Playoffs are not the same without the black and gold, so my off-season has officially started and i decided to be productive. I consider defensive special teams being our biggest weakness, but I don't know squat about how to evaluate that so I decided to research something easier...Oline. I'm not sure how legit the stats are but the link is there. http://sports.cbs2chicago.com/fb/findplayer.asp?type=position&position=4

Let's start with the heart of the line, the center(ill do him today and the rest of the line in another post). Hartwig is in the second year with his linemates and should be coming into his own, however the numbers don't really match up.

Offensive Line Stats  Hartwig
Year  Team  G  GS      Pen       Yds     Sacks allwd   Yds
2007  Car    15  15        7            60               5.00     20.00
2008  Pit      16  16        2            20               7.00     39.25
2009  Pit      16  16        3            31               7.00     49.00

Last year I remember he gave up the most sacks for a starting center in the league. I'm not sure about this year, but his numbers dont look good. The other three centers in our divison had these stats:
Alex Mack(Turds): 16 games, 0.25 sacks
Matt Birk (Ratbirds): 16 games, 1.5 sacks
Kyle Cook (Bungle): 16 games, 1 sack
Plus two of those guys lead league leading rushing attacks. A few more guys:
Kewin Mavae (Titans): 16 games, 2.25 sacks
Ryan Kalil (Panthers): 16 games, 1 sack  
Jake Grove (Dolphins): 10 games, 0.5 sack
Our running game improved, but it's far from scary and untill the line gets better we wont be able to close out games on offense. All those other centers open holes and manage to hold it down in the passing game, is it not time we get that tradition renewed here. I know Hartwig resigned a contract just recently but is he really the standard now? Should we draft, Legursky is an option or just more coaching. Thoughts??

Okay so, the real reason we are not in the playoffs is because our defense didnt hold leads. But coach Dad is a legend and i assume that everybody wants him back for another year. On the run to the superbowl the defense was legendary and this year, one can blame the tools rather then the carpenter. I'm saying since the retirements have already been announced, does that mean that LeBeau is past retirement and good for another run. Thoughts?

Hey, i figured we start talking about the actual dangers that the chargers present. It's good to just discuss the opponent, but it's better to know them. Here are some stats i saw at another site. Hope it puts some things in perspective. Philip Rivers Passing Breakdown Wide Receivers Jackson - 59 catches for 1098 yards, 7 TD; targeted 102 times Chambers - 37 catches for 519 yards, 5 TD in 12 games; targeted 71 times Floyd - 27 catches for 465 yards, 4 TD; targeted 37 times Davis - 4 catches for 59 yards, 0 TD; targeted 7 times Tight End Gates - 68 catches for 791 yards, 8 TD; targeted 101 times Manumaleuna - 15 catches for 127 yards, 2 TD; targeted 20 times Naanee - 9 catches for 79 yards, 0 TD; targeted 13 times Running Backs Tomlinson - 52 catches for 426 yards, 1 TD; targeted 78 times Sproles - 34 catches for 387 yards, 5 TD; targeted 44 times Tolbert - 13 catches for 171 yards, 1 ID; targeted 15 times Hester - 13 catches for 97 yards, 1 TD; targeted 15 times That's 217 passes thrown to WR, 134 thrown to TE, and 152 thrown to RB.

Before anything else, just wanted to say hello to everyone as I have been a frequent observer of the blog but never really joined in until now. I think ya'll do a great job and hope i could keep up. I live in the south, but have been a steeler fan for the last ten years, which is exactly half my lifetime. Anyway, enough with that let's do the score. In this one, I think we win by a good margin. I see us taking the lead and the titans abandoning the run. Although we don't get a lot of sacks(their line is stellar), we do put some pressure on their old man QB, and force turnovers. As long as Ben makes good decisions, the running game will get going. As I see it 27-10, and in reality it won't even be that close. Go steelers!!!