SteelBlitz Steelers Blog

I admit, this isn’t a news piece and really has nothing to do with OTAs in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. That being said, I have a lot of material to address and stitch together when it comes to collecting Steelers jerseys. Jerseys are usually at the top of the sports merchandise world. Fans always have favorite players, past and present, that they want to honor by placing that number on their backs. Players do move on from the Steelers, and the recent departures of James Harrison and Mike Wallace inspired me to find out what die-hard fans do with the jerseys they own. I am a bit torn about my Harrison jersey. Since he refused the Steelers’ offer and began shopping himself around to AFC North teams, I have declared his jersey to be on mothballs. I won’t wear his Steelers jersey ever again. Short of giving it away as...

According to ESPN the Pittsburgh Steelers have the oldest projected starting line-up on defense heading into the 2013 season. This off-season the Steelers lost two 35 year old defenders in James Harrison and Casey Hampton, but they still rank oldest in the league. That number is high because of Troy Polamalu (32), Ryan Clark (33), Ike Taylor (33) and Brett Keisel (34). There is a chance that all four of those players won’t be back next season, which would lower the Steelers age rank on defense dramatically. For now, though, the Steelers have one of the oldest stating defenses, but they are getting younger. Steve McLendon, 27, will take over at nose tackle and future replacements are in place for Foote, Clark and Polamalu. Cameron Heyward, 24, should see more playing time at defensive end and with Keisel set to hit free agency after this season he should take over...

Reports continue to say that Heath Miller is walking without a limp and a few weeks back Ben Roethlisberger said that Miller was lifting weights. There is still no timetable set on Miller’s return from a major knee injury siffered last season, but the fact that he is walking without a limp is a good sign. The hope is that he could be back by week 1 of the 2013 season, but until the Steelers set a timetable on his recovery it’s hard to know where he is at with his rehab. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Miller still isn’t ready to set a timetable on his return: “Yeah, I think it’s a little too early to say anything like that,” Miller said. “It’s a long time before training camp, so that’s a long time to make gains positively or maybe even for something to happen negatively. So, I’m just taking...

Last season the Pittsburgh Steelers offense played fairly well in the passing game. In fact, Ben Roethlisberger was having one of the best season of his NFL career prior to injuring his shoulder against the Kansas City Chiefs. After the injury the Steelers struggled on offense and when Roethlisberger returned the results were not the same. Roethlisberger was vocal about his issues with the offense and the running game was, almost, non existent. According to Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Ben Roethlisberger is excited about where the offense is headed in 2013. Robinson says that the assistant coaches and Todd Haley himself weren’t happy with the offense last season. For that reason Haley revamped the offense and the Steelers are hoping for better results in his second year as their offensive coordinator. Luckily for the Steelers quarterbacks have performed well in their second years under Haley in recent stops. During...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off of their worst season under head coach Mike Tomlin and it sounds as though they are hard at work to get back on track. In Pittsburgh the goal of every season is to win a Super Bowl and not making the playoffs is something that is not acceptable. That means things are changing this off-season for the Steelers. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu can see a change in the team: “There’s a little more of an edge,” Polamalu said. “Sometimes, when you’ve had consecutive years of some success, you get a little complacent, which is maybe natural, I don’t know. It’s definitely something that we’ve probably dealt with around here a little bit, last season being an example.” Complacency is something that most people have dealt with at work during their lifetime. When you do the same job for a long-time and...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed three more of their 2013 draft picks to four-year deals. According to Ed Bouchette the Steelers have signed third round pick Markus Wheaton, fifth round pick Terry Hawthorne and sixth round pick Justin Brown today. That makes five of nine draft picks that the Steelers have signed to deals so far with Jarvis Jones, Le’Veon Bell, Landry Jones and Nick Williams yet to sign. Steelers chipping away. With justin Brown they have 5 of 9 draft picks signed — Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) May 23, 2013 Wheaton is expected to make a push for the third spot on the depth chart at wide receiver for the Steelers in 2013. He could be that third player behind Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders. According to reports Wheaton has very good speed and route running ability and is expected to be able to contribute right away in the NFL....

