November 15, 2009 News Clippings Pittsburgh Steelers

Transcription

November 15, 2009
News Clippings
Pittsburgh Steelers
Ochocinco takes fan who answered tweet on shopping spree
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SPORTS / STEELERS & NFL
Ochocinco takes fan who answered tweet on shopping spree
Sunday, November 15, 2009
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Hotel manager name is Jesse, first person to say my name Ocho Cinco to Jesse at the Marriot we about to act a donkey in
the mall."
That simple message -- complete with spelling, grammar and punctuation flexibility -- set off a storm of excitement last
night at the Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh after it was posted by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco on
Twitter, the blogging service that allows users to communicate in brief messages, or "tweets."
More than 50 people turned up at the hotel. Many more called the front desk to ask to speak to "Jesse," hoping for a chance
at a shopping spree paid for by the athlete formerly known as Chad Johnson.
Mr. Ochocinco is known for outrageous antics that have generated lots of publicity -- and a number of NFL fines -- through
his career. In the past week alone he was fined $20,000 for brandishing a dollar bill at an official during a replay review
against Baltimore. He also earned a rebuke from his coach after he posted on Twitter that he would send mustard to the
Steelers' defensive backs because they couldn't "ketch up" with him today at Heinz Field. He also promised to put on a
celebration to earn another fine.
Last night, he tweeted the invitation to go shopping at the Monroeville Mall.
"Jesse" is Jesse Staiger, 30, of Glenshaw, one of the hotel's shift managers, who until yesterday had never met Mr.
Ochocinco.
Mr. Staiger said he learned of the gimmick through a phone call at the hotel shortly after the item was posted to Mr.
Ochocinco's followers via his verified Twitter account at about 4:30 p.m. Within 15 minutes, David Anderson, 22, of North
Point Breeze, walked up to the front desk and asked for "Jesse."
"We're still getting calls," Mr. Staiger said about six hours later. "They've had to start telling people I'm gone for the day."
Mr. Anderson couldn't be reached. But from the later postings on Twitter, and a photograph that was added, it appeared
everyone in the party had a good time. "I thought it was pretty neat," said Mr. Staiger, who vowed to remain a Steelers fan.
"It was all in fun."
Dan Majors can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1456.
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on November 15, 2009 at 12:00 am
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09319/1013709-66.stm
11/15/2009
Head to Head: Bengals RB Cedric Benson vs. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall
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Head to Head: Bengals RB Cedric Benson vs. Steelers RB Rashard
Mendenhall
A closer look at the game within the game
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Cedric Benson, left, and Rashard Mendenhall
There aren't many running backs in the National Football League who have gained more yards the past five games than
Rashard Mendenhall. But one of them is Cincinnati's Cedric Benson, who is starting to perform Jerome Bettis-like feats for
the Bengals.
Mendenhall has vaulted to No. 11 among the league's rushing leaders with a torrid five-game roll that began the week after
the Steelers had their eight-game winning streak in Paul Brown Stadium snapped by the Bengals. He did not play in the 2320 loss in Cincinnati because he was being punished for not knowing his practice assignments during the week.
Since then, he has been punishing the opposition.
"He's making big plays happen in a hurry," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.
Today, Mendenhall will be featured in a classic running backs duel with Benson -- two of the hottest runners in the NFL
facing the top two rush defenses in the league.
"He's running like a mad man right now," safety Tyrone Carter said of Benson.
In five games as a starter, Mendenhall has rushed for 528 yards on 93 carries, an average of 105.6 yards per game. In that
time, only three backs have rushed for more yards than Mendenhall -- Tennessee's Chris Johnson (608), Carolina's DeAngelo
Williams (588) and Benson (544).
What's more, Mendenhall has seven runs of 20 yards or longer this season, tying him with Benson and Atlanta's Michael
Turner for third most in the NFL.
There is only one back among the top 35 rushers in the league who has a better yards-per-carry average than Mendenhall
(5.73), and that's Johnson (6.7). Mendenhall's average was helped by runs of 18, 24, 28 and 36 yards in Monday night's
victory in Denver.
Now he gets to face the NFL's No. 2 rush defense in the Bengals, who have allowed an average of 83.9 yards rushing per
game. The Steelers (102) and Cleveland Browns (146) are the only teams to have more than 100 yards rushing against the
Bengals this season.
The Steelers have the league's top rush defense (70.4 yards per game) and haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in their past 26
regular-season games (30 counting playoffs), the second longest streak in the NFL behind the Minnesota Vikings (31). And
the list of backs they've stopped this year already includes Johnson and Peterson, two of the top three rushers in the league.
Benson had the most rushing yards against them this season when he ran for 76 yards on 16 carries and scored on a 23-yard
run in the first meeting. He has rushed for over 100 yards in three of his last four games.
11/15/2009
Head to Head: Bengals RB Cedric Benson vs. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall
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Curiously, the Bengals have not had a running back gain more than 100 yards against the Steelers since Rudi Johnson in
October 2004, a span of 11 games.
"Streaks are made to be broken; records are made to be broken," Benson said. "Why not be the guy to do it? So, yeah, it's
somewhat of a motivation for me. But this whole season has been a motivation for me."
Benson was originally drafted fourth overall by the Chicago Bears in 2005, but was released before the start of training camp
in 2008. The Bengals signed him on Sept. 30, 2008, after Johnson was released in training camp, Chris Perry was beset with
fumble problems and Kenny Watson was ineffective because of injuries.
Gerry Dulac can be reached at [email protected].
11/15/2009
Game 9 Matchup: Steelers vs. Bengals
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Gerry Dulac breaks down the AFC North showdown
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Rashard Mendenhall has two 100-yard games in Steelers' fivegame winning streak.
Game plan
When the Bengals have the ball: There is no mistaking the impact Carson Palmer's return to health has had. He has passed
for 1,832 yards and 14 touchdowns with only 7 INTs and led the team to comeback or overtime victories against the
Steelers, Browns and Ravens. But the offense has changed since 2005, going from a quick-strike, big-play attack to a playaction style that revolves around RB Cedric Benson. Still, Palmer's return to health has benefitted WR Chad Ochocinco, who
is eighth in the AFC with 44 catches, 639 yards and five TDs. Ochocinco is always shadowed by CB Ike Taylor and has just
one touchdown in his past eight games vs. the Steelers. Despite beginning the season with just one starter in the same
position as 2008, the offensive line has allowed just three sacks in the past four games.
When the Steelers have the ball: Do not forget that the Steelers dominated the first meeting for three
quarters, only to surrender a 20-9 lead in the fourth. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has done a
good job with the Bengals' defense, which is younger, more athletic and more aggressive with the
likes of LBs Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga to stop the run. That will be needed against RB Rashard
Mendenhall. But Rivers (calf) is not expected to play. They like to use CBs Leon Hall and Johnathan
Joseph in press coverage and will focus their attention on stopping WR Santonio Holmes, who was
held to just one catch in the first meeting. Joseph had a 30-yard interception return for touchdown in
that game, but was also beaten on a 51-yard pass to Mike Wallace and on the play in which Limas
Sweed dropped a deep pass in the end zone.
Keep your eye on
Data
Game: Steelers (6-2) vs.
Cincinnati Bengals (6-2).
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Heinz Field.
TV: KDKA.
Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5),
WBGG-AM (970).
WR Andre Caldwell: He beat the Steelers and Ravens with touchdown catches in the final minute
and has become a dependable target for Palmer. A third-round draft choice in 2008, Caldwell had a team-high six catches for
52 yards in the first meeting and is second on the team with 29 catches, 272 yards and three TDs. But his role will expand
even more with the loss of WR Chris Henry (broken arm). Caldwell will become the No. 3 receiver behind Ochocinco and
Laveranues Coles.
Intangibles
The Steelers have won five games in a row, the second longest winning streak in the league, and have not lost at home since
Nov. 9, 2008, against the Indianapolis Colts, a span of 10 games, including playoffs. The Bengals ended an eight-game
losing streak to the Steelers in Paul Brown Stadium with a 23-20 victory on Sept. 27, the first time coach Mike Tomlin has
lost to the Bengals. The Bengals are 3-0 on the road and 4-0 in the AFC North this season.
To win, the Bengals must ...
1. Beware of Blitzburgh. The Steelers' defense has 18 sacks and 11 takeaways (three for TDs) during their five-game
winning streak.
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2. Be hard on Rashard. Mendenhall has seven runs of 20 yards or longer and has averaged 105.6 yards in his past five
games as a starter.
