Saved By The Bell

The franchise defining power running game synonymous with the Pittsburgh Steelers under Chuck Noll and continued with Bill Cowher has been all but non-existent in recent seasons in Pittsburgh.

Since 'The Bus' Jerome Bettis left the shores of the three rivers the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled mightily finding A running-back capable of running anything close to A power running game. Many Steelers fans put the blame for the Steelers decision to seemingly abandon the running style that once defined the franchise squarly on the shoulders of head coach Mike Tomlin. 

The 2013 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers was A year that can best be described as A team in transition attempting to reinvent their once proud identity. The organization said goodbye to the likes of James Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall and Mike Wallace due to cap restraints and long over-due personnel reshuffling. 2013 was also the year GM Kevin Colbert and Head Coach Mike Tomlin actively attempted to fill glearing needs on the roster through the draft. The Steelers were once a frachise that was revered for their ability to access talent and built outstanding cailber rosters through the draft on a yearly basis. That ability to scout talent through the draft has been called into question in the last few years after two straight seasons of underperforming drafted prospects. 

The 2013 draft was much different than any Colbert/Tomlin drafts in the past. Aside from the rather confusing selection of QB Landry Jones in the 4th Round, the 2013 draft class looks to be A genuine improvement in every aspect compared to draft in recent memory. Jarvis Jones, Marcus Wheaton, Shamarko Thomas and Vince Williams all draft selections in 2013 played significant roles in the Steelers setup last season and will play much larger roles in 2014. The gem of the 2013 draft class in my humble opinion was undoubtably Le'Veon Bell the (235lb, 6ft 1in) running back from Michigan State selected in the 2nd round. 

Le'Veon Bell was A rock for the Steelers offence in 2013, He set the franchise record for scrimmage yards by a rookie. The record was previously held by Steelers great Franco Harris. Bell ended his rookie season with 8 touchdowns, and 860 yards on 244 attempts. All those numbers are impressive but aside from the statistical side of Bell's standout rookie season was his adaptability and willingness to block on passing downs that was what struck me the most. Le'Veon Bell is A physically imposing running back of which the like has not been seen in the Steel City in many years, That is not A slight at Rashard Mendenhall who enjoyed a couple of highly productive seasons in Pittsburgh. But the two just can't be compared... Bell is as close to A complete back as you can get, Mendenhall's flaws are all to obvious. 

Is Le'Veon Bell as powerful as Marshawn Lynch or as fast as Jamaal Charles? No. But what makes the Michigan State product intriguing is that he is not defined as A power-back or A speed-back he combines both integral aspects of the position to great effect, And in doing so just makes him that much more lethal. Pass catching and route running are two more important aspects a complete running-back is able to utilize to well, Bell has incredible hands and his progression in understanding and running crisp routes was evident throughout the season.

2014 is setup to be a coming out party for Le'Veon Bell, the supremely talented 21-year-old has a bright future in the NFL. Behind a healthy offensive-line led by the returning Maurkice Pouncey and new Offensive Line coach Mike Munchak who should successfully implement an outside-zone running offense that should suit Bell very well, 2014 will be the year the rest of the league takes notice of Le'Veon Bell.

Le'Veon Bell 2013 Highlights

Matthew Macfarlane.

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A flawed thoery

Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert has now delivered his 2012 recap interview and in doing so Pittsburgh's disappointing 8-8 season has concluded.

2012 was the season many Steelers fans were pointing to as a pivotal year for the organisation. With ageing superstars on both the offence and defence success in 2012 was vital, Now that the 2012 season is in the books we can see that the reason the team didn't live up to expectations was down to a few telling factors.

The strength of the Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers over the past 6 seasons has been consistency. Tomlin was fortunate to inherit such a deep and well-established team when Bill Cowher resigned after 15 years at the helm of the Steelers organisation in 2006. The team and staff that Cowher assembled had a massive influence on the success that Tomlin experienced during his first few seasons in Pittsburgh.

The Steeler mentality has always been to avoid splash investments in free agency and to draft smart! This method has lead the Steelers to great success in the past. But in the last couple of seasons the thing the team has always been revered for has started to regress, that being the organisation's ability to assess talent and draft quality players. In the past three seasons the Steelers have drafted Markuice Pouncey, Cam Heyward and David DeCastro with there three first round picks. The teams second round picks Jason Worlids, Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams. Excluding perennial all-pro centre Pouncey, the rest of the Steelers early draft picks over the past three seasons have all failed to live up to their early draft billing.

Poor draft classes are not the only significant factor why the Steelers under-achieved in 2012. Injuries, bad luck and poor conditioning are all reasons circulating at the moment trying to determine a defining reason why Tomlin's Steelers finished with a dismal .500 record. In my opinion injuries were a factor, But more importantly a lack of adequate replacements in significant skill positions was far more telling.

Ben Roethlisberger's shoulder injury in week 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs was the beginning of the down-fall of the Steelers 2012 campaign. The Steelers left the Chiefs game with an impressive 6-3 record, the following three weeks saw them drop two of three games in the absence of Big Ben. Back-up QB's Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch were both called upon during the stretch to lead the Steelers and both failed shockingly. Showing a definite weakness in the set-up of Mike Tomlin's Pittsburgh Steelers. Many Steelers fans like myself, were left rather dumbfounded by the Steelers total and utter lack of a contingency plan behind our starting quarter-back?


Todd Haley, Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, Poor drafting and the running game have all be used as scape-goats for the Steelers 2012 campaign collapse. Honestly, all played a massive part in why the Steelers did not find success in 2012. With the 2013 season now fully on the mind of all Steelers players, coaches and fans alike, The 2012 season can now be used and examined to make sure that the nest season's Pittsburgh Steelers do not suffer the same offencive frailties and personnel mishaps that hampered the progress of the 2012 version.

