One thing that's been talked about a fair bit in the past few weeks has been the improvement of the Steelers' running game, particularly against the Jets. John Harris of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote an excellent article about the same, and had particular praise for Heath Miller:

"We're trying to be a physical team in every phase,'' said the soft-spoken Miller. "Obviously our defense has that reputation.''

Miller played a mean and nasty game in what was easily his most physical performance in a Steelers uniform. He, as much as anyone, helped fuel the run game.

"When you look at film, you see Heath Miller about every time driving somebody to the ground, driving them 10 yards back,'' Redman said.

During one memorable second-quarter run near the goal line, Miller didn't stop blocking Jets outside linebacker Bryan Thomas until he had deposited Thomas on his back in the end zone.

 

I was curious if Miller played as lights-out as advertised, so I made a cut-up of every running play from the first half of the Jets game. Without knowing the play call and blocking scheme, it's hard to say how well he did on every single play, but I think it's safe to draw the following conclusions:

1. He consistently played to the whistle, finishing his blocks.
2. The Packers aren't the only team that can run a full-house backfield out and make good plays.
3. Heath was downright beastly on many plays, with his man ending up flat on his back.

I hope you all enjoy the video, if Heath plays this way on Sunday, he'll be more than doing his part to secure ring #7.

#83 AFC championship (via acrollet)

What. a. game. Discuss here.

Here's my shot at who I think should/will be active this Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons come to town. More past the jump:

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The 24-hour deadline for clearing waivers after yesterday's 6pm cuts is approaching quickly, and things seem to be heating up. There have been two claims of former Steelers announced thus far, and we'll be updating this post as more news becomes available.

First off: according to Adam Schefter, Kraig Urbik has been claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills. The Steelers were probably hoping to sign him to the practice squad, so it'll be interesting to see if he sticks with the Bills, or ends up coming back a la Sunny Harris last year.

The AP is reporting that LB Patrick Bailey has been claimed by the Tennessee Titans, where he'll join Nate Washington and Chris Hope - is it too early to start calling Tennessee the Steelers Midwest?

UPDATE: thanks to dru_dead for this tip: insidepittsburghsports is reporting that Frank Summers has been signed to the practice squad. This is according to "a league source", so treat this one as unconfirmed for now.

UPDATE 2: Adam Schefter reports that Stefan Logan has been claimed by the Detroit Lions - he made it all the way to the second team with a chance at him.

UPDATE 3: Via steelers.com, here's your 2010 Practice Squad roster:

• TE Eugene Bright
• OG Dorian Brooks
• S Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith
• WR Tyler Grisham
• OT Kyle Jolly
• DT Steve McLendon
• FB Frank Summers
• DE Doug Worthington.

The lack of Urbik is probably the only big surprise on that list - he surely would have been signed if he had cleared waivers. I personally am very glad (though not shocked) to see that Tyler Grisham and Doug Worthington cleared waivers. It's also interesting to note that Sunny Harris didn't make it.

UPDATE 4 (by syrsteelerfan, 9/7):

According to RavensInsider (first mention I've seen) the Steelers have signed Saints DT Al Woods, a 2010 4th Round pick, lending credence to this overheard conversation:

I was eating brunch this morning in Shadyside when in walked Mike Tomlin with his family. They sat at the booth right behind mine. Tomlin got a call on his cell phone during brunch from someone named Kevin. He started talking about Al Woods, a Saints draft pick from LSU, how he had been cut by the Saints, how he's a massive guy, and asked what it would take to get him. He seemed pretty excited about it. So, I'd look out for Al Woods landing with the Steelers sometime.

He replaces Doug Worthington on the practice squad.

The Steelers released the names of the final players to be cut with 2 hours left until the deadline.

From steelers.com, here are the final names:

LB Patrick Bailey, CB Joe Burnett, S Da’Mon

Cromartie-Smith, WR Tyler Grisham, DE Sunny

Harris, C Justin Hartwig, WR Stefan Logan, DT 

Steve McLendon, FB Frank Summers, OG Kraig

Urbik and DT Doug Worthington.

Not really any big surprises on this list, especially since

For those of you out there that have been wanting to get into a fantasy league and play with some of your fellow BTSC-ers, I thought that I would see if there was interest in getting another group together. Just one twist - since this is for Steelers fans, we'll change the rules up a bit to keep Arians happy; more after the jump.

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I'm on pilgrimage to the 'Burgh, so of course I went with momma rollett to training camp. I didn't really try to draw a lot of conclusions about what I saw, since only the coaches know what they're looking for. Instead, I just enjoyed taking in the scene, watching the players, and taking lots of pictures. So, lots of photos after the jump, hope you enjoy them, and that they give those who can't come a feel for the atmosphere at Latrobe.

It's true, Mike Tomlin really does wear long sleeves and pants, all black.

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Still not a lot of real news coming out during training camp, (luckily, considering dudes at other training camps are dropping like flies) so this is somewhere between a post and a poast. More after the jump. (let's all keep Johnny_s happy!)

