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Monday, March 23, 2009
The full 2009 NFL schedule won't be out for a few more weeks, but the league has announced a few big matchups, including the first regular-season game of the year, on Thursday night, September 10.
It was already known that the Pittsburgh Steelers will open the season at home, continuing a tradition started in 2003 of letting the defending Super Bowl host the kickoff game. Now, we know their opponent will be the last team to beat them, the Tennessee Titans.
It should be a good game! Last year, the Titans finished with the league's best regular season record and won the AFC South before being toppled in the divisional round of the playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.
When they beat the Steelers last year to secure the AFC's #1 seed, some Titans players celebrated by stomping on Terrible Towels, and that has not been forgotten in Pittsburgh. The defending Super Bowl champion has never lost at home in the kickoff game since the tradition was established.
Continue reading "Steelers to open season vs. Titans"
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Bengals' field design from 2003 has just been uploaded.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Which NFL team has the best-looking field? I think one of the neater ones is the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium, with its striped end zones and its leaping tiger at midfield.
This is the very beginning of a project to show the field designs for all the teams in the AFC North for as far back as I can find photos. There are some excellent sites that keep track of the history of team uniforms and helmets, which I made use of in my research for this site, but I haven't found a site that kept track of field designs before, so I thought it'd be interesting to try. This could obviously end up taking a long time, so updates will have to come when time allows. Let me know what you think!
I figured the Bengals should have the honor of going first because I haven't said much about them lately. Hopefully I can get some earlier Paul Brown Stadium designs up next. When the surface was natural grass, the Bengals changed the design every season, and there were some creative ones.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
In case you haven't noticed, the statistics pages have been brought up to date with the end of the 2008 postseason. There was a lot to change, particularly in the coaching category, as John Harbaugh had an outstanding rookie year and Mike Tomlin became the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl. I also added a new page for Eric Mangini in Cleveland.
I'll be working on a few projects on the site during the offseason, but more on that later.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The 2009 Pro Bowl kicks off at 4:30 PM ET in Hawaii, and Ravens coach John Harbaugh will have plenty of deserving players from the AFC North on his conference all-star squad.
With players representing the top two defenses in the league, the AFC All-Stars may have the most fearsome defense imaginable (if only the Pro Bowl didn't have such restrictive rules for defenses): Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu are starting in the same backfield, with James Harrison and Ray Lewis lining up alongside each other at linebacker! The Steelers' James Farrior and the Ravens' Terrell Suggs are available as backups at the linebacker position.
I'm sure starting NFC QB Kurt Warner is thankful that the defense is required to take it easy in this exhibition game.
Continue reading "Aloha, Pro Bowlers!"
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Just a few scattered thoughts about Steelers LB James Harrison's 100-yard interception return as time expired in the first half of Super Bowl XLIII...
-- I just realized that Harrison broke the Steelers' longest-standing record on that play. Previously, the team record for the longest interception return was held by Marvin Kottler, who returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown in 1933. That was in the Steelers' second game ever, a win against the Cardinals. Football history never ceases to surprise me.
-- Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald caught up to Harrison and came within inches of tackling him short of the goal line; it took a review to confirm that Harrison had scored. What I didn't see at the time was that Harrison would certainly have been able to make the tackle earlier if he hadn't run into teammate Antrel Rolle near the Arizona 30 while he was running up the sideline. Rolle was not on the field for the play; he was merely watching and ended up getting in Fitzgerald's way.
-- Steelers RB Willie Parker had a funny comment for ESPN today when he was asked about the defense's excellent blocking on the return. "They weren't trying to block," Parker said. "They were saying 'Give me the ball, I'm faster than you!'"
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The time is here! The Pittsburgh Steelers have a chance to make history by becoming the first team to win its sixth Lombardi Trophy. They take the field in Tampa against a hot Arizona Cardinals team looking for its first NFL championship in 61 years.
The coaching matchup may be key, as the Cards have a pair of former Steelers asssistant coaches on their side in Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. But Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin has done an incredible job of guiding the Steelers back to the Super Bowl in his second year, and he has a chance to become the youngest coach to win the NFL's biggest game.
It looks like a battle of offense vs. defense. Are you excited? I know I can hardly sit still! Enjoy the game, everyone!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sorry about the gap in new posts this week; my computer crashed! I'm still working on the Steelers-Cardinals history posts; I've just had to backtrack a little bit.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The South college all-stars, coached by Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio, won the 2009 Senior Bowl against their North counterparts, led by Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. Former West Virginia QB Pat White played a big part in securing the victory for the South.
