2009 Pittsburgh Steelers

[Leonardfan]

Here is a list of all the white athletes that have made the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers

QB
Ben Roethlisberger

RB/FB
none

WR
none

TE
Heath Miller
Matt Spaeth

G
Kraig Urbik

C
Doug Legursky
Justin Hartwig

OT
none

DL
Aaron Smith
Travis Kirschke
Brett Keisel
Chris Hoke

LB
Patrick Bailey

DB
none

P
Daniel Sepulveda (mixed spanish)

K
Jeff Reed

LS
Greg Warren

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

The day Ben Roethlisberger goes down with a severe injury because the black sumo guards and tackles can't do their jobs will signal the death knell for the Steelers' dominance of recent years.

Charlie Batch? Dennis Dixon?

And the white defensive linemen aren't getting any younger.

 

[backrow]

more bad news, from rotoworld:

Scout.com reports that Steelers DE Aaron Smith will have surgery Friday to repair a torn right rotator cuff and is out at least three months.

The Steelers are getting healthier at other positions, but will still be hard pressed to carry Smith on the roster into mid-January. Travis Kirschke will likely move into the starting lineup at strong-side end, with rookie Ziggy Hood and Nick Eason rotating in. Smith is 33, but still a highly effective run stopper with some pass-rush ability. His loss is significant.
Source: scout.com
Related: Travis Kirschke, Nick Eason, Ziggy Hood

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

It's confirmed that Aaron Smith is lost for the season. This will seriously affect their run defense, as it did when he missed significant time in 2007.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09287/1005355-66.stm

 

[Leonardfan]

That stinks for Smith...he is such an underrated player. All the Steelers white defensive linemen are on the wrong side of 30. This team will only get blacker. They will miss Smith greatly and it will show in the loss column.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

The Steelers continue to struggle to find someone who can block from time to time from the FB position.

So why are ex-Steelers Dan Kreider and John Kuhn playing elsewhere?

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

The Steelers are sitting at 6-4 after an overtime loss to the Chiefs.

Big Ben probably suffered another concussion as his talent-challenged offensive line can't keep him from getting hit tons of times each game.

If the Steelers go into the tank and miss the playoffs, will we hear that other teams should look for the next Mike Tomlin again this offseason?

I hate to belabor the point, but Mike Tomlin was left an awful lot of talent by Bill Cowher, and I've seen little good done to offset the aging of key players left over from the Cowher era.

LB Woodley, WR Wallace...a couple of other perhaps, but it doesn't look too bright for Pittsburgh's future from 2010 if Tomlin and Kevin Colbert keep making the decisions.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09327/1015649-66.stm

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE

This should be painted on the jersey of oft-injured Steelers' 2nd- string QB, Charlie Batch.

The guy gets into his first action in 2 years after raking in big bucks just to provide a little "veteranosity" on the sidelines and breaks his wrist.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09327/1015756-66.stm

If Big Ben goes down again next Sunday, or God forbid he can't play, then the Steelers will be stuck with Dennis Dixon.

They knew they needed a real #2 behind Ben for this year, but they stuck with Charlie Batch because he's "good for the community", I guess.

How about getting someone who can play in a pinch, instead of someone who is hurt everytime he gets pinched by a defensive lineman?

Anyway, it's looking worse for the Steelers by the day, except maybe the supposedly easy finish to the schedule compared to last year will help them get into the postseason.

We shall see.

 

[Don Wassall]

Big Ben is a great quarterback but now he has another concussion. He may end up being forced to retire young. Ben is at his best when he can move around and innovate, but of course the sumo o-line remains the team's weak spot year after year.

And where is the young talent on the Steelers? They have a lot of good players, but they are just about all veterans in their 30s or close to it. Maybe Mike Wallace but it's too early to say, and Santonio Holmes is another oft-arrested bonehead, a poor man's Plaxico Burress. It's not hard to see this team falling on bad times soon, especially since they seem to be committed to not drafting or developing any young White players at all. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[Jack Lambert]

Let's see, the key players on the Steelers for the last few years. At least, the ones that are left.

