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AJHawkfan
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06237/716313-66.stm
Happy, grateful Big Ben sets high standards, goals
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger lollygags through the Saint Vincent College campus, often with an iPod attached to his repaired head, in no rush to get to lunch, nor to return to the dorm or the locker room or the practice field.
That's deceptive because this 24-year-old is in a rush to go where no quarterback has ever gone, even if he already has been there.
"I don't talk about my goals, but they are cranked up a little bit," Roethlisberger said as he prepared for the Steelers' third exhibition game at 8 p.m. today in Philadelphia. "I got a little ahead of schedule by winning a Super Bowl."
Just a tad. It wasn't enough that he became the first quarterback to have a 13-0 record as a starter and that he did it as a rookie. He followed by becoming the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl at age 23. No quarterback in the game's history had such success in his first two years as a pro.
What's left? Survive a near deadly motorcycle accident and go on to win a second Super Bowl eight months later?
"I hope a lot's left," Roethlisberger said, pausing in the final days of training camp in Latrobe. "I would love to accomplish a lot. I would love to get more rings than any other quarterback in the history of the league. I'd love to be the greatest to ever play the game. That's an awesome goal."
They play only one major in pro football, yet Roethlisberger has a chance to become his sport's Tiger Woods. He's only 24 and he's 1 for 2, yet he also has a long way to go. Terry Bradshaw won his first Super Bowl in his fifth season. He won his fourth in his 11th season. He retired after his 16th without appearing in another. Two quarterbacks each won four Super Bowls: Bradshaw and Joe Montana, both with Pittsburgh connections.
Roethlisberger wants to outdo both. Kordell Stewart once said such things, too, topping it with his infamous prediction that he was headed for the Hall of Fame. But Roethlisberger can at least back up such goals by having already achieved some.
"My expectations are definitely high," he said. "For some reason -- heaven forbid -- I lost two or three games in a row, people are going to forget everything good that we've done, that I've done. But I won't."
Never mind lose two or three in a row, he's barely lost that in total since he was thrust into the lineup in the second game of 2004. He's 27-4, counting playoffs, in two seasons.
He wants more, but something occurred this summer that reminded him things can go up in smoke in a matter of seconds.
"You never know," Roethlisberger said, veering back 2 1/2 months to that ugly June 12, when his motorcycle and head were lying mangled on Second Avenue in Pittsburgh. "Like the accident, every play can be your last play. And that's something I've really come to appreciate, that every play could be my last one."
The accident that broke his jaw, his nose, an orbital bone and some teeth, changed him. He shed 15 pounds, not an unwelcome byproduct but surely not a weight-loss program he recommends. It's not the physical changes that he believes will have the most lasting effect on him.
"I'm thankful to be alive," Roethlisberger said. "Most people who know me say I'm smiling a lot more than I ever did. It seems like I'm having a lot more fun than I've ever had."
He signs one or two of his Nike shoes after many practices and gives them away to fans or sick children. He seemed to have more time to talk to reporters than he did in training camp last year, when the same reporters -- and coaches -- talked about how poorly he was playing. He attributes the new outlook to the accident, not that he's any more easygoing on the playing field.
"People say, 'Why do you still get mad on the field?' Well, I get mad because I set my bar of excellence high. But once I step off the field, if you watch me on the sideline, I'm laughing with Hines [Ward], and we're having a good time."
The accident "really has done that. It has made me realize how lucky I am and how blessed I am to be alive. Every day, I wake up and say thank you for being able to be here. I've always been thankful I've been able to play the game, but now I'm thankful to be alive. To be able to do this again just adds appreciation to it."
Who knows? He might never do it again, but history shows that quarterbacks who get off to fast starts rarely turn bad, and no one else has gotten off to such a fast start. His third training camp has been his best.
"Based on what you saw in the spring, he was making a tremendous amount of strides as far as his understanding of the offense and what he wanted to do," coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "After everything that happened, you worried about where he would be when he came back into training camp. It seems to me he's back in that same place. He knows what he wants to do, he's paying attention to the details and he's performing on the field."
The motorcycle accident always will be part of his resume, but it's quickly fading as an issue because of his performance. Not that it won't have some lasting effect.
