I really am expecting Ben Roethlisberger to be improved Sunday versus the Raiders by comparison to last week’s game versus the Bengals.

Another week of recovery time on that bone bruise in his left knee should, in theory, give him the confidence he needs to follow through completely on his throws from his plant leg.

Unfortunately, my buddy Earl had to point out that he thought Ben historically had a rough go of it in his second game back as well. So I started digging. Sure enough, Earl, the buzzkill that he is, was right.

In fact, when you look at Ben’s first two games back from injury over his career, the picture isn’t a pretty one.

Ben is 33 and I would like to believe that after the 2011 debacle in San Francisco, when he tried to play on one leg after leaving the Factory of Sadness 10 days before in a walking boot, that he now waits until he is at least close to healthy before coming back. Maybe this game will buck the trend. His first 2 games back in 2012 were losses. However, his own stat lines in those games were not too bad, as you can see above.

Ben looked very good on the first drive this past Sunday. On the second drive, Geno Atkins brushed past, hitting Roethlisberger in the knee, and Ben was never the same again. His throws floated and lacked zip. It was obvious that while he was making good decisions about when and where to put the ball, his body was not up to the task of delivering what his mind wanted it to. Ben was not Ben. The tight windows that Ben can typically deliver the ball into were too tight for a guy who could not put enough on the ball because he couldn’t drive through his plant leg when delivering it.

Let’s hope that his knee has healed enough for his performance to more closely match his own standards this week.

+1

IT’S BUMBLEBEE WEEK!!!

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Cam Heyward, class act that he is, has decided to stop wearing his signature Iron Head eye black, and instead is teaming with eyeblack.com to sell customized eye black with proceeds going to charity. Under pressure and fines from the NFL league office, Heyward felt this was the right move as he was never intending to obtain publicity for himself but rather was making a simple personal tribute to his late father, running back Iron Head Heyward, who died of brain cancer at age 39.

Steel Balls recommends that every Steeler fan purchase a set of Iron Head eye black, to wear along with your other Steelers gear. There is no better way to honor Cam than to help him to honor his father  while also contributing to a good cause. If Roger Goodell happens to find himself embarrassed on national TV when the cameras pan to show a crowd of towel waving, eye black wearing fans, that would just be a happy bonus, and a fantastic return on investment for a mere $3.99. 50% of all sales will be donated to the Heyward House, which in turn will be donated to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Southeastern Brain Tumor foundation.

The Iron Head eye black is available at eyeblack.com. I’m ordering mine today. Spread the word!

+4

I have this dream that one day Steelers fans will cease from looking at a players Salary Cap figure, conclude that figure is what he makes that season and then decide if his play meets that figure’s worth.

Alas, it will probably never happen. Most fans do not understand the NFL salary cap and most who have no understanding, also have no desire to gain one. And that’s ok. However, if you are going to take a hard stance on player worth, you should know what goes into a Player’s Cap Charge.

Take for example the most recent target of many Steelers fans’ perceptions of NFL contracts and their cap implications: Lawrence Timmons. Timmons IS NOT scheduled to make $15 million plus in 2016, contrary to what many believe. His total compensation will be $8.75 million. That’s still a lot, but it’s right in line with the other top ILBs in the league as you can see below in a screen shot table from Over The Cap that differentiates Cap Figure from Cash Expenditure for 2016.

I should first explain that the annual cap figure for a player consists of his base salary, plus any bonuses due, plus any bonus proration scheduled to be accounted for in that given year. It’s understanding how bonus proration works and how it is applied that is key to understanding how teams manipulate their cap each season.

A player is not going to willingly agree to push his earnings into a future year when he can be cut at any time and end up having to forfeit those earnings. In order to create space teams use accounting loopholes put in place by the CBA. Key among them is bonus proration.

If you have no desire to know why $8,381,250 of Timmons’ past (this is the key and operative word) earnings count on the 2015 salary cap, stop reading. But, if you do have a desire to know how NFL contracts are frequently structured and restructured to “kick the can down the road”, read on. It should be pretty simple to understand by the end of this.  Read the rest of this entry »

+1

SF58 Whips Mike Vick

We collectively doff our caps to Steelersfan58 who proved us all wrong about Landry Jones being a superior alternative to Mike Vick. Jones, despite having the gayest mustache since the Village People, is the hero of the Steelers’ pleasantly surprising 25-13 victory over the Cardinals.

+5

Old warriors before the battle.

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+2

Here is a fan comment following the most recent loss. I thought it would be interesting to dissect.

Who was stunned? Not me. This team is atrocious. The talent on both sides of the ball is mediocre at best, but the defense from Butler to the LBs to the DBs and Safeties are not professional caliber. That we are actually paying that much for those players shows how time has also passed Colbert by. We keep losing good players because our CAP space is so poorly managed every year. This team needs to be dismantled starting with Haley with Tomlin not being too far behind. The stupid penalties show the coaches have lost control of these mediocre players. The D is so easy to rip apart; but the offense is not much better. If money wasn’t wasted on bad contracts extra could have kept the play makers in Pittsburgh instead of contributing to other teams in the NFL.

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Depth Chart updated 11/5.

Pouncey is on IR/dfr. Eligible to practice after week 6, play after week 8, if his health allows him to do so.

This chart is a copy of the one posted by the Steelers.There are inconsistencies in the way that some players are used and their spot on the depth chart.  For instance, you might get the sense that Boykin would play over Cockrell or even Blake. Hubbard is also listed higher than Legursky on the depth chart, but has been a healthy scratch in every game. McCullers was also listed as probable Monday and was inactive at game time.

Lowest tier guys and others eliminated by roster moves, below the break:

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