SB Nation User Blog: steelerguy26

Everything Madden NFL 10

steelerguy26 — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:15:20 -0000

Everything Madden NFL 10

Pittsburgh Blitz has all the Madden NFL 10 information from around the net in one spot. Check it out madden gamers.

An Interview with the "Forums Terrorist" Tim Lumber

steelerguy26 — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:21:27 -0000

An Interview with the "Forums Terrorist" Tim Lumber

Pittsburgh Blitz has an interesting interview up with Ratbird lover, Tim Lumber. Check it out!!

5 young faces who could impact the Steelers in '09

steelerguy26 — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:39:31 -0000

Over at Pittsburgh Blitz we have decided to pin-point five young players from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who could impact the Steelers season and chances of defending their Super Bowl title. These players could directly effect their shot at a 7th Lombardy Trophy.

1. Limas Sweed - After an inconsistent rookie season and the defection of Nate Washington to Tennessee via free agency, now is the time for Sweed to step up his game. The Steelers will count on the second year player to step into the third wide receiver role and become the deep threat required of that position in their offensive scheme.

Sweed was outstanding during his college career at Texas and was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, for this exact reason. He will be counted on to make about 35-45 catches and be a serious red-zone threat. If Sweed can reach his potential and be the wide-out the Steelers think he can be, then Pittsburgh's chances of defending their Super Bowl title will be much better then many of the so called experts think.

2. William Gay - By default, the 5th round draft pick out of Louisville, in his 3rd season, William Gay, becomes the starting LCB on the defending Super Bowl Champions top rated defense. He has the potential and the experience, after splitting series with Bryant McFadden during the '08 season, to step in and make a monumental difference. McFadden is now in Arizona via free agency and Gay is the man called upon to step in and fill his shoes.

Gay started 4 games last season and had 41 tackles, 7 passes defended and an INT while splitting time with McFadden. Though his playing time was limited, he has shown great instincts and always seems to be around the ball and in his 4th season he should be well schooled in Lebeau's defense. He will need to become another play-maker in the Steelers secondary though, to make an impact on the season.

3. Lawrence Timmons - Mike Tomlin has a ton of faith in Timmons or he would not have made him his first ever draft pick two years ago and Timmons has not disappointed either. He has shown his athletic prowess and play-making ability with every chance he has been given. His one obstacle though was Larry Foote, who is no longer with the team. With Foote being released, Timmons will finally get his chance to start at ILB opposite of James Farrior and should give the Steelers and even more dynamic group of linebackers then last season.

The difference Timmons will bring to the defense will be his speed and ability to rush the passer, where as Foote was primarily a run stopping backer. This new wrinkle in the Steelers defense should also give apposing defensive coordinators plenty of headaches. The addition of Timmons as a full time starter could potentially turn a great pass rush into one of the best ever. If this happens, the Steelers could be a very hard team to beat and easily be on their way to a 7th title. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley already are a dynamic due, with the added dimension of Timmons, the pass rush could be deadly.

4. Rashard Mendenhall - Willy Parker has been the starting HB in Pittsburgh for a while now and that won't change in 2009, even with a healthy Mendenhall. The place for the former first round pick to make his mark though will be as a relief hitter for Parker. He should also give Pittsburgh a solid 1-2 punch out of the backfield and provide the thunder to Parker's lightning. If both backs can stay healthy, they could be a great compliment to one another and give every defense they face the he-bee je-bee's.

Mendenhall should be good for about 450 yards and be used in the red-zone to help the teams struggles in the running game on that part of the field. His power should also help to wear teams down, while Parker's speed is utilized to blaze by the winded defenders. These two have the potential for greatness together and their ability to compliment one another, will go a long way in determining the teams success or failures in 2009.

5. Mike Wallace - The only rookie on our list is Mike Wallace. It's not because we fill he is better then our other draft picks, but for his potential in the return game. If Wallace can fulfill his promise, he will add a fear factor to the team the Steelers have not had since Randal El was returning kicks. His ability to step into the role of primary return man and get our 240 lb running-backs off the field will be a huge upgrade to the special teams.

