Seagulls Lay an Egg

21
0

I've gotta say...while being at a game is great and watching it live equally as good, there's something to be said for taping the game and being able to fast-foreward through the commercials.


Seahawks won the toss; their biggest gain of the day.



Reed kicks another touchback. He's been solid on kickoffs this year.



Seattle comes out throwing and hit some cheap short passes for a first down. Alexander runs for 6 on a 2nd and 10 and Hasselbeck can't hook up with his reciever on 3rd down. Punt time.



Ben comes out firing, in spite of losing Holmes to pregame warmups and Hines sitting out for the second week in a row. Nasty Nate snags a big catch on first down, but the Steelers can't make anything of it, so they ring up the Fortress of Solitude.

No Kryptonite today. Superman is solid.
(Image by Karri)

The defense puts Seattle on the ropes, but Hasselbeck comes through on 3rd and long, picking up a first down. They try to take a shot deep but there's nothing there. Punt.

Ben throws two incompletions and Sepulveda pins Seattle inside their own 10.

Seattle continues their trend of picking up a first down and then punting. Same deal here.

Anyone up for a shocking bit of play-calling? Neither are the Steelers. Run-run-pass-punt. Superman pounds a 56-yarder to flip the field.

Seattle picks up a first down as the first quarter ends. Any bets on what will happen 4 plays from now?

Bingo. Punt. A good play by Seattle pins the Steelers down at their own 1. Rossum tried to stick his nose in to pick up the ball and almost made a bonehead play giving Seattle the ball on the 1. We dodged a bullet here.

The Steelers seem to be poised for a punt, but former Florida State star Willie Reid breaks a few tackles for a solid 25-yard gain on 3rd down, keeping Sepulveda on the bench for now. Okay, so I just spoiled the rest of this drive. Nothing really happens. Ben gets sacked. Superman punts.

For the first time all game, Seattle punts before picking up a first down. Are you asleep yet? Hopefully not. Keep reading, I swear it gets better.

Ben hits Heath with a great pass on 3rd down to move the chains then gets sacked. The Najehnator comes in to pound away, but springs for a 45-yard gain. Parker dashes for 3. Davis on a swing pass for 4. 3rd and 3 in the red zone?

Great pass from Ben to Heath down the seam.

7-0.

The Seahawks look content to run out the clock with just a minute to go, but hit a big 30-yard pass on 3rd down to keep themselves moving. Farrior and Tyrone Carter come up with a sack on the next play, and Seattle lets the clock wind, forgetting they have timeouts. Another big gain with a personal foul penalty tacked on moves the Seahawks within striking distance.

Hasselbeck tries for the end zone but Ike Taylor makes a great play on the ball and comes up with a huge interception to end the half.

The Steelers come out rolling on a 17-play, 80-yard drive that eats up over 10 minutes of clock. The Steelers picked up a few penalites here, so actually tallied 110 total yards on this drive. Ben hit Wilson for a huge 3rd down conversion. Parker broke one around the corner and almost got to paydirt, but a challenge from Seattle overturned the touchdown call.

Just a bit outside.

However, from 1 yard away, you don't stop Naj'.

14-0.

Seattle goes 3-and-out and the Steelers get the ball back.

Long drives defined the Steelers second half as Parker just dominates Seattle all the way down the field, but it was Najeh's day. He pounds it in from the 4 to pretty much wrap things up.

Naj' repeats his patented Hines Field High Jump after the score.

The Steelers don't throw the ball again the rest of the game.

Both teams go 3-and-out the rest of the way. Seattle pulls Hasselbeck in favor of Wallace. He doesn't do anything. Seattle picks up one first down the rest of the game, Steelers pick up none.

Homestead Charlie comes in to run the Victory Formation. Game.

Stats:
Parker: 28 carries, 103 yds
Najeh: 7 carries, 58 yds, 2 TD
Heath: 4 catches, 44yds, 1 TD
3 sacks, 1 INT, 0 points allowed by the Defense.

Stat of the Game:
Time of Possession:
Steelers 40:45
Seahawks 19:15

Other News:

Cleveland lost to New England.

Baltimore beat San Francisco 9-7 on 3 field goals. Snore.

Bye week is next week. We need to get healthy.