3. Muddle the no-huddle. Have sacked Roethlisberger once in past four games. Can't allow him to get into a rhythm when
he uses no-huddle.
To win, the Steelers must ...
1. Create tension for Benson. Benson had 76 yards against them in the first meeting -- the most they have allowed a back
this season.
2. Pressure Palmer. Allowed Bengals' QB to dink and dunk his way down field on 85- and 71-yard scoring drives in fourth
quarter of first meeting.
3. Get the ball over Hall. Bengals' cornerback has an INT in each of his past four games, but has been susceptible to big
plays against the Steelers.
Gerry Dulac can be reached at [email protected].
11/15/2009
Santonio Holmes has come a long way from 'Muck City'
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By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette
Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes knows his history: "Muck City," the nickname for Belle Glade, Fla.,
where he grew up, is tattooed on his hands.
Bill Hillgrove of the Steelers Radio Network gave voice to the historic moment from Super Bowl XLIII: "And now the burden
is on that Steelers offense again. Forty-three seconds to go ... ."
BELLE GLADE, Fla. -- The worn-out sign welcoming motorists to one of America's poorest of cities boasts about its richest
of grounds: Her soil is her future. Next door squats the Pioneer Growers Co-Op and the Glades Correctional Institution.
Across State Road 80 is the crop-duster airport, the Glades Work Camp prison and the tallest structure for miles, one of the
three mills remaining from the seven amid Big Sugar's high times.
The Steelers' Santonio Holmes sprang from this muck. He grew up in the projects of this town. He grew up on what is
considered not only the wrong side of Palm Beach County but the wrong side of the Cross State Highway, directly across
from his old high school. The place carries a different designation: Belle Glade Camp, where 2000 U.S. Census figures show
700 of the 1,100 residents live below the poverty line, a median family income of $17,000 yearly. He grew up in a singleparent household, surrounded on three sides by cane fields and deep in the legendary muck, the dark, enriched soil that
produces one-quarter of America's sugar, rice, corn, cabbage and a crop of 30 NFL players.
He once wrote "muck city" across his face, on eye-black patches. Then, in a 2007 celebration of cousin Fred Taylor's
inaugural Pro Bowl, a South Beach tattoo artist indelibly inked it above Mr. Holmes' knuckles: Muck on the right, City on
the left. He knows his roots like the back of the hands that he'll see every time he stretches to catch a pass today at Heinz
Field in the Steelers' AFC North collision with leader Cincinnati.
"I always refer back to everything I did as a kid, growing up, where I came from ---- Belle Glade. I even have it tattooed on
my hands, Muck City," he said earlier this week, showing his Super Bowl XLIII MVP hands. "So definitely I'm always
reminded of where I came from, where I grew up, just how rough it was. It's right there, visible to me, every day."
His lifelong friend, Fred Robinson Jr., grew up in the same Okeechobee Center project and on the same path. He ran rabbits
with him, as they call the chase through the burned or freshly cut cane fields hunting the animals for food and money. He
sprinted down a track and flew with a football to state championships alongside Mr. Holmes, earning a Division I
scholarship way up north and a potential escape route the same as Mr. Holmes did. Yet Mr. Robinson admittedly made bad
decisions, wound up at Division II Clarion University in Pennsylvania and then back home, employed by the area's secondbiggest business behind agriculture; he's a guard at one of the three Florida prison facilities here.
"To stay focused through real trials and tribulations," began Mr. Robinson, standing on the same Bethel Court street where
they spent their youths. "His mom working from morning to night. At 10, 11 years old, thrust into 'fatherhood' [caring for his
two younger brothers]. Didn't even understand what it meant to be The Man. But he's done even the adult thing as a little kid.
"You look around here. You see the poverty around here," added Mr. Robinson, whose father paid for Mr. Holmes'
registration onto his first football team, the Peewee Eagles. "You don't know struggle until you go through a struggle."
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It's a variation on the theme of Western Pennsylvania kids avoiding the mills and mines of their forefathers. On the
southeastern shores of Lake Okeechobee, a world away from tony West Palm Beach 45 miles east, boys zip past the rows of
7-foot-high, sharp-edged crops but never want to work in them, so instead they play on fields far more manicured, soft and
green.
Mr. Holmes' mother, Patricia Brown, sent her firstborn as a 10th-grader to live with her husband and his stepfather, Little
Moss, who brought him on weekends to the fields where he has toiled October to May for 34 years.
"That was his whole thinking, taking him to work ..." she started to say.
"... Show him the value of work," the stepfather added, "how to work, but don't do this kind of work."
One searing day in Georgia, performing the job of "push-down man," this high-school kid continually shoved boxes of cane
down a ramp and from there ran a different route.
"After that, he didn't want to see another field, " proudly said his mother, herself an employee for the past quarter-century in
cornfields that cause her to board a bus by 4 in the morning from November to July.
Mr. Holmes, 25, remembered: "Man, my whole body cramped, head to toe. I was like, 'You know what, Mom, this is not for
me. Dad, you can have this ... I ain't doing no kind of hard labor. I'm strictly about sports and school.' That's what I did from
then on. I told them I was never coming back to those fields."
" ... [Ben Roethlisberger] gets the snap. He's back. He pumps. He scrambles around. ..."
Chasing dreams all began in the muck, with dead critters in his school backpack or on a coat hanger.
"I was born and raised in Belle Glade," said Willie McDonald, the father of NFL draftee Ray McDonald Sr. and grandfather
of Ray McDonald Jr., of the San Francisco 49ers, the former dean of students at Glades Central Community High and the
track coach to 30 future NFLers.
"I know exactly what the situation is. You ran rabbits to make a little extra spending money. Running rabbits also made you
quicker. You have to cut. You have to turn." You have to be as elusive as your prey while traversing the soft, near-black soil.
"Every kid here grows up chasing rabbits, not out of sport but support," added Jessie Hester, a native and a former NFL
receiver who coaches the Glades Central Raiders. "Some of the kids had to eat. It was out of necessity ... to survive."
So important was racing after rabbits, said Mr. Robinson's stepfather, Johnny Huggins, that pursuers failed to notice hazards
such as bobcats, wild boars or worse: "You jump in the canal after a rabbit, 'I got it!' " Pause. Stare. " 'Uh, was that alligator
in there the whole time?' "
In Mr. Holmes' case, his old track coach cites another explanation.
"We go back before he was born," Willie McDonald said, referring to Santonio Holmes Sr., with whom the Steelers receiver
has had little contact throughout his life. "I coached his father in track. Matter of fact, they ran the same events: 400 meters
and the 400-meter relay. Same running style. Finished the same."
Environment or genetics, he is a product of the muck that doesn't easily come off hands, shoes, bloodlines.
Whatever propelled him, he won state titles in both football and track.
When the University of Miami Hurricanes signed Ryan Moore from Orlando instead of him, Mr. Holmes pushed north to
perform so well for Ohio State after red-shirting in its 2002 national-championship season that as a junior he was drafted No.
25 overall by the team he always chose while playing Madden NFL video games.
Far from the fields where Edward R. Murrow in 1960 taped his "Harvest of Shame" documentary about the plight of migrant
workers, far from the town without a single mall, far from a place some 18 miles from the nearest modern-day sign of
civilization -- a Walmart -- this rabbit hunter made his mark.
"... Throws it back corner of the end zone. Santonio with a touchdown! Santonio Holmes! I don't know how he did it! ... "
Santonio Holmes Jr. didn't magically appear on his tippy-toes in the rear, right corner of the Raymond James Stadium end
zone late the first night in February. It just seemed that way to his own children.
"When the celebration started, we had to wake them up," Ms. Brown said. "I was wondering: 'How can children be out for a
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football game?' "
"I was asleep on the last play; they told me about it," admitted T.J., 8, the son Mr. Holmes had at 17 and had to leave behind
to attend Ohio State. Later came brother Nicori, 5, and sister Saniya, 3. These are the children with whom he curled up that
night, in his Tampa hotel room, while teammates partied with celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Jesse Jackson.
"We wrestled with him," T.J. said. "We watched a replay of the game." And, oh, yeah, they took in the animated
"Madagascar" sequel, too.
T.J., hospitalized for days on end since infancy, is the reason his father performs charity work for sickle cell anemia. Doctors
ultimately found the sickle cell trait in both T.J.'s father and grandfather. It is why Mr. Holmes stumps for the charity, why
he auctioned off his Super Bowl gloves for nearly $100,000.