"When I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror, I said holy cow, what just happened?" Roethlisberger said of his time in the hospital. "Football was so far down on the list as important things."
But, as he healed, he also heard people doubting how quickly -- or whether -- he could return to play and remain good at it.
"Once people started saying I couldn't do it," Roethlisberger said, "that motivated me more."
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-3878. )
Happy, grateful Big Ben sets high standards, goals
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger lollygags through the Saint Vincent College campus, often with an iPod attached to his repaired head, in no rush to get to lunch, nor to return to the dorm or the locker room or the practice field.
That's deceptive because this 24-year-old is in a rush to go where no quarterback has ever gone, even if he already has been there.
"I don't talk about my goals, but they are cranked up a little bit," Roethlisberger said as he prepared for the Steelers' third exhibition game at 8 p.m. today in Philadelphia. "I got a little ahead of schedule by winning a Super Bowl."
Just a tad. It wasn't enough that he became the first quarterback to have a 13-0 record as a starter and that he did it as a rookie. He followed by becoming the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl at age 23. No quarterback in the game's history had such success in his first two years as a pro.
What's left? Survive a near deadly motorcycle accident and go on to win a second Super Bowl eight months later?
"I hope a lot's left," Roethlisberger said, pausing in the final days of training camp in Latrobe. "I would love to accomplish a lot. I would love to get more rings than any other quarterback in the history of the league. I'd love to be the greatest to ever play the game. That's an awesome goal."
They play only one major in pro football, yet Roethlisberger has a chance to become his sport's Tiger Woods. He's only 24 and he's 1 for 2, yet he also has a long way to go. Terry Bradshaw won his first Super Bowl in his fifth season. He won his fourth in his 11th season. He retired after his 16th without appearing in another. Two quarterbacks each won four Super Bowls: Bradshaw and Joe Montana, both with Pittsburgh connections.
Roethlisberger wants to outdo both. Kordell Stewart once said such things, too, topping it with his infamous prediction that he was headed for the Hall of Fame. But Roethlisberger can at least back up such goals by having already achieved some.
"My expectations are definitely high," he said. "For some reason -- heaven forbid -- I lost two or three games in a row, people are going to forget everything good that we've done, that I've done. But I won't."
Never mind lose two or three in a row, he's barely lost that in total since he was thrust into the lineup in the second game of 2004. He's 27-4, counting playoffs, in two seasons.
He wants more, but something occurred this summer that reminded him things can go up in smoke in a matter of seconds.
"You never know," Roethlisberger said, veering back 2 1/2 months to that ugly June 12, when his motorcycle and head were lying mangled on Second Avenue in Pittsburgh. "Like the accident, every play can be your last play. And that's something I've really come to appreciate, that every play could be my last one."
The accident that broke his jaw, his nose, an orbital bone and some teeth, changed him. He shed 15 pounds, not an unwelcome byproduct but surely not a weight-loss program he recommends. It's not the physical changes that he believes will have the most lasting effect on him.
"I'm thankful to be alive," Roethlisberger said. "Most people who know me say I'm smiling a lot more than I ever did. It seems like I'm having a lot more fun than I've ever had."
He signs one or two of his Nike shoes after many practices and gives them away to fans or sick children. He seemed to have more time to talk to reporters than he did in training camp last year, when the same reporters -- and coaches -- talked about how poorly he was playing. He attributes the new outlook to the accident, not that he's any more easygoing on the playing field.
"People say, 'Why do you still get mad on the field?' Well, I get mad because I set my bar of excellence high. But once I step off the field, if you watch me on the sideline, I'm laughing with Hines [Ward], and we're having a good time."
The accident "really has done that. It has made me realize how lucky I am and how blessed I am to be alive. Every day, I wake up and say thank you for being able to be here. I've always been thankful I've been able to play the game, but now I'm thankful to be alive. To be able to do this again just adds appreciation to it."
Who knows? He might never do it again, but history shows that quarterbacks who get off to fast starts rarely turn bad, and no one else has gotten off to such a fast start. His third training camp has been his best.
