FEATURE News Clippings Pittsburgh Steelers

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FEATURE
News Clippings
Pittsburgh Steelers
Survey: Steelers rank first in local market brand strength - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Survey: Steelers rank first in local market brand strength
By The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The Pittsburgh Steelers are more than just a good football team. They're also a
powerful brand.
The franchise was named the strongest team brand in its local market
compared with scores of other professional sports teams across the country in
a new consumer survey, the 2007 Turnkey Team Brand Index.
The Steelers ranked first among 122 team brands in the National Football
League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and
Major League Baseball in home-market strength.
A total of 12,000 sports fans in 47 markets nationwide participated in the online
survey by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, a New Jersey-based market
research and executive search and recruiting firm.
"The Steelers are the model brand for a team," Turnkey's president and chief
executive, Len Perna, said in a statement. "Down through their history,
ownership, players, coaches, stadium and style match the hard-nosed work
ethic of their city."
The team's brand was "clearly defined" and "consistent for decades," while its
ownership was widely perceived as genuine, Perna said. Fans described the
team's brand as "strong," "tough" and "hard-working," he said.
The survey included indexes of team popularity, fan loyalty and assessments of
owners. It also asked participants about their perceptions of teams and
associated sponsors, among other things, said Haynes Hendrickson, a Turnkey
senior vice president.
The firm developed 36 attributes, such as "family-oriented" and "blue collar,"
and asked fans how well the attributes represented teams, he said.
The survey was not intended to produce valuations of team brands,
Hendrickson said. "The strength of a brand, it's tough to put a dollar value on
it," he said.
Behind the Steelers in the top 10 were the NFL's New England Patriots,
Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, NHL teams
the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings, baseball clubs the Boston Red Sox,
the St. Louis Cardinals, and the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/print_536513.html
11/6/2007
Survey: Steelers rank first in local market brand strength - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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The Colts, Spurs, and Red Sox are all the current champions, while every team
but the Saints and Sabres has won a title in the past decade.
The New York Yankees ranked 29th and the Dallas Cowboys 28th, though
those teams had the top two out-of-market followings in another part of the
study.
David Carter, a sports business professor at the University of Southern
California, said the Steelers remained wildly popular, with loyal fans and stable
ownership.
The team, he said, reflects Pittsburgh's sports-crazed population, which may be
less transient than those elsewhere.
"In other major cities, you have greater competition for the entertainment
dollar," Carter said. "Pittsburgh and the Steelers have always gone together,"
he said.
The Associated Press can be reached at or .
Images and text copyright © 2007 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent from PghTrib.com
11/6/2007
Born to coach
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Born to coach
He's Ben Howland, only more genuine; he's Jim Leyland, only smoother; he's Mike Tomlin, a
man ...
Thursday, November 01, 2007
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Back in January, when the Steelers' coaching search took a hard left turn away from Russ
Grimm, who was the fan favorite and almost certain choice, and veered to an unknown
defensive coordinator from the Minnesota Vikings, a lot of people were wondering what was
going on with the Rooney family.
Fans and media alike were wondering why the franchise would bypass Grimm, a Pittsburgh
guy who was steeped in NFL experience, for an outsider.
They were wondering why the Steelers would hire a coach with so little experience.
They were wondering if the Rooneys had been pressured by the league to hire a black coach.
They were wondering about the future of the franchise in such foreign and inexperienced
hands.
They wonder no more.
Seven games into his head coaching career is much too early to declare Mike Tomlin a
success. We won't know for years whether he was the right choice. But no one with any
degree of smarts wonders why the Steelers hired him.
No one could possibly wonder how this then 34-year-old man, who had never played in the
NFL and had been an assistant coach for only six seasons, walked into the room, wowed the
Rooneys and won the job from Grimm. This guy could walk into the room and win the job
from Lombardi or Noll
He's that impressive.
He handles himself like he was born to coach in the NFL. He's new to it, and freely admits as
much, but goes about his duties like he has been doing them for 10 years, not 10 months.
He's mature beyond his years and as smart as a whip but never gives an indication he thinks
he's any brighter than the next guy.
Pittsburgh has never seen a coach like this. He might not be as smooth as Ben Howland but
he's more genuine. He's not as genuine as Jim Leyland but he's smoother.
From the day he was hired until his latest public appearance, Tuesday at his weekly news
conference, he has been just about flawless in everything he says and does.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07305/830290-194.stm
11/1/2007
Born to coach
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He's a far cry from Bill Cowher in those terms, although he has years to go to match
Cowher's coaching record. This much is certain: From a media standpoint, Tuesday
afternoons will never be the same.
The weekly news conference has become just that: A news gathering conclave, a chance to
get the coach's opinion on a variety of topics. There hasn't been a hint of confrontation,
which was the hallmark of the Cowher news conferences. Cowher seemed suspicious of
almost every question. He measured his words carefully but not his scowls.
Tomlin takes each question for what it is: An attempt to garner information. And he provides
it in a well-spoken fashion.
Is he telling everything? No. He's a coach. He's not going to give away secrets. But his
answers are so well thought out, so full of smart comments and so from the heart that no one
minds that they are not getting everything.
He was at his best two days ago, dispensing wisdom, providing information, generating
laughter. The Cowher news conference was something you had to attend or at least watch
because it was part of the job. The Tomlin news conference is something you want to see
because you want to learn in what ways this guy will amaze this week.
Tomlin had opened and closed his postgame news conference Sunday after the win against
Cincinnati with coy remarks about all the talk there had been about his widely criticized
game plan the week before at Denver. He was asked Tuesday if this was an indication he was
annoyed by the criticism.
"It was fun to me," he said with a smile. "I like to play with you guys. Your opinions don't
matter, and I mean that.
"But I do read what's said because what does matter to me is what my players say, what my
peers say in the business, what my opponents say. I do read and I'm somewhat entertained by
you guys."
Earlier in the news conference he spoke glowingly of Ben Roethlisberger, which is easy to do
considering how well Roethlisberger is playing. But he added something that had to mean a
lot to the quarterback.
"He's a football junkie," said Tomlin.
Since Roethlisberger has been painted in some circles as a shirker, a guy who couldn't wait to
get out the door at the end of practice, these were surprising words. But you knew, because of
the kind of man Tomlin has shown himself to be, that the words were true and that they
weren't said by a coach trying to use the media to gain favor with a player.
Tomlin, early on and in one of his best comments, let it be known that he didn't have to gain
favor with the players, they had to gain favor with him.
He's 5-2 on the field, 7-0 off of it. Most organizations measure the length of their coaching
tenures in years. The Steelers do it in decades. That doesn't figure to change with Tomlin.
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on November 1, 2007 at 12:05 am
11/1/2007
Steelers' Tomlin doing it his way, and some other guys' ways, too - Pittsburgh Tribune-Re... Page 1 of 2
Steelers' Tomlin doing it his way, and some other guys' ways,
too
By The Associated Press
Friday, October 5, 2007
The Pittsburgh Steelers learned early on that new coach Mike Tomlin was
intent on doing it his way.
The routine changed, the time devoted to special teams increased, the pads
went on a little more frequently during training camp and a time clock was
wheeled onto the practice field. It didn't take the Steelers long to realize that
much of the structure under former coach Bill Cowher was changing.
That didn't concern Tomlin, who, despite the Steelers' unqualified success
during Cowher's 15 seasons as coach, said, "I'm not much for tradition."
"Any time you have a new coach and he's going to change the schedule, even
the smallest things, whether it's the special teams period or the individual
period ... when you're used to one thing, it seems like a big deal," quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger said.
But one quality Tomlin didn't bring with him to Pittsburgh following six seasons
as an NFL assistant was a my-way-or-no-way mi nd-set, and it's been very
apparent since the season started last month.
Certainly, he wants practices and the daily routine to be run uniformly and
correctly, but he also realized there was enough talent in the coaches' offices
and the locker rooms that it didn't have to be all about Mike.
Tomlin didn't discard the 3-4 defense the Steelers have played for 25 years to
install the 4-3, the only defense he's coached in the NFL. He also hasn't taken a
large pair of scissors to the game plans defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and
offensive coordinator Bruce Arians design weekly.
Some Steelers players said that, in the past, they would occasionally work all
week emphasizing a scheme or wrinkle for a particular opponent, only to have
Cowher pare it down or discard it on game day.
Tomlin's background is in defense, as was Cowher's, yet LeBeau has never
had a bigger say in what the Steelers do on Sundays. That includes this
Sunday, when the Steelers (3-1) and Seattle Seahawks (3-1) play for the first
time since Pittsburgh's 21-10 victory in the February 2006 Super Bowl.
10/6/2007
Steelers' Tomlin doing it his way, and some other guys' ways, too - Pittsburgh Tribune-Re... Page 2 of 2
"I was not interested in fixing something that wasn't broken," Tomlin said. "I
know that sounds cliche, but it's common sense. You'd be surprised at the
number of people that get into situations and they want to put their stamp on
something or they want to show they're in charge. I'm just interested in
winning."
The Steelers defensive players look forward to each Wednesday to see what
LeBeau, himself a one-time NFL star defensive back, has schemed up for the
week. No doubt their loyalty to LeBeau was grasped quickly by Tomlin.
"Dick LeBeau has been in the league as a player and coach for 49 years,"
Tomlin said, suggesting it would be nonsensical for him not to rely on someone
so experienced and accomplished. "It's been quality time. It's unique. It's
awesome."
The 35-year-old Tomlin also allowed Arians to design and label the offense the
w ay he wants - with input from Roethlisberger.
If the quarterback doesn't like a play call, a pass route or even a play's name,
Arians explained, it is less likely to work than if the player is comfortable with
what he's been given.
"If he doesn't like it, it's out," Arians said. "You might think it's good, but it's not
any good if the quarterback doesn't think it's good."
What if a coordinator or a player doesn't like a play that's being forced upon
them by a head coach intent on proving he's the boss?
"When you have good veteran players that have some continuity, you have a
chance to be very good," Tomlin said.
The Steelers were very good over their first three games, beating the Browns,
Bills and 49ers by big margins. They looked less poised and confident in losing
to Arizona 21-14 last week, not that it changed any of his players' opinions
about Tomlin, who joked that he really did expect to lose in the NFL some day.
"People have really taken a liking to coach Tomlin," Roethlisberger said.
The Associated Press can be reached at or .
10/6/2007
Harris: Tomlin's technique a welcome change - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Tomlin's technique a welcome change
By John Harris
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, September 3, 2007
Just so you know, the Mike Tomlin Kool-Aid goes down nice and smooth.
Tastes just right, with no bitter aftertaste.
Since he became the Steelers' 16th head coach Jan. 22, Tomlin's picture has
been on Page 1 of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review more times than George W.
Bush's.
And the Trib continues to write up Tomlin daily in the sports section as if
advertisers pay $100,000 each time his name appears.
In Pittsburgh proper, all is right with Tomlin.
If only things would always be so perfect.
Since we don't know if Tomlin will be a successful NFL coach -- he's never
been a head coach at any level -- let's talk about a couple of things that we do
know.
Point One: Tomlin's a stickler for details. He focuses on doing the "little things"
until his players get it right.
Over and over and over again.
Take special teams.
Tomlin values special teams just as much as he values the importance of
offense and defense.
No joke.
While Tomlin isn't comparing punter Daniel Sepulveda's hang-time with
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's ability to read defenses, he's never wavered
from his original stance in his very first group interview with local reporters that
special teams are indeed special.
Tomlin devoted at least one-third of his first training camp to special teams,
which is only fitting.
