FAN: Like He Never Left

The Steelers made a very smart move today resigning Byron Leftwich to cover any suspension Ben Roethlisberger faces to start the season. Look for Batch to retire after not making the team after serving as another arm in camp and instantly being hired as a coach. I worry about one thing....his slow delivery and our offensive line. Ben is always able to make one move that buys him a little time and then he stays upright when touched the first time to deliver. I feel Batch will crumble like a graham cracker crust if the O line doesn't step up.

What will help? A running game obviously! While Leftwich is in we need to become a run first team to take the heat off the rush. If we can run, we can win. If we can't run, Arians better have a TON of 3 step drop routes in. I feel much better with Byron in there than Dennis Dixon. This is most likely a blow to Double D's confidence but it shouldn't be. If the Steelers didn't have Super Bowl aspirations they could afford to let Dixon grow in the role as backup. However, the Stillers have as good a chance as any to win it all this year being only a year removed from their last trophy.

FAN: Right On The Numbers

Dog's post about jersey selection is spot on. While we were walking out, I said with absolute authority that there is no chance that another team in the league has as many different numbers worn as the Steelers. No chance. Zip. If we went to every home game this year and recorded every jersey worn by a fan, no team could come close...especially if the criteria was that there had to be at least 5 at any one game to count. A quick rundown of the all-time roster by jersey would reveal the following possibilities...most of which we saw last week:

3 - Jeff Reed (saw a few myself!)
7 - Roethlisberger (a good 20%)
8 - Maddox shouldn't count but they do exist
10 - I still saw Slash jerseys but most are now Holmes. This should count as 2.
12 - Bradshaw
14 - O'Donnel shouldn't count either, but they are still out there. He did go to a Super Bowl.
20 -Bleier
24 - Ike Taylor
26 - Woodson
29 - Foster
31 - Shell
32 - Franco
33 - Hoge
34 - Mendenhall, Andy Russells have to be 0ut there as well!
36 - Bettis
37 - Lake - Borderline
39 - Parker
43 - Polamalu
47 - Blount
51 - Farrior
52 - Webster
55 - Porter
56 - Woodley
58 - Lambert
59 - Ham
66 -Faneca, I saw them
68 - Greenwood
75 - Green
76 - Lipscomb, I saw one....I went with one!!!!
82 - Stallworth
83 - Miller current, Lipps - they exist
86 - Ward
88 - Swann
92 - Harrison
94 - Timmons
95 - Lloyd
98 - Hampton
99 - Keisel

That's 38 numbers. If you take away the recent ex players like Maddox, Slash, Faneca and O'Donnel you have 34. If you take away some current players who won't be long in our memories like Parker, Reed, Farrior...etc, you still have 27-28 legitimate jersey choices right now. It's crazy.

Steelers Do The RIght Thing

Wow. Just....wow. The Steelers rock. Check this story out over at The Burgh Blog.

Sickening Update To Tylski Story

Here's the heartwarming (NOT!) story that contains more details around this post I made last year. I'm embarrassed the ass clown was ever fortunate enough to wear the black and gold. Bending little fingers back until they pop and crack? Pulled her leg out of it's socket? What in the mother hubbard is wrong with people? I should have a tag called 'What's Wrong With People" because it seems like more and more of these stories come out all the time. For God's sake the man played a number of years in the NFL and probably made a ton of money even though he was a no talent scrub journeyman. Wouldn't it be nice if he regularly Google's himself to read his own press clippings? Just think what's being written about him today. Even the little girl's biological mother took part in this. Anger management class? Are you shitting me? Let me tell you something, if I walked up to a total stranger who was a lot smaller than me and I wrestled them to their back and then bent one leg up over their head.....um...wow...hey.......could the stranger be Kate Hudson....wait, no....I was being serious.....if I bent their leg over their head until it popped, I'm pretty sure I would be arrested for assault. Anger management classes, parenting classes and they have to put 12K aside for college. Great. Super. Cool Frickin' Beans. 12K. She'll spend more than that in therapy when she's older. I think in cases like this the judge should get bitch slapped as well. It would be bad enough if the Dad was a little pipsqueak but he's an ex-NFL lineman. That poor, poor little girl. I hope he rots in Hell, with his wife right beside him.

Steelers Sly Move

The Steelers signed Keyaron Fox to a one year deal today to apparently be a backup LB and Special Teamer. He was a third round pick in 2004. I'm assuming there is no guarantee he'll even make the team, but I like what I see when I look at his profile. Since he's backing up, I wonder if he can play both inside and out?

Priceless

Ticket For The Game Under Roof: $150
Parking: $35
Tailgate: $10

Driving past a car with Ravens fans going home the morning after the game and POPPING your Roethlisberger jersey at them as your "STLR 5SB" license plate becomes visible to them....

Freaking Priceless!!

