Does Preseason Matter?

Every sports analyst wants to tell you that preseason doesn't matter. Let's look at some numbers.

Year	Preseason	Regular Season	Season Result
2006	0 - 4	8 - 8	missed playoffs
2005	3 - 1	11 - 5	Won Super Bowl XL
2004	2 - 2	15 - 1	Lost AFC Championship
2003	1 - 3	6 - 10	missed playoffs
2002	2 - 2	10 - 5 - 1	Lost AFC Divisional
2001	3 - 1	13 - 3	Lost AFC Championship
2000	3 - 2	9 - 7	missed playoffs
1999	1 - 3	6 - 10	missed playoffs
1998	3 - 2	7 - 9	missed playoffs
1997	5 - 0	11 - 5	Lost AFC Championship

So what can be concluded? In the 5 seasons where the Steelers have had a winning record in the preseason, they have had a winning regular season 4 times. Additionally, when the Steelers have had a losing record in the preseason, they have followed up with a losing record in the regular season. The Steelers have also had winning seasons in the two seasons they were .500 in the preseason.

So does preseason matter? As much as the media would like us to think it doesn't, it actually does. In the last 10 years, the Steelers have had winning seasons in 6 of the 7 seasons they won at least 2 preseason games. Additionally, in the 3 years they had losing preseason records, they have finished 6-10, 6-10, and 8-8.

There we have it. The numbers don't lie. Winning breeds winning. And with the Steelers sitting at 3-1 on the eve of their last preseason matchup against Carolina, I'm feeling pretty good about this season.

Bungles lose again

In a Preseason Monday Night Football game that matched up two teams battling for which will have players that spend more time in jail this year, the Atlanta Falcons beat the Cincinnati Bungles 24-19.

The game was close at halftime, but a breakout 3rd quarter allowed the Falcons to build up a seemingly insurmountable 11-point lead.

But the Bengals scored on the first play of the 4th quarter on a touchdown pass to Chris Henry.

A group of Bengals fans watches Henry's touchdown intently.

The Bungles followed that up by botching a 2-point conversion and not scoring for the rest of the game.

And since the Steelers are on a short week here and there's two days until the Carolina game...

Google Image Search is awesome.

Steelers win the Battle of Penn's Woods

27

13

Before I get to the recap, the Steelers made their first round of cuts today. The only one of significance? Kevan Barlow.

So long Kevan.

Steelers won the toss and had a good drive going until Ben throws a pick on an attempted dump-off pass. He should have held on to that one and took the sack.

You tell him coach.

Coach throws the challenge flag and wins...6 yards. It doesn't matter much as McNabb leads the Eagles down to the 23. Huge sack and strip by Clark Haggans on second down, but the Eagles recover. False start penalty pushes them back 5 more yards then Polamalu and Farrior lay down the law.

Steelers go run-run-pass and punt. Sepulveda chokes. Philly ball on the Pittsburgh 20.

Anthony Smith from the Cuse lays the smack down on Kevin Curtis on 3rd and Goal. Solid stand by the defense to hold the Eagles to 3 points.

Steelers start the next drive with a pass to Kreider. A nice little rumble down the sideline for 22 yards. Hines picks up a key 3rd down with a 13-yard catch. After a false start by A-Fan and...

Miller down to the 1, should be a sure touchdown, but Willie Parker has other ideas.

He coughs it upon the goal line. Ouch.

Eagles drive out of the shadow of their own goal posts only to punt. Willie Reid pulls a Colclough and muffs the kick. Steelers go 3-and-out again and punt. Sepulveda triples the distance on his previous kick. The defense stands strong and forces a punt.

It's go time.

We put the ball in Parker's hands 4 consecutive plays, including a 20-yard screen pass. Nice. Wilson and Holmes pull down big receptions to get us into the red zone. First and 10 from the 18. Power I. Eagles stack the box. I turn to my girlfriend and say, "We're probably going to run the ball here."

Hey, I'm no Nostradamus, but it worked.
Parker's goal line fumble is redeemed.
7-3

Kolb comes in to play QB for the Eagles. He was solid at Houston, and everyone was hoping this wasn't going to turn into another game like the Packers where a young QB beat us up and down the field. But the Defense stands strong again and forces another punt.

Steelers get the ball back and hit Najeh on a screen pass for 33 and Heath for 12. Nothing else is working and Reed hits a 37-yarder. 10-3.

Eagles get the ball back and go 3-and-out after a sack by I Like Ike Taylor on 3rd down.