Though the St's did improve last year, they still lacked a home run hitter and in our opinion, was the weakest link, next to the offensive-line, on the team. If Wallace can improve on the yards gained per return and help our team into better field position he not only sets up the offense but he also helps the team win the field position battles that so often can determine the outcome of a game. Add a home run or two and he changes the way other teams prepare for the Steelers and gives them yet another wrinkle to iron out.....

These five players will be counted on to step it up this year and how they respond will set the tone for the season and the possibilities that lay ahead on the road to a seventh ring. Their ability to play up to their potential will be a major factor in the success or failures of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009. These five young faces could be the difference between greatness and immortality. They are the future and the future is now.

Pittsburgh Blitz

Whiz needs a 12 step program

steelerguy26 — Thu, 07 May 2009 03:35:25 -0000

Pittsburgh West, better known as the Arizona Cardinals, coach Ken Whisenhunt, has recently been diagnosed by our in house psychologist with a rare disease known as “Steelers cast-off addictitus”. Though this ailment is not life threatening, it can be career threatening if not properly treated

“Innovation will get you championships, imitation will only get you second place” is the proper medical description of this disease, according to Dr. McBeam, PHD. Who first made the diagnosis of coach Whisenhunt.

“The evaluation of Mr. Whisenhunt has been ongoing for about two years now” said Dr. McBeam, “We have been concerned about his well being for a while now. The investigation is directly related to the Cardinals and coach Wiz’s addiction to signing Steelers cast-off players.”

To date the Cardinals have signed the following ex-Steelers players, Clark Haggans, Dan Kreider, Sean Morey, Brian St. Pierre, Jerame Tuman, Oliver Ross, Rian Wallace and Bryant McFadden. Also joining Wiz in Arizona are two coaches with previous ties to the Steelers, offensive-line coach, Russ Grimm and Special teams coach Kevin Spencer.

A call to Mr. Whisenhunt’s agent has yet to be returned but rumors out of Pittsburgh are that Dr. McBeam wanted to discuss his 12 step program with him. The program was put together after some rigorous planning by the Steelers team of psychologist and is said to go as follows:

Step 1: Admitted he is powerless over “Steelers cast-off addictitus”, that his career has become unmanageable due to it.

Step 2: Come to believe that a power greater than himself, (such as Dr. Steely McBeam) can help restore his ailment.

Step 3: Make a decision to turn your free agency duties and contract negotiations over to the care of Matt Millen as you understand him.

Step 4: Stop making a searching and fearless moral inventory of the Steelers roster.

Step 5: Admit to Dr. McBeam, to yourselve, and to another member of your coaching staff the exact nature of your wrongs.

Step 6: Be entirely ready to have Dr. McBeam remove all your defects in evaluations of personel.

Step 7: Humbly ask the Steelers players to remove you from their ‘Friends and Family’ lists.

Step 8: Make a list of all players you have signed, and became willing to send them packing, back to the unemployment line.

Step 9: Make direct amends to such players whenever possible, except when to do so would label them losers. Like in the Super Bowl loss to the Steelers.

Step 10: Continue to take a personal inventory and when you are playing copy cat, promptly admitted it

Step 11: Seek through prayer to the football gods and meditation, to end your conscious contact with ex-Steelers players, asking only for knowledge of how to build your own team and the power to carry that out.

Step 12: Having a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, you will try to carry this message to your coaching staff, and to practice these principles in all future player personel decisions.

“The major concern that we have with coaches infected with ‘Steelers cast-off addictitus’ is that contrary to their denial, they constitute a copy cat system.” said Dr. McBeam. “For example, they believe and talk about being their own man, they coach, they have a creed, the NFL is their religion, and they fellowship in a stadium setting. However, just like all infections, save true Steeler-antity, Twelve-Step recovery groups cannot bring a person into a right relationship with free agency – if their goal is not the goal of their own, their signing of players who have been cast aside by the Steelers, is out of desperation, due to not being a very good coach, and their salvation is lost unto that denial.”