"Based on what you saw in the spring, he was making a tremendous amount of strides as far as his understanding of the offense and what he wanted to do," coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "After everything that happened, you worried about where he would be when he came back into training camp. It seems to me he's back in that same place. He knows what he wants to do, he's paying attention to the details and he's performing on the field."
The motorcycle accident always will be part of his resume, but it's quickly fading as an issue because of his performance. Not that it won't have some lasting effect.
"When I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror, I said holy cow, what just happened?" Roethlisberger said of his time in the hospital. "Football was so far down on the list as important things."
But, as he healed, he also heard people doubting how quickly -- or whether -- he could return to play and remain good at it.
"Once people started saying I couldn't do it," Roethlisberger said, "that motivated me more."
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-3878. )
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AJHawkfan
Wanna make $14 the hard way?
Steelers Notebook: Ward still eyes brief preseason exposure
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Hines Ward missed one regular-season game in his first eight seasons. Tonight, he will miss his third exhibition game when the Steelers play in Philadelphia, and he might miss the game Thursday against Carolina, too.
He's hurt, frustrated, antsy to get back on a practice field and into a game, but he will settle for a return Sept. 7, when the Steelers open the season against Miami at Heinz Field.
"It's still disappointing, coming off a Super Bowl year and Super Bowl MVP, to come back in training camp and only getting a week's worth of practice," said Ward, his injured right hamstring packed in ice. "It's frustrating. I would have liked to have been out there competing and feeling good, but my job now is to get healthy. If I get healthy and get ready for that opener against Miami, that's the main thing."
Second-year pro Nate Washington, who caught one pass as a rookie all last season (in the AFC championship game), will make his third consecutive start in place of Ward at flanker. Coach Bill Cowher won't play his starters long Thursday against the Panthers, not with the opener the following Thursday night. It's possible some might not play at all in the exhibition finale, although there's one who still wants to do so.
"I'd like to get at least a series," Ward said. "I will lobby for it, but, at the same time, coach knows what's best for his team. I would like to get hit around before I go into the regular season and actually go into a full game without having playing time in the preseason.
"But, if I'm not 100 percent, I won't push it."
Holmes still adjusting
Rookie Santonio Holmes won't soon start unless there are more injuries to wide receivers. He is fourth or fifth on the depth chart, not because he had a poor training camp, but because Ward, Cedrick Wilson and Washington are ahead of him.
He could make spot contributions to the Steelers, but he is not expected to make any big ones as a receiver this season. It's a long way from the 2000 season, when first-round pick Plaxico Burress opened his rookie training camp as the starting split end.
"It was very tough mentally," Holmes said of his first pro camp. "My body took a beating at the start, but toward the end, I started to work a little harder, started to relax a lot more because I learned the system more."
His goals are more mundane than widespread.
"Personally, my goal right now is to get in my playbook as much as possible, stop making the small mistakes I find myself noticing -- at the snap of the ball or right after the play is over. That's my main goal."
He believes missing most of the Steelers' spring drills because of an NFL policy that he could not join them until his Ohio State classes were over, hurt him this summer.
"It put me behind a lot, because that's a lot I could have learned, and coming into camp, I probably wouldn't have had all these mistakes I've had. But at the same time, I learned a great deal in camp and was able to catch onto the system real fast."
He made a few dazzling catches, one in his first practice, yet his quickest contributions likely will come as a punt-returner. He and fellow rookie receiver Willie Reid dropped into a two-deep punt-return formation last week, and Cowher might continue such a deployment.
"We did that at Ohio State," Holmes said. "You don't really see that in the NFL, but a lot of guys in college do it."
Giant Foote steps
Inside linebacker Larry Foote ended inside linebacker James Farrior's two-year reign as the team's leading tackler last season and aims to stretch that accomplishment to two in a row in 2006.
They have a friendly competition. Foote says Farrior had the advantage because he stays on the field in the nickel and dime defenses. Farrior points out that he missed two games with an injury last season.
"That's his [excuse] when I try to throw it in his face," Foote said.
Foote not only wants to pile up more tackles, he'd like to take Farrior's job at middle linebacker in the nickel and dime defenses.
"I'm trying to take his spot and trying to get better at it, so they can bump his butt out of there," said Foote, who played that position at Michigan.
Said Farrior, "I got a few more years left, so he's going to have to wait on that."
