27
Mar
2011
Ben Roethlisberger Sunday Afternoon Interior Decorator Inquiry
Ben Roethlisberger's apartment was quite a challenge for Stanton and Menotti.
Nathaniel Stanton: Stanton and Menotti Contemporary Interiors, Nathaniel speaking.
Ben Roethlisberger: Hi, I’m calling to see if I could hire an interior decorator for my apartment.
NS: You have come to the right place! What is your name, sir?
BR: Ben Roethlisberger. My friends call me Big Ben.
NS: Outstanding!
BR: I play football for the Steelers.
NS: This is the game with all the men and the tight pants?
BR: Uh… yeah, I guess.
NS: What a delight! Do you have a particular look you would like for your apartment? Maybe something to design around? Art perhaps?
BR: Well, I have a Beers of the World poster and a collection of Fatheads.
NS: A Fat Head?
BR: These large, stick-on football players. You put them on your wall.
NS: So a Maximalists, perhaps. Do you have any furniture that you would like to keep? Just trying to get a sense… Would hate to give you English Chintz when you might really be looking for Neo-Bachelor Minimalism, if you know what I mean.
BR: I don’t think I have anything I need to keep. Oh that’s not true, I bought a replica of Dumbledore’s chair from the Harry Potter movies. I like to sit on that chair with a bucket of hot chicken on my lap and search for foreign nudie movies on Netflix streaming and make my way through a 12-pack.
NS: An heirloom piece… I see. We must keep it. Do you entertain?
BR: Well, sometimes Hines will come over and cook me dinner if we have had a tough practice. He likes to put on an a tiny apron and make a roast. We unwind together. He calls it, “us time.” I also will sometimes just call random numbers at the college and if a girl answers, invite her over.
Nathaniel creates an inviting, minimalist bedroom while still highlighting Big Ben's favorite Fathead from his extensive collection. (Photo: Nathaniel Stanton)
6
Mar
2011
Potential work stoppage dooms some teams more than others
Keep smiling: Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are built to last through good and bad -- including a potential work stoppage. (Source: 141characters.com)
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to a seven-day extension to the current collective bargaining agreement, giving both sides another week to hammer out a deal and prevent the league’s first work stoppage since 1987.
The fact that both sides are communicating is hopeful, but the reality is that a tremendous amount of work must be done by March 11 to prevent a hammer dropping on football as we know it.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, coaches and general managers indicated to a man that it was “work as usual” until told otherwise.
Teams claim to be fully prepared for whatever lies ahead. That’s easy to trumpet, but in a normal offseason, we see winning clubs run an organized ship, while other clubs appear lost. How much more so if we move into rocky, uncharted waters?
14
Feb
2011
Raiders Hire Hall Of Famer Rod Woodson as Cornerbacks Coach
(Photo: SteelersOnly.com)
The Oakland Raiders brought in some Hall of Fame talent today, hiring Rod Woodson as their new cornerbacks coach. Woodson – an 11-time Pro Bowl selection and member of the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team – spent the majority of his 17-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing his final two years with the Radiers before retiring in 2004. As one of the most respected players in the modern game, Woodson automatically adds some street cred to new Raiders’ coach Hue Jackson‘s staff.
“It’s an honor to be back with the Raiders and be able to talk to Raider players about true football,” Woodson said in a statement released by the team. “I’m looking forward to working with the organization and the challenges of the 2011 season.”
For all the big-name recognition that Woodson brings to the Raiders, the simple fact is that he doesn’t have any real coaching experience. Since his retirement, Woodson has primarily worked as a studio analyst for the NFL Network, with a little dabbling as a youth sports coach on the side. But at least he won’t be asked to do too much as a position coach, and with Woodson’s track record, you have to like his chances.
But let’s face it: this is a classic Al Davis hire. He brings in a former Raider player – guy that he believes exemplifies the “Raider Mystique” (whatever the hell that means anymore) – and hopes everything works out for the best. And even though this is already being hailed as a great move for the organization, since the Raiders still don’t have a defensive coordinator in place yet, doesn’t it seem a little cart-before-the-horse? Like I say, classic Al Davis.
7
Feb
2011
Monday Morning Super Bowl XLV round-up: Packers outlast Steelers to re-claim Lombardi Trophy
This year's trophy also came with a championship belt (Photo: Getty Images via ChicagoBreakingSports)
The Green Bay Packers are bringing the Lombardi trophy back to Titletown.
