Your It! Steelers Expected to Tag Hampton and Reed

Per various reports, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to tag 2 of their high priority free agents:

Casey Hampton (NT) – The Steelers 33 year old nose tackle, Hampton is an unrestricted free agent.  The Steelers would like to sign Hampton to a long-term 3 year contract  but negotiations have not initiated an agreement between the two parties.  Although against Hampton’s request, the Steelers are expected to place the franchise tag on  “Big Snack” Hampton for a 1 year contract with a payout of approximately 7 million.  It is expected that the Steelers and Hampton will continue to try to work out a long term contract.  If a long term deal cannot be agreed upon by the 2010 NFL Draft, expect the Steelers to seriously think about drafting Hampton’s replacement.  The ideal candidate at this time appears to be Tennessee’s DT, Dan Williams.

Jeff Reed (K) – Another high priority unrestricted free agent is Jeff Reed.  Although Reed has had his fair share of off the field troubles, Reed has been a staple of consistency at Heinz Field.  Heinz Field has proven to be one of the most difficult stadiums in the NFL to kick at, but Reed has excelled in field goal accuracy.  He has struggled in kick-offs which has been a “pain point” for the Steelers especially during the 2009-10 season.  With that being said, Reed is an underestimated player that has been clutch for the Steelers both during the regular season and post season.  The Steelers are expected to transition tag Jeff Reed for 2.6 million.

History

Pittsburgh Steelers History

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League.

Founded in 1933, Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles (6), won more AFC Championship Games (7) and hosted more conference championship games (10) than any other AFC or NFC team. They have played in more AFC conference championship games than any other team and are tied with the Dallas Cowboys with 14 championship game appearances in either the NFC or AFC contests. The Steelers are the current National Football League champions, having won Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.

The fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933, by Art Rooney. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding. The current owner is Art’s son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II.

The team enjoys a fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation and currently play their home games in Heinz Field on Pittsburgh’s North Side, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field.

Franchise History

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20, 1933, losing 23-2 to the New York Giants. Through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than 0.500 (1936). Pittsburgh did make history in 1938 by signing Byron White, a future justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to what was at the time the biggest contract in NFL history, but he played only one year with the Pirates before signing with the Detroit Lions. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers.

During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team. During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the “Phil-Pitt Eagles” and were known as the “Steagles.” This team went 5–4–1. In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pitt (or, mockingly, as the “Carpets”). This team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history.

The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947, tying for first place in the division at 8–4 with the Philadelphia Eagles. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21–0. That would be Pittsburgh’s only playoff game for 25 years, though the Steelers did qualify for a “Playoff Bowl” in 1963 as the second best team in their conference, though not considered an official playoff.

In 1970, with the assimilation of the American Football League into the National Football League, the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of three old-guard NFL teams to switch to the newly-formed American Conference (the others being the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts). This restructuring was necessary to equalize the number of teams in each of the two conferences following the AFL-NFL merger.


The above content is provided via Wikipedia

Steelers-Ravens Weather Conditions

Dress warmly Steeler fans.  The current temperature in Pittsburgh is 25 degrees with a wind chill of 15 degrees.  Expect the temperature to drop significantly as game-time approaches.  As displayed earlier today on ESPN, there is a good bit of snow at Heinz Field.  It appears that the field will be cleared of all snow by game time but expect snow flurries (per weather.com) later this evening in the mass of 1-3 inches.

The National Weather Service has issue a winter weather advisory for the Pittsburgh area.  For details, click here.

Expect Heinz Field to be a bit sloppy with these weather conditions and the wetness of its natural grass turf.

Who does this favor?  Well, its difficult to say.  I think the bad weather and field conditions will favor the Baltimore Ravens defense both against stopping the run and offensively, running the football.  Fast Willie Parker has struggled with cut-back ability at Heinz Field when conditions are bad.  In contrast, the Ravens have more success playing power football with the run game with north-south runners Ray Rice, and LeRon McClain at tailback.

However, if the Steelers can stop the running game of the Ravens, I feel this will put tremendous pressure on rookie quarterback, Joe Flacco.  This will allow a Steelers attacking defense to blitz the inexperienced QB.

While the bad weather may be a negative for the Steelers running attack, the passing game shouldn’t struggle too much.  The Ravens secondary is beat up and if given the time to throw the ball, Ben Roethlisberger should be successful.  The wide receivers know their routes which give them the slight advantage while the defense could “slip up” (literally) on the grass at Heinz Field.  Let’s hope the offense play calling by Bruce Arians can take advantage of these situations.

Steelers-Ravens Gameplan

Offense

The Steelers offense needs to be at the top of their game today versus the Ravens. The key to the Steelers is easy. They need to convert on critical third downs and do not, under any circumstances, turn the ball over. If the Steelers don’t turn the ball over, I believe they win this game. The Titans should have won last week against the Ravens, but turnovers was the deciding factor.

I expect the Steelers to open up the game in a spread offense. The Steelers should spread the Baltimore Ravens defense out with 4 and 5 wide receivers. The Ravens secondary is a bit beat up with Rolle out so this could result in Nate Washington having a big game.  This will neutralize the Ravens’ heavy blitzing and make a tough defense respect the Steelers passing game. The Steelers offense should not play conservative and tight. This will play right into the Ravens defensive plans which will make this game a much closer game than what it could be. Heath Miller and Mewelde Moore should pose significant receiving threats to the Ravens. Also, the offensive line will be a huge matchup against the Ravens imposing defensive front. The Steelers offensive line played their best game against the San Diego Chargers a week ago, but the Ravens are a much better and more aggressive defense. If Hartwig, Colon, Starks and company can keep Big Ben clean then the Steelers should be successful at Heinz Field today.

Defense

The #1 Steelers defense must play opportunistic football today at Heinz Field. The Steelers are relatively healthy today and will pose a huge challenge to the Baltimore’s rookie QB, Joe Flacco. Dick Lebeau will try to confuse Flacco will different defensive looks. Per ESPN, the Steelers defense are going into this game with over 100 defensive plays at their disposal. The Steelers defense must shut down the Ravens running attack early and often. This will put the game on Joe “cool” shoulders which is exactly what the Steelers want. If McClain and Ray Rice have success running the football, the Steelers could be in for a long frustrating day.

Expect Troy Polamalu to be all over the field again today. Troy will start things off supporting the run defense as being an ‘extra’ in the box. Then, he’ll drop back into a zone on obvious passing downs. Also, it is absolutely critical that LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison can get to Flacco today. Last game, the Steelers had trouble getting to the quarterback without sending more defenders than what the Ravens could block. This could expose our secondary and Flacco has the offensive line and the strong arm to make the Steelers defense pay for their mistakes. It is very important that the Steelers pass rush is at their best today. This will make Flacco make quick and possible poor decisions which could result in turnovers. Turnovers which will hopefully result in points in favor of the Steelers.

Predictions

Turnovers is the name of today’s game. If the Steelers o-line can protect Big Ben and give Willie Parker some room to run then I expect the Steelers to be victorious. If not, the Steelers could be in for a long and disappointing afternoon. The same goes for the Ravens, if the Steelers can stop the run, and get to Flacco early and often then the Steelers will have an excellent chance of winning today’s game. I am going to be optimistic in this prediction but I feel the Steelers win: 27-17.

Offensive Player Of The Game: Hines Ward

Defensive Player Of The Game: LaMarr Woodley