The first personnel move he made based off game action was signing long-
9/3/2007
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snapper Jared Retkofsky after Jeff Reed's extra-point attempt was blocked
against Green Bay.
Retofsky was brought in to "push" incumbent Greg Warren, who snapped the
ball adequately on the blocked PAT, but may not have moved quickly enough to
his left to impede an onrushing Green Bay lineman.
Since Retofsky was released before the final exhibition game against Carolina,
it's safe to assume Warren was never in danger of losing his job.
That isn't to say Tomlin is giving lip-service to special teams.
Asked about some of the Steelers' special-team errors in the fourth exhibition
game against Philadelphia -- a shanked punt, along with a fumbled punt -Tomlin said to imagine what the performance of his special teams would be like
without so much practice time.
Gotta like that moxie.
Point two: Tomlin is a "player's coach."
All of which means that even though Tomlin didn't play in the NFL, he still
understands what buttons to push on each player.
Consider the relationship between Tomlin and cornerback Ike Taylor.
Taylor is your prototype shutdown corner who struggled at times last season.
Former coach Bill Cowher saw fit to sit Taylor, a starter on the Super Bowl XL
championship team, without so much as an explanation to the player.
Despite Taylor not playing a single game for him, Tomlin publicly praised Taylor
from the moment he took the job and freely mentioned Taylor and the Pro Bowl
in the same sentence.
During training camp, Taylor confidently re-established himself as the No. 1 left
cornerback, as well as the best cornerback on the team.
What his players seem to like best about Tomlin is that he doesn't try to act like
a head coach -- gruff, omnipotent, above-it-all.
"He's the head coach, and we are players. But he doesn't put himself on a
pedestal," Taylor said. "He puts himself like 'We're all human, we're all grown
men regardless of if I'm the head coach. We all make mistakes.' It's hard
getting that from a guy at that level."
It is also Tomlin who commissioned new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to
open up the offense -- or at least give the appearance of opening up the
offense.
But it's also Tomlin, who at the ripe/wise old age of 35, understands full well
9/3/2007
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that you can know your Xs from your Os, but that you must physically whip the
other team.
Hence, Tomlin's Steelers had more physical practices in training camp than
they did under Cowher.
Yet, I never once recalled Tomlin raising his voice in four weeks at St. Vincent
College.
At this point, Tomlin can do no wrong.
He hasn't lost a game, or made a bad coaching decision or a poor personnel
move.
He's golden.
In fact, things are going so good, he should retire right now while he's ahead.
(Just kidding.)
John Harris can be reached at jharris@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.
9/3/2007
For Pittsburgh's Tomlin, it's all about the details - USATODAY.com
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For Pittsburgh's Tomlin, it's all about the details
By Chris Colston, USA TODAY
LATROBE, Pa. — The bass thumped from a portable stereo, a cool rap groove, when Mike Tomlin entered the room the morning of Oct. 30,
2002.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in the middle of their Super Bowl season. Coach Jon Gruden likes to split the 16-game schedule into
quarters, and for each quarter he assigns an assistant as "head coach" for the big Wednesday team meeting that sets the tone for the week.
BLOG: Read Chris Colston's entries from Steelers training camp
GALLERY: Scenes from Pittsburgh's training camp
Tomlin and linebackers coach Joe Barry drew the third quarter. So with the music blasting, they and their "posse" — assistant coaches
Raheem Morris and Joe Woods — burst in wearing matching black T-shirts riffing off the "third quarter" theme. "Something the players could
relate to," Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber says.
The entrance grabbed players' attention. Tomlin, then 30, spoke and his confidence proved rapturous.
"Some guys can have that kind of presence in a meeting room, with his positional players," says Denver Broncos safety John Lynch, a
member of that Bucs team. "But when Mike stepped in front of everybody his thoughts were precise, succinct, and he never faltered in his
delivery. It's a talent and he pulled it off. That was the first time I thought, 'Wow, this guy is going to be a special head coach one day.' "
But the ranks are filled with qualified assistants. For Tomlin, 35, to leapfrog them and become coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers fascinates
many who follow the NFL. One reason he commands the respect: Every detail matters.
It also helps explain why, for the love of Art Rooney Sr., Tomlin wears a long-sleeved shirt and black pants in the stifling August heat of training
camp. "The man in black," cornerback Deshea Townsend says. "He's a cool cat."
So much interest in his wardrobe perplexes Tomlin, who says he always has dressed this way.
"All of a sudden, it's newsworthy," he says. "That's been the most surprising thing about the job for me at this point — that it's a big deal what
clothes I choose to work in."
But Tomlin's style has a purpose: to create consistency. "It's a little mental warfare on my part," he says, then cracks a smile. "All I have to do
is get through training camp. After that, this is appropriate wear."
Such thinking might explain how Tomlin landed one of the NFL's most prestigious jobs. Low-profile stops at Virginia Military Institute, Memphis,
Arkansas State and the University of Cincinnati and one year as an NFL coordinator exposed him to many situations; he held six jobs in his
first seven years of coaching.
But during that NFL championship season, working with players such as Barber, Lynch, Brian Kelly and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter
Jackson, Tomlin began to get a better sense of his destiny.
"I had a great room, but it was a hard room to coach," Tomlin says. "If you stand in front of Lynch and Barber and Kelly every day, it doesn't
matter if there are 50 other guys in the room. That's a tough crowd.
"They had a desire to be great, and they demanded that you deliver for them. That's when I realized I might be capable of doing something like
this."
Tomlin's authenticity won over Barber.
"He wasn't phony, and some coaches don't have that quality," Barber says. "Mike always seemed like he loved what he was doing and loved
the guys he worked with. Some part of him rubbed off on us.
"To me, that's a great head coach's quality, and you could see that in him from the very beginning."
Having said that, even Barber raised his eyebrows when Tomlin landed the Steelers job.
"Surprise is the wrong word because I knew he'd be there at a young age," Barber says. "But this year? No. Next year, I thought maybe."
Rising to the top
http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=For+Pittsburgh%27s+To... 8/21/2007
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When Steelers coach Bill Cowher left after 15 years, the franchise had two good candidates on staff to replace him: offensive coordinator Ken
Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm.
But if one team does due diligence in the hiring process, it is the Steelers. The Rooney Rule, which forces teams to interview minorities for
head coaching vacancies, is named after Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney.
"Let's bring Tomlin in and see how he looks," Rooney said.
Steelers players were watching the hiring process.
"It wasn't like we were going to go on strike if he didn't get the job," safety Ryan Clark says. "But the majority of players are of AfricanAmerican descent, so it's something we looked at."
Tomlin, who keeps boxes loaded with old coaching planners and notebooks and has a log of every practice, impressed the Rooneys enough to
reach the second round as one of five finalists.
"The second interview did it," Rooney says. "He was prepared and understood what we were saying. He just really sold us."
Although he had been the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator for only one season, Tomlin felt confident.
"But I didn't know about the landscape of getting a head job," Tomlin says. "I didn't know if it was politics. And if that was the case, I didn't
know how to play those politics."
With the Rooneys, it was all about competence; that Tomlin was then 34 didn't bother them.
"We don't have a prohibition against hiring young coaches," Rooney says. "Chuck Noll was 35, Bill was 34. Mike fell into the same age bracket
they did. But that's not why you hire somebody, because they can relate to younger players. You hire them because they can do the job
regardless of age."
Then Rooney adds, "If we didn't hire him this year, somebody else would soon."
On Jan. 22, Tomlin joined Romeo Crennel, Tony Dungy, Herman Edwards, Marvin Lewis and Lovie Smith as the NFL's African-American head
coaches. Whisenhunt landed in Arizona, bringing Grimm with him.
Transition has bumpy moments
Tomlin's two-a-day schedule with first-week contact was different from how Cowher ran the show. The transition took some adjustment for
many Steelers veterans.
"We're still feeling each other out, still learning the process, the schedule," says Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca, who favored Whisenhunt or
Grimm for the job. "For a while there, it was like, 'What are we going to do today?' So many guys had been doing the same thing day in and
day out."
Tomlin acknowledged some bumpy moments: "It's human nature to resist change. We're all creatures of habit."
But the Rooney stamp of approval lent credence to the movement.
"The Rooneys are smart. In the last (40) years, they've had three coaches," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel says. "You have to trust them.
The decision shocked a lot of guys. … But this was the direction they wanted to go in, and I don't think there is a soul on this team who will
question the Rooneys' opinion on this."
Clark says the Steelers have someone "who understands where we are in life. Sometimes, with older coaches, they're far removed from being
26, 27 and having to deal with the things we deal with. But he also has the expertise of a guy who's been in the league for 20, 30 years. I think
it was a hire based on merit, not on color."
Starring role
The Steelers are beginning to see what the Rooneys saw in the coach and what his William & Mary teammates saw when Tomlin played wide
receiver from 1990-94: a facile mind, attention to detail, his ability to relate to people of different ages and backgrounds. He is a fit 6-2, with a
beard trimmed along his jaw, a stylish mustache, twinkling eyes behind Versace sunglasses.
"I worked side-by-side with him for five straight years in Tampa," says Barry, now the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator and a rising star
Page 3 of 3
himself. "In that situation, you see people's moods, their good days and bad. And every single day, I knew what I was getting with Mike Tomlin:
someone who is smart, tough and consistent."
In an alternate life, Clark sees Tomlin running a Fortune 500 company.
"Some people are better at giving orders than taking them," Clark says. "And it seems like he's pretty good at giving them. If he wasn't a
football coach, he'd have to be somewhere, bossing somebody around."
But the most striking thing about Tomlin is… what, exactly?
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger nodded when posed this question.
"He has a presence, without being boisterous," Roethlisberger says. "There is something about him that makes you want to know what he's
thinking."
William & Mary teammate and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brother Terry Hammons sensed something, too.
"You can feel his presence when he walks into a room," Hammons says. "You might not know who he is or what he does, but you get the
sense he's special. … I don't want to sound too cheesy, but he has an aura about him.
"How do I explain this? Some coaches feel they need to control situations by screaming. Mike doesn't need to do that. There might be a
gymnastics meet going on inside his body, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the look on his face."
Townsend senses it, too. He says Tomlin has the charisma of an actor — "A Denzel Washington type."
"An actor? Yeah — I think so," tight end Heath Miller says. "That's actually pretty good. … I think he'd do well."
Tomlin laughs when he hears this. He considers himself "nerdy" because he loves crossword puzzles.
But in Pittsburgh, he has achieved celebrity status. When movie star Will Smith accompanied Tomlin to dinner at a local restaurant, fans
mobbed their table — to meet Tomlin. According to Hammons, Smith told Tomlin it was the first time in 20 years he had eaten in a restaurant
and hadn't been asked for his autograph.
"The irony is, Mike had been to the restaurant once before but couldn't enjoy it because fans kept interrupting him," Hammons says. "He
figured if he took Will Smith, he'd have a peaceful meal."
***
How will Mike Tomlin do in his first year as Steelers coach? Share your thoughts by commenting below.
Tomlin turns The Wizard loose
Page 1 of 3
Thursday, September 20, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Brett Keisel, right, celebrates with Aaron Smith after sacking Charlie Frye in the opener against Cleveland.
Bill Cowher auctioned off some personal possessions when he quit as Steelers coach and left
town for Raleigh, N.C.
One thing he apparently took with him was the leash he held on defensive coordinator Dick
LeBeau.
The Steelers' defense, still conducted by LeBeau under new coach Mike Tomlin, is
performing more exotic maneuvers than ever, players say. And they say there is one reason
for it -- LeBeau has more freedom under Tomlin to do what he wants than he did under
Cowher.
