.

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

Sammy Watkins is an impressive receiver for sure, and I’m sure he’ll give many a starting CB fits this season, but going gaga over him beating someone tremendously out of his league is pretty silly. We’ll get to see how Steelers cornerbacks deal with Watkins during game action on Saturday night when the Steelers host the Bills at Heinz Field.

Steelers Sign LS Luke Ingram

Leave a reply

The Steelers have signed long snapper Luke Ingram today. Ingram was with the team briefly in training camp last summer, before being waived in early August. The Jaguars claimed Ingram off waivers, but released him a few weeks later. Ingram is 6’6″, 225 lbs, and went undrafted out of Hawaii last year.

The signing shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Steelers had an open roster spot, and while Greg Warren is out for the next month, LS/TE Bryce Davis is the only active long snapper. Ingram is wearing number 48 and immediately began practicing with the team today.

Several Sitting Out For Last Practice At Latrobe

Leave a reply

The Steelers are holding their second joint practice with the Buffalo Bills tonight at St. Vincent, and the final practice of training camp. Several players are sitting out the joint practice tonight.

Will Allen, Will Johnson, Matt Spaeth, Jarvis Jones, Jordan Zumwalt, Maurkice Pouncey and Ramon Foster are all sidelined this evening. The two Wills are nursing hamstring strains they suffered in practice yesterday. Spaeth has missed the last couple practices for undisclosed reasons. Jarvis Jones and Jordan Zumwalt have been battling with groin injuries, and Ramon Foster has been out with knee swelling. There’s no information available about why Pouncey is sitting out tonight.

Ryan Shazier is nursing a bruised knee according to Coach Tomlin. He is practicing today, but probably only in a limited capacity as has been the case for the past couple days.

Earlier today, Mike Tomlin characterized Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier as questionable for Saturday night’s game against the Bills. Vince Williams, who has been sidelined with concussion symptoms, is suited up and will participate in some fashion tonight.

Jarvis Jones And Ryan Shazier Questionable For Saturday

Leave a reply

During his press conference today, Coach Tomlin labelled linebackers Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Bills at Heinz Field.

“We have some guys who are potentially questionable in terms of their participation in the game against the Bills, but like the preseason opener we’re going to hold out until the 11th hour to make a decision whether they’re available or not,” said Tomlin. “We want to try to give everybody an opportunity to play in this game. Jarvis Jones is nursing a groin and Ryan Shazier is nursing a knee bruise.”

Jarvis Jones has been hampered by a nagging groin injury on and off for the past couple weeks. He participated with the first team defense during last Saturday’s preseason opener, and recorded a sack, but his practice participation has been up and down. Ryan Shazier has only recently returned to practice in a limited capacity since suffering a knee bruise in practice a week and a half ago.

Tomlin went on to mention that a couple players who are recovering from injuries have a chance to play Saturday. “Rob Blanchflower is working his way back, he has worked extensively in the past couple of days and we expect him to participate in the game. Vince Williams has a possibility of playing, and we’ll see what he looks like from the ImPACT test standpoint.”

Blanchflower has been recovering from an ankle sprain he suffered early in training camp. Vince Williams suffered a concussion earlier this week.

Greg Warren Has A Torn Meniscus

Leave a reply

Steelers long snapper Greg Warren suffered a leg injury during practice yesterday, an injury which coach Tomlin later described as a potentially serious one.

In his press conference today, Tomlin gave an update on Warren’s injury revealing that the long snapper has a torn meniscus in his knee, and is expected to be out for four weeks. Warren, who will be 33 in October, has already had multiple ACL tears throughout his NFL career. He has been injury free for the past few seasons however, as he’s started at long snapper for the past 64 consecutive games.

While Warren is out, Bryce Davis will handle long snapper duties. Davis has never played in a regular season game, so there is always the possibility that the team could bring in another long snapper at some point if they deem it to be necessary.

Greg Warren Could Have A Serious Leg Injury

Leave a reply

Veteran long snapper Greg Warren left practice early today. Head coach Mike Tomlin told the media after practice that he suffered a potentially significant leg injury. According to Tomlin, he’s being evaluated. The Steelers re-signed Warren to a one year deal this spring for the veteran minimum. He’s been with the team since 2005.

The Steelers have one other long snapper on the roster right now- Bryce Davis. Davis was signed by the Steelers in January. He spent time on the Bengals practice squad in 2012, and was with Cincinnati for training camp last year, but didn’t make the team.

You might be saying “well, it’s just the long snapper”, and to that I say: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80bf828f/WK-8-Giants-safety-ties-game

Hopefully his injury isn’t as bad as it sounds. We’ll update when more info is available.

Jarvis Jones, Foster, Zumwalt, Spaeth And Williams Out For Practice Today

Leave a reply

There are five players not practicing today for the first of two joint practices with the Buffalo Bills. Vince Williams, who was being evaluated for a concussion yesterday, is sitting out today. Ramon Foster left practice early yesterday with some knee swelling is out today.

Jarvis Jones is also sidelined today, presumably due to his groin. Matt Spaeth is out again today. He was back yesterday after being out for undisclosed reasons on Monday. Lastly, Jordan Zumwalt has been battling groin issues on and off, is also not participating today.