Hines Ward Willing to Take Pay Cut in 2012
By Gayle Saunders
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There is a pretty good chance you might not see Hines Ward in a Steelers uniform in 2012. If you ask the long time Steelers vet, he might tell you he’s willing to do whatever it takes to come back for one more go around.
Ward has even stated to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he would take a paycut to wear the Black and Gold if that’s what it takes for the Steelers to have him.
“I’d probably have to restructure my contract,” That’s fine with me. I recognize that. I’m telling you I want to be here, I’m telling you I’m willing to do that. And I understand the ramifications — we have the cap number and stuff, but I want to be here.”
If Ward had it his way he would prefer to play with Pittsburgh, if he’s wanted.
“I do want to play. I still think I can play,” Ward, who will turn 36 in March, told the newspaper. “I’m not even thinking like that — what if. If that scenario happens, I’ll be devastated, but I do want to play football.”
As of right now, Ward has made it known that he isn’t retiring, and if he doesn’t play for the Steelers he will take his services elsewhere. There is a great chance with the emergence of Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, playtime looks to be limited going forward. I’m sure Hines may have things the young guys don’t possess,like veteran leadership. Jerricho Cothchery played well this season and there may be only one spot left for a veteran receiver that plays special teams.
Hats off to Hines for a great career in Pittsburgh, it’ll be hard to watch this guy play in another uniform in 2012.
GOING 10 YARDS: 10 Random Thoughts from Wildcard Weekend
By Jeremy Schloss
1. 
No matter what happens in the Tebow era going forward, Tim and Bronco fans will always have “that” game. The odds of that game ending with a 80 yard TD pass by Tebow were about the same as Transformers being nominated for best picture. If I’m the Broncos though, I wouldn’t be complacent w/ that one win. Playing in Gillette vs. the evil genius Bill Belicheck is a daunting task, and if they are just happy beating the Steelers, then this could be an ugly game. Celebrate and then prepare for a battle. Key for the Pats this week, pressure Tebow. He showed in Pittsburgh that if the pass rush just isn’t there, Tebow can do some damage. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. 
Congrats to Hines Ward on what seems like the end to a great career. Few receivers were as consistent, competed harder, blocked better, or were as great as a teammate as Mr. Ward. Not to mention the guy knew how to trash talk with the best of em, and never seemed to stop smiling. Ward’s smile was probably his most notorious feature, as no one other than Hugh Hefner probably smiled more. I’m sure we will see the dancing w/ the starts vet again somewhere in either a studio gig job or as a coach. I see him excelling at either, smile in hand. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. 
So I thought the Giants would win this week, but to basically shut out the Falcons? I’d say Matt Ryan and company were exposed this weekend. I don’t care how well they were playing coming into January, the Giants defense has no business shutting out anyone, let alone a playoff team. And lets talk about “The Gambler” otherwise known as Mike Smith. How many 4th and short calls is this guy gonna go for? He gave up an easy 6 points that would have made the game 10-8 at the time, which most likely changes the whole landscape of the game. 3 straight playoff losses for Smith and I think Falcons fans should be clamoring for a change. Mike Smith seems more suited for the Craps tables than head coaching.
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4. 
After watching Calvin Johnson the last few games, I think it’s safe to say he is the most dangerous receiver I’ve seen in my time. I was very young during Rice’s prime years so Jerry supporters will have to forgive me for that. Moss was the best I’d seen and Calvin just seems even better. I’ve never seen a guy make the amount of guys covering him totally irrelevant as much as Johnson does. If Stafford throws it up, you can bet your Shia LaBeouf that Megatron is coming down with it. He is essentially a more physical Moss with a little less speed but a much better attitude. With him on the team, no lead or back door spread cover will ever be safe. I hope Oakland Raider fans didn’t destroy their laptops after reading this section. As you may or may not remember, Johnson went #2 in the 2007 NFL draft. #1….The Immortal JaMarcus Russel. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. 
Throw out the Charger game in week 16, and the Lions defense hadn’t held a team under 27 points since their bye week. If Stafford and Calvin are going to make some noise in the playoffs, Suh, Fairly, and the rest of the Detroit defense will need to figure something out. For Lions fans, you just have to hope that this wasn’t the “one year” Stafford holds up, because the defense just might have wasted it.
