Steelers Leftwich proclaims his greatness
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Oh my. Pittsburgh Steelers journeyman QB Byron Leftwich has a self inflated ego, he’s great, just ask him. Leftwich took some time to speak with CBS sports and absolutely ripped the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Leftwich told the reporter that his time in Pittsburgh was splendid. “This is football paradise” Leftwich said. Sort of like how he said a week or so ago, that the Steelers offense was so simple, it was like riding a bike in his return. Hmmm.
Leftwich is still angry after losing his starting job to David Garrard. Quite frankly, if you put Leftwich and Garrard on the same team, that team wouldn’t have the quality of Matthew Stafford or Matt Ryan at the quarterback position.
Leftwich is pulling a Tampa Bay Buccaneer WR Michael Clayton move, Oh poor me, look at what happened all around me, it’s not my fault. Leftwich stinks as a quarterback, and if the Steelers decide they want to move forward with him under center for the start of the season while Roethlisberger is under center, pencil in a lost season for the Steelers. I watched Leftwich play last year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it wouldn’t matter if the Steelers had Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice in their prime playing wide receiver, Leftwich would not deliver, he is simply a legend in his own mind.
Steelers Mike Wallace needs to be on your fantasy draft radar
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If you are a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, you already know about Mike Wallace, but he needs to be on everyone’s radar this year during their fantasy draft. Last season, Wallace played in the third receiver position, but now with the departure of Santonio Holmes, Wallace is climbing up the ladder of Steeler’s receivers.
Wallace is a stud in the making, but flying under the radar screen. Wallace is going to fall in your draft for one of two reasons. First, people didn’t do their homework and second, there is concern about the Steelers QB situation. That is a worthy concern, but I have a feeling if Dennis Dixon continues to post numbers like he did last week, showcasing his mobility, he’ll be named the starter week one. Rightfully so. The addition of Dixon to Pittsburgh’s offense will skyrocket Wallaces’ production.
Steelers’ receiver Hines Ward will be starting across the field from Wallace, but he is entering his 13th NFL season, but showed no signs of slowing down last year. I fully expect Wallace to have a great season, 65 receptions, 1100 yards and 8 scores. Last year he had nearly a 20 yard per reception average and the kid can fly, running a mid 4.3 40.
Steelers’ fans playing fantasy football should pick up Wallace late in the draft and ride him to a victory in their league.
Eric Schmidt is the Lead NFL Blogger for RantSports.com where he writes and edits RedZoneTalk.com, your one stop place for up-to-the minute NFL News.
Should Steelers Dixon be the starter now?
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I understand it’s just 1 preseason game, but should Dennis Dixon be the Pittsburgh Steelers starter at quarterback now? In a game that was delayed over an hour due to lightening, the Steelers got plenty of lightening on the field from Dixon.
Anyone who watched the game, saw a lethargic Byron “The Human Windmill” Leftwich. Leftwich gave an interview last week where he said the Steelers offense was just like “riding a bike” for him. Well on Saturday night Leftwich looked like he was riding a unicycle because at one point he led the Steelers offense to gain 16 yards on 12 plays. That’s spectacular.Leftwich was also left in to play twice as many plays as head coach Mike Tomlin had originally expected.
With the Steelers trailing 7-6, enter Dennis Dixon. Dixon led three sustained drives for Pittsburgh of 75, 79 and 68 yards. Dixon added a 68 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, collecting a 158.3 passer rating along the way. Just for good measure, Dixon added in 31 yards rushing, which is a dynamic that Leftwich (as mobile as an anvil) will not bring to any game.
Yes, yes yes, I understand that it is only one game, the first pre-season game. However, IF Dixon continues to play like this and Leftwich continues to stink up the joint, I see no way that Dixon doesn’t start in week 1. Dixon complained that Leftwich was brought in and the starting position wasn’t given to him and I wrote that Dixon needed to go on the field and prove he was worthy of the starting position. Last night he proved it in the first audition. If the entire pre season continues down this road and head coach Mike Tomlin still starts Leftwich week 1, well then shame on him.
In the first head to head battle, round one goes to Dixon in my mind. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Dixon will give this team the best chance to win on the field while Ben Roethlisberger is sitting out.
Leftwich says Steelers offense ‘like riding a bike”
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The Pittsburgh Steelers will be heading into the 2010 season with Byron Leftwich under center, and he says the Steelers offense is just like riding a bike. Leftwich will be most likely the starting quarterback for the Steelers for between 4-6 games this season as Ben Roethlisberger sits out his suspension. It appears that Ben and Byron “The Human Windmill” Leftwich are splitting reps with the first team in practice.
Steelers fans are apprehensive with Leftwich under center to start this season, and rightfully so. He has a windup in his delivery which would make a major league baseball player proud and has become a turnover machine. But, never the less, Leftwich appeared this morning on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh sounding like he’s a quarterback returning to the Steelers with a few Super Bowl rings under his belt. You can listen to the entire interview right here.
Leftwich was asked about returning to Pittsburgh and the differences in the offense now. Leftwich sounds as if he’s a full blown alcoholic in denial, he thinks he’s much better than he actually is. If he falters early and the Steelers don’t try out Dixon, it could very well be a wasted season for the Steelers in 2010. Thanks Ben.
Leftwich’s comments are here (transcribed by sportsradiointerviews.com)-
“The concepts are still there. I learned it. I never forgot it. It was easy for me to pick up. It was like riding a bike. I was able to come in here for OTAs and take all the reps and not really miss anything. There are some new things and some new wrinkles here and there that I can learn on the run, but the concepts as a whole, pretty much 85-90% of it I know… It’s still football. Football games need to be played. We play this game one game at a time. It’s nothing really different. It’s different for a lot of people. There is a whole lot more that you guys talk about on a daily basis that’s new for everybody. For us as players, when we get on this field, nothing is going to change.”
Steelers coach HOF induction highlights
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The entire Pittsburgh Steelers team watched as their defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last evening. LeBeau has served two coaching terms with the Steelers (1992-1996) and (2004 to present). During his time with the team, the Steelers have won 7 Disional Championships, 3 Conference Championships and two Super Bowls.
LeBeau has been credited with the creation of the zone blitz, which makes his 3-4 defenses so hard to play against.
LeBeau was introduced by his brother and you can watch that video right here.
You can watch LeBeau’s speech right here. It does run about 17 minutes.
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