QB Ben Roethlisberger

WR Hines Ward

TE Heath Miller

DE Aaron Smith

DE Brett Keisel

LB James Farrior

SS Troy Polamalu

Know who brought all of these guys in? Yep, Cowher did. Tomlin has brought in Woodley and Wallace, but that is IT. As these guys get hurt and or retire, the teams will start collapsing, like it is now, as evidenced by Polamalu and Smith being out with injuries. If Ben can't play, the team is done. There isn't much hope with affletic talents like Mendenhall, Dixon, Sweed, and sumos Essex, Colon, and Starks playing. With guys like Smith, Ward and Farrior nearing the ends of their careers, and Ben eventually buckling under the beating he recieves weekly because of horrible protection, the Steelers will be in a lot of trouble soon.

 

[GWTJ]

Well, the Steelers did win two Super Bowls with mostly the same guys. Like almost every other team, they will slowly decline and have to start over. At least Big Ben got two rings and some lasting love from the fans. For a while there it looked like they might turn on him. His place in Steeler history is pretty much secure now and he has a great shot at the Hall of Fame as well.

All in all a nice run with Big Ben as the centerpiece of the team.

Edited by: GWTJ

 

[Don Wassall]

Know who brought all of these guys in? Yep, Cowher did. Tomlin has brought in Woodley and Wallace, but that is IT.

You know things are bad in Pittsburgh when Cowher looks like a Caste buster in comparison to what came after him.

BTW I think Woodley has beenclose to abust so far. A puny 24 tackles through 10 games by a linebacker doesn't begin to offset his rather pedestrian 5 sacks, especially since he's supposed to be a pass rushing specialist. Woodley's a lot like the over-rated Joey Porter, who always had low tackle totals, but not nearly as good.

 

[Tom Iron]

Another game of no Danny Woodhead. I've got my fingers crossed for next week.

Tom Iron...

 

[whiteathlete33]

Another game of no Danny Woodhead. I've got my fingers crossed for next week.



Tom Iron...

Yep. I doubt we will see him on the field unless an afflete gets injured. NFL.com has him listed on their website as a wr so he may not even play as a rb.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Steelers sign Rocky Boiman to try to improve their atrocious special teams play and, with Charlie Batch's injury, former Pitt QB Tyler Palko is added to the practice squad and becomes the team's third QB for the next few weeks.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09328/1016069-100.stmEdited by: Van_Slyke_CF

 

[Don Wassall]

Big Ben is out for tomorrow night's game as he is still not over the concussion he suffered last Sunday. Third string affletic QB Dennis Dixon gets the start, his first NFL action, with perpetually injured Charlie Batch out again. Roethlisberger is as important to the Steelers as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady are to their teams. Can't see the Steelers doing much without him though it's not hard to imagine the players being at a fever pitch to play well for Dixon againstthe Ravens.

 

[icsept]

Mike Tomlin will get the loss he deserves by having a stable of affletic back-up qb's. The only reason he has a super bowl ring is Big Ben. I guess he is willing to sacrifice a win in order to keep low quality black qb's on the payroll. Look at Raheem Morris at Tampa Bay. 3 Blacks deep at QB and he's won one game. These guys will be exposed for their racial preferences.Edited by: icsept

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Dennis Dixon: 12/26 and the interception that cost the Steelers the game.

There was this ridiculous approach by Collinsworth and Michaels the whole game from the booth-something like Dixon was givin' it the old college try so let's give him a free pass, regardless of the outcome.

The guy is well into his second season as a pro and he can't read defenses. The team had to dumbdown its playbook in an attempt just to get him through the game.

And this is the guy the Steelers will go with as their #2 QB after Charlie Batch is mercifully retired?

I can see it now: Big Ben breaks down once and for all in a couple more seasons, and Dennis Dixon is anointed the new savior at QB-perhaps "Slash and Dash."

And Tomlin will keep running him out there for a few years, even when it's readily apparent to all knowledgeable fans that he can't get the job done, kind of like Kordell Stewart's painfully long career in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers' window of opportunity to win another Super Bowl is rapidly closing-perhaps this year or the next.