I'm taking the G.R.E's next weekend, don't expect much from me this week.

Steelers fall to the Whizard of AZ

21
14

We may have lost, but at least I came up with a witty title for the entry.

Arizona wins the toss and comes out gunning. Quick out to Fitz and he picks up 12 YAC yards. James fumbles on the next play but the Cards recover. They pick up another first down before the Steelers D cracks down and forces a punt.

Ben hooks up with Holmes on the 2nd play from scrimage for a solid gain, but nothing comes of it and it's Superman time.

Image by Karri.
57 yard punt. Definitely worth the 4th round pick.

Arizona does nothing and former Steeler Matt Barr (remember him from training camp the last 3 years?) punts. Sean Morey, another former Steeler on the tackle.

Big Ben engineers a nice drive with a hookup to Heath and some solid runs by Parker. After Ben gets sacked for the second time in the game, he hits Santonio Holmes on a fly route for a 43-yard touchdown. 7-0.

Arizona goes West-coast and hits a bunch of short passes to move the ball down the field and pick up a few first downs but a sack by Aaron Smith and James Harrison stops them short and forces a punt.

Ben hits Willie Reed on 3rd down who comes up just short of the sticks. In a call you would only make on a video game, the Steelers go for it on 4th and short on their own 30. Ben for 2 and the drive stays alive. But not for long. Run-run-pass-punt. 52-yarder by Superman.

Warner comes in to replace Leinart, but I Like Ike comes up with a big strip on Fitz and Troy scoops up the fumble. If this entry was an english paper, I'd call this a motif. Run-run-sack (attempted pass)-punt. A 56-yard boomer this time.

Warner comes back out to run the 2-minute drill. The veteran overcomes a Clark Haggans sack and moves the Cards into field goal range, but Rackers can't connect from 52 and the half ends.

Steelers get the ball and try to go 3-and-out (run-run-pass again) but a penalty on Arizona keeps the drive alive. Run on first down. Attempted run on second down, but a fumbled exchange leads to nothing and an incomplete pass on 3rd down brings the punt team back out. Sepulveda pounds a 51-yarder (his shortest of the game to this point).

Warner and Fitz lead the Cards down the field and move into the red zone after a taunting penalty on Ike. The Defense almost holds, but Warner's touchdown pass on 3rd down was upheld after a challenge by Coach. 7-7.

The Steelers decide to change up the game plan and come out throwing. But it only lasts for 1 first down. Then they go back to their old ways. Run-run-pass-punt.

The Cards look to be poised to move the ball again, but a botched snap gives us the ball back when James Harrison falls on it at the 4.

1st and goal from the 4. Our Tight Ends have 4 TD catches in 3 weeks. Any guess what we'll do?
Run. Parker for 2 yards.
Run. Parker for 0 Yards.
Pass.

Interception.
"When I let go of it, I thought it was a touchdown. I thought he [Wilson] was gone. I honestly didn't see him" - Ben Roethlisberger

I've Got A Feeling take: Ben should spend less time reading to kids and more time watching film.

The Steelers hold after the turnover and force a punt.

Ben tries to make up for the pick by gunning one deep for Nate, but it's just out of his reach. Two more incompletions force a punt. Sepulveda makes a great 59-yard punt that gets called back on an ineligible man downfield penalty. Rekick.

Shades of the 2001 AFC Championship game flash by as Steve Breaston from Woodland Hills HS runs the punt back for a touchdown. For the record, it was another 59-yarder.

7-14. Ouch.

Parker finally breaks one for 20, but the drive stalls after that and we have to punt...again.

Leinart comes back out to lead the 4th quarter and marches the red shirts down the field for a score. Good job by the Cards of mixing run and pass on this drive, something we didn't do well all game. 7-21.

With 4 minutes to go the Steelers come out firing. Ben spreads the ball around and runs for a few first downs to bring the Steelers down to the 7 where he hits Holmes for the score. 14-21.

After a failed onside kick, the Cards go 3-and-out giving Ben a chance for a game-winning drive.

Incomplete. Holmes for 31 to our 40. 60 yards to go.

Incomplete. The drama builds.

Sack. We're in trouble. 68 yards to go.

Interception. Game over.

