Bleacher Report - Articles by Jan Banko

Penguins-Flyers: Pittsburgh Loses One For The Fans?

Jan Banko — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:04:26 -0400

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t been doing much losing during the NHL playoffs. It’s possible…just possible…that on this night, they lost one for the fans.

Thousands of those fans gathered at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, and the Pens weren’t even there. They were all the way across the state in Philly where, by the way, the Rocky statue was photographed wearing a Pens Jersey.

The Pittsburgh fans watched the match on the big screen in the parking lot, screamed their lungs out, then fell silent as the Pens failed to come back from the hole they had made for themselves by playing soft during a first period that saw the Flyers come out on fire with a 3-0 lead.

The Pens rallied during the third period, but it was too little, too late. Philadelphia fans chanted “We hate Crosby,” and the Flyers celebrated a 4-2 victory over their hated cross-state rivals.

On Sunday afternoon, the Pens will return to Pittsburgh to try their hand at Game Five. Many of the same fans who watched in the parking lot on Thursday night, and thousands more, will be back at Mellon Arena. And this time, so will Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Marion Hossa and the rest of the Pens.

Back in Pittsburgh, they’ll skate onto the ice in front of a rowdy bunch of fans who are just a little ticked off because the Pens didn’t complete the sweep and humiliate the Flyers.

The Pittsburgh Post’s Dave Molinari was with the Pens before their Game Four loss, and reported that they were “restrained. Low-key. Businesslike.” Pens center Maxine Talbot said the team wasn’t "focused" on Thursday night.

Does anyone think the Pens will be "low-key" on Sunday? Does any Pens fan think that they will lack "focus" when they return to Pittsburgh?

The Pens may have lost Game Four, and there will be no sweep of those dreaded Flyers. Maybe they lost so their fans could be on hand to see them win the Eastern Division and go on to the Stanley Cup finals. Or, maybe they lost Game Four BECAUSE they missed the energy of those fans.

Who knows? Who cares? On Sunday, Pens fans are betting all will be right with the world.

Game on.

The Journey Begins: Pittsburgh Steelers' First Mini-Camp

Jan Banko — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:27:00 -0400

With one mini-camp down, the Steelers appear to be a big happy family.

After a bit of surprise that the Steelers drafted a running back (Rashard Mendenhall) with their number one pick, Willie Parker has reportedly acted with total professionalism and is planning to mentor Mendenhall much the way Jerome Bettis mentored him.

Prior to the draft, Willie embraced the idea of a running back joining the Steelers, to extend his career and make the team better. By all reports, that’s exactly what will happen.

So how did Hines Ward react to the second round choice, Limas Sweed? He’s the ‘tall receiver’ QB Ben Roethlisberger wanted, but those who closely watch the Steelers know they have several tall receivers—two tight ends who receive regular game time are over 6'3", as are two or three others who are competing for the fourth position.

Heath Miller said he was the ‘runt’ of the group at 6’5”, and Tomlin and Ward were discussing the wide outs and tight ends in basketball terms.

Regardless, reports are that Ward was working with Sweed “demonstrably” on the sidelines. Ward didn’t practice—he’s recovering from surgery on his knee, and Tomlin assured him that his job was secure, to take his time returning to active practice.

That’s something Ward appreciated a great deal. And he paid his coach back by continuing to be a ‘second’ wide receiver coach, just as he did with Santonio. Anyone who watches Santonio can tell he’s learning from Hines, and taking it to heart.

And what did Ben have to say about a QB being drafted in the fifth round? He commented that he had seen Dixon play in college and was impressed—looking forward to seeing what he could do.

He made some jokes about being able to see Dixon “lead us to some wins.” And that said, “I’m not worried about losing my job, if that’s what you’re asking.”

No, he wouldn’t be. So in the top three skill positions there’s harmony, and just enough competition to help raise the team to a new level.

On the offensive line, a new center and a delightfully healed Marvel Smith who feels like he has a new lease on life should infuse some new energy.

And on the defensive line? Well of course that remains to be seen, but remember the Steelers drafted some d-linemen last year who will have a year under their belts this year. So along with all but one starter returning and Timmons and Woodley ready to compete for a spot, the lines seem to be in better shape than many have feared.

The first mini camp of the ’08 season is history. There are no real distractions or controversies. Everybody is happy. The coaches evaluated the rookies, the rookies got overwhelmed by the experience, and the veterans who should have looked sharp, looked sharp.

And once again, Tomlin gives us a wonderful sound bite to take us through to the next get-together in mid May.

“It’s football in shorts.” He said, cautioning the talking heads not to take too much out of a mini-camp during which pads are not put on and hits are not made. “Taking hits is a big part” of football, cautioned Tomlin. "And we won’t know how well the new guys are going to do for months, if not years."