"It allowed me to open up different doors," he said of being the Super Bowl MVP. "It allowed me to put my name out there
and raise an awareness ... ."
The one-time father figure who watched over his brothers Kenneth, three years younger, and Devontae, seven years younger,
still adjusts to true fatherhood.
"I never thought he could play football while taking care of his brother, being a big brother and a daddy. I thought that was
too much on him," his mother said.
Then she saw him this past summer as his three children spent much of the offseason with him for a change rather than with
their mothers in Georgia and Ohio. She added, "He's getting better. At first, ooooooh, they were driving him up the wall. He
was pulling what little hair he had on his head out. He's getting patience and is getting better, I guess because he has them
the whole summer and not just the weekends or holidays."
Their time together was hardly interrupted by his post-Super Bowl celebrity. There was a next-day parade and later a
springtime first-pitch at a Braves-Pirates exhibition game, both at Disney World. There were the ESPY sports awards in Los
Angeles, accompanied by his kids and mother. There were appearances on Jay Leno, David Letterman and BET. But there
wasn't a daily grind as one might expect.
"There's not much there there," said expert Bob Dorfman, creative director of Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco.
"The checkered past hurts him -- the drug possession, the domestic violence [despite charges being dropped or dismissed]. I
guess the perfect example of how marketers are hedging their bets is: Even winning the MVP and the 'I'm going to Disney
World' thing, he still had to have [Ben] Roethlisberger go with him.
"He's still pretty young; he's got a lot of years left; maybe he does have a shot down the road. But, yeah, it's going to take
more than that one iconic catch to make him more of an iconic marketing figure."
That circus of a week in Tampa, Mr. Holmes tried to use the Super Bowl platform to talk about how he sold drugs as a 7year-old on a notorious corner in downtown Belle Glade, and the confession seemed to backfire on him. After all, barely
three months earlier, he had admitted to smoking marijuana when he had been pulled over by Pittsburgh police.
"I think the story just got misconstrued," he said of his tale about how drugs led to break-ins and bullet holes in the project
home shared with relatives -- one from which his mother soon after moved her boys. His attempted message: "I'm here now,
and you can be doing the same thing if you choose the right path."
Still, as did receiving mate Hines Ward before him as Super Bowl XL MVP, he tried to keep the big game from altering him.
"His life changed, but Santonio still remains the same," Mr. Robinson said. See, not many humans get stopped by kids
striking your pose: tippy-toes down, hands outstretched. Not many get to autograph a photo of such a catch for the greatest
receiver of all time, Jerry Rice. Not many get to buy their mother and stepfather a new home midway to West Palm Beach,
although they refuse his numerous requests to stop working the fields ("That's been their way of living for the past 20-plus
years," he said with a shrug).
"I was like, 'Come on, man, you got to make that catch,' " Mr. McDonald Jr., of the 49ers, recalled yelling after Mr. Holmes
had a Roethlisberger pass slip through his mitts in the end zone's left corner on the forgettable play before. "He came back
the next play and made, heck, what I think is the greatest play in the history of the Super Bowl. End of the game, game on
the line, down three points? There isn't anything better than that."
"He made a whole city smile," Mr. Robinson said.
And he wasn't talking about Pittsburgh.
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Chuck Finder can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1724.
11/15/2009
On the Steelers: A big Bengals-Steelers game? Mark the date ... and maybe take a picture
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On the Steelers: A big Bengals-Steelers game? Mark the date ... and maybe
take a picture
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall.
Today's game is a classic that does not come around very often even though the Steelers and Bengals have played each other
twice annually since 1970.
Only three other times in the past 30 seasons have both teams had winning records when they played each other in the
second half of the season. All three were played in Pittsburgh and the Bengals won each time.
The Bengals also have not swept the two-game series since 1998, the only time that has occurred since 1990.
It is seldom these two rivals meet under such circumstances as they do today, mostly because the Pirates, er, Bengals have
had just one winning season in the past 18.
Here are the only previous times over the past 30 years these teams have met in the second half of the season with winning
records:
• In 2005 they played Dec. 4 in the 12th game, at Heinz Field. Both teams were 7-3 and Cincinnati won, 38-31, despite being
outgained 474 yards to 324. The Bengals wiped their shoes with Terrible Towels and went on to win the AFC North. It was
the Steelers' third consecutive loss and they were presented with these facts: Win four in a row to reach the playoffs, eight in
a row to win the Super Bowl. They did just that, clipping the Bengals in Cincinnati in their first playoff victory along the
way.
• You have to go back to 1990 for a previous date between winning Bengals and Steelers in the second half. That meeting
also occurred in the 12th game, this one at Three Rivers Stadium. Again, Cincinnati came away with a close victory, 16-12,
Dec. 2 after quarterback Bubby Brister (18 of 40) threw four incomplete passes after getting a first down at the Cincinnati 7
late in the fourth quarter. Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason threw only 14 passes, eight complete.
That was one of the more unusual seasons in the old AFC Central Division. That win helped the Bengals to a 9-7 record and
a three-way tie with the Steelers and Houston Oilers. After the tiebreakers were sorted, Cincinnati was awarded the division
title, the Oilers a wild-card playoff spot in the AFC and the Steelers were outside looking in, Chuck Noll's second-to-last
season as their coach.
• In 1981, the teams met again in Three Rivers Stadium in December with winning records and again the Bengals came away
with the critical victory, 17-10, behind quarterback Ken Anderson. It was Dec. 13 -- the next-to-last game of the season. The
Bengals entered 10-4 and the Steelers 8-6. The Steelers had a late chance to tie but four Mark Malone passes fell incomplete
from the Cincinnati 33 -- one to Hall of Famer Lynn Swann and two to Hall of Famer John Stallworth, who dropped one of
them. The Bengals went on to a 12-4 record as division champs and lost in the Super Bowl to San Francisco, 26-21. That
loss was the second of three in a row to end the season for the Steelers, who finished 8-8. It was the first time they did not
have a winning season since they were 6-8 in 1971.
Why no Larry Johnson?
Among the reasons the Steelers were connected to running back Larry Johnson is his agent, Peter Schaffer. Some
11/15/2009
On the Steelers: A big Bengals-Steelers game? Mark the date ... and maybe take a picture
Page 2 of 2
writers/broadcasters curried favor with Schaffer by throwing out names of teams that might be interested in Johnson,
including the Steelers. Do not blame Schaffer. He was just doing his job. Too bad the writers/broadcasters could not say the
same.
Anyone who has been around the Steelers for any 24-hour period would know that Johnson had as much chance of getting
signed as did Michael Vick. Forget for a minute that Johnson had ripped his team, his bosses, been suspended twice by them
and used homosexual slurs publicly. He also has been arrested four times since 2003 on assault charges against women.
The Steelers often will support their own who get into trouble, but they're not going to invite that kind of trouble into their
locker room. One time I've seen them do it in the past 25 seasons and it was a mistake that may have helped them form their
beliefs.
The Steelers were not good for much of the 1980s and at times desperate. That's what happened when they announced the
signing of a certain defensive lineman one day. The next day, they released him when he failed his (wink-wink) physical.
Yet two weeks later, they signed him again, apparently after his (wink-wink) physical condition improved.
It did not deter them from having a horrible season. Still, the player in question went with them to training camp the
following season until they found a loaded gun in his Saint Vincent College dormitory room. That was enough. They
released him and he later was suspended for steroids use.
Never say never, but Larry Johnson carries way too much baggage for the Steelers to ever consider him.
Mendenhall could be a rare Steelers breed
Already, Rashard Mendenhall was a rare breed when the Steelers drafted him in the first round in 2008. It was the first time
they had drafted a running back in the first round since Tim Worley in 1989.
Mendenhall could achieve another distinction this season. He could become only the second running back drafted by the
Steelers in the first round to rush for 1,000 yards. The only other one to do it was Franco Harris, drafted in the first round in
1974. He went on to do it nine times, seven of them in 14-game seasons.
Of the five other running backs who topped 1,000, the highest they drafted any was the fifth round, Barry Foster. The others
were Rocky Bleier (16th round), Willie Parker (undrafted), and Jerome Bettis and John Henry Johnson, who came to the
Steelers in trades.
Among the first-round picks who never hit 1,000 yards were Worley, Walter Abercrombie (1982), Greg Hawthorne (1979),
Dick Leftridge (1966) and Bob Ferguson (1962).