As the whole world watched, the Packers hung on to defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV, with Aaron Rodgers throwing 3 TDs and taking home the MVP trophy. Green Bay jumped out to an early 21-3 lead, and for a minute it looked like we might be headed for a blowout. But the Steelers were able to turn the momentum and mount a comeback in the second half to cut the lead to within a score. But down by 6 points with just under 2 minutes to go, Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t able to summon the last-minute heroics needed for a game-winning drive, and the Packers held on for the victory. In the end, the difference in the game came down to turnovers. Pittsburgh committed three turnovers, and Green Bay committed none. Plus, the Packers were able to capitalize on all three of the Steelers turnovers with touchdowns. It’s pretty simple, really: when you spot a team 21 points in the Super Bowl, it’s difficult to win.
Rather than re-hash every angle you’ve probably heard overanalyzed a dozen times by now, we’ll just provide a few links to some of the more interesting side notes to this year’s big game:
- Yes, Christina Aguilera screwed up the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner. Deport her immediately.
- After all of his ploys to add extra attendees for the game (including selling tickets for standing room only party plazas outside the stadium) Jerry Jones missed setting the Super Bowl attendance record by 766
- And thanks to that attempt by Jerrah, 400 ticket buyers, who each paid $800 for newly constructed seats at Cowboys Stadium, were forced to watch the game on TVs in the stadium after the fire marshal deemed their seats unsafe. But the league is hooking each of the displaced fans up with $2,400 cash, NFL merch, tix to SB 46 … oh, and they got to go on the field during the post-game celebration last night.
- Only one record was set during SB XLV: fewest combined rushing attempts by both teams, with 36 (Packers 13, Steelers 23)
- Injured Packer CB Charles Woodson apparently gave an emotional, “Gipper-esque” halftime speech to his teammates, which helped fire them up to take home the championship.
5
Feb
2011
ReadAndReact’s Super Bowl XLV Picks
(Image via deviantart.com)
Since the big day is almost upon us, we wanted to get our official Super Bowl picks on record for tomorrow’s game. And if you’ve been paying any attention to our picks so far this year, you already know that we’re pretty awful at this prognostication thing … so we don’t advise that anyone wager their children’s college funds or anything on our selections. Or even your lunch money. We really stink at this.
So with that rousing introduction, here they are, direct from R&R HQ … and for the record, none of these take into account point spreads. This is straight win/loss:
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
As you can see, we’re split down the middle on the big game, with myself and C-O-U-R-T-N-E-Y taking the Packers, while TDH and steverodgers like the Steelers and Big Ben to win. And TheDarkHorse got real specific:
“The game will be tied 24-24 at the end of regulation. Per the new playoff overtime rules, the Steelers will win the toss and drive down the field for a touchdown. The Packers will do the same on their first possession, making the game 31-30 — before missing the extra point.”
Soooo … yeah. That should really help clear things up for those of you still on the fence. Enjoy the game!!!
1
Feb
2011
Cleveland’s road to redemption begins at home
Pat Shurmur has his work cut out for him. (Source: Statesmen.com)
Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur faces the same tall task that left Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini in shreds: Winning an AFC North division inhabited by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, two of football’s most consistently successful franchises.
Each new Browns regime shuffled out before a bewildered fanbase claims some deep understanding of the Pittsburgh and Baltimore rivalries, but nothing has changed. The Browns have been manhandled within the division since their return.
Baltimore is despised by Browns fans, but with Ozzie Newsome running the show, they’ve forged an identity built on bone-crushing defense and just enough offense to win. Pittsburgh — heading to its eighth Super Bowl and third since 2005 — is perhaps the most sound organization in the league, with just three coaches since 1969.
Cleveland’s had five since ’99 — and it shows.
1
Feb
2011
James Harrison has changed his ways, Mr. Goodell (VIDEO)
Insert pillow at receiver's feet (Photo: Post-Gazette.com)
Super Bowl Media Day is one of biggest circuses in all of sports, and with reporters from all over the world asking the same questions over and over again, it can easily blend into a mind-numbing hum of sports cliches and politically correct answers.
Well thank goodness for Steelers Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison, who used the stage today in Dallas to once-again make his views about the league’s crackdown on illegal hits known. Harrison became the poster boy for the NFL’s heightened stance on violent tackles this season, ultimately losing $125,000 to fines for hitting opposing players too hard. Never one to shy away from a good sound byte, he even threatened to retire from the sport after his now-infamous hit on Mohamed Massaquoi. And as the league’s most heavily fined player this season, Harrison is clearly still harboring some resentment against commissioner Roger Goodell.
Among other things, Harrison said that the meeting he had with Goodell was a “waste of time”, and questioned whether the league really cares about player safety. Fortunately for us, Harrison still seems to have a good sense of humor about the whole thing:
24
Jan
2011
AFC Championship Game: A Tale of Two GIFs
As we all know by now, the Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game yesterday, winning 24-19 and advancing to Super Bowl XLV. Mike Tomlin‘s crew jumped out to a dominating 24-0 first half lead, and the Steelers defense came up big when it mattered most in the second half to hold off a comeback attempt by the Jets.