Dr. McBeam continued, ”The Steelers are more than happy to provide the cast-offs in the place of salvation. Just as long as coach Whiz is happy to continue coming in second place. In the end it is his decission to follow this program or not, but my belief is if he ignores our concerns, the Cardinals are doomed to be nothing more then stepping stones for other teams collecting Super Bowl rings.”

The staff at Pittsburgh Blitz would like to thank Dr. McBeam for his brave evaluation of the coach and extend a helping hand to Whiz along the way. That’s why we decided to publish this article, in hopes that our once great offensive coordinator can get his shit straight and follow his own path to greatness and no longer continue feeding off the Steeler’s cast aways.

We wish you luck coach and hope for your own good, the next Steeler’s fodder you sign is not Tommy Maddox or Kordell Stewart.

Pittsburgh Blitz

steelerguy26 — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:51:45 -0000

Pittsburgh Blitz

Pittsburgh Blitz features a dedicated Pittsburgh Steelers community including blogs, news, message board, mock drafts, and much more.

Just added a Madden NFL 2010 section as well for you video football gamers.

The Review is In

steelerguy26 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:36:03 -0000

I have to say Behind the Steel Curtain is our favorite Steelers related blog on the net and is the blog that inspired us to bring Pittsburgh Blitz to life. Not only is it very entertaining read but BTSC has a great fan base that heavily contributes to it’s success daily. With that said, onto the review.....

Visual Appeal

BTSC is hosted at SB Nation which only allows for so much customization. Most of the sites hosted there have the same look and feel, but that makes it easy for fans of several blogs, over at SBN, to navigate. I really like that aspect. Allot of blogs we see, have a ton of advertisements on them but BTSC seems to mix theirs in just right and they do not take away from the visual appeal. Another aspect we like about the site is the ability to select between narrow and wide layouts for different monitor types.

Layout / Navigation

Next to the sites content and community involvement the layout & navigation of BTSC is their best quality. The nav bar on top gives fans everything the need to easily get involved on BTSC. While the right side bar nav handles up-to-date 'Fan Post', "Fan Shots' and 'Featured Stories' to keep fans returning daily for updates. The left side bar is full of links to useful information for the readers, as well as links to one of our favorite parts of the site, Steelers History, as told by Mary Rose. Overall the site has a solid navigation system that keeps readers moving from post to post seamlessly.

Site Content

The absolute best part of BTSC is the content. The site is constantly updated, both by fans and their administers. Seems like every time I return, I find a ton of new things to keep me reading and coming back for more. The Daily Six Pack is a must read. It is informing, interesting and often very humorous. One of our favorite daily reads. Just about anything you want to know about our beloved Steelers can be found out BTSC and the added opinions and prose of the fans keep us coming back for more each and every day.

Steelers History

With so much information already packed into the site from content and fan interaction, it does not leave much room for a ton of Steelers related history at BTSC. The site seems to concentrate more on up-to-date Steelers information and that’s just fine by us as we can find the History on several other sites if need be.

Users & Comments

Hands down the most interactive Steelers blog we have come across thus far. BTSC has several fans that post daily and even more that comment on those posts. Every blog on the net strives for what BTSC has achieved with so much user activity. Some of the most entertaining contributors have to be Mary Rose, Steeler_, Drinkyourmilkshake, and steelerguy99 but there are so many others we could go on all day.

The Bottom Line

Behind the Steel Curtain is one of, if not the best, Steelers related blogs on the World Wide Web. They are featured all over the net and keep their fans coming back for more each and every day. We can only hope to someday reach their lofty status in the Steelers community here at Pittsburgh blitz. We would recommend BTSC to any avid Steeler fan with a passion to be kept up-to-date on our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. Great job guys, keep up the good work.

To read more and see how many 'McBeams' were awarded per category Click Here

Pittsburgh Blitz

Clevey Stains News

steelerguy26 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:21:32 -0000

Dogging it!

A guy walks into a bar with his pet dog. The bartender said, "Sorry. No pets allowed."

The man replied, "This is a special dog. Turn on the Browns game and you’ll see."

The bartender, anxious to see what will happen, turned on the game.

