SB Nation User Blog: SteelerBuddha

Is Ben Roethlisberger better then Michael Jordan?

SteelerBuddha — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:03:21 -0000

Is Ben Roethlisberger better then Michael Jordan?

You bet he is. At least when it comes to golf. Ben getting major props on his game from the big guns, while besting Jordan and (not quite as impressively) Timberlake. Oh and lets not forget that he bested Tony Romo's event record score from last year, causing the Dallas QB to burst in to tears, jump up and down with clenched fists and say "well at least my girlfriend is hotter then yours!"

Robo punter

SteelerBuddha — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:24:45 -0000

I think we have another nickname for Robo-punter

It's suggested by this interview in the post-gazette.

He had his first ACL surgery before his senior season at Baylor. The left-footed Sepulveda is thankful all three surgeries were to his right knee and not his left.

"No doubt about it. I mean, all I need is a peg leg over there; just stick that thing in the ground and everything else does the rest of the work."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09156/975202-66.stm#ixzz0HZNRncQ6&D

What do you guys say? Peg leg? I think it's a great name for a punter.

via bogietoday.bocaciegaalumni.com

McFadden Talking to the Cardinals

SteelerBuddha — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:41:33 -0000

McFadden Talking to the Cardinals

Clearly there is not much information here. It is not surprising to see the Cards continue to build themselves as Steelers West. It is interesting that the headline implies, with no follow provided in the article, that Pittsburgh wants him back. I wonder if this based on anything at all - or just stating the simple truth that Pittsburgh would like to have McFadden back, but ignoring the complex reality of what that might take.

Congratulations to the Cards

SteelerBuddha — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:23:33 -0000

I know we are all celbrating tonight and rightfully so. Our team battled tonight. We did not win it pretty, but we gutted it out. If you have been watching this team, you appreciate that even more than a blowout. As Tomlin said, we don't look for style points.

But as we celebrate, Its worth tipping our hat to our worthy and talented opponents. Three weeks before the playoffs, the Cards were considered one of the weakest team to make it in to the post-season. Three great wins later, anyonbody who was paying attention had dismissed the doormat talk. The Cards had a great run, and they did by playing really well on both sides of the ball.

Although they seemed out-manned at times by the Steelers, the Cards never quit on this game. Down 20-7 in the fourth quarter they battled back with some great plays by future HOF reciever Larry Fitzgerlad. They also made some huge defensive stops when it counted - stonewalling the Steelers on 6 straight plays inside the 10 at the end of the first Quarter.

In the end they came up short, but you have to hand it to the Cards. They played a hell of a game and came very close to winning it. During the game you hope your team wins by 50. When its done you appreciate the fact that the other team played a hell of a game.

Congrats to Whis,Russ, Larry, Kurt and the Cards. Congrats to their fans. Thank you guys for a great game.

A moment of silence for New England Patriots

SteelerBuddha — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:42:40 -0000

I wanted to share this article by Michael Silver at Yahoo sports. The article is about titled “Super Bowl QB’s get a shot at redemption” but the interesting angle is that Ken Wisenhunt and Kurt Warner are both still very angry about the Patriots Spygate scandal and the fact that it may have cost them both the chance at another ring or two.

These two sections really stuck out for me:

The first is Warner describing his performance against the Patriots in 2001.

In Warner’s eyes, Belichick’s players seemed to have a very good sense of what the Rams were doing on offense that day – and remember, St. Louis, one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history, scored just three points until a late flurry. It has been substantiated that the Patriots’ practice of videotaping the hand signals of opposing coaches, a violation of NFL policy, went back a number of years. The Rams and Patriots had played earlier that season, and logic suggests that Belichick might have gained an advantage through surveillance for the rematch.

“You can’t help but wonder,” Warner said Tuesday night. “Perhaps it didn’t happen that way – obviously, it could have been good coaching. But it’s possible that something else was also going on, and if so, thinks about the ramifications. People’s careers were altered. I hate to think about it that way, but it’s human nature.”

