2007 Steelers

[Don Wassall]

Bill Cowher, one of the most blatantly pro-black coaches in NFL history, has moved on after 15 mostly successful years in a blatantly pro-black league. The NFL's requirement that all teams must interview blacks for head coaching jobs was named after Steelers owner Dan Rooney. For his part, Rooney lived up to his pro-affirmative action zealotry by hiring 35-year-old Mike Tomlin to replace Cowher.


The Steelers roster is a little blacker than last year's. However, all of the team's tight ends are white and, rather amazingly, four of the six defensivelinemen are as well.


However all but two of the offensive linemen are black (not counting C Greg Warren who is used only as the long snapper). With starting left guard Alan Faneca set to leave the team after this season as a free agent, Pittsburgh looks to be overwhelmingly black on the line by next season.


Faneca is one of the all time best, a perennial starting Pro Bowler in an era when blacks whose reputation far exceeds their production dominate the voting for All Pro. Sean Mahan, signed in the offseason as a free agent, has a tenuous hold on the starting job at center, replacing the retired Jeff Hartings, like Faneca another tremendous lineman. All the other o-linemen are black and it wouldn't be surprising if Mahan is demoted at some point as the scapegoat for a line that looks very shaky entering the new season.


QB Ben Roethlisberger is trying to bounce back from a 2006 season in which he nearly died in a motorcycle crash, had an emergency appendectomy, and suffered a concussion. Still, Big Ben hung in there as best he could and never made excuses. He already has a Super Bowl ring and is a great combination of size, arm strength, and mobility. The Steelers offense is reputedly going to be much more wide open this year, including use of the no-huddle and frequent options at the line. If the offensive line holds up, Roethlisberger could have a big year.


A Pittsburgh tradition is to rarely throw to the tight end. That's supposed to change this season. The Steelers have some very talented ones, led by third year man Heath Miller, a former first round draft pick. He's backed up by Jerame Tuman and rookie Matt Spaeth, 2006 winner of the John Mackey Award as college football's best tight end.


FB-TB John Kuhn, who actually had a couple of carries at the end of a blowout last season, was waived on September 1. Long-time starting FB Dan Kreider was demoted to backup on the eve of the first game of the '07 regular season. The blocking FB is being phased out of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' new scheme anyway.


Brian St. Pierre is the rarely used third string quarterback.


The highlight on defense is the bookend starting ends, Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel. Smith has never been a big sacker on Pittsburgh's three-man line (which is designed to give most of the sacks to the LBs); rather he is a superb run stuffer and also gets lots of pressure on the quarterback. Smith has made one Pro Bowl but should have been named to others.


Keisel, a 7th round draft pick out of BYU, started last year for the first time and has lots of quickness and athleticism. This season he reportedly is going to not only play at end but also as a roving linebacker in order to confuse offenses. Watch for a number of big plays from Keisel "The Diesel" in '07 (fantasy football IDP sleeper alert).


Chris Hoke, another BYU guy, is the backup nose tackle. He has excelled in limited playing time and is capable of starting for many teams. End Travis Kirschke is in his 11th season and still plays effectively.


Clint Kriewaldt is used exclusively as a White Special Teams Demon even though he is all over the field when given time at LB.


NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 6


APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 15


GRADE: D-Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[Don Wassall]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Steelers are better than just about everyone expects this season. They're just two years removed from the Super Bowl and still have a lot of talent. And the team seems highly motivated to play hard for Mike Tomlin. Hardly any surprise there. The Steelers were on cruise control last year as Bill Cowher knew all season that he wasn't coming back. Even though he didn't make it official until after the '06 season, Cowher had dropped hints about it and his famous (infamous) passion -- comically angry expressions, spitting and carrying on like he was out of control -- was noticeably absent, and the team was highly undisciplined during games even for the NFL.


Tomlin has already been granted untouchable status by the Pittsburgh media and he'll really get hyped nationally if the Steelers have a big year, which from the looks of yesterday's dismantling of the lowly Browns may be on the way.