Onwards and upwards in 2013, beginning Thursday April 25th at the 2013 NFL draft.

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Why the Black and Gold?

This year, 2012 marks a personal NFL milestone for me. This year 10 years ago I begun watching American Football at the mere age of just 10 years old. Looking back now, 10 years on I could not imagine my existence without the ups and downs of the National Football League.

  I am now 20 years old and consider myself more than just your "average, run-of-the-mill, everyday fan." Unlike most NFL Fans living in the US of A being an avid follower of the wonderful sport we know as gridiron is much harder for me than most. See I live in New Zealand a country far removed from the bright lights of the game I love. On an average week in New Zealand our ESPN coverage shows Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and of course the holy grail Monday Night Football! but for a football nut like myself... that really does not satisfy my hunger for the game! So I have had to find alternatives to quench my thirst for the game. That alternative ended up being NFLGamePass, during football season GamePass is my connection to the NFL world! allowing me to watch every NFL game live. It does not come cheap but well worth the high price tag.

The first game I ever watched was December 7th, 2003. Four days after my 10th birthday. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Oakland Raiders that day 27-7 I remember the day and that very match vividly. As from that day on I knew that the Pittsburgh Steelers were the team for me. That season the Steelers finished with a disappointing 6-10 record but to me the season was possibly the most memorable I have had in a decade of following the black and gold. Time after time i have been asked over the past decade why the Pittsburgh Steelers? why not the Patriots? Colts? Raiders? Giants? or Cowboys? and I always answer in the same way... They are not the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If someone would ask me why I support the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'd answer, The coaches! Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, Dick LeBeau. The pride and passion both players and coaches have when representing the Steeler legacy. The ability to mould and develop stud players through the draft and above all else the history the Steeler organisation has made and fought to develop, that has led into the powerhouse team we know today.

For 10 years now I have been there for every high and every low the Pittsburgh Steelers have experienced, Many great names have come and gone in the last decade. I feel proud to say I witnessed some true football greats at the peak of their illustrious careers. Names like Joey Porter, Aaron Smith, Hines Ward, Willie Parker and James Farrior may no longer don the the Black and Gold of Pittsburgh but all of them in there own way helped strengthen my love for the Steelers.

Like them, despise them... however you feel about the Pittsburgh Steelers you respect them. 

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The Belgian Revolution in the English Game

Over the past few seasons, a multitude of highly talented young Belgian stars have started to make their way into the Premier League producing continuous quality performances for their respective clubs.

Belgian players have long been apart of the top tiers of English Football, But not until quite recently have the number of players playing in England skyrocketed! Great names such as Eden Hazard, Marouane Fellaini, Jan Vertonghen, Moussa Dembele, Thomas Vermaelen and even Belgian Captain Vincent Kompany currently call England home.

The current crop of Belgian players in the EPL are by far the best the English game has ever experienced, The youth and potential of the bunch could not only lead the club game to a higher level but also could spell a new chapter in Belgian international football. With young stars with the pure ability and pedigree of the likes of Hazard, Kompany and Dembele the future looks extremely bright.

The current list of Belguin players in the Premier League are:

• Christian Benteke, Aston Villa    Age: 21
  
• Moussa Dembele, Tottenham     Age: 25
• Marouane Fellaini, Everton         Age: 24
• Eden Hazard, Chelsea                Age: 21
• Vincent Kompany, Man City        Age: 26
• Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea/WBA  Age:19
• Simon Mignolet, Sunderland       Age: 24
• Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal       Age: 26

• Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham         Age: 25 
  

Everyone of the list above has played internationally for Belgium and all are huge components of their clubs plans going forward. Kompany and Vermaelen are mainstays in both the Manchester City and Arsenal defences respectively, And Tottenham are hoping that over time they can groom Vertonghen into that same mould. Simon Mignolet the long time back-up to Scottish number one Craig Gordon, has seemingly made the Black Cats number one shirt his own with Gordon's departure to Southampton.

Lukaku has been touted for years as a raising star but unable to break into a jam packed Chelsea line-up the 19 year old is on a season long loan at West Brom and the change in scenery seems to have done wonders for him. Bentake the newest of the Belguin fleet to arrive on English shores secured a 7 million pound move to Aston Villa from K.R.C Genk on transfer deadline day and he himself has hailed the move to the English Premier League as "A dream come true".

Marouane Fellaini a relative veteran for the EPL now, as incredibly this is the actually man with the "Fro's" fifth season at Everton. And by the way he's been playing already in season 2012-13 this could very well be the breakout year that David Moyes has been forecasting for some time now. Still only 24 one has to assume that Fellaini's best years are still in front of him.

Moussa Dembele was the second Belgian acquisition made by Andre Villas-Boas this off-season. The magical Belgium playmaker is already being touted by many in North London as a perfect replacement for Luka Modric. Not a newcomer to the Premier League after spending the past three seasons with Martin Jol at Fulham. Time will tell if Dembele can replace the creativity and attacking prowess of Modric.

And then of course who many believe to be the 'pick of the bunch', the 'cream of the crop' Eden Hazard the 21 year old dynamo that has already set Ligue1 alight in France with his 36 goals in 147 appearances from midfield for Lille. With seemingly every team with sizable back pockets looking to lure Eden to play for them over the summer, In the end it was Chelsea that managed to snatch the future star for a reported fee in the region of 32 Million Pounds. Too much some said? Hazard wont be able to handle the pace of the English game some said, Overrated and untested others said. Time will tell, but from what he has produced so far in the Blue of Chelsea I'd say hes gone along way already in prove his doubters wrong.

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