Whisenhunt is no less upset.

(Whisenhunt) flashed back to his time as a Steelers assistant and the two AFC championship games his team lost at home to the Patriots, after the ’01 and ’04 seasons, and a figurative light bulb turned on inside his head.

The latter game, a 41-27 defeat, occurred during Roethlisberger’s rookie season, when Whisenhunt was Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator and play-caller. Recalling that chilly evening in January of ’05, Whisenhunt remembered plays he sent in that, as soon as the ball was snapped, New England’s players defended perfectly. The Pats’ uncanny sense of what was coming baffled him at the time, and now he had a possible explanation.

Every Steeler fan remembers watching those games in disbelief. It seemed inconceivable at the time that our team came up so short. At the time I remember feeling we had been out coached. Although our player seemed to match up fairly well against the Patriots, it seemed that they were always a step or two ahead mentally. It turns out there may have been a good reason for that.

I am not saying that the Patriots cheated, although we all know that they probably did. I am also not saying, that if they cheated its the only reason they won those games. The Steelers made plenty of mental mistakes of their own in each of those games. But just like Whisenhunt and Warner you can’t help but wonder what might have been.

Sometimes the refs make a bad call and that costs you. But when another team blatantly and shamelessly cheats, well it just feels like a whole different story.

So as we stand on the verge of another Super Bowl, I for one, plan on taking a moment of silence to celebrate the fact that Bill Belichick will not be coaching in this one.

Holmes Amazing TD

SteelerBuddha — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:26:12 -0000

No I am not talking about the beautiful 65 yard catch and run that Holmes had in the second quarter. I am talking about the 40 yard catch and dive in to the endzone that was ruled a catch on the 1 yard line and then for reasons not completely clear to anyone familiar with the game of footbal was ruled an incomplete pass.

Ulitmately it didn't make a difference because the Steelers dominated the Ravens. But after reading the great comments in this fanpost, I thought it was worth reviewing the film to see if there was any proof one way or another.

Before I show the slides, BadMafala defines the rules for us as follows:

I believe the rule is if a WR goes to the ground as a part of making the catch (which Holmes probably did, even though he was making a football move by stretching out), he has to maintain possession through the ground (which Holmes did not). If that’s the rule, the rule’s stupid in this case, but it may have been the right call.

I looked to see if I could find a copy of the rule book, but I could not.

If anyone can, it would be great if they could post the rules for a catch and for a touchdown on here.

Personally, after looking at the stills, I believe that Holmes made a catch, got control, took two steps, switched the ball to one hand and then dove for the endzone. If this is the case - as I think the photos show, then its not clear how this could be ruled anything but a catch.

The Proof

From Drop Box

Am I crazy or does he not only have the ball but he trying to break a tackle

From Drop Box

OK - can't break it - gotta try to go for the endzone. Also notice that Tone switches the ball into one hand. He doesn't bobble it or struggle for control, he tucks it firmly in one hand so he can dive.

From Drop Box

Um, Clearly still has possession. The knee has not touched.

From Drop Box

Okay this is just insane, Tone has launched himself in the air with full possession of thet ball, hovering about three inches off the ground.

Is this guy amazing or what?

From Drop Box

OK - maybe this isn't a touchdown, but:

1. He still isn't touching the ground here - the ball may just be making contact

2. The ball sure looks close to the breaking the plane

3. This is an amazingly athletic play

4. There is no way you can say he did not catch this ball, get two feet down and then make a move that would make superman proud.

5. This is one of the most athletic plays of the year. Lame call refs. Lame call.

From Drop Box

Wow!

Because, you know, I hold on to the ball too long

SteelerBuddha — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:22:22 -0000

We all remember Ben's triumphant news conference discussing the touchdown pass he threw to Santonio Holmes to beat the Ravens the second time.

Ben explained the play this way:

I was going to try and run it in, and all of a sudden these - a bunch of purple jerseys showed and scrambled back to the right because you know I hold on to the ball too long, and you know the line came and cleaned everybody up and I saw Tone and just got it to him and he made a heck of a play.

