SB Nation - Charlie Batch

My Thoughts Following Pittsburgh's Late Meltdown Against Kansas City

Blitzburgh — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:09:06 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

Many thanks to Frank for his post-game thoughts following the Steelers 24-27 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday afternoon. The loss drops Pittsburgh to 6-4 and marks the second time this season they've lost consecutive games. The good news - as we'll get to later - is that the Steelers lost no ground in the AFC North. Baltimore threw away a win at home against the undefeated Colts, while the front-running Bengals had a legitimate meltdown late against Oakland. Pittsburgh's loss was bad and perhaps an indicator that this year's team may just not have 'it', whatever that may be. Cincy's loss though was outrageous. Watch the highlights if you haven't already seen what happened.

So anyway, at the end of the day, it wasn't all that bad a day for the 6-time champs. But the loss sure was a tough one to swallow - a defeat that never should have happened judging by the game statistics. Numbers only tell part of the story though sometimes. We all know that. Today was one of those days where Pittsburgh squandered plenty of positive plays on both offense and defense with a handful of critical mistakes.

Total Plays: Pittsburgh 78, Kansas City 55

Total Yards: Pittsburgh 515, Kansas City 282

Yards/Play: Pittsburgh 6.6, Kansas City 5.5

Time of Possession: Pittsburgh 39:47, Kansas City 20:13

Turnovers: Pittsburgh 3, Kasnas City 1

Final Score: Pittsburgh 24, Kansas City 27

Thoughts about the game and the immediate future for this team after the jump...

* I'm not sure what the prognosis is for right guard Chris Kemoeatu, but the mauler left the contest in the 3rd quarter with a sprained right MCL. As a point of reference, that's the same injury Troy Polamalu suffered in the opener against Tennessee. Polamalu missed about a month. We'll have to wait until later in the week to see how much time K will miss, but it's safe to assume that it will be at least two games. When he went out, rookie Ramon Foster was asked to step up on short notice. The undrafted free agent out of Tennessee didn't look awful, but it was late in the game when the Chiefs really started collapsing the interior of the Steelers offensive line. I have not re-watched the game, but my guess is that a sizable amount of responsibility falls at his feet. Foster has impressed coaches all training camp and season with his understanding of his assignments, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he plays a bit better next week against Baltimore than he did. Sound unrealistic considering the Ravens have given the Steelers interior offensive linemen fits recently? Maybe. We'll see.

* Wow, the Chiefs have a special young talent in Jamaal Charles. The 2nd year back out of the University of Texas showed the world what top shelf track star speed looks like when he took the opening kickoff 97 yards to the house. With Stefan Logan in pursuit, Charles was able to basically coast in to the endzone for the final 10 yards. Charles also displayed toughness in the running game, an adept set of hands in the passing game, toughness fighting for yards after first contact, and an impressive sixth sense about how to pick up maximum yardage while protecting both his body and the football. The Chiefs will be a much more dangerous offense moving forward with him back there instead of Larry Johnson.

* If you think the Steelers don't have a total star in Santonio Holmes than you're really underappreciating just how good he's been for almost all of this year. Holmes had 7 more catches for 86 yards. Five of Holme's seven catches went for first down yardage; all five of those went for 12+ yards. Holmes has been so money in traffic, hasn't turned the ball over, continues to block down the field in both the passing and running game, and generally seems to be doing a great job assuming more of a leadership role this year. Remember when some folks were concerned about whether the Super Bowl MVP would start acting like a WR diva in his fourth year as he tried to establish himself on the national picture outside of the 'Burgh? Well, it hasn't happened.

* Perhaps Bruce Arians just isn't utilizing Holmes as well as he could be. That's debatable. I wouldn't say that Holmes hasn't been incorporated in to this offense to a considerable extent. But I do wonder why the Steelers wouldn't keep going back to those quick bubble screens out to Holmes time and time again until teams prove they can stop it. One of the things I've been most impressed by is Holmes' ability to get an angle on the cornerback when running after the catch. Often times he's the one delivering a stiff arm or dragging down defenders with him rather than other way around. Remember when the Patriots smoked the Steelers in 2007 - Tom Brady kept going to Wes Welker over and over again in the 2nd half on those quick hitting passes. Why not? We couldn't stop it. I wonder sometimes why teams in sports - and not just the Steelers - go away from what's working for no apparent reason.

* Sorry Mr. Arians, can't let the 3rd and 2 call in overtime go without mentioning just how atrocious that call was. First of all, it's pretty much totally futile to run sideline to sideline in the National Football League. Sweeps just get gobbled up in this league of insanely fast and sure tackling linebackers. Then, to call Mewelde Moore's number in that situation? Maybe Willie Parker in his prime; maybe Rashard Mendenhall on a day where he's displayed good balance and ball control. Sure, Charlie Batch had just been inserted in to the game so perhaps Arians didn't want to put too much on his shoulders in that situation. But that call makes no sense. Maybe just maybe Batch audibled out of something more reasonable to that call. If so, shame on Charlie. If not, we're left with one more piece of evidence that there's probably a better man for the job out there than Mr. Arians.

Let me ask you this though - why not call a timeout there? It's 3rd and 2 from the Kansas City 35 yard line on the opening drive of overtime. I'm actually not sure how many timeouts the Steelers had at that moment. In fact, I'm not sure if timeouts carry over from regulation or not, but it really doesn't matter. There's no more important moment in the game than that play. A first down and the Steelers are just about in Jeff Reed field goal range. You have your backup quarterback in there. It's the perfect time to talk things over and come up with a safe but well reasoned play call. The Steelers instead rushed things and lost 2 yards. Tomlin opted to punt the ball away on 4th and 4 from the 38 rather than to try a 55 yard field goal or to go for it.