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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Mike Tomlin's contract has been extended through 2014. No further details are available at this time, so we have yet to find out how many Brinks trucks will be needed. Looks like the Rooneys have a big windshield and a small rear view mirror.

Willie Parker and Ike Taylor came up big when it mattered in a win desperately needed to keep the Pittsburgh Steelers' dwindling play-off hopes alive. We're needing losses from Baltimore, New York (B) and Denver to make it in. Still, stranger things have happened. For now, I'm celebrating a winning season. Sound off!

Let's finish this one off!

Well, now we know what it feels like to be the have-nots of the league. Here's a thread for rants, raves and perhaps group therapy.

Thirty minutes to go.

Our fearless leader Blitzburgh is travelling tonight, so I'm covering in his absence. A few months ago, a prime time game in Cleveland could mean only one thing - guaranteed victory. Now, we're not so sure. Look for this game to depend on whether Rashard Mendenhall can get it going - it's cold and windy on the blighted shores of Lake Erie.

In the meantime, enjoy watching what could be the last meaningful game of the season - Let's Go Steelers!!!

Unleashing hell, for real this time.

During a week where most Steelers fans are looking for something positive, I really enjoyed several of Tomlin's statements from this week's press conference.

Q: You used Mewelde Moore and Rashard Mendenhall in the same backfield and gained 12 yards. Will you look to expand on that?

A: Potentially, yes.

Q: Is that the Pony backfield?

A: You know I don’t get into specifics of what we call things. I call it Two Tailbacks in the Game.

"Two Tailbacks in the Game", I love it.

Q: Should Jeff Reed have done more as a tackler on the last two returns for touchdowns?

A: Man, I am not going to go down to evaluating Jeff Reed as a tackler. When it comes down to that, we have failed as a coverage unit. I don’t lose any sleep on the quality of Jeff Reed’s tackles … or tackle attempts.

Looks like Tomlin's standing by Reed, though he does seem to get a little jab in talking about "tackle attempts".

Q: Has Brett Keisel played better since Aaron Smith went down?

A: No, he’s been playing well all year. He really has, even when Aaron was available. Brett is a solid, solid professional. He does a lot of dirty work. He’s really underappreciated. I think it’s the nature of the position he plays in our scheme, similar to Aaron Smith. There are a lot of people that ride the wave of destruction that he provides. I think on both of those sacks he was disruptive, but that’s nothing new for Brett Keisel.

"The wave of destruction that he provides" - cool wording, in my opinion.

Q: Were you surprised by what Bill Belichick did the other day?

A: No, I wasn’t surprised. I heard his comments after the game. He made a decision he felt was appropriate for his team and gave his team the best chance of winning, and for that I applaud him. There are only 32 of these jobs. We have decisions to make that are not always going to be popular. I always appreciate men that are bold enough to do it even when it’s potentially unpopular. Obviously Bill has the stomach to make those decisions.

Interesting commentary about Belichick's decision. (which I happen to agree with, by the way)

Olé!

  This will be a numbers-heavy post, so please bear with me, folks. So far this season, the Steelers have kicked off to the opposition 44 times. We all know that 3 of those have gone for touchdowns, one of which was arguably the deciding factor in yesterday's contest. What I didn't know until I compiled the numbers this evening is that over those 44 kickoffs, the average starting position for the other team is their 33.36 yard line - almost 15 more yards than a touchback. (counting a TD as a return to the PIT 0 yard line) Obviously, something has to be done to fix the problem - not just the touchdowns, but all the free yards opponents are getting. 

  So, what can be done? A touchback is the safest way to handle a conventional kick-off, but the Steelers are extremely unlikely to switch kickers mid-season. There was an important keyword in the last sentence - conventional. I believe that the perfect storm exists for a radical shift in tactics. According to this post from the excellent Advanced NFL Stats blog, the recovery rate for unexpected onside kicks is around 60%. Given that the other team is already taking it back to around the 33-34 yard line, why not spot them 25 or so yards for a good chance at getting the ball right back? The Steelers' excellent defense is already built around keeping things in front of them, giving up the dink and dunk, and stiffening in the red zone - following this tactic would keep the defense off the field longer, and therefore keep them fresh to unleash whatever mayhem LeBeau has schemed up.

  Of course, the major problem with this theory is that the recovery rate falls dramatically when an on-side kick is expected - to 20% or so. As soon as the Steelers became known for kicking onsides, the opposition would stick their "hands" team out for every kick-off, and so much for that strategy, right? However, this isn't a bad thing either - if the hands team is in, presumably the good blockers that are helping spring long returns are out, and it's safer to kick deep. The choice of how to kick can even be situational, depending on what personnel the other team is fielding. In addition, time spent by the other team practicing recovering onside kicks is time they haven't spent on the rest of their game-plan.

  I'm not saying that this would be great for every team and situation - a team with a great kickoff coverage unit, a monster kicker (or kickoff specialist) and a weak defense would be ill-advised to follow this plan. However, I do think that kicking onsides anywhere from once to several times a game could have a salutary effect on our chances of winning. What do you think?