2009/2010 Pittsburgh Steelers Discussion - Page 10

DeathbyStat · 07-19-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HinesWardJr

I am so excited for training camp. I will have pictures up when I go!

Yeah I'll be there, I'm there every year, its great fun

Mr. Stiller · 07-19-2009, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathbyStat

Yeah I'll be there, I'm there every year, its great fun

When is everyone planning on going?

I can definitely make a weekend day.

I live a mere 1.5 hours away

DeathbyStat · 07-19-2009, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Stiller

When is everyone planning on going?

I can definitely make a weekend day.

I live a mere 1.5 hours away

I'm not sure what day i'm going....but i live in greensburg so I'm not very far away

no bare feet · 07-20-2009, 07:14 AM

I'm interested to see if Sweed learned how to run a route yet.

Mr. Stiller · 07-20-2009, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathbyStat

I'm not sure what day i'm going....but i live in greensburg so I'm not very far away

I live in Nanty Glo so, I'm not extremely far away.

terribletowel39 · 07-20-2009, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by no bare feet

I'm interested to see if Sweed learned how to run a route yet.

Him getting open wasn't the problem. It was catching the ball. And apparently, the reports are he has been working pretty damn hard on ball catching.

no bare feet · 07-20-2009, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terribletowel39

Him getting open wasn't the problem. It was catching the ball. And apparently, the reports are he has been working pretty damn hard on ball catching.

He should spend a summer doing that Chris Carter camp, unless he already has. I know that many WRs come from that camp polished with a greater concentration level. Concentration levels is a problem many younger WRs have and Sweed is one of the leaders of the pack.

Mr. Goosemahn · 07-21-2009, 12:05 AM

Uh oh.

Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault by a woman from Nevada, claiming the events happened on July 2008.

http://www.timesonline.com/articles/...2498313951.txt

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09202...d=steelers.xml

This is downright horrible for him. It tarnishes his image, and that of the Steelers as well. That type of behavior not only gets league suspensions, but also could end up with players leaving teams.

Now I'm sure Ben wouldn't be traded (being the best young franchise QB in the league and whatnot) but if this turns out to be a big issue, the league might go into it and this could hurt the chances of repeating.

Here's what one of the articles says:

"Roethlisberger faces one civil count of assault, one civil count of sexual assault and battery, one civil count of false imprisonment, one civil count of false pretenses, one civil count of fraud, and one civil count of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

McNulty alleges that Roethlisberger forced her to have sex with him in his hotel room in July 2008. McNulty reportedly works at that hotel."

Hopefully his lawyer is saying the truth and nothing did happen. As of right now, it's all a waiting game.

Mr. Stiller · 07-21-2009, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goosemahn

Uh oh.

Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault by a woman from Nevada, claiming the events happened on July 2008.

http://www.timesonline.com/articles/...2498313951.txt

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09202...d=steelers.xml

This is downright horrible for him. It tarnishes his image, and that of the Steelers as well. That type of behavior not only gets league suspensions, but also could end up with players leaving teams.

Now I'm sure Ben wouldn't be traded (being the best young franchise QB in the league and whatnot) but if this turns out to be a big issue, the league might go into it and this could hurt the chances of repeating.

Here's what one of the articles says:

"Roethlisberger faces one civil count of assault, one civil count of sexual assault and battery, one civil count of false imprisonment, one civil count of false pretenses, one civil count of fraud, and one civil count of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

McNulty alleges that Roethlisberger forced her to have sex with him in his hotel room in July 2008. McNulty reportedly works at that hotel."

Hopefully his lawyer is saying the truth and nothing did happen. As of right now, it's all a waiting game.

*She waited a year to file a civil suit, with no attempt at a Criminal investigation.

*She is looking for a settlement, not justice.

*She's suing the entire staff for collusion/defamation for saying that no rape occured.

I'm thinking she's looking for a jackpot to secure a boobjob or a vacation.

terribletowel39 · 07-21-2009, 08:14 AM

Yea. I agree with Mr. Stiller. I mean c'mon. I would have sex with Ben Roethlisberger if he asked me to......I mean..uh.....

Mr. Stiller · 07-21-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terribletowel39

Yea. I agree with Mr. Stiller. I mean c'mon. I would have sex with Ben Roethlisberger if he asked me to......I mean..uh.....

There is so much jacked up crap in her story it's insane.

Not to mention the shrink she was seeing was supposedly for some Phantom K.I.A. Soldier in Iraq.

Hines · 07-22-2009, 07:54 AM

Is anyone going to the Big Ben vs Shaq thing in Ambridge Friday?

