Hall of Fame
*There are those who I will call casual football fans and only watch the Steelers, which is fine. When the Steelers play, and the game is over, football is done for that day. If they play on Sunday or Monday nights, then these casual fans believe that is the only game on and insist on doing something else until that game comes on. Again, that’s fine. To each their own. Then, there are those of us who are football junkies or, as I like to say, students of the game. We follow players and teams from all over the league and remember players from those teams from days gone by. That is the category I fall into and I don’t apologize for it. Everyone is different, but football has been in my blood every since I was a kid.
I bring this up because I have watched every Hall of Fame induction ceremony ever since I can remember. This year, the Pittsburgh connections continued, with Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm both from the University of Pittsburgh, and Dick LeBeau, defensive coordinator for the Steelers. Also in that class were John Randle, defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, Floyd Little, running back for the Denver Broncos, Jerry Rice, wide receiver for San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle, and Emmitt Smith, running back for Dallas and Arizona.
Most everyone knows the last two names by default. It doesn’t hurt that they played for two of the league’s glamour teams. The other names may not ring a bell unless you have really followed the league like those of who are the students. Some are saying that this could be the best class ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is up for debate, which does make it interesting. Comparing players and teams from different eras has been a custom for many years.
This is the final stop for these players. They are immortalized forever and no one can ever take this away from them. It is a celebration of their playing days and those who helped them get to this point, from family, friends, coaches, teams, teammates, organizations, etc. And it is an honor very well and richly deserved. Congratulations to the most recent inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
*The Hall of Fame game was played Sunday night and it was Dallas over Cincinnati 16 – 7. Mind you, much of the game was played by second and third teamers, many who will likely not be wearing uniforms when the regular season opens. This is for the coaches to get a look at the younger players who may play a role in the upcoming season as backups and/or special teamers.
Some may think the preseason is a waste of time. People want to see the regulars play. That is understandable. However, this goes back to those of us who are students of the game. An example is John Randle, aforementioned, who was not drafted into the league, yet made it into the Hall. This is why coaches value preseason games because it allows them to evaluate who and what they have and who might take a spot on the roster based on their play.
With the Hall of Fame game having been played, the 2010 preseason is now underway. Among so many other games to be played this weekend, Detroit will be in Pittsburgh Saturday night. After another week of work and practice at Latrobe, it will be interesting to see how much work Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich get, as well as Dennis Dixon. This will be the story for the 2010 season, officially, as to how this whole scenario plays out.
Unless some strange twist takes place, it looks like Leftwich will be the starter for the first four to six games, Dixon will be his back up, and Charlie Batch will be the insurance policy. The first look at this arrangement will come Saturday night. How many snaps will Ben get? How many snaps will Leftwich get? How many snaps will Dixon get?
While it will only be the first of four preseason games, this game might be under the microscope for that reason. How does it go along? Who will get the start at wide receiver (Ward, Wallace, Randle El?). Who is going to be the primary backup to Rashard Mendenhall (Mewelde Moore, Jonathan Dwyer)? Other running backs on the roster are sure to receive a look. Since the mandate was handed down by President Art Rooney II to run the ball more effectively (more often?), this is going to be one of the more interesting pre-seasons in recent memory.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30, so the first of four will set the stage for how the remainder of the preseason plays out. It will also offer an early indication of how the regular season starts and unfolds, although this may still be too early to make such an assumption. This is why there are four preseason games. Should the NFL go ahead with an 18 game schedule in the (near) future, there might only be two preseason games, and a much shorter training camp. Those logistics remain to be played out. No matter how one wishes to look at it, Steelers football is back!
*With football season now underway, the Pirates might be relegated to a blip on the radar screen. Yet they found a way to make news over the weekend, when pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho were let go and the decision was made by manager John Russell with support from general manager Neal Huntington. At first, this may have sounded like a surprise, given the point of the season baseball is in, and where the Pirates stand, again, at this time of year.
Once the general terms were disclosed by Russell, it became evident why the moves were made. We may not know all the specifics, nor should it matter. The fan base is tired of all of this futility and wants a winner. The first party the fans look to blame is owner Bob Nutting, followed by president Frank Coonelly, and to a lesser extent Huntington. He is the one who goes out and gets the players for Russell to manage.
Whether or not this makes much of a difference, who knows? Something had to be done. Players are not going to get fired. Russell has another year on his deal before he is evaluated (again), and the owner is not going to fire himself, unless he sells the team (which many around here want). So, the coaches are the scapegoats. Word has it that it was a lack of loyalty by Kerrigan and Varsho to Russell. That may be and only those three, plus Huntington, know what really happened.
