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Steelers (2007) (1 Viewer)

Washington.

Can I get in on this bet? :D Westbrook and the TE's will have about 1/4 - 1/3 of the receiving yards in Philly.

 
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It hasn't been posted so I'll break the news:

Carey Davis has been named the starting fullback for Week 1 vs. the Cleveland Browns, Krieder may be deactivated.

link

Steelers will start Davis, not Kreider, at fullback

Thursday, September 06, 2007

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Carey Davis, a first-year free agent, has supplanted Dan Kreider as the No. 1 fullback and will start in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians confirmed the move today after the Steelers finished practice at their South Side facility.

It is possible Kreider, the starter for the past five seasons, might be deactivated against the Browns.

"Everything is week to week, but he will be the fullback," Arians said of Davis. "He's doing a nice job for us."
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As good as Davis looked in preseason I don't believe for aminute he is a better blocker than Kreider. It looks to me like the Steelers are coming out throwing...

 
First & then: Taking the helm of the Pittsburgh SteelersFriday, September 07, 2007By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteOne came in with a steely-eyed, unflappable vision of what needed to be done. The other burst onto the scene banging pots and pans to wake up a slumbering giant.Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher did not share coaching styles, particularly in their first seasons with the Steelers. Yet each accomplished a great deal over a long time as a head football coach. Noll won four Super Bowls among 209 victories, fifth most in NFL history. Cowher won one Super Bowl among 161 victories, 13th in history.As Mike Tomlin begins his first season as Steelers head coach at age 35, he brings yet another philosophy and style to a job held by only those two other men the previous 38 seasons. It remains to be determined what those traits are as Tomlin approaches his first real game as coach Sunday in Cleveland.But as the reserved Noll and flamboyant Cowher showed, there is no patent on the correct way to coach a winner over the long haul in the NFL."Between the two, they were completely different," said former assistant coach **** Hoak, the only man to work for Noll and Cowher in their first seasons on the job. "But there are different ways to do the job and get the job done. It's not all just one way."Noll, at 37, took over a team that had never won a playoff game and had gone through three coaches and a combined 18-50-3 record in the previous five seasons. He famously told his first group of players at an early meeting that most of them were not good enough to play for him, and they proved him right by starting out 1-13.Cowher, at 35, took over a team after Noll's retirement with a wealth of good young talent that had underachieved the previous season when they went 7-9. He thought they could win immediately and they did by going 11-5 and getting a bye in the first week of the playoffs.It is a similar situation to the team that Tomlin coaches in his first season. After winning the Super Bowl 19 months ago, the Steelers underachieved and slipped to 8-8 last season. He inherits a roster that has the kind of talent to compete for a championship.There were no immediate thoughts of a Super Bowl in their future in January 1969 when the Steelers hired a man who coached the Baltimore Colts defense that lost to Joe Namath and the Jets weeks earlier in the Super Bowl.Dan and Art Rooney Sr. just wanted someone to break the habit of losing, and Noll would do that, eventually, although not that season. It is ironic that the coach who would bring the Steelers to unprecedented heights began with what remains the team with the most losses in one season in club history.Yet, Noll never changed. Not after his first team won its first game against Detroit, nor as it lost the next 13."Chuck was no different from day one -- maybe he was a little softer in the beginning," said Joe Greene, Noll's first draft choice in 1969 and a special scout for the club today. Greene is the only man who has worked for the team's three most-recent coaches."He was just matter of fact -- here's the schedule, here's what I think what makes winning football. You do these things and we have a chance."I don't recall him raising his voice, being angry or changing anything. Because that's what I thought, this isn't working, why don't we change! In my own mind, I didn't verbalize it, but I thought it."That's the power and the beauty of our being here with Chuck is that he didn't change. He was consistent. I think that's why we were able to build the team that he built during that time because he was consistent. He didn't tell us one thing on Week 1 and then on Week 7 find ourselves doing something different."Cowher was consistent in a more outwardly way. There was an afternoon in his first training camp in which he stopped practice, gathered his players around them and shouted at them angrily. He coached with emotion and embraced them emphatically as well."He was a great motivator," said Rod Woodson, who played his first five seasons under Noll. "Bill was the best motivator I've been around for a coach. He respected everybody but feared nobody. He didn't talk about the other team much; he always talked about how good we were and nothing about the other team. That kept guys' morale up."Their philosophies were completely different. Chuck said, I've been doing this a long time, this is the way it will be, period. Bill came in and said, OK, what do you guys like? Both philosophies worked."I respected what Bill did because he listened to us more, but Chuck didn't have to listen to us because he won four Super Bowls. But his philosophy and the things he said stuck in my head more because he was teaching me things for later on in life."One thing Noll and Cowher had in common with Tomlin is they put the players on notice right away that they better perform or they would not last long."You have to prove yourself; nobody has a job now," said former tackle Tunch Ilkin, who played under Noll and Cowher and enters his 10th season as part of the Steelers radio broadcast team. "We're all starting new. I think there is a very positive uneasiness. I think it brings out the best in everyone. I think that's a healthy thing for a football team to be a little on edge. I think it works."Another difference of the new regime under Tomlin is that he kept virtually the entire defensive staff of Cowher's and two offensive coaches, promoting one of them, Bruce Arians, to his coordinator."For these guys, there's enough difference for that uneasiness, but there's enough the same so they're not going through a whole new terminology for the offense and defense," Ilkin noted.Another man who worked closely with Noll and Cowher is Joe Gordon, the club's former public relations director."The bottom line is success and both were successful. That's all that counts," Gordon said. "The major difference is the cupboard was empty when Chuck came in. There was almost a complete overhaul. It was a radical change, a wholesale change."Noll cleaned out his locker room of players who could not play, but he also got rid of one of his best to make a point to the rest of his team. Wide receiver Roy Jefferson had made the Pro Bowls after the 1968 and '69 seasons, yet Noll traded him before the '70 season to Baltimore."Roy was an excellent player. He was just going to test Chuck," Hoak said. "Chuck was going to run the show and he wasn't going to take it from any of the players."Cowher did something similar. Brentson Buckner wasn't a Pro Bowl player, but he was a good, young defensive lineman for the Steelers of the mid-1990s. He tested Cowher, and Cowher traded him.Another trait the two men had in common -- that any successful coach must have -- is the ability to keep the players in line. Even at 1-13, Noll "never lost the team," Gordon said."Nobody ever lost confidence that he was going to get the job done. They were going in the right direction and he wouldn't compromise, wouldn't trade Terry Bradshaw despite all the offers he received."The St. Louis Cardinals offered what Gordon recalled as seven players for Bradshaw "and five would have started for us.""Chuck never considered it. He said all they're going to do is get us to mediocrity and our goal is to win the championship."Noll and Cowher had tremendous confidence in what they were doing and how they were doing it, even if they expressed it differently."Bill made it more an emotional thing and the guys responded to him," Gordon said. "Probably, he was less conservative than Chuck, willing to gamble, because in the early days he had nothing to lose, like that fake punt in Houston."The Steelers trailed in Houston, 14-0, in Cowher's first game as their coach. The Oilers had won the AFC Central with an 11-5 record the previous season. Cowher ordered a fake punt that made a first down on way to a touchdown and a 29-24 upset victory for the Steelers."To me, that was so important to Cowher's future," Gordon said of that victory. "He was able to steal a game like that."Noll wasn't much of a gambler, and Cowher turned more conservative as the years went on. Each believed that the best way to win was to run and stop the run, especially in a place like Pittsburgh -- there would be no West Coast offense here.Yet each adapted as well. When the NFL imposed new rules to restrict the physical play of defenses in 1978, Noll opened up his passing game with Bradshaw and won two more Super Bowls. Cowher went more to the pass in '95 under Neil O'Donnell and reached his first Super Bowl. He struck quickly through the air in the 2005 playoffs to get ahead before he turned to the ground game to keep the lead."People say the game has changed but the philosophy of football has not changed," Woodson said. "Play tough-nosed defense, stop the run, run the ball, you win. Tough teams win tough games in critical situations. That will never change."Bill Cowher went back to what got Chuck Noll his Super Bowl rings, that philosophy again -- running ball in between tackles and playing tough defense."Tomlin professes to believe in the same things. Like Noll and Cowher, he was raised as a defensive coach in the NFL. Like Noll and Cowher, he starts out at a relatively young age for a head coach. Whether he can win as often as his predecessors is the great unknown and, really, his philosophy will have to develop over time as well.There are times Tomlin sounds like Noll -- he said recently that if it were easy, anyone could do it, a classic Noll comment. And his tougher training camp was more in line with Noll's philosophy about summer practices. But then Tomlin does stake a claim to Tony Dungy as a mentor, and Dungy says he learned more about football from Noll than anyone."It's entirely too early to do that for me," Greene said of the comparisons. "It would have to just happen, I wouldn't be looking for it. But, I don't think anyone would compare with Chuck, his demeanor and the process he went through. Chuck was not like a regular human being from the standpoint -- you know what their fallibilities are and you see them every day."You were around Chuck for a long time, what was his?"He had them, like every coach, but Noll helped create something that at least one predecessor could never live up to -- four Super Bowl victories in four tries.Now it's Mike Tomlin's turn at the wheel.Their philosophies were completely different. Chuck said I've been doing this a long time, this is the way it will be, period. Bill came in and said, OK, what do you guys like?
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Clowns sunday! :confused:

