Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

We are well into the second week of Steelers training camp, and I have to admit that it is getting to be a bit boring.  After all, it’s just practice.  Also, it is getting HOT.  The team was blessed with great weather for the first week of practice, but this week, the temperatures have risen.  It was over 90 degrees yesterday, and today is supposed to be the same.  Ouch!

Since practice is becoming a bit redundant, I thought I’d talk about something a bit different today.  As I look at all of the fans here at Steelers training camp, I see them wearing lots of different Steelers jerseys.  At a glance, it is very clear that Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, and Troy Polamalu are the most popular Steelers.  Their jerseys are everywhere.  But based on his Super Bowl MVP, Santonio Holmes’ popularity has definitely increased.  I see lots of #10 jerseys here at training camp.  James Harrison’s popularity has also increased after his NFL Defensive Player of the Year season.  There are lots of #92 jerseys here at camp.

Looking at all of the jerseys got me to thinking about which players Steelers fans like most, and why they like them.  So I decided that it would be interesting to find out by asking my readers.

So my question is:  “Who is your favorite Pittsburgh Steelers player or coach, and why?”

Having been at training camp, I always hear the women screaming at Troy Polamalu.  Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t yell, “I love you, Troy”.  So if you ladies (or guys) like a particular player because you think he’s cute, don’t be ashamed to say so.

I’d like everyone to start their answer by saying “I like (fill in player’s name) because…”.  Okay, I’ll go first.

I like James Harrison because he is a hard worker.  Harrison got cut by the Steelers several times, but he never gave up.  Now he is a Pro Bowl player, and NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but he still works just as hard as ever.  Also, if there were ever a fight, I would want Harrison on my side. 

I like Aaron Smith because despite his quiet and humble demeanor, he is the best there is at what he does.

I like Tyler Grisham because the Steelers’ rookie isn’t as big, or as fast, or as talented as most of the other wide receivers in training camp, but he is out there giving 110% everyday.  He’s diving for balls and throwing nice blocks.  He probably won’t make the team, but he’s made a fan out of me.

Okay, those are my picks.  So who do YOU like?  You can pick one player (or coach) or you can choose more than one.  But tell us who you like and why.  Also, don’t worry about whether someone else has already picked your favorite players.  Tell us why you like him anyway.  I expect Troy Polamalu to get more than one vote, and he deserves it.

So go ahead and click on the button below to leave a comment.  Then tell us which Steelers player(s) you like and why.  I’ll print my favorite responses in an article later in the week.  Let your voices be heard Steeler Nation.

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8/7/09
By Donald Starver

Yesterday was a fairly uneventful day on the field at Latrobe.  The biggest news of the day actually happened off the field.  The Steelers finally announced that injured guard Darnell Stapleton will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee today.  Prior to this announcement, the Steelers and coach Tomlin had essentially avoided answering any questions about Stapleton’s status.

With center Justin Hartwig already missing practice due to a toe injury, Stapleton had moved into the starting center position at training camp. Now with both Hartwig and Stapleton out, Doug Legursky has moved into the center position with the first unit, while rookie A.Q. Shipley moves into the second unit.

Back-up tackle Trai Essex has moved into the right guard position that Stapleton filled for the final 15 games of last season.  The injuries to Hartwig and Stapleton leave the Steelers a bit short on offensive linemen at camp.

Other news from yesterday’s practice included the return of Hines Ward. Ward had been held out of practice since Saturday. Ward is not injured, but coach Tomlin has allowed him to skip practice to preserve Ward’s veteran legs, as well as to give the young receivers more reps at practice. While Ward was dressed for practice, he hardly did any practicing. I don’t think I actually saw him run any plays after warm-ups.

Troy Polamalu and Deshea Townsend were still sidelined nursing hamstring injuries. That may or may not be a problem. Last year, Polamalu missed almost all of training camp nursing a hamstring injury, and he ended up having possibly the best season of his pro career.

The Steelers’ quarterbacks and wide receivers continue to spend most of their time practicing short outlet passes. They have worked on these plays everyday of training camp. Perhaps the Steelers are finally acknowledging how well the New England Patriots utilize these short passes to Wes Welker. These short passes often serve as a de facto running game in the Patriots’ offense. Or perhaps the Steelers are using them as a bailout option when QB Ben Roethlisberger feels the rush coming. Either way, the amount of time being devoted to it says that we are going to be seeing more of these short passes than we’ve seen in the past.

Finally, the plays of the day were both turned in by rookie wide receiver Mike Wallace. On one play, Wallace had fellow rookie Keenan Lewis beat on a long pass play. The ball was under-thrown, and Lewis ran into Wallace and was called for pass interference on the play.

On a separate play near the end of practice, Wallace leaped high and came down with an acrobatic catch in the corner of the endzone on a pass from Dennis Dixon in the 2-minute drill. Wallace kept both feet in bounds and the crowd erupted in a thunderous roar. It was a perfect way to end practice.

