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WR Santonio Holmes (Super Bowl XLIII MVP)

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Holmes may get bigger role in Steelers offense ? despite fumbles

11/9/2006, 4:28 p.m. CTBy ALAN ROBINSON
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Santonio Holmes' fumbled kickoff return led to the Denver Broncos' second touchdown less than four minutes into the game and a 14-point deficit that the Pittsburgh Steelers never overcame.
Holmes' fumbled punt, one of his five fumbles in the last four games, forced coach Bill Cowher to pull him off the kick return teams.
"I didn't like the look in his eyes," Cowher said.Cowher also doesn't like the look of a Super Bowl championship team that has lost six of seven games and, with a 2-6 record, trails Baltimore by four games in the AFC North. Bad records often bring changes, as evidenced by the benching of cornerback Ike Taylor only two months after he signed a new contract.
Considering the Steelers' investment in Taylor ? more than $6 million in signing bonus alone ? that demotion is likely to be short-term. So is the decreased use of Holmes, a fast wide receiver who figures to play a greater role in the offense during the second half of the season.
Just as soon as he gets rid of those fumbles.
"He's put the ball on the ground way too many times," Cowher said. "He knows that and I remind him of that. He's got to do a better job of securing the football. In terms of a receiver and picking up this offense, I think he's gotten more comfortable and I think he'll continue to get better."
Despite his two fumbles on special teams, Holmes had six catches for 58 yards in the 31-20 loss to Denver on Sunday and has 13 receptions in his last three games.
"I had a little talk with Santonio, and I think he's going to be OK," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "I tell him to keep his head up because we're going to need him on offense. He's a great asset to this offense and I think he will continue to grow. He's learning and making less mistakes for us on offense."
One reason Holmes may be fumbling more is the increased speed of special teams play in the NFL. In college football, even at Ohio State where Holmes played, special teams players often are backups; in the NFL, former college stars usually man such roles.
"You have your ups and you have your downs, and Sunday was one of those days you have your downs," Holmes said of his struggles as a returner.
Holmes, a first-round draft pick, got a late start on learning the offense because he couldn't attend the Steelers' offseason workouts in May and early June. The NFL bars players from attending anything but a minicamp until their college class has graduated.
That set back Holmes when he arrived for training camp in July, and he hasn't yet beaten out veteran Cedrick Wilson to become a starter. But Holmes has one more reception than Wilson, 22 to 21, though neither has a touchdown catch.Those numbers reflect one major problem of this Steelers offense: the lack of a deep-threat receiver to take some of the pressure off Hines Ward, who has 41 catches.
During the Steelers' last 24 regular-season games, the starting receiver opposite Ward ? last year, it was Antwaan Randle El ? has only one touchdown catch.
Holmes didn't say so, but it's apparent he thinks that is about to change.
"If it came down to it, I'd like to be starting, but I don't have any say-so," Holmes said. "The progress I'm making, I'm pretty sure they're satisfied with it."
With defenses repeatedly stacking eight defenders along the line of scrimmage to keep the Steelers from getting their running game going, Roethlisberger is being forced to throw more than he did in his first two seasons. Falling behind repeatedly also has led to more throwing.
"When you're down 14-0, you don't have too many options to get back into the game," Ward said.
 
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Another happy ending for Holmes
Former Ohio State star came up big for the Steelers in the 4th quarter
Monday, November 20, 2006

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CLEVELAND -- When they played the song "Hang On Sloopy" at various times yesterday at Cleveland Browns Stadium, prompting the crowd to stand and spell "O-H-I-O" with their arms, Santonio Holmes felt like he was back in Columbus, Ohio.

When he caught his first National Football League touchdown on a 20-yard catch to start the Steelers' 21-point fourth-quarter comeback, Holmes looked as though he were back playing at Ohio State.

And when he watched Browns receiver Braylon Edwards go up and narrowly miss catching a Hail Mary pass at the end of each half, including the final heave into the end zone that almost gave the Cleveland Browns a pulsating victory, well, he really felt like he was back with the Buckeyes.

"Man, I was scared, because I know what type of player he is," Holmes said. "I played against him for three years and I know what kind of talent he has. Both of those plays just came up short and I was so happy he wasn't able to hold on to the ball."

In the end, Ohio State beat Michigan again.

Edwards, who played at Michigan, had seven catches for 137 yards, but he didn't catch either of Charlie Frye's desperation passes that could have provided a different outcome for the Browns.

Holmes, who played at Ohio State, dropped the first pass thrown his way -- his first drop this season -- and had another skip off his outstretched right hand that was returned 57 yards for a touchdown. But he atoned with his first NFL touchdown on a broken play and also added a big catch to convert a third-and-20, helping the Steelers rally three times from 10-point deficits to post an unlikely 24-20 victory against the Browns.

"It felt great to come back to Ohio and get my first touchdown and play well for the team and make big plays," Holmes said.

It was something of a homecoming for Holmes, playing in the state where he starred as a collegian and became the first receiver selected in the NFL draft. Sure, he will be closer to the Ohio State campus when the Steelers play in Cincinnati on New Year's Eve, but the big plays he made against the Browns felt just as sweet as if he made them 21/2 hours away in Columbus.

Maybe because the crowd kept getting serenaded yesterday with "Hang on Sloopy" -- Ohio State's trademark theme song -- a tribute to the Buckeyes' 42-39 victory against No. 2 Michigan a day earlier.