For anyone not keeping score at home, the all time series between Pittsburgh and Cleveland is now tied after we've been chipping away at it for the past 8 years. We can take the one tiny remaining shred of "Well yeah, but...." away from the Browns fans this weekend.

Pittsburgh 30

Cleveland 17

 
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AhrnCityPahnder said:
Clowns sunday! :confused:For anyone not keeping score at home, the all time series between Pittsburgh and Cleveland is now tied after we've been chipping away at it for the past 8 years. We can take the one tiny remaining shred of "Well yeah, but...." away from the Browns fans this weekend.Pittsburgh 30Cleveland 17
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You are crazy. There's no way the Brownies score 17!!! :thumbup:
 
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07250/815372-13.stm

LeBeau, 70, corners market on respect

Friday, September 07, 2007

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The NFL's oldest coach will turn 70 Sunday and all he wants is a victory against the Cleveland Browns.

The Steelers' defensive players intend to oblige **** LeBeau, but they have much more planned for him. They offered to tell me their secrets this week but said they would have to kill me if they did. I said I could live with the suspense until Sunday.

No matter what the players do for LeBeau, it's sure to make him cry.

Do you realize how lucky the man is? You know him as the Steelers' highly regarded, highly successful defensive coordinator. Those in pro football know him as maybe the most respected, admired, even loved figure in the game.

"A great coach, but a better man," Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith called LeBeau. "He's the type of guy you wish was in your family. You'd trade some relatives for him, that's for sure."

That's why two years ago, in an amazing tribute organized by linebacker Joey Porter and defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen, 27 Steelers paid $300 each for a retro No. 44 LeBeau jersey from his playing days with the Detroit Lions and wore it to the Steelers' game against the Lions. LeBeau cried.

That's why several Steelers dug out those jerseys and wore them to the Hall of Fame game in August to send a message to the Hall voters that LeBeau, who had 62 interceptions as a cornerback, belongs.