* Some folks are probably up in arms about the decision to punt it there following the head scratching call on 3rd and 2. I don't know. I don't think there's anything wrong with the logic to punt it away there. The Steelers defense had still limited the Chiefs offense to just a shade over 200 yards of offense through 4 quarters of football. Nothing faulty about the logic to try to pin them deep and make them earn a trip in to Steelers territory for a potential game winning field goal. Last year, this defense makes that stop and gets the offense the back somewhere near mid field. Not this year. We all know what happened on the Chiefs final drive. It's worth nothing though that Daniel Sepulveda totally whiffed on his effort to pin KC deep. Once more, special teams rears its ugly head at the wrong time.

* I love Ryan Clark for a lot of reasons. I'll always remember his time in Pittsburgh fondly and admire him for how good a teammate he was, the heavy hits he delivered over the middle, and how he persevered and fought back from a near death experience to continue playing like a warrior for the organization each Sunday. It's tough watching him miss interception opportunities with such regularity though. I'll just leave it at that.

* Deshea Townsend continues to exhibit a substantial dropoff in his play compared to last year when he was an integral part of our top ranked defense. Re-watch the play that set up the Chiefs game winning field goal in overtime. It was a well designed and executed play by the Chiefs; and there was more than one Steeler who was out of position or taken out of the play by nice blocks. But sheesh, Townsend just got annihilated on the play which was partially why the race down the sideline was so wide open. Not sure there's much of a solution for the immediate future. This may just be a transition year of sorts for parts of this team.

* Back to the good news - the Steelers pass rush is heating up. Granted, the Chiefs don't sport one of the better offensive lines in the league. In fact, they're one of the worst. But 5 sacks today by the Steelers was still excellent to see. LaMarr Woodley had two, James Harrison one, and Lawrence Timmons and Casey Hampton had one a piece. Timmons played much better than he did last week, which is certainly something to feel good about moving forward.

* I loved that Charlie Batch came in and delivered a strike on his first pass of the game - a huge 17 yard completion to Santonio Holmes on a 2nd and 14 play early in overtime. It doesn't appear as if Ben Roethlisberger will miss any time due to the injury he sustained to his head. That's great news I suppose (though I hope he doesn't rush back just because of the enormity of next week's game). Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope he stays upright and doesn't sustain any more potential concussions, BUT, if for whatever reason he needed to sit down for a game or however long, I hope the team goes to Dennis Dixon rather than Charlie Batch. I'm not going to really flesh out why because I'm just going to hope and assume our franchise quarterback is okay and stays that way. I will say this though - I think Dennis Dixon might be able to more effectively light light a spark under this team than would. And on a non-esoteric level - we saw the limits of Batch's arm strength when he almost had his pass outside to Mendenhall intercepted due to a startling lack of velocity on the throw.

* This one stung. That's enough from me for now. Next week's game is going to be awfully emotional for both teams. The Ravens and the Steelers are down on the mat heading in to the final 6 weeks of the season. But the winner next Sunday night will still be in plenty good shape in the standings and will have plenty of reason to believe they've got what it takes to make a push towards the playoffs and maybe even beyond.

A Long Look at Jake Locker, Pro Quarterback, After a Brief Look at Jake Locker, Amateur Quarterback

John Morgan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:57:37 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

I was not agog over Jake Locker, but he does have a quick release.

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I watched Jake Locker with some interest this Saturday. Locker has surpassed Taylor Mays as the local athlete Seahawks fans most desire. This is not a comprehensive review of Locker. I tuned out after the game became lopsided. Like Rodney Hudson, this is just my early impressions and opinions.

Locker is known for his athleticism. He is purported to have 4.4 speed. I highly doubt he does. Michael Vick didn't run at the 2001 NFL Combine, but LaDainian Tomlinson did. He ran a 4.42. 4.4 speed for a quarterback is very uncommon. At that same Combine, the top forties among quarterbacks belonged to Quincy Carter and Mike McMahon, 4.55 and 4.54 respectively. Locker profiles a little like McMahon.

McMahon was stuck on a terrible Rutgers team. He started midway through his freshman season and was hurt his junior season. His offensive line was thought awful. The Scarlet Knights won 8 of McMahon's 31 starts. Locker has won 6 of 24. That line, the surrounding talent, and the game situations McMahon faced justified his poor counting stats to some scouts. He never completed 50% of his passes for a season and threw 52 interceptions to only 41 touchdown passes. Locker has completed 51.7% of his passes for his career and has 27 touchdowns to 23 interceptions. McMahon clearly had the speed, but he wasn't a great rusher. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry his senior season. Locker has averaged 4.53 for his career, but only 2.8 this season.

I ran upon McMahon by accident. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2001 draft. McMahon started midway through his rookie season for the eventual 2-14 Marty Mornhinweg led Lions. It might seem a given the Lions rot, but they were 9-7 the season before, 8-8 and playoff bound the season before that, and both seasons post-Barry Sanders. Mornhinweg has since established himself as a top offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was able to get production from Charlie Batch. Batch completed 58.1% of his passes that season and had 5.1 adjusted net yards an attempt. McMahon completed 46.1% of his passes, threw for 4.1 adjusted net yards an attempt and suffered a staggering sack percentage of 15.4%. The Lions line might have been bad, but when the eminently sackable Batch posts an 8.8% sack rate behind the same line, it says something when his replacement nearly doubles it.