A lot of dark days are on the horizon with this coach at the helm, the players on the field, and the DWFs who support it all.

 

[FootballDad]

Ho hum, yet another example of the Caste media's support for a black quarterback. I opened this story about the gamethis morning, and they paint a picture of Dixon being a fabulous QB, doing a "Roethlisberger impression" and all that. Of course, buried in the story and not easy to find are his actual passing stats, which are unimpressive, to say the least, 12 for 26 for a measly 145 yards, 1 TD, I INT for a fantastic black quarterback rating of 60.6! Watch out Big Ben, Dennis is going to take your job!

 

[Young Stribling]

On one of the Steeler forums I lurk on, they are near unanimous with their praise of Dixon's performance. I'd love to know what they saw to bring about this opinion. The guy has absolutely no velocity on his throws and is one of the most inaccurate quarterbacks I've ever had the displeasure of watching. Shades of Kordell, to be sure.

It was laughable watching the Steeler backs try to block over the hill Ray Lewis. If they had kept Krieder, (what happened to him?) Ray would have been pancaked. But Tomlin knows best!

 

[whiteathlete33]

Check out how much Hines Ward cares about Big Ben. http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog/roto_arcade/post/7-on-7-Hines-Ward-cares-not-for-Big-Ben-s-brain?urn=fantasy,205547 The DWF's certainly won't care about this one.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Ron Cook has it right in this column today:

"Ward was wrong on a number of fronts, none greater than the fact he put the Roethlisberger issue under the brightest of lights for public scrutiny. If he had a problem with Roethlisberger, he should have taken it directly to him. He never should have taken his thoughts out of the house. That does no one on the team any good.

Beyond that, how can Ward -- or anyone else, for that matter -- have a problem with Roethlisberger's toughness? A teammate who did much of the heavy lifting to put two Super Bowl rings on their fingers in the past four seasons despite being sacked like a zillion times? No one questioned safety Ryan Clark's toughness when he didn't play in Denver a few weeks ago because of a blood disorder. Nor should they have. Too bad that 50 percent didn't give Roethlisberger the same benefit of the doubt."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09334/1017347-87.stm

 

[Don Wassall]

Roethlisberger is as tough as any player in the league. There has always been jealousy of him among his alleged teammates even though he has always beenthe ultimateteam player during gamesandunfairly takesall the blame on himself for losses.
InBen's rookie season, "The Bus" was very jealous of all the attention he was receiving. Then there's the matter of the annual team MVP award, which is voted on by the players only, going to extremely undeserving choices like Casey Hampton rather than Roethlisberger.

Ward is a proven tough player (quite rare indeed for a black WR), but he has said a lot of stupid things over the years. Underneath the perpetually smiling exterior is someone with a lot of petty grievances and who obsesses overimaginary slights.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Ward should not be questioning Ben's toughness. 122 sacks over the past 2 and 1/2 years and countless hits should show Ben is about as tough as they come. In 41 games going from the Kansas City game this year back to the start of the 07 season, Roethlisberger is being sacked at about 3 times per game. Compare that with Manning, who was sacked 41 times in the same timespan, and he gets sacked less than once per game.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

What a pathetic showing today by the Steelers defense against the Raiders, especially the inept secondary. The cornerbacks were poor, the safeties were terrible, and the final drive one backup, Joe Burnette, couldn't catch an easy interception. And what about the worst offender, Ryan Mundy? Leading with his head twice on tackles took out a Steeler, gave the Raiders 15 yards on a penalty, and then he couldn't cover Louis Murphy in the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.

All we heard about last week was that Big Ben was a sissy for not playing, even after it was confirmed the team's neurosurgeon recommended he not play. Well, today he heroically led the team down the field repeatedly in the second half and the talent-challenged secondary for the Steelers blew it in the end.

The Steelers are sitting at 6-6 with a chance still at the postseason. But they don't deserve it.

Edited by: Van_Slyke_CF