Steelers Morning Huddle 9/5/2013
By Kim Myers
Huddle up!
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
This evening the 2013 NFL Regular Season will kick off in Denver with a rematch of the AFC Divisional Championship game. This of course means the Broncos will win this time because Peyton Manning is light years better in the regular season than he is in the playoffs. But I’ll save those cheap shots for later. For now, here’s what’s being said about your Pittsburgh Steelers around the block.
Ike Taylor wants to make up for last year
Steeler Nation would probably like to forget the fact that the Steelers faced the Titans last season in a Thursday night game in October. The Steelers lost that game 26-23. One person who won’t forget that game is Steelers corner back Ike Taylor. Mark Kaboly of the Trib points out how Taylor was having by all accounts one of his best seasons last year before his ankle injury, but the Titans game was definitely not one of his best. Taylor gave up eight receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown as well as being called for three pass interference/holding penalties (only one was accepted). After that game Taylor went on to allow only six receptions for 72 yards for the remaining games he played before his ankle injury. Taylor will have the chance to right the wrongs of that game last year in Tennessee.
"“We watched the film and saw a couple of their guys talking and mouthing off after certain plays, and that’s the great thing about football: You can correct that. It’s like ‘Quantam Leap’ and Sam Beckett going back in time and put right what once went wrong.” – Ryan Clark"
Love the “Quantam Leap” reference.
Running back Power Rankings
Seems like there are Power Rankings for just about everything now. NFL.com put together their list of the running back power rankings and the results are not good for the Steelers. The ranking obviously puts Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson light years ahead of the rest of the league because he is. The “Next Level” category featured Ray Rice, Arian Foster, and Trent Richardson among others. All the way down at the bottom you’ll find the Steelers running backs with Isaac Redman in the “Just a guy” category and Le’Veon Bell on the “Injured” list. Ouch. No time like the present for Redman to improve his reputation, right?
Bold NFLish Predictions
Fox Sports’ Laces Out blogger Andy Nesbitt decided to make some “boldish” predictions for each of the 32 NFL teams. Their prediction about the Steelers? “Bill Cowher’s bizarre role in his girlfriend’s rock video (eyeliner and all) will be more memorable than anything the aging Steelers can pull off this season.” Ouch. Nesbitt didn’t actually make bold predictions as much as he made “NFLish” predictions. Not too many of his have anything to do with what’s actually going on with the teams. Guess Andy didn’t get the memo about our younger offensive line this season. Kind of the youngest in 50 years but whatever. Cowher’s eyeliner was pretty creepy though.
Roethlisberger’s Career Milestone
Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan reminds us that during Sunday’s game against the Titans, Ben Roethlisberger could achieve a very important milestone in his career. Ben needs only 156 passing yards to hit 30,000 for his career. There has been some early MVP-talk around Roethlisberger, which makes sense considering he was having an excellent career-year last season before his injury. Ben isn’t focused on the individual achievements though.
"“You know, I’ve never been one about individual goals. It’s more about the team to me. To me those are things I’ll look back on when I’m done. When I’m done with my career I’ll look back and think about how great it might’ve been.” – Ben Roethlisberger"
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