There seems to be a sense of excitement and anticipation for Steelers fans that wasn’t there two or three weeks ago when the schedule was released. Could this be the year we go for six?

Face it; any year could be that year. And the fun is in the journey. I’m one Steelers fan who is glad the 2008 journey is underway.

Strap on Those Pads: It's Steelers Mini-Camp Time!

Jan Banko — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:06:00 -0400

A whole bunch of NFL mini-camps get underway today, about 24 teams. So if you didn’t think that the 2008 football season got underway with the draft you can rest assured it gets underway today.

Since I am obviously a Steelers fan, I’ll be focusing on them. But the mini-camp experience is much the same for all the teams.

Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Trib reports that the Steelers open mini-camp today at their South Side facility. They will practice twice today, two times Saturday and once Sunday. The team also has 12 organized team activities (OTA) scheduled for later this month and also in June.

When asked what he will be looking for from the rookies, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, "Their level of conditioning, how much information they are capable of taking in in such a short period of time. Their ability to get on a moving train if you will. It's a mental toughness exercise more than anything."

Wow. You just have to love Mike Tomlin’s sound bites. ‘Their ability to get on a moving train.’

The Rookies will come into mini-camp today, and last year’s rookies will say thank god there’s someone else to pick on. I wonder if last year’s rookies will be the first ones to make Mendenhall, Sweed and the rest of the new crop carry their pads up the hill and dress up in a tutu singing “Tomorrow.”

The pros say that the first mini-camp is a chance to shake off the rust, re-focus and, if last season wasn’t a good one, get the bad taste out of their mouths. But I gotta believe that the Steelers will be jazzed. Last season the talking heads picked them as third-best in the AFC north. In the end, they won the division and barely lost in the playoffs with a brand new coach and system. Now they’ve got a year under their belt and some brand new offensive toys to play with. And the fans can spend the weekend fantasizing and talking about how great the upcoming season is going to be, man! Is this fun or what?

I’ll fill you in on more mini-camp news later in the weekend and until then, happy debating!

Does the Steelers' O-Line Have It?

Jan Banko — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:58:00 -0400

We’ve heard it again and again. Steeler nation – or at least the media that reports on what Steeler nation is thinking – is concerned that the Steelers o-line won’t be up to its task of protecting our titanium QB during 2008. The thing is, Ben doesn’t seem to be concerned about the line. How many times have we heard Roethlisberger say “I was proud of my offensive line” during the ‘07 season? Minimum once a game. We got a little tired of it.

But the fact is, if Ben were unhappy about the line a hint of it would have leaked to the media, and we would be hearing about it. We would be hearing quotes from every member of the o-line about what a jerk Ben is, and just generally getting bombarded with “Ben hates his o-line” news.
That has not happened. So lets take a look at this line, shall we? Try to see it from the point of view of the Steelers, and the quarterback it protects. At least to the extent that we can from our armchairs and computer desks.

This is as likely a lineup for the Steelers 2008 offensive line as any.
Justin Hartwig
Marvel Smith
Kendall Simmons
Max Starks
Chris Kemoeatu

Justin Hartwig is the unknown factor, at least as far as Steeler fans are concerned. Because we haven’t watched him play yet. He started all but one regular season game for the Panthers last year, and is considered to be worth a look at center for the Steelers. You gotta believe the Steelers won’t mess up a free agency center signing two years in a row.

Marvel Smith is solid, and if he’s our left tackle there won’t be too much to worry about except the specter of injury, and all reports say he’s fine after back surgery. Marvel has been solid on the Steelers o-line for years. Why would we think 2008 will be any different?

OK, so far no problem. Next up…

Kendall Simmons. OK, who is worried about Simmons? The Steelers signed him for 24 million. OK…ummm, lets see. He had a couple of minor injury issues in 2007. But this is a quality guard who can anchor the offensive line the way Faneca did when he was at the top of his game.

I know it may be blasphemous to suggest that Alan might in any way have been part of the problem with the o-line last year. Ben has incredible respect for him, and so did the entire team. But when the most important cog in the wheel knows he’s leaving when the ride comes to a stop…and everyone around him knows he’s leaving…there’s gonna be a bit of a letdown. Anyone who has ever worked with someone who knew they were about to leave their job knows this is true. We love you Alan – good luck with the Jets. Time to move on.

Ok, let’s talk about Max Starks for a minute. He was good enough to start in 2006, good enough to help them win a superbowl, good enough to get a six million dollar contract as a franchise player. He’s got something to prove, and he’ll be good enough to play on the Steelers o-line in ’08.