Face your fears. Face the music. Face me Ike.

Another screen to the Najehnater and two sweet passes to Hines later, Reed knocks down a field goal to end the half. 13-3.

Tony Hunt runs all over the Steelers on the Eagles' first drive of the second half, but LaMarr Woodley comes up with a huge 3rd down sack and strip, holding the Eagles to a field goal. 13-6.

Nasty Nate pulls down two big receptions on the next drive from Homestead Charlie, including one that should have been a touchdown.

He's in.

Ex-Steeler Kevan Barlow pounds it in from the 1. 20-6. Game.

Kevin Kolb had different ideas. He drove the Eagles into Steelers territory but ran into the brick wall of the 2007 Draft. Timmons and Woodley with the huge 4th down stop.

BSP comes in and throws a pick and Kolb drives the Eagles back down the field but the defense steps up on a 4th down just outside the red zone.

Run-run-pass and ex-Steeler Mike Barr punts.

Kolb leads an impressive drive back down the field, resulting in a 4-yard touchdown pass. Maybe it's not over yet.

The Steelers change up the Offensive scheme and go run-pass-run-punt. At least it's the preseason.

Kolb marches the Eagles back down the field and is staring at a 1st down on the Steelers 28 as the clock strikes 2. The Defense gets a well-needed breather and comes back out.

Two words: William Gay.

He's making the team.

Huge strip by Gay and recovery by Javon Johnson who streaks 78 yards for the score.

Great way to cap off the night for the Defense.
27-13.

Kolb leads one last effort down the field which stalls at the Pittsburgh 6. Brian Randall comes in for the Victory Formation and takes a knee. Ballgame.

Concluding thoughts:

Needs to start.
Woodley is a great player. We need to see more of him.


Needs to stop.
Put us out of our misery and get rid of the mascot.

Irony

This time of year, as we wait for the NFL season to start, there's also the drama of MLB playoff races. As everyone likes to focus on the heavy-hitters (Boston leading the Galactic Empire by 6.5, the LA Angles leading Seattle by 1, the Mets by 6 over Philly and Atlanta, and Arizona by two over San Diego). And of course, who can forget the "closest" division race: the AL Central. Which features Cleveland leading Detroit by 1.5 and Minnesota by 5.5.

But top-to-bottom, which division is the closest?

A quick guess might make you think it's the NL West

Ah, but you would be forgetting about the San Francisco Giants, who are 15 games back. Which leaves of course....

As odd as it may seem, of all the last place teams in the league, the Pirates are the closest.

Now, I'm not saying this means that there's any hope. There's about as much hope for the Pirates season as those hot dogs on Kobaysahi's plate.

However, isn't it interesting to think that the media seems certain that the Yankees, at 6.5 games back, have a chance at making a run at Boston for the division.

With the Brewers struggling and the Cubs, well...being the Cubs, the NL Central is wide open.

However, the chances of the Pirates making up 10 games on the Cubs in the last 35 games of the season is about a snowball's chance in hell.

In football related news, Poz had 3 tackles in the Bills loss to the Titans last night, which sparked this solid article on him from Clark Judge of CBSSportsline.

Tomorrow night. Get your towels ready.

The Battle of Penn's Woods
Steelers vs. Eagles
8:00 pm EST

Fact: listening to John Madden for an entire football game will make your face melt like in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

For your own sake, turn on your radios.

No More Trottin'

What team has the audacity to relase their top player on defense? If you say the Steelers, you're wrong because Joey Porter was not the best player on our defense. Nor was he second-best. Or third. Those names would be Hampton, Polamalu and Smith (of the Aaron variety).

Goodbye Jeremiah Trotter. No word yet on what caused the Eagles, who have spent a miserable 17, 041 days since their last championship, to release Trotter.

3 days until the Penn's Woods showdown. The Eagles will have gone 17, 044 days without winning a championship then.

Projected 53-man roster, take 2

Since my original projected roster, there have been 3 preseason games where some people like Gary Russell, Carey Davis and Walter Young have shown their stuff. With 1 week to go before the first cuts have to be made, here's my second take at the projected 53-man roster.