 

[Don Wassall]

NT Casey Hampton left the game against the Cardinals yesterday with a hamstring injury, which meant the Steelers played the rest of the game with an all-white defensive line -- Chris Hoke replaced Hampton, with Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel at the two end spots in the team's 3-4.


Hampton is an All-Pro and is a good player, but Hoke (another one of those BYU guys on defense) might be better. He has always looked topnotch when filling in for Hampton, including in 2004 when Hampton missed about two-thirds of the season.

 

[Guest]

They really could have used Kreider blocking against the Cardinals. Parker and Davenport could not run.

 

[Don Wassall]

And with Hines Ward out for the game with an injury, the receivers were simply woeful other than Santonio Holmes. Cedric Wilson is a bum, and Nate Washington is simply atrocious. Hands of stone, alligator arms, doesn't know how to run routes, the works. But speedster Dan Sheldon and record setter Eric Deslauriersweren't given a chance in training camp to win backup jobs over these turds.

 

[Thrashen]

"Cedric Wilson is a bum, and Nate Washington is simply atrocious. Hands of stone, alligator arms, doesn't know how to run routes, the works. But speedster Dan Sheldon and record setter Eric Deslauriers weren't given a chance in training camp to win backup jobs over these turds."


You're right in every way about Cedric Wilson. Seriously, how are guys like this in the league but someone who is a world-class speedster like Kevin Kasper (among hundreds of others) isn't and barely ever were? Gee, I wonder what the difference between them could be?

S. Holmes, though a worthless P.O.S. off the field in every possible way, is looking like he's turning into a quality WR.

Hey Don, I love the "turds" insult, also hahahaha.

 

[backrow]

from rotoworld.com

"Steelers DE Brett Keisel leads the team with 15 quarterback hurries.

Inexplicably, he has no quarterback takedowns through four games. But if he stays on pace for 60 pressures, the sacks should begin coming for Keisel."

 

[Don Wassall]

Big Ben is all the way back from his serious motorcycle accident last year and is better than ever. The Steelers played without their top two receivers yesterday, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. The dropoff after those two is huge, yet Roethlisberger went 18 of 22, including his last 13 in a row. He is close to elite status.


The all-white d-line played great too in the shutout of Seattle.

 

[Don Wassall]

Unheralded Aaron Smith called the best player on the one of the league's best defenses:
<DIV =story_line>Steelers' Smith the best on the best
<DIV =story_lastupdate>Tuesday, October 09, 2007
<DIV =story_byline>By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<DIV =story_>


By at least one measure, Aaron Smith is the Steelers' MVP, all due respect to Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker and James Farrior.


Smith is the best player on the team's best unit.


Article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07282/823930-87.stm

 

[hedgehog]

I have the Steelers kicker for fantasy football and need a field goal badly. The fat ass #77 tackle for the steelers has knocked the steelers out of field goal range 2-3 times in the first half with his mistakes. I have never screamed at the TV so much.

 

[Don Wassall]

The Sunday night game was yet another illustration of how important offensive line play is. Ben Roethlisberger was constantly under pressure and it's only because of his elusiveness (which is remarkable for his size) that he kept the Steelers in the game. By contrast, Jay Cutler had much better protection and the Broncos repeatedly made clutch plays on third and long situations.


This game exposed the weak link of the Steelers. The o-line had been a big question mark going into training camp and still is. Jeff Hartings, an outstanding center, retired after last season. The only solid player on the line is All-World guard Alan Faneca, one of the best ever. Tackle Marvell Smith is incredibly over-rated, the others are recognized as deficient. Newcomer Sean Mahan is the only other white on the line besides Faneca and almost all the backups are non-white.