Now stop and think for a moment. This goes double for any of you who have been frustrated with Ben for not getting rid of the ball quickly enough. If Ben doesn't throw that pass there is a decent chance we finish 11-5 and the Ravens finish 12-4.

But I don't want to talk about how big Big Ben was during the season. I want to talk about how big he was in the post-season.

It might be hard to remember this with all of the other action, but the Steelers only scored one offensive touchdown. Yes Limas droped one and yes Santonio had one taken away by the Zebras, but almost doesn't count for much in Football. Just ask the Seattle Seahawks.

The only offensive Touchdown the Steelers scored was early in the second quarter. It will go down in the record book as a 65 yard pass from Ben to Santonio, but that does not do justice to the efforts of either man.

I've borrowed from Blitz here and broken down the tape for you guys.

The play starts at 14:16 left in the second quarter with the Steelers up by 6 and facing a long 3rd and 9 on their own 35.

From Drop Box

You can see that the Ravens are using the "Kitchen Sink" blitz here, counting on a quick collapse of the pocket.

From Drop Box

Here we are exactly one second later at 14:15 and the gamble seems to be paying off big. The pocket is toast. Max Starks's man is already so far beyond him that he can't even reach out to grab his jersey. On the inside it looks like Trevor Price has handly beaten his man as well.

BTW, this is a fairly common theme for the Steelers pass protection. Its usually not one guy who has a free run at Ben - but two.

From Drop Box

One more fraction of a second eclipsed and Ben is now completely surrounded. The one thing saving disaster is a monster block by someone (can't quite tell who) on Nakamura. You can see him literally up in the air and being thrown to side, creating a small escape lane for Ben.

Oh and if this wasTom Brady or Peyton Manning back there in that mess, they would have already thrown the ball away and we would be hearing copious praise from the talking heads about how good they were at ball protection. But this is Ben, so we end up here:

From Drop Box

Ben uses some crazy black (and gold) magic to escape the collapsing pocket and ends up alone for a brief moment with one linemen standing between him and two Ravens blitzers.

From Drop Box

Only problem is there is still no one open.

And this is what gives heartburn and trips to the superbowl in steelernation. Ben pulls it back down.

From Drop Box

And ends up in this rather hopless situation.

From Drop Box

This is the position from which Ben makes a great read and throws the ball off his back foot. The ball travels about 20 yards downfield and 20 yards across the field - no less then 40 yards in the air and lands gently in the waiting arms of Santonio Holmes.

From Drop Box

What Holmes proceeds to do is deserving of another full post and should be cause for celebration in Steelernation.

But the only way Holmes can run through the Raven secondary like he does is because Big Ben was able to occupy 7 blitzers for almost 5 seconds, causing the Raven defense to break down completely

There may be other QBs who can keep the play alive that long. There may be other QBs who can make a throw like that off their back foot. But to be able to do both in the same play - while essentially protecting the football, is special.

And that, my friends is what Big Ben is. It may give us heart burn, but we will remember these plays for a long, long time.

Major Kudos to the O-line

SteelerBuddha — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:02:40 -0000

I have to say, I was skeptical.

And it wasn’t because I thought the Chargers were a great football team. Rather, having watched our beloved Steelers play for 14 of the 16 weeks this year (I missed the last two games because I was traveling) I thought that they had a good chance of blowing this one.

What’s more I was sure that the storyline would be: "lousy performance by the O-line wastes a heroic game by the defense."

Instead, the story of the game was the dominating play of the O-line against a solid front 7.

via static.nfl.com

Not since I agreed with Alan Faneca about not wanting to see a rookie quarterback under center have I been this happy to be wrong.

Let me preface this by saying, that I think that our line play this year has been downright miserable.

Just to put it into perspective, Kerry Collins was sacked 8 times in 16 games this season. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 8 times during the Philly game. This unit has allowed 139 sacks in the past three years. That’s not bad, that’s absurd. I don't have the time to do the full research, but I think it borders on historic.