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Hines Ward missed one regular-season game in his first eight seasons. Tonight, he will miss his third exhibition game when the Steelers play in Philadelphia, and he might miss the game Thursday against Carolina, too.
He's hurt, frustrated, antsy to get back on a practice field and into a game, but he will settle for a return Sept. 7, when the Steelers open the season against Miami at Heinz Field.
"It's still disappointing, coming off a Super Bowl year and Super Bowl MVP, to come back in training camp and only getting a week's worth of practice," said Ward, his injured right hamstring packed in ice. "It's frustrating. I would have liked to have been out there competing and feeling good, but my job now is to get healthy. If I get healthy and get ready for that opener against Miami, that's the main thing."
Second-year pro Nate Washington, who caught one pass as a rookie all last season (in the AFC championship game), will make his third consecutive start in place of Ward at flanker. Coach Bill Cowher won't play his starters long Thursday against the Panthers, not with the opener the following Thursday night. It's possible some might not play at all in the exhibition finale, although there's one who still wants to do so.
"I'd like to get at least a series," Ward said. "I will lobby for it, but, at the same time, coach knows what's best for his team. I would like to get hit around before I go into the regular season and actually go into a full game without having playing time in the preseason.
"But, if I'm not 100 percent, I won't push it."
Holmes still adjusting
Rookie Santonio Holmes won't soon start unless there are more injuries to wide receivers. He is fourth or fifth on the depth chart, not because he had a poor training camp, but because Ward, Cedrick Wilson and Washington are ahead of him.
He could make spot contributions to the Steelers, but he is not expected to make any big ones as a receiver this season. It's a long way from the 2000 season, when first-round pick Plaxico Burress opened his rookie training camp as the starting split end.
"It was very tough mentally," Holmes said of his first pro camp. "My body took a beating at the start, but toward the end, I started to work a little harder, started to relax a lot more because I learned the system more."
His goals are more mundane than widespread.
"Personally, my goal right now is to get in my playbook as much as possible, stop making the small mistakes I find myself noticing -- at the snap of the ball or right after the play is over. That's my main goal."
He believes missing most of the Steelers' spring drills because of an NFL policy that he could not join them until his Ohio State classes were over, hurt him this summer.
"It put me behind a lot, because that's a lot I could have learned, and coming into camp, I probably wouldn't have had all these mistakes I've had. But at the same time, I learned a great deal in camp and was able to catch onto the system real fast."
He made a few dazzling catches, one in his first practice, yet his quickest contributions likely will come as a punt-returner. He and fellow rookie receiver Willie Reid dropped into a two-deep punt-return formation last week, and Cowher might continue such a deployment.
"We did that at Ohio State," Holmes said. "You don't really see that in the NFL, but a lot of guys in college do it."
Giant Foote steps
Inside linebacker Larry Foote ended inside linebacker James Farrior's two-year reign as the team's leading tackler last season and aims to stretch that accomplishment to two in a row in 2006.
They have a friendly competition. Foote says Farrior had the advantage because he stays on the field in the nickel and dime defenses. Farrior points out that he missed two games with an injury last season.
"That's his [excuse] when I try to throw it in his face," Foote said.
Foote not only wants to pile up more tackles, he'd like to take Farrior's job at middle linebacker in the nickel and dime defenses.
"I'm trying to take his spot and trying to get better at it, so they can bump his butt out of there," said Foote, who played that position at Michigan.
Said Farrior, "I got a few more years left, so he's going to have to wait on that."
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'Invincible' Morey looking forward to Philadelphia
By Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 25, 2006
Although he can appreciate the Vince Papale saga more than most, Sean Morey maintains Hollywood got it right in deciding which little guy with the big heart to glorify.
"It's an amazing story," Morey said of "Invincible," which debuts today in theaters nationwide. "I can relate to some of the things he went through, but in no way is my story as cool as Vince Papale's."
Morey will be otherwise occupied tonight, when the Steelers meet the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
For Morey, the game represents another opportunity to establish himself as an irreplaceable part of the Steelers' special teams, something he's been the past two seasons, right through Super Bowl XL.
