Steelers Prime for Pats (part 2)

It is less than two hours away from kickoff time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to face AFC heavyweight favorite, New England Patriots. Steelers will be without two key veterans today in Hines Ward and James Farrior. But the Steelers aren't making any excuses. They are ready for a showdown today at Heinz Field. The Patriots are favored in this game, and why shouldn't they be, they have owned the Steelers in the Ben Roethlisberger era. The only time that Ben has even beaten the Pats, was in his rookie year, and hasn't beaten Tom Brady since. Big Ben looks to have a big day, and he knows that he must protect the ball and not turn it over. A big reason that the Pats have dominated the previous match ups is because they are always winning the turnover battle. Today, the Steelers are starting fresh, not thinking about the past and just concentrating on this Sunday, and that's it..

Players to watch today will make key plays and have a huge impact on today's outcome. Look for Big Ben to target his number one receiver a lot today due to New Englands weak secondary. Mike Wallace's speed can be an enormous attribute in the game, not to mention the fact that he is in the top three of all receivers in receiving yards. Another play that must have a big impact on this game is All Pro Safety, Troy Polomalu. Troy has no interceptions on the season and he will be flying all over the field looking for his first. Polomalu's present will also have an effect on this outcome. It is time for the Steelers to put together a complete game, and what better than to do it against arguably one of the best teams in football. This Sunday belongs to the Steelers in a close one, 28-27 PITTSBURGH!!!

Penguins do it again!!!!!

The Pittsburgh Penguins recorded their 5th straight victory last night at the Consol Energy Center against the NY Islanders. They were down 2-0 in the third before Chris Kunitz put a rebound goal in to make it 2-1. Then shortly after the Pens went on the power play, they scored another goal from league leading goal scorer James Neal to tie the game at 2-2. The Penguins continue to get productive play from all their lines, and even their blue-liners are starting to join the rush and get scoring chances as well.

Not only did Pittsburgh's goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury make timely key saves to keep the game tied, the main superstar on the ice was Evgeni Malkin. Malkin was skating with a purpose and had many scoring chances throughout the game. It wasn't until overtime that " Geno " had his best scoring chance of the entire game. Geno circled his own goalie and carried the puck the whole way down the ice to get a great shot on the Islanders goaltender, but the shot failed to go in. But, when Malkin had the chance in the shootout, he took advantage and slipped a nice shot in passed the goalie to ultimately win the shootout 1-0. Penguins continue to roll despite the fact that their still missing their best player in Sidney Crosby, but his return will be very soon. Pens fans should be very excited for the way their hockey team is playing, " I know I am." GO PENS...

Guest Blogger: Johnny Au about Will Heckman's blog City of Champeens

As an avid Pittsburgh fan myself I love this blog for what it is. Speaking the truth about the city of champions, I have to say there are some issues though. The Steelers may have a decent record right now, but they're about to run into a brick wall with the Patriots. The best of luck to them though, because I hope this is the year they wipe the floor with Tom Brady's tears. But between the Pen's and the Steeler's I see another championship this year, and I'm looking forward to visiting the city myself for at least a game or two.

I will continue to follow this page to keep up with all of my info on the City of Champeens. I appreciate what this blog has to offer and I look forward to future posts.

Follow my blog @ http://yourissuesourproblems.blogspot.com/

Steelers Prime For Pats (part 1)

The Pittsburgh Steelers prepare this week for a familiar AFC opponent. The Steelers will face the New England Patriots this Sunday at Heinz field, and hope to get a big win against an extremely tough competitor. Tom Brady, the Pats QB, is 6-1 against the Steelers, and 4-1 against Ben Roethlisberger. It will take a strong effort on both sides of the ball for the Steelers. They will  also have to win the turnover battle as well, because in the previous matchups, the Patriots have dominated the turnover battle, leaving the Steelers always playing catch-up..

It doesn't take an expert to realize, that in order to beat the Patriots, you must get Brady out of his comfort zone. Rushing Brady from the outside rarely works, because when you bring heat from the edges, he just steps right up in the pocket and picks his poison. We all know too well, that Brady does a magnificent job of spreading the ball around the field, utilizing his tight-ends, or even hitting his favorite receiver in the slot, Wes Welker. So, getting pressure from the middle, making him scramble around, getting him "some what" off balance is the key, defensively for the Steelers..

The key for us is TROY POLOMALU, plain and simple. We need him to be all over the field in different formations and coverages to make Brady second guess himself. Look for #43 to cause major havoc in this matchup. If the Steelers hold the Pats under 28 points, then look for the Steelers to record their 6th win of the season, and be considered one of the elite's in the AFC yet once again..

