Allez, du coeur à l'ouvrage, et tout le monde contribue à la reconstruction du chantier. Moi aussi j'y vais de mon petit récapitulatif de l'intersaison des Steelers.

Une intersaison marquée par la difficulté de maintenir la profondeur de l'effectif, ceci à cause des problèmes de salary cap. Heureusement, de bons samaritains comme Bettis ou Farrior acceptent de restructurer leur contrat.
Ce n'est pas le cas de tout le monde. Exit donc:
- Plaxico Burress WR, trop perso dans ses revendications sportives et financières
- Oliver Ross OT, qu'on aurait bien resigner sans salary cap; Max Starks, un 3e tour l'an passé, est prévu starter pour septembre. Il a montré de bonnes dispositions par-ci par-là en 2004, mais reste à voir sur toute une saison...
- Keydrick Vincent OG, doit être remplacé par l'ex-jeune titulaire Kendall Simmons, de retour après une blessure.
- Chad Scott CB, de plus en plus vieillissant (mmm, comme tout être humain en fait, mais lui ça se voit).
- Kendrall Bell ILB, trop souvent blessé, et remplacé avec succès par Larry Foote.
- Jay Riemersma TE, n'a pas su s'imposer en 3 ans.

Une seule arrivée notable: Cedric Wilson WR, SF. Il est en compétition avec Randle El pour la place de WR2, mais Randle El a l'avantage pour l'instant. Mais le meilleur coup de Pittsburgh à l'intersaison a été la draft de Heath Miller en 30e choix, incontestablement le meilleur TE disponible dans cette cuvée universitaire. On espère beaucoup de sa capacité à former un duo complice avec Roethlisberger.

Au bilan donc, la ligne offensive a définitivement perdu toute profondeur, alors que les blessures n'épargnent pas les Steelers dans ce secteur. Idem rayon linebackers, où les 4 starters seront très bons, mais ne devront pas se blesser (à moins que la surprise de cette saison James Harrisson n'en soit pas une...).

A observer en 2005: le comportement des RB, mélange de vétérans (Staley/Bettis) et de jeunes promesses (Haynes/Parker), derrière une ligne remaniée. Ainsi que l'évolution du backfield défensif, où le duo de safeties formé par Polamalu et Hope, plein de fougue, peut s'imposer comme la nouvelle arme fatale de la défense s'il continue de progresser. D'autant que ces 2 joueurs seront amenés à faire la loi, pendant que plusieurs CB se disputeront les postes de titulaires (les vétérans Williams et Townsend tiennent la corde, mais le rookie McFadden a les crocs, et Colclough et Taylor ne sont pas loin derrière).

Je pense pas que ce soit le genre au Hold Out... mais..
Heath Miller... Il a signé un contrat ?

Le corps de receveurs des Steelers sera une unité intéressante à suivre. Hines Ward en sera l'incontestable leader, mais derrière, le groupe présente une belle concurrence. Randle El a l'expérience pour lui. Cedric Wilson a les moyens de rivaliser. Et il y a ce rookie Fred Gibson, 4e tour, de Georgia, dont les médias se font de plus en plus l'echo. Il est grand (6-4), alors tout le monde le voit déjà remplacer Burress, et il a été naturellement intégré dans la compétition pour la place de 3e WR, au moins (à tel point qu'on a tendance à un peu vite oublier Wilson).
Je ne l'ai jamais vu jouer, ce Fred Gibson, mais puisque certains suivent la NCAA, peut-être en savez-vous plus que moi...

J'ai hésité entre ce topic ou "Somewhere in the USA". Je crois que "James Henry Smith" aurait été fier d'apparaitre sur ce topic...

Citation:

A Fan's Farewell: Steelers fan celebrates 'final road game' Black-and-gold 'viewing' honors Garfield man who loved his Steelers Wednesday, July 06, 2005 By Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette In silk black-and-gold pajamas, velvety black robe and slippers, James Henry Smith is at rest. His feet are crossed, his pack of cigarettes and a beer by his side. Steelers highlights are playing on a high-definition TV screen nearby. With the TV remote in his hand, leaning back in his recliner, a Steelers blanket across his legs, it's like a game-day Sunday. Except that it's not. It was last night at Samuel E. Coston Funeral Home in Lincoln-Lemington, and family and friends were filing in to pay their final respects to Smith, whom they called one of the biggest Steelers fans in the universe. Smith, 55, of Garfield, had been ill for two years with prostate cancer. He died last Thursday at the VA Medical Center in Oakland. A week before, his wife, Denise Finn Smith, had called Coston's to ask if something special could be done to celebrate her husband's life. He wanted to be at home, in the living room, surrounded by photos of family and watching football. For some viewers, the "living room" brightened a somber occasion. "I saw it and I couldn't even cry," said Mary Jones, of Wilkinsburg, a longtime friend. "People will see him just the way he was. This is such a celebration." For others, the moment proved too sweet not to shed a tear. "I couldn't stop crying after looking at the Steeler blanket in his lap," said MaryAnn Nalls, 58, of Friendship, Smith's sister. "He loved football and nobody did [anything] until the game went off. It was just like he was at home." This viewing was unusual, acknowledged Roland Criswell, Coston's young funeral director. In the past, with the rash of deaths of young men, families sometimes asked that they be laid out in Fubu and Pelle-Pelle, popular hip-hop clothing brands. And the trend in many communities is to honor thematic requests. For instance, in one town, a well-known cook was laid out in a replica of her kitchen. Viewers were treated to apple pie as they came in. "But," said Criswell, "I didn't know if I'd be ready to meet this request." To create the effect, Criswell rented a stage to elevate and isolate the "living room" and then surrounded Smith with his Steelers' cap and fan favorites. A DVD of great Steelers moments looped continuously on the screen. The sacred moans of Mahalia Jackson played softly over the speaker. Because Smith was slim, it wasn't too difficult to have him reclining in the chair and not falling over. Since the request was made a week before he died, the staff was able to prepare. Smith was born in 1950 in the Hill District, and he had two older sisters. He was a skinny kid who graduated from Westinghouse High School in 1968 and went to Vietnam. He served three years in the Army, 17 in the Army Reserve and five in the National Guard. He came home and went to Robert Morris College for two years. He worked for U.S. Steel. With no children of his own, he treated his wife's children like his own and "adopted" many of those in the neighborhood. Slowed by cancer in recent years, he stayed home and kept house. "He had my dinner ready when I came through the door," said his wife, who met him 12 years ago in an East Liberty bar and married him two years ago. Smith was a party regular. His wall of photos has him in a gray fedora and matching suit at a dozen cabarets. He looked dashing, his wife by his side. He loved to dance and when he was not undergoing chemotherapy, he loved traveling to visit his stepchildren. He had three, and nine step-grandchildren. But what he held most dear was football and the Steelers. He traveled to Cleveland when they played the Browns. But for home games, he'd watch on TV, inviting over his male friends and cheering into the twilight. Game day at his house was a process. A former Army cook, he'd get up early in the morning and cook his favorites: chili and hot sausage. Today, Smith's funeral at 1:30 p.m. will be more traditional -- in a casket. He'll be buried in Allegheny Cemetery. But yesterday, he rested: His Steelers cap by his side, and a cherished wedding photo above his head -- his smile beaming into all eternity.

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BerserkR Triple Champion BBFL

Peter Boulware est courtisé par 4 clubs, parmi lesquels les Steelers (c'est pour ça que vous êtes en train de lire le topic des Steelers, vous croyiez quoi?).
C'est l'une des dernières chances de Pittsburgh de combler un manque de profondeur chez les linebackers. On avait déjà loupé le coche avec Chad Brown (Patriots). Boulware a l'habitude du système 3-4, et est un pass-rusher agressif. Evidemment, il y a de grosses interrogations sur sa capacité à récupérer de sa blessure au genou.
Et puis, parmi les clubs qui sont intéressés, il y a les Seahawks, où joue son frère Michael et son pote Jamie Sharper. Je sens qu'il va encore nous passer sous le nez...

Signature de Heath Miller :

Citation:

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - Tight end Heath Miller, the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round pick, reportedly has signed with the team and will not miss any training camp. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its web site that Miller signed a five-year contract worth $6.89 million on Tuesday night. The deal includes a $3.95 million signing bonus and could be worth as much as $9.4 million with incentives. Miller, the 30th overall pick in the draft, Miller is expected to join his new teammates in Latrobe this weekend, when the Steelers open camp.

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BerserkR Triple Champion BBFL