Ziggy Hood Poised to Lead Steelers Defensive Line

The Steelers overtime playoff loss to the Denver Broncos left a lot of bad memories for SteelersNation. At times the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers played with so much promise, at other times they were maddeningly inconsistent.

But the playoff game also saw a changing of the guard on the defensive line. Long time anchor Casey Hampton went down with a ACL tear. Brett Keisel also fell injured. That left Ziggy Hood, Cameron Heyward and Steve McLendon on their own. Literally.

• The results were not pretty. 

Tim Tebow had his way with the Steelers defense. And although some of that does fall on the shoulders of the secondary and Dick LeBeau’s staff, the Steelers defensive lineman didn’t feel that they’d done their part.

As Joe Starkey points out in the Tribune Review, Ziggy Hood didn’t pout, he went out and did something about it.

Check out this video of Hood pulling a 1200 pound sled.



And if that’s not enough for you, check out a longer version of the rest of Hood’s workout:



If Ziggy Hood doesn’t have a break out year it won’t be for lack of preparation, because Hood clearly has the look of a man on a mission.

Thanks for visiting.  Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

Five Keys to the Steelers Success in 2012

Steelers Nation will soon learn what the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers are really made of. Since losing Super Bowl XLV the Steelers have remained an enigma.

• The Ravens utterly humiliated them to start 2011 

Yet the Steelers bounced back strong enough by mid season to school their long-time nemesis the New England Patriots.

• Pittsburgh entered 2011 the secondary as their weak link. Nonetheless, the Steelers pass defense finished number 1

Yet, two late game passes, one from Joe Flacco and another from Tim Tebow, defined their playoff fortunes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the NFL’s mystery as and the ESPN, SI, and SB Nation vastly differing predictions indicate. Steelers are a team in transition with franchise mainstays off to their “Life’s Work” while others such as Casey Hampton are entering the encore stage of their careers.

Strong organizations weather personnel changes without altering their fundamental character.

But the Pittsburgh Steelers face a different challenge in 2012. Five key, long-held assumptions about the Steelers will be tested this year. Some of these are urban myths, others speak directly to the identify of the franchise. Regardless, the season's fortunes hinge upon them.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Don’t Win Three Years in a Row

The logic goes like this. Since 2001, the Steelers have posted double digit wins and followed them with disappointing ones and the press has bandied this about like it’s the decoding key to the Rosetta Stone.

• Nonsense.

If the Steelers don’t make the playoffs this year it won’t be because they some how “won too many games” in the previous to seasons.

Outsiders are Doomed as Steelers Offensive Coordinators

Let’s face it, Todd Haley is fighting history.

The 1989 Steelers captured the imagination of Steelers Nation. Chuck Noll followed by bringing in Joe Walton and the offense almost revolted as a result.

Chan Gailey was developing Kordell Stewart nicely, and Bill Cowher tapped Ray Sherman to replace him, who had a sterling record in developing quarterbacks.

Sherman was an utter disaster, contributing heavily to Kordell Stewart’s ruin.

Cowher replaced Sherman with Kevin Gilbride, who only made things worse.

Does this history doom Todd Haley?  Of course not.

• Todd Haley's ability to get along with Big Ben will play a key role in the Steelers success this year, but...

The misdeeds of Walton, Sherman, and Gilbride will have zero impact on Haley’s ability to control the clock, protect Ben Roethlisberger, and score in the Red Zone.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Always Can Find Good Running Backs

Since the NFL-AFL merger, no team has rushed for more yards than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Current and future Hall of Famers Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis gave Pittsburgh a good chunk of that yardage.

• Both were first round picks who made good.

But overlooked and undervalued draft picks have played just as large a role. 10th round picks like Merril Hoge and Frank Pollard and undrafted rookie free agents like Willie Parker and Isaac Redman hold almost as high a space in franchise lore.

Second tier rushers such as Erric Pegram, John L. Williams, and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala both ran hard and found ways to make it happen when games were on the line.

Even when the Steelers have reached deep into their depth chart, now forgotten running backs responded. In 1988 and 1989 Rodney Carter came out of no where and made big plays, often times by doing little more the “going out and getting open.”

The fourth string running back Mewelde Moore delivered with stunning results in a crucial game against vs. Jacksonville in 2008.

• Can the Steelers continue the trend?