That's a long way from setting Ivy League receiving records at Brown, from being drafted in the seventh round and then released by New England in 1999 and from playing on practice squads and as a defensive back in Barcelona.
Papale, a Glenolden native, never played college football -- he accepted a track scholarship to St. Joseph's -- and made the jump to Eagles training camp from the WFL's Philadelphia Bell at age 30 through an open tryout.
"I thought there were a lot of parallels, not so much with his experience or with his career, but more so with the type of things he had to deal with -- not just physically, but emotionally," Morey said. "I was a hometown kid (from Marshfield, Mass.). I was drafted by the Patriots. I knew every player, and I looked up to them. And to have your locker next to Ben Coates and Terry Glenn, I mean, it's a culture shock.
"It took me a couple years just to get over being star-struck and play the game that I had played my whole life."
Papale was 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. Morey is 5-foot-11, 200 pounds.
Papale was the first special teams captain in Eagles history. Morey and cornerback Chidi Iwuoma captained the Steelers' special teams last season.
Papale made one career catch (for 15 yards) and lasted three seasons. Morey has one career catch (for 8 yards) and hopes this season will be his fourth full NFL season.
He'll play tonight with a soft cast protecting a micro-fracture in his left thumb after missing last Saturday's preseason game against Minnesota.
He wants to win another Super Bowl, experience another parade and hone his receiving skills. But first, he has to make the team again.
"I've been cut more times than I like to admit," Morey said. "And I've done every single odd job in the world, from delivering furniture to working on fishing boats to building houses the years that I've been cut. And I did a lot of soul searching.
"I never gave up on it, and I continued to work, and I've been able to get into a position where I'm in the right place at the right time.
"But the only reason I've gotten to where I am today is because I've had that desire, that motivation to get a little bit better and to be hungry. I've been, to a flaw, sort of psychotic about that. I've always wanted to prove to people that I can play."
All he needs now is another happy ending.
Mike Prisuta can be reached at [email protected].
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_467669.html
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Notebook: Cornerbacks vie for backup job
By The Tribune-Review
Friday, August 25, 2006
Ricardo Colclough and Bryant McFadden are fighting for the Steelers' No. 3 cornerback's job and are filling in for injured starter Deshea Townsend (thumb). And the job will probably be won with steady play, rather than by making big plays.
"You can't afford to take any plays off," defensive backs coach Darren Perry said. "As soon as you relax, you're probably going to end up getting beat. Consistency, play in and play out, is probably the biggest thing that you look for."
Townsend has vowed to be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 7 against Miami.
• McFadden was an integral part of the Steelers' "sub" (extra defensive backs) packages in the secondary by the conclusion of his rookie season, and he helped save the team's playoff game in Indianapolis with a pass deflection in the end zone with 31 seconds remaining. But he's apparently fallen behind Colclough this summer.
"They're going with Ricardo (with the first team in Townsend's place) right now," McFadden said. "Hopefully, next week, it'll change. I'm OK with it. That's what coach (Bill) Cowher decided. I just have to be ready to play football when I get out there."
• Townsend used his presence on the sideline during the Steelers' final activities at St. Vincent College to take a good-natured shot at his teammate, roommate and close friend, wide receiver Hines Ward.
"I didn't want him to be alone," Townsend said. "I wanted to join him on the last days of camp to make him feel not so bad (about) how everybody else has been practicing all camp and he hasn't been doing anything."
Ward has been out since injuring his left hamstring Aug. 4. He's tried to return on three occasions since but hasn't been able to complete a practice.
• When the Steelers return from Philadelphia, they'll head home, as opposed to St. Vincent in Latrobe, where they reported for training camp July 28.
"Three weeks up here in the cinder-block walls of Rooney Hall, it's time to get back home," guard Alan Faneca said.
• Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a big proponent of using the no huddle offense, even when the Steelers aren't in two-minute situations, in part because he believes it helps make his job easier.
"I don't know if I necessarily prefer it," Roethlisberger said. "I do like it. It gives me the chance to put us in a good play, being able to change a play at the line of scrimmage if we have to, to hopefully put us in the best play possible, so that mistakes are limited on my part."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digits
1 - Number of ex-Bill Cowher assistant coaches on Andy Reid's staff in Philadelphia (wide receivers coach Dave Culley served in that capacity for the Steelers from 1996-98).