McMahon never went on to success. The tools that scouts drooled over were undermined by his poor quarterback skills. His completion percentage and sack rate did not rebound in the pros, they got worse. He continued to throw interceptions at a rate well above his ability to throw touchdowns. Taking a long-shot flier on McMahon in the fifth was not the move that ruined Matt Millen, but every game McMahon started, Millen's Lions were expected to lose. McMahon finished his Lions career 1-6 and his professional career 3-11. Millen never did get his quarterback. He drafted Joey Harrington and got Joey Harrington. Harrington completed 55.2% of his passes at Oregon and 56.1% as a pro.

The point of this lengthy aside should be obvious. It is very hard to see Locker as a pro prospect when he has played very poorly in college. The synthesis of Locker and his surrounding talent is difficult to split. How do we apportion credit and blame? Like McMahon, Locker is believed to have a spotty to bad offensive line, but the sacks kept coming when McMahon hit the pros. A recent study by Pro Football Reference found sack percentage is the stat that is most consistent among quarterbacks changing teams. The next most consistent is completion percentage.

That shouldn't surprise anyone. As I detailed with Seneca Wallace, a quarterback can create much of his own pressure. Locker creates pressure. He is hyper-vigilant of the pass rush and begins to pace in the pocket, scramble or roll out even when pressure is not applied. Against Oregon, he ran into a sack on a three man rush. The Huskies had kept a blocker in and every Duck pass rusher was double teamed. Locker wasn't sitting in the pocket and the rush was somewhat disruptive, but no Duck was free or even closing on him when he decided to escape right and right into the defensive end.

He hasn't shaken that first instinct to run, but is stuck in a middle ground where he doesn't run decisively and doesn't stand in the pocket and pass. He makes some curious reads and does not show consistent accuracy. Locker has a nice mix of touch and arm-strength, but those are secondary abilities, of little worth before a quarterback has mastered pocket-presence, read and accuracy.

The Husky skill position players are ok: Certainly not the class of college, but not punishingly bad. The Husky's line is pour but not porous. Locker had time in the pocket on most snaps, not enviable time, but time enough to pass. He made throws with all the zip, touch and placement of a pro, but never consistently. His quick release is his best asset. Locker has a compact, ball-over-ear throwing motion. He doesn't wind up or expose the ball and it's out fast enough to hit receivers before the defensive back can respond. That's a great skill and one that will serve him well in the pros, should he make it that far.

Locker should return for another season. Mock draft boards are mercurial because change attracts readers. Husky homers eat up Jake Locker soaring up draft boards. October mock drafts are made to inspire links, not to reflect reality. Locker's foot speed is likely as trumped up as his prototypical height. 6'3" hasn't been prototypical for a decade. 6'5" is prototypical in the modern NFL. 6'3" is adequate. Locker is nevertheless an interesting mix of tools. If he ever learns to play quarterback, his ability to rush could complement his pass abilities like it has Donovan McNabb. He isn't Michael Vick and he won't run away from pro linebackers anticipating a run. I doubt he has true 4.4 speed and his moves are pedestrian for a pro quarterback.

He is at least a season from learning to play quarterback at anything close to the pro level. He exhibits major red flags: pocket presence, decision making and consistent accuracy. Any one could undercut him as a pro. Locker must first prove he can be a great college quarterback before Seattle fans envision him a great Seahawks quarterback. As he stands today, Locker is more Mike McMahon than Steve Young. Matt Millen suffered after drafting McMahon in the fifth. Tim Ruskell would look like quite the Millen if he dared draft Jake Locker in the first.

Interview with a Detroit Lions' Fan About Redskins Game this Sunday

KevinE — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:45:10 -0000

It's Wednesday and thus it is time to put the Rams game, the drama with Coach Zorn, and the Robert Henson TwitGate behind us. Who would have thought the Lions game would mean as much as it does? Zorn is deflecting hot seat questions on his own radio show, and the Redskins are fighting to avoid being the first team to lose to the Lions in 20 games. Trivia...who was the last team to lose to the Lions?

Continuing the "Interview a fan" fun from last week, a friend of mine from the D.C. Improv, Philippe Cicchini, hails from Michigan. I can't recall one of his Facebook updates not belittling mentioning the Tigers, Pistons, or Lions in some form. I threw some Q&A his way hitting such topics as whether the Lions should start Culpepper, the Lions firing ALL their defensive backs after last season, and what he would do if he ran into Matt Millen in a dark alley.

Hogs Haven: The Lions have given up an average of 390 yards per game (granted, it was the Vikes and Saints they had to face). How do you think the defense will hold up against a sputtering Redskins offense, especially now that the Lions lost their starting LB Ernie Sims?

Phillipe: Being without Sims will definitely hurt the team's chances on defense. He's easily one of their biggest teeth-rattling hitters and an emerging leader on that side of the ball. But, even with him in the lineup the first two games, they were giving up an average of 134 yards on the ground. If the Lions are able to contain Clinton Portis, the Lions might have a shot, since Jason Campbell will be coming in with a bum ankle, thus possibly hindering his mobility and ability to make plays through the air. So, the Lions are catching a break this week in that they're finally going up against a quarterback whose last name isn't Brees or Favre. But, the Lions haven't won a game since, seemingly, Abraham Lincoln's administration. CAN the defense hold up? It's entirely possible, but the D-line's going to have to play smart and put pressure on Washington's QB, especially if Campbell can't go. WILL the defense hold up? If history's any indication, we're probably looking at loss number 20 in a row if the offense doesn't figure out a way to hold on to the ball.

Hogs Haven: Against the Vikings, the Lions used Stafford conservatively. Do you think Duante Culpepper should be trying to get the first win or is Stafford ready to play? (The Lions have a NFL worst 40.5 QB rating through 2 weeks.)