Mendenhall has 573 yards at the halfway point of the season, 528 since he became the starter in the fourth game of the
season.
Ed Bouchette can be reached at [email protected].
11/15/2009
Steelers' title win secures home for Westwood woman - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Steelers' title win secures home for Westwood woman
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Like any Steelers fan, Debra Miller knew lots was at stake in this year's Super
Bowl.
But she did not know exactly how much was at stake for her when two Florida
Habitat For Humanity organizations — in honor of the 2009 Super Bowl being
held in Tampa — decided to fund construction of a home for a resident in the
winning team's city.
Ten months after the Super Bowl and six month after construction started on
her home, Miller received keys on Saturday.
"What can I say? It's beautiful," said Debra Miller, 48.
The three-bedroom home in Westwood will house Miller and her three
grandsons, ages 5 through 12.
She had applied to be considered for a home through the organization and met
eligibility requirements, including willingness to work on the project. She got the
Super Bowl home because she was next in line for a Habitat home, said
Maggie Withrow, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater
Pittsburgh.
The home is one of nine Habitat homes to be built on Chessland Street. Four
have been completed.
The land for the nine homes was donated by the Jendoco Construction Corp.
"It's the largest land donation we have ever had here. It's a great gift," said
Derek Morris, the organization's volunteer coordinator.
Next year, the organization plans to build four homes next year in the Hill
District.
Several Steelers players helped kick off construction at the Westwood home on
June 8 and more than 100 people volunteered working on the house.
Miller will pay a mortgage of $482 per month for 30 years.
Since it was founded in 1976, Habitat For Humanity has built 300,000 homes.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/print_653299.html
11/15/2009
Steelers' title win secures home for Westwood woman - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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In the Pittsburgh area, the group has built 66 homes since 1986.
Rick Wills can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7944.
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11/15/2009
Week 10: Steelers Key Matchup - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Week 10: Steelers Key Matchup
By The Tribune-Review
STEELERS' FRONT SEVEN VS. CINCINNATI RB CEDRIC BENSON
STEELERS' FRONT SEVEN
Every week, Dick LeBeau's defense goes into the game with the goal of not
allowing the other team to be able to run the ball. So that's what the Steelers do
— they don't allow the opposition to run the ball thus making the opposition one
dimensional. The Steelers have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in the past 26
regular- season games and have allowed only three 100-yard rushers over the
past 80 games (Edgerrin James in 2005, Thomas Jones in 2007, Fred Taylor in
2007). The Steelers previously had a streak of 34 games in a row not allowing a
100-yard rusher. The Steelers haven't allowed anyone to get close to that
number this season.
BENGALS - RB CEDRIC BENSON
Benson has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Benson ranks
second in the NFL behind Johnson with 837 yards rushing. He has four 100yard rushing games and has surpassed the 100-yard mark in seven of his 18
career starts with Cincinnati. But more important than the yards to the Bengals
are Benson's number of carries. Benson leads the league with 198 and has
been able to rush the ball 20 times or more in six of his eight games this year.
Benson didn't rush for more than 100 yards against the Steelers in their first
meeting, but his 76 yards, including a 23-yard TD, are the most any back as
registered against them this season.
ADVANTAGE: STEELERS FRONT SEVEN
The Steelers do not permit running backs to rush for 100 yards, even when
some of their key defensive components have been sidelines with injuries.
Defensive end Aaron Smith, a stout run stopper, has been out the past three
games with a torn rotator cuff. His backup, Travis Kirschke, missed last week's
game against Denver. And still the Steelers defense has not allowed a team to
run against them. Since the loss of Smith, the Steelers have allowed the
opposition only 3.5 yards per carry. The Bengals will try to get the Steelers into
their nickel and dime defenses and then run the ball.
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11/15/2009
TimesOnline.com: Mehno: Steelers Nation, indeed, nationwide.
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Sunday November 15, 2009
Mehno: Steelers Nation, indeed, nationwide.
By: John Mehno
Beaver County Times
The Pittsburgh Steelers were well represented last Monday in Denver, and not just on the field.
The stands at Invesco Field were packed with fans wearing black and gold and waving Terrible Towels,
which prompted the ESPN announcers to make a mistake almost all network broadcasters make.
They talked about how well the Steelers fans travel.
No doubt there are some Pittsburgh people in the stands, more so when the game is a manageable drive
away, like Cleveland or Baltimore.
But a lot of those people screaming for the Steelers haven’t been Pittsburghers in a while.
The math is pretty simple: When the Steelers were winning four Super Bowls in six years in the 1970s,
Pittsburgh was the No. 9 television market in the country. The rankings are based on population.
Today it’s market No. 23.
This region’s population has shrunk like a $2 T-shirt, and people have relocated. Sometimes that’s
where work has taken them. In other cases, it’s because winter is more manageable in Boca Raton than it
is in Beaver Falls.
There’s another factor at work, too. When the Steelers were winning those Super Bowls, they developed
a national fan base.
A lot of people who are in the habit of cheering for the Steelers have never been anywhere near
Pittsburgh.
That didn’t keep them from falling in love with the team and the bigger-than-life heroes it featured:
Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Joe Greene and all the others.
They’ve maintained that rooting interest into the current era and they’ve passed the Steelers devotion to
their kids, too.
Although the Steelers are happy to sell officially licensed merchandise to anyone with a major credit
card, they have otherwise never actively cultivated a fan base outside of this region. The Dallas
Cowboys have, embracing the “America’s Team” identity.
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TimesOnline.com: Mehno: Steelers Nation, indeed, nationwide.
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But the Steelers Nation doesn’t take a back seat to any team’s fans.
Just look in the stands when they play on the road.
———
The NHL salary cap can’t be manipulated. It’s reality.
So when a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins correctly invests in its young stars, that means there isn’t a
lot of money left over for other positions.
When you lock up Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, you have to Ruslan Fedetenko some of the other
forward spots on the roster.
That’s why it’s important that the organization continues to produce young talent that will be relatively
inexpensive, at least at the start.
And that’s difficult to do when your draft turn doesn’t come until the bottom of each round.
———
Teams with losing records get into the high school playoffs?
Grading on a forgiving curve used to be limited to the classroom.
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1501/2009/november/15/mehno... 11/15/2009
TimesOnline.com: Steelers Key Matchups
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Steelers Key Matchups
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
CEDRIC BENSON vs. STEELERS’ RUN DEFENSE
The Steelers, who rank No. 1 in stopping the run, have gone 30 straight games without allowing a
running back to rush for more than 100 yards. Tennessee’s Chris Johnson, who leads the NFL in
rushing, couldn’t do it. Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, who’s fourth in the league, couldn’t do it. Today,
Cedric Benson, who’s second in the league in rushing, gets his chance.
In three of the Bengals’ last four games, Benson has rushed for at least 117 yards, including twice
against the Ravens. Perhaps more important than Benson’s yards are his attempts. He leads the NFL
with 198 carries, including 37 and 34 in his last two games.
During the seven-year regime of coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals are 26-1 when a running back carries
25 times or more. They’re 6-0 when Benson gets 25 or more touches, including 4-0 this year.
CHAD OCHOCINCO vs. IKE TAYLOR
Because he’s so talented and so flamboyant, Ochocinco is easily one of the NFL's most entertaining
players. He's to the Bengals what Hines Ward has meant to the Steelers’ passing attack over the years.
Both hold their respective franchise records in most receiving categories, including catches and
receiving yards.
Ochocinco, though, hasn’t had much success against the Steelers. In the 18 games he’s played against
Pittsburgh, the man known for his outrageous touchdown celebrations has been able to do them three
times.
A major reason for the Steelers's success against Ochocinco has been the play of shutdown cornerback
Ike Taylor, who’s been starting since 2005. Typically, Taylor shadows Ochocinco wherever he goes.
Such will be the case today.
BENGALS’ PASS DEFENSE vs. BEN ROETHLISBERGER
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TimesOnline.com: Steelers Key Matchups
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One of the main reasons why the Bengals are tied with the Steelers for first in the AFC North is the
improvement of their defense, especially stopping the run. The Bengals rank second in the NFL behind
the Steelers. But against the pass, the Bengals are vulnerable at 24th in the league.
Both starting corners — Jonathan Hall and Leon Hall — are former first-round draft picks who each
have four interceptions this season. Still, the last-time the Bengals faced a top-flight quarterback, their
secondary was ripped by Texans QB Matt Shaub, who threw for 392 yards and four TDs in a 28-17
home loss on Oct. 18.
