Steelers football blog

Steelers' rookie tries to overcome obstacle

Mike Tomlin knows a thing or two about motivating players.

So it probably shouldn't come as any surprise that the Steelers coach regularly tells rookie center A.Q. Shipley, "Man, those arms are looking short."

The length of Shipley's arms is a big reason why 225 players were selected before the Moon Area High School graduate in April. And Tomlin's daily reminders of that supposed shortcoming are his way of telling Shipley to stiff-arm the doubters.

"He tells me he's going to tell me that every day until I make this team," Shipley said after an offseason practice at the Steelers' South Side facility, "because he doesn't care how long my arms are, which is awesome."

While his arm span is a little under 30 inches — considered short for an NFL offensive linemen — a spot on the Steelers' 53-man roster is not out of his reach. Continue

Steelers expecting contribtuions from S Mundy

Twenty-nine has significance for Steelers safety Ryan Mundy beyond the fact that it is his uniform number.

It explains why coach Mike Tomlin, among others, call the Woodland Hills High graduate "Wonderlic."

When Mundy took the Wonderlic while visiting the Steelers prior to the 2008 NFL Draft, he tackled 29 of the 50 questions on the aptitude test during an allotted 12-minute time period. What earned Mundy his moniker from Tomlin? He didn't miss any of the questions he answered.

"I've never heard of that," Steelers defensive backs coach Ray Horton said.

If Mundy does as well on his the tests that lie ahead — specifically the ones he will face in training camp — he could find himself playing a significant role for his hometown team. Continue

Vets helping rooks

Offseason practices are more about teaching than evaluating, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is quick to point out.

But coaches aren't the only ones providing guidance to the younger players — particularly rookies who feel as overwhelmed as a station wagon in the Indianapolis 500.

What is unsaid but expected out of the veterans is this: Help the players who came after you — even if you are preparing them to one day take your job.

"It's something our guys embrace," Tomlin said.

Such an embrace explains starting center Justin Hartwig talking intently to rookie A.Q. Shipley as the two walked off the field during a recent practice. It explains Willie Parker welcoming the competition Rashard Mendenhall will provide at running back even if the Steelers' 2008 first-round pick usurps some of Parker's carries.

Harrison's son will be fine after pit bull attack

A 50-pound pit bull pounced on the 2-year-old son of Steelers linebacker James Harrison in the family's Franklin Park backyard, repeatedly biting the child's leg and refusing to let go, a friend said Friday.

Lisa Ripi, a family friend of Harrison's, said she was with James Harrison III and the child's mother during the attack Thursday afternoon. The dog, named Patron, had just been released from his backyard kennel and was running around the yard when the baby started crying, Ripi said.

"He was playing and then the baby cried and he just went after him," Ripi said. "And I thought he was kinda like just playing, jumping on him. But he started to grab at the baby and I saw some blood and (the baby's mother) just fell on top of him and she was screaming for me to take her baby." Continue

Real Big Ben does not have skin cancer

Ben Roethlisberger does not have cancer, and neither does he have a Facebook page.

"There's no truth to it. I don't have any of that stuff," the Steelers quarterback proclaimed yesterday.

"That stuff" are accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and any other social networking Web sites. Roethlisberger said he does not use them, including the one under his name that proclaimed he had skin cancer.

"I had a bunch of people ask me about it; obviously it's not true," Roethlisberger said after yesterday's spring practice. "We had to go on our Web site to let them know I don't have an account. There's nothing going on." Continue

Steelers to visit White House

The Steelers will visit the White House Thursday and meet with President Barack Obama.

The traditional visit by the Super Bowl champions falls on the same day as the team's final scheduled voluntary workout next week.

"Plain and simple. If we have an opportunity to go to the White House, we're going to the White House," said Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett.

The Steelers visited the White House after winning Super Bowl XL in 2006 when George W. Bush was president.

Foote signs with Lions

Linebacker Larry Foote, who forced his way out of the Steelers, has agreed to a one-year contract with his hometown team, the Detroit Lions.

Foote told The Associated Press that terms of the deal were reached last night and he planned to sign the contract today. "I'm excited because it's a fresh start for me," Foote said in a telephone interview with the AP. "It's a one-year deal to show my talents, and hopefully end up signing a long-term deal after showing the Lions and their new coaching staff what I can do."

Foote had one year left on his contract with the Steelers at a salary of $2,885,000 but believed he would lose the starting inside linebacker job he has held the past five years to Lawrence Timmons.

Foote released

What had become apparent over the past week — that Larry Foote's Steelers career had run its course — became official Monday.

The Steelers released Foote, clearing room under the salary cap and giving the veteran linebacker the chance to seek the bigger role that he covets somewhere else.

Foote had started 90 consecutive games at inside linebacker for the Steelers, but he usually came off the field in passing situations. He said he had requested that the Steelers trade or release him in February.

Foote did not attend minicamp last weekend after he and coach Mike Tomlin agreed that it was best if he did not take part in practices.

More upside to Big Ben?

The late drive he engineered in Super Bowl XLIII will go down as a signature moment of his career, one that looks like it is on a track to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Yet Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he still hasn't watched a replay of it.

That might be a good thing for the Steelers since it could be a sign that Roethlisberger isn't basking in past glory as much as he is focused on what is still to come.

Roethlisberger, after all, may be one of only 10 quarterbacks to win multiple Super Bowls, but he is still only 27 years old.

"I believe he can get better," coach Mike Tomlin said at the conclusion of Steelers minicamp Sunday. "I'm sure that he does (too). He's still a young guy. He's got a lot of hardware that some young guys don't have, but those are the standards that he sets for himself. Like everybody else, Ben is going to be here searching for the ceiling in terms of what he's capable of doing." Continue

Ward wants to retire a Steeler

Hines Ward already put himself among the select Steelers as a Super Bowl MVP, the only four-time Pro Bowl receiver and the holder of most of the team records for his position.

His new goal, and one he believes he will accomplish because of his new contract, is to retire with the Steelers. That has become a rare feat in the free agency era that began in 1993.

If Ward, who is 33 and under contract for the next five seasons, ends his playing days with the Steelers, he will become only the third Pro Bowl player in the past 16 years to wear only their uniform. Continue