"I think he does way more than he did [before], actually," safety Troy Polamalu said. "I don't
think they've put any reins on coach LeBeau from what I know of. I think from the past, I
think now he probably has more control of the defense."
Players and coaches, on and off the record, say LeBeau has the freedom to call what he
wants, when he wants under Tomlin, a freedom he did not previously have under Cowher.
"I do, I do," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "I think he's getting to call whatever he wants,
and the call is sticking."
9/20/2007
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So is his defense. After two games, the Steelers rank third overall in yards allowed -- fifth
against the run, third against the pass -- and they are No. 1 in points allowed and first downs
allowed.
They also have 10 sacks and rank second in the NFL in sacks per
passing play. That gives them a jump on blowing past their 2006
season total of 39, which tied for third-fewest under Cowher.
The Steelers long had a dominant defense during Cowher's 15year reign, so whether he held more control over what LeBeau
did or not may not matter to the bottom line. But there's no
denying LeBeau has more freedom to call what he wants this
season than he did before.
Part of the reason for the increase in sacks, players say, is the
movement of the defenders. LeBeau has players running all over
the place, more so than before.
Next
z
z
z
"Yeah, I think we're a lot more active," Polamalu said. "We're not
as conservative. We're kind of initiating what the offense needs
to do and not reacting to what they are doing."
No one jumped around from place to place more often than
Polamalu in previous seasons; now, he's not the only one doing
it.
z
z
z
Game: Steelers (2-0)
vs. San Francisco
49ers (2-0).
When: 1 p.m.
Sunday.
Where: Heinz Field.
TV: WPGH.
Line: Steelers by 9.
The skinny: The
49ers make their first
trip to Pittsburgh since
1996.
"I think it means more running around for everybody," Polamalu said. "Guys are moving
around more, we have new packages. Guys are feeling a lot more comfortable with
everything."
LeBeau was unavailable for comment yesterday, but Polamalu suggested one big reason for
the freedom his coordinator has this year:
"New coach, I would think."
Among the differences on defense this season are the rotation of the defensive line, the use of
Keisel in different spots, a true four-man line of down linemen on occasion, cornerbacks
playing safety and safeties playing cornerback, and the movement of various players as
Polamalu suggested. For example, one of Clark Haggans' two sacks came in Cleveland when
the left outside linebacker lined up on the right side and rushed from there.
"I wouldn't say it's a lot of different things," linebacker James Harrison said, "just putting
people in different places than where they were before, moving them around and not seeing
the same guy come every time."
That's reflected in the sack total, too. Nine players share the 10 sacks, led by Haggans' two.
"I think everybody's expected to be a pass rusher," Polamalu said.
Linebacker Larry Foote, like most starters, has one sack.
"The first game, a lot of guys were coming free, a lot of schemes were getting to him," Foote
said. "But last week, the DBs were doing an excellent job. I remember the one I had, he tried
to throw the ball, check down, and Deshea [Townsend] jumped the receiver, so he had to
9/20/2007
Page 3 of 3
hold it and I got the sack. The DBs are doing a great job back there."
Foote also figures LeBeau has more freedom to run his 3-4 defense, but also received
different input from Tomlin, whose previous experience was coaching a 4-3 defense with a
cover-2 philosophy.
"I don't really know if coach Cowher used to hold him back like people said, but you never
know," Foote said. "This is his defense, and Tomlin's never really been in the 3-4 fire zone
defense, so I'm quite sure it's LeBeau's show. He put new wrinkles in that Tomlin helped him
[with]. They're both defensive guys so they're putting stuff together.
"Dick LeBeau's the wizard of defense, everybody knows that."
And now, apparently, a wizard unleashed.
First published on September 20, 2007 at 12:00 am
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
9/20/2007
Group meetings pay for Steelers offense - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 1 of 2
Group meetings pay for Steelers offense
By Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Steelers are doing things like never before on offense, in part because
they're preparing as they never had prior to Mike Tomlin's arrival as head
coach.
Two games into his tenure, Tomlin has been true to his stated intention not to
micromanage.
For new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, that's translated into the freedom
to call plays that seek a specific target no matter the coverage.
To pull that off, the Steelers are conducting more meetings than ever before,
not just by position and as an offense, but also as a skill-position ensemble.
"Before, the quarterbacks met with the quarterbacks, the wide receivers met
with the wide receivers," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "We came together
sometimes, the quarterbacks and the wide-outs, but we never watched film with
the tight ends and running backs included."
Now, such gatherings are a regular part of the Steelers' Wednesday and
Thursday routines.
"I want to do all the talking in that meeting so that everybody hears it in one
voice," Arians said. "When we leave that room, we're on the same page."
As a result, the skill-position players are gaining an appreciation for how
important their roles are on each play, even on occasions when their number
isn't called.
"When Bruce calls a play, everyone is starting to understand what the play is
supposed to mean," Ward said.
Ward knew, for example, that his role was critical on a deep ball the Steelers
called on first-and-10 from the Browns' 40-yard line during their season-opening
win on Sept. 9 in Cleveland. The play was designed to go to wide receiver
Santonio Holmes, but its success depended on Ward running a hard, fast route
at the proper depth to draw the front-side safety away from Holmes.
Ward did, and the play resulted in a touchdown.
9/21/2007
Group meetings pay for Steelers offense - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 2 of 2
The Steelers took a similar gamble in Sunday's home win over Buffalo after
taking over on downs at their 37.
This time, free safety Jim Leonard didn't bite on the underneath route and was
in position to provide deep help on Holmes and ultimately come up with an
interception.
On both occasions, the Steelers broke the huddle determined to go to Holmes
rather than to read the defense and react accordingly.
Ward, in his 10th season with the Steelers, can't remember a time when they
were permitted to commit themselves in such a manner.
"No," he said. "I was wondering why (Roethlisberger) even threw that pass to
Santonio, but that was Bruce. He wanted to take a shot, and he thought the
safety was going to bite up on me and he said 'I want you to just throw it.' "
Arians took responsibility for the interception against Buffalo but said it won't
alter his approach.
"We're taking our shots (deep)," Arians said. "If we don't take four shots, then
we didn't do our job in my opinion, four to five every game."
The additional meetings weren't popular initially, but they're being embraced
heading into Sunday's game against San Francisco.
"At first guys were griping about it," Ward said. "But right now we're 2-0. There's
nothing to complain about."
Mike Prisuta can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.
9/21/2007
Big Ben's elusiveness frazzles defenses - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 1 of 2
Big Ben's elusiveness frazzles defenses
By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
One play in 2006 epitomized the kind of hard-knock season Ben Roethlisberger
endured.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Bart Scott blitzed from Roethlisberger's blind side
in a late November game and blasted the Steelers' quarterback.
Scott had such an unimpeded path to the quarterback that after the Steelers
were drilled, 27-0, Roethlisberger publicly thanked Scott for not delivering the
kind of hit that could have sidelined him indefinitely.
Scott and a Ravens defense that bullied the Steelers last season will visit Heinz
Field on Monday night for an AFC North showdown.
Their presence is far from the only reason why Roethlisberger figures to do his
share of running in the nationally televised game. Roethlisberger's ability to
escape trouble and keep plays alive has added another dimension to the
Steelers' offense.
That was never more evident than early in the second quarter Sunday in
Cincinnati.
On a third down from the Bengals' 45-yard line, Roethlisberger was flushed
from the pocket, and Cincinnati defensive tackle John Thornton grabbed him
around the ankles.
Before Thornton could drag down Roethlisberger, he threw a short pass to
Santonio Holmes that went for 7 yards and gave the Steelers a first down.
Six plays later, Roethlisberger threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward,
giving the Steelers a 14-3 lead and control of the game.
"I think we are all getting comfortable with expecting those kinds of plays from
him because that is what he is capable of," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of
Roethlisberger's ability to improvise. "He is tremendously talented and very
smart. Generally, (he's) a great decision-maker when plays break down."
Roethlisberger is prone to the occasional bad decision, such as the thirdquarter interception Sunday that resulted from his throwing across his body and
into the middle of the field.
10/30/2007
Big Ben's elusiveness frazzles defenses - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 2 of 2
Tomlin shrugged it off after the Steelers' 24-13 win, serving as a tacit admission
by the first-year coach that Roethlisberger has been so good when his
protection breaks down that the Steelers are willing to live with it when he
makes a mistake.
"He's doing a great job of staying alive," right tackle Willie Colon said. "That's
just Ben being Ben. Ben is an athlete, and he's confident in his athletic ability."
His athleticism makes it as hard for labels as it is for opposing pass rushers to
contain Roethlisberger.
At 6-foot-5, 241 pounds, Roethlisberger has the size of a classic dropback
passer, but he is much more than a pocket passer, which is usually a
euphemism for a big quarterback that moves about as well as a traffic jam.
Indeed, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis recently called Roethlisberger a "big Doug
Flutie," comparing him to the diminutive quarterback who was so adept at
escaping trouble.
Roethlisberger almost certainly will need to create some plays with his legs
Monday night -- or at least keep some alive -- since the Ravens recorded 14
sacks in two games against the Steelers last season.
"I am going to watch the (Bengals' game film) and learn from some of the things
I need to work on," Roethlisberger said. "I need to be a little smarter in certain
situations and just make the correct throw."
Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.
10/30/2007
Unconventional Roethlisberger becoming Favre-like playmaker
Page 1 of 2
Unconventional Roethlisberger becoming Favrelike playmaker
CINCINNATI - Following a loss a week ago to the Denver Broncos, Steelers quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger said that when you live by the sword, you sometimes die by the sword.
The sword Roethlisberger referred to was his scrambling and throwing while on the run.
In the 31-28 loss at Denver, there were instances of the bad plays Roethlisberger sometimes makes
while on the move. Sunday in Cincinnati, we saw the good things he can do in those situations.
In the second quarter, Roethlisberger threw a seven-yard pass to Santonio Holmes on third-and-four
while being pulled to the ground by Cincinnati defensive lineman John Thornton.
Most quarterbacks are sacked on that play. Roethlisberger converted the first down and the Steelers
continued on a scoring drive.
Roethlisberger made a similar play in the fourth quarter. While escaping pressure, he threw the ball back
to the middle of the field to Holmes on third down. Again, Roethlisberger kept a scoring drive alive
when other quarterbacks would have been sacked.
Roethlisberger makes a lot of those unconventional throws that cause the coaching staff nightmares - at
least until they work.
"I'm sure they were going 'No, no, no. Good play," said Roethlisberger.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis likened the 6-5, 240-pound Roethlisberger to another quarterback
famous for his scrambling ability.
"I told our guys that he is a big, big, big Doug Flutie right now," said Lewis.
Another comparison would be Green Bay's Brett Favre.
Favre takes chances that other quarterbacks wouldn't because he trusts his arm.
It's what makes Favre a great quarterback. But it's also why he holds the league record for career
interceptions.
In his first season with Roethlisberger, head coach Mike Tomlin is getting accustomed to seeing
Roethlisberger make plays - both good and bad - while the quarterback is on the run.