Today, the Bengals meet up against Roethlisberger, who’s sixth in the league in passing yards, fourth in
passer rating and tied for first in completion percentage.
TimesOnline.com: Steelers vs. Bengals: The rise of Troy
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Steelers vs. Bengals: The rise of Troy
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
AP photo by Stephan Savoia
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is "the best safety in the NFL, period, point blank," according
to teammate Ryan Clark.
PITTSBURGH
Were it not for Ryan Clark, the Steelers would have one of the greatest safety tandems ever in the NFL.
That’s the way Clark sees it, showing how much respect he has for close friend and teammate Troy
Polamalu.
“Troy’s awesome,” Clark said. “There’s no other way to say it. He’s the best safety in the NFL, period,
point blank.
“I tell him all the time that he can be in those conversations about the best safety tandems ever if his
running mate wasn’t so sorry. I tell him every week that because of me, we’re in the middle of the
pack.”
Clark, the Steelers’ free safety, is selling himself short. He’s been a valuable addition to the secondary
since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2006. He’s a heady center fielder who’s the ideal partner for Polamalu.
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But Clark isn’t exaggerating when talking about Polamalu, the Steelers’ one-of-a-kind strong safety.
Even though he missed four games with a sprained knee earlier this season, Polamalu has been putting
on another all-star performance.
He was remarkable in the season opener against Tennessee before getting hurt. That one-handed
interception he made against the Titans was one of ESPN’s top 10 plays in the first half of the season.
Then, last Monday in Denver, Polamalu had another amazing flurry. With the Steelers leading 14-10
early in the fourth quarter, he drilled running back Correll Buckhalter in the backfield for no gain.
On the next play, he intercepted quarterback Kyle Orton at the Denver 23-yard line.
Three plays later, the Steelers sealed the win when Ben Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard TD pass to Mike
Wallace.
“That’s a great defense with or without Troy,” Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said. “With Troy on
the field, it’s even better.”
Today in an AFC North game of huge significance — the Bengals and Steelers are tied for the division
lead with 6-2 records — Palmer will face his former teammate and roommate from their days at
Southern Cal.
Earlier this year when the Bengals beat the Steelers 23-20 in Cincinnati, Polamalu was sidelined as he
rehabbed his knee.
He probably would have made a difference that day, especially in the fourth quarter when the Bengals
scored two late TDs in the come-from-behind win.
“Troy and I don’t talk often,” Palmer said. “When we do, it’s like old times. He’s a busy man. He’s got a
lot going on. We’ve got a lot going on here. But I respect him as much, if not more, than anybody in this
league.
“Love watching him play. Hate playing against him.”
Though Polamalu has played less than four full games this year, he leads the Steelers with three
interceptions. In games he’s played, the Steelers are 4-0. In the last 23 games Polamalu has played, the
Steelers are 19-4.
“Troy will continue to improve as he gets more comfortable trusting his injury,” defensive coordinator
Dick LeBeau said. “He’s playing great football, but he always plays great football.”
When asked about his performance in Denver, the soft-spoken Polamalu gave it his best aw-shucks
routine.
“That’s in the past,” he said.
When asked about his overall performance, Polamalu again downplayed his contributions.
“I don’t know,” said Polamalu, who’s already played in five Pro Bowls in his first six seasons with the
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Steelers. “I’m just doing the things I’m coached to do. I’m just one of 11 guys out there.”
Polamalu isn’t just another of the guys on the Steelers’ defense. He’s a special player who might be in
the Hall of Fame some day.
“Don’t even ask me if I think Troy is the best safety in the NFL,” Clark said. “Why ask me a question
that you already know the answer to?”
Mike Bires can be reached online
at [email protected]
Oops! Mendenhall's not a bust but falls short of vintage Parker
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Oops! Mendenhall's not a bust but falls short of
vintage Parker
11/15/2009 3:32 AM
OK, maybe he's not a bust.
Now that Rashard Mendenhall is averaging more yards per carry than all but one running back in the
NFL, you could say I was a little hasty when I said he was looking like a bust.
When I wrote that, he had yet to make the kind of run you would expect from a No. 1 pick. What
seemed to be missing before head coach Mike Tomlin shut him down for a game was passion. He
definitely has that now. His stats tell the story, but I also think they speak volumes about the offensive
line. Unless my eyes are deceiving me for the past several games, the Steelers' backs have had huge
holes opened for them.
Willie Parker might not be as effective as in previous seasons, but the Willie Parker of a few years ago
would have gained more yards than Mendenhall gained running through the same holes.
Something tells me it's not all about the offensive line suddenly getting better. I think it's more about the
Steelers becoming a pass-first offense. Defenses no longer come in looking to stop the run first. They
know they have to stop the short and intermediate passes first. I'll bet most defensive coordinators wish
that the Steelers would go back to being a ball-control team.
• How can anyone watch Ben Roethlisberger and not see he is the most dangerous quarterback in the
NFL? He's still prone to throwing interceptions and losing the ball in the pocket because he stands there
too long. But if I need one long touchdown drive to win a championship, then you can have Peyton
Manning. I'll take Roethlisberger.
Keep in mind that as pass-happy as the Steelers are compared to past Steelers teams, they don't run the
kind of offense Indianapolis and New England do to make it easier for a quarterback to fatten his stats.
Going into last Monday night's game, I heard so-called experts debating whether Roetlisberger was in
the same class with Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning. I don't think it's even close. He's not.
He's in a class by himself.
n Roy Halladay has averaged 17 wins the last four seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays and put up ERAs
of 2.79 and 2.78 in the last two. The Blue Jays are debating whether to trade him now or at the trading
deadline next summer. Guess which two teams are most likely to end up with him.
No, not the Pirates or the Royals.
Would you believe the Red Sox and Yankees?
The Yankees think their rotation could use a little tweaking and they have their eye on Halladay.
And the beat goes on.
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11/15/2009
Oops! Mendenhall's not a bust but falls short of vintage Parker
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• The Orlando Sentinel was nice enough to list the salaries of the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly
Division 1-A) head coaches. Where's the outrage over Pete Carroll of Southern California making $4.4
million a year in these tough economic times? What about the fine citizens of post-Katrina Louisiana
kicking in to pay Les Miles $3.8 million to coach LSU?
You might want to send a thank you note to Joe Paterno for being willing to work for a measly $1.5
million, which is less than somebody named Art Briles is making to coach perennial national power
Baylor.
• The NHL is struggling with what to do about blows to the head. The general managers spent a lot of
time talking about it at their meeting in Toronto last week. Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke,
who said recently that, "It's not ringette, it's hockey," has softened his stance against increasing the
penalties for blatant hits to the head.
By the way, I have no idea what a ringette is, either.
You should probably expect some kind of a rule change next year so expect the usual protests from the
Neanderthals of the Great White North.
Nobody wants to see hard hitting taken out of the game but this is not the same game that most of the
Neanderthals grew up with. When they played or coached or officiated or general managed, everybody
was 5'10" and weighed 185 pounds.
Did you get a good look at Zdeno Chara the other night?
The problem will be determining if a player purposely tried to hit another player in the head and what
the penalty should be if it's determined the hit was intentional. Burke once told me he thought fighting
was good for the NHL. Burke felt because too many sportscasters showed only fights in their highlight
packages and not enough goals, the league should prohibit stations from showing fight video. That
actually made sense.
He said, "A player should have the ability to anticipate a hit, prepare for a hit or avoid a hit. If he doesn't
have those, then I think the onus has to shift to the hitter. He's got to deliver a safe hit."
There's no way to accurately define a late hit, but the league should take the same stance former
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart took toward defining hard core pornography.
He said, "I know it when I see it."
Hockey players know an intentional hit when they see one.
They also know when a player is teed up for a knockout.
John Steigerwald writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
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11/15/2009
Beating Bengals is a must
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11/15/2009 3:32 AM
PITTSBURGH - Since 1970, the Steelers and Bengals have met only three times in the second half of a
season when both teams had winning records.
All three times, the winner of that game went on to win the division.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the Bengals have won all three, taking the title in 1981, 1990 and 2005.
The Steelers hope to get the upper hand when the two 6-2 teams play today at Heinz Field.
For Pittsburgh, defeating the Bengals is a must. Cincinnati won the first meeting this season at Paul
Brown Stadium, 23-20. A Cincinnati win would give the Bengals a two-game lead over the Steelers in
the AFC North standings.
Not that the Steelers needed more motivation.
