polamalubeast
01-04-2011, 11:16 AM
Just one year ago, the Steelers sat and watched Baltimore at Oakland, hoping beyond hope that QB JaMarcus Russell could manage to knock off the Ravens, thus giving the Steelers the final AFC playoff spot.
It wasn't meant to be. JaMarcus Russell is, well, JaMarcus Russell.
What followed from that dark Sunday was a string of perhaps the best management this team has ever seen, and definitely the best that won't be recognized until it's all over.
March, 2010 - QB Ben Roethlisberger is accused of sexual assault by a 20-year-old female with whom Roethlisberger was drinking in MIlledgeville, Ga. The media circus that surrounded it came in wake of the Steelers missing the playoffs, and many pundits wrote the Steelers season off.
April, 2010 - WR Santonio Holmes is traded for a fifth-round pick to the New York Jets, just as the league announces Holmes will be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Holmes was facing something of a criminal entanglement as well, being accused of throwing a glass at a woman's face in a nightclub in Florida.
April, 2010 - Roethlisberger is given a six-game suspension by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who said Roethlisberger's actions could lead to the suspension being reduced to four games.
Sandwiched between these two events, the Steelers select Florida C/G Maurkice Pouncey in efforts to shore up its sagging offensive line. It's thought off the bat Pouncey would compete for a starting spot at right guard as he's groomed to assume the center position when incumbent Justin Hartwig's contract expired.
The Steelers also dealt a late draft pick to Tampa Bay to re-acquire former back-up Byron Leftwich. They used the fifth-round pick they received from the Jets to trade for former starting CB Bryant McFadden from Arizona.
This completed the Steelers roster modification, which included the free agent signings of WR Antwaan Randle El and LB Larry Foote; both key contributors to the team's Super Bowl XL championship. Foote started at the mack linebacker position for both championship teams.
The lesson? Rely on what you know. Amid the chaos being caused by internal (or formerly internal) resources, the Steelers had a mini shopping spree on their former players, and established the foundation for a season above the haters' low expectations.
read more
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2011/1/4/1910622/tomlins-accomplishments-this-season-remarkable-will-he-win-coach-of
It wasn't meant to be. JaMarcus Russell is, well, JaMarcus Russell.
What followed from that dark Sunday was a string of perhaps the best management this team has ever seen, and definitely the best that won't be recognized until it's all over.
March, 2010 - QB Ben Roethlisberger is accused of sexual assault by a 20-year-old female with whom Roethlisberger was drinking in MIlledgeville, Ga. The media circus that surrounded it came in wake of the Steelers missing the playoffs, and many pundits wrote the Steelers season off.
April, 2010 - WR Santonio Holmes is traded for a fifth-round pick to the New York Jets, just as the league announces Holmes will be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Holmes was facing something of a criminal entanglement as well, being accused of throwing a glass at a woman's face in a nightclub in Florida.
April, 2010 - Roethlisberger is given a six-game suspension by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who said Roethlisberger's actions could lead to the suspension being reduced to four games.
Sandwiched between these two events, the Steelers select Florida C/G Maurkice Pouncey in efforts to shore up its sagging offensive line. It's thought off the bat Pouncey would compete for a starting spot at right guard as he's groomed to assume the center position when incumbent Justin Hartwig's contract expired.
The Steelers also dealt a late draft pick to Tampa Bay to re-acquire former back-up Byron Leftwich. They used the fifth-round pick they received from the Jets to trade for former starting CB Bryant McFadden from Arizona.
This completed the Steelers roster modification, which included the free agent signings of WR Antwaan Randle El and LB Larry Foote; both key contributors to the team's Super Bowl XL championship. Foote started at the mack linebacker position for both championship teams.
The lesson? Rely on what you know. Amid the chaos being caused by internal (or formerly internal) resources, the Steelers had a mini shopping spree on their former players, and established the foundation for a season above the haters' low expectations.
read more
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2011/1/4/1910622/tomlins-accomplishments-this-season-remarkable-will-he-win-coach-of