Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

During the Steelers 2008 training camp, NT Casey Hampton (aka “Big Snack”) arrived weighing almost 400 lbs.

"Big Snack"

Coach Tomlin wasn’t happy about this, and placed Hampton in the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Tomlin made Hampton run laps until he shed the excess weight.

Run big fella!

Hampton still loves to eat, but he wants to stay out of Coach Tomlin’s doghouse, so he now does his snacking in secret. Each week, we will be sneaking into the Steelers’ locker room and peaking into Hampton’s locker to see what snacks he is hiding from Coach Tomlin. Stop by every Wednesday to see Big Snack’s latest snack.

Today’s Snack:

A little snack for "Big Snack"

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Okay, please step away from the ledge. It was only a joke. The Steelers have not brought back the world’s most expensive sweatsuit model. No need to kill yourself.

I'm baaack!

However, the Steelers did finalize a deal with Najeh Davenport. After Rashard Mendenhall and Carey Davis got injured on Monday night, the Steelers were left with only one healthy running back on the 53 man roster. Now, Davenport will join Mewelde Moore as the Steelers’ running backs. Willie Parker will not be ready to play by this weekend, and Carey Davis is also questionable. It is likely that the Steelers will bring in Gary Russell from the practice squad to add another option at running back.

That is probably not a collection of running backs that is going to instill fear in the hearts of opponents, but the Steelers have to take what they can get.

On the offensive line, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that Trai Essex will compete with Darnell Stapleton for the guard spot vacated by Kendall Simmons when he got injured on Monday Night.

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In the wake of the Steelers’ injury-filled game against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night, the Steelers were left with just one healthy running back on the roster.

Willie Parker was already injured going into the game. During the game, 1st round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall fractured his shoulder and will be put on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. To make matters even worse, RB Carey Davis sprained his ankle later in the game, leaving the Steelers with only one healthy running back on their roster; Mewelde Moore.

In an attempt to address that problem, the Steelers brought in Najeh Davenport for a workout today. If Davenport passes his physical, it is assumed that the team will sign him to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend.

Davenport played the past 2 seasons with the Steelers, but was made expendable when the Steelers drafted Rashard Mendenhall. Davenport was released in June.

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As we all expected, the Steelers and Ravens engaged in a defensive struggle on Monday night.  The game was truly a tale of two halves.  And the two halves were polar opposites of one another.

In the first half, the Steelers’ offense was completely dominated by the Ravens’ defense.  Rashard Mendenhall was stuffed for no gain on his first carry.  That would prove to be a precursor of what was to come for the rookie in his first NFL start.  Mendenhall would end up with 30 yards rushing on 9 carries before leaving the game with a shoulder injury.

Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall

With Willie Parker already out with an injury, Mendenhall’s injury left the Steelers with only Carey Davis and Mewelde Moore as healthy running backs.  When Davis twisted his ankle later in the game, Moore was left as the lone healthy running back on the Steelers’ roster. 

While most thought that Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco would be overwhelmed by the pressure of his first appearance on Monday Night Football, Flacco showed his doubters that he was ready for prime time.  In the first half, Flacco actually looked much more polished than Ben Roethlisberger did.  While Roethlisberger spent much of the first half on his back, Flacco looked like Joe Montana.  He was cool under pressure, and he had the Ravens up 13-3 at the half after throwing a touchdown pass to TE Daniel Wilcox.

Unlike last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers offense seemed to make adjustments at halftime, and looked like an entirely diffferent team in the second half.  Ben Roethlisberger attributed the difference to the no-huddle offense.  He said that he asked the coaches if the offense could start using the no-huddle offense to accelerate the pace, and it worked like a charm. 

In the second half, it was Roethlisberger who looked like Joe Montana.  He made quick reads, and was able to avoid the Ravens’ blitz.  He connected with WR Santonio Holmes early in the 3rd quarter for a Steelers touchdown.  15 seconds later, the Steelers scored again when James Harrison forced a fumble on Joe Flacco.  LaMarr Woodley dived on the ball, and when he realized there were no Ravens in his vicinity, he got up and ran it into the endzone.  In less than 30 seconds, the Steelers went from being down 3-10, to being up 17-10.

Roethlisberger under pressure.

Contrarily, Joe Flacco spent much of the 2nd half on his back.  While he looked calm and comfortable in the first half, he looked hurried and uncomfortable in the second half.  The Steelers defense applied constant pressure on Flacco, and made him look like the rookie that he is.

By the end of regulation, the two teams found themselves tied 20-20.