Philipe: This is a great question. Contrary to what the rest of the country may have thought, I think the majority of Lions' fans believed the best move would have been to trot Culpepper out at the beginning of the season and bring Stafford along slowly, like the Packers did with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Then again, Rodgers wasn't the number one overall pick and didn't come with a $41 million price tag, and that's probably the main reason for the difference in approaches. The preseason news was that Culpepper had shed some weight and was looking great in practice. It seemed like the perfect scenario for the rookie to learn in. It's not like the alternatives consisted of guys named Charlie Batch, Mike McMahon, or Ty Detmer. But, now, you have a situation where if the rookie continues to stink it up, the coaching staff has to turn to the guy they benched at the beginning of the year. Moves like that don't exactly solidify locker rooms. Culpepper should have started the year, but they've put themselves in a position where they have to back the unproven rookie now. Then again, they might take solace in the fact that Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning went 0-11 and 3-13 as starters during their rookie seasons, respectively. And, look how those guys' careers turned out.

Hogs Haven: In a bold move, the Lions fired all of their defensive backs last year. How are all the new corners looking this year? (The Lions currently rank 24th with a 8.5 yards against average)

Philipe: Well, they're obviously adjusting to a new system and trying to build up rapport and communication with each other on the field. They have a couple of guys with good NFL experience under their belts in Anthony Henry and Eric King, but the secondary has given up a league-leading EIGHT touchdowns in the first two games alone. That doesn't exactly earn you a spot in the Pro Bowl if you're a cornerback. However, the second-most hyped rookie on the team (after Matthew Stafford) according to preseason reports was strong safety Louis Delmas - a potential bright spot in the secondary. He plays with a lot of intensity, but sometimes lets it get the best of him, as evidenced by his two 15-yard penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Saints. Needless to say, the Lions are probably going to continue having some bad defensive games if they can't stop giving up touchdowns at a record pace and have to rely on a mistake-prone rookie safety to help shut down other teams' experienced receivers.

Hogs Haven: The Detroit Free Press predicted a Lions win while Vegas has the Lions getting 6.5 points. What has to happen offensively and defensively for the Lions to get their first win?

Philipe: Honestly, EVERYTHING just has to come together in one game for this team and it has to last the entire sixty minutes, period. Some teams can get a win by outscoring their opponents on a day where their defense is off, or by holding a team to seven or ten points when their offense has a bad day. Fact is, the Lions just aren't that good on either side of the ball. They're giving up a ton of yards and points and they're turning the football over as though they were earning a commission for each time they coughed it up. The Sunday they get their first win, their defense is going to have to make some stops - especially on third down - and the quarterback (whoever's playing that day) will have to keep turnovers to a minimum. Look at last week's game against Green Bay. Very good first half all the way around. Horrendous second half all the way around. They have to find a way to keep it going for the entire game when they get off to a hot start like that.

Hogs Haven: It's late at night, and you're walking down a dark alley when Matt Millen walks right by you. What do you say or do?

Philipe: Oh, the possibilities are endless - probably something Dick Cheney would approve of, no doubt. Seriously, though. How bad do you have to be at your job that when you first show your face on television after getting fired, the Detroit NBC affiliate runs a crawl at the bottom of the screen - during the Super Bowl pregame coverage, no less - asking viewers if they think you have any credibility as a sports commentator after sinking a team??? Any person with any kind of decency would have realized it just wasn't working and resigned, instead of sticking around and unjustifiably accepting millions of dollars. But, don't get me wrong, anyone who knows anything about anything also knows that William Clay Ford is a lousy owner - loyal, but lousy. He gave Millen a five-year contract extension four years into the worst stretch in team history. It was something out of The Twilight Zone.

Thanks again brother. This is a tough game for me to predict. After last week, the normal thought is to call another Redskins squeaker....15-14, but my Kool-aid has a lot more mix in it than usual. We've owned the Lions for too long and losing their best LB should hide some offensive mistakes. Redskins 28-10.

Image via blog.mlive.com

Chat with Behind The Steel Curtain for Redskins/Steelers Game

KevinE — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:00:12 -0000

With all the time and effort it takes to keep up with all the Redskins daily updates, it becomes almost impossible to truly know the ins and outs of every football team, so it works out well that each week leading up to the Redskins game, I will be able to do a Q&A session with the Redskins' opponents SB Nation blog. In this week's case, Behind the Steel Curtain. These Q&A session will give us a nice insight of what to expect and some key players to look for (fantasy?!).

Hogs Haven: The Steelers offensive line seems to be quite shaky. What are you expectations and predictions for how it will hold up this week against the Redskins D-line, which is one of the best in the business. Haynesworth and Orakpo will both be playing Saturday.

Mike Tomlin has said that he expects the Steelers first team to play around a full quarter on Saturday. I would assume the Redskins first team would probably play a similar amount perhaps less, so we should have a full quarter of work for our first team against a top ten defense. If last week against the Cardinals is any indication I expect the offensive line to look improved upon from last year and more confident working together as a cohesive unit. Darnell Stapleton who started for the Steelers last season during their Super Bowl run is injured and former back-up tackle Trai Essex looks to fill his spot, although reports are he was likely to do so anyway. The back-up group looked very impressive against the second and third teams of the Cardinals so fans are very excited to see their progress against a top level defense.

Hogs Haven: On the flip side, the Redskins offensive line is a major concern here in Washington. What can we expect from your d-line in your starting defense and backup defensive players who will see the majority of time?