You should see the players beaming in those jerseys as they surround LeBeau in a picture that's on the wall next to the training room at the team's South Side headquarters. Nose tackle Casey Hampton didn't smile so much when they told him he made his first Pro Bowl. LeBeau looks like he wants to, well, cry.

And that's why there will be a few speeches and some sort of presentation -- probably by defensive captain James Farrior -- to LeBeau at the defensive meeting tomorrow night or Sunday morning. If the Steelers beat the Browns, it's easy to imagine new coach Mike Tomlin taking a moment from celebrating his first NFL victory to lead a chorus of "Happy Birthday" in the locker room.

"I've been comfortable with coach LeBeau since day one," said Tomlin, who, at 35, is half LeBeau's age. "I knew all about his reputation as a football coach and he still has exceeded my expectations. He's just awesome. He's the ultimate been-there, done-that guy. He's such a security blanket for me and this football team."

No current NFL coach has been around the league longer than LeBeau. "He told us the other day he had spent five years of his life in training camps," Smith said. "Do you think that man has seen some football?"

"To be totally honest, it's flattering that someone still wants me around at this stage," LeBeau said.

There's no indication that Tomlin and the Steelers will be getting rid of LeBeau soon or that he has any retirement plans. It's not that he looks 50 and still has the energy and enthusiasm of a man 30. It's not even that he wants to outlast Penn State's Joe Paterno, although he laughs and says, "Joe is one of the few people around who makes me feel young."

It's just that ...

Let Smith explain.

"He just loves being around football players and watching them play."

The Steelers' success hasn't hurt. LeBeau's defenses almost always are top shelf. The team had a blip last season, finishing 8-8, but won the Super Bowl the year before and went 15-1 the year before that.

"What isn't there to like about coming to work with this bunch?" LeBeau asked. "If I'm a good coach, it's because these guys are good players."

That's as close as LeBeau comes to reflecting on his career, even on the occasion of a milestone birthday. There's too much work to do figuring out a way to harass Browns quarterback Charlie Frye, to stop running back Jamal Lewis, to control tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. now that Porter isn't around to talk him off his game.

"The confidence he provides us is incredible," linebacker Larry Foote said. "We know we'll be prepared.

"You go around the league and hear other guys griping about their coaches. We don't have that problem here. You never hear that about coach LeBeau. We have so much less to worry about because of him.

"We know that, all things being equal, he's going to outcoach the other team's offensive coordinator."

That kind of respect, this sort of admiration -- "The way he treats people is amazing ... he's just a smooth cat," Smith said -- is the best present LeBeau will receive.

Happy birthday, coach! Everyone you know hopes you have many more.

First published on September 7, 2007 at 12:00 am
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From The Onion

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/brady...rowns_into_post

Brady Quinn Leads Browns Into Post-Preseason

CLEVELAND—Establishing a reputation for quarterback performance that football insiders have called "reasonable," Browns quarterback Brady Quinn silenced his critics and stunned his coaches, teammates, and family by performing competently enough in his limited play during preseason games to put the Cleveland Browns in 2007 post-preseason contention.

"I guess I can only say 'Wow,'" former Miami Dolphins quarterback and current Inside The NFL co-host Dan Marino said Tuesday following the announcement that Cleveland would advance to the regular season, playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first game on Sept. 9. "Wow. I think I speak for everyone when I say no one thought Brady Quinn could do it. To see him come into that preseason game against the Lions and just embarrass one of the best auto mechanics to ever play cornerback in the NFL…I admit it, I didn't think he had it in him."

"Quinn seemed possessed, like he was out there playing like it was the last game those other guys would ever play," added Marino, saying Quinn reminded him of a younger version of a quarterback who used to back him up.

In his first-ever preseason start against the Detroit Lions, Quinn defied the extremely low expectations when he did not run out onto the field with his helmet on backwards, trip over the yard lines, line up to take the snap behind a wideout, or attempt to roll the ball down the field towards his receivers.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Sports Illustrated football writer Peter King. "The conventional wisdom going into that game was that Brady Quinn was a huge mistake on the part of the Browns. But anyone who saw him will tell you he might not be all that big of a mistake after all."

This breathtaking display of basic knowledge of football fundamentals continued in a workmanlike display of quarterbacking against a group of men attempting to make the Lions, as Quinn threw for 81 yards while not falling into any random holes or stepping on any rakes that had been left lying around the field. And in the final game of the preseason, facing a Bears defense that almost certainly contained players who will make Chicago's taxi squad, Quinn threw only a single interception while conspicuously not lighting himself or his teammates on fire or tying his shoelaces together even once.

Predictably, Browns fans were ecstatic at the level of Quinn's performance.

"Mark my words, Brady is going to be one of our quarterbacks of the immediate future," said Ken Fairfield, a Browns preseason-ticket holder who said he would be camping out for regular-season Browns tickets long before they went on sale, if not for the fact they would almost certainly be readily available. "I can't believe people said he wouldn't even be an adequate field general. If what I saw in the second halves of those games wasn't adequate, I don't know what is."

"I'm completely surprised…I always felt that we could count on Quinn to totally blow it, but this is whole different side that we could never imagine," Browns head coach Romeo Crennel said. "I anticipated that he would hand off the ball to the first defensive lineman he saw. I even game-planned for it, keeping a fullback deep in the backfield to tackle him if he started running the wrong way. But then he goes and throws a basic little dump-off pass to Cribbs in the flat and it turns into a touchdown."

"I'm not saying we wouldn't have made it to the regular season without him," said Crennel, "but his play certainly didn't hurt. Which is one hell of a nice surprise, let me tell you."