"Give their defense a lot of credit. They played well tonight. They did a lot of things. This loss is on me. I'm really proud of the way the rest of the offense played, O-line, the receivers, some guys really stepped up. It's on me. I can't throw a pick in the end zone. Defense gives us an opportunity, and you throw it away. It's disappointing. It's frustrating. You feel like you let guys down." - Ben Roethlisberger

Coach, your thoughts?

“We didn’t run the ball effectively, we were highly penalized, and our special teams was not a winning edge for us, and when you don’t do those things you’re going to lose. Whether you’re at home or away you’re going to lose when you don’t do those things."

An Inconvenient Truth

37
16

Global Climate Change is the perfect description of Frank Gore's world. Last season he was on fire. 1695 yards rushing, 485 yards recieving (Average 106 rush yds, 30 rec yds per game).

This season it's an Ice Age. 175 rushing yards and 37 recieving yards in 3 games. That's an average of 58 rush yds and 12 rec yds per game, which is about half of what he was averaging last year.

The Steelers started the game by losing the toss and giving up an 11-play, 61-yard field goal drive to the 49ers where Alex Smith made two solid plays to convert 3rd downs to keep the drive alive. One was a rollout scramble on 3rd and 1 and the other was a pass on a bootleg. The Steelers made some adjustments on their defensive line to prevent this from happening the rest of the game. 0-3

49ers boot a kickoff deep to Awesome Rossum who takes it 98 yards to the house and puts the Steelers up 7-3.

That's why we got him.

As we kickoff to the 49ers, my dad notes that we're getting dominated in Time of Possession. Not that it matters. The Steelers force a 3-and-out bringing out Andy Lee (Pitt grad), whose leg is obviously on steroids. This guy was kicking the snot out of the ball all game.

Parker slices through the left side for 13 on the first play. Looks like a great start for the offense. But Kendall Simmons blows a block and Ben gets stripped while looking deep. 49ers ball. TOP at this point is SF: 8 mim, PIT: 30 seconds.

The Steelers defense looks like it's going to break after giving up a 3rd down completion to Vernon Davis down to the 10 yard line and Polamalu taking an offsides penalty, but they step up to the task and hold San Fran to a field goal. 7-6.

The 49ers kick away from Awesome Rossum this time, so no kickoff excitement. Parker carves up runs of 9, 5, and 6 before the drive stalls and Superman comes out to punt. B-Mac makes a great play to keep the ball from going in the end zone and we pin the '9ers at the 8.

I'm still looking for a photoshop image of Superman with Sepulveda's face.
It would be awesome.

San Francisco gets a first down on a Micheal Robinson (Penn State fans can cheer at this) run, but stall out and have to punt. Lee pounds a 66-yard kick that flips the field and sticks us inside the 10.

Heath makes a huge grab for 16 yards to move out of the shadow of our own goalposts, but we go run-run-pass-punt.

The 49ers respond by going 3-and-out and Lee booms a 63-yard kick into the end zone. Like I said...leg on roids.

The Steelers put together a solid drive on the back of two big runs by Parker of 23 and 17 yards and a hookup to Heath for 20. The Steelers march it down to the 15 and convert a 3rd down with a direct snap to Hines. Two plays later, Ben hits Jerame Tuman for the score.

4 TDs by 3 different Tight Ends in 3 games. Wow.
Drive Stats: 12 plays, 80 yds, 7:39 off the clock.
14-6

The 49ers come out firing in a 30-second drill to try to get in field goal range and hit a sharp pass, but 3 incompletions forces a 59-yard punt by Lee to end the half.

The Steelers get the ball to start the Second Half and put together a nice drive with two huge grabs by Heath Miller for 29 and 16. The Steelers fail to convert from the 18 and settle for a field goal. 17-6. Hines took two big hits on consecutive plays and didn't play much the rest of the game. According to reports, he has a bone bruise in his leg, but no other word about the injury.

The 49ers moved the ball on their next drive and settled for a 49-yard field goal after a sack by LaMarr Woodley and a called fumble by Vernon Davis was reversed to be an incomplete pass. 17-9.

The Steelers come back and move the ball down the field thanks to two catches on the sidelines by Santonio Holmes, the second of which he made a great play to come back to the ball for when Ben was flushed out of the pocket. Jeff Reed calls Nedney's bet on the 49-yarder and drills it. 20-9.