Quarterbacks (2)
Ben Roethlisberger
Charlie Batch

Running Backs (6)
Willie Parker
Najeh Davenport
Verron Haynes
Carey Davis
Dan Kreider
Gary Russell

Recievers (6)
Hines Ward
Santonio Holmes
Cedrick Wilson
Nate Washington
Willie Reid
Walter Young

Tight Ends (3)
Heath Miller
Jerame Tuman
Matt Spaeth

O-Line (9)
Marvel Smith
Alan Faneca
Sean Mahan
Kendall Simmons
Willie Colon
Max Starks
Chukky Okobi
Chris Kemoeatu
Trai Essex

D-Line (5)
Aaron Smith
Casey Hampton
Brett Keisel
Chris Hoke
Travis Kirschke

Linebackers (9)
Clark Haggans
Larry Foote
James Farrior
James Harrison
LaMarr Woodley
Arnold Harrison
Lawrence Timmons
Clint Kriewaldt
Rian Wallace

Secondary (10)
Ike Taylor
Bryant McFadden
Deshea Townsend
William Gay
Chidi Iwouma
Richardo Colclough
Troy Polamalu
Ryan Clark
Anthony Smith
Tyrone Carter

Specialists (3)
Jeff Reed
Daniel Sepulveda
Greg Warren

Last 5 in: Dan Kreider, Verron Haynes, Carey Davis, Gary Russell, Rian Wallace

Last 5 out: Kevan Barlow, Brian St. Pierre, Jon Dekker, Anthony Madison, Nick Eason

All he has to do is lose

With everyone making a big deal about Michael Vick's guilty plea, is there any positive news for anyone?


Yes. Brian Brohm. His decision to stay at Louisville for his senior season now looks genius. With his former coach Bobby Petrino in need of a quarterback and Brohm coming out next year, the formula seems set for the two to be reunited in Atlanta.


The only thing that could prevent this from happening would be if the Falcons win. A lot. Brohm is a likely top 5 pick, which means that the Falcons will have to finish worse than their 7-9 finish last season.

So now the only thing left to do for the Falcons, to secure a franchise QB like Brohm, is to lose. A lot. Or they could hope that the teams that lose more games than them would either be willing to trade down in the draft or already have a franchise QB on their roster (Houston, Cleveland, maybe Oakland, etc).

Troy Smith repeats his NC Performance

The Giants downed the Ravens 13-12 tonight. Troy Smith played the last quarter and didn't do a whole lot. He got sacked a few times, didn't show much ability to throw on the run and pulled a Ryan Leaf-esque spike of the ball as time ran out. Not that it would have mattered, he had been sacked on the play before on the 7 yard line for an 18-yard loss.

As for the game, the only touchdown of the game was scored by the Giants. The Ravens kicked four field goals.


The game was plagued by laundry on the field and injuries.

The refs were a little trigger-happy tonight.

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but when Al Michaels says "Baltimore" it really sounds like he's saying "Voldemort".

Yeah, I can see it.
Credit me if you want to use the image. Thanks.

In other news, after some long and grueling html coding work, I added the Steelers schedule to the left-side of the blog. Links to the recaps of each game will be added to the schedule as soon as I write them.

Steelers win at the Par 3 in Landover

12
10

All we needed to bring tonight was the sand wedge. Four chip-shot field goals by Jeff Reed and Connor Hughes later, Coach Tomlin is 2-1.

We started off the game by losing the coin toss. Way to go team captains.

Reed boots an awesome kickoff deep into the end zone. Reed's kickoffs have been sick this year.

Skins Offense comes out looking strong. They hit the tight end of a big play. I remember us having this problem against the Falcons last year...But LaMarr Woodley (Steelers 2007 Rookie of the Year, I'm calling it now) comes up with a huge sack. Great play by LaMarr. For anyone out there with a Porter jersey, don't get rid of it! Slap some duct tape over the name, get a black Sharpie and write WOODLEY on it. You'll be able to keep it for a long time.

Solid play to Hines on first down. Parker goes nowhere. Good look to Heath but it's just short.

Sepulveda kicks the snot out of the ball.

Two humans trying to reenact Sepulveda's Superhuman kick.

Redskins starting Offense comes back out and makes our secondary look like the Maginot Line. 7-0.

"We're down here and they're up there...oops!"
-actual transcribed quote from the French Army

Jason Campbell was hurt on the drive, but it appears he'll be okay. Which is a good thing because I liked him when he was at Auburn and thought he had a really good chance at being a solid NFL QB. I'd hate to see his shot get ruined in the preseason. Get well soon Jason.

Run-Run-Pass and the First Quarter is over.

Sepulveda with another good punt.

Deshea comes up with a huge sack on third down to force a punt.