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August 1, 2009

Steelers Today will be blogging from Latrobe, PA for the next few weeks.  We are here at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp to bring you all the Steelers news that’s fit to print.

Rather than write this in the form of an article, here are my actual notes from today’s open practice.

2:55 PM practice starts.  Things are slow as the players break up into their respective units and walk through drills.  The offense is on one practice field, and the defense is on another.

-Santonio Holmes‘ arms look noticeably bigger.   He’s been pumping iron.

-Who is the short white guy wearing #19 standing with the wide receivers?  He’s standing next to Mike Wallace who is listed as 6’0″, and Mike is at least 3 inches taller than him.

-#19 is Tyler Grisham, a rookie out of Clemson.  He’s listed as 5’11″, but he can’t be much taller than 5’9″.

-Say what you want about Willie Colon, but his legs are massive.  They’re far bigger than any of the other offensive linemen’s.

3:22 PM A horn blows, the fans cheer, and practice gets started in earnest.

-”Big Snack” is very efficient with his motion.  Translation: he stands around when everyone else is running or stretching.

-Frank “The Tank” Summers isn’t as massive as I expected him to be.  Rashard Mendenhall actually looks more powerful.

-Dennis Dixon throws a beautiful spiral, but he looks a bit frail.  He needs to gain some weight.

-Shaun McDonald, Mewelde Moore, Joe Burnett, and Santonio Holmes take turns fielding kickoffs.  Where is Mike Wallace?

-#18 ( rookie WR Steven Black out of Memphis) looks impressive.  He’s big and has already made a few shoestring catches.

-Matt Spaeth looks too tall and lanky to ever be an effective blocker.

-Shaun McDonald is playing like he wants to impress the coaches.  He ran all of his routes very fast, and he makes quick, precise cuts.

-Martin Nance has already dropped too many balls, and they’re not even playing against a defense yet.

-#84 (TE Dezmond Sherrod) is slow and plodding when he runs his routes.

-Santonio Holmes’ status is clearly elevated since his Super Bowl MVP.  The crowd erupts each time he catches a ball.

-The Steelers were blessed with great weather for their first day of open practice.

4:03 PM - Another horn sounds and the defense comes over to join the offense.

-Big Ben’s first pass against the defense is a quick slant to Sean McHugh for a completion.

-Willie Parker broke a long run, and the crowd erupted.

-Jeff Reed is practicing kicking to Dan Sepulveda.  Jeff is kicking across the field (53.3 yards) and Sepulveda is catching the ball.  Reed’s kicks are so accurate that Sepulveda never had to move more than 4 steps to catch the ball.

-Andre Frazier intercepts a pass from Roethlisberger.

-Santonio Holmes looked very elusive dodging and weaving after a short pass from Big Ben.

-#85 (rookie TE David Johnson) looks very effective holding his blocks in drills.

4:28 - The crowd erupted when Hines Ward caught a quick slant pass in traffic.

-Mike Wallace made a pretty sliding catch along the sideline on a pass from Charlie Batch.

-Keyaron Fox intercepted a pass and was chased down by Hines Ward.

-Dennis Dixon threaded a pass to Steve Black that went right between two defenders for a completion.

-If this had been full contact, Donovan Woods would have destroyed Ben Roethlisberger as he came in unblocked on a blitz.

4:34 PM - Another horn blew, and the team split up again for drills.

-Jeff Reed is kicking field goals.  Has he missed one yet?

-Jeff Reed hits 3 straight 47 yard field goals and the horn blows again.

4:42 PM - Keenan Lewis breaks up a long pass from Charlie Batch to Mike Wallace.

-Rookie Andrew Schantz gets in a shot on David Johnson that was probably harder than it should have been on the first day of practice.  The team is not doing any hitting or tackling today.

-The crowd erupted when Dennis Dixon completed a 45 yard pass to #19, rookie WR Tyler Grisham.

-On the next play, Dixon connected with Grisham on a diving catch along the sideline.  This kid has good hands.

-Dixon connects with Steve Black along the opposite sideline.

-Dixon hit David Johnson right in the hands over the middle of the field, but Johnson dropped the ball.

-Dennis Dixon hits Tyler Grisham for another diving catch in traffic.  Who is this kid?
(Note:  The Pittsburgh Tribune Review has picked up on my Tyler Grisham observations.  Read about it here.  Of course I wrote about him 2 days earlier than they did).

-Keenan Lewis intercepted a long pass from Big Ben to Hines Ward.

-Ben overthrows Dallas Baker on a long fade route.

4:56 PM - The #1 offense and #1 defense take the field.

-On the first play, Willie Parker burst through the line and avoided the linebackers on a play that he would have taken all the way for a touchdown in a real game.

-Carey Davis breaks a nice run that would have gained 15 yards.

-Charlie Batch hits Rashard Mendenhall on a short pass behind the line of scrimmage that looks like no gain, but Mendenhall reverses field and picked up 10 yards.

-Ryan Clark intercepts a 20 yard pass from Big Ben that hit Santonio Holmes in the hands and bounced off.

