Indholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 34 - Number 3 i Steelers Digest

COIN TOSS: Green Bay wins the toss and defers. Steelers get the football first. 4:32 p.m. – What Went Right: So much for that streak of not scoring in the first quarter. The Steelers took the opening kickoff and needed eight plays to cover 75 yards and take a 7-0 lead on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson. Najee Harris converted a third-and-1 with a 2-yard run. The touchdown came on a third-and-4, and after getting the Packers to jump offside, Ben Roethlisberger took advantage of the free play and threw a perfect pass to Johnson. It was the 400th touchdown pass of his career. Roethlisberger is the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw at least 400 touchdown passes in his career. 4:39 p.m. – What Went Right:…

Leader. Ask any player on the Steelers roster, any coach, any member of the team’s staff, and they all will tell you the same thing. Cameron Heyward is the embodiment of a leader. “If you watch our practices, you see him run do a lot of things that then as a coach I don’t have to do,” said defensive line coach Karl Dunbar. “That’s the stuff, the intangible things, showing guys how to take care of their bodies when they’re off the field. Cam is a guy who’s really settled. He has a family. He knows how to play football, and he loves football. The young guys see that.” It’s not just the young guys who see it. The veterans do as well, including nose tackle Tyson Alualu, a 12-year…

COIN TOSS: Raiders call tails. It’s tails. Raiders win the toss and elect to defer. The Steelers get the ball first. 1:18 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers appeared to be set up for decent field position following a Las Vegas punt that Ray-Ray McCloud returned 15 yards. But McCloud was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and the Steelers ended up starting at their 6-yard line. 1:26 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers managed one first down but then faced a thirdand-10 from their 22-yard line. Under some pressure, Ben Roethlisberger tried to get the ball to Diontae Johnson down the left sideline, but it was overthrown and intercepted by Trayvon Mullen and returned 7 yards to the Pittsburgh 39-yard line. After an 11-yard reception on first down, Derek…

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER Coach Mike Tomlin called it. On the Tuesday before the Steelers opened their regular season against the Bills in Buffalo, Tomlin was asked about what his plans for T.J. Watt would be following an offseason where the fifth-year pro didn’t take part in any team drills or hitting or preseason games while negotiating a contract extension. “We’ll play it by ear. One thing I’m not going to do is assume that he’s regular or normal,” said Tomlin. “I think guys who are in the position that he’s in are in those positions because of their unique talents and skill-set and will … Guys like those guys routinely do what others can’t.” Maybe Tomlin is a prophet, or maybe he just knows his players, because Watt completed a life-changing…

From the notebook of a sportswriter who’ll remark on the performance of Ben Roethlisberger with the grace befitting a player who’s given so much to Pittsburgh and its fans: • So, when did the downfall begin? Was it the Ravens who first began smothering Steelers receivers off the line? That’s when the short passing game of Randy Fichtner began to fall apart.• I wonder what Fichtner’s thinking as he hears the calls for a quicker, shorter passing game to answer the heavy pressure Roethlisberger’s facing.• Was it the Maurkice Pouncey snap into the confluence that no doubt hastened his retirement, which no doubt hastened the complete rebuild of the O-line? • Or was it the abrupt departure of David DeCastro after his ankle refused to heal?• I thought about the…

There is a saying Chuck Noll would trot out for occasions such as this. Part warning for what was to come, and part explanation after it inevitably did. “When you lose, everything they say about you is true.” The Steelers lost to the Bengals on Sunday, Sept. 26, and there has been and will be a lot said about the players and coaches as a result of everything that happened to result in the 24-10 defeat that dropped their record to 1-2. Some of it will be strictly factual. Some will be accusatory. Some will be mocking. Some will be angry. Starting with the factual: this loss was the Steelers’ second in a row after an opening weekend win in Buffalo and dropped them to the basement of the AFC…