1st string Offense goes 3-and-out again (not what we want to see out of them) and Sepulveda reverses the field with another great kick.

Haggans and Clark stop this drive with a 3rd down sack, forcing a punt. The Skins only picked up 1 first down on this drive.

Steelers get the ball back with 5:40 left. Ben hits Santonio with two big passes, one on a 3rd and 17 for 30 yards. Reed adds a chip shot as the first half expires. 3-7

Batch comes in, Steelers go run-run-pass and punt.

Steelers get hosed on a 3rd down penalty and the Skins drive stays alive. Eventually, they convert a 48-yard field goal. 10-3.

Homestead Charlie leads the Steelers on a long drive lasting into the 4th quarter hitting Nasty Nate and Carey Davis for a few big plays. Tomlin calls for the wedge again and Reed knocks it through. 10-6.

Colclough comes up with a fumble recovery to get us the ball back.

BSP takes over and leads the team down to the 4 yard line but no money. Connor Hughes chips in to make it 10-9.

William Gay drops a sure INT from the Ageless Wonder but forces a punt.

Gary Russell (who Pomp mistakenly called "Gary Roberts" on the pregame show) owns the next drive but can't cash it in on 3 chances from inside the 3. Ouch. Another chip shot from Hughes makes it 12-10. This might have been the most boring comeback ever.

The Skins get the ball back with a minute and a half left. The Ageless Wonder seems poised to prove he can still play. A 4th and 14 conversion for 26 yards leaves many thinking he can. With the Skins in field goal range, the Zebras bail us out by doling out 15 yards in penalties to the Skins.

The Ageless Wonder is forced to throw and William Gay comes through this time. This kid is going to make the team. Great way to end the game.

Stats:
Sepulveda: 4 punts, 50.0 avg, long of 58
Steelers QBs: 18/25 for 189 yds. 0 TDs, 0 INTs
Net Rushing Yards: Steelers 101, Skins 43
Steelers D: 3 sacks, 1 INT, 1 Forced Fumble
Kicking game: 4 for 4 from Extra Point range.

In other news around the division, Brady Quinn threw 2 4th quarter TD passes in the Browns 23-20 loss to the Lions. It was also a big night for New Orleans running backs as Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush and Antonio Pittman all had rushing touchdowns against the Bungles as the Saints rolled 27-19. Cincy added a touchdown in the closing seconds to make this game appear closer than it actually was.

There's still 1 more game to go before any cuts are made, so next week's game should be exciting.

A preemptive strike:

Pretty solid site.

Preseason Game 3 Tonight

So here's the deal: There are two more preseason games before the first cuts have to be made. Here's the NFL's preseason deadline schedule:

Aug 28: Roster cut to 75 players by 4 pm EST
Sept 1: Roster cut to 53 players by 4pm EST
Sept 2: After 12:00 noon, teams can sign 8 players to a Practice Squad

Other notes:

BSP and Walter Young can not be signed to the Practice Squad this year. Which means they either make the team or get cut. Quick prediction: Young makes the team, BSP gets cut. He may get picked up by someone who needs a QB...like Atlanta.

Buddy is glad the Falcons didn't have a first round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft

Speaking of the 2000 Draft, it was really the last time that I wasn't 100% sold on the Steelers first round selection. I'm happy with Timmons, but as you may remember, I was really pulling for the Steelers to draft Paul Posluszny. In 2000 I was really high on this certain running back from Alabama named Shaun Alexander. Did the Steelers pick him with the #8 pick? Nope. They drafted a wide reciever out of Michigan State named No-catch-ico

Burress. Oops. Alexander fell to Seattle with the 19th pick. 

If we had drafted Alexander, maybe we wouldn't have tried to throw the ball on 2nd and Goal from the 2 in the 2005 AFC Championship game.

So far this preseason, Timmons has played 0 games. Posluszny has played 2 games with 9 tackles and 1 sack in his first game and 3.5 tackles, including a HUGE one on 4th and Goal last night.  Prediction: Posluszny will be a Pro Bowler within 2 seasons (assuming no injuries).

Back to the matter at hand, the starters should see some more playing time tonight. Parker should get a few reps too. Timmons practiced this week but no guarantees on whether or not he plays.

8:00
KDKA
Pomp and Nelson take 2: they're still the worst.
Turn on your radios.

A Crosby does something amazing, what else is new?

13
9

Okay, so we lost. Guess what? We still have more wins this preseason than we did all last preseason. Additionally, it's preseason.