For the 18th year, the Pirates are just playing out the string. Sure, fans will go to the park to watch the young talent and see what it (they) can do. There will be fireworks and more promotions before the season ends. Fans want to see a winner, and they deserve one. When the season does end, these firings may not mean a whole lot. What means the most is what happens between the lines on game day. The Pirates are probably looking at the second pick in next year’s draft, a spot they are all too familiar with. The best that probably could have happened to the Pirates is the Steelers beginning their season.
I bring this up because I have watched every Hall of Fame induction ceremony ever since I can remember. This year, the Pittsburgh connections continued, with Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm both from the University of Pittsburgh, and Dick LeBeau, defensive coordinator for the Steelers. Also in that class were John Randle, defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, Floyd Little, running back for the Denver Broncos, Jerry Rice, wide receiver for San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle, and Emmitt Smith, running back for Dallas and Arizona.
Most everyone knows the last two names by default. It doesn’t hurt that they played for two of the league’s glamour teams. The other names may not ring a bell unless you have really followed the league like those of who are the students. Some are saying that this could be the best class ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is up for debate, which does make it interesting. Comparing players and teams from different eras has been a custom for many years.
This is the final stop for these players. They are immortalized forever and no one can ever take this away from them. It is a celebration of their playing days and those who helped them get to this point, from family, friends, coaches, teams, teammates, organizations, etc. And it is an honor very well and richly deserved. Congratulations to the most recent inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
*The Hall of Fame game was played Sunday night and it was Dallas over Cincinnati 16 – 7. Mind you, much of the game was played by second and third teamers, many who will likely not be wearing uniforms when the regular season opens. This is for the coaches to get a look at the younger players who may play a role in the upcoming season as backups and/or special teamers.
Some may think the preseason is a waste of time. People want to see the regulars play. That is understandable. However, this goes back to those of us who are students of the game. An example is John Randle, aforementioned, who was not drafted into the league, yet made it into the Hall. This is why coaches value preseason games because it allows them to evaluate who and what they have and who might take a spot on the roster based on their play.
With the Hall of Fame game having been played, the 2010 preseason is now underway. Among so many other games to be played this weekend, Detroit will be in Pittsburgh Saturday night. After another week of work and practice at Latrobe, it will be interesting to see how much work Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich get, as well as Dennis Dixon. This will be the story for the 2010 season, officially, as to how this whole scenario plays out.
Unless some strange twist takes place, it looks like Leftwich will be the starter for the first four to six games, Dixon will be his back up, and Charlie Batch will be the insurance policy. The first look at this arrangement will come Saturday night. How many snaps will Ben get? How many snaps will Leftwich get? How many snaps will Dixon get?
While it will only be the first of four preseason games, this game might be under the microscope for that reason. How does it go along? Who will get the start at wide receiver (Ward, Wallace, Randle El?). Who is going to be the primary backup to Rashard Mendenhall (Mewelde Moore, Jonathan Dwyer)? Other running backs on the roster are sure to receive a look. Since the mandate was handed down by President Art Rooney II to run the ball more effectively (more often?), this is going to be one of the more interesting pre-seasons in recent memory.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30, so the first of four will set the stage for how the remainder of the preseason plays out. It will also offer an early indication of how the regular season starts and unfolds, although this may still be too early to make such an assumption. This is why there are four preseason games. Should the NFL go ahead with an 18 game schedule in the (near) future, there might only be two preseason games, and a much shorter training camp. Those logistics remain to be played out. No matter how one wishes to look at it, Steelers football is back!
*With football season now underway, the Pirates might be relegated to a blip on the radar screen. Yet they found a way to make news over the weekend, when pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho were let go and the decision was made by manager John Russell with support from general manager Neal Huntington. At first, this may have sounded like a surprise, given the point of the season baseball is in, and where the Pirates stand, again, at this time of year.
Once the general terms were disclosed by Russell, it became evident why the moves were made. We may not know all the specifics, nor should it matter. The fan base is tired of all of this futility and wants a winner. The first party the fans look to blame is owner Bob Nutting, followed by president Frank Coonelly, and to a lesser extent Huntington. He is the one who goes out and gets the players for Russell to manage.
Whether or not this makes much of a difference, who knows? Something had to be done. Players are not going to get fired. Russell has another year on his deal before he is evaluated (again), and the owner is not going to fire himself, unless he sells the team (which many around here want). So, the coaches are the scapegoats. Word has it that it was a lack of loyalty by Kerrigan and Varsho to Russell. That may be and only those three, plus Huntington, know what really happened.
For the 18th year, the Pirates are just playing out the string. Sure, fans will go to the park to watch the young talent and see what it (they) can do. There will be fireworks and more promotions before the season ends. Fans want to see a winner, and they deserve one. When the season does end, these firings may not mean a whole lot. What means the most is what happens between the lines on game day. The Pirates are probably looking at the second pick in next year’s draft, a spot they are all too familiar with. The best that probably could have happened to the Pirates is the Steelers beginning their season.
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