Panthers v Steelers: PSEUDO-GAMEDAY thread

[NKySteeler]

...Alright, I'm calling it a "pseudo-gameday" thread because I will not be able to watch the game tonight... Have I recently said how much I hate the fact that Directv doesn't do the pre-season games? Man, I can't wait till the regular season starts, and this is one of the reasons... Anyway, there's no reason NOT to have one location to discuss tonights' game... Anyone that actually gets to watch the game may feel free to take over this thread and keep it rolling tonight... So please do so...

So lets start off with the game stats for tonight....


STEELERS VS. PANTHERS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008
AT HEINZ FIELD
KICKOFF AT 7 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) vs. Carolina Panthers (2-1)

Date: Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008
Kickoff: 7p.m., ET
Site: Heinz Field (65,050) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Playing Surface: Grass/DD Grassmaster
TV Coverage: KDKA-TV (channel 2) FSN Pittsburgh (simulcast)
Announcers: Bob Pompeani (play-by-play) Edmund Nelson (color analyst) Jeff Verszyla (sideline)
Local Radio: Steelers Radio Network WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) Tunch Ilkin (color analyst) Craig Wolfley (sideline)

A Look at the Coaches

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
Overall Regular-season Record: 10-6 (.625)/second season
Regular-season Record at Pittsburgh: 10-6 (.625)/second season
Playoff Record/Years: 0-1/one year

Carolina Panthers Head Coach John Fox
Overall Regular-season Record: 51-45 (.531)/sixth season
Regular-season Record at Carolina: 51-45 (.531)/sixth season
Playoff Record/Years: 5-2/two years

Series History

Series History: Series began in 1996
Overall: Pittsburgh leads 3-1
At Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh leads 2-0
At Carolina: Series tied 1-1
Neutral Sites: n/a
Last Regular-Season Meeting: Dec. 17, 2006 (in Charlotte) Pittsburgh 37, Carolina 3
Preseason: Pittsburgh leads 5-4
(preseason record not included in overall series record)
Pittsburgh is 5-4 all-time against the Carolina Panthers in the preseason...the Steelers are 2-1 at home against the Panthers and 3-3 in Charlotte...Pittsburgh will play Carolina in its preseason finale for the eighth time since 1997 (1997, ‘98, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07) and is 4-3 in those games...last year, the Steelers captured a 19-3 victory over the Panthers in Charlotte in the preseason finale for both teams...the Steelers have a 3-1 record versus Carolina in the regular season, defeating the Panthers, 37-3, in the last matchup on Dec. 17, 2006, at Bank of American Stadium.

Steelers-Panthers Connections

Several Steelers have ties to the Panthers and the Charlotte area. K Jeff Reed (Charlotte), RB Willie Parker (Clinton) and LS Greg Warren (Goldsboro) all played at North Carolina and also hail from the Tar Heel state. OG Chris Kemoeatu is the brother of Panthers’ DT Ma’ake Kemoeatu. Panthers with connections to the Steelers and Pittsburgh include Head Coach John Fox, who coached with the Steelers from 1989-91 and the University of Pittsburgh from 1986-88. Special teams coach Danny Crossman played defensive back at University of Pittsburgh from 1987-89. Defensive line coach Sal Sunseri was born in Pittsburgh and played (1979-81) and coached (1985-92) at Pitt. Secondary coach Tim Lewis was a defensive back at Pitt (1979-82) and then coached for the Steelers from 1995-2003. RB Nick Goings and OT Jeff Otah played for Pitt while LB Dan Conner and LB Tim Shaw went to Penn State. CB Ricardo Colclough was originally drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. OG Keydrick Vincent was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2001 and played in Pittsburgh from 2001-04.

[NKySteeler]

Tonights' weather forecast is for a chance of showers... Below are the links for the current conditions, hour-by-hour forecast for tonight, and local radar...

Current conditions:
[url="http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/USPA1290?from=hrly_topnav_business"]http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/b ... v_business[/url]

Tonights' hour-by-hour forecast:
[url="http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/hourbyhour/USPA1290?from=36hr_topnav_business"]http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/b ... v_business[/url]

Local radar (you can click on the bottom right to put it in motion):
[url="http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/map/interactive/USPA1290?from=hrly_topnav_business"]http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/b ... v_business[/url]

[NKySteeler]

Tomlin said the starting offense and defense will play the first quarter. ... Strong safety Troy Polamalu will see his first game action after missing training camp with a hamstring injury. ... Lawrence Timmons will start at inside linebacker in place of injured Larry Foote. ... Center Justin Hartwig, named the starter by Tomlin earlier this week, was Carolina's starting center in 2007. The Panthers released him in the offseason in a salary cap-related move.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Tomlin said the starting offense and defense will play the first quarter. ... Strong safety Troy Polamalu will see his first game action after missing training camp with a hamstring injury. ... Lawrence Timmons will start at inside linebacker in place of injured Larry Foote. ... Center Justin Hartwig, named the starter by Tomlin earlier this week, was Carolina's starting center in 2007. The Panthers released him in the offseason in a salary cap-related move.

TP, Timmons, Woodleigh, Smith, Hampton ... do we have a friggin' D or WHAT

[NKySteeler]

TP, Timmons, Woodleigh, Smith, Hampton ... do we have a friggin' D or WHAT

Our LBs are definitely impressive!

.... What EXACTLY is Footes' injury???...

[RuthlessBurgher]

Tomlin said the starting offense and defense will play the first quarter. ... Strong safety Troy Polamalu will see his first game action after missing training camp with a hamstring injury. ... Lawrence Timmons will start at inside linebacker in place of injured Larry Foote. ... Center Justin Hartwig, named the starter by Tomlin earlier this week, was Carolina's starting center in 2007. The Panthers released him in the offseason in a salary cap-related move.

TP, Timmons, Woodleigh, Smith, Hampton ... do we have a friggin' D or WHAT

Woodleigh? That's one guy I wouldn't want to tick that guy off by misspelling his name.

[NKySteeler]

Woodleigh? That's one guy I wouldn't want to tick that guy off by misspelling his name.

We could get Jiga or whoever has him as a friend on thier "Myspace" page to ask him about it and chime in on it! ....

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Tomlin said the starting offense and defense will play the first quarter. ... Strong safety Troy Polamalu will see his first game action after missing training camp with a hamstring injury. ... Lawrence Timmons will start at inside linebacker in place of injured Larry Foote. ... Center Justin Hartwig, named the starter by Tomlin earlier this week, was Carolina's starting center in 2007. The Panthers released him in the offseason in a salary cap-related move.

TP, Timmons, Woodleigh, Smith, Hampton ... do we have a friggin' D or WHAT

Woodleigh? That's one guy I wouldn't want to tick that guy off by misspelling his name.

How do these things happen? I know how to type his name, I don't know anyone named "Woodleigh", yet there it is ... it's Gremlins, I swear!!

[Jigawatts]

Woodleigh? That's one guy I wouldn't want to tick that guy off by misspelling his name.

We could get Jiga or whoever has him as a friend on thier "Myspace" page to ask him about it and chime in on it! ....

Not me bro. I don't have a myspace page because all the ladies would be contacting me.

[NKySteeler]

Not me bro. I don't have a myspace page because all the ladies would be contacting me.

I thought it was you....

Anyway, back to the question.... "What is Footes' injury?"