I think the Steelers defensive line is criminally underrated and frequently forgotten about due to the play of the linebackers and Troy Polamalu who tend to overshadow the group. Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, and Brett Keisel form probably the best 3-4 defensive line in the NFL and with the addition of first round draft pick Ziggy Hood this season I think this defensive line will help create a lot of chaos for NFL teams including Jason Cambell and company on Saturday.

Hogs Haven: What type of minutes will Big Ben, Charlie Batch, and former Dennis Dixon play? I imagine the former Oregon Duck will see a lot of time. He seemed to impress his first pre-season game.

Mike Tomlin has said the starters will likely play a quarter. I would expect Charlie Batch to lead them into halftime and Dennis Dixon likely getting the majority of the second half. Dixon did look good in the first pre-season game, and it really isn't surprising considering he was a Heisman Trophy candidate before his injury his senior season at Oregon. A lot of media are speculating that Dixon could be a possible "Wildcat" type player but I would be very surprised to see him work out of that type of formation much on Saturday, as he is in the process of proving he can be an NFL drop-back quarterback not a gimmick.

Hogs Haven: Any lesser known players to look out for that you expect to contribute/step-up heavily this year that was not a major contributer on your Super Bowl run last year?

Steelers fans will be looking heavily at undrafted free agent running back Isaac Redman who scored two touchdowns in the Steelers first pre-season game. Redman is the career rushing leader at Division II Bowie St. and has been very impressive at Steelers training camp this season. The Steelers and their Fans are hoping Redman can provide a goal-line spark that has been missing from the team since Jerome Bettis left to be on Football Night in America.

Other players that Steelers fans will want to keep an eye on are Limas Sweed, Shaun McDonald, and Mike Wallace, who are all battling for the third wide-receiver spot. It appears second year man out of Texas, Limas Sweed, has the edge and it is his job to lose; but rookie Mike Wallace's speed has been eye-opening so far which isn't surprising considering he was the second fastest man at the Combine behind Darrius Heyward-Bey. These two players and veteran Shaun McDonald, who led the team in catches and yards during the last preseason game, are all trying to prove they can make an impact on the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers.

A quick update, Big Ben hurt his foot in practice yesterday and probably will not play Saturday. This is a big shame since I really wanted to see Washington's first defense go against a QB who is so tough to bring down and so great at making the tough plays. A full half of Charlie Batch?? I mean, it will be comical, but I really want to see our guys tested.

via www.post-gazette.com

Pittsburgh Steelers Defeat Arizona Cardinals, 20-10. Some Initial Observations From Preseason Week No. 1

Blitzburgh — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:04:19 -0000

Mike Tomlin improved to 3-0 in preseason openers as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers when his team surged late to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 20-10 in a rematch of last year's Super Bowl. It's always nice to win, no two ways about it. If nothing else, it gives lots of the younger players, many of whom we'll mention below, a chance to get in a live-game situation where they must deal with and overcome pressure. They did just that. That said, I think we all also realize that the victory means very little.

Let's still talk about a few of the notes from last night's victory.

Let's start with one of the more glaring positives - the return of punter Daniel Sepulveda. The 2007 4th round draft pick looked very solid last night, booming 6 punts for an average of 49.5 yards. He had two downed inside the 20 yard line and had a long of 53. If the Steelers can get consistently solid play from Sepulveda, particularly if the offense takes a bit of time to gel, I very much like the team's chances to avoid any big slip-ups. The defense, if healthy, should be able to hold down the fort if they're not compromised by bad field position, even if it takes a bit of time for the offense to hit its stride. Congratulations to Sepulveda on all the hard work he's put in to get himself back to this point. Fingers crossed he remains injury-free for the remainder of this year and for years to come.
Dennis Dixon also deserves kudos for his performance last night, particularly on the touchdown drive early in the 4th quarter that gave the Steelers an insurmountable 17-3 lead. The drive began at the Steelers own 20-yard line and it featured 6 pass attempts by Dixon - all completions - for 60 yards, Yes, the Cards were down to at least their 3rd string defenders. But Dixon also looked poised and confident when the team needed him to settle down, be less skittish in the pocket and lead his team down the field for points. Dixon wasn't perfect, particularly early on. He underthrew a deep ball that would have likely gone for a touchdown. And it took him a few snaps to calm down and trust his progressions ad instincts in the pocket. But that's to be expected and not at all alarming. Just so long as he made the necessary adjustments sooner rather than later. Which he did. Charlie Batch also looked just fine out there in limited action, but one has to really wonder now if Dixon might not be the better choice for the Steelers were they forced to play without Ben Roethlisberger for more than just a few series or quarters.
LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison are good at football. Good goodness. If they stay healthy all year, it will alleviate so much of the pressure off the rest of the defense and might even allow Dick LeBeau's unit to sustain an injury or two to a key player. But these two are the anchor of everything that the Steelers defense wants to do and if they're terrorizing opposing quarterbacks like they did last year, look out National Football League.
It doesn't surprise me that Lawrence Timmons was a bit hesitant and seemingly a half-step too slow on a number of plays last night. He'll be just fine. Let's just keep him healthy until when we're playing for real marbles.
Let's leave discussion(s) about the offensive line for a separate post, but I will say that nobody was really impressive last night. Certainly not Max Starks or the regular cast of characters that we should see lining up as the first unit come the regular season. But the two centers, Doug Legursky and A.Q. Shipley looked pretty decent. So did Tony Hills. This is one area where I wasn't able to get a complete grasp on, as I was tending to a few other things while watching and have not had a chance to re-watch the game. Anything in particular you saw in this department?
Was it not exciting to see Limas Sweed play with an emphatic sense of purpose last night? Wow, great stuff from the 2nd year wide receiver out of Texas, who Steelers fans all know struggled mightily during his rookie campaign. Mike Wallace also looked like stage fright won't be an issue. All of a sudden, it's possible that the Steelers wide receiving corps could be awfully dangerous if those two continue to develop nicely. Then there's Shaun McDonald, who proved to be sure-handed and reliable in the slot. The Steeers weren't great on offense last night by any means, but little of that had to do with the play of the wide receivers. Color me excited to watch this offense this year, even if the running game continues to sputter more often than not.
Finally, to close, a tip of the cap to undrafted free agent rookie Isaac Redman, who scored two touchdowns in last night's victory. The rookie out of little-known Bowie State runs like a bull in a china shop and could find himself assuming more of the redzone and short yardage duties than we ever imagined just a few weeks ago. Is it possible that the Steelers keep six or even seven running backs on their roster? I'm not sure just yet, but Redman sure does seem to be making it tough on the coaching staff to ignore his presence and ability two weeks in to the 2009 preseason.

