October 19

The Return of Hockey Season

What’s up yinz. Once again, the past two weekends were a wash for our Pittsburgh Steelers, with an embarrassing loss followed by a triumphant victory. The home game against Jacksonville was just plain awful (especially for those as myself who drove to Pittsburgh for it). Ben threw 5 interceptions and our prized running game amassed a whopping 47 yards. No wonder we lost 30-9.

 

After a performance like that, Mike Tomlin must have lit a fire under those guys because they came out hot against the Chiefs last Sunday. We turned around and gave Kansas City their first loss of the season in a 19-13 match, an impressive turnaround from Jacksonville. Let’s just hope we can stay consistent for once.

 

Now, we all know that fall is for football, but when your city is home to the reigning two-time Stanley Cup champions some room can be made for hockey. The only team I love as much (if not more at times) than the Pittsburgh Steelers are the Penguins and now that hockey season is in full swing as well, I think it’s appropriate to shift focus for the week.

For those who live under a rock and don’t know, the Pens are the hottest team in the NHL. Winning three Stanley cups in the last decade and being the only team in the post cap era to win back to back. But can they keep it going and be the first team in modern history to win three in a row? (Yes, it has been done but that was when there were few teams in the NHL and no salary cap).

Let’s face it, the odds are against us, but that’s not to say it can’t be done. The reason for the Pens success from 2016-2017 was simply the lack of change. The only major changes between the two seasons were trading away injury plagued Beau Bennett and acquiring defenseman Justin Shultz, which both benefitted us greatly. Other than that, the difference makers came up from Wilkes-Barre (Jake Gentzel, Conner Sheary, etc.). This consistency within the franchise is what led to the second cup, if you don’t change the best team in hockey, then they are still the best team in hockey.

Ryan Reaves

Greg McKegg

This season, however, things were shaken up a bit and I’m not sure for better or worse yet. The most prominent was the loss of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to the Vegas expansion team. Having two top quality goaltenders was a massive advantage for the Pens and Fleury will be missed. Other losses include Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen. However, the acquisitions of players such as forwards Greg McKegg and Ryan Reaves and goalie Antti Niemi could provide adequate replacements and keep the pens on top.

So far the Pens are off to an okay start, with a record of 4-3 in the first few weeks of the season. This mediocre start is nothing to worry about because the Penguins are notorious for turning it on mid-season and keeping it on throughout playoffs. I think we have a good shot at a three-peat.

Almost forgot, Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at 4:25 pm. My prediction for the week…

Steelers: 20  Bengals: 13

HERE WE GO STEELERS (and Pens)!!!!

October 5

Return of the Steel Curtain

Well Yinz I have good news and bad. The bad news is our hopes of a perfect football season were destroyed by the Bears, of all teams. The good news though is we have redeemed ourselves with a nice 26-9 beatdown on the Ravens and are still a comfortable 3-1 (a better record than the pats).

This week I want to go beyond the scores and talk about the reemergence of some old time Steeler football, the legendary Steel Curtain defense. From Mean Joe Green to Troy Polamalu, our defense has been our pride and joy and is what brought us six Super Bowl championships. The past couple years, however, that shut down defense has seemed to fade a bit, letting our speedy offensive talents take over the show. This season I see a new emergence of the curtain, with a wave of young talented defensive players leading the charge.

This new wave is what brought the Steelers to be the 3rd ranked overall defense in the league. They have allowed a meager 14.8 average points per game (2nd in the league) and only 267 total yards on average. Compare that to a mediocre 12th ranked defense in 2016. This rise is due to a combination of acquiring new talent and experienced players developing into their full potential.

Although we still rely on the veterans like Cam Heyward and James Harrison, the young linebackers and secondary behind them have been stellar. The big story now is the future of the Steelers, rookie T.J. Watt (Left). This kid has defense in his blood (his brother is all-pro DE J.J. Watt) and shows it. He was drafted to be eased in as James Harrisons replacement over the next couple years, but due to Harrison’s injuries, Watt has become our go-to man. It’s safe to say he’s filled this role well, already compiling 12 tackles, 2 sacks, an interception and a safety.

 

While T.J. Watt puts up some very impressive rookie stats, his partner inside linebacker Ryan Shazier (Right) has finally emerged to his full potential. Shazier is in his 3rd season with the team and has been a decent backer to this point, but just decent. In 2015 and 2016 he averaged about 5.4 tackles per game. This season, he has exploded with 9.3 tackles per game. He has emerged as the team’s leading defensive player and ranks 4th in the league with 37 tackles this season.

 

The emergence of young players such as Shazier and Watt as team leaders combined with the entire Pittsburgh defensive working as an impenetrable unit, the Steel Curtain will rise once again. This will take the pressure off our offensive and allow the Steelers to compete with those dreaded Patriots.

Let’s hope the Steel Curtain is enough when we face off against Jacksonville at 1:00 pm on Sunday. To much surprise, the Jaguars are no longer the 32nd team in the league. With emerging stars as Leonard Fornette and Allen Hurns leading the pack, they have worked their way to a deserving 2-2 record, putting them first in the AFC South. The Steelers are going to have to bring their A game and be ready to shut down Fornette and his 2nd ranked run game. I still think we have what it takes however so…

My prediction:   Steelers- 24   Jaguars- 17

HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!