The way Emmanuel Sanders sees things, the Pittsburgh Steelers did what they needed to do to keep him in Pittsburgh.  Sanders, a fourth-year player with the Steelers vocalized his feelings about negotiations that have begun again on KDKA-FM Thursday. In April, Sanders was sweating it out whether he’d be in Foxborough, with the New England Patriots, for the 2013 NFL season.  With the clock ticking, the Steelers matched New England’s offer on Sanders; one-year $2.5 million.  That meant that the Steelers also turned down the Patriots’ third-round selection as compensation. “The whole time I was thinking, I’m still a Pittsburgh Steeler, I was still out here in Pittsburgh,” Sanders said. “It definitely came down to the wire around about (that) four o’clock, five o’clock area (on the April 14 deadline). I really started thinking like, ‘OK, maybe they won’t match the tender, I’ve got to be out in New England...

Yesterday was the second day of Pittsburgh Steelers OTAs and there were some more important notes coming out of the day. These team workouts are the first look at how the team is shaping up for 2013 and are just a stepping stone towards the start of the 2013 season. Training camp will be the best indication of where players are; especially young players and rookies, but these OTAs will give us some insight into what the team’s looking like moving forward. #Steelers LB LaMarr Woodley appears to be in pretty good shape at OTAs. — Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) May 22, 2013 Woodley’s conditioning has been a big subject amongst Steelers fans after he spent much of the 2012 season sidelined with injuries. Hopefully Woodley can get back on track this season and if he is in good shape that would be a start. Was told #Steelers rookie CB Terry Hawthorne...

The Pittsburgh Steelers started their off-season training program today with the first day of OTAs or “organized team activities.” These team workouts are the first look at how the team is shaping up for 2013 and are just a stepping stone towards the start of the 2013 season. Training camp will be the best indication of where players are; especially young players and rookies, but these OTAs will give us some insight into what the team’s looking like moving forward. Here are some important notes from today’s first workout: Marcus Gilbert - Gilbert lined up at left tackle for the Steelers today and will get the first look from that position. It has been rumored for most of the off-season that Gilbert and Mike Adams would compete for the spot this and they are expected to do just that. Adams will get looks on the left side during training camp as...

Week 6: Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets Date/Time: Sunday October 13, 2013 at 1:00 PM ET Location: MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey Jets 2012 record: 6-10 Steelers 2012 record: 8-8 Head-To-Head Record: 16-4 Steelers   Offensive Rankings: Passing: Jets: 30th Steelers: 14th Rushing: Jets: 12th Steelers: 26th Overall: Jets: 30th Steelers: 21st   Defensive Rankings: Passing: Jets: 2nd Steelers: 1st Rushing: Jets: 7th Steelers: 2nd Overall: Jets: 8th Steelers: 1st   Offseason Additions: Jets: QB David Garrard, OG Willie, LB Antwan Barnes Steelers: TE Matt Spaeth, CB William Gay, QB Bruce Gradkowski   Key Draft Picks: Jets: QB Geno Smith, CB Dee Milliner, DT Sheldon Richardson Steelers: LB Jarvis Jones, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Markus Wheaton   Overview: The New York Jets were a very poor team during the 2012 season and unless they improve drastically the Pittsburgh Steelers should be able to get a victory over them for the second straight year. This could also be looked at as a must-win game coming off the bye...

According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette former-Steelers left tackle Max Starks has signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Chargers today. The Chargers were still looking for a left tackle to protect Phillip Rivers blind-side and Starks was looking for a starting job so it may just be the perfect marriage for the two sides. Last year the Chargers had the most inconsistent offensive line in the NFL. Starks, a year ago, started all 16 games at left tackle for the Steelers so he would give them a consistent lineman, which is something they desperately need. Many Steelers fans wondered why the team wasn’t looking to bring back Starks to compete with Mike Adams and Marcus Gilbert to be the team’s left tackle in 2013. However, according to multiple sources the Steelers did reach out to Starks, but he wanted a starting job and with Adams and...

