Steeler defense video

Nothing gets Steeler fans more fired up than great defense and this video is a great tribute.

The best part is Kevin Greene clearly still wanting to put on the pads and be a part of things and James Harrison's brush off of him. But Greene does look like he could still get double digit sacks.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80d0fae0

Steelers beat one New England team; fall behind another

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/12/01/daily6.html

The Pittsburgh Steelers slipped from first to third place on an annual survey of sports teams' brands.

The 2008 Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins, however improved from 20th to No. 8 on the Turnkey Sports & Entertainment 2008 Team Brand Index.

"Pittsburgh fans get it – they know what makes a great sports team brand," Len Perna, president and CEO of Turnkey said in a statement. "The Steelers finished No. 1 overall in 2007, and actually indexed higher in 2008, but were passed by the Packers and Red Sox," said Perna. Fans rated 122 teams on 21 distinct factors, including how fans perceive entertainment value, how well they like the players, perceptions of ownership, and the team's commitment to winning.

The study also tested each team on 36 brand attributes. Pittsburgh fans rated "hard-working" as the most important attribute for a local sports team. The Penguins ranked most hard-working in Pittsburgh, according to Turnkey.

A separate part of the study asked for fans' perceptions of team sponsors. The 2008 Sponsor Loyalty Index found that Pittsburgh-area fans care who is sponsoring the Steelers and Penguins. "Both team brands ranked in the top 20 of all 122 teams – they both deliver for their sponsors," said Perna.

Heinz was designated the "most-admired sponsor" in Pittsburgh. Giant Eagle tied for second and was the most admired of the non-national sponsors. The study tracked consumer opinions on more than 150 local, regional and national companies that sponsor NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB teams.

Fans rated the National Football League as the "most-admired league" in Pittsburgh.

The team with the largest out-of-market following is the Yankees, the survey found.

Great News for Pitt

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08330/930629-142.stm?cmpid=latest.xml

McCoy to return for junior season.

"Everyone keeps trying to push that idea, that this is my last game at Heinz Field. I'm not going anywhere," McCoy said. "There is a lot of stuff I have to prove and the thing is, I don't think I've done enouhg here at this university and there is a lot of stuff I have to achieve here.

"It is something I want to squash and get it over with and not have to talk about it because I am kind of getting a little fed up with it. When you look at the [NFL] them guys, that's what they do, that is their job. When you play college football, you just come out to have fun and play ball but to those guys, it is their job.

"I feel I am not ready yet. Right now, I'm in school, I'm enjoying myself, I'm not pushing to go anywhere."

How the Steelers are NOT the Steelers of Old

Behind the Steel Curtain has done an excellent review of the Steelers' offensive tendencies in third and between 2-4 yards to go so far in 2008.

The results amount to this:

Pittsburgh Steelers on 3rd and 2 - 3rd and 4

Total Opportunities	Total Runs	Total Passes	1st Down % Running	1st Down % Passing	Sacks
41	3	38	100%	54%	7

My thoughts about these numbers:

• Once again, whenever someone says the Steelers are about running the football first, please turn the channel - those who know anything at all about the Steelers know differently.
  
• Anytime there is a 38-3 discrepancy in play calling, it is a bad thing. Defensive coordinators are very aware of tendencies and these numbers don't put much if any doubt in their heads about what the Steelers will do.
• Only 3 rushes, so the 100% conversion rate is skewed. But when you're only converting 54% of third and shorts when throwing the ball, you have to think about the play calling. That 54% includes sacks counted as passes.
• Steel Curtain notes that Ben has thrown 3 of his 11 INTs in these situations, meaning 27% of Ben's picks have come on just 11% of his passes. Is he forcing things more than normal in these situations? Whatever the reasons, they are something to be considered when making the play calls.
• Seeing them repeatedly fail recently on third and 1, it doesn't make a good case for running on third and two or three. But maybe with defensive coordinators looking at these numbers, running will catch them off guard. And let me also suggest that we see Gary Russell in these situations more and more often.

Overall, these numbers are further proof of the Arianization of the Steeler offense - pass happy and run to set up the pass - that has not proven successful on the NFL level.

Bucci Rocks

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=3696190&POLL374=400000000000000000

AC/DC is good, not great and I'm not a B's fan, but this line as pure genius from Bucci this week:

Humans are born with nearly adult-size irises that we grow into with time. It's why babies appear to have such gigantic, curious eyes as large as faceoff dots. One of life's little secrets is living with large irises long after childhood and finding great joys in little things like a Kessel wrist shot or a 28-year-old AC/DC album. Both were born from great craftsmen, and both can fill us with energy to get us through a day or two.

Rock on, Wayne. Rock on, Garth.