"I think that we're all getting comfortable with expecting those kind of plays from him, because that is
what he is capable of," Tomlin said. "He is tremendously talented and very smart. ... I think, potentially,
that's what makes him different than most. He remains calm, and he makes good decisions as those plays
break down. I know he had one that he wished he had back, but that's football. "
The one Tomlin said Roethlisberger wished he could have back was the downside of what happens at
times when he throws on the move.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/10_29_Steelers_Bengals_column
10/29/2007
Unconventional Roethlisberger becoming Favre-like playmaker
Page 2 of 2
In the third quarter, with the Steelers at the Cincinnati 11-yard line, leading 21-6 and threatening to put
the game away, Roethlisberger was chased from the pocket and fired a ball back to the middle of the
field. Cincinnati cornerback Deltha O'Neal made an easy interception. Instead of at least getting a field
goal and taking a 24-6 lead, the Steelers came away with nothing.
His teammates, however, wouldn't want Roethlisberger any other way.
"He threw an interception down there, but Ben makes so many good plays on the run that you can't take
those away from him," said offensive tackle Willie Colon.
It's a fine line that Roethlisberger walks on a weekly basis. As long as he continues to play at a high
level, it's hard to argue with the results.
With 15 touchdown passes, he's on pace to shatter Terry Bradshaw's team record of 28 in a season. And
Roethlisberger's passer rating of 102.2 is ahead of his team record of 98.6 set in 2005.
Roethlisberger is a playmaker. And as is sometimes the case with playmakers, you sometimes have to
take the good with the bad.
This season, there has been a lot more good than bad.
F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/10_29_Steelers_Bengals_column
10/29/2007
Roethlisberger regaining his top form
Page 1 of 3
After two excellent starts to open the 2007 season -- and two easy victories -- Roethlisberger
appears to have regained his record-setting form
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Ben Roethlisberger runs on to the field before the start of the game against the Bills Sunday at Heinz Field.
Memories play tricks when it comes to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger because his 2006
season generally is regarded as one big bust.
Tackle Willie Colon wasn't with the Steelers when Roethlisberger shot through the NFL with
the best first two seasons in the league for a quarterback, when he went 13-0 as a rookie and
became the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl in his second year.
All he saw was Roethlisberger's 2006 season, Colon's
Off to a good start
rookie year, and some of the portions he witnessed were
Here's a look at Ben Roethlisberger's
enough to convince him that Roethlisberger was a
first two games in each of his four
winner.
One game particularly stands out for Colon, now the
Steelers' starting right tackle. It came in the rain Nov. 19
in Cleveland, after the Steelers fell behind the Browns,
seasons in the NFL.
NOTE: Roethlisberger did not play in
Game 1 of the 2004 and '06
seasons:
9/18/2007
Page 2 of 3
13-3, with just 10 minutes left in the game.
"I was amazed last year when we went to Cleveland and
it was raining and he just became a pure gunslinger,"
said Colon, who was inactive that day. "He just started
slinging the ball left and right and made plays. He just
took over the game. That right there always stays in my
mind, that he's our guy."
Roethlisberger, who started poorly in that game and had
an interception returned for a touchdown, produced
perhaps the best 10 minutes by a quarterback in Steelers
history. He led them to three touchdowns in that span,
throwing for two. In that fourth quarter, he completed 18
of 29 passes for 224 yards.
It was Roethlisberger's eighth career fourth-quarter
comeback victory. He would produce a ninth in the
2006 season finale, a 23-17 overtime victory in
Cincinnati. Lost in that 8-8 season is the fact that
Roethlisberger threw for 3,513 yards, second in team
history only to Terry Bradshaw's 3,724 in 1979.
2004
Game 2
@ Ravens
@ Dolphins
L, 30-13
W, 13-3
Att
20
Att
22
Comp
12
Comp
12
Pct
60
Pct
54.5
Yards
176
Yards
163
TD
2
TD
1
INT
2
INT
1
2005
Game 1
@ Texans
W, 34-7
W, 27-7
Att
11
Att
21
Comp
9
Comp
14
81.8
Pct
66.7
218
Yards
254
2
TD
2
0
INT
0
INT
And Roethlisberger has been front and center in both.
After a season in which he threw a league-high 23
interceptions to go with 18 touchdown passes,
Game 2
Roethlisberger has five touchdown passes and one
interception. His 101.7 passer rating is more in line with @ Jaguars
his first two seasons when he combined for a 98.3.
L, 9-0
"It does not surprise me when he comes out and plays
well," coach Mike Tomlin said.
Game 2
vs. Titans
There have been no fourth-quarter comebacks through Pct
two games this season. No need for any. The Steelers
Yards
jumped on their first two opponents and stayed on them,
outscoring Cleveland and Buffalo by a combined 60-10. TD
It's early, but Big Ben appears to be back.
Game 3
2006
Game 3
vs. Bengals
L, 28-20
Att
32
Att
39
Comp
17
Comp
18
Pct
53.1
Pct
46.2
Yards
141
Yards
208
0
TD
0
2
INT
3
Roethlisberger has completed passes to nine receivers -- TD
four wide receivers, two tight ends, two running backs
INT
and one fullback.
2007
"Ben is doing a great job of spreading the ball around,
going to his checkdowns, getting it to his tight ends,"
said wide receiver Hines Ward, who leads the pack with
eight receptions, although his 106 yards are 2 fewer than
Santonio Holmes, who has five catches. "We're going to
continue to grow, we're balanced, we're only going to
get better and better as the year goes on."
Everyone knows how the year 2006 started for
Roethlisberger. It started with an incredible playoff run
Game 1
Game 2
@ Browns
vs. Bills
W, 34-7
W, 26-3
Att
23
Att
34
Comp
12
Comp
21
Pct
52.2
Pct
61.8
Yards
161
Yards
242
9/18/2007
Page 3 of 3
and a Super Bowl victory and then crashed down around TD
4
TD
1
him as the summer began. He did not throw a
0
INT
1
touchdown pass until the fifth game of the 2006 season, INT
the fourth for him, and opened with seven interceptions in his first three games as the
Steelers won only two of their first eight.
It's a different quarterback and a different team that have opened the 2007 season.
"My personal opinion, I think after last year going through what he went through on the field,
it humbled him so much," Colon said. "I can feel that -- not that he didn't care about his line,
but you can tell he has more respect that we're going to protect him with our hearts and he's
going to do what he does. I respect him as a man. You can tell he's lowered himself.
"He understands it's not just about him out there. He's becoming a team player. He's starting
to really let himself go. You can tell he got rid of everything else on the outside, he's just
letting everything fly. He controls the huddle, he commands it and he's having fun."
Roethlisberger said he's not satisfied with his performance yet. He told coordinator Bruce
Arians Sunday that "it wasn't our best game, and there were plays where I wasn't as good as I
should have been. And there were times when we felt we should have called different things,
but it wasn't our best game and we still got the win. It's reassuring to know how much better
we feel we can get."
9/18/2007
Big Ben's numbers up under Anderson
Page 1 of 3
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
Steelers quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson talks with Ben Roethlisberger and Charlie Batch at an August practice session at the Steelers' South
Side practice facility.
Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown passes are up and his interceptions down. Somewhere, Ken
Anderson has a hand in it.
The man Bengals owner Mike Brown this week called the most important player in that
franchise's history, will return to Cincinnati for the first time as an enemy -- the quarterbacks
coach of the Steelers.
"I think everybody's making a bigger deal of it than it is to me," Anderson said yesterday
after practice. "It's not like I'm at the end of my playing career and going back to the team
that you played for all those years."
Anderson, 58, played 16 seasons for the Bengals and coached for them another 10. He passed
for 32,838 yards and 197 touchdowns in his career and ran for another 2,220 yards and 20
touchdowns. Twice he was among the 15 finalists for election to the Pro Football Hall of
Fame.
He holds the NFL record for highest completion percentage in a season -- 70.55 in 1982.
It might come as no surprise then that Roethlisberger has completed 63.3 percent of his
10/25/2007
Page 2 of 3
passes this season, which would be the highest of his career. He's also well on his way to
throwing more touchdowns than ever; his 13 are just five fewer than his previous high. And
his five interceptions are far off the pace of his 23 that led the NFL last season.
Roethlisberger at first looked at Anderson warily because he had grown close to the only
quarterback coach he'd known here, Mark Whipple, who was not retained by Mike Tomlin.
"My old quarterback coach, Mark Whipple, and I were very close and still are very close, so
it was really tough when he left," Roethlisberger said. "We still stay in contact, get to play
golf sometime. So it was really tough when he left, but I think Ken's done a great job of
stepping in and being a good quarterback coach for me."
Roethlisberger said Anderson has not tinkered with his mechanics but has helped him
improve the mental part of his game.
"He's helped tremendously. He's more of an after-the-game kind of guy. [Tuesday] and
Monday, we'll sit down and we'll go over what I did right and what I did wrong. That's where
he's made the biggest difference to me.
"Anybody that played as long as he did and played as well as he did, it helps because it gives
him credibility," Roethlisberger said. "When he tells you something, you listen to it."
Dick LeBeau was an assistant with the Bengals at times when Anderson played for them.
"I could always tell when Kenny was in there because when the guy would take one step the
ball would be on target and right there," LeBeau said.
Steelers secondary coach Ray Horton played cornerback for the Bengals during Anderson's
last four seasons there and sees how he has helped Roethlisberger.
"I thought he'd be real good for Ben, coming in as a league MVP, a Super Bowl player,
holding the record for the highest percentage," Horton said. "Ben can kind of lean on him as
a been-there-done-that kind of guy. If he says something, 'I can trust he knows what he's
talking about.' "
Anderson played in Cincinnati from 1971-86. He served as the Bengals' quarterbacks coach
and then offensive coordinator from 1993-2002. He was an assistant in Jacksonville the past
four seasons before Tomlin hired him to serve under new offensive coordinator Bruce
Arians.
"I think the offensive guys will tell you he's been a big help to Bruce as far as someone to
lean on," Horton said.
Anderson downplays his role in Roethlisberger's improvement this season.
"The credit has to go to him and how hard he's worked at it. He's taking care of the football,
he's making good decisions with it. I think that's something for Ben that was brought up a lot
last year and that's something you always focus on, is taking care of the football, and he's
done a pretty good job of that."
Anderson also credits Roethlisberger for his ability to scramble and throw on the run,
something Anderson also excelled at.
"He has great escape ability. He's a big guy, he's tough to bring down and he has good
10/25/2007
Page 3 of 3
instincts as far as leaving the pocket. And he has good vision of the field, he knows where
people are. For the most part this year, when he's been moving he's made plays for us and
made good decisions with the football."
It's a trait Anderson had as a player as well, no small coincidence.
First published on October 25, 2007 at 12:00 am
10/25/2007
ESPN.com - Parker bringing joy to the huddle
ESPN.com: NFL
Page 1 of 5
[Print without images]
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Parker bringing joy to the huddle
By Tim Keown
ESPN The Magazine
Look out onto the field, at all those huge bodies moving at ridiculous speeds, launching into each other
like projectiles. Take a closer look at the little one, the one with the ball, the one moving through those
bodies like a wild trout.
There's something different about him. It's not just his size, or the way
he slips through one side and materializes on the other, like an illusion.
As he gets off the ground, you see through the mask and realize -- yes,
that's what it is -- this guy is happy. Not contrived, endorsementseeking, attention-seeking happy. No, this is the rarest form: pure
happiness.
Let's be honest about the NFL: It sometimes looks like organized
misery, all grimaces and shopping-cart-size knee braces and guys
hoisting themselves off the ground one joint at a time. Then there's this
guy, name of Willie Parker, smiling and laughing all the time. This guy
whose odd comments in the huddle cause teammates to laugh and roll
their eyes. What's this guy's story? What's the source of all that
happiness?
Click here to subscribe to the
magazine.