ChefMike · 07-22-2009, 09:35 AM

I will say this, I TRUELY HOPE its not true... I REALLY REALLY don't want to beat the Steelers (Ravens Fan) and have anyone say, "if we had Big Ben..."

But the fact is... this does tarnish his image and in conjunction hurts the steelers image as well. If Goodell doesn't do his own investigation your going to see the NFLPA scream he is playing favorites because if you look at Pac Man Jones he was suspended before he was even convicted, and NEVER was.
Michael Vick was dismissed from the team before the gavel sounded on his judegement and same with Plaxico. Goodell is going to have to play this one very tight and toe the line very easily...

terribletowel39 · 07-22-2009, 12:22 PM

So how about some predictions?? Something to get the conversion going.

Woodley has more sacks than Harrison until week 12.

Timmons has 10+ sacks on the season giving us atleast 30 sacks between 3 LBers. (closer to 45 between the 3)

Urbik breaks into the lineup by week 5. (hopefully)

Charlie Batch is not our back up and retires.

We have a top 10 rushing attack once again with Parker and Mendenhall completely healthy.

We have 2 KO's returned for TD's.

Troy P does not get hit with the Madden curse, instead transfers all of the curse through Samoan rituals to Fitzgerald.

CDub · 07-22-2009, 01:17 PM

Ben will be fine. This case might not even make it to court.

The story is that Ben was in his hotel room - called the front desk for repairs to the audio on his TV - she came up - they had sex - and then a year later she decides it was sexual assault?!?!?!?! Come on.

Where have we heard this before - hotel employee goes to star athlete's room, has sex with him, then claims assault.....hmmmm.

The fact that it took her a year to come out with this, and that there were never any criminal charges filed, tells me SHE JUST WANTS PAID!!!!!

It's sad that some women out there try to get over on rich men like this.

Having said all that - IF Ben is found guilty and this turns out to be true I will rescind my comments because no woman should ever have to go through something like that - but as of right now all signs point to a quick cash grab.

Mr. Goosemahn · 07-22-2009, 01:21 PM

What's more, the fact that she gained around $380,000 of medical bills up to now and is unable to pay them is even more evidence against her.

She claims that most of it comes from anxiety and depression after the rape, but an ex-coworker of hers stated that the bills had nothing to do with Ben, but rather with her dating, and supposedly getting engaged, with an american soldier in Iraq. However, it turns out that she only spoke with him through email and chat and stuff, and he never really existed. It was a woman playing some kind of prank or joke or some twisted thing, and that left her pretty effed up. That is supposed to be the real reason why she has huge medical bills.

CDub · 07-22-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terribletowel39

So how about some predictions?? Something to get the conversion going.

Woodley has more sacks than Harrison until week 12.

Timmons has 10+ sacks on the season giving us atleast 30 sacks between 3 LBers. (closer to 45 between the 3)

Urbik breaks into the lineup by week 5. (hopefully)

Charlie Batch is not our back up and retires.

We have a top 10 rushing attack once again with Parker and Mendenhall completely healthy.

We have 2 KO's returned for TD's.

Troy P does not get hit with the Madden curse, instead transfers all of the curse through Samoan rituals to Fitzgerald.

I think Woodley will have a break out year (not that he was a chump last year) due to the added attention that James will get on the other side. When you're the reigning D MVP all protection schemes will shift to your side.

I'm not sure Timmons will have that many sacks. Our scheme isn't necessarily focused on MLB's getting a lot of sacks. They mostly stuff the run and drop into coverage - which is where I think Timmons will excel. IMO he can cover just about every TE in the league as well as many of the slot receivers. However, it has been a while since LeBeau has had a MLB with Timmons' skill set so I'm sure he will come up with something exotic - the man is a wizard after all.

I'm thinking Urbik has a very strong chance to be our starting RG out of TC. I was thrilled when we got him. I had him rated as an early 2nd rd talent and think he fits our system much better than Stapelton.

I don't see Batch retiring and I really hope he doesn't for a couple reasons - 1. I don't think we have a better 2nd option right now and 2. Ben relies very heavily on Charlie. Every time he comes to the sideline he's asking Charlie what he saw and what reads he may have missed.

If both stay healthy I think our run game could be dynamic this year. As exciting as he is, I think we're all aware that Willie isn't a 300 carries/year guy. If he can split time with Mendy (not to mention Moore getting some 3rd down duties and late game/blowout carries) and be healthy for the 2nd half of the season, we should be strong down the stretch and into the playoffs.