Hey #SteelersNation we have signed the second of our two sixth-round draft picks from the 2013 NFL Draft, linebacker Vince Williams. — Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 20, 2013 The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed the second of their nine draft selections today by signing sixth round pick Vince Williams. The first selection to sign was fourth round pick Shamarko Thomas. All draft picks will sign four year deals and Williams deal should be for around $1.7 million over four years. With the 206th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Florida State inside linebacker Vince Williams. Williams gives the Steelers another potential option as a long-term replacement for Larry Foote with Vince Williams out of Florida State. The Steelers were high on Williams and brought him in for a pre-draft visit. I think they would have looked at Michael Mauti here out of Penn State, but since Williams is still...

Week 4: Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings Date/Time: Sunday September 29, 2013 at 1:00 PM ET Location: Wembley Stadium; London, England Vikings 2012 record: 10-6 Steelers 2012 record: 8-8 Head-To-Head Record: 7-8 Vikings   Offensive Rankings: Passing: Vikings: 31st Steelers: 14th Rushing: Vikings: 2nd Steelers: 26th Overall: Vikings: 20th Steelers: 21st   Defensive Rankings: Passing: Vikings: 24th Steelers: 1st Rushing: Vikings: 11th Steelers: 2nd Overall: Vikings: 16th Steelers: 1st   Offseason Additions: Vikings: WR Greg Jennings, QB Matt Cassel Steelers: TE Matt Spaeth, CB William Gay, QB Bruce Gradkowski   Key Draft Picks: Vikings: CB Xavier Rhodes, DT Sharrif Floyd, WR Cordarrelle Patterson Steelers: LB Jarvis Jones, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Markus Wheaton   Overview: The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to London, England in week 4 of the NFL season. It will count as a home game for the Minneosta Vikings and a road game for the Steelers. Luckily Pittsburgh has their bye week a week later which will give them time to recover from the long trip. As...

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line has been one of the biggest weak points on the team over the past few years. Injuries and inconsistent play have taken a toll not only on the line, but on the offense as a whole. Over the past three years the Steelers run game has continued to drop in production. That number could be targeted at the offensive line’s play over the past few years. Last season, the Steelers ranked 20th in the league in rushing attempts. That is their lowest league ranking since 1971. The Steelers only ran the ball 412 times during the 2012 season, which is their fewest attempts since the 1991 season when they ran the ball 394 times. What’s worse is unlike many of their good rushing seasons the Steelers yards per carry were not good coming in at a measly 3.7 yards per attempt. That 3.7 yards per...

Week 3: Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers Date/Time: Sunday September 22, 2013 at 8:30 PM ET Location: Heinz Field; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bears 2012 record: 10-6 Steelers 2012 record: 8-8 Head-To-Head Record: 7-17-1 Bears   Offensive Rankings: Passing: Bears: 29th Steelers: 14th Rushing: Bears: 10th Steelers: 26th Overall: Bears: 28th Steelers: 21st   Defensive Rankings: Passing: Bears: 8th Steelers: 1st Rushing: Bears: 8th Steelers: 2nd Overall: Bears: 5th Steelers: 1st   Offseason Additions: Bears: OT Jermon Bushrod, TE Martellus Bennett, ILB D.J. Williams Steelers: TE Matt Spaeth, CB William Gay, QB Bruce Gradkowski   Key Draft Picks: Bears: OG Kyle Long, ILB Jon Bostic, OLB Khaseem Greene Steelers: LB Jarvis Jones, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Markus Wheaton   Overview: In week 3, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play their second consecutive prime-time game on Sunday Night Football against the Chicago Bears. The Steelers will be coming off of a short week after playing what is sure to be a tough fought game in Cincinnati on the previous Monday night. Last season...