Steelers Talk

[BuckNutty]

Originally Posted by UpNorthBuckeye

I probably missed it... but can someone tell me what happened to Mike Kudla?? Is he still trying to make the team?? Last thing Isaw was a couple weeks ago, he was going to sit out practice for a hamstring problem. I don't see him on the roster or anything.
If he is going to be relegated to the practice squad, I would rather see him get a chance to make a roster somewhere. I know he's a "tweener" due to his size but..... everytime I watch the Fiesta Bowl vs. ND I am knocked out by how good he was.

I hope he is getting a chance somewhere....

He was released a couple weeks ago. He injured a hamstring early in camp and he never really had a chance to show what he could do.

[AJHawkfan]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06237/716313-66.stm

Happy, grateful Big Ben sets high standards, goals

Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ben Roethlisberger lollygags through the Saint Vincent College campus, often with an iPod attached to his repaired head, in no rush to get to lunch, nor to return to the dorm or the locker room or the practice field.

That's deceptive because this 24-year-old is in a rush to go where no quarterback has ever gone, even if he already has been there.

"I don't talk about my goals, but they are cranked up a little bit," Roethlisberger said as he prepared for the Steelers' third exhibition game at 8 p.m. today in Philadelphia. "I got a little ahead of schedule by winning a Super Bowl."

Just a tad. It wasn't enough that he became the first quarterback to have a 13-0 record as a starter and that he did it as a rookie. He followed by becoming the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl at age 23. No quarterback in the game's history had such success in his first two years as a pro.

What's left? Survive a near deadly motorcycle accident and go on to win a second Super Bowl eight months later?

"I hope a lot's left," Roethlisberger said, pausing in the final days of training camp in Latrobe. "I would love to accomplish a lot. I would love to get more rings than any other quarterback in the history of the league. I'd love to be the greatest to ever play the game. That's an awesome goal."

They play only one major in pro football, yet Roethlisberger has a chance to become his sport's Tiger Woods. He's only 24 and he's 1 for 2, yet he also has a long way to go. Terry Bradshaw won his first Super Bowl in his fifth season. He won his fourth in his 11th season. He retired after his 16th without appearing in another. Two quarterbacks each won four Super Bowls: Bradshaw and Joe Montana, both with Pittsburgh connections.

Roethlisberger wants to outdo both. Kordell Stewart once said such things, too, topping it with his infamous prediction that he was headed for the Hall of Fame. But Roethlisberger can at least back up such goals by having already achieved some.

"My expectations are definitely high," he said. "For some reason -- heaven forbid -- I lost two or three games in a row, people are going to forget everything good that we've done, that I've done. But I won't."

Never mind lose two or three in a row, he's barely lost that in total since he was thrust into the lineup in the second game of 2004. He's 27-4, counting playoffs, in two seasons.

He wants more, but something occurred this summer that reminded him things can go up in smoke in a matter of seconds.

"You never know," Roethlisberger said, veering back 2 1/2 months to that ugly June 12, when his motorcycle and head were lying mangled on Second Avenue in Pittsburgh. "Like the accident, every play can be your last play. And that's something I've really come to appreciate, that every play could be my last one."

The accident that broke his jaw, his nose, an orbital bone and some teeth, changed him. He shed 15 pounds, not an unwelcome byproduct but surely not a weight-loss program he recommends. It's not the physical changes that he believes will have the most lasting effect on him.

"I'm thankful to be alive," Roethlisberger said. "Most people who know me say I'm smiling a lot more than I ever did. It seems like I'm having a lot more fun than I've ever had."

He signs one or two of his Nike shoes after many practices and gives them away to fans or sick children. He seemed to have more time to talk to reporters than he did in training camp last year, when the same reporters -- and coaches -- talked about how poorly he was playing. He attributes the new outlook to the accident, not that he's any more easygoing on the playing field.

"People say, 'Why do you still get mad on the field?' Well, I get mad because I set my bar of excellence high. But once I step off the field, if you watch me on the sideline, I'm laughing with Hines [Ward], and we're having a good time."

The accident "really has done that. It has made me realize how lucky I am and how blessed I am to be alive. Every day, I wake up and say thank you for being able to be here. I've always been thankful I've been able to play the game, but now I'm thankful to be alive. To be able to do this again just adds appreciation to it."

