The Pittsburgh Steelers Have Nothing For The Titans

Titans make 2 point blunder on the kickoff

     The Steelers had nothnig Sunday for the Titans, but the Titans had a gift for Pittsburgh to start the game. The Tennessee Titans had the ugliest start to the season you’ll ever see on Sunday in Pittsburgh, as returner Darius Reynaud picked up the opening kickoff at the 1-yard line and then kneeled into the end zone for a safety. But after that, it was the Steelers who were ugly.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead on Reynaud’s bonehead play, but it was all Titans from then on, as the Steelers’ offense was horrendous and the Titans won 16-9.

      The Pittsburgh Steelers lost center Maurkice Pouncey to an early knee injury, and their offense was terrible all game. Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 191 yards on 21-of-33 passing, and his first touchdown pass didn’t come until late in the fourth quarter, when the game was all but over.
Tennessee’s offense wasn’t anything to write home about, either: Jake Locker went 11-for-20 for 125 yards, while Chris Johnson picked up just 70 yards on 25 carries. But the Titans had no interceptions and no fumbles, while the Steelers had one of each, and Tennessee did enough to win an ugly game.
For the Titans, this win wasn’t particularly impressive, but they’ll gladly take a 1-0 start to the season. The Steelers need to fix their offense in a hurry.

Is Time Running Out For The Steelers?

     It's been hard to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers lately. Before the season started, I had them winning against the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and the Tennessee Titans. I also thought the defense would be the reason we won. The Steelers are now 2-3 and in third place in the AFC North. Although the games were mostly close, the Steelers couldn't hold a lead in the fourth quarter.

     I know we have suffered injuries this season, but the amount of penalties, bad play calling and missed opportunities has made them a mediocre team. As Steelers fans we just want to see smart, tough, aggressive play. Show a little enthusiasm and play as a unit. They've proven they can play with anyone, but can they finish? It's not quite time to panic, but time could be running out for the Steelers if they don;t get it together soon!

Pittsburgh Steelers That's More Like It!

      Last week the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to play only half a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even though the Steelers squeaked out a win, they didn't play as well as they were capable of. Finally they played well on both sides of the ball and defeated the Arizona Cardinals 32-20. Ben had a great day passing and the defense stepped up in critical situations. Because the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Tennessee Titans Monday night, the Steelers find themselves on top the AFC North with a 5-2 record. The New England Patriots and Tom Brady will come into Heinz Field this week and the Steelers will have to play even better against them.

Big Ben And Max Starks Stand Tall In 38-17 Steelers Win

Ben Roethlisberger tied the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise record with Terry Bradshaw and Mark Malone despite having a sprained left foot that forced him to wear a specialized shoe. Though he limped considerably during the game, he was mobile enough to complete 24 of 34 passes for 228 yards while throwing two touchdowns to Hines Ward and one each to Mike Wallace, Heath Miller and David Johnson. "He's A-player," Tomlin said. "He's got to play in order for us to do well."

An unlikely hero emerged on the Steelers decimated offensive line. Seven days ago, Max Starks was wondering if he'd ever play in the NFL again. A week later, he was back in a familiar spot, giving Ben Roethlisberger time to do his what he does best. "He stepped up," Roethlisberger said after tying a career high with five touchdown passes. "We brought him to town this week and it's like 'OK, let's see how we're going to use him.'"

It turned out even more than Starks or the Steelers thought. A knee injury to center Maurkice Pouncey and a shoulder injury to tackle Marcus Gilbert turned Starks' part-time debut into full-time work. He played almost every snap in his first action since hurting his neck last November. Starks received the game ball from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin after the Pittsburgh rolled over the Tennessee Titans 38-17 on Sunday. That's not bad for a guy who hadn't played a game for almost a year.

