WR Santonio Holmes (Super Bowl XLIII MVP)

[Buckskin86]

WR Holmes knows Steelers favors run game
Buzz up!By John Harris, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 26, 2009


Santonio Holmes
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

Santonio Holmes is still seeking his first 1,000-yard receiving season in the NFL. More catches wouldn't hurt, either.

Holmes was matter-of-fact when discussing his goals for the 2009 season, and how he thinks he fits in the Steelers' offense.

While optimistic about being on track to have his best NFL season, Holmes said he has only so much leeway in the team's run-oriented attack.

"Everybody runs different systems in their offense," he said. "Our system happens to be run first. So we have to take the punches when they come, be able to deliver when they throw us the ball."

Holmes, who is concluding his workouts at Disney's Wide World of Sports in preparation for the opening of training camp on Friday, has gained weight this offseason in anticipation of facing more double teams.

He caught nine passes for 131 yards and the game-winning touchdown against Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII, earning MVP honors. He was the Steelers' top playmaker in the postseason overall, scoring a touchdown in each playoff game.

Holmes, who also finished second on the team in receptions (55), receiving yards (821) and touchdown receptions (five) during the regular season, said he is learning to be more patient.

"I can only do so much with the opportunities the coaches give me,'' he said. "I've got to continue to have that trust from my quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger), that he can trust me to get that ball to me. And no matter what kind of coverage, I'm going to perform the way I'm supposed to.

"The more opportunities I get from the coaches to touch the ball ? to do punt returns, whatever it is ? I think that will definitely dictate how well my season goes.''

WR Holmes knows Steelers favors run game - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[Buckskin86]

Harris: Holmes is putting the team first
By John Harris, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, August 5, 2009


Forgive Santonio Holmes for his exuberance after scoring the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII and earning MVP honors with nine receptions for 131 yards in the Steelers' 27-23 victory over Arizona in Tampa.

Understandably, Holmes, who trains at Disney's Wide World of Sports ? 90 miles up the road from Tampa ? during the offseason, was feeling confident about having a more prominent role in the offense when he told the Tribune-Review in late June, "I can only do it with the opportunities the coaches give me. The more opportunities I get from the coaches to touch the ball, I think that will definitely dictate how well my season goes.''

Holmes extended an olive branch to the coaching staff because he fully understands the Steelers are a run-first, pass-second offense. The chances of him hiking his receiving total from 55 in 2008 to, say, 100 in 2009 are slim and none. Knowing that, Holmes will settle for some kind of happy medium.

So far, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians isn't taking the bait.

"Everything we do is to try to win the game,'' Arians said Monday. "It's not about stats. I think all of our guys know that. If we play well, they're going to have enough stats.

"Tone broke out in the playoffs last year and became the player we all knew he'd be. People want to put 100 catches on a guy. You can go to the worst team in the league and catch 100 balls because they're throwing every down. You get your respect from your peers just beating them, winning.''

Holmes said it isn't about the number of catches for him as much as it is the quality of catches.

"We're not concerned about being compared to other guys. All we want to do is win a Super Bowl,'' Holmes said. "If Ben (Roethlisberger) and I can work on the same page and win another Super Bowl, that's what we want to do. We're not going to worry about being compared to other quarterbacks and receivers, or is our package ? me and Hines (Ward) ? better than the other guys?''

Holmes had three or fewer receptions in eight regular-season games in 2008. It's difficult to determine if that's what the playbook dictated, although Arians said Holmes was double-teamed a lot last season.

In fact, Arians suggested that Holmes is playing more slot receiver during training camp because it's difficult for teams to double the inside receiver. Holmes is taking reps from Ward, who despite being OK physically, has been held out of practices.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_636786.html

[Dryden]

YouTube - Reebok Fantasy Files: Santonio Holmes

[korchiki]

Originally Posted by Dryden

YouTube - Reebok Fantasy Files: Santonio Holmes

awesome!!!

[Buckskin86]

Harris: Holmes hardly noticeable this preseason
Buzz up!By John Harris, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, August 27, 2009


Santonio Holmes
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

So far this preseason, Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes may as well be invisible.

The Steelers wide receiver has one reception for 16 yards, and he's been targeted only twice in the first two exhibition games.

Holmes hasn't gone diva on the coaching staff, as many of the elite pass catchers in the NFL are prone to do. Not once has Holmes delivered a "do you know who I am?" proclamation to the team via the media.

The difference between Holmes and many of his peers is that Holmes mostly keeps his thoughts private.

Holmes loves catching the ball, but he appears to love winning even more.

"We're not bickering and (complaining) about anything in the preseason. I don't have any focus on if I catch a pass or I don't in the preseason," Holmes said. "It's not going in the stat book. It's not going to count toward us winning the Super Bowl."