Thoughts?

Go Steelers!

Wednesday Notes: Stafford Visits NFL Network

Sean Yuille — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:27:00 -0000

NFL.com has video of Matthew Stafford's interview on NFL Network yesterday and a transcript of his chat as well.
During an interview with Dan Patrick, Stafford didn't have much to say about when he thinks he will be the Lions' starting QB.
Julian Peterson thinks the Lions going 0-16 last season is a challenge for everyone now on the team.
Former Lions Jon Kitna, Jeff Garcia, and Charlie Batch made a list of the top ten backup quarterbacks.
The Detroit Tigers Weblog has a very interesting behind the scenes look at what goes into the making of a Tigers broadcast on FSN Detroit.

Top Ten Regular Season Games of Ben Roethlisberger's Career: #10 - Week 10 2006 Pittsburgh 38_New Orleans 31

Blitzburgh — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:37:05 -0000

A new series here on Behind The Steel Curtain. With training camp still about a month away, why not dive in to one more 'list' - the top ten regular season games of Ben Roethlisberger's remarkable but still young career. My selection process was not at all scientific; nor was it based solely on statistics. One might think that Big Ben's three games with a perfect quarterback rating would sit atop my list, but that's not necessarily the case as we'll discover. The only criteria is that the Steelers won that afternoon or evening.

Let's begin with the #10 regular season game in Ben Roethlisberger's career -

2006 Week 10: Pittsburgh 38 New Orleans 31

Ben Roethlisberger's statistics: 17 of 28 (60.7%), 264 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 127.7 QB Rating

After the jump, let's take a look at some of the pictures from the game.

Before doing so however, let's take a step back and remember where exactly the Steelers were at that point in the 2006 season. The Steelers were 2-6 heading in to Week 10 and had lost six of their previous seven games after winning the home opener against the Miami Dolphins. Ben Roethlisberger of course, had suffered the horrible motorcycle accident during the preseason and was not yet ready to go by Week 1. Charlie Batch got the nod instead and led the team to a solid, if not overly impressive W.

Big Ben struggled mightily upon returning. In fact, it was not until Week 6 against Kansas City that he threw a touchdown pass and had been intercepted 7 times in his first three games of the 2006 season, all losses. Pittsburgh's playoff chances looked slim heading into the home contest against the upstart Saints, but they weren't done yet. The Steelers had to win that week though and Big Ben had to protect the football far better than he had the previous two weeks. He had been picked off 7 times and lost 1 fumble, to boot.

Like he's done so many times throughout his career, Ben rebounded from adversity starting that week against the Saints and almost led the Steelers back from the brink to the playoffs. Let's take a look at some of the highlights from the extremely entertaining 38-31 victory.

(Pardon some of the lower quality screen shots that I captured from the 2006 footage)

With the score tied at 0-0 early in the 1st quarter, Big Ben and Hines Ward connected for a 37-yard touchdown. The ball was perfectly thrown in the small window between the cornerback and safety for New Orleans. Ward caught the ball in full stride and had the angle on the Saints safety for the corner.

A couple of nifty moves later by Ward and the Steelers were on the board first 7-0. On the opening drive, Roethlisberger was 2-of-3 for 45 yards and a TD.

On the ensuing possession by the Saints, tight end Billy Miller coughed up the ball after making a short reception. It was recovered by James Farrior and the Steelers were in business once more at the Saints 32. The Steelers were pounding the ball with Willie Parker early and often and a 9-yard first down pass to Cedrick Wilson put Pittsburgh at the New Orleans 10 with a fresh set of downs. Two more Willie Parker runs on 1st and 2nd down put the Steelers at the 2 yard line on 3rd down.

A classic example of nicely executed play action here by the Steelers, and it began with a convincing fake handoff by Big Ben. As you can see in the frame above, there are three Saints defenders for the two Steelers pass catchers and the flanking Dan Kreider. But, that requires the Saints defender with the 1 above him not to bite on the play action. He does.

Heath Miller has kind of sneaked underneath what appears to be Hines Ward as the Saints defender has committed to attacking the backfield of the Steelers. Wrong move.

14-0 Pittsburgh.

To their credit, the Saints responded, scoring the game's next 10 points. Quarterback Drew Brees was his usual sharp self. He would ultimately finish with 398 yards passing on the evening. In the frame above, the Saints are trailing 14-10 after the Steelers were forced to punt for their third consecutive possession. New Orleans is setting up a double-reverse to Reggie Bush and from the angle that most of the Steelers are taking, it looks early on in the play's development that they might have something brewing. He'll need a block first.

Bush gets the block from Brees and he's got the edge on the Steelers D.