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6. 
Drew Brees is on another level right now and it should be interesting to see him against the #1 defense in the league. If the Niners can’t slow him down, then I’m not sure the Saints won’t be punching a ticket to Indy. The Saints offense hasn’t been held under 20 points all season, while S.F. average opponents were held to less than 15 a game. Interesting and weird stat with N.O., their lowest scoring output of the season was 20 points in a losing effort to…. Tampa Bay??!? The Bucs defense was so bad this season their coach wasn’t just fired, but ran kicked in the a$$ on the way out the door. Somehow they picked off Brees 3 times. That was all the way back in week 6 though. My how things change in a matter of weeks. Bucs ended up with the worst scoring defense in the league and Drew Brees had just about the best 10 weeks a QB as ever had. This game should be a great test for Brees. Sorry Giants and Niner fans, but I feel I’m not alone secretly wishing for the week 1 rematch of Rodgers and Brees.
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7. 
It’s amazing how it all worked out for the Pats this week. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brian gets hired away to save and purify Happy Valley, so they bring in an old friend in Josh McDaniels to take over. The same Josh McDaniels who just so happened to coach the very team they are playing against this week, and the guy who knows more about Tebow than probably anyone outside of Denver and Heaven. If it wasn’t Belicheck, I would chalk this up to sheer coincidence, but for the NE coach, it just seems like his intricate master plan has come to fruition. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
8. 
Tough game for the Bengals but still a lot to look forward to for this dreadful franchise. Dalton and Green look like keepers and when healthy, their defense is in the top tier. What Cincinnati should focus on come draft time is getting a running back who can break a big play. Benson didn’t have the year people think he did and might be on the tail end of his up and down career. A game breaker is just what that offense needs to take it to the next level. If recent history has proven anything, its that you don’t need to find a legit back in the 1st round, so there is no excuse to not grab an explosive talent in the mid to later rounds this April. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
9.
I rode the Giants wave last week and will continue this week with my upset pick. They just seem to be peaking at the right time and have plenty of confidence after just barely missing defeating the Pack earlier in the season. I just don’t trust that Green Bay offensive line. Tuck, Osi, and JPP just seem like they will give Rodgers to many discount double checks to allow him to do his thing. I think he Giants win a squeaker, 28-27. And if I’m the Giants, I’m rooting hard for the Niners this weekend. A trip to NO to play Drew Brees at home is like walking the Green Mile with Tom Hanks. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
10. 
Crazzzy spreads this weekend. Pats a 14 point favorite against Jesus’s favorite football player? How many 2nd round games have double digit spreads, let alone that many? One thing’s for sure, it will be good vs. evil for football fans around the country, as the Tebow feel good lifetime movie will be heavily rooted for against the villainous and hated Patriots. How about a 2 loss team with the leagues best defense as more than a FG underdog at home? Saints better hope that disrespect doesn’t motivate Willis and crew even more. The other two games both have 9 point spreads in favor of the home team, which went 4-0 in the wild card round. If Vegas is correct, the only game really worth watching is the Saints Niners game, as we should have 3 blowouts on our hands. Something tells me the NFL wont shake up that way. For my viewing pleasure this weekend, after that miserable LSU/Bama Championship and the 3 blow outs last weekend, I sure hope not.
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The Extra Point: 
I was watching the film “Hitch” the other day, and during the very cliche scene where the smoking hot Eva Mendes wakes up on her couch to discover Will Smith is no longer there in the morning, I had a thought. Of course he comes in a few seconds later with coffee and a ton of energy, thus relieving her worst fears of him ditching her. You’ve probably seen this a dozen times in rom-coms. Hitch’s suave move got me thinking though. How do these guys get back in the apartments when they pull this “romantic” move? One has to figure they take the girls keys. All these keys always laying around to just grab? Isn’t that a bit presumptions to think the girl would be OK with making yourself at home by going in and out of her apartment while they sleep? I never see these guys with keys when the come back, do they just leave the door unlocked? There are so many variables that I feel a guy cannot accomplish this move in the real world. No doubt some one night stander has tried this in real life though and got either locked out or kicked out for taking the girl’s keys.