"Any time you lose a game, you want to come out and prove that you can beat them," said Steelers
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. "But if you need extra motivation to play any AFC North team, there's
something wrong with you."
Cincinnati knows what it will face.
"It's not easy at all. I'll be the first to tell you, especially someone like myself, who's very brash when it
comes to playing against opponents," said Bengals outspoken receiver Chad Ochocinco. "In no way is
this going to be an easy job or task for us offensively. We have to play mistake-free football."
The Bengals nearly did that in the first meeting but still needed to score two touchdowns in the final
nine minutes to beat the Steelers, who outgained them by 100 yards.
With strong safety Troy Polamalu out with a sprained knee, the Steelers didn't blitz Cincinnati
quarterback Carson Palmer much in the fourth quarter, choosing to use more prevent defenses.
Palmer picked that apart and beat the Steelers with a four-yard TD pass to slot receiver Andre Caldwell
with 14 seconds remaining.
But Polamalu is back and playing well. In four games, he has three interceptions, including one in the
fourth quarter of last week's 28-10 win over Denver when the Broncos were attempting to get back into
the game.
"I think we got good pressure the first couple of quarters," said Steelers linebacker James Farrior of the
first meeting. "I think the last quarter, we didn't get as much as we would have liked. That affected the
outcome of the game. Hopefully, we won't be in that situation again. But if we are, hopefully, we'll try to
come at (Palmer) with more pressure."
The Bengals will try to slow Roethlisberger and the Steelers' passing game enough to keep them in it.
They did it in the first game, with cornerback Johnathan Joseph picking off a Roethlisberger pass in the
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third quarter and returning it for Cincinnati's first touchdown.
That has been Cincinnati's defensive theme this season. Though the Bengals rank 25th in the league
against the pass, they have intercepted eight in the past four games.
"We weren't closing out games early in the year. We weren't scoring touchdowns every time we got the
chance," said Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. "We feel like we're doing a pretty good job of that
now."
The Steelers have won five straight since the loss to Cincinnati. The Bengals have won six of seven.
"This will be an event, not a football game," said Ochocinco.
Odds and end zones
The Bengals are 3-0 on road and 4-0 in AFC North. They've never been 5-0 in division play. ... The
Steelers are 16-3 when Polamalu makes an interception. ... The Steelers' home record of 220-83-1 (.725)
since the NFL merger in 1970 is the league's best. ... Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has never lost
division game at home, going 7-0.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/11-15-2009-Steelers-Bengals-preview
11/15/2009
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Pittsburgh needs to win
By: JIM WEXELL Herald Standard
PITTSBURGH - Bill Cowher predicted last January that the Cincinnati Bengals would win the AFC North Division this season. Ben Roethlisberger
carried that comment with him until June.
"I heard Bill Cowher made a Bengals prediction," Roethlisberger told a Post-Gazette reporter who was visiting his football camp. "So I guess that's
the team to beat in the division."
Either Roethlisberger forgot, or he was being coy this week when asked about his former coach's prediction. When the prediction was repeated,
Roethlisberger said of Cowher: "He's a mastermind. Obviously he knew something we didn't."
Roethlisberger and the Steelers can put a dagger into the prediction by beating the Bengals today at Heinz Field. Both teams are 6-2 and tied for first
place in the AFC North. The Bengals won the first meeting by three points with a touchdown pass with 14 seconds remaining.
It would appear to be an even matchup, except that Roethlisberger and his 3-receiver circus are going up against the NFL's 24th-ranked pass defense.
Last time, the Steelers found enough holes in the Bengals' pass defense to take a 20-9 lead into the fourth quarter.
That would appear to be the correct game plan, but Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians isn't so sure.
"They're playing very solid," Arians said of the Bengals' defense. "Their front - outstanding, second against the run. The linebackers - those young
linebackers have really improved their defense. And the corners - they're playing shutdown football and they're allowing their safeties to get more
active in the run game. That's always a ticket to success when the corners can play one-on-one and allow you to play an eight-man front. It's tough to
run the ball."
Cornerbacks Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph are the critical pieces for the Bengals today. Hall, a first-round pick in 2007, was a popular victim that
first season but has 12 career interceptions after picking off three in the last two games. He leads the Bengals in passes defensed and has also forced
two fumbles.
Joseph, a first-round pick in 2006, was the Steelers' primary target in the first game this season. They had great success, although Joseph did return an
interception for a touchdown on a missed hot read by receiver Santonio Holmes.
"Yeah, that was a good game for us," Arians said. "But (Joseph) has played extremely well lately. Both corners look like they're playing with a ton of
confidence right now."
The Bengals corners have played particularly well against the Baltimore Ravens. In two recent games, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a
combined passer rating of 56.0. And, as Arians pointed out, good one-on-one corner play has allowed the Bengals to rise to No. 2 in the league in
stopping the run, trailing only the Steelers.
Like a true AFC North contender, the Bengals not only can stop the run, they can run it themselves. Cedric Benson has 837 yards to rank second in
the NFL in rushing. His 76 rush yards on 16 carries is the most by any back against the Steelers this season.
But if the Bengals are to fulfill Cowher's prophesy, they'll have to pass on the Steelers and their 14th-ranked pass defense, and they'll have to do it
without playmaking No. 3 wide receiver Chris Henry, who broke his forearm last week against the Ravens and is out for the season.
Before the Henry left the game, he'd helped the Bengals to seven first downs and two touchdowns in the first quarter. He was injured making a catch
on the Bengals' first play of the second quarter. The Bengals kicked a field goal on that possession, but didn't score the rest of the game and had only
nine more first downs after Henry left.
Andre Caldwell becomes the No. 3 receiver with starters Chad Ochocinco and Laveranues Coles. The Bengals will also be without their best passrusher, Antwan Odom, who's on injured reserve. Linebacker Keith Rivers and guard Evan Mathis are doubtful.
The Steelers, on the other hand, will welcome the return of safety Ryan Clark and linebacker Lawrence Timmons for this AFC North showdown.
"We want to win every game," said Roethlisberger. "But when you're playing in the division there's a little extra motivation."
There's also that little extra motivation from mastermind Cowher, who, even in retirement, has again found a way to rally the Steelers.
November 15, 2009
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November 14, 2009
These Bengals appear more level-headed
By Joe Reedy
[email protected]
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is not one who likes to look back, but last January he did take the opportunity to talk
about the 2005-06 teams and their difficult time handling success.
Even though there remains a half a season of football to be played, Lewis should not have the same problems
with this squad.
Going into Sunday's key AFC North clash at Pittsburgh, the Bengals are 6-2 and tied for the division lead. While a
healthy Carson Palmer and improved defense have helped fuel the improvement, it has been a core group of
“castoffs” that has helped keep the team on point.
“These guys have been very level headed,” linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald said. “That’s one thing that scares
you about a team that hasn’t won that much. The first thing that can happen is guys get comfortable quick.”
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Bengals beat Steelers in Week 3
While this team is younger, their average experience of 3.58 years is the lowest in the league, this is a squad
better built to handle sudden success. Much of that is due to a core of castoffs which includes running back Cedric
Benson, linebacker Dhani Jones and safety Chris Crocker.
That was something that could not be said three years ago. When looking back on those squads during the
offseason, Lewis pointed to the Gatorade shower in Detroit in 2005, when the Bengals clinched the AFC North, as
the point when everything began to change. Guys got lax, didn’t work as hard and things started to decline.
“Everyone thought they were the reason (for the success) instead of the team,” said Lewis back in January.
After a 28-20 win over the Steelers in Week 3 in 2006 improved them to 3-0, the Bengals went 15-28-1 until the
beginning of this season. A two-year roster purging has started to pay dividends. Benson, Jones and Crocker,
who have played well on the field have also brought an urgency and leadership to the locker room.
Besides embracing their roles as mentors in the locker room, they’ve also readily accepted what they need to do
on the field.
Said Lewis on Friday on what goes into giving a player another shot: “I think it’s a combination of everything.
Other people’s viewpoints on the person, your evaluation of the player and the time you spend with him and
what’s his role going to be and can he accept that and build from there.”
Benson is the most well known nationally, as he is second in the league in rushing, but 10 of the starters on
offense in defense in today’s game can be classified as castoffs. Two of the starters on the offensive line – center
Kyle Cook and right tackle Dennis Roland, started their career with other teams and spent times on practice
squads before finding homes here.
