Steelers Morning Huddle 10/15/2013

Huddle up!

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Before we get all hyped about Ravens Week we can still take a day to look back on the Steelers first victory of the season. A Steelers victory sure makes for an easier week ahead, don’t it? Here’s what’s being said about your Pittsburgh Steelers around the block.

Labriola on Steelers win

Bob Labriola of the Steelers Digest broke down the victory over the Jets. He pointed out the obvious negatives which included seven penalties, another sub-par rushing performance, an inefficient red zone offense, and a lack of decent returns from the special teams. That being said, a notch in the win column is definitely an improvement over what we saw in the first quarter of the season. The Steelers defense was finally able to get their first turnover, only to follow that with another turnover (both when the Jets were in the red zone) and the offensive line was able to shake off the stun of Levi Brown rendering himself inactive by his pregame warm-up triceps injury into an adequate day of protecting Ben. It wasn’t the greatest performance by any means, but it is one that can be built upon.

Kovacevic urges Steelers to zip it

Trib columnist Dejan Kovacevic was in the Steelers locker room following their win over New York on Sunday. The past week safety Ryan Clark stirred up some controversy with his remarks made on ESPN about Ben Roethlisberger and his tendencies to try and extend plays at times. Clark’s remarks on ESPN were, “We have to tone Ben down in a sense and say, ‘Hey, right now we’re not a good enough football team for you to try to extend plays, for us to take sacks, for us to have turnovers.’” Naturally the majority, if not all, Steelers players, coaches, and media say the opposite thing when it comes to Ben. As we saw when Ben escaped a near sack in the endzone for a sure safety early in the Jets game, there are some things he can only do because he doesn’t “tone it down”. Following that and the Steelers reversal of fortune with the victory Clark’s locker was a destination for reporters following the game to see what he had to say now. Clark’s response was snarky and defensive as can be read by Kovacevic’s tweets.

Now, Kovacevic, along with the rest of Steeler Nation hopes the Steelers just shut up and keep improving. I’ve always been a big fan of Ryan Clark. I think he’s been underrated for a lot of his career and without his presence in the middle of the field Troy Polamalu doesn’t get to do some of the amazing plays he’s known for. I think Clark is a great member of the community with all the charity work he does around the city and I don’t begrudge him in the least bit the opportunity to set himself up with a life after football with his work at ESPN this season. That being said I want Clark to zip it as well. I want him to realize that the immediate goals of winning football games for the Pittsburgh Steelers should be more important to him than setting up his seat at the ESPN First Take debate desk with ass-hats Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless. I have a lot of respect for Ryan Clark but it will vary depending on how much he’s willing to sell out for a gig at ESPN.

More good things for Steeler Nation

After that rant I’ll end this huddle on a good note. Our own Ben Roethlisberger announced via his website Monday evening that there will be a new addition to the Roethlisberger family come springtime. He and his wife, Ashley are expecting baby #2. Congratulations to the Roethlisberger family!

Another noteworthy event worth mentioning for Steeler Nation is former wide receiver and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward added another title to his repertoire over the weekend; Ironman. Hines finished the Ironman World Championship Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii in 13 hours, 8 minutes and 15 seconds. The Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run. I’m exhausted just typing that. Congratulations Hines!

Follow me on Twitter @Kimmy_KimKimM and follow all of NPC’s posts @NicePickCowherC

Like us on Facebook