5:07 PM - The final horn blew, and coach Tomlin gathered the team to end practice.

-After huddling together, the team breaks up and practice is over.

-Coach Tomlin leaves the field and runs past fans without signing any autographs.

-Dan Sepulveda is very gracious with fans.  He signs more autographs than any other Steelers player.

-Sepulveda assured me that he is 100% recovered.  When a fans said “We missed you last year”, Supulveda replied “Not as much as I missed the team”.

-Ryan Clark is also very gracious with fans.  Only Sepulveda signs more autographs.

-Ziggy Hood is very good with fans.  He is friendly and humble.  He signs lots of autographs.  Fans are going to like this kid.

If you haven’t read our other Day 2 coverage, be sure to read the following articles:

Fans flock to Steelers training camp

Steelers training camp Day 2 photo gallery

To read our coverage of Day 3 of Steelers training camp please click the link below:

10 observations from Steelers training camp day 3

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Buzz up!

Like most Pittsburgh Steelers fans, I love Steelers merchandise.  I wave a Terrible Towel when I watch the Steelers play.  I have Steelers license plates on my car.  I wear Steelers jerseys.  I have a Steelers flag outside my home.  Heck, I probably sleep in Steelers pajamas (though I’ll never admit it publicly).

Sometimes when I look for cool new Steelers gear I find that I just can’t find what I’m looking for.  That’s why I decided to do something about it.

If you look at the top of the Steelers Today home page, you’ll see a new tab that says “Buy Steelers Gear”.  If you click there, you’ll be able to buy over 800 Steelers items.  Wow!

I’ve chosen a few really nice items that I think Steelers fans will like.  This is just a small sampling of the great items that you can buy.  If you like these items as much as I do, just click on the image to buy the item.  And the best part is that anything you buy will be sent right to your home. Pretty cool, huh?

Item #1 - Reebok Steelers/Penguins Steel City Champions T-shirt

Click to buy

Item #2 - Reebok Six-Burgh T-shirt

Click to buy

Item #3 - Reebok Steelers/Penguins Steel City Champions cap

Click to buy

Item #4 -  Steelers Ladies white scrapbook love tank top

Click to buy

Alright, you know you want it, so go ahead and buy it.  I certainly am.

Everyone knows that the Pittsburgh Steelers are champions on the field.  What many don’t know is how many of the players are champions off the field.  One of those players is linebacker and special teams ace Keyaron Fox.

Fox has launched the Keyaron Fox Foundation with the goal of facilitating fundraising efforts to impact inner city parks and recreational initiatives, youth recreational leagues, and intramural organizations.  Fox hopes to increase awareness of the need for additional funds to maintain parks & recreational property and equipment.  Fox wants to make sure that the next generation of kids has the same opportunities to play sports that he had.

“With all the attention that winning the Super Bowl has brought in this past year, I could not think of a better time to launch the Keyaron Fox Foundation and begin to start raising awareness of the funding needs of our local parks and recreational facilities.  These parks and recreational facilities are touching the youth in our communities 365 days a year”, said Fox.

Fox, who was born and raised in Atlanta and attended college at Georgia Tech, chose his hometown to host his first event.

On July 25, 2009, Fox will host the “Will of Steel” community day at Atlanta’s Welcome All Park.  The event will feature the “Iron and Steel” sports athletic clinic, followed by the “Keyaron Cares” family fun day.

The “Iron and Steel” sports athletic clinic will feature NFL players like current Pittsburgh Steelers Hines Ward and Arnold Harrison, and former Steeler Anthony Smith.  Other NFL players who will be present include Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions, Tashard Choice of the Dallas Cowboys, Takeo Spikes of the San Francisco 49ers, Darryl Smith of the Jacksonville Jaguars, James Butler of the St. Louis Rams, Gerris Wilkerson of the New York Giants, and Deon Grant of the Seattle Seahawks.

The “Keyaron Cares” family fun day will include interactive games, vendors, animals, live performances, autograph signings by professional athletes and recording artists, a special And-1 street ball and dunk exhibition, health screenings and much more.

The event is free of charge.  For more information about the event, or to register your 8-13 year old boy or girl for the athletic clinic,  please go to http://www.keyaronfoxfoundation.org.  The deadline for registration for the athletic clinic is July 20, 2009.

Besides working on his foundation, Fox is also looking forward to the upcoming season with the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers.  “Last year was an amazing year for our organization.  I’m very excited that they brought me back to compete for another championship with this great organization.  Black and Gold is a beautiful thing, and I will proudly wear those colors again this season”.

“The whole team worked so hard last year, and I know that we’ve all been training and really trying to keep that chip on our shoulders going into training camp and next season, myself included.  You always want to do better than the previous season, personally and as a team”.

Well Keyaron, I’m sure that Steeler Nation appreciates your desire to do even better than the team did last year.  However, I don’t think you have to put so much pressure on yourself.  Merely doing AS WELL as you did last year and winning another Super Bowl will probably make most fans happy.  See, no pressure.

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