“I think they’re all guys who were jobless for awhile and that changes anyone’s perspective and outlook on their
situation,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “They can’t take it for granted because maybe they did. You have to
take advantage of the time and where you are.”
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Jones was part of Super Bowl teams with the Giants and Eagles, but it looked like his career appeared to be over
after he was released by the Saints in 2007. Lewis had the opportunity to see Jones up close when New Orleans
practiced here for two days and was intrigued.
With the Bengals racked by injuries, the middle linebacker was out of work for three weeks when he signed. He
became the special teams captain three weeks after being here and led the team in tackles last year.
“It’s traumatic. You think you’re the cats meow and all of a sudden you’re out,” said Lewis of Jones. “He’s
embraced special teams and then moved into the starting lineup on defense and he’s never stopped.”
Palmer has also been a big fan of Jones because of his experience in playing for big-market organizations like the
Giants and Eagles.
Crocker, a seven-year veteran, also got his opportunity due to injuries last year. He began he year with Miami
before being released and was on the verge of signing with the Lions when the Bengals came calling.
When asked how much some players feed off being castoffs, Crocker said: “All the time. The truth hurts and a lot
of people were shunned in other places and it’s OK. A lot of that was a learning lesson and that’s why we’re the
team that we are and players that we are.”
Also what has helped is the fact that the Bengals were in tight finishes for the first five weeks. They were 4-1
during that stretch, with consecutive three-point wins against the Steelers, Browns and Ravens, but also lost the
opener against Denver on an 87-yard tipped pass.
It’s only been during the last two games, a 45-10 win over Chicago and 17-7 victory over the Ravens, that the
Bengals have been able to put things together for four solid quarters.
“Every game it’s been something different and a new experience,” Crocker said. “Every week I get a little more
gray hair but at the same time I’m trying to enjoy it and keep it rolling.”
Originally drafted by Cleveland in 2003, Crocker also brings experience as a veteran of the division wars. For him,
a sweep of the Steelers would be extra special … until the next game.
“It shows a sense of urgency that guys understand how important this opportunity is,” Crocker said. “It’s rare right
now. We’re 6-2 and setting ourselves up for something big and doing what we’re supposed to. It’s hard to win in
this league but it’s hard to put it together. You see it every year, there are teams you wouldn’t expect to be as
good or teams you wouldn’t expect to be as bad but everybody has talent. You have to be able to put it together.”
Additional Facts
Bengals' crew of castoffs
A look at some of the Bengals castoffs who are playing in Sunday's game:
HB Cedric Benson: Released by Chicago in June of 2008 and out of football until the Bengals signed him going
into Week 5 last year.
FB Jeremi Johnson: Released by the Bengals in November of last year due to conditioning issues and not resigned until this past April.
WR Laveranues Coles: Became a free agent by mutual consent with the Jets, due to a contract issue.
TE J.P. Foschi: Released in August by Oakland before joining the Bengals during training camp.
C Kyle Cook: Entered the NFLas a college free agent with Minnesota, and was cut by
the Vikings before making the Bengals roster via the practice squad.
LG Nate Livings: Was a college free agent in 2006 and did not play until ’08.
RT Dennis Roland: Was a 2006 college free agent for Dallas who waited more than two years, mostly on
practice squads, before playing.
11/15/2009
Page 3 of 3
MLB Dhani Jones: Was released and jobless for almost three weeks before the Bengals, racked by injuries,
signed him in September of 2007.
WLB Brandon Johnson: Jjoined the Bengals in 2008 after Arizona declined to tender him as a restricted free
agent.
FS Chris Crocker: Joined Cincinnati in midseason 2008, after being released by Miami.
11/15/2009
Rare Big Game Looms for Steelers and Bengals - NYTimes.com
Page 1 of 2
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November 15, 2009
Rare Big Game Looms for Steelers and Bengals
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH (AP) — They have had running backs named Ickey and Rocky, quarterbacks named Bubby
and Boomer. A Brown founded the Bengals and an ex-Brown named Chuck Noll turned the Steelers from a
doormat into a dynasty.
The Bengals-Steelers rivalry will be played Sunday for the 80th time in 40 seasons — including one playoff
game and one season in which they met only a single time — and what a series it has been. And has not been.
It has been colorful, filled with famous names (Paul Brown, Art and Dan Rooney, Noll and Shula), everchanging names (Chad Ochocinco nee Johnson), long names (Ben Roethlisberger and T. J.
Houshmandzadeh) and big names (Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Anthony Munoz). Strange nicknames too,
like Wicky Wacky (Sam Wyche) and Mad Dog (Dwight White).
The franchises once played in stadiums that not only looked alike and sounded alike, Riverfront Stadium and
Three Rivers Stadium, but were located alongside the Ohio River. They have shared coaches (Dick LeBeau,
Ken Anderson) and the same division since 1970.
What they have almost never shared is first place so deep into a season. For only the third time since the
rivalry began, the Bengals (6-2) and Steelers (6-2) will play with first place on the line during the second half
of a season — and one previous instance, 1990, deserves an asterisk because the Oilers also were tied.
“Every game is big, but this game is real big,” Steelers defensive end Nick Eason said.
Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin apparently agrees, because he referred to the game as being big nearly 20 times
during a 20-minute news conference.
The series usually is so one-sided, with the Steelers controlling the 1970s, the 1990s and this decade and the
Bengals dominating in the 1980s, that the games often are mere stepping-stones to bigger ones. Not this
time.
With both teams playing relatively soft schedules, Sunday’s winner will have the chance to be in control the
rest of the way.
If the Steelers win their sixth in a row, they will lead by one game and will own the momentum. Should the
Bengals repeat their last-minute, 23-20 win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 27, they will effectively lead by two
games because they will own the tie breaker based on sweeping the season series.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/sports/football/15steelers.html?_r=1&ref=football&... 11/15/2009
Rare Big Game Looms for Steelers and Bengals - NYTimes.com
Page 2 of 2
A single N.F.L. game rarely results in such a three-game swing, so both teams know what Sunday means —
possibly, the season, although the loser will remain in the playoff race.
No doubt Ickey Woods and Rocky Bleier, Bubby Brister and Boomer Esiason all would have loved games like
this one.
“It all comes down to a showdown in Pittsburgh, and we’ll be ready,” Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer
said. “They’ll be ready. It’s going to be a great game.”
More than that, Ochocinco said, “this will be an event, not a football game.”
Cincinnati won the last such meaningful regular-season game in 2005, beating the Steelers, 38-31, in
Pittsburgh on Dec. 4 and winning the division, but Pittsburgh won a playoff rematch a month later and went
on to win the Super Bowl.
These Bengals are convinced they are much better equipped than that team to close the deal. They have a
quarterback who has proven he can win important games in Palmer; a game-changing receiver in Ochocinco;
one of the N.F.L.’s best running backs in Cedric Benson; and a defense that has repeatedly shut down drives
by making eight interceptions in four games.
While the Bengals believe it is finally their time, winning in Pittsburgh likely will not be easy for a franchise
that has succeeded there only 13 times in 39 years.
“We can’t wait to go to Pittsburgh and prove the world wrong again,” defensive tackle Domata Peko said.
“We’re ready to step up to the plate and show everybody about Cincinnati, that we’re a real team.”
The Bengals’ biggest problem might be that the Steelers finally are the team they were expected to be.
The Super Bowl champions have not lost in five games since that Cincinnati defeat, and they will be coming
off successive wins over teams that were unbeaten only a few weeks ago, the Vikings and Broncos .
Steelers safety Ryan Clark believes it is to both teams’ advantage to have so much to play. “It’s going to be a
good time,” he said.
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Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 10:
[+] Enlarge
Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesRashard Mendenhall has 528 yards and four touchdowns in
five starts this season.
Huge stakes: Forget about the Indianapolis Colts against the New England Patriots. The
game that involves higher stakes this week is the marquee matchup between the
Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2). This game has the potential to
decide the AFC North division champion for 2009. The division champ also will have a
home game in the postseason. The Bengals won the first meeting 23-20, with a furious
rally in the fourth quarter. These are very deep teams that no one will want to face in
January. But for right now, the rest of the NFL gets to see them beat each other up one
more time.
Mendy is trendy: As big a surprise as Cedric Benson is with the Bengals, an equally
strong case can be made for Steelers tailback Rashard Mendenhall. The 2008 first-round
pick has fit right into Pittsburgh’s offense since becoming a starter in Week 4.
