Innholdsfortegnelse for October 31, 2016 i Steelers Digest

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Steelers’ season has changed quickly and in rather dramatic fashion, just like the weather does here. They had arrived in South Florida late Saturday afternoon as a 4-1 team that, while not without its flaws, was finding ways to win despite a list of injured players growing numerically and also in terms of the significance of the names on it. They were overcoming some inadequacies and compensating for others by taking advantage of some of their unique strengths. And overall, the 2016 Steelers had the look of a contender. By the time they got out of town, they didn’t look to be any of those things. Their record was 4-2 after a head-scratching 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins in which they were outplayed in…

JAMMIN’ JAMES: Tight end Jesse James celebrates his second-quarter touchdown, a 1-yard reception that gave the Steelers the lead for good. WHAT WENT RIGHT • If there still was any doubt whether Sammie Coates could develop into the kind of deep threat capable of replacing Martavis Bryant, there should be none now. On a third-and-7 on the Steelers’ opening possession, Coates ran by cornerback Marcus Williams, Ben Roethlisberger dropped the ball right in his hands in full stride, and it became a 7-3 Steelers lead with 10:16 left in the first quarter. • When Brandon Marshall dropped a pass on third-and-9 at the Steelers 42-yard line, Lachlan Edwards came on to punt. That punt almost was downed at the 2-yard line, but the Jets gunner stepped across the goal line…

A few days after the 2004 season came to an end with a disappointing loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, Plaxico Burress walked around the Steelers office to say a few goodbyes to those he was closest to. In a few months he would become an unrestricted free agent, and he knew what was to come. But what he wanted that day was a chance to say goodbye, to say thank you to some of the staff that helped him since his rookie season. When free agency hit not long after, he quickly signed a big contract with the New York Giants, then went on to win a Super Bowl in his new surroundings. But there was one thing he didn’t have. The feeling that…

Sunday, Oct. 23 New England at Pittsburgh Time: 4:25 p.m. Site: Heinz Field Television: CBS Series record: Steelers lead 15-13 (including playoffs) Last meeting: 2015 at New England; Patriots 28, Steelers 21 Series trend: New England has won nine of the last 12 meetings, including the seven-point victory in the 2015 NFL season opener. Scouting report: The Patriots find themselves in their usual position as one of the leading contenders in the AFC, this despite not having Tom Brady for the first four games of the regular season and not having tight end Rob Gronkowski at full strength. Brady showed no rust in his return to action as he shredded the Cleveland secondary for 406 passing yards and three touchdowns. Running back LeGarrette Blount was a major contributor in the…

Man, no need to sugarcoat that. We got beat soundly today. We didn’t take care of the football. We didn’t stop the run, and stopping the run is an emphatic point. A 200-yard (running) back, it’s not good. We’ll assess it. We’ll absorb it and assess it like we always do, but just know there is disappointment in our performance today. We didn’t play well enough today. We didn’t tackle well enough. That’s football. When you don’t tackle, when you turn the ball over, you’re going to lose.” Q. Do you think it was a trap game and that you were looking ahead to New England? A. You know, you can characterize it as such — because we lost — but when I look at it, I don’t look at…

Associate Editor Chris Hubbard was an all-state tackle as a high-schooler in Georgia, an all-conference left tackle at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and is now in his fourth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. When, he was asked days after making his first NFL start, was the turning point of his football career? “Last week,” Hubbard said without hesitation. “It really, really changed my whole mindset. It made me singularly focused on everything I need to be doing.” Does that mean Hubbard now knows what it takes? “Yes,” he said. The comment was relayed to Steelers All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey. “That’s awesome,” said Pouncey. “I agree.” Most reporters know Pouncey as the happygo-lucky guy who welcomes all at his locker. But some remember Pouncey the rookie as the guy who would…

A fitting honor Steelers Chairman and former U.S. Ambassador Dan Rooney and his wife Patricia are being honored by Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School (CWNC) as part of an initiative aimed at supporting academic excellence, civic leadership and athletic programs at the school. The school will honor the two by naming the upgraded athletic practice area the Ambassador Dan Rooney Athletic Complex and the school library the Patricia Rooney Library. Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert, a North Catholic alumnus, has helped to lead the initiative to honor Dan Rooney, also a North Catholic alumnus, and his wife. “Mr. and Mrs. Rooney have touched and influenced so many lives in the areas of education, civic leadership and athletics that it is only appropriate that we try to honor them with…

Let’s get to it: STEVE WILLIAMS FROM COOPERSBURG, PA: In the Chiefs game, the Steelers lined up for a traditional PAT, but Chiefs were offside, which was a 5-yard penalty and allowed placekicker Chris Boswell a closer try. Could the Steelers then have opted to try for two-point conversion instead? ANSWER: Yes, and if they had chosen that option the two-point attempt would have been from the 1-yard line, because the offside penalty would have been assessed as half-the-distance to the goal line from the original line of scrimmage for such an attempt, which is the 2-yard line. ROB MELLEN FROM HAYDEN, ID: In the Cincinnati game, Jesse James and Xavier Grimble caught touchdown passes. I have been a fan of the Steelers since 1972, and I can’t recall any…