The guy said, "Watch. Whenever the Browns score, my dog does flips." The Browns keep scoring field goals and the dog keeps flipping and jumping.

"Wow! That’s one hell of a dog you got there. What happens when the Browns score a touchdown?"

The man replied, "I don’t know. I’ve only had him for seven years!"

Q: What do you call 53 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A: The Cleveland Browns.

Q: What do the Cleveland Browns and the Pope have in common?
A: They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell “Jesus Christ.”

Q: How do you keep a Cleveland Brown out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.

Q: Where do you go in Ohio in case of a tornado?
A: To the Browns Stadium- you never see a touchdown there.

Q: What do you call a Cleveland Brown with a Super Bowl ring?
A: A thief.

Q: Why doesn’t Columbus Ohio have a professional football team?
A: Because then Cleveland would want one.

Q: What’s the difference between the Browns and a dollar bill?
A: You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q: How many Browns does it take to win a Super Bowl?

A: Nobody knows and we may never find out.

Q: What do the Cleveland Browns and possums have in common?
A: Both play dead at home and get killed on the road.

Q: Why did CLOWNS fans choose Orange for the team color?

A: So the fans could wear it on Saturday to go hunting, on Sunday to the game and the rest of the week picking up garbage on the highways.

Pittsburgh Blitz

Rate the blogs

steelerguy26 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:09:17 -0000

Ok I want to do something to help out other Steelers blogs in the community and to do that I plan to review several blogs on the net. Starting with 'Behind the Steel Curtain', which is by far my favorite blog on the Steelers and the one that inspired me to do my own.

In exchange for the free publicity and rating, I would like to ask for each blog I rate or their members, to do the same for my blog, Pittsburgh Blitz.

Click Here to learn more.

I have put together a five star rating system that I will use for each blog that consist of the following aspects...

1. Visual Appeal

2. Layout / Navigation

3. Content

4. Useful Steelers info

5. Users & Comments

Check back April 30th for the review. Don't worry it will be great!!!

Pittsburgh Blitz

Madden Curse!!

steelerguy26 — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:15:11 -0000

Could the curse strike again? Many around the gaming community and most avid Madden players are believers in the curse. Not the curse tabloids put on all of us talking about the Hilton sisters every day, but the dreaded 'Madden Cover Curse'. With the news that Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu will be gracing the Madden 2010 cover, one can only wonder.

One possible loop hole with this years version though, could be the fact Polamalu is sharing the cover with Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald. The shared cover has never been done before, so maybe only one of the players will be effected by the curse, maybe neither will be. Heck maybe there is no curse and we are all just crazy.

Superstitions are pretty prevalent in almost every sport. Whether its the North Carolina shorts that Michael Jordan wore under his Bulls shorts for every game, Patrick Roy talking to the goal posts, to Roger Clemens who always touched the head of the Babe Ruth statue before playing at Yankee stadium, sports athletes of all kinds follow this quirky behaviors because they believe in luck.

The same goes for curses, something that no sports player really like to talk about. The most famous curse is that of the Billy Goat, which seems to have decimating the Cubs, as they haven't been to a World Series in 63 years. Many of the most superstitious athletes happen to play baseball. But the most superstitious gamers are us Madden fans.

We are the believers for the most part. The ones who have created this phenominom. No other game has every caused so much commotion or worried fans of a team like Madden has. We all love the game but each and everyone of us dread this day. The day the announcement is made who will be on the cover of the next version of Madden. today is that day!

For those out there who are non-beloievers in the curse, let the proof be in the pudding. (I have no clue what that means but my grandad used to say it all the time, so it must hold merrit.)

1999 - Garrison Hearst is the first athlete to grace the cover of Madden. Before him it was always John Madden himself. Hearst has a great year but breaks his ankle in a play off game against the Falcons and is forced to miss two full seasons due to the injury and is never the same player again.

2000 - Hall of Famer and Lions great Barry Sanders is the cover boy. Sanders shocks the entire world and retires just 7 days into training camp.

2001 - Eddie George gets the cover and has his worst season ever. He fails to gain 1000 yards for the first time in his career and the next three seasons he is an after thought and retires.