Farrior & Co. come up with a sack on 3rd down after San Fran had moved the ball inside the 35 and force a punt.

The Steelers come back with a heavy dose of Willie Parker who puts up some strong runs and we snag a few big chunks of yards on 18 and 17-yard grabs by Holmes and Miller. The drive stalls at the 17 and Reed tacks on another field goal. 23-9.

5 minutes to go. It's pretty much over at this point, right? Wrong.

Smith comes out gunning and throws one right into the chest of B-Mac who takes it 50 yards to paydirt.

30-9.

With 4 minutes to go, Smith doesn't let up, hitting Jackson for 20 and scrambling for 25. Smith only had 7 fewer rushing yards than Frank Gore did today. Ouch. Smith is in the zone and hits a reciever in the corner of the end zone for the 49ers only touchdown of the game. 30-16.

With Ward out, Daniel Superman Sepulveda takes his place on the hands team for the onside kick. Of course, the 49ers try to test him by kicking the ball right at him, but Sepulveda is Superman, and there's no kryptonite in the officially lisenced NFL pigskin.

The 49ers have 1 timeout left, so the Steelers need 1 first down to end the game. Naj pounds ahead for 5. Timeout. Naj grinds for 2 more. 2-minute warning. 3rd-and-3. No shocker here, it's Naj up the middle. Except San Fran forgot to tackle him and he turns on the afterburners and streaks 39-yards for the score. Following the touchdown he did (as Tunch Ilkin called it on the postgame show) the Hienz Field High Jump into the stands to celebrate.

Yahoo images is all over this one.
37-16.

The 49ers can't even run out the clock right so Homestead Charlie comes in for a kneel down and ends the game.

Coach Tomlin is 3-0.

Stats:
The Steelers scored every way possible: Field Goal, Kick Return, Rushing TD, Passing TD, Defensive TD.
Parker: 24 carries, 133 yds.
Woodley gets his 2nd sack in 2 weeks. He's going to be a force.
Awesome Rossum: 2 Kick Returns, 120 yds, 1 TD (98yd)
B-Mac: 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 TD
Frank Gore: 14 carries, 39 yards. He gained less ground than a glacier today.
The Steelers have outscored their opponents 97-26 this season.

Other News:

Last week's post got my first comment in the 2007 Season.
Hooray I have readers!

The Ravens snuck by Arizona today on a last-second field goal.

The Bungals blew a comeback attempt in Seattle by fumbling on a kickoff at the end of the game.

The Raiders used the Denver strategy of calling a last-second Timeout to nullify a Cleveland field goal. The second try is blocked. Browns lose.

The Eagles put up 56 points wearing the ugliest uniforms ever created. They scored so much because Detroit didn't want to catch ugly by touching them, let along trying to tackle them. I would post a picture, but Blogger would shut me down because the internet can't handle that kind of ugly.

Steelers Win 500th Regular Season game

26
3

The only Bills that really showed up for this game were these ones, that Jeff Reed deposited into the local PNC. Let's face it: he's money in the bank.

Our recap starts with the Steelers winning the toss. Good start to the game. Parker lights up a few nice runs around the outside, including one on a 3rd and 1 for 21 yards. The Steelers end a 7-minute drive to start the game with a Jeff Reed field goal. 3-0.

Buffalo's #1 pick Marshawn Lynch from Cal (who has never seen snow...genius pick there) dashes through a couple broken tackles on the Bills' first play. The Steelers D cracks down with Harrison coming up with a sack then a nice bit of coverage by Deshea on a 4th down attempt.

Textbook coverage.

Turnover on Downs, Steelers ball. According to a post-game interview, BA talked Roethlisberger into taking a shot deep to Holmes here. Ben didn't want to, and it hurts his numbers. 1 play, 1 INT, bringing the defense back onto the field. Bills run 3 times and punt.

The Steelers put together another 7+ minute drive with some key 3rd down receptions by Wilson, Ward and Holmes, driving all the way down to the 10. Ben has Dan Kreider wide open on a swing route that would have been a walk-in score, but he throws the ball short. Reed comes in to make it 6-0.