The Flower gets career shutout # 20

The Pittsburgh Penguins played the NY Islanders last night, and won in a convincingly fashion. Many fans were expecting a round 2, all out hockey brawl due to their match up, last year on February 2nd. A game that consisted of 346 total penalty minutes, and even a fight between the two goalies, Brent Johnson and Rick DiPietro. But not this night, this night was all about the Penguins, their team unity and the fact that they never make excuses. Nope, they just play hard each and every challenge their faced with. And in this case beating the Islanders was the task at hand.

Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 20th career shutout with a total of 33 saves. Fleury has been one of the teams many weapons, as their best player , Sidney Crosby, is still out of the lineup. Each and every game it seems like someone different steps up and takes on the leader role and runs with it. Fleury was that guy, and he did just that. The Penguins continue to struggle with injuries. It seems that when they finally get someone healthy, someone else goes down. But, the Penguins still continue to improve and play very disciplined hockey.

Congratulations to Fleury for getting his 20th career shutout, and I'm sure there are many more to come for this great young goaltender. Pens extend to winning streak to 4 games. GO PENS!!

Time to get it Rolling!

The Steelers play the Cardinals today in Phoenix, which is the 1st time these two teams have met since Super Bowl 43. The Steelers look to get their offense going early and often today since they left alot of plays on the field last week. Pittsburgh has a brutal upcoming couple of games and need to get their team primed and ready as best as they can. Troy Polomalu will play today after suffering a mild concussion last week against Jacksonville, and looks to be a disturbing force like he always seems to be for opposing quarterbacks. The Steelers will be without linebacker James Harrison, who played a vital role in the 27-23 Super Bowl victory against the Cards. For those who have forgotten, that 100 yard interception return for a touchdown, which was the longest play in Super Bowl history and arguably one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history. God, I still get chills when I think about that play, but the Steelers will have to play without one of their biggest play makers for yet another week. The Steelers play New England next week and Baltimore the following, so the Steelers are hoping to get it all together, and find some kind of rhythm before the next few opponents. But, the Steelers know that they cannot afford to look past a desperate Arizona team looking for a win, LETS GO STEELERS... Prediction for this week, 33-10 PITTSBURGH...

PENS win 3 staight

The Pittsburgh Penguins don't make excuses, they just continue to improve each week. The Pens beat the New Jersey Devils last night at the Consol Energy Center last night. Their 4-1 victory was their first game played against an Atlantic Division opponent thus far. Jordan Staal accounted for two of Pittsburgh's goals, which included a first period power play goal, and a third period "sweet" back handed goal. Then shortly after Staal made the score 3-1, league leader James Neal stole the puck from a NJ Devil, and put in his 8th goal of the season.

The  pens are playing without their two big guns in the line up and still continue to play great hockey. Most of that is attributed to a flawless system with great coaching and top ranking penalty killing, but mostly because these players believe in one another. The Pittsburgh Penguins are 6-2-2 and are without three starters. The Pens can only get better, and I've said it before, once this team gets completely healthy, they are going to be very difficult to beat. GO PENS....

Inconsistent Play

It's been a couple times now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been heavily favored to win football games, and had to hold on at the end to pull out a victory. Well, the same thing happened this past week against the Jags. They were holding a 17-0 lead at half time, completely dominating on both sides of the ball, and ended up only winning the game 17-13. In the first half, Ben Rorthlisberger completed 11 of 18 passes for 181 yards and was not sacked once. In the second half he was 1 for 5 for 19 yards and was sacked 3 times. Big Ben played his consecutive game wearing a special shoe modified to protect his foot that he sprained in the fourth game of the season.. But. Ben has also thrown for at least 200 yards in 14 consecutive games. This team (still) needs to learn to finish games. They finally ran the ball efficiently last week with Rashard Mendenhall rushing for 146 yards and a touchdown. But, this team has the tendency to start feeling comfortable with a lead, then they begin to take their foot off of the gas. As Mike Wallace said earlier in the week when he was interviewed, " We need to keep are hands on their throat." The Steelers need to play a full game! They have been pretty consistent on defense despite the fact that four of their starters aren't even playing.Their pass defense is an NFL's best only allowing 157.7 passing yards a game. This week they travel to Arizona to play the Cards, and they look to put up big points since they left so many on the field last week. GO STEELERS...

Pens make a Statement...

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Capitals last Thursday, but not without making a statement. One of Washington's player's went after Pittsburgh's top defense man ( Kris Letang ), and one of Letang's teammates took exception to that. "You don't go after one of the league's premiere defenders" , at least not without having to answer to somebody. Aaron Asham excepted a challenge that Capitals player Jay Beagle initiated, and took advantage. It took Asham two punches to knock this guy out and then made some theatrics on his way to the penalty box. I would have thought Asham's antics were childish if Beagle didn't entice him, but since he did, I thought what he did was pure genius. It just goes to show that hockey players will always stick up for their teammates, and always be willing to throw down on the spot. I love Penguins hockey, and once they get healthy, "look out to the rest of the league."