Many have tried to lay that on Big Ben. I disagree completely. Watching Ben in the pocket today confirmed my feeling that it was never Ben's fault. Ben is a strong, elusive QB who doesn't give up sacks easily. Its true that he is not quick to throw the ball away, but that is partly because he so good at making the first guy miss.

I honestly think that we have simply forgotten what its like to see Ben deal with normal pressure - say one guy breaking free or a pocket beginning to collapse. That's because this this O-line specializes in jailbreak sacks. I can't count the number of times over the past three years that Ben had 2 or 3 guys coming at him completely untouched.

But as we saw today given a little protection Ben is a great QB. The guy has a ridiculous arm, good accuracy and he yes, he is actually really hard to sack.

Of course, one of the big reasons Ben had more time to throw was a return of the run game. . It was like somebody had fired up the Delorion and sent us back to 2005. 42 Rushes? 36 Minute time of possession? Actual holes to run through? For a moment I thought Jerome Bettis was going to rumble back out on the field.

As much as it pains me to say, credit here goes to Bruce Arians. I am guessing that he went into the secret vault underneath Heinz field, dusted off an unused game plan by Whiz and, holding his nose, followed it.

Congrats to him and congrats to our O-line.

Buddha’s Game Balls – brought to you by Dan Bern’s Tiger Woods

SteelerBuddha — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:42:24 -0000

Buddha’s Game Balls – brought to you by Dan Bern’s Tiger Woods

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0CXOnJsM4o

Offensive Play of the game: It’s the third Quarter. All of us BTSC have spent half time gloating about how the Steelers simply dominate the third quarter. (This was shortly after saying that Reed never misses and Heath never fumbles). Instead of domination we watch the Steelers play on of their worst quarter of the season. Everything goes wrong. Our D gives up big plays – even in the run game. Our O goes in reverse.

With three minutes left the Cowboys open a lead of 10. We get the kickoff and return to the 26. A bad sack on first down and incomplete pass make it 3 and 16 on the Steelers 20.

With Mitch Berger punting we know that not getting a first down probably gives Dallas the ball back at midfield. Ben drops back facing enormous pressure and slings the ball over yards in the air. It drops right into the waiting arms of Santonio Holmes.

What makes it all the more impressive is that Ben is throwing into a stiff head wind that has made both QBs look foolish most of the night. Although we don’t end up scoring on that drive, it is the turning point of the game. Our D stays on the sideline and rests up for a dominant 4th quarter. We reverse the field position battle. The offense finally finds its rhythm

Massive props to Ben for making that massive throw.

Defensive play of the game: In a game with 4 turnovers forced by the D and a number of enormous tackles by both James Harrison and Troy Polamulu, it was an opportunistic pick by Deshea Townshend that sealed the deal. It wasn’t so much the interception – which was really a gift, but the heads up return. If he stops short of the goal – there are no guarantees considering the wind and Reed’s rough day that we come up with points.

Defensive player of the game: This is a toss up between Troy and Deebo. How can you decide? Each forced a turnover. Troy had 9 tackles. Harrison had 8. Each made several HUGE plays behind the line of scrimmage.

Offensive player of the game: Ben. Hear me out. Yes he played a bad game most of the game. Yes he took some really bad sacks. But playing in terrible weather – against a pretty good defense and facing constant pressure – Ben threw for 200 plus yards a touchdown and no interceptions.

In comparison, Romo was picked three times. Ben made countless big plays down the line – a huge run on 3-10 on the tying drive. A huge throw to Holmes while eluding four tacklers to keep a drive alive. And of course the 47 yard bomb to Santonio into a strong wind. He was the difference maker.

Top Mental Breakdown by the Cowboys: In the first half TO took a play off for his birthday helping Troy pad his Interception total, but it was Jason Witten or Romo who ended up as the real goat. Not exactly sure what happened on the Deshea pick. Witten took credit for the mistake. But it was clearly a big one.