You might know that Parker was an undrafted free agent who rarely played in college and ended up a
Pro Bowl back for the Steelers. You also might know that Steelers All-Pro guard Alan Faneca dubbed
him Fast Willie because he was timed at 4.23 in the 40 and caused such a buzz when he showed up at
camp in 2004 that men not normally prone to amazement were thinking what guard Kendall Simmons
said out loud: "Good god, he's fast."
And happy. One evening in late September, Parker was asked a simple question: "Good practice?"
"No," he corrected amiably. "Great practice." This is not the norm in an NFL locker room. Most
everybody else roams in a state of near torpor, like reptiles in the cold. They silently trudge from locker
to training room to shower, half-lidded eyes avoiding contact.
They've learned to store their energy for when they need it. Not Parker. His incessant excitability causes
teammates to wonder if he ought to conserve a little. "They look at me like I'm crazy," Parker says.
"They think I'm a wild man."
This bemused tolerance is best exemplified by Faneca, a devout energy conservationist. He
acknowledges Parker's boisterous end zone celebrations by jogging up to him and giving him a fatherly
pat on the forehead before jogging away. "You know what I like about Willie?" Faneca says. "I like it
when we block it up right and he runs through that mother real fast."
There are times when Ben Roethlisberger refuses to pass to Parker in practice, just to irritate him. "He
always complains that I don't throw him the ball," the quarterback says. "But then he says we have to
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3055972&type=story
10/11/2007
Page 2 of 5
throw it over his right shoulder, the left shoulder is no good. What's with that? Oh, he also thinks he runs
the halfback pass better than anybody."
The Steelers added that play for Parker last year, providing explicit instructions: If the primary receiver
is not open, run. Parker enthusiastically asked, "What are my second and third reads?" Told there were
none, he said, "Man, that's not fair9everybody else has second and third reads."
We're forever trying to quantify what separates the average from the good and the good from the great.
In Parker's case, it's got to be something more than speed, because he was fast long before he was
productive.
And yet here he is, at 26, heading toward his third straight 1,000-yard season, leading his team to the top
of the AFC North. To understand how this came about, you have to dig deep into the past, to the
neighborhood girl named Shawna who used to outrun him, to the death of his best friend, to his nearly
pathological desire to prove people wrong.
Wait, though. Everything's moving too fast. First, you have to hear the story about the shoes.
The summer between his junior and senior years of high school, in 1999, Willie persuaded his father,
Willie Parker Sr., to buy him a pair of $100 strength shoes from a catalog. These shoes, sort of a reverse
high heel, are intended to increase vertical leap and improve speed. They are not a fashion accessory.
The shoes arrived to much fanfare in the Parker household in tiny Clinton, N.C., and immediately Willie
went to a corner of the backyard and began to jump -- up and down, off two feet, off one foot. It was the
summer of jumping.
It became a family joke: Where's Willie? In the backyard, jumping. Before long, Willie added a
weighted vest to the ensemble. Now he stood in the backyard wearing those goofy shoes and a heavy
vest, jumping.
No one knew why or bothered to ask. It was a phenomenon similar to Willie's obsession with being the
fastest kid in the neighborhood, which hit a snag when this girl Shawna beat him in a footrace.
Shawna was 18 and Willie 10 or so, but that didn¹t matter.
She was the only one who could beat him, and he set out to
change that. He raced everything he could: his dog, a Nissan
300Z owned by a girl named Tonya Sampson who played
basketball at UNC, his older brothers, Jamaul and JayWayne
("Both slow as dirt," Willie says), but only after spotting
them a 10-yard head start.
"Being the fastest was really important to me," he says.
"After that girl beat me, it did something to my brain." He
never did beat Shawna, and it left him to focus his
bottomless determination on a more mysterious goal. He
jumped through the summer and into the fall, wearing down
the soles of those strength shoes on the concrete in the
backyard.
Willie Parker helps lighten the mood in the
Pittsburgh huddle.
Then, early in the school year, Jamaul came home for a visit from Johnson C. Smith University and was
10/11/2007
Page 3 of 5
met by his little brother. "C'mere," Willie said. "I've got something to show you.: He grabbed a
basketball and took Jamaul to a court across the street. He stood about six feet away from the hoop, took
one step and jumped. By the time he returned to the asphalt, Willie had thrown down a two-handed
dunk.
Now Jamaul understood. This obsessive pursuit -- the shoes, the vest, the jumping9was intended to
knock down the one barrier between Willie and his brothers. Before the shoes, they could dunk with
ease and Parker couldn't.
Now, at 5-foot-10, Willie Parker was their equal. "This boy's crazy," Jamaul says. "He's a different kind
of competitor."
Grab a football with your right hand and tuck it up against the inside of your forearm, the way you might
if you were taking a handoff from Big Ben.
Feel the spot the ball hits, just above the underside of your wrist. Feel it? That's where Parker has a
tattoo that says, "RIP Marty." Marty was the nickname of Jamar Smith, Parker's best friend from
Clinton.
After high school, Willie went off to college, and Jamar went off with the wrong crowd. One day in
2001, at the start of Parker's sophomore year at North Carolina, his parents showed up at his dorm to tell
him that Jamar had been shot and killed in a drive-by back home. Willie reacted the way most 20-yearolds would, with shock and anger. He quit school for a couple of days before his family convinced him
that Jamar wouldn't have approved. In an attempt to come to terms with his friend's death, Willie got the
tattoo.
It's become dangerous to ascribe too much meaning to tattoos. Their ubiquity has turned every grandma
and girlfriend into an epidermal hero. But this one seems significant. "It's there for one reason," Parker
says. "Every time I touch the ball, he's part of it. He's motivation."
The weeks after Smith's death were the toughest of a tough four years in Chapel Hill. How does a
different kind of competitor respond when he can't compete? That's what Parker faced at UNC, where he
barely played after coach John Bunting took over in December 2000 and decided Parker needed to put
on weight to comply with the team's new power-running offense.
"We were tough and hard when we first came in," says former UNC running backs coach Andre Powell,
now at Clemson. "We knew Willie was talented; we just wanted guys to do it the way we wanted it
done. In retrospect, I wish we'd been more tactful."
Parker had 12 starts in four years, just three as a senior. His was a case study of how a player can be
made or unmade by a system. Alex Smith becomes the No. 1 pick; Willie Parker goes undrafted. Many
times Parker wanted to quit, but each time his parents or Jamaul or JayWayne or his sister, Kim, would
talk him out of it. Eventually he came to terms with the situation.
One day back home, a little boy gave him a book called The Prayer of Jabez, and Willie figured, what
could it hurt? Every day he said the prayer: Oh, that you'll bless me indeed and enlarge my territory.
That your hand will be with me. And that you'll keep me from evil.
You can debate causality all you want, but Willie says he started to become a better man. The anger and
bitterness began to fade. He came to terms with Jamar's death, stopped swearing, treated people a little
10/11/2007
Page 4 of 5
better. He wasn't bad before, just unfocused. He started to see positives first and negatives second. Or
not at all. His new attitude didn't change his playing time any, but it allowed him to look ahead, where
he saw his speed as a prepunched ticket to an NFL training camp.
His signing with Pittsburgh wasn't a complete accident; Steelers scout
Dan Rooney Jr., son of the owner, lives in North Carolina and saw
Willie run as early as high school. Once Parker got to training camp, he
was determined to get noticed. "There was a buzz around this guy,"
Simmons says.
Parker spent most of his rookie year on the inactive list. But the next
season, Bill Cowher -- whose loyalty to veteran backs bordered on the
obsessive -- was forced to play Parker following injuries to Jerome
Bettis and Duce Staley. When the two vets recovered, Parker stayed in
the lineup, and the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Two seasons, one Pro Bowl and a $14 million contract later, the work
ethic and mentality haven't changed. "I'm still the undrafted free agent
trying to make the team," Parker says.
Parker truly enjoys playing the
game.
Clearly his devotion to silencing his detractors is deep-seated and
compulsive. When a Pittsburgh writer suggested that part of the problem for the Steelers' 8-8 season was
Parker's one-dimensional style, Willie tailored his offseason workout to improve his inside running
ability. (More than half of Parker's 507 yards during Pittsburgh's 4-1 start have been between the
tackles.)
He had a good relationship with former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, now Arizona's head
coach, but his brothers say Parker always noticed something about Whisenhunt: He would call players
aside and tell them their strengths and weaknesses, but he would never call Willie. "The coach probably
meant nothing by it," JayWayne says. "But Willie used that as motivation, too." For the record,
Whisenhunt calls Parker "one of the best backs in the league." But in Willie's world, every slight, real or
perceived, lingers.
The draft carries such bad connotations that he still refuses to watch it.
And when he works out with other NFL players in North Carolina in the off-season or with his
teammates during the season, he does so with an agenda. He starts with a set workout, and if everybody
makes it that far, he improvises. "Every guy is usually someone who was drafted," he says. "I want to
make them puke and look over at me and see me still working. That's my goal." The combination doesn't
make a whole lot of sense: the happiest guy in the league carrying around the biggest chip on his
shoulder.
Then again, Parker's hypercompetitiveness runs counter to his fundamental nature. His odd comments in
the huddle are legendary. Last year during a December practice, as Roethlisberger walked to the huddle,
Parker asked his teammates, "Hey, what did you guys get your kids for Christmas?" Ten men turned to
the smiling little guy and shook their heads.
Simmons says, "Sometimes we look at him and say, Where does this stuff come from?" Simple answer,
really. It comes from the mind of a man who knows how to be happy even though he's never satisfied.
10/11/2007
Harris: Steelers' RB tandem paying dividends - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 1 of 2
Running back tandem paying dividends for Steelers
By John Harris
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Two running backs aren't necessarily better than one for the Steelers.
Willie Parker leads the NFL in rushing. He's off to the best start of his career
and the Steelers are 4-1 entering their bye week.
That makes backup Najeh Davenport a luxury.
Primarily, Davenport provides insurance at a position with a high injury rate -running backs generally have a short career expectancies. He's also a creative
change-of-pace alternative for defenses targeting Parker.
Parker (5-10, 209) scares defenses as a threat to go all the way on every carry.
He's expanding his game this season and has become a deceptively tough
inside runner.
Davenport (6-1, 247) hammers away at the defense with body blows. But he
can bust it outside if need be. He displayed those qualities on a 45-yarder
against Seattle, the Steelers' longest run of the season.
Parker's and Davenport's combination of speed and power is what coach Mike
Tomlin envisioned during the offseason when he said running back tandems
have been duly noted in the copycat NFL.
"The roles are probably starting to define themselves, but we're just kind of
letting it happen naturally," Tomlin said. "We're doing what we need to do to
win. Willie Parker's our primary ballcarrer. (Davenport) is definitely a legitimate
threat when he goes in there."
Parker has carried the ball 121 times for 507 yards (4.2-yard average) and one
touchdown. He has four 100-yard games.
At his current rate, Parker will finish the season with 387 carries. Last season,
Parker carried the ball 337 times for 1,494 yards (4.4 average) and 13
touchdowns. He had seven 100-yard games in 2006, including a pair of 200yard performances.
Davenport is the Steelers' second-leading rusher with 209 yards on 28 carries.
His whopping 7.5-yard per carry average more than doubles last year's 3.7
average, when he rushed 60 times for 221 yards.
10/15/2007
Harris: Steelers' RB tandem paying dividends - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 2 of 2
Davenport is averaging 4.5 carries a game. That projects to 89 carries over a
full season.
The Steelers are running more this season. They're averaging 35 carries a
game, up from 29.3 carries in 2006.
