Bettis Trade, some Loose Slag, and Gildon Injures Graham (Sep. 13)
Ed Bouchette, on the KDKA news last nite, claimed that the Stillers are interested in trading Bettis before the trade deadline that occurs in October. Initially, rumors involved Bettis being shipped to Denver, but those seem squelched, especially with Denver rookie 6th rounder Anderson rushing for over 100 yards last weekend. Bouchette didn�t mention any teams, but presumably KC and GB could be possibilities.
At any rate, the problem is, once the season starts nobody seems to have any value. I can't remember the last time a meaningful trade was made after the start of the season. Even on a holdout like Galloway last year, the player sits for 10 weeks, comes back so he gets his year of service, and then is traded in the off season.
Bettis should have been moved in June..... Even now is probably too late. The trading deadline is completely unrealistic in a sport like the NFL, where, unlike MLB, NHL, or NBA, a player needs a couple weeks minimum to learn the playbook, audibles, formations, and so forth.
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The PG had a good article on Amoz on Sat.
From it:
"Also, the Steelers' offensive linemen mostly do man blocking, which requires the running back to read the block and then pick a hole. That is different from zone blocking, in which the running back has an assigned hole and hits it. That's what Zereoue did at West Virginia, where he rushed for 4,086 yards on 786 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per attempt.
With man blocking, it takes a little longer for the play to develop.
"We did a lot of zone blocking, and I could pick my own holes [at WVU]," Zereoue said. "Here, it's slow developing. You have to read the block. From that standpoint, it's different."
That, of course, presents a problem against teams such as the Ravens, who
like to blitz their linebackers and safeties in run situations. Baltimore, which ranked second in the NFL in rush defense in 1999, held the Steelers to 30 yards rushing on 18 attempts. The longest run was 12 yards. But even that was not really a run. It was swing pass to Huntley that was ruled a lateral and therefore counted as a rushing attempt."
Du-uhhhhh!!!! The SLOWEST developing rush offense in the NFL !!! Takes between 4 and 9 seconds for the play to develop and the back to hit the hole! By then, hordes of blitzing LBs & blitzing DBs, along with gap-shooting linemen, are nipping at Bettis� ankles and turning his shoulder parallel to the line of scrimmage.
This goes hand-in-glove with why Bettis should have been shipped in June. Besides being in the final year of his contract, Bettis is the wrong back for this offense. No longer is this offensive line capable of manhandling opposing defenses with straight-on man blocking, and with the run-blitzing this team will see very week, it�s readily apparent they need an infusion of speed and quickness.
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Gildon Injures Graham:
From the TR: "The injury occurred during the latter stages of practice when coach Bill Cowher ordered the first-team defense to go against first-team offense.
Gildon, who was rushing from the left side, made an inside move and then spun outside just as Graham was releasing a pass. Gildon said rushers are instructed to back away from the quarterback in such drills, but he was on top of Graham so quickly that he didn't have enough time to avoid him.
"I didn't see the guy to pull off," Gildon said. "Once I turned around, I was in his follow-through, I guess. I was just hoping it wasn't as bad as it sounded."
When his hand hit the helmet, Graham screamed in pain and frustration, fearful that the injury was more serious. He immediately went to the training room for an X-ray.
Graham isn't the first Steelers quarterback to hit his hand against Gildon's helmet.
"I got Kordell (Stewart) once. Maybe even when Neil (O'Donnell) was here, I got him once," said Gildon, who has led the team in sacks the past two seasons.
** Isn�t it hilarious to hear Gildon, proudly pounding his chest and bragging about all the STILLER quarterbacks he�s punished over the years ?? Funny thing -- why hasn�t Gildon, the he-man who had to brandish a chair in the locker-room brawl this past spring -- punished ANY enemy quarterbacks in his entire career??
The Still Mill