Tebow to Thomas for the OT winner!!
Monday Night Football: Power Outage Still a Mystery
By Gayle Saunders
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It was an odd night in “Monday Night Football” history, as the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers was delayed twice due to a power outage. The utility company that supplies power to Candlestick Park still does not know what actually caused the power failure, which was caught on live television.
PG&E spokesman Jason King, originally misspoke about what caused the outage, and is now retracting his statement. He believes he “spoke too soon” and he went “too far” with his comments stating that it was the city to blame for the outage. King said that the cause is still unknown and will be under further investigation.
Troy Polamalu blows up Andrew Hawkins
By Gayle Saunders
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The 6 time pro bowler Troy Polamalu can hit…lets just be real here. On every play this guy brings the wood, unfortunately for Andrew Hawkins het gets to go matrix after Polamalu hits him with a Steelers bullet!!
Countdown to Kickoff: Steelers
Hines Ward: “We need to play Flag Football”
By Gayle Saunders
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Its kinda ironic that “Dancing with the Stars” champion, Hines Ward, is also known for being one of the toughest players in the NFL as well. Not only is Ward light on his feet, tough as nails, but he’s vocal too.
Recently Hines Ward had a chance to sit down with WCNN in Atlanta, to discuss some of the NFL’s decisions to impose punishment on teams whose players incur a series of penalties for flagrant hits starting next season.
He told WCNN in Atlanta (via SportsRadioInterviews.com):
“When you have two grown men traveling at 20 miles per hour on a head-on collision, guess what, something in your body is going to hurt. So regardless of what you do, it’s still a physical ball game. But what are you going to do when a runner is continuing to try to run over a guy? Are you going to just wait until one guy can’t tackle him before you go in there and assist somebody?”
Some folks around the league have even called it the “Pittsburgh Steeler rule” mainly because of the physical nature Ward and Steeler teammates play the game. Not to long ago, Ward ended the season of Bengal’s LB Keith Rivers, by breaking his jaw.
People should not confuse Wards stance in regards to the safety of players. Ward totally believes in saftey first, he just stands firm that there is only so much you can do to protect players without altering the game.
Ward Stated:
“I understand where they’re coming from, but at the same time, you can’t protect football,” said the wide receiver, who has taken and doled out his fair share of hits during a decorated 13-year NFL career. “It’s a violent sport. If you want to protect it, we need to play flag football.”
Not only Hines Ward, but his teammate LB James Harrison, has also held firm on their views of the new rule changes.
Willie Parker throws the Redskins under the bus
By Gayle Saunders
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Ex-Redskin “Fast” Willie Parker seems to be partial to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Porbably because he collected two super bowl rings during his stay with the “Black and Yellow”.
On Wednesday, Willie Parker openly admitted that the 2010 Redskins weren’t about football. In a radio interview with Pittsburg’s 93.7 The Fan he threw the Redskins under the bus. (no pun intended) Last season while in training camp, Parker strained his groin which affected his play. Washington then cut the 30-year old RB before he could even show and prove he was worthy.
“They weren’t about football. They were about partying and stuff like that,” said Parker.
“You appreciate Pittsburgh a little bit more after going somewhere else and seeing what another team has to offer.”
Steelers who had stints with other teams such Steelers WR Antwaan Randle El and S Ryan Clark also agree that the Pittsburgh Steelers organization is a different feel. Parker states that it’s a different atmosphere up in Steelers country.
“The players, the coaches, we take care of each other. The coaches take care of the players,” said Parker. The chemistry we have in Pittsburgh is just amazing. Being in Washington, they don’t care about football. I didnt’ feel good from day one there.”
“I’d go straight back to Pittsburgh if I had my choice. I’d come back to Pittsburgh with my boys.”
Sounds like Parker would love another shot in Pittsburgh where he was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Steelers.
Steelers Goal Line Stand Dooms New York Jets
Stevenson Sylvestor vs Lance Moore