Charlie Frye has been confirmed as the starter for the Sept. 9 game. Quinn is currently fourth on the depth chart, behind Frye, Derek Anderson, and strong-armed long-snapper Ryan Pontbriand.
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That 4.5 point spread is just crazy

Pittsburgh 38

Cleveland 10

Ok, maybe not 38, but we're winning by 10+

....with Holmes getting 7 for 135 and a TD

 
I love that we open the season playing the Clowns. Every yr Clowns fans get their hopes up and claim this is the yr that they become respectable and the Steelers get to burst that bubble in week 1. :hophead:

 
Would yinz guys start Jamal Lewis as your RB2 today if you were me? My other option is to start Tatum Bell (my starting Flex this week) as my RB2 and start another flex player (Curry or Jacoby or Calvin). I fully expect the Steelers to contain Jamal today. What would you guys do?

 
The Steelers allowed no 100 yard rushers last season and should be tough against the run again this season. The best shot for Jamal to have a big game today is for the Browns to get an early lead and sit on it or if the Steelers turn the ball over in their own red zone.

That said I would still probably play Jamal over your other choices because if Browns get near the goal line Jamal will be getting the ball.

 
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/20...171345338_x.htm

Pittsburgh leads nation in female NFL fans

By Alan Robinson, AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have known for years their fan base included countless women - that was evidenced by all the pink official team jerseys they sell and the hundreds who attend their female training camp each summer.

Yes, more than 300 women spend money each year to go through a simulated day of Steelers training camp, replete with blocking and running drills and a trip to the training table. The club also sponsors a Football Knowledge for Women classroom-type course.

Now the Steelers have proof that, when it comes to building a female fan base, Pittsburgh does it better than any other NFL market.

According to a Scarborough Sports Marketing survey of 220,354 residents in 75 United States markets conducted last year, Pittsburgh has, by far, the largest base of NFL fans who are women.

Pittsburgh is the runaway leader, with 34 percent of the women living in the Steelers' market identifying themselves as fans. Green Bay was second with 29.4 percent, but no other market surveyed had even one-quarter of its women identify themselves as fans.

Buffalo was third with 23.7 percent, followed by Cincinnati (22.8 percent), Kansas City (22.4 percent), Jacksonville (21.7 percent), Baltimore and Boston (21.5 percent) and Denver, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C. (20.9 percent).

Nationally, the average was 16 percent, which means that Pittsburgh has more than twice the number of female pro football fans than the average market, based on the survey's results.

Obviously, all those Terrible Towels inside Heinz Field aren't being twirled only by men.

Among men, Pittsburgh was second only to Green Bay in the percentage of fans - 38 percent of the men in Green Bay identified themselves as fans, compared to 35.1 percent in Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 were Jacksonville (34.9 percent), Boston and Denver (33.3); Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Philadelphia (32.1) and Cincinnati (31.5).

Pittsburgh also placed in the Top 10 in percentage of fans who are college graduates (No. 4, 17.5 percent), percentage of fans with at least one child in the family (No. 6, 23.8 percent) and percentage of fans who are between the ages of 18 and 24 (No. 7, 7.2 percent).

The results were not surprising, at least given the long-standing loyalty of Steelers fans - the team has sold out every non-strike home game since 1972.

According to a survey also taken by Scarborough Sports Marketing before the February 2006 Super Bowl in which the Steelers beat Seattle 21-10, Pittsburgh was the top market for fan loyalty in the NFL, with 64 percent of all consumers saying they were "very or somewhat interested" in the NFL.

The leaders in other categories in the latest survey:

- Fans between the ages of 18 and 24: Green Bay, 8.0 percent.

- Fans who are college graduates: Washington, D.C., 20 percent.

- Fans who are African-American: Washington, D.C, 12.8 percent.

- Fans who are Hispanic: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, 12.1 percent.

- Fans who earn over $75,000: Washington, D.C., 30.7 percent.

- Fans who earn over $100,000: Washington, D.C., 21.4 percent.

- Fans in households with at least one child: Green Bay, 25.8 percent.

The Associated Press
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AhrnCityPahnder said:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/20...171345338_x.htm

Pittsburgh leads nation in female NFL fans

By Alan Robinson, AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have known for years their fan base included countless women - that was evidenced by all the pink official team jerseys they sell and the hundreds who attend their female training camp each summer.

Yes, more than 300 women spend money each year to go through a simulated day of Steelers training camp, replete with blocking and running drills and a trip to the training table. The club also sponsors a Football Knowledge for Women classroom-type course.

Now the Steelers have proof that, when it comes to building a female fan base, Pittsburgh does it better than any other NFL market.

According to a Scarborough Sports Marketing survey of 220,354 residents in 75 United States markets conducted last year, Pittsburgh has, by far, the largest base of NFL fans who are women.

Pittsburgh is the runaway leader, with 34 percent of the women living in the Steelers' market identifying themselves as fans. Green Bay was second with 29.4 percent, but no other market surveyed had even one-quarter of its women identify themselves as fans.

Buffalo was third with 23.7 percent, followed by Cincinnati (22.8 percent), Kansas City (22.4 percent), Jacksonville (21.7 percent), Baltimore and Boston (21.5 percent) and Denver, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C. (20.9 percent).

Nationally, the average was 16 percent, which means that Pittsburgh has more than twice the number of female pro football fans than the average market, based on the survey's results.

Obviously, all those Terrible Towels inside Heinz Field aren't being twirled only by men.

Among men, Pittsburgh was second only to Green Bay in the percentage of fans - 38 percent of the men in Green Bay identified themselves as fans, compared to 35.1 percent in Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 were Jacksonville (34.9 percent), Boston and Denver (33.3); Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Philadelphia (32.1) and Cincinnati (31.5).