Rashard Mendenhall is coming off of ACL surgery. Isaac Redman has been banged up and David Johnson and John Clay, two guys the Steelers figured to count on for depth, were lost in preseason.

Two weeks ago the Steelers desperately signed DeJuan Harris simply to get through the preseason finale.

Jonathan Dwyer looks good. Baron Batch has been OK. Chris Rainey’s got burning speed. Redman is practicing and so is Mendenhall.

Will latest mixture of a first rounder plus draft-day afterthoughts rise to the task?

A big part of the Steelers success in 2012 hinges on the answer being “yes.”

Linebacking Leads the Steelers Defense

The headline is arguable. The term “Steel Curtain” does refer to Joe Greene, Ernie Holmes, Dwight White, and L.C. Greenwood.

But the linebackers actually lead in the Hall of Fame count, thanks to Jack Lambert and Jack Ham.

Consider some of the foursomes the Steelers have fielded at linebacker:

• Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, David Little, and Brian Hinkle
• Kevin Greene, Levon Kirkland, Chad Brown, and Greg Lloyd
• Jason Gildon, Levon Kirkland, Earl Holmes, and Joey Porter
• Jason Gildon, James Farrior, Larry Foote, and Joey Porter
• James Harrison, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, and LaMarr Woodley

And that leaves out key role players like Jerry Olsvasky, Jerrol Williams, and Clark Haggans.

• Since 1971 the Steelers have sent at least one linebacker to the Pro Bowl 34 times.

If the Steelers running backs are a group on the mend, its linebacking corps continues to ail. James Harrison Jason Worilds sat the entire summer. Sean Spence looked promising, then destroyed his knee. Stevenson Sylvester is also injured and unavailable.

Replacements such as Chris Carter and Adrian Robinson looked good but remain untested in games that count.

The Steelers do still have Larry Foote (who missed practice last week), LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons.

• The Steelers can afford no more injuries, and these men must deliver.

Woodley, streakiness aside, will come through. Fans worry about Foote, but he too will be above the line.

Lawrence Timmons holds the key. If the Steelers get the aggressive, play making Timmons of 2010 the defense has a shot. If they get the tentative, Timmons of 2009 and 2011, Steelers Nation will be in for some long afternoons.

Will “The Standard” Remain the Standard?

During his first year, Mike Tomlin turned heads when he dismissed concerns about the impact of injuries declaring “The standard is standard. Injuries will not be an excuse.”

Was he saying that Tyrone Carter was as good as Troy Polamalu?

Was this a coaching mind trick?

• For Tomlin, this is no mind trick.

He once explained in the Steelers Digest that membership in the NFL already means you’re in the top one half of one percent of the football playing population and therefore you’re capable of playing “Above the Line.”

Tomlin’s got a point. How many college superstars struggle to keep third string jobs in the NFL? That’s because when you mix the best of the very best together, the differentiators are going to be subtle.

Tomlin knew that Tyrone Carter isn’t the athlete that Troy Polamalu is, but he doesn’t need to be to have a winning performance.

Think about it. Tomlin’s right. Did lack of athletic ability freeze Carter like a deer in the headlights as David Garrard made the defining play of the 2007 playoff loss to Jacksonville?

• On the flip side the 2008 Super Bowl run saw the Steelers rebuild their offensive line in mid-season, vindicating Tomlin. 

Those tests will continue in Denver where Robert Golden and Ryan Mundy remain one play away from guarding the center of the field vs. Peyton Manning. And only a couple of mishaps will put Kelvin Bechaman between Ben and a ferocious Denver defense.

Even if they avoid injury vs. Denver, injuries are going to happen and the 2012 Season figures to give “The Standard is the Standard” its biggest stress test yet.

How will the Steelers hold up as they test themselves against these assumptions? Steelers Nation will start finding out tonight in Denver.

Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

David DeCastro to IR, Steelers Sign DeMarcus Van Dyke

Just yesterday Steel Curtain Rising opined that the Steelers were acting wisely in delaying their decision to put David DeCastro on the IR list.

The logic was that prudence was warranted, there was no need to hurry to put DeCastro on IR, lest a higher-value starter were to get injured. And besides, no one was going to sign Trai Essex, and by signing him after the Broncos game, the Steelers would avoid being on the hook for his salary for the entire year.

The Steelers did put David DeCastro on the injured reserve list today, and they did it because they signed another player. Except it wasn’t Essex.