Incredibly, the Steelers plan to let Faneca leave as a free agent after the '07 season. The breach between the two is irreparable, as Faneca has publicly criticized the way his situation has been handled. He is a class act all the way so for him to speak out shows how deep his feelings are. The Steelers are shrewd about knowing when to let players leave as free agents, but not this time. Dumb move.Despite their good start, asubstandard line is the main reason the Steelers are not going to be an elite team like Indianapolis and New England.

 

[Guest]

The line is the most important part of the entire team, but it's a double edged sword. Great line play makes the linemen transparent. You won't get credit when you are invisible by design.

The sports media never comments on the Patriots or Colts linemen, and the players are never voted to the Pro Bowl. That means they are doing their jobs as well as they can be done.

 

[Bart]

I read this at ESPN and wondered if I was out of the loop. Among my circle of friends and probably most of us here Ben has always been regarded as a mobile QB who can run pretty well for a man his size. He doesn't seek to run first, but when he does is quite effective.


"Although not known for his mobility, Ben Roethlisberger used his legs to help the Steelers beat the Browns. Big Ben had two key second-half runs, including a 30-yarder, as Pittsburgh ralllied for a 31-28 win"

 

[Don Wassall]

Ben has outstanding elusiveness, especially for his size, and ran a fair amount his rookie year. The Steelers' o-line is their most glaring weakness, and Ben's ability to sense pressure and move around is the major reason they're doing as well as they are. An argument can be made that he's the league MVP so far.


I'll bet Roethlisberger was running faster on that TD run than Culpepper ever did. He made a nice move inside the 10 too. When a black QB makes a run like that it's shown over and over again, replete with endless hosannahs about speed, running ability, etc. But then again, when so few black QBs have even rudimentary passing skills, it's easy to see why their runs are hyped so much by the Caste media.

 

[Bart]

The Steelers lost again to a weak team. All their losses have been on the road. That does not bode well for post season. They may not be as good as supposed.

 

[Bart]

The Steelers host Black Jack Del Rio's Jaguars this Saturday. I would like to see Ben lead his team to victory. Matt jones had a nice game with Gray tossing him the ball, but Garrard never looks his way. I would think the Steelers have a good chance of winning at home.

 

[Don Wassall]

The way the two teams are playing I'd have to say the Steelers are a slight underdog. The injury bug and a bad offensive line may do them in though of course I'll be rooting for them to beat Africa's Team.

 

[Bart]

From what I've been reading and hearing, some folks believe the Jags have an advantage over the Steelers because Garrard is the better QB, and Ben doesn't inspire his team. Anyone hear the same? Ben has been sacked a lot, but has thrown 33 TD's to 11 INT's with a QBR over 104. Those are good stats. What is the deal over there?

 

[White Shogun]

From what I've been reading and hearing, some folks believe the Jags have an advantage over the Steelers because Garrard is the better QB, and Ben doesn't inspire his team. Anyone hear the same?Ben has been sacked a lot, but has thrown 33 TD's to 11 INT's with a QBR over 104. Those are good stats. What is the deal over there?

My coworkers must be reading the same articles. One of them today said almost exactly the same thing. I swear that most of these guys do little more than regurgitate what they hear on the radio.

 

[Don Wassall]

That'sfunny in a patheticway because without Roethlisberger the Steelers would have been extremely fortunate to even reach .500 this season. The o-line's pass protection was about as bad as any line's in the league. It's because of Big Ben's unique combination of size, strength, elusiveness and talent that the Steelers' offense didn't resemble that of the Rams. He may be as valuable to his team as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are to theirs. And if Ben doesn't "inspire" his team, that would have a whole lot to do with him lacking the properskin color for many of his teammates because he makes a lot of big plays and he's tough as hell. He also set the team record for TD passes this year.


I hope Garrard becomes the latest in a long line of "Great Black Hopes" at QB to fall flat on his face. A few have looked good for a while, but very very few have shown staying power.

 

[Don Wassall]

From what I've been reading and hearing, some folks believe the Jags have an advantage over the Steelers because Garrard is the better QB, and Ben doesn't inspire his team.

