Steelers football blog

Parker or Mendenhall?

You might need to refer to your fraction multiplication table for this one, but what do you get when you have a quarterback controversy times two?

A halfback controversy.

Mike Tomlin would seem to have one on his hands this week as he decides whether to start Willie Parker or Rashard Mendenhall, not that it is a bad thing. Quarterback controversies can split a locker room in two; halfback controversies like this one usually do not.

Parker, the veteran starter, missed the 38-28 victory against San Diego at Heinz Field Sunday night because of turf toe, and Rashard Mendenhall climbed from behind Tomlin's curtain and performed his Franco Harris impersonation. Mendenhall ran a workhorse 29 times for 165 yards, scored on both chances at the goal line, caught two passes for 26 yards and blocked like Dan Kreider. Continue

Big Ben looks awesome in win vs Bills

Last night, the Steelers looked Super again.

Playing extensively for the first time since they beat Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers' starting lineup thoroughly dominated the Buffalo Bills in their first half of play.

Their first-half lead stood up as the final score, 17-0, and their second victory in three preseason games came minus Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and starting halfback Willie Parker, both out with minor injuries.

"It was a productive outing for us. It is great when you can pitch a shutout, even in August," said coach Mike Tomlin. "I see some good things, but still see some things where the Steelers are still beating the Steelers." Continue

Steelers beat Cardinals again

As a Super Bowl rematch, the exhibition game between the Steelers and Arizona Cardinals last night fell flat. Anyone looking for excitement could have found more at the newly opened Rivers Casino next door.

But then, exhibition games often go that way, probably why only 58,330 turned out at Heinz Field last night. It was another example of why the NFL wants to reduce the preseason by two games.

The Steelers, however, won for the second consecutive time over the past six months against the Cardinals, 20-10.

The game was salvaged somewhat in the second half by players who were not playing in a Super Bowl rematch, they were playing in their first professional game. Steelers rookies such as Ziggy Hood, Joe Burnett, Mike Wallace and Isaac Redman had to walk out of Heinz Field feeling pretty good about their pro debuts. Continue

Steelers nip Panthers, stay healthy

Strong safety Troy Polamalu played and didn't get hurt. The same goes for the rest of the Steelers' starters. Reserve linebacker Arnold Harrison was lost for the season Thursday to a torn ACL, but the Steelers emerged from their final preseason game relatively unscathed. That alone made the night a success.

Yesterday's game didn't represent a final tune-up for the regular season as much as it did a last chance for players fighting for spots on the 53-man roster to state their cases.Ben Roethlisberger didn't play long enough to make it into the final box score. Both passes he threw were negated by penalties in the Steelers' 19-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Continue

Steelers raise intensity against Vikings

Apparently no one wanted to answer to outside linebacker James Harrison. Seeing its most (and probably last) extensive action of the preseason Saturday, the Steelers defense played with the kind of urgency and intensity that Harrison said –- well, huffed is more like it -- had been noticeably absent during the team’s first two exhibition games.

The Vikings managed just one touchdown in the almost three quarters they played against the Steelers’ first-team defense. And the Steelers dominated the line of scrimmage, shutting down Minnesota’s running back tandem of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor while sacking quarterback Gus Frerotte three times in a 12-10 win over the Vikings in front of a sellout crowd of 62,625. Continue

Starting defense yields 2 early TDs

The Steelers and Buffalo Bills played an exhibition game in Canada last night and it looked early on as if they were playing under the wide-open CFL rules. The Bills scored touchdowns on their first two drives and the Steelers responded with a big-play scoring pass of their own, before things bogged down under the backups, although Steelers rookie quarterback Dennis Dixon ran 47 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Continue

Steelers win preseason opener

The Steelers were actively trying to sign a veteran quarterback Friday night after losing Charlie Batch for at least a month to a broken right collarbone in their 16-10 win over the Eagles at Heinz Field. Batch left the game early in the second quarter after rushing for 6 yards on a broken play. Coach Mike Tomlin said he is expected to miss four to six weeks. "Unfortunate incident," Tomlin said, "but our approach is it's part of football. We'll regroup and make necessary adjustments." Continue

Steelers show little in last preseason game

An electrical storm deemed dangerous enough for officials to clear the field about an hour before kickoff Thursday night never materialized. The same also might be said of the game that was scheduled at Bank of America Stadium.

With each team trying to get through their final preseason game without any significant injuries, the starters played sparingly before giving way to the reserves who will mostly watch when the regular season starts -- if they make their respective teams at all. The Steelers, on the strength of four Jeff Reed field goals and a late interception return for a touchdown by Tyrone Carter, beat the turnover-prone Carolina Panthers, 19-3, to finish the preseason with a 4-1 record. Continue

Steelers walk away with a victory vs. Redskins

The Steelers must hope the NFL preseason truly means little because that's about what their first-team offense and defense showed last night. Coach Mike Tomlin kept his first units on the field throughout the first half with some slight adjustments, but there was little spark on offense and his defense had third-down letdowns.

Nevertheless, the Steelers pulled out a 12-10 victory when backup kicker Connor Hughes kicked his third field goal of the fourth quarter, from 19 yards, with 1:30 left to end a drive directed by third-team quarterback Brian St. Pierre. Continue

Steelers defense shines, but offense falters in loss

For all of the talk of what the Steelers will do on offense this season, the defense has been the story so far in the preseason. The first stringers didn't allow a first down Saturday night and, for the second consecutive week, yielded very little to a quarterback known for putting up big numbers.

While the defense shined in the Steelers' 13-9 loss to Green Bay in front of 57,131 fans at Heinz Field, hiccups by the offense and special teams will give coach Mike Tomlin plenty to editorialize about in his next edition of "The News." Continue