RUNNING BACK It was not a very fruitful or productive day for the Steelers on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders at Heinz Field. From a team standpoint, none of the phases did enough to contribute to a victory, and at different critical moments of the game, each of the phases of the team failed to contribute to the defeat. Football is a team sport, and the sum of it all was a Steelers’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, 26-17, at Heinz Field. But in looking at the three-plus hours in terms of individual performances, there were some Steelers who had their moments. As always, Cam Heyward was one. Chris Boswell didn’t get many opportunities, but when called upon in the fourth quarter, he did what was necessary. Najee…

There is no debate that Joe Greene is the best and most influential player in the history of Pittsburgh’s NFL franchise. Not that it’s necessary, but in the interest of being thorough, I first offer this testimonial to Greene’s abilities as a player. In 2013, the Pro Football Hall of Fame selected its 50th Anniversary team, and players had to be members of the Hall of Fame even to be considered. In addition, there were no extra players added; there were only 11 on offense and 11 on defense, just as it would be on a real team. Players from all eras were considered, and the most vivid example was that Mel Hein, who played for the New York Football Giants from 1931-45, was the 50th Anniversary Team’s center, instead…

INSIDE LINEBACKER He’s still not where he was before he tore his ACL during a game against the Browns on Oct. 18, 2020, but Devin Bush is getting there. And as he is getting there, he remains an import-ant piece of the Steelers defense. In Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Packers in Green Bay, Bush had six tackles, including one for loss, plus a sack, and two hits on the quarterback. Bush is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week. Also considered were Najee Harris, the rookie running back who continues to be one of the Steelers most productive and consistent performers. Harris had 15 carries for 62 yards (4.1 average), and he vaulted the pile from the 1-yard line to score his first rushing touchdown in the NFL. Harris…

Pittsburgh Steelers Record: 1-3 What we’re learning through the first quarter of the season – or, better stated, what we should’ve remembered from past rebuilding jobs – is that developing a running game is a process. Especially when you’re building from the ground up. And by that, I mean the basement floor. The excuse upon which I had leaned was that last year’s run game finished 32nd, so how much worse can a completely refurbished offensive line be? Well, we’re seeing that the answer is plenty. Not that it’s a disaster. The new line is just, well, new, and by new I mean rookies or, in the case of Kevin Dotson, a player so inexperienced in both playing time and high-level coaching that he can be considered a rookie, along…

RUNNING BACK When Najee Harris decided to return to Alabama for the 2020 season, this wasn’t what he had in mind. And when the Steelers spent their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on him, this wasn’t what they had in mind, either. Harris returned for another season with the Crimson Tide because he wanted to become a better receiver before making himself eligible for the NFL Draft because he believed he needed to improve in that area to enhance his value as a professional. And when the Steelers used the 24th pick in the first round on Harris, they weren’t doing it to provide a boost to their passing attack. But that’s how things worked out on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Heinz Field during the Steelers 24-10 loss…

COIN TOSS: Steelers call tails. It’s tails. Steelers win the toss and elect to defer. 1:08 p.m. – What Went Right: Coach Mike Tomlin always tells his defense that while the unit has no control over when and where it will be sent onto the field, it has all of the control over how it gets off the field. Isaiah McKenzie took the opening kickoff and raced 75 yards to the Steelers 24-yard line, which is where the Bills began the game’s opening possession of the game. After a 7-yard pass to Cole Beasley, a quick pass to Stephon Diggs lost 2 yards thanks to a quick tackle by Cam Sutton. Then on thirdand-5, Cam Heyward got a hand on a Josh Allen pass, and the Bills settled for a…

If you search for the qualities of what an individual who serves in the military has, there are a boatload of admirable ones that you quickly find. Courageous. Honorable. Loyal. Leader. The list goes on, but you get the idea. There is however one word you don’t often see to describe them, most likely because that isn’t how they look at themselves. But they should. Hero. The men and women who served in the United States Military are the true heroes in this country, something that doesn’t get lost on those in the Steelers organization. And that is why for the 13th year the team hosted ‘Heroes at Heinz Field,’ an event to honor the men and women who truly embody what being a hero is all about. The Steelers…