2 - Number of ex-NFL head coaches serving as assistants on the Steelers' and Eagles' staffs (Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg coached the Detroit Lions from 2001-02, and Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau coached the Cincinnati Bengals from 2000-02).
4 - Number of combined preseason losses between the Steelers (0-2) and Eagles (1-2)
5.3 Number of sacks per game the Eagles are averaging in the preseason.
- By Mike Prisuta
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_467666.html
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Monday, August 28, 2006
Steelers Release Eight Players; Place One On Reserve/Injured List
PITTSBURGH — The Steelers released eight players today, including four rookies, as they trimmed their roster to 75.
Among the rookies released were safety Zach Baker, kicker Mark Brubaker, offensive tackle Nick Hagemann and offensive guard Grayling Love.
The Steelers also released second-year fullback Doug Easlick and three first-year players, including center/long snapper Kyle Andrews, linebacker Malcolm Postell and wide receiver Isaac West.
Additionally, the Steelers will be placing first-year offensive tackle Ulish Booker on the Reserved/Injured List with a knee injury.
NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 players by 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2. Teams may sign up to eight players to their practice squad after noon on Sunday, Sept. 3. The Steelers will have a ninth practice squad player in 2006 as WR Marvin Allen joined the team as part of the NFL International Development Practice Squad program.
– 30 –
http://news.steelers.com/article/68373/
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OSUsushichic
Fired up! Ready to go!
What's up with the Steelers releasing the Buckeyes? Grrr!!!
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7 45 33 48
All-American
This cut wasn't a surprise. Andrews was basically a camp body so Warren wouldn't have to snap all of the time. Warren is one of the better long snappers in the NFL, has nice size for a long snapper, and has one of the best times in getting the ball back to the holder and punter.
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Secondary indecision
By Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The free safety question was raised again Monday afternoon, but Steelers coach Bill Cowher still didn't have an answer.
"I'm not ready to make an announcement yet," Cowher said.
Veterans Tyrone Carter and Ryan Clark are the two main combatants for the starting spot vacated by Chris Hope's free-agent departure to Tennessee.
No. 3a pick Anthony Smith remains a player no one is officially ready to rule out of the competition, but also one that seemingly only linebacker James Farrior includes unprompted in discussions about the position.
Carter, a seventh-year pro who is entering his third season with the Steelers, started the preseason opener on Aug. 12 in Arizona and on Friday night in Philadelphia.
Clark, a fifth-year pro who signed this offseason as an unrestricted free agent from Washington, started on Aug. 19 against Minnesota.
Carter worked with the first-team defense again yesterday, but he and Clark attributed that to a matter of preseason policy.
"I worked in all the sub packages," Clark said. "(Today) it will change up. This is a normal thing."
Added Carter, "We still have a rotation as far as I understand. On Mondays I always go first, and he goes (first) the next day."
Smith has yet to make a start in the preseason, but that hasn't stopped him from making his presence felt in a hurry.
He intercepted a pair of passes in Arizona, recorded a sack against Minnesota and delivered a bone-rattling hit on punt returner J.R. Reed in Philadelphia, one that necessitated the presence of three medical staffers from the Eagles sideline to attend to Reed.
"I like the way every week he does something good; you can't deny that," Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said.
Still, asking Smith to start as a rookie would be asking too much.
Or would it?
Only Darren Perry (in 1992) has started at free safety as a rookie since Cowher took over in 1992, and Perry had a couple of intangibles working in his favor. One was that Thomas Everett held out. Another was that Gary Jones blew out a knee in training camp. And a third was that no one knew the defense any better than Perry because it was Cowher's first season.
These days knowing the defense matters more than interceptions, sacks and bone-rattling tackles.
"The classic example is Troy Polamalu," reserve safety Mike Logan observed. "He's one of the brightest guys that I've ever seen and he has a great football sense, and it took him a year to really get into the defense."
Polamalu, a first-team All-Pro in 2005, played only in six-defensive backs packages as a rookie in 2003.
And Polamalu was a first-round pick.
"This is one of the toughest defenses in the league to learn," Logan said. "We have a ton of defenses. If you look at our playbook, the average person couldn't just come in and get all that stuff done."