Buffalo goes 3-and-out again and the Steelers take over. Ben hits Spaeth for 9 and Washington for 21 and Parker busts a 24-yard dash as the Steelers drive back down the field and add another field goal. 9-0. At least it's a 2-score game at this point and we can breathe a little easier.

Buffalo goes 3-and-out again (yes, I know this sounds repetitious, a lot like Buffalo losing the Super Bowl). The Steelers get the ball back with no timeouts and a minute and a half to play. Ben takes to the air, hitting Nasty Nate Washington for 30 yards, Hines for 10 and Holmes for 17. A spike and 2 incomplete attempts to Ward (one of which should have been a touchdown, but the refs reversed the call), brings up another Jeff Reed field goal. 12-0 at the half.

Solid first half, the Steelers dominated in TOP. James "Silverback" Harrison was carted off the field after the last play of the first half. Word is he was conscious, moving and talking when they took him out, sat up to be taken into the x-ray and returned to the stadium. Glad he's okay.

The Bills come out with a heavy dose of the ground game, leading to a field goal, making the game 12-3. Right now, I'm a bit worried because Berman predicted the Bills winning 20-19 on NFL Live last nite.

The Steelers strike back with a 5-minute drive taking them down the field behind some big gains from Parker and a 27-yard hookup to Santonio Holmes that he almost took the distance. Tomlin and BA keep Krieder on the bench and put in Carey Davis for a goal line punch and Parker gets stopped twice. On 3rd and Goal, Ben shows he's got ice in his veins and hits Matt Spaeth off a play-action fake for the score. 19-3. At this point, I'm still a little worried about Berman's pick. It would take a monumental collapse by our defense.

Too bad the only team capable of a collapse that big was the 1993 Houston Oilers.

You let Frank Reich beat you.
No wonder you fled to Tennessee and changed your name.

Buffalo moves the ball back down the field and after a terrible non-call by the refs on an obvious Offensive Pass Interference, the D cracks down with some heavy pressure on Losman, making him throw a couple of bad passes and Larry Foote comes up with a huge sack and strip of Losman on a 4th down attempt.

The Steelers look to be ready to defy Berman, and hit Hines for a big 21-yard connection on the first play out. But a stop of Parker and Ben getting sacked (the only time all game, solid overall work by the O-line) put a halt on the drive and brings out Sepulveda for his only punt of the game, coming with 12 minutes to play in the game. Great offensive work to keep Sepulveda to his holding duties all game before this.

Buffalo wants to force the issue, and the refs want to let them, as they call back a Ryan Clark INT by saying he wasn't pushed out of bounds or some crap like that. Brett "the Diesel" Keisel comes up with a sack on the next play, pinning the Bills deep. The Bills fail to convert on 3rd down and punt back to Pittsburgh.

Parker has two solid runs before Ben hits Heath for a 29-yard pickup, down to the Bills 11. Willie Parker shows up Berman in a bang.

Handoff. Touchdown.
26-3.
No comeback here.

LaMarr Woodley brings the heat and throws down Losman for a sack. B-Mac powerbombs Lee Evans on a first down catch, and Evans gets up jawing.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct.

The Bills try to hit Evans in the corner of the endzone on the next play and he picks up another 15-yard USC for spitting in the Refs face when trying to beg for a Pass Interference call. The Bills, now faced with 2nd and 25 are in a hole. Evans comes out and Losman has only one reliable target left. Incomplete. We saw that coming. The secondary comes up with some great coverage on 3rd down, forcing Losman to scramble and bringing up a 4th and 8. Deshea Townsend comes up with a tackle 1 yard shy of the sticks, giving the Steelers the ball and the ability to run the clock out.

Homestead Charlie and Naj' come in and keep it on the ground to seal off the win.

Stats:
Parker: 23 carries, 126 yds, 1 TD
Roethlisberger: 21/34, 242 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Defense: 4 sacks, 1 Forced Fumble
Net Yards: Steelers 420, Bills 223.
Conversions: BUF 5-13 (3rd Down), 0-3 (4th Down); Steelers 11-16 (3rd Down)
TOP: Steelers 35:27, Bills 24:33

Also, the Steelers became the first AFC team to reach 500 regular season wins. Maybe by 2083 (150th Anniversary) rolls around we'll be at 1,000 wins.

