Today the Pittsburgh Steelers have added to their opening day roster in signing 15 undrafted free agents.Among the free agents singed are; Wisconson running back John Clay and South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, as weel as, Temple tight end Vaughn Charlton, Ohio wide receiver Terrence McCrae, Miami (Ohio) wide receiver Armand Robinson, Furman wide receiver Adam Mims, Central Michigan center Colin Miller, Abilene Christian offensive tackle Trevis Turner, Iowa safety Brent Greenwood, Wisconsin cornerback Niles Brinkley, Citadel outside linebacker Eric Clanton, Marshall inside linebacker Mario Harvey, Clemson defensive end Miguel Chavis, Southern Mississippi defensive tackle Anthony Gray and Idaho wide receiver Eric Greenwood.

Super Bowl 45 will be the scene where the Pittsburgh Steelers go after their 7th Super Bowl Title. Their opponent; the storied Green Bay Packers. Most experts out there are leaning towards the Green Bay Packers after they easily put aside the Atlanta Falcons and then squeaked by a Chicago Bears team, who went with their 3rd string quarterback in the second half. QB, Aaron Rodgers is on fire, but he has yet to face a defence like the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers defence has done it all year long. Week after week they give their team a chance to win and often get the win themselves. With the exception of their game against the New England Patriots, the Steelers have basically shut the door on all opponents and I don’t see things changing this weekend.

The Steelers team doesn’t seem to get the respect they deserve, which sits just fine with the Steelers brass. Ben Roethlisberger is a proven winner and wants this 3rd title more than anything in hopes of giving back to the fan base. I truly believe the Steelers defence can hold Rodgers in check long enough for the offence to put up some points. The receiving core of the Steelers is coming into their own. All the talk is about the Packers offence but be ready for the like of Antonio Brown or Emmanuel Sanders to make a difference in this game.

Pro-Bowl rookie Maurkice Pouncey continue to not practice due to a high ankle sprain, however he is still vowing to play. Pouncey makes the Steelers a better team, but there is confidence in Doug Legursky if he has to fill in for the phenom rookie.

Undoubtedly Rodgers will put up points, but I believe the Steelers defence will do what they’ve done all year and be the difference. Ben Roethlisberger and the offence want to be known as great. Prediction: Steelers 17 Packers 14.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to take on the New York Jets this Sunday at Heinz Field. In a come from behind win, the Steelers roared back to take the Baltimore Ravens out of the tournament; as Hines Ward stated. Their opponent will be the New York Jets who surprised the New England Patriots to earn a trip to Pittsburgh.

Ben Roethlisberger is 9-2 in the playoffs and will be looking to make it 10 and earn a birth to his 3rd Super Bowl in his young career. In what should be a real battle of two of the leagues best defenses, the Steelers will look to avenge the regular season loss and move their way to securing an unprecedented 7th Lombardi trophy.

On the injury front, Aaron Smith will practice with the team and if ready to go, will come in on a limited basis. A hopeful Mike Tomlin states that getting Smith back would be a nice tool to have in the toolbox. Those limited in practice this week are Will Allen and Darren McFadden, who are both expected to go this Sunday.

STEELERS vs. JETS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2011
KICKOFF – 6:30 P.M.

This Week: The Steelers will host the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 23 at Heinz Field. Kickoff for the game is at 6:30 p.m. on CBS.

Game Information:
Teams: Steelers vs. Jets
Date: Sunday, January 23, 2011
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. ET
Site: Heinz Field
TV: CBS (KDKA-TV Channel 2 in Pittsburgh)
Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Bill Hillgrove, Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley
Spanish Radio: Grupo Imagen – Destrito Federal (Mexico City) XEDA-FM 90.5

The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the 2-12 Carolina Panthers this Thursday night. A win will take them one step closer to locking up the division title and get a much needed first round bye in the playoffs. The Steelers will be entering this contest with something to prove, as they are not the type of team that want to back their way into the playoffs. Coming off a 22-17 loss to the Jets, the Steelers still managed to lock up a playoff spot; but doing so with a loss isn’t sitting well with the Steelers.

“I don’t like how it unfolded,” Tomlin said. “I feel like you’re crawling in on your belly.”

The Steelers should get back the services of Tight End Heath Miller, from a concussion. This will be a welcome addition as back up Tight End Matt Spaeth struggled in dropping a few passes he should have reeled in. Indications are pointing towards the team being without the services of Troy Polamalu again, who has been limited in practice. It may be in the Steelers best interest to get Troy as healthy as possible for the beginning of the playoffs. In other injury news, Aaron Smith continues his road back to the team and it still looks as though he could be ready for the playoffs, which makes a first round bye all that more important.

The Steelers will look to go 5-3 at home, a record that is not indicative of past Steeler teams. Heinz Field has always been a haven for the Steelers, but this year has them one loss from tying the worst home record in team history.

The Steelers are one of the better bounce back teams in the league and I expect nothing less than lopsided win this Thursday. Prediction: Steelers 35 Panthers 9

As an aside, here is a fun video put out by the Steelers attempting to sing some Christmas Carols:
Steelers Christmas

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have to claim their playoff position minus their superstar safety Troy Polamalu. Polamalu aggravated his achilles injury on the 45 yard interception return against the Bengals last week. It’s not abnormal for Polamalu to miss practice, but he almost always practices Friday, which is not expected to happen this week. If the Steelers have to go without Polamalu, then the offense will have to be far better than they have been this season. With a win the Steelers can lock up a playoff spot and move them into a very good position in locking up the division.