Farrior receives the defensive calls from the sideline and relays the information in the huddle. But from there the free safety takes over until the ball is snapped.
"Any adjustment, any shift, any motion, any kind of movement by the offense, the free safety will be making a call," Logan said.
Wrong calls in such instances wind up on the scoreboard, which is why Smith is more likely to replace Carter or Clark at free safety eventually than step in for Hope immediately.
"He's still making plays on the field and that speaks volumes," Logan said. "You're going to have some mental errors as a rookie, but when you can make plays and instill some confidence from the coaches in you, you'll be fine."
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Starting from scratchCurrent Steelers' starters who started their first NFL game:
OT Marvel Smith
(Steelers, 2000)
TE Heath Miller
(Steelers, 2005)*
Current Steelers' starters who became starters in their first NFL season:
NT Casey Hampton
(Steelers, sixth NFL game, 2001)
LB Larry Foote
(Steelers, second NFL game, 2002)**
CB Ike Taylor
(Steelers, 2003, 11th NFL game)***
G Alan Faneca
(Steelers, 1998, fifth NFL game)
C Jeff Hartings
(Lions, 1996, second NFL game, at G)****
G Kendall Simmons
(Steelers, 2002, second NFL game)
FB Dan Kreider
(Steelers, 2000, second NFL game)*****
QB Ben Roethlisberger
(Steelers, 2005, third NFL game)
* Started as part of a two-tight ends set.
** Injury replacement (Kendrell Bell).
*** Started as part of a six-defensive backs defense.
**** Hartings' second game was Detroit's seventh due to his training-camp holdout.
***** Kreider's second NFL game was the Steelers' eighth in 2000; he was added to the active roster in October that year as an injury replacement for Jon Witman.
Mike Prisuta can be reached at [email protected].
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_468197.html
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Cowher won't say if Staley's job in jeopardy
By The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Duce Staley was on pace a couple of years ago for one of the best seasons by a Pittsburgh Steelers running back.
When the Steelers wrap up their exhibition schedule Thursday night against Carolina, Staley might be playing to remain with the team.
Steelers coach Bill Cowher isn't saying if Staley, a former starter who has looked slow during training camp and in games, is playing for a job. Perhaps the most telling indicator was he wouldn't say Monday that Staley isn't.
"I'm not ready to sit here and say that he isn't or he is," Cowher said. "The bottom line is that we have some tough decisions coming Thursday. I like the experience that he brings and what he's done. He's gotten better each week."
Even if that hasn't shown up in the game statistics. Staley has only 46 yards on 23 carries in three exhibition games, and was limited to 21 yards on 11 carries in a 16-7 loss Friday to Philadelphia. In 2004, Staley was averaging 101 yards through seven games before injuring a hamstring, and he has never regained his starting job.
Staley looked somewhat out of shape when camp opened, and Cowher said last week Staley would not be the goal-line and short-yardage back that Jerome Bettis was last season as Willie Parker's backup.
"Duce is working himself back into running shape," Cowher said last week.
With Parker likely to go only a series Thursday before being pulled — and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger expected to go no longer — Staley could get a lot of carries as the Steelers prepare to cut their roster over the weekend.
They cut eight players Monday, but none had made any impact during training camp.
"I thought he did fine," Cowher said of Staley's performance against the Eagles. "I think it's hard at this time, considering that we're not game planning, it's hard to pinpoint any one person. I'd like to see us be more consistent running the ball."
One problem, of course, is that Parker has carried only seven times in three games as the Steelers try to protect one of their most valuable players from injury. It's the same reason Roethlisberger has thrown only 22 passes while playing four series.
The starters rarely go more than a quarter, if that, in the final preseason game, and Cowher almost certainly won't change his philosophy. One reason is the Steelers won't have the usual 10 days off before their opener, but only a week since they play the NFL's season-opening game Sept. 7 against Miami.
What Cowher wants to eliminate, no matter who plays Thursday night at Heinz Field, are mistakes. The Steelers have seven fumbles, losing three, and four interceptions in three games.