Despite being second in the league in passer rating and completing 65.3 percent of his passes while under nearly constant heavy pressure, Big Ben isn't the team's most valuable player according to his teammates. I'd put Ben among the top five most valuable players in the league, but James Harrison, one of Pittsburgh's four starting linebackers, won the honor on the Steelers. I would love to see the racial breakdown of the voting.

 

[Guest]

Wow. That is incredible. I would say Ben is the number 3 or 4 quarterback in the entire NFL. He is the only reason the Steelers are in the playoffs and you could not find a single player more valuable to his team this year.

The pass blocking was so bad that he took 47 sacks, second only to John Kitna with 51. Yet he still threw 32 touchdowns, 3rd most in the league, which also set the Steelers all-time record for touchdowns in a season. He had the second highest passer rating in entire league, 104, behind only Tom Brady. He also had his third perfect game, with a rating 158, only the second player in NFL history to have 3 perfect games, after Peyton Manning.

His ability to scramble is nearly equal to John Elway, and if he was not so big, fast, tough, and athletic, the Steelers would have won probably 6 games.

 

[Bart]

[url]http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19155599& amp;BRD=2280&amp;PAG=461&amp;dept_id=468632&amp;rfi=6 [/url]
<DIV =leadline>How could Roethlisberger not be the Steelers' MVP?


<DIV =story>What games were these guys watching?
<DIV =story>
<DIV =story>How does anybody who has seen more than three Steelers games this season come to the conclusion that anybody but Ben Roethlisberger is their most valuable player? Roethlisberger's teammates not only got a pretty good view of the games when they were playing them, they also saw them over and over again on tape. So, how do they vote for James Harrison for MVP?

We don't know how close the voting was or, for that matter, if Ben finished second. He should have won in a landslide. Actually, it should have been unanimous. So, what happened?

Maybe he didn't get the offensive line vote.
<DIV =story>Could it be that the offensive linemen, who have to be aware of how many great plays Roethlisberger made this season, blame him for a lot of the criticism they've received because of the 47 sacks? Do they think that, as great as Roethlisberger has looked, he has made things more difficult than they needed to be?
<DIV =story>
<DIV =story>Maybe the wide receivers, most of whom think that they're open on every play, believe that Roethlisberger scrambles more than he has to and that he passes up too many opportunities because he's too quick to bail from the pocket.

Maybe Ben's just not a very popular guy in the locker room for reasons not related to anything he does on the field.

Here's a question for any player who voted for Harrison over Roethlisberger. If you had to make a choice between sitting Roethlisberger or Harrison for the playoffs, whom would you choose?

 

[reclaimsocal]

Its the same as the Pro Bowl (with the 1/3 weight player vote), Blacks vote for Blacks which gives idiot Whites the proof they seek to support their Black Superiority positions. Hence, the overabundance of Black O-Linemen in Hawaii at the end of every season.

 

[Don Wassall]

Jerome Bettis was very jealous of Roethlisberger's success as a rookie and tried to undermine him in the locker room (this from a Pittsburgh sports talk show host). With Bettis retired, Roethlisberger is without question The Man among the drunk white fans in Steelers crazy Pittsburgh, and is probably resented in the locker room because of it. This after all is a team that engaged in a full-fledged gang fight in the locker room following a training camp practice a few years ago. Very few teams have white stars and it wouldn't surprise me if Peyton Manning and Tom Brady arealso resented by some of their teammates.


Ben is confident but not arrogant and is pretty much a happy-go-lucky kind of personality. He has always said and done the right things vis a vis paying homage to his black teammates, as well as taking the blame for losses even when they weren't his fault at all. After the Steelers drafted WR Santonio Holmes in the first round last year, Ben called him several times and left messages to try to establish some rapport. The callsweren't returned by Holmes, who was arrested twice shortly after being drafted. If Roethlisberger's unpopular it just shows that blacks want andfeel entitled toan entirely black league. Edited by: Don Wassall