The Jet’s come into this game on a two-game losing streak and are headed in a different direction. The Steelers on the other hand have won 4 in a row, but two of those wins basically were because of the defenses play. The Steelers offence has had troubles most of the year putting the ball in the end zone, but if they can manage to do so this week, could come out with a win. Can Mike Walalce take advantage of a limited Darelle Revis?  The Steelers secondary will have to contain old team mate Santonio Holmes. If they can do that, there’s a big chance of success.

This game has all the makings of an all out war…

In other notes, the Steelers worked out CFL Canadian All-star Andy Fantuz, who claims to have had a very good day showing the Steelers brass what he can do.

The Steelers will look to bounce back from a loss that got away from them against the Saints. In a year that is seeing the proverbial powerhouses get knocked off week after week, the Steelers will be extremely focused to beat the division rival Bengals. One has to think that last weeks loss is a wake up call, to show the Steelers that they do indeed have a few kinks in their Armour. I look for the defense especially to stand up after, what some would say, were mediocre performances on their part. After another fine, look for James Harrison to come out and make a point. I’m certainly glad he’s past the point of quitting and yet taking on the NFL in their stance against these types of hits. Team mate Troy Polomalu, who is often soft spoken and quiet came the defense of his team mate and fellow defensive players around the league in making a bold statement towards commissioner Roger Goodell. One has to be surprised Goodell didn’t fine Troy for his comments.

Ben Roethlisberger will also be looking to bounce back from a performance that saw him have absolutely no time to deliver the ball down field. Offensive coordinator, Bruce Ariens, also needs to come back with better tactics in play calling and protecting his quarterback. Out of all the performances last week, the coaching staff had by far the worst performance of their season and perhaps career. One has to question why you don’t go for it on the opponents half yard line and then do so on their 40 and with 4th and 4 to go???

The good thing is the Steelers are all healthy with the exception of Aaron Smith, who is still holding out hope to return before seasons end. With a win the Steelers will remain even with the Baltimore Ravens, whom I think we’re on a collision course to meet in the AFC playoffs at some point; if not the championship game.

Prediction: Ben Roethlisberger has an almost unblemished record on Monday Nighters and I think he has one of those career games coupled with a defensive gem. The Steelers are due for a game where they play Steeler football on both sides of the ball in the same game. Steelers 34 Bengals 13.

The Pittsburgh Steelers turned into one of the best defensive performances of all time in beating the Tennessee Titans 19-11 yesterday in Nashville, with 7 turnovers. You would have thought the score would have been bigger, but the offense of the Steelers continued to struggle without Big Ben. Once the suspended quarterback does return, the rest of the NFL should take sever notice. If you tuned into this game, you would have seen one of; if not the, greatest quarterback sack by safety Troy Polomalu. Polomalu times his spiderman jump perfectly on a goal line stance and sacked the quarterback. 

Lawrence Timmons was also unreal and  a big reason Chris Johnson was held to only 34 yards rushing, who would have thought that would happen?

Dennis Dixon left the game with a knee injury and Charlie Batch came in to not fair much better. For a second straight game the offense was held stagnant. I expect Byron Leftwich to be re-signed and make the start next Sunday against his ex team; the Tamp Bay Bucaneers.

At 2-0, the Steelers couldn’t have hoped for a better start. Sitting alone in 1st place and two games away from the return of Ben; notions a team that will be close as ever…as a Band of Brothers they will trudge forward.

Go Steelers! …more later!

The news was a little more optimistic for the Pittsburgh Steelers today, as they received news that the injury to Max Starks is not as serious as first though. At first it was thought he had a severe high ankle sprain, but it has since been downgraded. If Starks is unable to go Sunday, then Jonathan Scott would take his place.

There was no new news on the Casey Hampton front, but is believed to be day-to-day with a hamstring pull.

Dennis Dixon was also named the starter for the second consecutive week, even though Byron Leftwich may be able to return to practice.

The Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked out an opening day win when Rashard Mendenhall brought it to the house from 50 yards out in overtime. It looked as if the Steelers were going to win in regulation when Troy Polamalu intercepted a pass with in the Falcons end of the field, only to have Jeff Reed miss a 45 yard attempt. Earlier in the game Reed hit a Heinz Field record 52 yarder.

The victory didn’t come without it’s casualties and important one’s at that. The team looks to have lost Max Starks for at least a month with a high ankle sprain. Nose Tackle Casey Hampton also left the game with a hamstring injury. The game also brings the Big Ben suspension down to 3 games.

Dennis Dixon didn’t make too many mistakes and had a solid game. The defense stood tall and looked to be on their way back to becoming the leagues #1. On offense; Rasahrd Mendenhall had a solid game against a Falcons defense that stood tall most of the game.

Next up for the Steelers is the Titans, where the defense will get a big test in stopping Chris Johnson. Dixon will need to be a bit better to come out with a win. More later…

As expected the 6 game suspension for Ben Roethlisberger has been reduced to 4 games.

Now the Steelers can focus on weathering the 4 games without Ben. It looks as though they will also be without Byron Leftwich; who has a suspected MCL sprain to his knee.