2002 - Daunte Culpepper was on the cover of the game. He suffered severe setbacks in his output, throwing for far more interceptions and less touchdowns. Culpepper never looked like the same player as he did the previous season when he threw 40 touchdowns. He also suffered a serious injury that cost him to miss 4 games and pretty much ruin his career.

2003 - Marshall Faulk gets the call to be on the cover. Despite playing the same amount of games, Faulk rushed for 430 less yards and had 4 less TDs compared to 2001. Faulk's worst season since 1996. Rams scored only 16 more points then their 1996 team who had Tony Banks at QB and Lawrence Phillips at RB.

2004 - Michael Vick appeared on the cover of the game. Unfortunately, Vick broke his leg during a pre-season game before the season even started and missed most of the season. The previous year he had his best statistical season of his career. Vick never again touched those numbers, and was found guilty on organizing a dog-fighting ring. He is currently in jail and scared to death to drop the soap while in the shower.

2005 - Ray Lewis for the most part avoided the curse. His numbers were slightly down from the year before, but he missed one game. He did not record an interception in 2004, the first time in his career.

2006 - Donovan McNabb appeared on the cover of Madden. Prior to that season, McNabb had a career year and the Eagles made it to the Superbowl. The curse hit him in early in the season where he suffered a hernia. He tried to fight through the pain for most of the season and played terribly, throwing a large number of interceptions. His season was cut short when he was knocked out of the game against the Dallas Cowboys and then decide to have surgery to repair the hernia ending his season. The Eagles finished 5-11, their worst record in half a decade.

2007 - Shaun Alexander appeared on the cover. Much like the trend before this, prior to this season, Alexander had MVP numbers and set an NFL record with 27 touchdowns. Alexader broke his foot early on in the season causing him to miss almost half the season, and his own touchdown record was broken by LaDainian Tomlinson. Alexander is now on the back of milk cartons all over the country.

2008 - Vince Young appeared on the cover. He missed one game with a quadricep injury but fared very similar statistically to his rookie campaign. Besides a terrible passing season where he threw 17 interceptions and a rumor that he was going to retire, he remained relatively healthy. Since then, VY has been linked to suicide rumors and lost his job to a career bum, Kerry Collins.

2009 - Brett Favre was the first retired player ever to grace the covers of Madden. Then he un-retires, gets into a 'he said, she said' battle with Packers management, gets traded to the Jets plays decent for half a season and chokes his teams play off chances down the stretch before retiring again.

2010 - Troy polamalu & Larry Fitzgerald.........

Pittsburgh Blitz

Predict the Picks

steelerguy26 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:43:59 -0000

Pittsburgh Blitz would like to invite everyone to predict the first round of the NFL Draft. Our selections are as follows.

1. Detroit - Stafford, Matthew

2. St. Louis - Smith, Jason

3. Kansas City - Curry, Aaron

4. Seattle - Smith, Andre

5. Cleveland - Crabtree, M.

6. Cincinnati - Monroe, Eugene

7. Oakland - Maclin, Jeremy

8. Jacksonville - Jenkins, Malcolm

9. Green Bay - Jackson, Tyson

10. San Francisco - Sanchez, Mark

11. Buffalo - Pettigrew, B.

12. Denver - Raji, B.J.

13. Washington - Maybin, Aaron

14. New Orleans - Orakpo, Brian

15. Houston - Matthews, Clay

16. San Diego - Cushing, Brian

17. NY Jets - Freeman, Josh

18. Denver - Ayers, Robert

19. Tampa Bay - English, Larry

20. Detroit - Britton, Eben

21. Philadelphia - Moreno, K.

22. Minnesota - Beatty, Will

23. New England - Maualuga, Rey

24. Atlanta - Hood, Evander

25. Miami - Laurinaitis, James

26. Baltimore - Heyward-Bey, D.

27. Indianapolis - Jerry, Peria

28. Buffalo - Oher, Michael

29. NY Giants - Britt, Kenny

30. Tennessee - Butler, Darius

31. Arizona - Wells, Chris

32. Pittsburgh - Harvin, Percy

Pittsburgh Blitz