The Senior Bowl, played annually in Mobile, Alabama, gives college seniors a chance to work with NFL coaches and play a game by NFL rules, as well as to give NFL coaches and scouts a look at potential draft prospects.
This was Marvin Lewis's second time coaching the North in the Senior Bowl; his squad lost in 2005 to a South team coached by the Chargers' Marty Schottenheimer.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The first meeting between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cardinals had been exciting enough, but the rematch topped it. It began as a shocking upset and ended as a full-scale brawl!
Not much was expected of the 1935 Pirates, who were off to a dismal 1-4 start in their third NFL season. The Cardinals, led by player-coach Milan Creighton, were off to their best start in years, having gone 2-0-1 against the NFL's tough Western Division, and most football fans expected them to make short work of Pittsburgh at Forbes Field.
This overconfidence appeared to extend to the Chicago bench, as the Cardinals took the field for the first quarter without many of their biggest stars on the field!
The Pirates went right to work with a game plan devised by head coach Joe Bach to catch the Cardinals off guard. In the central role was local star John Doehring of Duquesne University, who started at right halfback. By taking advantage of the left-handed Doehring's passing ability, the Pirates were able to get an early upper hand in the field position battle.
Facing a third and goal from the 14 yardline, Doehring fired a pass to left halfback Cy Casper along the sideline. Casper made a great diving catch and tumbled across the goal line to put Pittsburgh on top early in the first quarter. Tackle Armand Niccolai's placekick gave the Pirates a 7-0 lead.
Continue reading "Oct. 20, 1935: Pirates 17, Cardinals 13"
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Art Rooney's NFL Pittsburgh Pirates (the team known today as the Steelers) got their first win in dramatic fashion, with a late comeback and a clutch performance by a local hero.
It had been raining all day, but Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Jack Sell reported a "surprising turnout of 5,000 fans" at Forbes Field for their Wednesday night matchup against the Chicago Cardinals.
The Pirates had arranged to play their first four home games on Wednesday nights because Pennsylvania blue laws did not allow sporting events on Sunday. A change in the law had made it possible for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to join the NFL, but it would not go into effect until later in the season.
This was only the Pirates' second league game, but the Chicago Cardinals had already been around for 35 years, predating the NFL itself. This year, however, they had a new owner, Charles Bidwill. He had purchased the historic team shortly before the 1933 season began for $50,000, which was 20 times what Art Rooney had paid to take his sandlot team into the NFL as the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Continue reading "Sept. 27, 1933: Pirates 14, Cardinals 13"
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
On February 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will square off in Tampa in pursuit of every team's ultimate goal. Will the Cardinals win their first Lombardi Trophy, or will the Steelers become the first team to win a sixth Super Bowl?
I've been seeing some articles declaring that the matchup of these two teams has "virtually no history." Not true! As Super Bowl XLIII draws near, I'll be posting about some interesting historical moments shared between the two teams.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Hall-of-Fame end/receiver Dante Lavelli has died at age 85.
Lavelli played collegiate football at Ohio State under head coach Paul Brown, but due to football injuries and his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, he only played in three games during his time as a Buckeye.
Despite his lack of experience, Lavelli earned a spot on Coach Brown's Cleveland team in the All-America Football Conference in 1946 and quickly became Browns QB Otto Graham's favorite target. The Hudson, Ohio, native led the new league in receptions in his rookie season.
Lavelli scored a touchdown with about 5 minutes remaining in the 1946 AAFC championship game against the New York Yankees, giving the Browns a 14-9 win and their first league championship.
Continue reading "In memory: Browns receiver Dante Lavelli"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan has agreed to become the New York Jets' next head coach, replacing Eric Mangini.
Ryan joined the Ravens' coaching staff in 1999 as a defensive assistant to Marvin Lewis and became defensive coordinator in 2005. The Baltimore defense has been ranked in the NFL's top six for all four of Ryan's seasons overseeing the squad.
Ravens defenders were emotional in their praise for Coach Ryan and wished him well in his first head coaching job. "Guys would run in front of a bus for Rex," said safety Jim Leonhard. "It's a gain for them and a loss for us," said LB Bart Scott.
Continue reading "Rex Ryan to coach New York Jets"
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Pittsburgh Steelers are going back to the Super Bowl!
SS Troy Polamalu's 40-yard interception return for a touchdown clinched Pittsburgh's win over the Baltimore Ravens for the 7th AFC Championship in Steelers history.
Steelers-Ravens games have always been physical battles, but this game topped them all in terms of hard hits, with players from both teams limping or being carried off the field, many of them returning to play injured in pursuit of the championship.
More to come about this historic game...
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