PENS BABY!!!

This blog would not be complete without talking about my other passion when it come to sports, that being the Pittsburgh Penguins. I am an avid hockey lover, and I have been so consumed with football season I have not had a chance to discuss my PENS.. Pittsburgh is off to a temendous start of the season with a 3-0-2 record thus far. Their fisrt three games were on the road and they aquired 5 out of 6 possible points. They played the Vancouver Cunucks, the reighning western conference champions, in the first game and won in  entertaining fashion. They are still without star Sidney Crosby who is still recovering from a concussion he recieved last January in the Winter Classic. Pittsburgh has a very young deep team and I look for them to do magical things this year. After winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, the Pens look to get back to the Cup with a full compliment of hungary and eager players itching for another title. If and when Sid the kid gets back in the form us as hockey fans are used to seeing him in, sky is the limit for this talented group. My prediction for the year is the Pens will play the Los Angeles Kings in the final and win it in 5 games.. GO PENS....

Chasing A Legend..

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is close to catching Hall Of Famer Terry Bradshaw's touchdown record for the Steelers. Terry Bradshaw played in 168 games in his career, throwing 212 touchdowns and winning 4 Super Bowls. Ben Roethlisberger has played in 104 games, throwing for 152 touchdowns, and winning 2 Super Bowls. Big Ben only needs 60 more touchdowns to reach this Hall Of Fame milestone.


Ben Roethlisberger's career record is 71-31. He is the 4th QB in NFL history with the fewest career starts to reach 70 wins among Super Bowl Era QB's . He is only behind football greats such as Roger Staubach, Tom Brady, and Ken Stabler. Big Ben's style of play speaks for itself. He is a tough, no holds bar quarterback, and does whatever it takes to WIN.

Statement Game..

The Pittsburgh Steelers got back to their old ways this Past Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. With a banged up quarterback, a patched up offensive line, and a defense full of key injuries, the Steelers took care of business. The defense was missing former defensive player of the year (James Harrison), and defensive linemen Casey Hampton, and Aaron Smith, and the defense still had 3 sacks on the quarterback and held star running back Chris Johnson to 51 yards on 14 carries.

The Steelers offense was missing running back Rashard Mendenhall, but still managed to get 156 yards on the ground with running back duo Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer. QB Ben Roethlisberger through for a franchise record 5 touchdowns and tying his own personal record as well. Ben was playing with a sprained left foot and played like a warrior. It seems like the more this guy is banged up the better he plays. The offensive line has been struggling so they brought back left tackle Max Starks and he did a great job on 2 days of practice. The O-line only gave up one sack and Ben Roethlisberger was barely touched.

Overall the Steelers played a near flawless game but can always get better. The Steelers are starting to look like the AFC champions from last year. The Steelers have another upcoming home me this Sunday, and hopefully they can build off of this momentum and keep playing Steelers

football...

I have to get this off my chest...

I'm not happy with the Steelers organization right now. Ben Roethlisberger has not had an offensive line since he won the Super Bowl in 2005. They drafted center Markice Pouncey 1st round pick last year, which was the right thing to do, but they have to keep going. A center is not going to change the whole line. They still need a left tackle to protect Ben's blindside. I just don't think their doing nearly enough to protect their 100 million dollar investment, which is their quarterback. I mean, if you look at the Steelers biggest concern or the weakest link on the team it is by far the offensive line. Now once again, we can't run the ball and we don't have time to throw the ball down the field, plus are quarterback is already hurt. ADDRESS the real PROBLEMS PITTSBURGH.

Concerns in Pittsburgh

After losing to the Houston Texans this past Sunday, there are many concerns with the reigning AFC champs. Bombarded by injuries and lack of production the Steelers and their fans find themselves scratching their heads.

Pittsburgh plays Tennessee at home this weekend and their not sure if their starting quarterback will be joining them. Ben Rothlisberger has a left foot injury that could sideline him this coming Sunday against the Titans. It's not certain how severe this injury is but he did play with a broken right foot last season without missing a game. "You know me. If I can be out there. I'm going to be out there, " he said. " I casted up my foot for the last half of (last) year, so if we have to do it, I'll do it." Big Ben could have definitely played back in the old days when they played with leather helmets, he is that kind of warrior.

The defense has not been the same all year. Last Season, the Steelers allowed 62.8 rushing yards per game, and this year in four games, they have allowed an average of 119.5 yards a game. Arian Foster last week rushed for 155 yards against the Steelers defense. That is not the way the Steelers defense is accustomed to playing. The Steelers need to get back to the way their used to playing which is stopping the run and being able to control the clock. It is early, and the Steelers have two upcoming home games to get their issues resolved. LETS GO STEELERS..