Parker, a Pro Bowl alternate last season, is the feature back. However,
Davenport is assuming a more significant role on third-down and goal-line
situations. Two of Davenport's three touchdowns were on short runs.
"Teams aren't trying to let me get loose. They're using a 2-gap technique while
I'm in there so they can keep me on my p's and q's," Parker said. "When
Najeh's in there they go straight at him. Eventually, they're going to get tired.
They ain't going to be able to hold up a full game. Over four quarters, we wear
teams down. Eventually we'll break through."
"I think that's why they're a little off-balance when they see me coming and
when they see Willie coming," Davenport said.
Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith said preparing to face two vastly different
running backs in the same game presents a unique set of challenges.
"They're going to run certain plays with different backs. You have to be aware
of who you're going to tackle,'' Smith said. "You've got to stand straight-up
against Najeh or he's going to truck you over like a pancake. You try to lay into
Willie, he's going to shake-and-bake you.''
In keeping up with the Joneses, the Steelers appear to be onto something with
their two-back attack.
John Harris can be reached at jharris@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.
10/15/2007
Ward rates with best for Steelers
Page 1 of 2
Hines Ward caught touchdown passes from the worst and the best of Steelers quarterbacks,
from Kent Graham to Ben Roethlisberger. He caught passes from six starters, not counting
his most important, from fellow receiver Antwaan Randle El in Super Bowl XL.
Three more touchdown receptions and 445 more yards and he will have almost every team
receiving record worth holding. That's not bad on a franchise that boasts Lynn Swann and
John Stallworth as alumni.
Those two Pro Football Hall of Fame receivers will be on hand Monday night when the
Steelers celebrate their all-time 75th anniversary team and play the Baltimore Ravens at
Heinz Field. They all will get to watch the third receiver on that 75th anniversary team, Hines
Ward.
"We have Baltimore coming to town and there's no love lost there," Ward said. "It's a
divisional game, it's going to be a special night, Monday night, the 75th anniversary. We
have a bunch of guys back, we're going to wear our throwback uniforms. What better way to
go than beat up on the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night?"
Few thrive off that kind of competition the way Ward does. He would have fit right in with
Swann and Stallworth, who played at their best on the big stages.
Ward has surpassed all of Swann's statistics and some of Stallworth's and is closing in on a
few others. His 61 touchdown catches are two from Stallworth's record of 63. His 8,279
yards receiving are 444 from Stallworth's record of 8,723.
Ward already has career records for receptions at 672 and counting, and he's the only
receiver to make four Pro Bowls for the Steelers. He owns the top three season records for
receptions in team history, starting at 112. His 13 catches in one game is second to Courtney
Hawkins' 14. His 1,329 yards in 2002 are third and his 12 touchdowns that same season are
tied for first.
"I'm not one of those guys to really look at records as the season's going on, but to be up
there right with Stallworth and be close to his record would be an all-time dream come true
for me," Ward said.
He hopes to see Swann and Stallworth this weekend, starting Sunday night at the David L.
Lawrence Convention Center when the Steelers honor their all-time team.
"I talk to those guys regularly. [Stallworth] wrote me a letter when I broke his receptions
record. It's great. The two receivers who epitomize Steelers football -- Stallworth and Swann
10/30/2007
Page 2 of 2
-- to have my name mentioned with those guys, I'm speechless.
"I'm working my tail off to be mentioned with those guys and now it's starting to get close to
it, it's a dream come true."
Ward caught two more touchdown passes Sunday in the 24-13 victory in Cincinnati. On his
first, he turned hotshot rookie cornerback Leon Hall inside out, faking a post and then
running a corner that left him wide open.
He almost had a third when he caught a 9-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger that ended at
the 1 with him trying to stretch the ball into the end zone. Willie Parker scored on the next
play.
That Ward approaches Stallworth's touchdown record is not surprising because he has been
money throughout his career anywhere near the goal line, spinning, diving and sometimes
plowing his way through to the end zone.
"When we get in the red zone he's one of those guys who sniffs the end zone," Roethlisberger
said. "You just know he's going to get in somehow, some way."
His two touchdowns against the Bengals marked the 12th game with multiple touchdown
receptions in his 10-year career. (Against Philadelphia in 2004, he caught one scoring pass
and ran for another touchdown.) He set his personal high last season in Atlanta when he
caught three touchdown passes, tied for second most in a game in club history.
Ward does not catch as many passes as he did when he combined for 217 receptions in the
2002 and '03 seasons, but the MVP of Super Bowl XL has not visibly slowed down at age
31. Even though he missed two games with a sprained MCL in his knee, his 24 receptions are
just two off Santonio Holmes' team lead.
"There's a lot of football left in me," Ward declared Sunday night.
Stallworth played through 1987 and then retired shortly before he turned 36.
Ward does not believe he has that much football left in him.
"I don't want to go that long," Ward said, breaking out in a smile. "I can't give numbers, but it
won't be five [more] years, I'll tell you that."
Whenever it is, most of the Steelers receiving records will be his.
10/30/2007
Hines Ward at top of his game again
Page 1 of 3
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
9/11/2007
Page 2 of 3
Hines Ward celebrates with Nate Washington (85) after his touchdown in the first quarter Sunday against the Browns.
The man is no ordinary player. He's one of the NFL's finest, a Super Bowl MVP no less, and
there he was Sunday giving up his body to put a brutal block on a poor, unsuspecting
cornerback late in a game that his team was comfortably winning.
"That's how I play," the Steelers' Hines Ward said, shrugging.
This time, the hit on Cleveland Browns cornerback Daven Holly was a little late. "I saw the
flag and I asked the ref, 'What did I do?' Ward said after the Steelers' 34-7 victory in
Cleveland. "He said I was a second or a second-and-a-half late. I never try to hurt anyone out
there, but I'm going to hit you before you hit me. Najeh [Davenport] was fighting for tough
extra yards, and I'm going to do everything I can to help get him in the end zone. I had
committed to making that hit. There was no turning back. I'm not going to apologize for
that."
Nice to know some things don't change, isn't it?
The Steelers have a new coach, a new offense and, in some ways, a new philosophy, but it's
still comforting to look out on the field and watch No. 86 do his thing.
Actually, Ward has changed, but it's a change for the good. He's not the same player who
never felt quite right last season after missing training camp with a hamstring injury. He
didn't make the Pro Bowl for the first time in five years.
"I'm back in form," Ward said. "My weight is down. I'm running my routes faster. I'm
stronger. I'm back to where I need to be."
It showed on the Steelers' first possession when Ward pulled in a fade pass from quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger for a 5-yard touchdown. It showed again later when Ward turned a short
pass into a 24-yard gain, getting a crushing block along the way from wide receiver Santonio
Holmes, who obviously has been paying attention to how Ward does it downfield. Holmes'
hit on cornerback Eric Wright was hard and clean, the way most of Ward's famously
punishing blocks are, although the concussed Holly, the Browns and their angry fans might
disagree on that latter point.
"I'm just trying to prove all the naysayers wrong who are saying I'm old and washed up,"
Ward said.
That's almost laughable. Ward's naysayers exist only in his mind. But if he wants to believe
people are saying he's washed up, that's fine. It's always something with him. He's always
looking for motivation. It has been that way since he came into the NFL. He wasn't supposed
to make it as a third-round draft choice. He wasn't supposed to be a starter. He wasn't
supposed to keep his job ahead of No. 1 picks Troy Edwards and Plaxico Burress. He wasn't
supposed to be worth the big money. He wasn't supposed to be a Super Bowl hero. He wasn't
supposed to stay hungry after winning that Super Bowl MVP award.
You get the idea.
"I want to show people that I can be Ben's go-to guy," Ward said. "Like that touchdown on
the fade pattern. People always say you need a 6-foot-6 guy to score in the red zone. That's
ridiculous. All you need is a guy who's willing to go get the ball. I want to be that guy for this
9/11/2007
Page 3 of 3
football team. I want Ben to trust me."
As if Roethlisberger doesn't.
The entire team trusts Ward, which is why the players voted him their offensive captain.
It's a role he takes seriously. He said the first thing he did after the win was huddle with wide
receivers Cedrick Wilson and Nate Washington, who didn't have a catch.
"We knew going in this offense was going to spread the ball around," Ward said.
"Everyone is going to get their fair share. I told those guys that their time is coming. 'Don't
worry about it. Don't get caught up in the numbers. Who knows? The next game I might only
catch one or two balls.' "
Not likely.
Holmes has become Roethlisberger's best deep threat and caught a 40-yard touchdown pass
Sunday. Tight end Heath Miller is an extraordinary receiver, which is why it was great to see
the Steelers use him so much against the Browns, throwing to him four times, once for a 22yard touchdown.
But Ward still is Roethlisberger's most dependable receiver.
The man is no ordinary player. He's one of the NFL's finest, and he'll be there all season,
giving up his body to make a catch and fight for extra yards.
Hey, it's how he plays.
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com
9/11/2007
Holmes is a rising star for Steelers
Page 1 of 2
Holmes is better known as the Steelers' deep threat, but now he is making the tough plays over
the middle, too.
It's not as if they called Santonio Holmes a wimp. That would be ridiculous. You don't
become a starter in the NFL by being soft. But it was curious what impressed the Steelers
coaches and players most about Holmes' performance in the 24-13 victory Sunday at
Cincinnati. It wasn't his diving 42-yard catch that set up the first touchdown or his two
critical third-down catches that kept later scoring drives going. It was the ice bags attached to
his ribs and right thigh after the game.
"Santonio is learning how to play beat up," said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.
Don't underestimate that.
"He's understanding that he can go over the middle and make plays," quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger said. "He caught that one slant where he went real high, caught it and got hit.
That's him maturing. Last year, he probably goes up and ducks."
Added Arians: "He's making the really tough catch and getting up to make the next one. He
took a big hit on that thigh in the first half. I don't know that he would have came back and
played in the second half last season."
It's not as if they gave Holmes a choice against the Bengals.
"Everybody was yelling at me to get back in the game," Holmes said.
Well, not everybody.
"Ben asked me after almost every play if I was OK," Holmes said. "I told him, 'Ben, don't
worry about me. I've got your back.' "
Roethlisberger's concern is understandable. Holmes gives Big Ben a third go-to receiver
along with redoubtable Hines Ward and rising star Heath Miller. The man drops nothing. "He
makes my job so much easier," Roethlisberger said.
It's no coincidence that Roethlisberger looked for Holmes on those important third-down
conversions Sunday on out-of-the-pocket throws. "Ben is always saying never to give up on a
play," Holmes said. "He hates to leave anything on the field." Holmes certainly didn't give up
on a third-and-4 play early in the second quarter even though defensive tackle John Thornton
had Roethlisberger by the legs and was pulling him down. His catch was good for 7 yards.
Holmes also didn't let up after the Bengals had Roethlisberger scrambling for his life on a
10/30/2007
Page 2 of 2
third-and-6 play midway through the fourth quarter. He grabbed Roethlisberger's off-balance,
sidearm pass for a 12-yard gain to set up the clinching field goal, a play that many, including
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, thought might have been the play of the day. "Big-time play,"
the coach called it.
Holmes got the Steelers going with his 42-yard catch. Roethlisberger's pump fake gave him
time to get behind cornerback Leon Hall. It was Holmes' third catch of at least 40 yards this
season. He has four of the Steelers' five longest receptions.
"I'll let everyone else do the judging and just keep making plays for my team," Holmes said
when asked if he felt he was becoming an elite NFL receiver in just his second season. He
didn't yield much ground on that subject when pressed again later. "Just say I'm working hard
toward becoming one of the great receivers in this league."