My concern with Troy is less the Madden curse and more the way he's played to this point in his career. The whole "no regard for life or limb" attitute has made him a spectacular player to watch, but has also resulted in (I believe) 7 concussions throughout his life, not to mention the wear and tear oin his body. I can only hope that he holds up for a few more years. But if he starts to break down I would not be surprised.

Mr. Goosemahn · 07-22-2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terribletowel39

So how about some predictions?? Something to get the conversion going.

Woodley has more sacks than Harrison until week 12.

Timmons has 10+ sacks on the season giving us atleast 30 sacks between 3 LBers. (closer to 45 between the 3)

Urbik breaks into the lineup by week 5. (hopefully)

Charlie Batch is not our back up and retires.

We have a top 10 rushing attack once again with Parker and Mendenhall completely healthy.

We have 2 KO's returned for TD's.

Troy P does not get hit with the Madden curse, instead transfers all of the curse through Samoan rituals to Fitzgerald.

Agree on Woodley.

Agree on Timmons.

I think Urbik starts later in the season. Tomlin has shown us that he likes to keep his starters intact unless they absolutely suck or do something stupid or get injured. He kept playing Simmons last year until he was injured. Plus, I think that Stapleton will appear to player better (or actually might) given the easier schedule we have this year.

I think Batch stays as the #3 all season and might then stay longer at the same position, but Dixon becomes the #2 QB.

I'm going out on a limb here, but I say we have a top 5 rushing attack this year. With both players healthy, and Mewelde giving in some good yardage every now and then, and Frank the Tank slamming defenders at the goal-line, I think we have a legitimate chance of being a great running team again. Yeah, we have a bad o-line, but check out who we're playing next year and their rankings in defense against the run (from last year):

Titans - 6
Bears - 5
Bengals - 21
Chargers - 11
Lions - 32
Browns - 28
Vikings - 1
Broncos - 27
Bengals - 21
Chiefs - 30
Ravens - 3
Raiders - 31
Browns - 28
Packers - 26
Ravens - 3
Dolphins - 10

We play against 4 out of the 5 worst rush defenses, and one of those teams is the Browns, who we play twice. That's five games against the worst rush defenses in the league. Denver is next at 27, followed by Green Bay. So out of the 7 worst rush defenses, we play six teams and one twice. That's almost half the season against horrible rushing teams.

Then there's the Bengals, ranked at 21, who we don't usually struggle against though.

That's 9 games we have against teams ranked 21 or lower against the rush.

Then there's a huge jump and we play 7 games against top 11 teams.

In order, they are:
1. Vikings
3. Ravens
5. Bears
6. Titans
10. Dolphins
11. Chargers

If the Vikings lose Pat and Kevin to suspensions, then there's not really all that much to worry about. If they are not suspended, then we simply chuck the ball. They are ranked at 22 in pass defense, lost Darren Sharper in free agency, and have an unhappy Antoine Winfield in his contract year.

The Ravens, in my opinion, will not have as strong a defense as last year, but will still be good nevertheless. Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard, and Rex Ryan all left for the Jets, and that will hurt them. They still have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, and Haloti Ngata, and they are the cornerstones of the defense now.

The Bears are kind of an enigma defense to me. They dominate at times and look like the Lions at others. Urlacher is still one of the best in the game, and Tommie Harris can cause a lot of trouble up front.

Tennessee lost Haynesworth and that's gonna hurt them A LOT. It should be easier to run against them, but then again he wasn't there when we played them last year and they still dominated.

Dolphins and Chargers are kind of like the Bears, great games every now and then, and horrible performances every now and then. We usually don't struggle against the Chargers, and Willie Parker ran all over their asses during last year's playoffs, but still, they're getting Merriman back and the defense could bolster. I don't really know how we'd do against Sparano's Dolphins as we haven't played against them under his control, but I think they're a gritty defense.

And that's my take on things.

And as for the Madden Curse, they're going to fight it out in preseason, and Troy is gonna destroy Fitzy, and that's the end of that.

Mr. Goosemahn · 07-22-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDub

I'm not sure Timmons will have that many sacks. Our scheme isn't necessarily focused on MLB's getting a lot of sacks. They mostly stuff the run and drop into coverage - which is where I think Timmons will excel. IMO he can cover just about every TE in the league as well as many of the slot receivers. However, it has been a while since LeBeau has had a MLB with Timmons' skill set so I'm sure he will come up with something exotic - the man is a wizard after all.

I don't see Batch retiring and I really hope he doesn't for a couple reasons - 1. I don't think we have a better 2nd option right now and 2. Ben relies very heavily on Charlie. Every time he comes to the sideline he's asking Charlie what he saw and what reads he may have missed.