The Steelers know what Holmes can do. They're not so sure about Limas Sweed and rookie Mike Wallace. They know what Shaun McDonald can do, but McDonald can't stretch the secondary the way that Wallace can.

McDonald has been thrown to a team-high 11 times, Sweed has been targeted nine times and Wallace eight times. Hines Ward has been thrown to five times.

"It's more so just been the play-calling. We really don't have much (offense) in," Holmes said. "I catch maybe six to eight balls every day in practice. Me going up against the No. 1 defense in the world, it doesn't hurt to not catch a ball in the preseason.

Harris: Holmes hardly noticeable this preseason - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[naptownbuck]

They say you are remembered for how you play in The Game. Well Holmes was pretty damn good.

In three games he had 17 receptions, 243 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns.

Jeremy Lesueur - Toast
Leon Hall - Toast
Marlin Jackson - Ha! No chance
Brandon Englemon & Prescott Burgess? - Ya might want to put a cover guy on #4 scUM.

YouTube - Santonio Holmes vs Michigan Part One

YouTube - Santonio Holmes vs Michigan Part Two

[Buckskin86]

Steelers' Holmes held out with back injury
Buzz up!By Scott Brown, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Steelers held wide receiver Santonio Holmes out of Saturday night's preseason game against the Buffalo Bills because of a tender back.

Holmes took a helmet to the back in last Saturday's 17-13 loss to the Redskins, and the Steelers didn't want to risk the Super Bowl MVP making the injury worse in an exhibition game.

Steelers' Holmes held out with back injury - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[Buckskin86]

Steelers' Holmes to raise funds for sickle-cell research
Friday, September 04, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press


Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes.Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes will be the host for a celebrity bowl-a-thon tomorrow to raise funds for sickle-cell disease research and to assist families that have been affected by the disease.

The event will benefit the III & Long Foundation, which Holmes established in March in honor of his son, Santonio III, who has sickle-cell disease.

Holmes, 25, learned in May that his son carries the sickle-cell trait.

"My 7-year-old is doing a lot better. It is almost to the point of being controllable. He has to take medication every day and probably will for the rest of his life," Holmes said.

"I know how expensive the medications and the hospital visits can be, so one of our goals in establishing the foundation is to assist families that have been affected by the disease along with helping in the research to find a cure for SCD."

Read more: Steelers' Holmes to raise funds for sickle-cell research

Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes takes the high road, keeps low
By Chris Harry
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 4, 2009

Consider the confluence of circumstances required for an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly to feature Eurythmics lead singer Annie Lennox alongside Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

Hint: throw out parallel universes and apocalypses.

It can only be one thing.

The same thing that got Holmes, who grew up chasing rabbits through the Belle Glade mud, a seat next to Jennifer Aniston on Jay Leno's couch last February.

"It's been pretty crazy," the reigning Super Bowl MVP has said over and over the last nine months. "Been pretty fun, too."

Holmes' life changed forever last Feb. 1 when he leaped into the cool Tampa night and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger with 35 seconds on the Raymond James Stadium clock.

The play capped a pulsating, game-winning drive and gave the Steelers a one-for-the-ages 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII and immediately placed Holmes among the likes of Dwight Clark, Lynn Swann and David Tyree as recipients of the most famous catches in league history.

"It was really something to marvel at," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.

Mere moments after Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald split the Steelers secondary for a 64-yard touchdown to give his team the lead with barely three minutes left, Holmes approached Roethlisberger on the sidelines with a message.

"Get me the ball," he said.

Holmes, who starred at Glades Central and Ohio State, caught four passes on the ensuing drive, finishing with nine receptions for 131 yards, capped by some graceful acrobatics worthy of Cirque du Soleil.

Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes takes the high road, keeps low profile -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

[osugrad21]

Link

Holmes eyes big season

This article has been read 20 times.
By F. Dale Lolley, Staff writer
dlolley@observer-reporter.com
PITTSBURGH - Santonio Holmes was a guest on the Tonight Show and attended star-studded events in the months after winning Super Bowl MVP honors following his game-winning touchdown reception against the Arizona Cardinals in February.
Now, the 25-year-old Holmes has one more event he'd like to attend - a Pro Bowl.
To achieve that, the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver will have to do something he never did in high school, at The Ohio State University or in his first three years with the Steelers. And that's have a 1,000-yard season.
That's right, not even at Ohio State, where Holmes was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in his final season.
"I think that one still kind of eats me up inside," Holmes said Monday as the Steelers prepared to open the 2009 season Thursday at Heinz Field against the Tennessee Titans.
"That touches me more than having the touchdowns, having the catches, just doing that one time in my career. Whenever it happens, I'm going to be excited and push for more."
Regardless of his statistics, Holmes enters the 2009 season with a little more attention from opponents, the fans and media.
That's what happens when you make one of the greatest game-winning touchdown receptions in NFL playoff history to go with a nine catches for 131 yards in the Super Bowl.
"Everywhere I go, even on MySpace, I get, 'Man, that was a great catch. That was a great game.' It's been a big part of my life ever since that happened," Holmes said.