Pittsburgh also placed in the Top 10 in percentage of fans who are college graduates (No. 4, 17.5 percent), percentage of fans with at least one child in the family (No. 6, 23.8 percent) and percentage of fans who are between the ages of 18 and 24 (No. 7, 7.2 percent).

The results were not surprising, at least given the long-standing loyalty of Steelers fans - the team has sold out every non-strike home game since 1972.

According to a survey also taken by Scarborough Sports Marketing before the February 2006 Super Bowl in which the Steelers beat Seattle 21-10, Pittsburgh was the top market for fan loyalty in the NFL, with 64 percent of all consumers saying they were "very or somewhat interested" in the NFL.

The leaders in other categories in the latest survey:

- Fans between the ages of 18 and 24: Green Bay, 8.0 percent.

- Fans who are college graduates: Washington, D.C., 20 percent.

- Fans who are African-American: Washington, D.C, 12.8 percent.

- Fans who are Hispanic: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, 12.1 percent.

- Fans who earn over $75,000: Washington, D.C., 30.7 percent.

- Fans who earn over $100,000: Washington, D.C., 21.4 percent.

- Fans in households with at least one child: Green Bay, 25.8 percent.

The Associated Press
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I don't know, on Monday Night the cameras sure showed a lot of female Bengals fans at the game. I know it is hard to differentiate between the male and female species of Bengal fans though.
 
Irish said:
AhrnCityPahnder said:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/20...171345338_x.htm

Pittsburgh leads nation in female NFL fans

By Alan Robinson, AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have known for years their fan base included countless women - that was evidenced by all the pink official team jerseys they sell and the hundreds who attend their female training camp each summer.

Yes, more than 300 women spend money each year to go through a simulated day of Steelers training camp, replete with blocking and running drills and a trip to the training table. The club also sponsors a Football Knowledge for Women classroom-type course.

Now the Steelers have proof that, when it comes to building a female fan base, Pittsburgh does it better than any other NFL market.

According to a Scarborough Sports Marketing survey of 220,354 residents in 75 United States markets conducted last year, Pittsburgh has, by far, the largest base of NFL fans who are women.

Pittsburgh is the runaway leader, with 34 percent of the women living in the Steelers' market identifying themselves as fans. Green Bay was second with 29.4 percent, but no other market surveyed had even one-quarter of its women identify themselves as fans.

Buffalo was third with 23.7 percent, followed by Cincinnati (22.8 percent), Kansas City (22.4 percent), Jacksonville (21.7 percent), Baltimore and Boston (21.5 percent) and Denver, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C. (20.9 percent).

Nationally, the average was 16 percent, which means that Pittsburgh has more than twice the number of female pro football fans than the average market, based on the survey's results.

Obviously, all those Terrible Towels inside Heinz Field aren't being twirled only by men.

Among men, Pittsburgh was second only to Green Bay in the percentage of fans - 38 percent of the men in Green Bay identified themselves as fans, compared to 35.1 percent in Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 were Jacksonville (34.9 percent), Boston and Denver (33.3); Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Philadelphia (32.1) and Cincinnati (31.5).

Pittsburgh also placed in the Top 10 in percentage of fans who are college graduates (No. 4, 17.5 percent), percentage of fans with at least one child in the family (No. 6, 23.8 percent) and percentage of fans who are between the ages of 18 and 24 (No. 7, 7.2 percent).

The results were not surprising, at least given the long-standing loyalty of Steelers fans - the team has sold out every non-strike home game since 1972.

According to a survey also taken by Scarborough Sports Marketing before the February 2006 Super Bowl in which the Steelers beat Seattle 21-10, Pittsburgh was the top market for fan loyalty in the NFL, with 64 percent of all consumers saying they were "very or somewhat interested" in the NFL.

The leaders in other categories in the latest survey:

- Fans between the ages of 18 and 24: Green Bay, 8.0 percent.

- Fans who are college graduates: Washington, D.C., 20 percent.

- Fans who are African-American: Washington, D.C, 12.8 percent.

- Fans who are Hispanic: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, 12.1 percent.

- Fans who earn over $75,000: Washington, D.C., 30.7 percent.

- Fans who earn over $100,000: Washington, D.C., 21.4 percent.

- Fans in households with at least one child: Green Bay, 25.8 percent.

The Associated Press
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I don't know, on Monday Night the cameras sure showed a lot of female Bengals fans at the game. I know it is hard to differentiate between the male and female species of Bengal fans though.
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I remember thinking how rough-looking those women were. Probably the homeliest female fans I've ever seen in an NFL crowd.
 
Pittsburgh United said:
Irish said:
AhrnCityPahnder said:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/20...171345338_x.htm

Pittsburgh leads nation in female NFL fans

By Alan Robinson, AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have known for years their fan base included countless women - that was evidenced by all the pink official team jerseys they sell and the hundreds who attend their female training camp each summer.

Yes, more than 300 women spend money each year to go through a simulated day of Steelers training camp, replete with blocking and running drills and a trip to the training table. The club also sponsors a Football Knowledge for Women classroom-type course.

Now the Steelers have proof that, when it comes to building a female fan base, Pittsburgh does it better than any other NFL market.

According to a Scarborough Sports Marketing survey of 220,354 residents in 75 United States markets conducted last year, Pittsburgh has, by far, the largest base of NFL fans who are women.

Pittsburgh is the runaway leader, with 34 percent of the women living in the Steelers' market identifying themselves as fans. Green Bay was second with 29.4 percent, but no other market surveyed had even one-quarter of its women identify themselves as fans.

Buffalo was third with 23.7 percent, followed by Cincinnati (22.8 percent), Kansas City (22.4 percent), Jacksonville (21.7 percent), Baltimore and Boston (21.5 percent) and Denver, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C. (20.9 percent).