Mendenhall has 528 yards and four touchdowns in five starts and has shown a good
combination of quickness and power. Mendenhall had arguably his best performance of
his career last week in a win against the Denver Broncos, rushing for 155 yards on 22
carries (7.0 average). He got stronger in the second half and closed any hopes of a Denver
comeback. Mendenhall was inactive for the first meeting against Cincinnati because of
poor practice habits.
Next man up: The Bengals announced Friday that starting safety Roy Williams is out for
the year with a forearm injury. This makes backup safety Chinedum Ndukwe the starter
for the remainder of the season. Williams was one of Cincinnati’s biggest free-agent
acquisitions in the offseason but only played in four games. He was the second Bengal to
go to injured reserve this week, joining receiver Chris Henry. Ndukwe has played in all
eight games, including four starts, with 35 tackles and 1.5 sacks this season.
Slow starters: One reason the Baltimore Ravens (4-4) are struggling is because of their
notoriously slow starts. In four of Baltimore’s losses, the Ravens have been outscored in
the first half by a combined score of 51-17. The Ravens didn’t score more than seven
points in the first half of either of those games. Baltimore faces another slow-starting
team in the Cleveland Browns this week.
Swan song: Monday will mark the final time Browns tailback Jamal Lewis plays against
former teammate Ray Lewis and the Ravens. The two won a Super Bowl together in
2000 and had a lot of success in Baltimore. But Jamal Lewis, 30, said he is retiring after
the season. He joined the Browns in 2007 to try to win another championship. But
Cleveland (1-7) never made the playoffs in Jamal Lewis’ tenure. The tailback has been
very outspoken recently, particularly about Browns head coach Eric Mangini. It will be
interesting to see how well Jamal Lewis plays in the final eight games of his stellar
career.
NFL Week 10 Viewer's Guide, including Bengals-Steelers - Ross Tucker - SI.com
Page 1 of 3
Powered by
Posted: Friday November 13, 2009 12:55PM; Updated: Friday November 13, 2009 12:56PM
Ross Tucker>INSIDE THE NFL
More ColumnsEmail RossFollow Ross Tucker on
Week 10 Viewer's Guide: What to
watch in Cowboys-Packers; mail
Story Highlights
Stopping Bengals ground game
is crucial for Steelers
Packers hope players-only
meeting solves sack woes
Mailbag questions on Eric
Mangini, long seasons, more
My weekly look at key matchups and storylines to watch in one game at each time slot. (All times Eastern).Sunday 4:15 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers
The word out of Green Bay is the Packers had a players-only meeting this week to try to get their once promising season back on track.
I've been in a number of similar meetings; some work, some don't. Those gatherings may help guys to focus during the week and be
more diligent in their preparation, but it still come down to having to play well on Sunday.
It's no secret the Packers need to stop giving up so many sacks, which won't be easy against a Cowboys front with full-fledged stars in
Jay Ratliff and DeMarcus Ware, both of whom spent a great deal of time swarming Donovan McNabb last Sunday night. Hopefully the
Packers will call more quick passes, encourage Aaron Rodgers to throw it away if nothing is there, and call for more seven- and eightman protections. But they haven't done nearly enough of any of those three things the past couple of weeks, so there is no reason to think
they would start now.
Sunday 1 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Bengals come into this one on a roll, but sweeping the season series with the Steelers, after Cincy did exactly that to the Ravens, will
not be easy. This game should be all about which team can render the other one-dimensional and then force turnovers.
The Steelers have run the ball well in recent weeks, highlighted by Rashard Mendenhall churning out 155 yards against the Broncos
behind a much maligned offensive line. The Bengals have no chance if they can't slow down the suddenly steam-rolling Steelers run
game. It will be hard enough for the Bengals to contain Ben Roethlisberger and his wealth of receiving weapons, even if the Steelers
can't get the ground game going.
Cincinnati's offensive line has received a lot of credit recently, but going against the Pittsburgh front at Heinz Field will be their toughest
test to date. The key is to run downhill against the Steelers. Teams that try to run outside fail because Lamarr Woodley and James
Harrison, the Steelers outside linebackers, do such a fantastic job of setting the edge by pushing tight ends and offensive tackles into the
backfield. This forces the running back to cut back, and by that time the rest of the defense arrives.
Sunday 8:20 p.m.
New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
My guess is Bill Belichick and his coaching staff have studied enough tape to realize the key to the Colts offense is tight end Dallas
Clark. I use tight end loosely because the guy is basically an oversized slot receiver. Everything Peyton Manning does seems to come
as a result of having the built-in security blanket in Clark, who is pretty much always open. He caught 14 balls and easily could have had
over 20 last week against a Texans unit that primarily tried man coverage with rookie outside linebacker Brian Cushing on Clark. Bad
move.
http://si.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=NFL+Week+10+Viewer%27s...
11/15/2009
Page 2 of 3
Look for the Patriots to put a safety on Clark at a minimum and probably even give that player some additional help over the top. The Pats
will also give Reggie Wayne special attention. That means the Colts will have to win this one on offense by either running the ball, which
is highly unlikely given their ineptitude in that department, or getting stellar contributions from young wideouts Austin Collie and Pierre
Gar on.
Monday 8:30 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Brady Quinn is back in the saddle again against an ornery Ravens squad that has somehow lost four of their past five and is desperate
for a win to stay in the playoff hunt. For Quinn it will be all about trying to minimize mistakes and get the ball out of his hands quickly. The
Browns only shot is to win the turnover battle by a significant margin.
The bigger story in this game may be the fan reaction as the civil unrest in Cleveland worsens. The Browns faithful don't care for Eric
Mangini and are feeling both helpless and hopeless about their beloved football team. That could make for an ugly atmosphere on
Monday night if the Ravens decide to use the Browns game as their springboard towards a playoff march.
Mail time...
I believe the majority of Browns fans gave Mangini a chance and had no illusions about what this season was going to be like.
But this bad? Rebuilding is an arduous task, but fans expect to see improvement, competitiveness and heart from week to
week. None of these qualities are seen on the field due to Mangini's coaching philosophy. Plus he is the only "new" coach with
previous head coaching experience. So how can you justify he shouldn't be on the proverbial "hot seat"?
--Martin, San Diego
I understand why a lot of Browns fans want to get rid of Mangini but if Randy Lerner is going to respect his own hiring process and make
the decision to go with a head coach, he should at least give that coach a legitimate opportunity to implement his program. I doubt that will
happen in Mangini's case, but the fact is his team still has as many wins as the new regimes in St. Louis, Kansas City and Detroit.
Ross, good column. More people/NFL franchises should heed your words on this. There's a reason the Steelers are one of the
model franchises of the NFL, and a big part of it is stability and continuity in the coaching ranks.
--Matt Burk, Pittsburgh
Totally agree. One of my biggest frustrations with the NFL is ownership's willingness to go through seemingly annual changes in which
they make a change at general manager, head coach or quarterback to appease the media and fan base. I call it the circle of failure.
Ross, I am a sophomore in high school and just finished up my first junior varsity season, which lasts 10 games. My body feels
drained after it and that doesn't even compare to the 20-game schedule the pros play. What are some of the toughest things
about playing football professionally for so many weeks and months without a break?
--David Shannon, Charlotte
I think the toughest thing is to maintain your discipline in terms of weekly preparation during the work week when you are physically rundown and hurting late in the season. Either that or practicing and competing in games with the type of injuries that would prevent most
people from showing up for their desk job.
How often do NFL teams design short passes with the premise of using the umpire as a pick?
--Nathan McCarron, Lewiston, Maine
Seemingly more and more every year, which is why the NFL is beginning to investigate things they can do to help the umpires. They have
considered everything from helmets and body armor to moving the umpire behind the offensive formation, which most umpires will tell you
makes it much more difficult for them to do their job.
On a silent count, do the guards and tackles watch the ball or watch the qb to see him raise his leg?
--joshjacobson via Twitter
Neither. The guards and the tackles watch the head of the center and over time, through a lot of practice, become comfortable with timing
the snap of the ball a full count after the center lifts his head. That still doesn't make it easy. That's one reason home-field advantage can
be huge, especially if the home crowd is exceptionally loud.
In the Cardinals case, what makes a team undefeated on the road and so helpless at home?
--benzel15 via Twitter
I have no idea. Some teams in recent years seem to play better on the road, but there is no tangible explanation. Especially an Arizona
team that has won several east coast games this year after struggling mightily to do that in 2008.
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11/15/2009
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11/15/2009

November 15, 2009 News Clippings Pittsburgh Steelers

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