"The two elements are turnovers and big plays — two things that have been showing up in these games," Cowher said. "We may be winning 80 percent of the snaps but then we turn it over and then you have nothing to show for the effort. Or you lose a third down and then you have nothing to show there. There are some things we have to do better and more consistently, but I'm encouraged by how we've played in the first halves of these games."
Not that Cowher is about to get worried if the Steelers lose all of their preseason games, something they've never done since he became their coach in 1992.
The Steelers have gone winless in exhibition play only twice in the last 41 years, in 1987 and 1965.
Of their four previous Super Bowl champion teams, only one had a losing preseason. The 1975 Steelers went 3-4, then went on to win a second Super Bowl in as many seasons.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_468268.html
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Wilson's new role will come to pass with Steelers
WR isn't thrown by duty as Randle El's replacement
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Peter Diana, Post-Gazette
Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson might be asked to pass the ball as well as catch it this season.
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A question last August centered around which Steelers receiver would replace Plaxico Burress. Now, it's who will replace the receiver who replaced Plaxico Burress?
Not only did Antwaan Randle El replace Burress at split end last season -- although at a good 8 inches shorter -- he threw a touchdown pass to help the Steelers win the Super Bowl.
Then, like Burress before him, Randle El flew to an NFC East coop, creating a spot for a new split end for the second consecutive season. Only this time, because of that Super Bowl touchdown toss by Randle El, Cedrick Wilson is being asked these days as much about his throwing arm as he is his ability as a receiver.
Yet it is as a wide receiver that Wilson will affect the Steelers' offense most, not the occasional pass he might throw. Randle El, after all, threw only three passes in the 2005 regular season. Most importantly, he scored on just one touchdown reception, matching the number of touchdown passes he threw during the regular season.
And as far as replacing Randle El, Wilson already has done that. While Randle El started every game at split end in 2005, Wilson alternated playing time with him at the position.
Wilson did not catch a touchdown pass in the regular season, but he caught two in the playoffs, when he led the club with an average of 24 yards on nine receptions. He led the team with a 17.3-yard average on 26 catches during the regular season.
He also has two of the Steelers' three scoring catches in three exhibition games this month, and his coaches expect bigger things from him.
"He proved that in the playoffs," receivers coach Bruce Arians said. "He can average big numbers down the field. He has good run-after-the-catch ability. He can turn off of full-speed moves as good as anybody I've ever been around."
Wilson signed with the Steelers as an unrestricted free agent in 2005 from San Francisco, where he spent his first four years playing flanker, the same position he played at the University of Tennessee. There was a learning period when he came here to play split end.
"It's like moving from right tackle to left tackle," Wilson said. "It's a totally different game with footwork and everything. I think I am a lot better at playing the split end position than I was last year."
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger mentioned this summer that he wished some of his receivers were taller. Wilson stands 5 feet 10. Arians says that's tall enough.
"The great duos that I've ever seen -- Mark Clayton and Mark Duper and you go on and on -- they weren't tall guys. There's a Randy Moss and everybody wants another one and there hasn't been one."
Hall of Famers Lynn Swann, Steve Largent and Charlie Joiner each were 5-11 and another, Tommy McDonald, stood 5-9.
Now for the big question: Can Wilson throw like Randle El?
He may not have been a starting quarterback in college the way Randle El was at Indiana, but Wilson was picked as the state of Tennessee's best high school quarterback, the Volunteers recruited him as a quarterback and he held the No. 3 position as a freshman.
"Randle El has a nice arm. He has a cannon," Wilson said yesterday as the Steelers returned to their home on the South Side after nearly four weeks of training camp. "I have a nice ball, though. I can throw it anywhere between 50-55 yards."
He threw none in practices this summer, but that should not lead anyone to believe he won't throw one in a game this fall. Coach Bill Cowher may keep only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and Wilson would be the emergency No. 3.
"I hope guys don't get injured but a couple of trick plays would be cool," Wilson said. "I can whip it, man."
He has had one chance to do so in the NFL. In 2003 while with the 49ers, Wilson took a pitch on a reverse and completed a 6-yard sideline pass to quarterback Jeff Garcia.
So, yes, Cedrick Wilson can throw a pass. More importantly, the Steelers need him to catch them.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06241/717143-66.stm
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