Nationally, the average was 16 percent, which means that Pittsburgh has more than twice the number of female pro football fans than the average market, based on the survey's results.

Obviously, all those Terrible Towels inside Heinz Field aren't being twirled only by men.

Among men, Pittsburgh was second only to Green Bay in the percentage of fans - 38 percent of the men in Green Bay identified themselves as fans, compared to 35.1 percent in Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 were Jacksonville (34.9 percent), Boston and Denver (33.3); Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Philadelphia (32.1) and Cincinnati (31.5).

Pittsburgh also placed in the Top 10 in percentage of fans who are college graduates (No. 4, 17.5 percent), percentage of fans with at least one child in the family (No. 6, 23.8 percent) and percentage of fans who are between the ages of 18 and 24 (No. 7, 7.2 percent).

The results were not surprising, at least given the long-standing loyalty of Steelers fans - the team has sold out every non-strike home game since 1972.

According to a survey also taken by Scarborough Sports Marketing before the February 2006 Super Bowl in which the Steelers beat Seattle 21-10, Pittsburgh was the top market for fan loyalty in the NFL, with 64 percent of all consumers saying they were "very or somewhat interested" in the NFL.

The leaders in other categories in the latest survey:

- Fans between the ages of 18 and 24: Green Bay, 8.0 percent.

- Fans who are college graduates: Washington, D.C., 20 percent.

- Fans who are African-American: Washington, D.C, 12.8 percent.

- Fans who are Hispanic: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, 12.1 percent.

- Fans who earn over $75,000: Washington, D.C., 30.7 percent.

- Fans who earn over $100,000: Washington, D.C., 21.4 percent.

- Fans in households with at least one child: Green Bay, 25.8 percent.

The Associated Press
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I don't know, on Monday Night the cameras sure showed a lot of female Bengals fans at the game. I know it is hard to differentiate between the male and female species of Bengal fans though.
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I remember thinking how rough-looking those women were. Probably the homeliest female fans I've ever seen in an NFL crowd.
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:goodposting:
 
Just watched the highlights of the Pit/Bills game and I loved the throwbacks.

My thoughts after 2 weeks. (i'm in China so havent watched the entire games only the highlights and study the numbers) So tell me if you disagree.

Ben is looking fine. Spreading the ball around

Santonio is faster than I thought.

FWP is the man

The oline has looked better than I thought

The D has embarrassed 2 teams, all over the QB's

The consensus that Matt Spaeth has good hands is true 2 TD's for the rookie. Looks like "going to the TE's more" was no bs after all

Sepulveda was a wonderful draft choice for this team

Seems the Steelers are getting the rookies envolved in the game more-so than previous years.

 
Steelers Notebook: Harrison due back as starter

OLB's injury proves to be only stiff neck

Thursday, September 20, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Linebacker James Harrison not only is feeling better after what appeared to be a scary neck injury in the game Sunday against Buffalo, he went through a full practice yesterday and likely will start this Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Harrison was strapped onto a board and taken off the field after his neck was jammed on the final play of the first half at Heinz Field.

Tuesday, coach Mike Tomlin said Harrison had nothing more than a stiff neck. Yesterday, Harrison said he is ready to play and wanted to get back into the game Sunday.

"I just jammed my neck up and couldn't move it for a minute," Harrison said. "I was sitting back and everything. I could move. I'm like, 'I'm feeling better, it just feels a little loose.' As soon as I said that, it was 'Don't move, we're strapping you up.' "

It took about 11 minutes for doctors and trainers to get Harrison off the field. They cut his facemask off and left his helmet on.

The injury occurred one week after Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered a serious neck injury in their opener.

"I think they overreacted with the thing that happened with the guy last week," Harrison said.

"I don't think they wanted to take any chances."

Harrison came back onto the sideline in the third quarter and wanted to play, but medical personnel ordered him back into the locker room.

"That was a good move on them, but where I was standing at the time I didn't like the move they made."

He said he actually was hurt on the previous play, then ran into the backside of 345-pound nose tackle Casey Hampton.

"That's something you don't want to hit," Harrison said. "That's an immovable object right there."
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:popcorn: :shock: :lmao:
Out of action

Three players watched from the sideline yesterday, including starting guard Kendall Simmons, who has a shoulder injury. Also not practicing were backup halfback Najeh Davenport (hamstring) and rookie tight end Matt Spaeth (bruised thigh).

Roster moves

The Steelers waived linebacker Marquis Cooper and acquired former Steelers linebacker Andre Frazier off waivers from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cooper, signed Aug. 3, missed the first two games with an injured hamstring.

Frazier made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2005 and played mostly on special teams. His leg was broken in the AFC championship game in Denver, and he was released after the 2006 training camp.

He played last season for the Bengals, who waived him Tuesday.

The essence is time

The Steelers' new offense has one big thing in common with the old one: It keeps the ball.

The offense has averaged 35 minutes, 52 seconds of the 60 minutes in each of its first two games. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that they lead the NFL in third-down conversion percentage -- they have made 18 of 33.

"Our third-down conversion definitely has given us opportunities to control the clock," Hines Ward said.

"All third-down conversions are just three more plays you buy yourself for your team.

"Those extra conversions you make set up more opportunities for big plays and get Willie [Parker] more yards."

Just let 'er rip

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he was not supposed to read the defense when he cut loose and hurled a deep pass toward Santonio Holmes Sunday against Buffalo.

The play came from the Steelers' 37 and was intercepted by safety Jim Leonhard at the Bills' 19. Roethlisberger does not look over the defense, he fakes a handoff, drops back and chucks it.

"Yeah, that was pretty much the plan, to give it a pump and let it go," Roethlisberger said. "That's what I did.