Who better than Arians -- the Steelers' receivers coach for three seasons before getting the
big promotion from Tomlin -- to ask for a judgment of Holmes?
"Right now, he's becoming a really good player. There's no doubt [stardom] is in his future as
long as he keeps working hard. It's just a matter of him becoming more consistent."
There's more to it than just catching passes. Arians raved about Holmes' blocking. It's a
significant factor in Willie Parker's 726 rushing yards -- the second-best total in the NFL -and the Steelers' 5-2 record.
"What a legacy Hines has left in that room," Arians said. "The other guys see what he does as
a blocker and it has an impact on everyone ...
"You block in this league with one muscle -- your heart."
That leads us back to Holmes' toughness.
It takes a real man to block NFL linebackers and safeties, to take the ferocious hits from
those linebackers and safeties on catches over the middle.
"It's either in you or it isn't," Ward said. "It's in Santonio."
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
10/30/2007
Holmes making case for being No.1 receiver
Page 1 of 2
By F. Dale Lolley, Staff writer
dlolley@observer-reporter.com
PITTSBURGH - When the Steelers travel to Cincinnati this weekend to face the Bengals, much of the
focus will be on the star wide receivers in the game.
Cincinnati's duo of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh have been as productive as any tandem in
the league over the past two seasons, while Pittsburgh's Hines Ward is a four-time Pro Bowl player and
the team's all-time leader in receptions.
And then there's the fourth starting receiver in the game, the Steelers' Santonio Holmes.
He might not get the publicity of the others, but Holmes has proven this season to be as valuable as
nearly any wide receiver in the league.
And when the Steelers (4-2) face the Bengals (2-4) Sunday, it could be the receiver nobody is talking
about who makes the difference.
In five games - he missed one with a hamstring injury three weeks ago against Seattle - Holmes has 20
receptions for 339 yards and four touchdowns.
In his last 16 games, Holmes has caught 60 passes for 1,032 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers
are very comparable to the 83 catches for 1,079 yards and six touchdowns that Ward has in his last 16
games.
Are we seeing a changing of the guard as the Steelers' No. 1 receiver?
"It hasn't been something I've been looking for or thinking about, but it has been something that I want
to work toward being," said Holmes. "I want to be the No. 1 receiver on this team. When Hines is gone,
we're going to need someone to step up."
In Holmes' last game against Cincinnati, caught a 67-yard touchdown pass that gave Pittsburgh a 23-17
overtime victory on the final day of the 2006 regular season.
The Steelers' top pick in last year's draft, Holmes has gained the trust of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Part of the reason for that has been Holmes' ability to learn the nuances of the game.
In his rookie season, Holmes was basically little more than a deep threat. But this season, Holmes is
valuable in all facets of the offense.
"Because he's grown and matured so much, he's been a guy who has been able to learn from Hines and
become an underneath guy - a guy who can catch the ball in zones and do more with the ball after the
catch," said Roethlisberger. "Before, he was a guy who could just take off, go deep. He can still do that,
obviously, as we've seen. But like I said, he's been really good at understanding coverages and what he's
supposed to do on every play."
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/10_25_Holmes_coming_on
10/25/2007
Page 2 of 2
The days of double-teaming Ward and shutting down the Steelers' passing game, it would seem, are
over.
"Teams are going to double-team Hines or even triple-team him, however, we need someone to step up,"
Holmes said. "I want to be that guy."
Before too long, it could be Holmes who is getting all of the double-coverage.
"Teams are going to start saying we can't let this guy get behind us," Holmes said. "We've got to throw
some different coverages at him, things that they do to other receivers who have been explosive like
myself, they're going to start doing it more to me."
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/10_25_Holmes_coming_on
10/25/2007
Steelers (finally) using tight ends in passing game
Page 1 of 3
Saturday, October 27, 2007
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
Steelers tight end Heath Miller leads the team with 22 catches, including four touchdowns. Here he pulls in a pass as he's defended by Seahawks
Deon Grant and Patrick Kerney earlier this month.
Believe it or not, the check really is in the mail.
After years of lip service and hollow promises about throwing to the tight end, the Steelers
actually have delivered on the threat and are throwing the ball to someone other than their
wide receivers, especially inside the 20.
"That's something we always talked about the last couple years," backup quarterback Charlie
Batch said. "Now, you have the guys and, if you're able to do it, you can play with the
defense a little bit. They can't sit back and double team the outside."
When offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said he wanted to use three tight ends shortly after
drafting Matt Spaeth on the third round in April, he wasn't just whistling past the red zone.
The Steelers have done more than use three tight ends at the
same time in some formations. They have utilized all three tight
ends -- Heath Miller, Jerame Tuman and Spaeth -- to catch
touchdowns.
Of Ben Roethlisberger's 13 touchdown passes in six games, eight
Tomorrow
10/27/2007
have been caught by tight ends. With the exception of a 22-yard
touchdown catch by Miller against the Cleveland Browns, all
have come inside the red zone.
It's one of the reasons the Steelers rank fifth in the American
Football Conference in red zone percentage (59.1), scoring
touchdowns on 13 of 22 trips inside the 20.
Page 2 of 3
z
vs. Bengals (2-4), 1
p.m.
z
TV: KDKA-TV 2
z
Where: Paul Brown
Stadium, Cincinnati
"You have big, tall guys and they can all run," Arians said.
"Teams have double-teamed our receivers and done a good taking them away and it has
opened those guys up."
Sprung them open, is more like it.
Miller, who leads the team with 22 catches, has four touchdowns after catching two in
Sunday night's loss in Denver.
Spaeth, who also had a touchdown against the Broncos, has three among his four catches.
Tuman, who has missed a couple games with back spasms, has one catch -- a 9-yard
touchdown reception.
In every instance but one, each tight end has been wide open in the end zone or easily beat
his man in single coverage.
"Sometimes [opposing] teams don't respect the tight end at all and you really don't have to
cover them," Batch said. "Here, we have two or three guys who can get open down there.
But, when you get down there, it's a matter of getting the right look you see and being on the
same page."
"A lot of them have come off our play-action and we've been able to run the ball pretty well,"
said Tuman, who did not play against the Broncos because of back spasms but is expected to
return for tomorrow's 1 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Paul Brown Stadium.
"So against linebackers or safeties who bite on the run, it has opened the tight end in the
middle of field. That can go back to people aren't used to us using the tight end. Once they
focus on the tight end, we have weapons on the outside that will open up."
After six games, receivers Hines Ward, Cedrick Wilson and Nate Washington have
combined for only one touchdown catch. Santonio Holmes, who is second on the team with
20 receptions, has four.
But that is the reason Arians, in his first season as coordinator, wanted to use multiple tight
ends in the offense and diminish the role of the fullback. When teams take away Holmes or
Ward on the outside, Roethlisberger has the option of throwing to the tight end.
If teams start watching the tight end in the middle of the field or the red zone, that will give
the wide receivers more single coverage on the outside.
"You have four receivers on the field, two who can block, and the versatility they give you
over the fullback is where you gain a huge advantage in the passing game," Arians said. "It's
athletic ability. When you have 6-foot-7 guys who are up on the line or in the backfield
versus 5-foot-10, 250-pound guys, it's to your advantage."
10/27/2007
Page 3 of 3
"We're doing lot of multiple tight end stuff and keeping teams on their toes," said Spaeth,
who is 6-foot-7, 270 pounds. "And it works so far."
Just as Arians promised it would.
10/27/2007
Steelers' Miller continues quiet climb - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 1 of 2
Steelers' Miller continues quiet climb
By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, October 12, 2007
After the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, reporters were as
eager to ask to ask Heath Miller about a questionable holding call as they were
to ask about the touchdown reception that gave his team the only points it
needed.
"It was a hold against me," Miller said of the play the negated a big gain on a
Najeh Davenport catch-and-run, "and there's nothing we can do about it now."
The response was typical of Miller. Looking for a spicy soundbite, anything
within three time zones of controversial? Keep walking past the third-year pro.
Not surprising, Miller's emergence as one of the best tight ends in the NFL has
been rather quiet. That's what happens when you play in an offense that is still
predicated on the run and your quotes are so vanilla they ought to come with a
bottle of chocolate sauce.
What Miller lacks in style, he certainly makes up for in substance. He is the
Steelers' leading receiver (17 receptions) through their first five games, and the
6-foot-5, 256-pounder's yards per catch (14.2) and receiving yards (241) rank
second and seventh, respectively, among NFL tight ends.
"I think he's one of the better tight ends," said ESPN analyst Mike Ditka, who
made the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a tight end. "He's a good, all-around
football player. He's probably not going to get the recognition that a lot of other
tight ends get, but when I watch him play, he deserves it."
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wouldn't argue with that.
Miller has been one of Roethlisberger's favorite targets since the Steelers took
the University of Virginia product with the 30th overall pick of the 2005 draft.
The two, who are roommates on the road, looked like they were playing pitchand-catch against the Seahawks when Roethlisberger saw Miller in single
coverage in the second quarter of a scoreless game and zinged a 13-yard
touchdown pass to him.
"I truly believe there is a level of comfort with Ben when he is throwing the ball
to Heath, and rightfully so," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "He is a really
good football player, and he is getting better. You almost take him for granted.
Sometimes you forget that he is a young guy and emerging in a lot of ways."
10/15/2007
Steelers' Miller continues quiet climb - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 2 of 2
Miller is both swift and sure-handed, which makes him a match-up problem for
linebackers, and his size makes him difficult for safeties to handle.
Miller may be young -- he turns 25 in less than two weeks -- and quiet, but he
has taken on a leadership role at his position.
Making the jump
Heath Miller's production slipped a little in 2006 after a solid rookie season.
Through the Steelers' first five games, the tight end is on pace to set career
highs in several receiving categories.
Season
Rec.
Yds.
TDs
Avg.
2005
39
459
6
11.8
2006
34
393
5
11.6
*2007
45
771
6
14.2
* -- Projection based on first five games
"He's probably helped me the most in my transition," rookie tight end Matt
Spaeth said. "I watch him and try to study what he does, and he's very helpful
when I ask him questions."
One question that is worth posing about Miller is where he falls among the top
tight ends in the NFL.
Just don't ask him.
"I'm just trying to be the best player I can be," Miller said, "and wherever that
lands me is where it lands me."
10/15/2007
Master craftsman Smith has Roethlisberger's back
Page 1 of 3
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Marvel Smith, left offensive tackle.
Willie Parker ... Ben Roethlisberger ... Troy Polamalu ... Casey Hampton ...
Who is the most indispensable Steelers player?
A case can be made for all four, but so, too, can one be made for Marvel Smith, their left
offensive tackle.
"I don't know where he ranks among left tackles, but I wouldn't trade him for anybody at this
point," said line coach Larry Zierlein.
Smith quietly goes about his job without making much noise or news. He earned a Pro Bowl
spot once for the 2004 season and has been an uninvited alternate to Hawaii ever since. He
also is playing much better than he did in 2004 and should rank among the best left tackles in
the game.
The most important job on the offensive line for a right-handed quarterback belongs to his
left tackle. Defenses normally put their best pass rusher to their right, across from the
offensive left tackle.
When expansion teams are built, one of the first positions they
invest in is their left tackle. The Steelers have not had to worry
about their left tackle for the past four seasons after he started his first three years at right
tackle and missed much of 2003 with a pinched nerve.
