Steelers Morning Huddle 6/27/13

October 30, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown (left) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against New England Patriots safety James Ihedigbo (right) during the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 25-17. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

We’re a month away from the Steelers reporting to Latrobe for training camp!  I’ll be glad to see that start up.  In the meantime, yesterday’s sports news was engulfed by Aaron Hernandez’ arrest and being charged with 1st degree murder and several other charges.  It looks like the Patriots are facing a tough year; however, it is still early and I think that the Patriots have time to plan their roster.  Gronk’s medical issues do complicate that planning.  I laughed when Mark Kaboly tweeted:

I’m not sure that formula is a good one, but I guess that would be crazy if it happened.

There is a little bit of Steeler news trickling out; but the Pittsburgh reporters still seem to be taking a well-deserved break before the regular season heats up.  Additionally, the Pirates are giving them something positive to write about, so I see a bit of attention in that direction.  Here are a couple of other tidbits about the Steelers you might be interested in.

Isaac Redman Q&A

Even though there isn’t any football training or games to report on, Teresa Varley of Steelers.com is staying busy.  She posted the first part of a Q&A session with Isaac Redman.  Fans were allowed to submit questions and someone had the daunting task of sorting through what was probably hundreds of questions to determine what Isaac should answer.  Look, I’m not a fan of this kind of forum.  The players can’t say what they are really thinking and the questions that get selected are pretty vanilla.  There is a prescribed set of “appropriate questions” and Redman then reiterates the party line.  And that’s fine.  I’m not a fan of seeing the players go off the script either because then it’s drama.  So, the Steelers give the allusion that fans have access to the players and the players say what they are supposed to and everyone is happy, right?

Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh?

Jaimeson Hensley, who blogs about the AFC North for ESPN.com, put up a poll asking reading to vote and comment on which coach will have a more successful long-term career.  There were 16,450 votes cast and Tomlin got 54% and Harbaugh got 41%.  (Five percent were undecided.)  He included each coaches head coaching numbers and Harbaugh has the edge on win percentage.  Hensley also included comments from readers about the coaches.   Personally, I favor Tomlin over Harbaugh if I had to pick between the two, but I’d rather not have to pick between them.  I will give Harbaugh credit for turning a team around last year that didn’t look capable of getting to the division title game let alone to the Super Bowl.  If I had to choose between the Harbaugh brothers I would pick John because Jim just seems a little tooooo intense for me.  I remember the picture of him frothing at the mouth and foamy spittle flying all over the place because he was upset.  His brother John seems to have a much more relaxed whine about him.  Frothing at the mouth is a little excessive to me.  Anyway, you might find the comments interesting.

Play 60 Challenge in the Pittsburgh Area

The Steelers players are active in helping kids get more fit in the NFL’s Play 60 challenge.  According to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com, Brett Keisel and Kelvin Beachum visited Linton Middle School in Penn Hills and Pittsburgh Langley K-8 to present grants for fitness equipment.  While I see the NFL as a huge juggernaut that has a lot of power and sometimes have very little redeeming qualities in how they deal with one-on-one situations, I have to say that I like the Play 60 challenge.  It makes a lot of sense in trying to change the culture of how kids view exercise.  NFL players must work out for hours at a time to stay fit and healthy enough for football, but that kind of commitment isn’t typical.  You can enjoy video games, but get out from in front of the television or computer and move around for an hour a day.  It’s a pretty simple formula for kids.  The Play 60 commercial with Nate challenging Cam Newton is probably one of my all time favorites.

What did I miss?  What did I get wrong?

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