Cont...

[Buckskin86]

On the Steelers: Holmes forever measured by the company he keeps
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Matt Freed
Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes pulls in the winning touchdown pass against the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.Move over, Maz and Franco, you have a third member of the perpetual Pittsburgh superhero club.

Bill Mazeroski and Franco Harris report that not a day goes by without someone asking them about their famous World Series home run or Immaculate Reception. The two feats, performed 12 years apart, could never be surpassed. Except now there are three in Pittsburgh.

Santonio Holmes' Super Bowl-winning catch Feb. 1 deserves equal time with Maz's home run that smote the mighty New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series and with Franco's Immaculate Reception in 1972 that brought the Steelers their first playoff victory.

As with those two men, Holmes forever will be linked to one unforgettable play in Pittsburgh sports history.

"That's going to be a tag for the rest of my life, when I'm dead and gone," Holmes said yesterday as the Super Bowl MVP prepares for his fourth NFL season.

All were young players when they performed their Pittsburgh miracles. Mazeroski was 25, Harris 22 and in his rookie season, Holmes 24.

Mazeroski and Harris, the Steelers' first Super Bowl MVP, went on to their respective sport's Halls of Fame. They still say they gladly endure people asking them about their one-play feats over these so many years. Perhaps Holmes will get tired of it some day, but it does not sound as if he will.

"Everywhere I go in public, even on my Facebook, MySpace, everybody sending messages, 'Man, that was a great catch, that was a great game.' So it's definitely been part of my life ever since it happened."

Holmes believes the winning Super Bowl catch -- when he performed his version of another Pittsburgher, Gene Kelly, by tapping both toes inbounds -- has brought him more stature in his locker room. He is now "able to speak my mind to coaches and the team, and everybody believes in me and knows I'm capable of getting the job done."

He has not been able to get it done lately, though, because he took a helmet to the back Aug. 22 in Washington and missed the final two preseason games.

"He's been hurt for a while, and we tried to knock the rust off this week in practice," offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said. "If he could start where he left off, he was going to have a great year. If he has to regress and restart again, it's going to be a slow September."

No matter what happens from here, Holmes should never have to pay for another drink in this town. And, like Mazeroski and Harris, you can always remind him about the moment that is etched right next to theirs.

"I always have to smile when somebody talks about the Super Bowl," Holmes said, "because that's a significant part of my life that will stick with me and stick with my kids until it's over."

Read more: On the Steelers: Holmes forever measured by the company he keeps

Steelers' Homes ready to keep returning punts
Buzz up!By Scott Brown, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 8, 2009

? Santonio Holmes isn't ready to cede all of the punt-returning duties to preseason sensation Stefan Logan just yet.

"I don't think anybody said I was not going to be returning punts this year," the Steelers wide receiver said. "That's not completely out of the picture."

Holmes said he would like to serve as a situational punt returner as he did last season.

He has averaged 8.2 yards on punt returns during his career. Holmes returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown in the Steelers' 35-24 win over the San Diego Chargers in an AFC divisional playoff game last January.

"That's a part of my game," Holmes said of returning punts. "That's a part that gets me excited about going out every Sunday and playing in a game. I feel like I've got more control with the ball in my hands as a punt returner than I do just out there trying to catch passes."

Steelers' Homes ready to keep returning punts - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[Buckskin86]

No catch phrase needed to recall Holmes' big play
Associated Press
Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- There's no catchy nickname for it - The Catch, after all, is taken by the 49ers' Dwight Clark. That's all right with Santonio Holmes, who is fast realizing that a catch phrase won't be needed for people to remember his play of a lifetime.

Second-and-goal at the Cardinals 6, 42 seconds to go. The Steelers, down 23-20 in the Super Bowl, are in scoring range only because of Ben Roethlisberger's 40-yard completion to Holmes two plays before. Immediately after that, on first down, Roethlisberger's pass sails above Holmes' outstretched hands in the left corner of the end zone.

This time, Roethlisberger looks right and spots Holmes in the back of the end zone along the right sideline. As three defenders converge, Holmes makes the catch, managing to drag his left foot and tap his right foot in-bounds at the same time. It is one of the best clutch catches in Super Bowl history, and it secures the Steelers' record sixth Super Bowl title.