The Steelers signed DeMarcus Van Dyke Friday, who had been cut earlier in the week by the Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders drafted Van Dyke in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, making him the 81st player overall taken. To put that into context that’s 14 picks higher than Curtis Brown and 47 picks higher than Cortez Allen, the Steelers 3rd and 4th round picks for the 2011 NFL Draft.

Van Dyke played in 12 games for the Raiders last year, starting in 4 contests on the NFL’s 27th ranked pass defense. Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle discussed Van Dyke’s fall from grace:

Van Dyke, drafted in what was a bit of a reach in the third round last year, played in 14 games with four starts, recording 13 tackles, four passes defended and one interception. He was the fastest player at the NFL combine, running a 4.28 40-yard dash. 

He played well the first two weeks of training camp, routinely breaking up pass plays, but struggled once the preseason games started. Against Arizona, he got beaten twice on deep passes and missed a tackle on a running play that resulted in a touchdown.

Lake Reclamation Project?

Van Dyke raw athletic talent is evident. The Raiders have been cleaning house in the secondary, and one must wonder if they gave up on him too soon, even if they discovered he was a reach.

A year ago there was another third round corner who’d done little to justify his high draft status. He’d been written off as a little more than a place holder on a unit that was unquestionably a team’s weak link.

• Everyone in the organization had given up on him. Everyone except for one man, the new secondary coach.

The player was Keenan Lewis, the Steelers third round pick from 2009 NFL Draft. History said it was past now or never time for Lewis, but Carnell Lake wasn’t buying into any of it.

Carnell Lake worked with Lewis individually. Lewis improved dramatically, notching the game-sealing interception vs. Kansas City last year, and will start for the Steelers Sunday vs. the Broncos.

Will DeMarcus Van Dyke benefit similarly from the “Lake Effect?” Time will tell.

But if he doesn’t, it won’t be for lack of quality coaching.

Essex to Return Anyway?

Just because Van Dyke is here does not mean that Essex won’t be back. Behind their starting front five, the Steelers only have Mike Adams, Doug Legursky, and Kelvin Beachum.

Expect another roster move next week to clear space for Trai Essex to return.

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

Steelers Prudent on DeCastro IR Decision

When word filtered out that David DeCastro had in fact not injured his ACL, Steelers Nation celebrated.

The much ballyhooed rookie who inexplicably fell to the Steelers in the 2012 NFL Draft might be available for part of the 2012 season afterall, but….

Yes, there was a big but. The Steelers are a team that’s ailing, already carrying a number of players on its opening day roster who cannot or should not be playing (Steveonson Sylvester, Ryan Clark, Rashard Mendenhall, you can probably add Jason Worilds to that list too.)

Just in time the NFLPA seemed to step forward to the rescue, approving a new rule that would allow a team to place one designated player on injured reserve list and then activate him after week 8 of the season.

Rules stipulate that the designated player must be on the team’s 53 man roster when final cuts are due into the league office. But after all others clear waivers, teams can make their roster moves.

The Steelers dutifully trimmed roster to 53 men, and Trai Essex, veteran jack of all trades offensive lineman, was one of those who got a visit from The Turk.

No one expected another team to sign Essex, and everyone expected the Steelers to place DeCastro on IR and them resign Essex as soon as they could.

So far the Steelers have done nothing….

Experience, Economics Temper Steelers Decision Making

There’s little doubt that the Steelers want David DeCastro available to them by mid-season. It would be immeasurably good for the rookie to get some reps this year, and past history suggests that the Steelers will need a healthy lineman to step in.

The Steelers haven’t moved yet for two simple reasons.

They’ve been there, done that.

Knock on wood, this hasn’t been an issue for some time, but the Steelers have lost key starters on week 1 more than once. In 1995 it was Rod Woodson (and Neil O’Donnell.) In 1996 it was Greg Lloyd. In 2009 it was Troy Polamalu.

If David DeCastro can fully recover by mid-season then there’s a real chance he can contribute. But DeCastro at the end of the day is a rookie. And there are other Steelers whom the Steelers could lose and want to bring back who player bigger roles with the team.

The second motive is purely economic.

If Trai Essex is on Pittsburgh’s roster on opening day, then Steelers are on the hook for his entire salary for the full year. The Steelers have a complicated salary cap situation and they need every inch of flexibility they can get with it.