What's to learn from the game?

1. Change-ups on the O-line are bad.

1a. We need A-Fan. Which means we need to sign him. We probably won't, but we should.

2. Aaron Rodgers is still as good as he was in college. Why he hasn't played yet, no one knows.

3. Mason Crosby is solid. He'd be a good pick for a fantasy kicker.

4. Nate Washington, John Kuhn, and Kevan Barlow may be in danger of not making the team.

And here's the recap:

Starting D totally shut down Green Bay's offense. No first downs in the first quarter and a half. Solid performance again. Lamarr Woodley will be starting by Week 7.

O-line breakdowns hindered the first string's performance. Homestead Charlie came in and hit Walter Young for the Steelers only touchdown of the game.

Extra point....what? How did that happen? Coach Tomlin = pissed.

Second Quarter sees a Jeff Reed field goal and a Dave Rayner field goal. 9-3 at the half.

Second half is all Green Bay. BSP plays for basically three quarters and does next to nothing. 10-23 for 99 yards.

Aaron Rodgers owns the Steelers 3rd string D. 10-9. Uh-oh.

D comes up with a stop, but Mason Crosby comes in for the long kick.

Mason may actually be Sid the Kid.

That was pretty much it. Nothing exciting happened in the 4th quarter.

It was good to see Russell and Davis getting some work. The use of Davis at fullback may spell the end for John Kuhn.

Coach Tomlin says: We'll get them next week.

By the way, Cleveland returned a 4th quarter kickoff for their only touchdown of the game to beat the Chiefs.

Bungled!

Dan Orlovsky throws two fourth quarter Touchdown passes to lead the Detriot Lions past the Cincy Bungles.

Detriot's #1 fan barely had the courage to watch as Shayne Graham missed a 48-yard field goal as time expired.

You said it little smiley dudes.
Solid image, we'll be seeing that one again come regular season.

Other Divisional Games this weekend:
Cleveland vs. Kansas City (7:30 Saturday)
Baltimore vs. Philadelphia (7:00 Monday)

And of course, get your towels ready.

Tomlin comes home.
Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay
Saturday 7:30 pm EST.

Pomp and Nelson. Worst broadcast crew in football history. Turn on your radios.

Let the bashing begin.

Thanks to the Pens Blog

Thanks to the guys over at The Pens Blog for helping me out with the coding for the standings, which you can see over to the right.

By the way, the same guys run Big Batch News, which still has yet to explain what happened on the two plays where Batch got sacked.

And for the record, the Little League World Series is much more entertaining than Major League Baseball.

>

Congrats to Barry

Congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming the all-time home run leader.

First recap

Starting Strong

20
7

The Steelers opened the 2007 preseason with more wins than they had all of last preseason. Here's my first attempt at a recap, I'll get better as the season goes.

Coin Toss: Early victory, a sign of things to come.

Touchback, no chance of a fumble.

Naj for a few then Wilson strikes.

Van Halen plays in the background of the highlight reel of Wilson's 55-yarder.

The ball is smarter than Nate Washington's hands, but Cedric comes through for the second time.

From the 4, there's no stopping Naj.

Touchdown.

Defense comes up huge. Great play by Woodley.

Batch came in and played a few series. No word yet from BigBatchNews about what happened when Charlie got sacked. Twice.

Jeff Reed's feild goal just misses. Close only counts in horseshoes.

BSP comes in and lobs a nice pass to Santonio in the end zone to basically seal the game, putting us up 14-0.

Carey Davis makes a bid for the practice squad. Another performance like that might put Verron Haynes' place on the team in jeopardy.

Jeff Reed, take two: money.

Regular preseason bore for the rest of the first half.

Jason Fife comes in and leads the Saints to their only score of the game.

Saints 3rd string QB reflecting on his performance in the locker room.

Another solid drive ends in a Jeff Reed field goal.



Fourth Quarter highlights are all William Gay. Gay single-handedly introduced Robert Meachem and Tyler Palko to Pittsburgh Football. Gay is practice squad material right now, could knock Madison or Colclough from the roster.

Coach Tomlin: 1-0
"Pressure is trying to feed your family"

Game Stats:
Ced: 4 rec, 99 yds
BSP: 8/14, 129 yds, 1 TD
Brees: 1/6, 6 yds
Bush: Burned. 2 carries, 8 yards.

Next Game: Saturday Night vs. Green Bay
Tomlin comes home.