Who knows? He might never do it again, but history shows that quarterbacks who get off to fast starts rarely turn bad, and no one else has gotten off to such a fast start. His third training camp has been his best.

"Based on what you saw in the spring, he was making a tremendous amount of strides as far as his understanding of the offense and what he wanted to do," coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "After everything that happened, you worried about where he would be when he came back into training camp. It seems to me he's back in that same place. He knows what he wants to do, he's paying attention to the details and he's performing on the field."

The motorcycle accident always will be part of his resume, but it's quickly fading as an issue because of his performance. Not that it won't have some lasting effect.

"When I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror, I said holy cow, what just happened?" Roethlisberger said of his time in the hospital. "Football was so far down on the list as important things."

But, as he healed, he also heard people doubting how quickly -- or whether -- he could return to play and remain good at it.

"Once people started saying I couldn't do it," Roethlisberger said, "that motivated me more."

(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878. )

[AJHawkfan]

Steelers Notebook: Ward still eyes brief preseason exposure

Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Hines Ward missed one regular-season game in his first eight seasons. Tonight, he will miss his third exhibition game when the Steelers play in Philadelphia, and he might miss the game Thursday against Carolina, too.

He's hurt, frustrated, antsy to get back on a practice field and into a game, but he will settle for a return Sept. 7, when the Steelers open the season against Miami at Heinz Field.

"It's still disappointing, coming off a Super Bowl year and Super Bowl MVP, to come back in training camp and only getting a week's worth of practice," said Ward, his injured right hamstring packed in ice. "It's frustrating. I would have liked to have been out there competing and feeling good, but my job now is to get healthy. If I get healthy and get ready for that opener against Miami, that's the main thing."

Second-year pro Nate Washington, who caught one pass as a rookie all last season (in the AFC championship game), will make his third consecutive start in place of Ward at flanker. Coach Bill Cowher won't play his starters long Thursday against the Panthers, not with the opener the following Thursday night. It's possible some might not play at all in the exhibition finale, although there's one who still wants to do so.

"I'd like to get at least a series," Ward said. "I will lobby for it, but, at the same time, coach knows what's best for his team. I would like to get hit around before I go into the regular season and actually go into a full game without having playing time in the preseason.

"But, if I'm not 100 percent, I won't push it."

Holmes still adjusting

Rookie Santonio Holmes won't soon start unless there are more injuries to wide receivers. He is fourth or fifth on the depth chart, not because he had a poor training camp, but because Ward, Cedrick Wilson and Washington are ahead of him.

He could make spot contributions to the Steelers, but he is not expected to make any big ones as a receiver this season. It's a long way from the 2000 season, when first-round pick Plaxico Burress opened his rookie training camp as the starting split end.

"It was very tough mentally," Holmes said of his first pro camp. "My body took a beating at the start, but toward the end, I started to work a little harder, started to relax a lot more because I learned the system more."

His goals are more mundane than widespread.

"Personally, my goal right now is to get in my playbook as much as possible, stop making the small mistakes I find myself noticing -- at the snap of the ball or right after the play is over. That's my main goal."

He believes missing most of the Steelers' spring drills because of an NFL policy that he could not join them until his Ohio State classes were over, hurt him this summer.

"It put me behind a lot, because that's a lot I could have learned, and coming into camp, I probably wouldn't have had all these mistakes I've had. But at the same time, I learned a great deal in camp and was able to catch onto the system real fast."

He made a few dazzling catches, one in his first practice, yet his quickest contributions likely will come as a punt-returner. He and fellow rookie receiver Willie Reid dropped into a two-deep punt-return formation last week, and Cowher might continue such a deployment.

"We did that at Ohio State," Holmes said. "You don't really see that in the NFL, but a lot of guys in college do it."

Giant Foote steps

Inside linebacker Larry Foote ended inside linebacker James Farrior's two-year reign as the team's leading tackler last season and aims to stretch that accomplishment to two in a row in 2006.

They have a friendly competition. Foote says Farrior had the advantage because he stays on the field in the nickel and dime defenses. Farrior points out that he missed two games with an injury last season.

"That's his [excuse] when I try to throw it in his face," Foote said.

Foote not only wants to pile up more tackles, he'd like to take Farrior's job at middle linebacker in the nickel and dime defenses.