Bills say "Check, Please"

In a total destruction of the Bills, I don't even think 5 plays stand out as being memorable. It was just a methodical dismantling. Willie Parker ran crazy and Ben was again efficient. Maybe the biggest play that stands out to me was very early in the game when Willie Parker busted off a 21 yard run and the announcer (not sure if it was Solomon or Ian) kept saying it was Najeh Davenport. Even after Willie stood up with his "39" facing the camera - he kept saying "Davenport". It was amusing to even think Najeh could get to the corner and turn it up for 21 yards. I even took a power nap heading into halftime. And yes, I may have to rethink my position on Matt Spaeth. I watched Mahan in action more this week and he's very impressive turning his guy away from the ball carrier. Until we play some better competition - it's hard to get a handle on the team we have right now. I'll say this...they're making the playoffs.

Sucky McSuck Suck

Well, it's official - our sucky mascot now has a sucky name to go with it "Steely McBeam". While I don't even want a team mascot, I can readily admit that children might like it. The thing is, when I go to games, there aren't too many children around who are of that age group. Yes, kids will like it when he shows up at local events and schools....but did we have to name it? Couldn't he simply be "the Steeler mascot". No. We needed to name it....and name it we did. Out of 70,000 entries, they must have only read 4 and the other 3 were unreadable crayon entries. "Steely McBeam" is so ridiculous I can't even fathom how it was chosen. I want to know who made the final call and what the final 5 entries were. I swear I could rattle off 5 better names right now without even thinking. Oh, you don't think I can? Well, here goes:

1. Hard Hat Harry

2. Lunch Pail Larry

3. Wally Welder

4. Blue Collar Bob

5. Gary Girder

Ok, those are a little silly, but in all honesty - how about just plain 'ole "Mr. Steel". Really. "Mr. Steel". Simple. To the point. Not too kiddy. "Steely McBeam"? In a town full of Polish and Slovakian descendants - why the "Mc"? Is it to celebrate the five Scottish and seven Irish descendants of da 'Burgh? Think about it...shouldn't he have a "ski" at the end of his name instead of it starting with a "Mc"? I'm disappointed and I bet The Chief is rolling over in his McGrave.

Steelers Add DL In 2nd, Bone Up 3rd

The Steelers added much needed depth to the DL in the second round yesterday by drafting Lamarr Woodley. It's great insurance if one of the starting three ends up injured and he could start by next year if they switch to a 4-3 front. At 269 pounds, he could almost play inside linebacker. Read about him here.

Now, for something that makes absolutely NO sense to me whatsoever - we drafted a TE in the 3rd round. Huh? What? A Tight End??? Why!? With Heath Miller and Jerame Tuman already in the fold, couldn't we just sign an undrafted free agent TE after the draft is over? From reading this guy's draft report, he doesn't seem like anything special. He's listed as a slow, short range passing target. If he's an exceptional run blocker, that will give away whats coming if they sub him for Miller in the middle of a drive. I just don't get it. I wouldn't have been looking for a TE in this draft at all. Can somebody try to explain the logic here. Is he a demon on special teams or something? Is he a backup long snapper? Does he have photos of Kevin Colbert in a compromising position? Matt Spaeth? I would have rather seen the punter Still A Dog mentioned here! I truly think this was a wasted pick and I can't wait to read what others are saying.

Mike Sherman?

Even more reason to believe we are now just positioning ourselves to offer Grimm less money. I'm kind of getting annoyed at this. If Grimm is indeed their choice - why not make him feel like it and just take him off the table? I don't understand. I'm starting to wonder if he really is their first choice. The only thing I remember about Sherman's days in Green Bay is the time he got in Warren Sapp's face for a cheap shot which seriosuly injured a Packer who had no chance of making a play on the ball as he was 20 yards away at the time. Sherman confronted Sapp after the game.

New Twist To Cowher Decision

The Rooney family has agreed to give Bill Cowher until next Tuesday to make a final decision as to if he will return for another season. Sounds good in theory. The problem is, Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm are already scheduled to have interviews with Atlanta and Arizona. If Whiz takes the Atlanta job and Grimm gets the Arizona job - then Cowher decides to walk - I will not be a happy camper. There could be a silver lining in all of this if it plays out that way - The Dog has been a fan of Mark Whipple for some time and thinks he is as good a candidate as any. I hate it that our coaching situation has turned into the kind of circus that I can't stand. I'm sure the Rooneys feel the same way.

Training Camp Eve

Still A. Crazy South Bob...or whatever he wants to be called....sent me this clip this morning and it got me FIRED UP! I had goosebumps! That's how much I love my team. The soldiers is what gets to me. Can you imagine the Iraqi citizens going about their daily business and a friggin' tank rolls through town with a Steeler flag flying? Wow. I'm ready to turn the main content of the site back over to Steeler Nation. Watch this clip. I think I'm going to prepare my own as well.