Bush took to the air from about the four or five yard line and skied over two Steelers defenders for the go-ahead score. 17-14 New Orleans.

There was actually a flurry of action following Bush's athletic touchdown run. Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes for a 46 yard reception that put the Steelers inside the red zone with under 2:00 minutes to go in the half. The Steelers might have been well served mixing in a run in their following three plays rather than throwing it three straight times. They had plenty of time left on the clock, not to mention multiple timeouts in their back pocket. Furthermore, why give Brees & Co. more time than necessary. Anyway, the Steelers settled for 3 to tie the game back up at 17-17.

Four straight completions (22, 11, 6, 29) and the Saints were inside the Steelers 5 yard line - in the span of 51 seconds. They would punch it in and regain the lead heading in to half, 24-17.

To start the 3rd quarter, the Saints and Steelers both shot themselves in the foot and left points on the field. For New Orleans, it was a 15-yard penalty on 2nd down after breaking inside the Steelers 40 yard line. For Pittsburgh it was a missed Jeff Reed field goal from only 35 yards out. Big Ben was 4-of-7 for 56 yards including consecutive 22 yard completions that had put Pittsburgh inside the New Orleans 35.

Fumbles proved to be the Achilles Heel of New Orleans that night. Following Reed's missed FG, Reggie Bush fumbled at his own 42 yard line and Ryan Clark scooped it up and returned it five yards to the New Orleans 37. As he had been known to do, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt went for the big play immediately thereafter, calling up a beautifully executed play-action bomb on 1st down.

Big Ben winds up and freezes the defense with one of his patented convincing ball fakes.

Wilson fakes to the middle as Ben winds up. Excellent footwork from Cedrick.

The difference in how the shoulders are squared up of these two tells you everything you need to know about what comes next. Wilson already has rounded out of his break and is heading to the endzone while the Saints defender is off balance and has his shoulders nearly parallel to the opposite sideline. Game over.

No Saints defender in sight as Wilson hauls in a perfectly thrown ball by Big Ben to the back of the end zone.

24-24.

It was all Willie Parker from that point on. After New Orleans kicker John Carney missed a chip shot field goal, Parker exploded to the left for 72 yards all the way to the Saints 14. He would later score from 3 yards out to give the Steelers a 31-24 lead.

The Saints threatened on their next drive but ultimately were forced to punt. It tumbled in to the end zone for a touch back and the Steelers took back over from their own 20 up by a touchdown with just under 11 minutes to go in the game. Parker then ran 76 yards to the Saints 4 yard line after an incompletion by Big Ben on 1st down.

A classic FWP run. He fakes taking it up the gut before bouncing it outside. Saints defenders in the middle of the field are just slightly off balance and not in position to take a good angle to Parker.

Just a half second or so has elapsed and Parker already clearly has the advantage to the edge. You can almost see the Saints defenders panicking as they realize this and begin scrambling to get outside.

And he's off with the entire back 7 of the Saints in pursuit. Beautiful.

Parker was finally chased down but he would capitalize again for a 4 yard touchdown run that put the Steelers ahead by two scores. The Saints would storm back once more and actually had a chance to tie the game, but another lost fumble, the Saints third of the game, gave the Steelers the ball back with under a minute to go.

It was a tremendous football game for everybody involved - the players, coaches and the fans. Both quarterbacks were tremendous and players on both sides of the ball for both teams made play after play all game. For Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, it was his first game since beating up on the hapless Chiefs that he had played like the quarterback that had set an NFL record for success as a rookie and had led his team to a Lombardi Trophy in just his second year. There would be more struggles for Big Ben and the Steelers in the 2006 season but for a night he and his teammates were great that night. For his efforts, I'll categorize the game as the 10th best in his young but already accomplished young career.

San Diego Chargers Links - 7/1

John (obviousman) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:00:17 -0000

Pre-Training Camp Gridiron Gab Division Previews: AFC West " NFL Gridiron Gab
The Chargers are far and away the most experienced and talented team in the division anything less than winning the division would be a wasted year and could cost Norv Turner his job.

KFFL - Article - Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
In his prime, Rivers shouldn't drop off too much, if at all. We expect near 4,000 yards and 30 touchdown passes from him, which easily makes him a No. 1 fantasy quarterback.

Charlie Batch Tells Rookies There's A "100 Percent" Chance Of A Lockout | ProFootballTalk.com
Per a league source, Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch warned the new players that there's a "100 percent" chance of a league-imposed lockout in 2011.

Brandon Hughes checks in from symposium - Chargers.com
Arthur Hightower, the Chargers Player Development Director, has been meeting with the rookies since we arrived in San Diego a few weeks ago so this week is kind of a refresher course on a lot of the things we’ve already been talking about. It’s still a very positive experience getting to listen to a lot of different speakers.

It feels like we’ve covered every topic in the book. We’ve heard about everything from how the NFL Players Association functions to the dangers of drug abuse. We’ve sat through sessions on domestic violence, financial advising, dealing with the media and learning to say no to the people who reappear in your life when they find out you just became an NFL player.

Twitter Updates:

Shawne Merriman (shawnemerriman) on Twitter
Wow ranked #3 best passrusher in the league now????i rather be a punter

kassim osgood (kassimosgood) on Twitter
In the off season to keep our competitive nature going and to keep us in shape we should have an NFL track league. Competition is great!

jamal williams (76767676) on Twitter
@crackpotjack who are you calling a geek ? bro its comics you get to meet the writers and get cool new and old comics and toys and coostuff

Shaun Phillips (ShaunPhillips95) on Twitter
My tweeps I'm putting my tweet down for a week so I can't show no love. RIP for a week.

