Black and Gold Report

2001-09-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Steelers Cut Graham

In what can only be described as a smart move, the Steelers released Kent Graham yesterday. This sets up what should be an interesting 3 man qb situation between Kordell Stewart, Tommy Maddox and Tee Martin. All Steeler fans hope Kordell plays well enough that we will not have to see the other two, but history tells us that Maddox or Martin will make it on the field sometime during the 2002 campaign. Maddox was, most recently, the league MVP of the now-defunct XFL. Martin had a great career at Tennessee and accomplished what Peytoin Manning could not - a NCAA football championship. Are either one of these guys qualified to lead an NFL team during the regular season? Most likely no, but such is life in the modern day NFL. Give credit to Graham who paid compliments to the black and gold on his way out the door saying that he sees similarities between this years Steelers and last years New York Giants (NFC champions). Hopefully, he will wind up with another backup situation somewhere in the NFL.

2001-09-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Black and Gold Report

I want to take a minute and welcome all web surfers to the black and gold report. This website should be a one stop shop for anyone interested in commentary on the Pittsburgh sports scene. I have been a Steeler/Pirates/Penguin fan all of my life and hope that my observations will be informative, possibly controversial and sometime humorous. My page is about commentary only. If you want daily reports on injuries or signings, you can hit www.post-gazette.com (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) website. They have a very solid sports section. I will also throw in some columns on other topics that interest me and the average sports fan (movies, tv, etc). Once again, welcome to my site and I hope I can keep you coming back for more.

2001-09-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

Steeler PreSeason Analysis

Well, that time of year is upon us. Just about a week until the Steelers begin what appears to be another mediocre season. Make no mistake - the preseason looked strong and for the first time in years, there has been little controversy through camp. But when you sit back and analyze their overall talent, a hope for more than 10 wins seems like wishful thinking. In fact, I believe 10 wins would be a major accomplishment for this team and a sign that the Steelers are pointed in the right direction. Let's look at what needs to go right for this team to hit that win total.

1) Kordell Stewart will need to play as good, if not better, than he did during the last 8 games last year. Kordell showed he could be a serviceable, middle of the road, starting NFL quarterback. He will never be what we had hoped back in 1997 but if he stabilizes this year and continues to mature, there is no reason to believe he can't bring some skills to the field of play.

2) Young wide receivers must develop. Plaxico Burress and Troy Edwards will need to take giant steps from last year and become the go to players that 1st round draft picks are supposed to be. Signs from camp and the preseason indicate that we may see some good things from these gentlemen throughout the regular season.

3) Defense must continue to improve. Do yourself a favor. Go back and look at the Steeler defensive results from last year. You will find that they played extremely well in most games. Unfortunately, their good play was overshadowed by an inability to hold leads at the end of some games (Philadelphia, Tennessee, Cleveland). With the loss of Levon Kirkland, one has to wonder where this squad will end up during the first few games this year. Will they miss his leadership? Well, the good news is that it appears that Kevin Colbert and Cowher found some rookie cogs to fit into the defensive machine. By most accounts, Casey Hampton and Kendrell Bell have had excellent camps and should bolster an already serviceable 3-4 system.

4) Home sweet home. For the last few years, there was no home field advantage for the Steelers. What had once been an intimidating and dominating "blast furnace" had become a place where Cleveland could come in and steal a win. Hopefully, that all changes this year as the Steelers begin play at Heinz field, or as I will no refer to it - the mustard bowl (bright yellow seats were a bad idea!). The players and coach are hoping for a fan frenzy that will help once again establish a home field advantage for the Steelers. The only way they can achieve 10 wins would be to win at least 6 games at home.

SO there you have it! A recipe for winning 10 games and a start to what we all hope will be another long run to the playoffs and super bowl. To all the Steeler stepford fans out there (the ones who think the black and gold can win a super bowl based on a preseason win against Buffalo) have some patience and get a reality check. This team is a wild card contender at best. But wild card is much better than what we have been treated to during the last few years.