A catch this good doesn't need a name. The image of it that remains with anyone who watched the game is enough.

"That's going to be with me the rest of my life," Holmes said. "When I'm dead and gone, people still will remember the Super Bowl catch."

Maybe it won't be recalled in Pittsburgh with the same reverence as, say, Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception against Oakland in 1972, but Holmes couldn't go anywhere during the offseason without being reminded of it. He couldn't go out among friends or family, couldn't go to dinner, couldn't go online.

"Everywhere I go- MySpace, Facebook - everyone's sending messages, `That was a great catch' and `That was a great game,"' Holmes said.

That's also part of Holmes' challenge as the former first-round draft pick from Ohio State, known as 'Tone to his teammates, begins his fourth NFL season.

No catch phrase needed to recall Holmes' big play - Associated Press - NFL - Sporting News

[Buckskin86]

Holmes wants to add to his Super Bowl heroics
By: Mike Bires - Beaver County Times


Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes(10) catches a touchdown pass as Arizona Cardinals safety Aaron Francisco(47) and his teammate Ralph Brown watch during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

PITTSBURGH ? For months now, coach Mike Tomlin has been preaching that 2008 is history and that it?s time to move on. Santonio Holmes is trying, but for the Super Bowl hero, it?s not easy.

He still can?t get his history-setting catch out of his mind.

"Everywhere I go in public, even on my Facebook and MySpace, everybody is sending me messages, 'Man, that was a great catch. That was a great game,?? said Holmes, the Steelers? wide receiver who snagged the game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLIII.

?So it's definitely been part of my life ever since it happened. That's going to be a tag for the rest of my life, when I'm dead and gone.?

Holmes? 6-yard grab with 35 seconds left to play on a brilliantly thrown pass thrown by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will likely go down in history as one of the great clutch catches of all-time. But Holmes would be wise to heed Tomlin?s advice.

Last year is over. It?s time to move on, starting with tonight?s season-opening showdown against the Tennessee Titans.

It?s time for the Steelers to start over, and it?s time for Holmes to continue his pursuit of elite status in the National Football League.

For the most part, Holmes has lived up to his billing since the Steelers took him in the first round of the 2006 draft.

He?s caught 49, 52 and 55 passes in his first three seasons, respectively, as the second passing-game option to fellow wideout Hines Ward. He?s averaged 16.6 yards per catch during that time with 15 TDs.

Ward, meanwhile, caught 81, 71 and 74 passes over the past three years with an average of 12.1 yards per catch and 20 TDs.

"Hines has reiterated that to me tons and tons of times throughout my four years here that, ?Don't go out expecting the big numbers. Just go out, play hard and have fun, take it for what it's worth,?? Holmes said.

That?s the plan this year for Holmes, a 25-year-old former Ohio State All-American. More than anything, he wants to do whatever he can to help the Steelers get back to the Super Bowl.

But along the way, he has a personal goal or two he?d like to achieve.

One, he?d like to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. He?s yet to do reach that milestone as a high school, college or pro player.

Second, he?d like to become the next Steeler wide receiver to make it to the Pro Bowl. Ward went to the NFL all-star game four straight years (2004-2007).

TimesOnline.com: ?Holmes wants to add to his Super Bowl heroics

Was Super moment Holmes' springboard to superstardom?
By Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY

Less than a three-hour drive from his difficult childhood in a depressed rural Florida town, Santonio Holmes' life changed forever on a memorable evening in Tampa seven months ago.

Holmes' last-minute winning touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLIII earned the Pittsburgh Steelers a sixth Super Bowl victory and the MVP trophy for the third-year wide receiver. His twinkle-toes snag deep in the corner of the end zone, stunning three Arizona Cardinals defenders, dipped Holmes' hands — and feet — in bronze.

"You could play for 100 years and never make a better play than that," says Cris Carter, an ESPN analyst and former NFL star wideout. "This should be the year he launches into the stratosphere."

For an encore, beginning this evening in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, the split end from Belle Glade, Fla., hopes to soar a little less spectacularly, preferring to add consistency. Holmes, 25, has yet to be named to the Pro Bowl or catch more than 55 passes in a season. His primary goal this season is to play every game. His ultimate ambition is far loftier.

"The only career goal I have is to be a Hall of Famer," he says. "However I get there, whatever it takes, that's what I'm doing.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/footb...es-cover_N.htm

[Evan]

Santonio Holmes scores the first TD of the 2009 NFL season...he is straight up sexy.

[EDDIE GGGG27]

Holmes with the 1st Td of the NFL season.

[EDDIE GGGG27]

I have Holmes on my fantasy team too