Antonio Cromartie (crimetime31) on Twitter
Man a mango slushy would b good as heck before I went to sleep. I've had a long day. Thank you father Youve blessed in ways we can't imagine

Luis Castillo (LuisCastillo93) on Twitter
Just saw transformers. Great movie. I get what the hype is all about. 5 out of 5 stars

Marcus McNeill (MarcusMcNeill73) on Twitter
That Lombardi Trophy is ours BABY!

Legedu Naanee (LA_Naanee) on Twitter
I tried takin a week off from workin out but I'm goin crazy.. I'm hittn the weight room!

(Editor's Note - I think the daily music videos were slowing the load time of the home page down. From now on, you can find it after the jump.)

Do you have any thoughts about Bolts From The Blue? Any tips you want to send our way? Whenever you have something to say, don't hesitate to e-mail me directly.

BTSC Steelers Daily Six Pack- Lockout Edition

drinkyourmilkshake — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:11:11 -0000

IX- Charlie Batch is the Steelers representative with the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association). According to Mike Florio of Profootballtalk.com the Steelers' back-up quarterback told rookies at the NFL Rookie Symposium that "there's is a "100 percent" chance of a league imposed lockout in 2011." Pretty bold words from Mr. Batch, but as the article mentions many owners are far in debt and a lockout would be very counter productive in their effort to...ya know, make money.

X- I've been meaning to feature this post in the six-pack for a few days and it has slipped my mind, but it's some really cool documents from our SBNation friends over at Buffalo Rumblings. The documents are from the grandson of the first head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Buster Ramsey. The thing that makes it relevant to Steeler Nation is one of the letters from the Bills is addressed to the then commissioner, Joe Foss. In the letter the Bills accuse Los Angeles Chargers assistant coach Chuck Noll of conspiring to steal a player from the Bills. I wonder if this Chuck Noll fella went on to do anything in the NFL?

XIII-Grabbed this one from Steelers Depot, on a really cool link about free agent acquisition Stephan Logan. It seems around BTSC that Logan has been written off since we have a pretty full stable in the backfield. But according to Logan's former coach, with the B.C. Lions that might not be the case:

"They like him and they've moved him to slotback. The idea is that they can get him the ball in space and everything. He's opening some eyes. The veterans have gravitated toward him because he's shown stuff in mini-camps. And they plan to use him as a kick returner, too. Kirby told me, 'You're probably not going to get him back.' "

XIV-- One for the Other Thumb has the top ten Steelers plays of the year, Billy Mays, and Gumby all wrapped up into one somewhat neat post. He also has a photo of the Santonio Holmes after his weight gain.

XL-We do seem to have a lot of DC area Steeler fans that follow BTSC so I thought this article was relevant. The author of the blog Stet Sports wrote about why Pittsburgh Sports are everything that Washington D.C. and Baltimore fans strive to be and wish their owners would help them be. I see the struggles of the D.C. sports teams on a daily basis and I am frequently blown away by the lack of support the area seems to show for any of their sports teams except for the perpetually mediocre Washington Redskins.

XLIII-Santonio Holmes isn't the only Steeler working out at "Tom Shaw Performance at Disney's Wide World of Sports", he is joined by current Steelers William Gay, James Farrior, and Ike Taylor, along with former Steelers Bryant McFadden and Ricardo Colclough. (Really? Colclough is still in the league?) The Tribune Review wrote an article on the William Gay and his traing at the Disney facility. Gay seems really eager to learn from his teamates and take over the starting spot. Also, Steelguy99, pointed out another link on "Big Play" Willie Gay, be sure to check out "scrunge's" comments, as they are pretty spot on with what I think about the prospects for Mr. Gay this upcoming season.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: 100% Chance Of Charlie Batch Ruining My Morning Edition

August West — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:45:54 -0000

More photos » by MARICE COHN BAND - AP

Donte Stallworth was probably going to get to play, but then he got high.

Browse more photos »

LenDale White knows he could sabotage all of his off-season conditioning by pigging out between now and mini-camps in late July, but Lendale is vowing to be under 230lbs. when he weighs in again. In other news I'm still a little hot over LenDale not doing this when he had the starting job on a silver platter and we needed his absolute best in 2007... I just can't let this go that easily.

On the heels of signing Gerald McGrath yesterday, the Titans also announced the signing of 3rd round pick, CB Ryan Mouton to a four-year deal worth between $2.4 million and $3 million. I'd expect the contracts of Marks,Britt and Cook to take a good bit longer though.

ESPN/Football Outsiders scribe Bill Barnwell takes a look at the great unspoken dead-zone of first down conversions: passes right at the sticks. His studies show that you're far more successful going either short or long, but passes right at the first down marker have a significantly less success rate.

Charlie Batch told Mike Florio's 'league source' that there's a 100% chance of a lock-out in 2011. Of course, you're going to hear a lot of BSing (ed. note: is that similar to BBSing?) and posturing over the next year and a half because to show compromise now would lead to getting killed at the negotiating table.

Have you ever considered becoming Beelzebub an NFL agent? Then take some notes from Jack Bechta at The National Football Post, because he's gonna crack an egg of knowledge all over ya.

The Commish just got some ammunition to hammer Donte Stallworth without coming off like an unchecked appellate court bent on doling out populist retribution: Stallworth's toxicology report from that night showed trace amounts of marijuana, which could qualify as a failed test with the league. That's going to be what they pin a monster suspension on, just wait and see.

Now that the slower period of the off-season is upon us your help in finding out of the way Titans stories is more important than ever. If you have a link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com! (Be sure to include your commenting handle so I can give you glowing, semi-anonymous credit.)