"That safety made a great play on it, coming all the way across the field. We always harp to the receivers, it's our ball or nobody's. To Santonio's credit, I don't think he saw that safety coming or he would have broken it up. He kind of came on top of it and made a great play, otherwise Santonio would have broken it up."

Roethlisberger can pass Hall of Famer Bobby Layne for fifth place on the team's passing yardage list Sunday. He needs 62 yards to pass Layne's 8,983.

Short snaps

Kicker Jeff Reed leads the AFC with 24 points and is tied with Giants receiver Plaxico Burress and Carolina receiver Steve Smith for the NFL lead. ... For the second consecutive week, the NFL made an official change to the Steelers' sack statistics. The Elias Sports Bureau removed a sack from end Brett Keisel and gave it to linebacker Clark Haggans, ruling his foot caused quarterback J.P. Losman to fall down in the fourth quarter Sunday. Haggans now leads the team with two sacks, and Keisel is left with none. ... Wide receiver Santonio Holmes is the only AFC player with 100 yards receiving with an average over 20 yards. His is 21.6. ... Ward needs one touchdown catch for 60. The only other Steeler to reach that mark was John Stallworth, who caught 63.
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Also, good article about LeBeau and the freedom Tomlin has given him:Tomlin turns The Wizard loose

 
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Better pass blocking is on Colon's to-do listFriday, September 21, 2007By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-GazettePeter Diana/Post-GazetteIt was only a practice, and it did not involve the first-team offense, but right tackle Willie Colon noticed what happened.During a series in which guard Kendall Simmons was given some work as the emergency backup center, the Steelers botched the snap on several occasions, forcing quarterback Charlie Batch to abort the play.Nothing was said. Practice wasn't stopped. Coach Mike Tomlin didn't scream. The players merely went back in the huddle and tried it again.Not the way it used to be."Coach Cowher would have flipped out," Colon said, referring to former coach Bill Cowher. "But that's just two different guys and two different ways to do things. Yeah, you can yell, but what is that going to do? You still got to go out and snap the ball. We have guys who are very mature, very adult, who understand they have to get it done."Tomlin doesn't scream and yell on the practice field. Nor does he get intimately involved when the offense and defense work on the formations and plays they will use in a game, preferring to leave most, if not all, of the instruction to his assistant coaches.Instead, he gets his point across in other venues, such as team meetings, when he uses the same calm, detached manner to make his point. And he does it in such a manner that he gets a player's attention.He did it last week with Colon, who said he doesn't always respond well to criticism. And it appeared to work."You don't like it, but it helps you," said Colon, a fourth-round draft choice in 2006 who won the starting position from incumbent Max Starks in training camp. "Coach Tomlin always said, you got to take the emotion out of it, and you do."You watch film and you're like, it's not that bad, he's just being hard on you. But you can't take it like that. Then you're like, darn right, I got to do it better. You have to have a professional attitude about it. When he came at me, I just ate it. I got to give him what he wants. That's what I try to do, and I still have to give him what he wants."After being challenged by Tomlin to play better than he did in the season-opening victory in Cleveland, Colon (6-3, 340) was much improved in the 26-3 victory against the Buffalo Bills. He threw the big block on Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny that allowed Willie Parker to score on an 11-yard run and was part of a running game that gained 184 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry.The Steelers have averaged 195 yards rushing in their first two games, the best two-game start since the 1983 season when the Steelers rushed for a combined 408 yards against Denver and Green Bay. What's more, Parker has three 100-yard games in a row and five in his past six starts, dating to last season. Coincidence or not, Colon has been the starter in four of those games."Is he capable of playing better? Absolutely," Tomlin said. "Last week we challenged him to finish. I think he is a better finisher than what he is showing us right now. I think one of the defining elements in his game is the way he finishes off blocks. He is a very good competitor in that way. He was better [against the Bills]."Colon's specialty is run-blocking, one of the reasons he was able to beat out Starks for the starting position. But against the San Francisco 49ers (2-0), whom the Steelers play Sunday at Heinz Field, he will have to be more effective as a pass-blocker.That's because he will line against 49ers defensive end Bryant Young, a 14-year veteran and a four-time Pro Bowl selection. The 49ers have five sacks in two games, and Bryant has three of them.Colon doesn't want to slack now. Nor does he want to be challenged again in a team meeting."In Cleveland, I didn't play bad, but I didn't play the hardest," Colon said. "On offense, everyone has to be on the same page, and when one guy is slacking he's holding everybody back. I don't ever want to be the weak link. I took it personal. I took it on the chin and I tried to respond to do better.""
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Looking very solid so far. I realize it's only 3 weeks, but so far there are no signs of any glaring weaknesses on this team. Rossum has upgraded the return game, Reed and Sepulveda have been solid, Parker has 100+ yards in all 3 games, Roethlisberger has limited his mistakes and is spreading the ball around very nicely, and the D has been as solid as ever against the run and the pass.

I'm liking it. :(

 
Something minor... Do you think Tomlin is too hesitant of challenging plays? I could be wrong, but has he threw the red flag at all this year?

 
beavers said:
Something minor... Do you think Tomlin is too hesitant of challenging plays? I could be wrong, but has he threw the red flag at all this year?
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Yeah, but I don't think you can blame Tomlin. Someone in the booth seems to be asleep at the wheel. The step out of bounds should have been challenged last week and the play today that was reversed to be called an incompletion should have been challenged by the Steelers. The ball never hit the ground so it couldn't have been an incompletion. Hopefully they'll get better at this.
 
The line is still more inconsistent than I would like, but overall, I like where this team is.

Parker is a warrior.

Who would have thought that our TE2 spot would have as many touchdown receptions as the rest of the team combined leading up to week 4?