The injury appeared to put his career in jeopardy. The team cut him after seven seasons before training camp to save money. Starks spent two months getting back into shape and waiting for a call. When it came from the 3-2 Steelers, he didn't let it go to waste. "Our biggest goal was to keep Roethlisberger upright," Starks said. "And we knew he'd perform if we did that."

"It's a good win for us," Tomlin said. "Hopefully it will provide momentum for us as we move forward." It's the kind of performance Tomlin was looking for after watching his team get rolled by Houston a week ago. A month into the season, the Steelers finally looked like the team that were  AFC champions a year ago. Even though the defense was missing James Harrison, Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith, they held Tennessee running back Chris Johnson to 51 yards on 14 carries and sacked QB Matt Hasselbeck three times.

Steelers Almost Give Fans A Heart Attack!

You can throw out all the pre-season speculations and predictions, when the games mean something. The Steelers and the Titans opened the 2009 NFL season at Heinz Field with fire works and two tough teams. The Titans were 13-3 last year and the Steelers were 12-4. Steelers head coach , Mike Tomlin said before the game "The most violent team will win the game".

These teams had the number 1 and number 2 defenses in the league a year ago. The Steelers defense asserted itself early in the game keeping the Titans off the scoreboard until under a minute left in the first half. Steelers defensive end, Aaron Smith blocked a 31 yard Bironas field goal and he missed another 27 yard try. It was on this blocked kick that Steelers fans had to catch their collective breath first.

After Smith blocked the kick, Steelers strong safety, Troy Polamolu tried to pick the ball up and was injured in the pile-up. He injured his left knee in the second quarter and didn't return. There is speculation he may be out 3 to 6 weeks or more. Linebacker Lamarr Woodley was also sidelined with leg cramps in the game.

The Titans defense only allowed the Steelers offense only 1 yard of offense in the first quarter. They managed to sack Ben Roethlisberger 4 times on the night, mostly in the first half. The Titans stuffed the Steelers running game, marginalizing both Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall and forcing Ben to pass.

The Steelers offense didn't get going until Roethlisberger began repeatedly find Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward open. With about two minutes to go in the half, Roethlisberger mounted a 5 play, 79 yard drive that culminated with a 34 yard touchdown pass to Super Bowl XLIII MVP, Santonio Holmes. That gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead with 1:22 to go.

But not so fast! With the Steelers defense missing two key players, Titans quarterback, Kerry Collins needed only 3 plays to tie it up. After finding Kenny Britt alone for a 57 yard pass to the Steelers 14, Collins threw to an equally wide open Justin Gage in the end zone, leaving only 48 seconds on the clock. Once again the Steelers fans held their breath when Ben threw an 80 yard Hail Mary pass that was and returned 80 yards to end the half.

Tied at 7-7 , the game got sloppy as both offenses bogged down in the second half. The Titans didn't lead until Rob Bironas kicked a 45 yard field goal with 11:03 left in the game. With the score 10-7 , Big Ben would have to take the game on his shoulders. Roethlisberger was able to put together a late drive. He went 7 for 7 and 57 yards as Jeff Reed tied the game on a 37 yard field goal with 2.57 left in regulation.

When the Steelers got the ball back, Ben was able to hit rookie receiver Mike Wallace in the middle of the field to keep the drive going. Once more Steelers fans held their breath as Roethlisberger completed a 30 yard pass to Hines Ward at the 4 yard line which would have allowed them to kick the winning field goal. But Hines tried to get to the goal line and lost the ball and the game went into overtime.

The Steelers won the toss to start the overtime period. Roethlisberger was able to hit Ward for 11 yards, then Santonio for 11 and rookie Wallace for 22 yards. Being in field goal range and unwilling to risk a turnover, the Steelers kicked a field goal on first down to win it. Reed's 33-yard field goal with 4:32 gone in overtime gave the Super Bowl champion Steelers a 13-10 win over the Titans in the NFL season opener. Check out the Steelers schedule and get discount Steelers merchandise at www.steelers-fan.com