Steelers Morning Huddle 10/31/2013
By Kim Myers
Huddle up!
Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Happy Halloween Steeler Nation! Anyone dressed as their favorite Steelers player today? Yeah, me neither. Before all the tricks and treats are given out here’s what’s being said about your Pittsburgh Steelers around the block.
Steelers – Patriots History
The Steelers website reviewed the last Steelers – Patriots matchup that was held at Heinz Field in 2011. The Steelers won 25-17 and had improved to 6-2 on the season on their way to the 12-4 record they’d finish with. The Steelers scored on their opening drive (as they had done in four previous games), driving 68 yards on 11 plays for the score. The Steelers went into halftime with a 17-10 lead and controlled the clock for the remainder of the game. The Steelers added a couple of field goals and the Patriots scored a touchdown to make it close but the win was ultimately sealed when Brett Keisel sacked Tom Brady, forcing a fumble that rolled through the end-zone, resulting in a safety. The Steelers controlled the ball for almost 40 minutes of the game and had almost double the amount of offensive yards the Patriots had in an undoubtedly decisive win. Those were the days, huh? Scoring first, dominating the clock, forcing turnovers. Memories.
Roethlisberger calls Brady “The Best”
Ben Roethlisberger seems to be one of those quarterbacks, or just sports figures in general, that can’t seem to say anything without it being ripped apart every which way and ultimately steered in the direction that makes him look bad. I don’t know what it is. Just how he comes off to people I guess. This week was no different when he resumed his weekly spot on 93.7 The Fan for his hourly show and took time to compliment Tom Brady, who the Steelers will be facing this weekend. Roethlisberger called Brady the best quarterback in the league.
"”I speak off championships. That’s no disrespect to some of these other guys that are doing some amazing things in the NFL right now. But to me, it’s about wins and championships, and he’s got more championships than anybody. So to me, he’s the best quarterback in the league, and he’s done it for a long time…The number one factor is championships.” – Ben Roethlisberger"
You’d think a comment like that wouldn’t ruffle many feathers. As far as the sports media world is concerned, Tom Brady is and will always be the best and anyone who dares question that is a communist or something. But if Ben Roethlisberger says it, it’s tainted somehow, according to Michael David Smith of ProFootball Talk. Smith says that Ben’s comments are only self-serving because if he only counts championships, that makes him and Eli tied for 2nd best in the league and that just can’t possibly be right. Kind of a ridiculous spin made from Ben’s comments, if you ask me.
AFC North Midseason Awards
John Breech of CBS Sports.com handed out some midseason awards on Tuesday and you might be surprised with who he chose for the Steelers team MVP so far. Breech says that LB LaMarr Woodley is the Steelers most valuable player, but doesn’t really give follow up reasoning. He says that Antonio Brown has been the Steelers’ biggest surprise considering that letting Mike Wallace walk away in the offseason was regarded as a bad decision at the time but keeps looking better each week when Brown is performing well and Wallace is the mayor of Drop City. His biggest disappointment for the Steelers is rookie LB Jarvis Jones, who was just benched this week by coach Tomlin. I think it’s a bit premature to call Jones a disappointment. Jones has a lot of potential and if everyone’s memory is working correctly, none of the great Steelers linebackers ever started right away as rookies in LeBeau’s system. They were all given time to develop behind a starter and pick up the speed from there. Jones will get his opportunities to do that. Moving forward Breech pointed out how poorly the Steelers running game has declined from last season. The Steelers ended 2012 8-8 and with the 26th best running game in the league, now they’re 2-5 at midway with the 30th best rushing attack. What grades would you give the Steelers at the midway point?
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