"I'm trying to take his spot and trying to get better at it, so they can bump his butt out of there," said Foote, who played that position at Michigan.

Said Farrior, "I got a few more years left, so he's going to have to wait on that."

[BuckNutty]

'Invincible' Morey looking forward to Philadelphia


By Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 25, 2006


Although he can appreciate the Vince Papale saga more than most, Sean Morey maintains Hollywood got it right in deciding which little guy with the big heart to glorify.
"It's an amazing story," Morey said of "Invincible," which debuts today in theaters nationwide. "I can relate to some of the things he went through, but in no way is my story as cool as Vince Papale's."

Morey will be otherwise occupied tonight, when the Steelers meet the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

For Morey, the game represents another opportunity to establish himself as an irreplaceable part of the Steelers' special teams, something he's been the past two seasons, right through Super Bowl XL.


That's a long way from setting Ivy League receiving records at Brown, from being drafted in the seventh round and then released by New England in 1999 and from playing on practice squads and as a defensive back in Barcelona.

Papale, a Glenolden native, never played college football -- he accepted a track scholarship to St. Joseph's -- and made the jump to Eagles training camp from the WFL's Philadelphia Bell at age 30 through an open tryout.

"I thought there were a lot of parallels, not so much with his experience or with his career, but more so with the type of things he had to deal with -- not just physically, but emotionally," Morey said. "I was a hometown kid (from Marshfield, Mass.). I was drafted by the Patriots. I knew every player, and I looked up to them. And to have your locker next to Ben Coates and Terry Glenn, I mean, it's a culture shock.

"It took me a couple years just to get over being star-struck and play the game that I had played my whole life."

Papale was 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. Morey is 5-foot-11, 200 pounds.

Papale was the first special teams captain in Eagles history. Morey and cornerback Chidi Iwuoma captained the Steelers' special teams last season.

Papale made one career catch (for 15 yards) and lasted three seasons. Morey has one career catch (for 8 yards) and hopes this season will be his fourth full NFL season.

He'll play tonight with a soft cast protecting a micro-fracture in his left thumb after missing last Saturday's preseason game against Minnesota.

He wants to win another Super Bowl, experience another parade and hone his receiving skills. But first, he has to make the team again.

"I've been cut more times than I like to admit," Morey said. "And I've done every single odd job in the world, from delivering furniture to working on fishing boats to building houses the years that I've been cut. And I did a lot of soul searching.

"I never gave up on it, and I continued to work, and I've been able to get into a position where I'm in the right place at the right time.

"But the only reason I've gotten to where I am today is because I've had that desire, that motivation to get a little bit better and to be hungry. I've been, to a flaw, sort of psychotic about that. I've always wanted to prove to people that I can play."

All he needs now is another happy ending.

Mike Prisuta can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_467669.html

[BuckNutty]

Steelers jobs on the line

By The Tribune-Review
Friday, August 25, 2006


Here are some position battles to watch during the Steelers' exhibition game tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles:
Free safety

Ryan Clark vs. Tyrone Carter

The rotation heads back to Carter, who also started in the exhibition opener. Clark likely will move back into the starting spot next Thursday against Carolina. The Steelers paid Clark a nice signing bonus to join the team, so he must show he is worth the investment.

Cornerback

Bryant McFadden vs. Ricardo Colclough

With Deshea Townsend missing this week -- and perhaps more -- with a thumb injury, the Steelers will turn to two former high-round draft picks. McFadden excelled in pass defense situations last season, and Colclough has caught coach Bill Cowher's eye in camp.

Punter

Chris Gardocki vs. Mike Barr

The salary cap won't be an issue for the Steelers, which should give the edge to the veteran Gardocki. Barr, who has been cut by the Steelers twice, has impressed the staff in camp, but Gardocki provides the much safer bet. That could be a decisive factor for a team that fashions itself as a repeat champion.

Kickoff/punt returns

Quincy Morgan vs. Santonio Holmes, Willie Reid

Morgan is the most experienced kickoff return man, but he could be victim of a number's game if rookies Holmes and Reid show they can handle the job. Holmes and Reid also may continue to work as twin safeties on punt returns, an experiment that began in the Vikings preseason game.

- By Joe Rutter

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_467671.html