Instead of breaking down the play-by-play and showing highlights of the most important moments of the game (which you’ll be able to find literally everywhere else today), we felt that these two images – lovingly captured in GIF format – summed up the emotions of both teams at the end of the day.
First, brash head coach Rex Ryan expresses his frustration after the Steelers converted a crucial third down to seal the loss for the Jets:
I threw it on the ground! (Image via InstntRply.com)
Moments later, watch Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall give Ben Roethlisberger a taste of his own medicine after taking a knee in victory formation to seal the win for Pittsburgh:
20
Jan
2011
Injuries in the NFL: How many games did each team’s starters miss this season?
(Photo: Reuters)
Anybody who spends any significant amount of time watching the NFL (or playing fantasy football for that matter) quickly comes to realize how big of an impact injuries can have on a team’s season. So much so that over the years, I’ve fallen firmly in the camp that injuries – and more importantly how back-ups perform in the inevitable case of injury to big-time players on both sides of the ball – are the single most important factor for a team’s success. Everything else can seemingly go out the window if the cornerstone of your offense goes down and nobody steps up to replace him. Add in the loss of leadership on the field, and there can be a domino effect that takes an irreparable toll on the entire team.
(Image: FootballOutsiders.com)
Well, the guys over at Football Outsiders put together an interesting statistical breakdown which might blow my theory right to hell. Or not. This table breaks down the total number of games lost by each team, and as you’ll see, this year’s playoff teams are all over the map. The most startling difference can be found in the NFC Championship opponents. The Packers came in second league-wide with 83 total games missed, while the Bears are tied for dead last with just 11. Meanwhile, the Steelers are middle-of-the-pack with 49, and the Jets got off relatively easy with 38 starter games missed.
In all, 4 of the 5 most injured teams, along with the three least injured teams made the playoffs this season. The remaining five playoff teams (Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Saints) are somewhere in the middle, and the Colts clearly got the worst of the injury bug this year. So what do we learn from this? Mainly it proves that a team can overcome injuries and still make a run at the post-season. It’s just a matter of having capable back-ups. At the same time, we can also see that some teams who weren’t necessarily expected to be contenders this season (Chiefs, Bears, etc.) benefited from staying healthy.
It should be noted that this breakdown isn’t statistically perfect. It only takes into account 22 starters on each team per game (11 offense, 11 defense), and most teams use more players than that regularly on each side of the ball. Also, it doesn’t take into account injuries to multiple starters at the same position (see the New Orleans Saints RBs). But perhaps most importantly, the table doesn’t assign any value to the importance of the player injured or the total number of games missed by that player. Losing someone like Sidney Rice, Ryan Grant or Ed Reed for much of the season is a far more significant injury than losing a 2-down linebacker for a few games here or there.
So, while this table may be interesting to look at, it doesn’t really give us the full picture. It would probably take a much deeper analysis than I’m capable of (hint hint, Football Outsiders math wizards) to show which teams really faced the most overall adversity due to injury.
18
Jan
2011
Steelers DE Brett Keisel’s Beard For The Win!
(Photo:Getty Images via SI.com)
As you may know, we here at ReadAndReact appreciate a good beard as much as – if not more than – the next blog. Our love affair with Ryan Fitzpatrick’s beard is well documented, which is why it’s a little disheartening that we weren’t alerted to the epic status of Steelers DE Brett Keisel’s beard until now. I mean, c’mon people … we can’t be everywhere at once, and we’re counting on you to keep us abreast of the NFL’s most dangerous facial hair!
Regardless, Keisel has been growing out his Grizzly Adams-style beard all season long, and with Pittsburgh preparing for the AFC Championship this weekend, the thing has reached legendary status. Much like our beloved Fitzbeard, Keisel’s beard has gained a cult following among Steeler Nation, spawning its own Facebook page (with over 4,000 fans) and Twitter account (800 followers). It’s the type of beard you want curl up and take a nap in … the kind of thing that has the power to unite people from all walks of life, inspiring those of us who could never dream of sporting such full and wondrous facial locks.
But unlike Fitzpatrick, Keisel isn’t caving to the pressures of his wife, who bought him a razor for Christmas to remove the itchy beast. He’s committed to honoring the power of the facial hair, which obviously played a huge role in the Steelers’ comeback victory over the Ravens last weekend, until the end. So despite some minor inconveniences, Keisel and his teammates are hoping the beard will carry them all the way to the promised land.. Via ESPN.com:
“I don’t mind the beard,” Keisel said. “But I’m sick of the mustache getting into my food. I can’t put my mouthpiece in without biting on it.
“I’m sick of it, but I’m a team guy, and I’m going to ride this ’til the very end.”
The power of the beard is undeniable, and as a result, Keisel earned his first Pro Bowl invitation of his 9-year career over the weekend.