Signing Essex next week gives them the ability to cut him later (if need be) without tying up money to someone who is no longer on the team.

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

Predicting the AFC North Champions - How do the Steelers Fare?

Opening day in the NFL is upon us, which of course brings us no shortage of pundits and predictions.

Peter King of SI is of course projecting the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8-8 and third in the AFC North, while the overall split between the team of writers there was 5-4 in favor of the Baltimore Ravens as division champions.. An ESPN poll of its experts split their division winner predictions 50/50 between the Steelers and the Ravens.

However, our friends Matt Ufford and Brad Wells at SB Nation have also offered a split prediction, but one that comes with a surprise.


Yours truly will offer no preseason predictions. Living down here in Buenos Aires just leaves me feeling too unconnected from the whole NFL scene to really get a good feel for the rest of the league.
However, I freely admit that part of me feels good that the Steelers are going into the season as underdogs
Thanks for visiting.  Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 Roster

“Only the Best 53 Will Make the Team.”

Every NFL coach says that. It’s required of them. The twist is that some coaches actually mean it. Last year Peter King singled out Green Bay head coach Max McCarthey for putting 4 tight ends on the roster because those guys on the bubble just happened to be a little better than guys on the bubble elsewhere on the depth chart.

Much can be said of the 53 men that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert have selected to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 opening day roster.

Mike Tomlin opened Steelers 2012 training camp by affirming that roster spots would be earned based on performance, not on potential or need.

The look of the Steelers initial 53 man roster reveals that Tomlin has put his money where his mouth is.

Quarterbacks (3)

Ben Roethlisberger
Byron Leftwich
Charlie Batch

Here you have your first and best example. When David DeCastro went down, the conventional wisdom was that Batch was a gonner. With all of the injured the Steelers are carrying roster spots are precious.

But as Tomlin has said when Leftwich arrived in 2008, “Let’s let the play speak for itself.” Charlie Batch did that, and he clearly showed why he belongs.

The Steelers have had the NFL’s deepest bullpen at quarterback for almost a decade. The fact that they have three Super Bowl appearances and two victories in that span is no coincidence.

Running Backs (6)

Baron Batch
Chris Rainey
Jonathan Dwyer
Isaac Redman
Rashard Mendenhall
Will Johnson

Here’s another example of sacrificing game-day roster depth to keep a guy who is just a little better than those on the bubble in another area.

It’s been a long time since Pittsburgh carried six running backs. And yes, The Steelers do have injury issues at running back.

But Batch’s presence on the final roster probably has less to do with that, and more to do with the fact that he simply added more value to the team than did Toney Clemons and David Gilbraeth, two wide outs on the bubble.

Wide receivers (4)

Mike Wallace
Antonio Brown
Emmanuel Sanders
Jerricho Cotchery

When was the last time the Steelers went with 4 wide outs? OK, OK, Chris Rainey can split wide, I get that. Rainey’s position flexibility helped here, the fact is that Tomlin only saw four NFL quality wide outs on his training camp roster and those are the four that made the team.

Offensive linemen (9)

Maurkice Pouncey
Doug Legursky
David DeCastro
Kelvin Beachum
Ramon Foster
Willie Colon
Marcus Gilbert
Mike Adams
Max Starks

This lineup is going to change soon, as David DeCastro is almost certainly headed for IR. Trai Essex might be back.

Tight ends (4)

Heath Miller
Leonard Pope
David Paulson
Weslye Saunders*

*Weslye Saunders will begin serving a four game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, but he only made the team because he stepped up his play late in the preseason. David Paulson is likely holding a place until Saunders returns, although he could beat out free agent signing Lenoard Pope, who did little to distinguish himself in camp.

Defensive linemen (7)

Al Woods
Steve McLendon
Alameda Ta’amu
Ziggy Hood
Cameron Heyward
Casey Hampton
Brett Keisel

The off-discussed, slow developing youth movement on the Steelers defensive line has finally gained the upper hand.

Linebackers (9)

Adrian Robinson
Brandon Johnson
Larry Foote
Chris Carter
Stevenson Sylvester
LaMarr Woodley
James Harrison
Jason Worilds
Lawrence Timmons

Another area riddled with injuries, look for Chris Carter to see a lot of time in addition to Brandon Johnson playing both inside and outside. Lawrence Timmons needs to step up.