Troll of the game: Quinnccccyyyy. I don’t know who he is, but after a week of talking incessant trash on our board he stopped by to gloat during the game – when things look good that is.

As the game played he disappeared like Cowboy with a stubbed toe. I don’t know much about Cowboys fans – and I certainly won’t judge them by that guy. But I do know I dislike the franchise. TO and Pacman. These guys deserve to lose.

Quote of the post game: “Man what a beautiful game – you don’t play for style points – we displayed metal” Mike Tomlin

Quote of the game “We gonna hurt yo ass Pac man” picked up on the broadcast mike from the Steelers sideline as Pacman got absolutely crushed returning punts in the second.

Post Mortem on Steelers-Bungles

SteelerBuddha — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:08:31 -0000

The Good:

Offense seems to be getting some rhythm. Its still nothing to write home about, BUT it feels like they are beginning to find an identity. It may not be the identity that we all want, but you have a sense that they are getting to be on the same page.

Aaron Smith: The D-Line gave up 40 rushing yards. There was a 20 minutes stretch between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter where we did not give up a first down. In the midst of it all was the churning heart and soul of our working class defense – a guy who is a big part of the reason those two linebackers will get to go to Hawaii – a guy named Aaron Smith. You usually have to look away from the ball to recognize how good Smith is. Not today. Today you just had to watch it get deflected at the line of scrimmage. 3 pass defenses. Absolutely huge.

Running back by committee (or injury): We are beginning to see what I think would be really good ball distribution numbers for our running backs. MM, GR and FWP all had touches this game. By the fourth quarter the grinding running game wore downt he Bengals.

Bruce Arians: I can hear you all out there sputtering and chocking on your Permanti Bro’s. “Buddha,” you say “did you not, just spend the first half of the season, disavowing your non-violent nature and calling for Bruce Arians head on a stick”.

Perhaps, but, somewhat like Bruce Arians, I can admit when I am wrong and learn from my mistakes. Our offense is not the greatest show on turf. It’s not the 07 Patriots. For crying out loud it’s not even the 05 Steelers, BUT its beginning to find an identity. We may not love that identity yet, but I think that from a coaching perspective this was the best that BA did. I really like that he is keeping Heath involved – the offense is using smart pass plays. It’s the second straight week without a turnover. All in all kudos for a well coached game by BA.

Winning: Yes, I know, the Bengals aren’t a football team, they are a work release program for multiple offenders in Southern Ohio. They call them the Bungles for a reason. They haven’t had a decent football team since we rolled over their chances in the 05 super bowl run.

You know what, they are also the same team that almost beat the Giants, tied the Eagles and beat Jacksonville this season. They came in with passion and played hard in a game that could have gone their way early, but for a couple of breaks.

But we ARE winning the easy ones this year. Remember the Jets game last year. That was the beginning of our great unraveling. Thankfully we stepped up big this time.

No Sacks: I don’t care that it’s the Bengals. I’ll take it.

Luck: Ben should have had two or three interceptions at the beginning of the game.

Limas Sweed: Ok, I know the rook almost cost us a 10 point swing by sheer Anthony Smith like bone-headedness on special teams, but he caught two passes. I chalk it up as a win. Now is the time to start growing this young man’s confidence. We will want him around in the stretch. I like his stride and his hands have looked better. I would love to see us try some deep balls to him this season.

The Bad:

Injuries: What the hell. When will this stop? Still no news as of yet on FWP or Kiesel. Looks like Tone has a concussion.

Pass Rush: Hard to gripe, but I think we were all hoping for a pad that stat sheet kind of game. Instead our pass rush yielded one sack and surprisingly little pressure. Hard to account for that considering that Bengals were using guys who play in the fourth quarter of preseason games against our best guys.

The Verdict:

Hey what the heck, we won right? Hopefully we didn’t get too many injuries. The game showed a bit of development of the offense. All in all its hard to complain - well not that hard we are football fans after all. I think we are learning that this team may be one of the elite teams IF it all comes together at the right time. At this point its just to hard to say if that will happen, but it sure is fun watching them grow.