"I was right with those guys every time they were going O-H-I-O," Holmes said. "Oh, man, I was pumped up the whole game. When I got a chance to go out for warmups and the fans behind us were doing 'O-H,' I was hitting them with 'I-O.' "

Maybe it was the excitement that caused Holmes to drop his first pass -- though he hasn't been so lucky with punts and kickoffs -- since the preseason.

Maybe it was the reason he had a high pass on second down from the Browns' 47 skip off his right hand and get returned 57 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Daven Holly ("Just a misread between me and Ben," Holmes said.)

After that, though, Holmes made the kind of plays he made at Ohio State, catching four of his five passes in the fourth quarter, including the one to jump-start the comeback. When it was all over, he stood at his stall in the locker room, seemingly enjoying the events of the weekend.

"It was a little exciting to be on the sideline and be back in the state of Ohio," Holmes said.

It was Holmes who probably kept the Steelers on life-support and gave them their first back-to-back victories of the season when he caught a 21-yard pass on third-and-20 early in the fourth quarter. The Steelers were backed to their 19 after an offensive pass interference penalty against Cedrick Wilson, but Ben Roethlisberger found Holmes in the middle of the field to keep the drive alive.

"Huge," said offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. "It got us going."

"We had to get past the stick and I was able to break free and scramble for the quarterback," Holmes said. "It was an all-over-the-field, running-deep-to-get-to-the-sticks route."

Five plays later, Roethlisberger improvised again, and so did Holmes.

On third-and-6 at the Cleveland 20, trailing 13-3, Roethlisberger rolled right, stepped back left to avoid pressure and started running right again, this time toward the Browns sideline. Holmes, who had run a short route in the right flat, took off to the left, then ran to his right when he saw his quarterback on the move.

Roethlisberger saw Holmes come open and threw across his body on the run, hitting him at the 3 and producing a 20-yard touchdown. It was the final play of an 87-yard drive, but it was the first of many produced by Roethlisberger in a 21-point fourth quarter.

"I saw Ben get flushed out of the pocket and I had to continue to keep moving and fighting for a big play," Holmes said. "I ran around about three or four times trying to get open.

"It's the same thing I had to do on third-and-long -- I had to scramble just like he did to make a big play. I got the defender going one way and with Ben, we were on the same page. I cut back and made a great catch and had a chance to get in the end zone."

Holmes put his arms in the air after reaching the end zone. He wasn't spelling O-H-I-O.

Just TD.
Click to expand...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06324/739768-66.stm
 
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NEW YORK (Nov. 21, 2006) -- Running back MIKE BELL of the Denver Broncos, quarterback BRUCE GRADKOWSKI of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wide receiver SANTONIO HOLMES of the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback MATT LEINART of the Arizona Cardinals and wide receiver DE ANGELO WILLIAMS of the Carolina Panthers are the finalists for DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK honors for games played on November 19-20, the NFL announced today.

Voting is now closed. Please check back later today for the results.

Week 11 nominees:
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Mike Bell, Denver RB
Ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in the Broncos? 35-27 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Bell, who started the second game of his NFL career, had two three-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter to give Denver a 14-7 halftime lead. He added two receptions for 17 yards.
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Bruce Gradkowksi, Tampa Bay QB
Completed 14 of 21 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 104.9 in the Buccaneers? 20-17 victory over the Washington Redskins. Gradkowski threw touchdown passes of two and 34 yards to give him nine touchdowns on the season.
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Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh WR
Caught five passes for 75 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers? 24-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Holmes caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to bring the Steelers within 13-10. He added two receptions for 23 yards on the Steelers? game-winning drive
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Matt Leinart, Arizona QB
Threw for 233 yards and one touchdown, completing 19 of 29 attempts for a 101.7passer rating in the Cardinals? 17-10 victory over the Detroit Lions. Leinart completed a two-yard touchdown pass to give Arizona a 7-0 second-quarter lead and later ran nine yards for a touchdown to put the Cardinals ahead 17-0.
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DeAngelo Williams, Carolina RB
Carried 20 times for 114 yards in the Panthers? 15-0 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Williams enjoyed the first 100-yard rushing performance of his NFL career, averaging more than five yards per carry. He also added two receptions for 24 yards in the win.
Fans can vote for one of these five players on NFL.com beginning Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET and ending on Wednesday at noon ET to determine the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK. The DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK will be announced Wednesday evening on NFL.com.
In addition, for the second year, NFL fans may cast their votes for the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK using phones with Sprint wireless service - an opportunity available only to Sprint customers. This fast, convenient voting method involves texting the word PEPSI to short code 7777. Sprint customers will then receive an interactive text message that links fans to the ballot with the five finalists each week. Data and text messaging rates may apply.
After the regular season, five players will be nominated for Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com throughout the month of January. The winner will be announced at a press conference at Super Bowl XLI in South Florida.
This is Pepsi?s fifth year as the official soft drink sponsor of the NFL and the second year that Diet Pepsi will present the NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL Rookie of the Year awards.
 
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CNNSI - NFL Rookie Watch

#10 Santonio Holmes, WR Steelers


The rookie out of Ohio State kicks off this week's rookie barometer. Holmes had five catches for 75 yards and his first NFL touchdown in a win over the Browns last Sunday. His numbers are modest right now -- 29 catches for 455 yards -- but he should be a bigger part of the Steelers' offense in the final weeks of the season.

holmes.jpg
 
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