Cornerbacks (4)

Keenan Lewis
Ike Taylor
Cortez Allen
Curtis Brown

The Steelers are only opening with four cornerbacks. Count them, one, two, three, four. In 2009, the Steelers opened with 6.

Again, it’s tempting to attribute this to depth/injury issues elsewhere, but who among the corners cut would be better than someone who was kept at running back, linebacker, or offensive line?

Safeties (5)

Ryan Clark
Troy Polamalu
Will Allen
Ryan Mundy
Robert Golden

Robert Golden suffered a hamstring injury vs. Carolina in the preseason. That could put his status for the Denver game in doubt, a game where the Steelers will already start without Ryan Clark.

Given that the temptation to keep Damon Cromartie-Smith and cut Golden had to have been great. But Golden outplayed Cromartie-Smith so Tomlin put him on the team instead.

Punter and Kicker (1)

Drew Butler
Shaun Suisham

Steel Curtain Rising was a loud advocate of David Harpmann. But for as solid as Harpmann’s kicking was, Suisham also did everything the Steelers asked of him in preseason and he made the team.

On the flip side, Drew Butler had a great camp, and played extremely well in preseason. Unfortunately injuries kept Justin Kapinos from the field and, as Tim McKyer once said of Barry Foster, “You can’t make the club if you’re always in the tub.”

Long snapper (1)

Greg Warren

He does only one thing, but fortunately for the Steelers he does it very well.


A New Roster for a New Era

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a single organization that fields a unique team ever year. Yet this team carries more distinctions than previous editions.

Just one summer ago, one could surmise the remnants of Tom Donahoe’s thumb print in the presence of Aaron Smith and Hines Ward, both of whom are now seeking their “Life’s Work.”

And while Bill Cowher’s influence remains strong in terms of quality, it is waning on the quantity front. Even if you assume Trai Essex’s return, the 2012 Steelers will only have 14 players to have strapped on the pads for Bill Cowher.

Pittsburgh Steelers – An Equal Opportunity Employer

Another thing that jumps out is just how diverse the Steelers roster is. Yes, most of the talent is home grown. But after you account for that fact, it’s a melting pot.

If you include DeCastro, 10 former first round picks will hold prominent roles for the Steelers – in other words, all be three of Kevin Colbert’s first round picks remain on the team in prominent roles (the exceptions being Plaxico Burrus, Kendall Simmons, and Santonio Holmes.)

Beyond those ten first round picks you literally have the spectrum represented on the rest of the roster. The opening day defensive line will feature a 7th round pick (Brett Keisel), an unrestricted rookie free agent (Steve McClendon) and a first rounder (Ziggy Hood).

The offensive line boasts similar diversity. From left to right you’ve got a third round pick (Max Starks) playing next to a fourth rounder (Willie Colon) next to a first rounder (Maurkice Pouncey), next to an unrestricted rookie free agent (Ramon Foster), book ended by a second round pick (Marcus Gilbert.)

The message is clear:  Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert don’t care about what school you went to or where you were (or weren’t drafted) they only care about your ability.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome of the Steelers 2012 Season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have built their roster with a solid personnel philosophy.

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

Gilreath, Clemons, and Cromartie-Smith Headline Steelers Practice Squad - Jerrod Jackson Left Off...

Having cut their roster to 53 men, the Pittsburgh Steelers completed their eight man practice squad, which includes:

John Malecki, offensive linemen
Ryan Lee, offensive lineman
David Gilreath, wide receiver
Toney Clemons, wide receiver
Jamie McCoy, tight end
Marshall McFadden, linebacker
Damon Cromartie-Smith, safety
Josh Victorian, cornerback

Conspicious by their absence are defensive lineman Corbin Bryant - who saw active service with the Steelers last year, running back DeJuan Harris, and of course quarterback Jerrod Jackson. Each of these men either looked sharp in preseason. However, the Steelers practice squad picks closely mirror the areas of need on their depth chart.

For the first time in recent memory, the Steelers are only carrying 5 wide receivers on their active roster, explaining the presence of preseason star David Gilreath and 7th round draft pick Toney Clemons.

As the Steelers current and past experiences have aptly demonstraited, you can never have too many offensive lineman familiar with your system, hence the presence of Malecki and Lee.

The Steelers are likewise thin at cornerback, likely explaining Josh Victorian's presence, and Damon Cromartie-Smith gives the Steelers options at safety.

Thanks for visiting.  Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More