My concern with Troy is less the Madden curse and more the way he's played to this point in his career. The whole "no regard for life or limb" attitute has made him a spectacular player to watch, but has also resulted in (I believe) 7 concussions throughout his life, not to mention the wear and tear oin his body. I can only hope that he holds up for a few more years. But if he starts to break down I would not be surprised.

Timmons had 5 sacks this year as a back-up on the first two downs. I think that he could easily double his sacks as his playing time will actually double (or maybe even more). Plus, as you said, LeBeau will cook up some schemes to take advantage of his physics law-breaking speed for a guy his size. I'm almost certain that Timmons will not have a Foote-like role, as he was much more limited in skills than Timmons is.

Yeah, Batch is a mentor to Ben. That's why I say I want him for a couple of years. He's kind of like a second QB Coach. Still, I'd love to have Leftwich back instead of Batch. There's rumors that Byron wants to come back as he feels that Freeman will be given the starting job, and he said that he'd only be a backup for the Steelers. When he signed with the Bucs, he said they didn't tell him they'd take a QB in the first round.

As for Troy's concussions, they have been minor ones. The one last season against Cedric Benson was very weak. Troy immediately got up and kind of ran/tumbled/hobbled towards the sideline, all under his own will. He played extremely well the next week and nothing more happened. Compared to Roethlisberger's concussions, they seem like headaches. Ben has been obliterated three times now (maybe more, but I can only remember these) and two of those definitely hindered his performance, unlike Troy's. Against the Falcons two years ago and against the Ravens two years ago, Ben was simply destroyed. They had to take him out in a cart, and he was motionless after the hits. Against the Browns was the same thing, but he had two weeks to recover. Troy's concussions are much more light, and that's why I think that he still has around three or four years of savage play. He's 28 right now, so I say that around 31-32 he'll stop playing with reckless abandon.

CDub · 07-22-2009, 03:01 PM

Indeed it is scary to think about Harrison, Woodley, AND Timmons coming in on the rush with Farrior and Keisel dropping back into coverage and Snack/Smith eating up blockers. As much as I appreciated Foote and how unbelievably consistant he was - Timmons just gives us so many new options it's out of control.

DeathbyStat · 07-23-2009, 10:40 AM

As far as Ben goes we will never really know the truth, but just please just write this women a check and lets get on with our lives.

Also this year is a true test of the madden curse if both Troy and Larry falter I will actual believe that it exists

DeathbyStat · 07-23-2009, 10:47 AM

I think Woodley could have more just because teams will try their hardest to shutout Harrison

I'll be a little conservative on Timmons and say he get between 5-8 sacks and adds a few ints, I'm not quite sold he can stay healthy as an every down player

I hope Urbik plays as soon as he is ready, and hopefully thats sooner rather than later

I don't feel that Charlie will retire unless Dixon has a monster pre season. Plus if we lose Ben for an extended period the season is over regardless

If Mendenhall steps up I fully expect him to be the starter next year and Parker will be gone.

"We have 2 KO's returned for TD's." By whom? Santonio?....Mike Wallace?...Staphon Logan?

terribletowel39 · 07-23-2009, 10:56 AM

I'll say Mike Wallace just because he needs the smallest holes. Pretty certain he is the fastest player on the team.

Also, is anybody gonna come up with some different predictions?? That was my intent.

Like Mr. Goose said. I don't see how Timmons doesn't get ATLEAST 8 sacks. He had five last year.

Hines · 07-23-2009, 11:51 AM

I think Bruce Davis comes off the bench well and gets 5+ sacks.

Heath will FINALLY get the ball more and get 8 touchdowns.

Santonio will have 1200+ yards with 10+ touchdowns.

Steelers defense will put up better numbers than last year's defense.

terribletowel39 · 07-23-2009, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HinesWardJr

I think Bruce Davis comes off the bench well and gets 5+ sacks.

Heath will FINALLY get the ball more and get 8 touchdowns.

Santonio will have 1200+ yards with 10+ touchdowns.

Steelers defense will put up better numbers than last year's defense.

I like them. Ben sounds like he is going to have an awesome year. Thats 18 TDs just to Heath and Holmes. I am going to wait to see some training camp before I hop on the Bruce Davis bandwagon. Vernon Gholston proved that even if you are strong as hell you aren't necessarily gonna be awesome.

I hope you are right about Heath. I love it when he is involved in the game.

And I know it is ridiculous to think about the defense being better, but I'm with you. I honestly feel like the defense is going to be even better than last years squad. And people were talking abotu top 3 defense last year. Oh My God. I am so excited.