In overtime, the Ravens won the coin toss and chose to receive.  The Steelers’ defense held them just like they had done pretty consistently since halftime.  The Ravens were forced to punt.  On their first overtime possession, the Steelers were able to get the ball close enough for Jeff Reed to attempt a 46 yard field goal.  Reed’s field goal split the uprights, but the Ravens called timeout right before the kick, and Reed was forced to kick it again.  Apparently, the Ravens don’t know that Reed is the coolest kicker in the NFL.  As expected, Reed made his 2nd attempt, and the Steelers won 23-20.

The Steelers’ win was their 14th consecutive home win on Monday Night Football.  That is an NFL record for home effectiveness on MNF.

Injury update

Rashard Mendenhall left the game with a fractured shoulder.   Will be put on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Steelers guard Kendall Simmons left the game with an achilles injury.  Coach Tomlin said that he will  have to be placed on injured reserve.  Out for the rest of the season.

Running back Carey Davis sprained his ankle, but it is not thought to be serious.

Linebacker Andre Frazier was injured on the first play of the game.  Fans got a scare when Frazier didn’t move after a collision.  He was carted off the field on a stretcher, but tests proved to be negative, and he seems to be okay.

Keyaron Fox was injured on special teams.  Injury not thought to be serious.

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As the Steelers prepare to play the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football (MNF), it is obvious that both teams are preparing for a defensive struggle. These are two of the most defensive minded teams in the NFL. Both subscribe to the philosophy of “run the ball, and stop the run”.

Beyond the overall Steelers Offense vs. Baltimore Defense, and Baltimore Offense vs. Steelers Defense match-up, here are a few of the specific match-ups that will determine the outcome of the game:

Rashard Mendenhall vs. Ravens Defense

What more need be said about this one? Nobody can run against the Ravens’ defense. A rookie running back making his first NFL start is not going to change that. Advantage: Ravens.

Ben Roethlisberger vs. Ravens Secondary

Everyone knows that Baltimore is going to blitz. They watched last week’s game just like the rest of us did. They know that the blitz is an effective tool against the Steelers offense, and Ben Roethlisberger in particular. Big Ben is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly. Last week that was difficult for him to do, because even though the Eagles were sending up to 8 men to rush the passer, their secondary was still able to keep the Steelers receivers from getting open (how that happened is anybody’s guess).

The Ravens’ secondary is even better than the Eagles’. Ed Reed, Chris McAllister, and Samari Rolle make up one of the most feared defensive backfields in the NFL. In order for the Steelers to win, Roethlisberger must win this battle. Advantage: Ravens.

Dick LeBeau vs. Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco is a rookie quarterback starting in his first away game. He only has two NFL regular season games under his belt. Those games were against the unimpressive Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns defenses. Flacco has never seen anything like what LeBeau is about to throw at him.

LeBeau has socks that have been in more NFL games than Flacco has. Clearly, he has forgotten more about football then Flacco will ever know. It is his job to use his vastly superior knowledge and experience to completely baffle Flacco. If I were betting on this match-up, I’d put my money on LeBeau. Advantage: Steelers.

Haloti Ngata vs. Chris Kemoeatu
Besides being a battle of two of the more difficult names to pronounce in the NFL, this is a battle of two enormous human beings. “Kemo” is 6’3″, 344 lbs. Ngata is 6’4″, 340 lbs. That’s a lot of beef banging into one another.

Kemoeatu is in his first year as a starter, replacing the departed Alan Faneca. He got off to a good start against the Texans and Browns, but was totally overmatched against the blitzing Eagles. Ngata is surprisingly quick for his size, and he would be a challenge for Kemoeatu by himself. But Kemoeatu will have to battle Ngata while also preventing Baltimore’s linebackers from slipping between the gaps. Advantage: Draw.

Troy Polamalu vs. Todd Heap

Todd Heap has not been an integral part of Baltimore’s offense as of late. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he is a very capable weapon. Particularly in the red zone. If the Steelers are effective at stopping th Ravens’ rushing attack, Ravens Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron will probably instruct Flacco to go to Todd Heap as his second option. While the Steelers often drop linebackers into coverage, safety Troy Polamalu will probably get most of responsibility for stopping Heap. Advantage: Steelers.

James Harrison vs. Adam Terry

Last year, James Harrison had such a dominant performance against the Ravens on MNF, that some argue that that single game was responsible for making Harrison a Pro Bowler. Terry’s job will be to prevent Harrison from having a repeat performance. Uhhh yeah, good luck with that. Advantage: Steelers.

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