After Wednesday’s practice, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones had a simple message for his teammates: “Don’t panic.” Steelers fans certainly panicked, but Jones and the rest of the Pittsburgh team didn’t, and they made a game of it for a while against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. But, in the end, they still couldn’t do enough, resulting in Pittsburgh’s third loss of the season, 27-16. All in all, it was a fairly solid performance from Jones, who was thrust into the ... Read More
Archives for October 2016
How can the Steelers stop Rob Gronkowski?
Heading into Sunday’s game, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a pretty clear problem: New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. In just four games against the Steelers, Gronkowski has averaged 100.8 yards per game and has seven touchdowns. Ooof. So, how can the Steelers stop the tight end? There are, of course, the more basic options — jamming him, getting physical with him, quadruple covering him — but those are far from foolproof. So what about other ways of preventing the Patriots’ ... Read More
Upset of No. 2 Ohio State “special” for Penn State
“This is special,” an emotional James Franklin, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, said following his team's 24-21 victory over the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium. Franklin's Nittany Lions (5-2, 3-1) pulled off a major upset after coming into the game as 18-point underdogs in Las Vegas. “This is for everybody,” Franklin said. “This community has been through so much in the last five years.” Ohio State held a 14-point lead as the fourth quarter ... Read More
Cheers and Jeers: Penn State upsets No. 2 Ohio State
The Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown and took down the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1), 24-21. Here are the game's “Cheers and jeers.” Cheers Return of Bell and Cabinda— Linebackers Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda made their returns to the Nittany Lions' defense after being out since Game One and Two of the season, respectively. Bell and Cabinda made their presence known early and often throughout the night in a Penn State ... Read More
Injury-plagued Penguins try to steal game on the road
Nashville Predators (1-3-0) So far this season, the Nashville Predators have had a few bugs — not only in their game, but in their locker room, too. In their last game out, a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, forwards Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith (along with several others) contracted what is believed to be food poisoning. “Last night, we got into a situation where we suspect that we're dealing with some food poisoning in Detroit,” said head coach David Poile said. It's ... Read More
What the Steelers could learn from Jerry Jones
Know who the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front office could take some lessons from? Prepare yourself for this — the Dallas freaking Cowboys. I know, shocking. Look, I’m no Jerry Jones fan, but there are some similarities between the Tony Romo situation and the Ben Roethlisberger one. Both are gunslingers on high-profile offenses, and both get injured rather frequently. So in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Cowboys took a quarterback, even though they saw Romo as the face of their franchise for years to ... Read More
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Rob Gronkowski problem
It’s October, which means it’s time to watch all the scary movies you can get your hands on. In the Pittsburgh Steelers’ case, that kind of horror film might just be the game tape of tight end Rob Gronkowski and his New England Patriots after Sunday’s game. Gronkowski has long been the Steelers’ kryptonite. In his four games against them, he’s averaged 100.8 yards/game and has seven touchdowns. Only the New York Giants, Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams have given up ... Read More
Penn State set to take on Ohio State in “white-out” game
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. #2 Ohio State Buckeyes The Records: Penn State (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten); Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten). The Head Coaches: Penn State: James Franklin, third season, 42-29 overall, 18-14 at Penn State; Ohio State: Urban Meyer, 56-4 record while head coach at Ohio State, 160-27 overall. The Game: Penn State returns to the field following its bye week with a primetime matchup against conference-rival Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night. And for the ... Read More
Ranking Ben Roethlisberger’s backups
It's starting to seem like a yearly occurrence: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is injured. In only three of his 13 seasons has he has started all 16 games. With Roethlisberger ruled out this Sunday against the New England Patriots, 2016 is just another year where a Steelers backup quarterback has been needed. The team has seen multiple backups in that span, and Landry Jones is the current occupant of that position. Here's how Jones compares to some of Roethlisberger's ... Read More
What’s going on with Antonio Brown?
The Pittsburgh Steelers might not have their quarterback this Sunday against the New England Patriots, but they still have one of the most explosive offensive weapons at their helm. Or, do they? Wide receiver Antonio Brown is a threat to NFL defenses everywhere. However, consistency isn’t on his side this season and he hasn't been able to put up similar numbers to last season, which was his best year since donning a Steelers uniform. Brown has five touchdowns to his nam heading into ... Read More