10/18/2007
Page 2 of 3
"I have a lot of confidence and a lot of faith in my blind side,"
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "A lot of guys in this
league have to look over their shoulder quite a bit. I don't. I don't
feel I have to. I have a lot of faith in him. He's a great tackle."
Smith has not allowed a sack this season, even though he has
faced some of the better pass rushers in the NFL -- Julian
Peterson led Seattle with 10 sacks last season and is tied for
second in the NFL this year with six; Aaron Schobel led Buffalo
last season with 14, three off the NFL lead, and Kamerion
Wimbley led Cleveland last season with 11.
Denver will throw a variety at him -- ends Elvis Dumervil (their
leader with four sacks) and John Engelberger, and rookie
backups Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder.
Next
z
at Denver Broncos (23).
z
z
When: 8:15 p.m.
Sunday.
TV: WPXI.
"He's really, really been effective, and pressure from his side hasn't been a factor," Zierlein
said. "I'm trying to think if he's even had a mental error. I'm sure he's had some pressures, but
I can't remember them right now, none stands out."
Those who challenge his importance also might remember 2003. He was hampered most of
the season by a pinched nerve in his neck and played only six games. All-Pro guard Alan
Faneca moved to his spot and, while he played well enough, the line never recovered and the
Steelers stumbled to 6-10, their only losing season of the decade.
Faneca and Zierlein each cite Smith's work after practice as an important reason for his
improvement since the Steelers drafted him in the second round from Arizona State in 2000.
Smith works on his pass sets by himself long after practice ends. Zierlein estimated he takes
100 practice pass sets.
"I'll tell you what makes him good, he's always out working on techniques, he stays late and
works and works," Zierlein said. "He's perfected his pass sets, and his hand usage has gotten
just really, really good."
Smith knows how to take a pass rusher deep or stop and prevent him from rushing inside
him.
"He's a big technician in his craft," Faneca said.
The Steelers have the No. 2 running team in the NFL, and Smith handles that part of his job
just as well.
"He's a good run-blocker, he's a strong guy," Zierlein said. "On those double-teams, he and
Faneca get movement. They're a good tandem on that stuff. He's a good perimeter blocker
when you pull on those toss plays. He's a good all-around player."
Smith said the best pass rushers are those who have all the moves, and picked Miami's Jason
Taylor, a Woodland Hills High School graduate, among the best he has faced.
"I mean, if you have finesse moves, quickness and power moves, you have the total package.
That's the toughest guy," Smith said.
He did not lump anyone he has faced this season into that category.
10/18/2007
Page 3 of 3
"I'll just say it like this: After five games, there's nobody who jumps out in my mind as
somebody who's the best I've played against," Smith said.
Those opponents cannot say the same.
10/18/2007
Steelers' Smith showcases intensity - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 1 of 2
Steelers' Smith showcases intensity
By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, November 1, 2007
It was hours before kickoff, and Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was still in
sweatpants as he warmed up at Paul Brown Stadium.
Despite the relaxed atmosphere, Palmer was so perturbed after Anthony Smith
accidentally bumped into him that Palmer stopped what he was doing just to
glare at the Steelers free safety. After Smith had finished talking with Cincinnati
wide receiver Chad Johnson -- he had sought out the perennial Pro Bowler to
remind him to wear his mouthpiece during the game -- Palmer said to Johnson,
"Who is that?"
The story is significant for two reasons: Palmer certainly knew who Smith was
after the Steelers had beaten the Bengals, 24-13. And defensive backs coach
Ray Horton, who saw Palmer's stare-down, never would have told Smith about
it a year or even a month ago, because it might have consumed the secondyear professional and cost the Steelers at some point during the game.
"He is growing up. He's maturing. He's understanding that you can't just be a
hothead all the time," Horton said of Smith. "If this kid were on another team,
he'd be a star."
Smith has certainly had the look of one when he has gotten extended playing
time.
Making his second start of the season on Sunday, Smith led the Steelers with
eight tackles, and he laid several big licks on Johnson and T.J.
Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati's other prized wideout.
With Ryan Clark still recovering from a spleen condition -- he didn't practice
Wednesday, and the Steelers are leaning toward resting the sixth-year veteran
for another week -- Smith is expected to start Monday night against the Ravens.
The grudge match that should take place at Heinz Field is well suited for Smith,
since there is always plenty of hitting and jawing between the fierce AFC North
rivals.
He can come across as quiet off the field, but put the former Syracuse standout
in a helmet and pads, and the transformation is "Jekyll and Hyde," Smith said
with a smile.
Indeed, his mouth runs almost as fast as his legs when he is on the field, and
11/1/2007
Steelers' Smith showcases intensity - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Page 2 of 2
Smith never stops trying to satisfy the constant cravings he apparently has for
collisions.
"Once I get on the field you can't tell me anything," said Smith, a third-round
draft pick by the Steelers in 2006. "I'm trying to hit everything."
The intensity that makes him a devastating hitter has also gotten the better of
him at times, and Horton ticked off some of the transgressions that set Smith
back as he battled Clark for the starting job at free safety during training camp.
"Kicking balls, throwing balls, yelling at guys," Horton said. "In this game, you
have to have focused aggression."
Horton said he flatly told Smith during training camp that he wouldn't play if he
didn't learn to control his temper.
Clark won the starting job in large part because he was more disciplined than
Smith on the field but Horton said the latter has made considerable strides in
channeling his considerable aggression.
Smith, however, said he hasn't really changed.
"They just got used to it, really," he said of the coaches.
There is no disputing that Smith is a playmaker, as evidenced by the two
interceptions he had in four starts last season and the game he had against the
Bengals.
Smith, who usually shares time with Clark at free safety, does most of his hitting
in the secondary, but Horton said the 5-foot-11, 192-pounder could also be a
dangerous pass rusher.
The Steelers simply don't blitz much with their free safeties -- they usually stay
back in coverage -- since strong safety Troy Polamalu moves around so
frequently.
"If we didn't have Troy," said Horton, who played 10 seasons in the NFL, "this
kid would be a dominant blitzer. I've told him to look at (Eagles All-Pro safety)
Brian Dawkins, because this kid is that type of player. He's a big, strong, fast,
tough kid that can catch."
11/1/2007
Harrison making Porter a memory
Page 1 of 2
PITTSBURGH - When the Steelers released former Pro Bowl outside linebacker Joey Porter in the
offseason, many national pundits looked at it as a step back.
With no apparent replacement on the team's roster, the Steelers' defense was sure to suffer with the loss
of its vocal leader.
But many locally - particularly in the Steelers' locker room - knew differently.
In James Harrison, the Steelers not only had an adequate replacement for Porter, they might have
somebody who is better than Porter at this point in their respective careers.
Two games into the 2007 season, Harrison is showing that is the case.
Harrison's teammates affectionately call "Silverback," because as fellow linebacker Clark Haggans once
put it, "They're big, strong gorillas from the Congo, the silverback gorilla. They spend their days
swinging on trees and breaking stuff. All the other apes and everyone in the jungle are afraid of him."
And Harrison has caused a lot of havoc early in this season.
In Sunday's 26-3 victory over Buffalo, Harrison had three tackles - including one on special teams - a
sack, a quarterback pressure and a pass defensed despite playing only in the first half. He sat out the
second half after sustaining a minor neck injury on the final play of the first half when he ran head-first
into the backside of nose tackle Casey Hampton.
Despite laying on the field for nearly 10 minutes and being taken off the field on a stretcher, Harrison
refused to go to the hospital and returned to the field in the second half, trying to get back on the field.
Yeah, he's that kind of guy.
"That's Silver," said fellow linebacker Arnold Harrison. "I think they hid his helmet, because if he would
have had his helmet and gloves, he would have come back out there, no questions asked."
Thus far, Harrison and the rest of the Steelers' defense hasn't missed a beat without Porter.
The Steelers have allowed and NFL-low 10 points in their first two games and Harrison has been a big
part of that.
Harrison leads the Steelers, who have an NFL-best 10 sacks, with 1.5. He also has 10 tackles already
this season as part of a unit that is allowing just 222 yards per game.
Porter, meanwhile, has recorded just five tackles and no sacks this season for Miami.
Most impressively, 11 different Steelers players have at least a share of a sack already this season.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/09_18_Steelers_Harrison_defense
9/18/2007
Page 2 of 2
"Good pressure and good coverage work hand in hand," said cornerback Deshea Townsend. "We're just
all playing well as a unit."
Odds and end zones
With 235 yards in two games, Willie Parker ranks third in the AFC in rushing. ... Steelers' rookie punter
Daniel Sepulveda leads the NFL with five punts placed inside the 20. Sepulveda has yet to have a punt
returned against him this season.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/09_18_Steelers_Harrison_defense
9/18/2007
Age not slowing Steelers' Farrior
Page 1 of 2
PITTSBURGH - He stands in the tunnel leading out to the playing field, where the thousands of
screaming fans and oncoming violence await, as calm as a cat.
There are no histrionics or crazy dances.
That's not what James Farrior is about.
His is a classic cool, a quiet leadership that is spoken in actions, not words.
Farrior addresses his teammates, speaking only about the importance of living for that week, for that
game, and raises his hand into the air. The other 44 men dressed for the game follow suit and the
Steelers are ready to play football.
"I just speak from the heart," said Farrior of his pre-game speech. "It's nothing special. I'm not asking
anybody to ride with me or anything like that. I'm just speaking from the heart."
That is the ritual the Steelers have followed for all 10 of their games - five preseason, five regular season
- this year. Thus far, it's led them to a 4-1 record and a first-place position in the AFC North.
In previous seasons, Jerome Bettis or Joey Porter would give the final speech before Pittsburgh headed
onto the field. But with both of those players gone, Farrior has stepped into a leadership role that seems
to suit him, and this team, well.
"With Joey gone, I knew we needed somebody to fill that void," Farrior said.
First-year head coach Mike Tomlin said Farrior is a natural leader.
"James is a professional," said Tomlin, who at 35 is just three years older than Farrior. "His experience
and all of those things are a big factor, but the quality of play is probably the defining factor of who he
is. He's playing at a very high level. We appreciate it. We need it. He's provided it for us."
On a team loaded with defensive playmakers such as strong safety Troy Polamalu, it has been Farrior
who has paced the NFL's top-rated defense thus far. Farrior, who finished second in the NFL Defensive
Player of the Year voting to Baltimore's Ed Reed in 2004, has recorded 25 tackles, a team-high four
sacks and a forced fumble.
The sacks already match his career high set last season and have him tied with Denver's Elvis Dumervil
for the AFC lead.
Farrior, it seems, has gotten better with age.
"I know people say you're supposed to be slowing down at this point in your career, but I really didn't
play a whole lot my first few years in the league, so I tell them I've still got a lot left," said Farrior, who
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/10_14_Steelers__Farrior_coming_on
10/15/2007
Page 2 of 2
began his career as a first-round pick of the New York Jets.
Though he saw regular action with the Jets, for whom he played from 1997 through 2001, Farrior didn't
become a full-time starter in New York until his final season there. He recorded 142 tackles, one sack
and two interceptions for the Jets in 2001 before signing with the Steelers as a free agent the following
season.
"The media there was crazy, especially with me being a No. 1 pick," said Farrior. "When I didn't play
right away, there was a lot of stuff said and written about me."
But Farrior has found a home at inside linebacker with the Steelers.
"I've been fortunate this season," Farrior admitted. "I've been at the right place at the right time.
(Defensive coordinator Dick) LeBeau has called some good defenses that have allowed me to come
free."
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/10_14_Steelers__Farrior_coming_on
10/15/2007

FEATURE News Clippings Pittsburgh Steelers

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