Whatever we wind up paying for Rossum he's been worth it.

 
Memphis Foundry said:
The line is still more inconsistent than I would like, but overall, I like where this team is.

Parker is a warrior.

Who would have thought that our TE2 spot would have as many touchdown receptions as the rest of the team combined leading up to week 4?

Whatever we wind up paying for Rossum he's been worth it.
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Someone was FINALLY serious when he said, "We're going to use our TEs more this year."
 
It's very encouraging to see the Steelers play three complete games, but as I've posted elsewhere, all this proves is that they can dominate inferior teams. Yet I'm not sure the same couldn't be said even of the supposedly invincible Patriots and the other 3-0 teams in the Colts, Cowboys and Packers. For all of these teams, all I know is you can't do better than 3-0.

As I posted in its own thread, Ward apparently has no significant injury to his knee. LINK

Also, I love this quote from Jeff Reed. Whether or not he ends up being worth the draft picks, Sepulveda is a perfect punter for Pittsburgh fans:

The 49ers lined up for an onside kick after they scored their only touchdown, with 2:22 to play, that cut the Steelers' lead to 30-16. They looked up and saw Steelers punter Daniel Sepulveda lined up in the front row.

San Francisco punter Andy Lee told Sepulveda they decided right away where Joe Nedney would kick it.

"As soon as they saw me over there, that's the way [they] were going," Sepulveda said.

But Sepulveda is not your ordinary punter. He's a former linebacker who became a punter and, as punters go, he has good hands. It's why he holds for Jeff Reed's kicks, and he easily snatched up Nedney's onside try to end the 49ers' last gasp.

"He didn't hit it [well]," Sepulveda said.

Sepulveda is a backup on the "hands" team that enters the field when the Steelers expect an onside kick. He moved up because Ward was hurt.

"He's an athlete," Reed said. "He's 230 pounds and he enjoys hitting."
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LINK (see subtitle "Good hands and feet")
 
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CrossEyed said:
AhrnCityPahnder said:
CrossEyed said:
I realize it's only 3 weeks, but so far there are no signs of any glaring weaknesses on this team.
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Pass protection needs help.
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Hasn't been spectacular, but I wouldn't call it a glaring weakness. If Ben wasn't as agile as he is it might be a little more of a problem.
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I live in NY so I don't get to see all of the games, but Ben seems to be tossing defenders aside, and that certainly helps the pass protection.(And just to level set - I'm a Jets fan, but adopted Steelers fan because my fiance is from Da Burgh, we're getting married there in a few weeks, and I love the Steeler pride :thumbup: )

 
AhrnCityPahnder said:
CrossEyed said:
I realize it's only 3 weeks, but so far there are no signs of any glaring weaknesses on this team.
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Pass protection needs help.
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:thumbup: Niners aren't know for their pass rush and they were all over Big Ben.Only his size and strength prevented him from taking muliple sacks.
 
beavers said:
Something minor... Do you think Tomlin is too hesitant of challenging plays? I could be wrong, but has he threw the red flag at all this year?
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Could be, but on the other hand we have been blowing teams out, so why risk a TO.
 
corpcow said:
I live in NY so I don't get to see all of the games, but Ben seems to be tossing defenders aside, and that certainly helps the pass protection.(And just to level set - I'm a Jets fan, but adopted Steelers fan because my fiance is from Da Burgh, we're getting married there in a few weeks, and I love the Steeler pride :D )
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Marrying up, I see. :thumbup:
 
Uncle Humuna said:
AhrnCityPahnder said:
CrossEyed said:
I realize it's only 3 weeks, but so far there are no signs of any glaring weaknesses on this team.
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Pass protection needs help.
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:rolleyes: Niners aren't know for their pass rush and they were all over Big Ben.Only his size and strength prevented him from taking muliple sacks.
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N.California Steeler fan here. Rest assured... the 9ers aren't known for their pass rush, but they will be. Willis has been in everybody's backfield all 3 weeks. That rook is a stud, the secondary in S.F. is very solid w/ their offseason additions and the front 7 are coming into their own. No shame in being less than stellar vs. that D. If they could pass the ball, they'd be right with the 'Boys in the NFC. I for one, give them the edge to win their division.
 
While I agree that the primary "need" so far this year would be to improve the pass protection, as horrid as this OL looked in that regard during the PS made me think that Roeth wasn't going to last for more than a couple quarters of game one. They've played a little better than I expected to tell the truth. Smith looked aboslutely terrible during camp and he's pretty much righted his ship. That's probably the one guy they can't afford to lose a lot of time to injury this season or it could get ugly.

All that said, the pass prot. is clearly still not totally where it needs to be.

 
Cookiemonster said:
Uncle Humuna said:
AhrnCityPahnder said:
CrossEyed said:
I realize it's only 3 weeks, but so far there are no signs of any glaring weaknesses on this team.
Click to expand...
Pass protection needs help.
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:excited: Niners aren't know for their pass rush and they were all over Big Ben.Only his size and strength prevented him from taking muliple sacks.
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N.California Steeler fan here. Rest assured... the 9ers aren't known for their pass rush, but they will be. Willis has been in everybody's backfield all 3 weeks. That rook is a stud, the secondary in S.F. is very solid w/ their offseason additions and the front 7 are coming into their own. No shame in being less than stellar vs. that D. If they could pass the ball, they'd be right with the 'Boys in the NFC. I for one, give them the edge to win their division.
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Their pass D might be awesome, but their run D is suspect.They may have held SJax in check (who hasn't?), but Edge and FWP ripped through the line.May not be giving up 20 yrd. plays, but 5 and 6 yards a pop won't do it.They may win the NFC Worst this year,but aren't quite ready to challenge for the conference title.
 
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