THE PITTSBURGH Sports CHATTER

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by Lou
You know if you're down 20-0 in the 3rd quarter and you have to bring a new QB in, do you want to walk on eggshells with your QB or do you want to try to get back in the game? No time to dick around and try to "break him in"--you gotta start passing and throwing the kid into the fire. He couldn't do any WORSE than Maddox, that's for sure.

You're freaking out about the first set of downs that the guy got in there, totally cold....

You just can't expect the guy to be winging it like Marino right off of the bat....

Yes, I'll concur that he definitely looked nervous, tentative, and babied his passes....

But if you noticed, if it wasn't for that all-talk defense that I mentioned before, they were one score away from tying it, with Roeth leading the way...

[ALinChainz]

Dude's a rookie too. Had that been a veteran QB, they may have tried to pass. But this is a rookie getting his FIRST snaps. In my opinion, he is looking like the next QB in the 'Burgh for at least the next 10 years.

That being said, I would like to try and say ... with a straight face ... that I'm sorry Charlie Batch wasn't available for you.

Oh man, LMAO ... I hated him when he was with the Lions, and they loved him when they drafted him.

[Lou]

I'm not indicting the QB, I'm indicting your brilliant head coach Bill Cowher. Even before Maddox had to leave, they were down 13-0 in the 3rd quarter and just kept running the ball.

New England is still the favorite in my opinion to win the SB. Hard to argue with 17 straight wins.

[ALinChainz]

Steelers: O'Donnell turns down offer

by Fanball Staff - Fanball.com
Wednesday, September 22, 2004

News
Quarterback Neil O'Donnell, who came out of retirement to start a game for the Titans last season, turned down an offer to rejoin the Steelers. O'Donnell, who currently works for WTVF-5 in Nashville, reported on air Tuesday that Steelers coach Bill Cowher had called him twice about returning to Pittsburgh, where he played from 1990 to 1995.

Views
The Steelers are in need of quarterback depth after losing Tommy Maddox to an elbow injury for at least the next six weeks. Unable to woo O'Donnell, the Steelers added journeyman Mike Quinn to their practice squad Tuesday night.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Yeah, I saw that Al....

Somewhere in this world, Larry Brown got a huge woody.....

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Aaah well, you know what they say, a win is a win....

Horrible conditions for most of the game...

But you know what they also say, both teams had to play in it...

Pretty nice performance for ROeTH.... ....

I like the guy's composure, and I really like the touch he puts on the ball...

He's still babying some passes though.... That long pass to Plaxico was 6 points if he hadn't short-armed it....

The defense was hitting harder than in any Steeler game I've seen in a long time.... There was a dozen or so SERIOUS hits....

Running game for most of the night was decent.... I thought that Verron Haynes was the best runner in the mud....

Like I said, good win, now back home for 2 vs. the Bengals and Brownies....

[POJO_Risin]

Well...Haynes looking good last night is a damn good thing...

If you make Bettis the third rusher...or even have Haynes for first and second downs...Bettis for short yard downs...and Staley for passing situations...and spot run downs...you've got a decent rotation...similar to the rotation last year...

[POJO_Risin]

Roeth looked damn good last night considering...

he was the ONLY consistent player last night...period...

[POJO_Risin]

More bad luck for Steelers Offensive lineman...

first the wrestler...wtf was his name? Webster...now this...

maybe it's something in the water...

Former Steelers OL Strzelczyk dies after chase, fiery crash
Sept. 30, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports

HERKIMER, N.Y. -- Justin Strzelczyk, a former player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, died Thursday in a fiery head-on collision with a tanker truck after he led state troopers on a 40-mile highway chase during morning rush hour.


Justin Strzelczyk is remembered by the Steelers as a 'good guy.'(AP)
Strzelczyk, 36, was an offensive lineman with the Steelers for nearly a decade until the team released him in February 2000.

State police said Strzelczyk crashed his pickup truck into the westbound empty tanker just moments after swerving around a tractor-trailer that pulled across the highway to block the eastbound lanes. Strzelczyk drove 15 miles on three tires and a rim after one of his pickup's tires was punctured by metal spikes thrown into the road by troopers.

"It could have been so much worse. We're fortunate that only one person died," said Trooper Jim Simpson, a state police spokesman. "It looked like an airplane crash. There was quite a lot of diesel fuel spilled that was burning. The pickup was almost unrecognizable."

Strzelczyk, who lived in McCandless, Pa., near Pittsburgh, had been involved in another minor accident about an hour earlier just west of Syracuse, which started the bizarre turn of events, Simpson said.

The hit-and-run occurred about 7:20 a.m. and state police put out an alert for Strzelczyk's pickup. Troopers spotted him about 40 minutes later still heading east on the thruway.

A second unit tried to stop the pickup by booby-trapping the road with the "stop sticks," but Strzelczyk just kept on going. The pickup was clocked at 88 mph, Simpson said.

"He was going down the road, flipping off the troopers. He even threw a beer bottle at them," Simpson said.

A trucker saw the chase and pulled his rig across the road. Instead of stopping, the pickup drove across the grass median into the westbound lanes and traveled about three miles in the wrong direction before the deadly crash.

The collision with the tanker occurred about 8:15 a.m., when the highway was busy with morning commuters and travelers.

Police identified the driver of the tanker as Harold Jackson, 60, from Bowman, S.C. He was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released. No one else was hurt.

Mary Joyce Strzelczyk, of West Seneca, N.Y., said she suspected her son may have been suffering from an untreated mental or emotional disorder.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Yeah, tragic...

From what I've been reading, the guy was always, shall we say, a couple sandwiches short of a picnic....

Which I guess is great for a NFL offensive lineman....

And how about the gonads on that trucker ???

[POJO_Risin]

Yeah Va...no shit...

What was the name of the crazy ass former wrestler that...well...was crazy...

[WARF]

I had club seats for the Dolphins/Steelers game.

My best friend is a steelers fan... and we had to stay down in Miami over night... because there was a curfew to get back into Palm Beach County after 10 PM.

There was thousands of people wearin' "FUCK YOU RICKY" shirts... it was awesome... I can't wait for my team... the NY JETS to fuckin' dismantle what very little left they have!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

ROeTH's first home game today vs. the Bungles....

I foresee Mr. Palmer having a very long day....

Duce should have a good game as well vs. that run defense....

Kendrell Bell's out again....

Fucker hasn't played since the Millard Fillmore administration....

And Larry Foote has played just as well, if not better in his place....

And this is a contract year for both Bell and Plaxico, who has all of 5 catches in 3 games...

In Plax's defense, they've been double teaming him all year long, hence the great year that Hines has been having....

[POJO_Risin]

Couple of things about Plax...

1. He's blocking this year...not that he hasn't in the past...but you can see him doing some things other than catch the ball...

2. 2 years ago...he had a similar start...ended up with over a grand receiving...

I don't know what the real Plax is...but...I do know that he can play...maybe just not for Pittsburgh...I'd like to see them get something for him though...

Bell...frustrating...and it seems like he's hurt a lot...but up until this injury...he's only missed 4 games...same deal a couple of years ago...missed the beginning of the season...

Man...Foote and Bell on that corp would be something...but for now...Bell's out...so be it...

Foote's solid...but imagine what Bell could do roving like he does in this zone blitz package...

[POJO_Risin]

I like Foote a lot...he's a great looking linebacker...

Foote's equally good against the run...but I don't think he has the ability to sack the qb...

Bell can line up as a downlineman...and can naturally rove...which would fit very...very well into this style of defense...

Bell is the rare inside linebacker that can stop the run...as well as pressure the qb with penetration...