And Chris Komoeatu probably gets his chance this year. Coach Tomlin has hinted that he is excited about this guy. Says he was ready to play at the beginning of ’07 and almost got in there. If he doesn’t work out they can move Mahan over, give Willie Colon a shot at it, or maybe even let Trai Essex slide in. They’ve all started a game or two. They’ve all got NFL experience.

So why are we worried about an o-line that is chock full of obviously capable players?

We’re worried because the quarterback who can take this team to the next level -- the quarterback who is the best we've had since Terry Bradshaw and will, if he stays healthy, be even better than our beloved Bradshaw -- we're worried because that QB was sacked way too often in 2007, and even when he wasn't sacked, he seemed to be running for his life more often than not.

Dare I say it? Maybe that's just the kind of quarterback Ben is. He holds the ball a little too long because he believes he can make the big play. He does better when he's rolling out of the pocket, eyes down field, throwing on the run. Maybe -- and I shudder to think -- maybe living on the edge makes him better. What if he needs a little bit of pressure to be truly great. And if we try to take away what makes the man great, we'll end up with something we didn't want. Just a thought -- better protect him with bubble wrap so he doesn't get injured.

But back to the o-line.

Sure, the O-line has to give up less sacks in ’08. I believe they will. They know they have to work hard in training camp, come together as a unit, keep Ben off his back, prove to all of us that we were just flat out wrong when we said the Steelers needed new players at offensive line. A unit like the o-line is the sum of its parts. I think the key is for Tomlin to decide early in training camp who is going to start, and then stick with the plan. Let them get to know each other well enough to be cohesive.

It doesn’t seem like Ben Roethlisberger has much doubt that they’ll do it.

Now, why don’t we move on to something else, like a major discussion on whether or not Tyrone Carter and Anthony Smith can make actual tackles in the open field.

Steelers '08 Draft Analyzed

Jan Banko — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:09:30 -0400

The 2008 NFL Draft is now history, and the Pittsburgh Steelers got some attention. John Clayton labeled them ‘winners’ before the second day even started. So what happened?

What happened was the Steelers did what they have always said they would do in the draft. They picked the best players on their board, no matter the position. And early on, great players fell to them like manna from heaven.

Let me get this out of the way early – most Steelers fans think that Tomlin and Colbert should have gone after o-line men earlier. I agreed with them – until they proved me wrong. They drafted the following:

An exciting running back who was originally predicted to be a top 10 or 15 pick. This guy is good. Willie Parker is better. Imagine the running attack the Steelers will have with these two guys on the field. It boggles the mind.

Did you see Rashard Mendenhall in the RoseBowl?

He ruled. 168 on the ground, another 50+ in the air against the Trojans. There’s more on this guy – check it out. He really was the second-best running back in the draft. And the Steelers got him at #23.

And then they got Limas Sweed.

This is Ben Roethlisberger’s tall receiver. OK, so here it is, the Steelers receiving corp: Hines Ward inside, in the slot, doing the tough work and LOVING it! Santonio Holmes with his incredible speed. Limas Sweed, big and tall in the red zone, making the plays. And as a fourth? The always exciting Nate Washington. I mean, seriously. It could be the best Wide Receiver corp in the league.

Number three? Bruce Davis to beef up the D. He put up impressive numbers at UCLA, is the son of former NFL offensive tackle Bruce Davis Sr. of the Oakland Raiders, and was a great find in the third round.

In Round number four, a little depth for the O-line. By the way, the folks who watch this 0-line every day feel alright about it. So try to stop worrying, Steeler nation! OK, back to pick number four….it’s an offensive tackle. Big, talented guy out of Texas. It’s all good, except he’s coming off a season-ending injury so you have that little unknown factor.

Round five? The pick that is confusing Steeler nation. QB by the name of Dennis Dixon. Wait! The Steelers have Ben Roethlisberger, why do they need a QB? Two reasons: Charlie Batch is approaching the twilight of his career and a quality backup is vital. And having a young QB on the roster will make Ben work even harder. It’s a win-win.

Another linebacker in round six, Iowa’s Mike Humpal. Plenty of upside but has major injury issues, so it’s a bit of a gamble. Then safety Ryan Mundy from West Virginia, who I have yet to find any info about.

But rest assured, the Steeler’s brain trust saw something in each one of these guys. And one of the things they saw is that each is reported to be a ‘good citizen.’ Young men who have not been in trouble, and who, by all reports, will do the Steeler’s proud on the character front.

All in all, not a bad draft.

Maybe the Steelers best since 2004. Only time will tell. But I know this…I’m one excited Steelers fan.

When does the season start?