Cleveland Still Sucks.

34
7

Cleveland starts the game by winning the toss. It was the only thing they'd win all night.

Jeff Reed's leg was replaced by a cannon in the offseason. Touchback.

Cleveland's big addition of the offseason, Jamal Lewis, was supposed to improve their running game. The Steelers were supposed to miss Joey Porter. Lewis ran for 2 and was stopped by Porter's replacement James Harrison. Two plays later Aaron "Aero" Smith comes up with a big sack.

Next came the defining moment in the game. The Browns new punter fumbled a perfect snap and the Browns ensued to get four penalties on the play.

The Steelers accepted a holding penalty that gave them the ball on the Cleveland 22. Big Ben spreads the ball around to Holmes and Miller to get the ball down to the 5 and it's all Hines. Great lob pass to the back of the end zone. 7-0.

Two plays after the kickoff, Deshea Townsend picks off Charlie Frye and takes it back to the 17.

As the Steelers come out for the next drive, their average starting position is the 19-yard line. Awesome. Run-run-sack...but wait! Offsides on Cleveland. New life for the Steelers. After a failed roll-out look for Tuman, Reed comes in and knocks in a field goal. 10-0. 9 min to go in the 1st Qtr.

Cleveland tries to establish something with Lewis and throwing to Winslow, but an offensive pass interference penalty on Winslow negates a first down pass. Farrior comes up with a sack on the next play, forcing a punt.

The Steelers, starting in the area of the 20, do something familiar. Run-screen-pass-punt. Sepulveda can only be stopped by kryptonite.

The Browns go back to Lewis, but Farrior forces a fumble on the second play and B-Mac jumps on the ball.

The Steelers respond with a 1-play, 40-yard strike to Santonio Holmes. 17-0 and we're still in the 1st quarter.

Cleveland's next drive lasts 3 plays and ends with a Clark Haggans sack.

The teams trade punts, Parker fumbles, but James Harrison and Ike Taylor come up with sacks on consecutive plays to force a punt. The Steelers respond by punting and the Browns bring in Derek Anderson to replace Charlie Frye.

Anderson moves the Browns down the field but is stripped by Ryan Clark and the fumble is recovered by Aaron Smith. This is the last exciting play of the first half as the teams exchange 3-and-out drives for the last two minutes.

The Steelers come out of the half with a heavy dose to Willie Parker, driving the ball down the field on some solid runs. Big Ben hits 3rd Round Draft pick Matt Spaeth out of Minnesota for a 5-yard score to extend the lead to 24-0.

Anderson hooks up with Winslow and Carter on the next drive, picking apart the Steelers secondary, driving the Browns down into the Red Zone. The D holds Lewis from short yardage and forces a play-action pass to the fullback for a touchdown to pull the Browns within 3 scores. 24-7.

Roethlisberger comes out showing who the best QB in the game is by hitting Hines for a 22-yard reception. Back to the ground for some hard yards, and then...

Big hookup from Ben to Heath for a 22-yard score.
31-7.

Cleveland manages 1 first down on their next drive then punts. The "Brady, Brady" chants can be heard over the broadcast announcers.

The Steelers respond with classic 4th quarter Steelers football. Parker. Parker. Parker. Wilson gets his hands on the ball on a reverse that springs for 37 yards. Back to Parker on the ground and the drive stalls resulting in a Jeff Reed field goal. 34-7.

Two plays after the kickoff, Anderson hits Braylon Edwards for a big reception, but Anthony Smith strips the ball and William Gay falls on it. Another big play by these two, they just find the ball.

Homestead Charlie comes in to hand off to Najeh, run-run-run-punt.

Ike Taylor jumps in front of an Anderson pass and buries Cleveland in misery. The nail is in the coffin as the Steelers win their first regular season game of the Tomlin era. Solid performance all around.

Stats:
Roethlisberger: 12/23 for 161 yds and 4 TDs.
Parker: 27 carries, 109 yds.
Tight Ends: 2 TD receptions
(would have been 3 if we could have hit Tuman on the second drive)
Steelers Defense: 3 Fumble recoveries, 2 INTs, 6 sacks
Rushing Yards: Steelers 206, Browns 46
TOP: Steelers 36:16, Browns 23:44