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  • Steelers not among bounce back playoff teams in 2023

    Steelers not among bounce back playoff teams in 2023

    Every year around a half dozen new teams make the playoffs in the NFL that missed the year before. Touchdown Wire projected five teams to get into the playoffs in 2023 after missing out in 2022 and the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make the cut.

    Here are the five teams they believe have a shot:

    New York Jets

    Carolina Panthers

    Detroit Lions

    Indianapolis Colts

    Cleveland Browns

    Pittsburgh finished the 2022 season at 9-8 despite a rookie quarterback. The Steelers also nearly snuck into the playoffs after a surge after the bye week. Pittsburgh has added multiple new starters to the roster this offseason via free agency and the draft in hopes of finding their way back into the playoffs. If you are looking for a sleeper team to surprise this year, Pittsburgh is a great bet. We would certainly take them over the underachieving Cleveland Browns at this point as well as the Indianapolis Colts who are starting a rookie quarterback.

    More Steelers Wire News!

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    Story originally appeared on Steelers Wire

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  • Ohio State’s top remaining in-state target seen wearing another team’s gear

    Ohio State’s top remaining in-state target seen wearing another team’s gear

    The top remaining in-state target for Ohio State is cornerback, Aaron Scott, and he is set to make his commitment at the end of this month.

    His three main suitors are the Buckeyes, their hated rivals, Michigan and Oregon. Any edge that any of the schools can get in Scott’s recruitment could be a deciding factor, but this one isn’t what Ohio State fans want to see.

    Scott, who is participating in a 7-on-7 tournament in Dayton was captured by Kevin Noon wearing Wolverine gloves and cleats. Now it could be that Scott’s team uniform closely matches that school up north’s colors or it could mean something else.

    It’s hard to read into what the talented cornerback is thinking, but all three schools would love to see the 6-foot-, 170-pound Scott lining up for their school. The Springfield, Ohio native is rated as the No. 5 best cornerback and 53rd overall player according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

    More!

    Did Ohio State football just hint at new alternate uniforms?

    Michigan writer suggests Ohio State’s Brian Hartline as candidate for Northwestern

    Mylan Graham bumped up to a five star in newest On3 rankings

    Ryan Day shares thoughts on controversial targeting rule

    2024 linebacker target will choose between Ohio State and SEC school

    Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on Twitter.

    Story originally appeared on Buckeye Wire

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  • Dick LeBeau publishing book on 2008 Steelers defense, rooting for James Harrison to earn spot in Hall of Fame

    Dick LeBeau publishing book on 2008 Steelers defense, rooting for James Harrison to earn spot in Hall of Fame

    Dick LeBeau is the Forrest Gump of the NFL. A Hall of Fame cornerback who played with several other Hall of Famers, LeBeau then enjoyed a lengthy coaching career that included two Super Bowl wins while coaching for and against some of the greatest players in league history. 

    LeBeau’s glittering career included presiding over the 2008 Steelers defense, a historically dominant unit that spearheaded Pittsburgh’s sixth Super Bowl victory. The ’08 defense is the focus of a book LeBeau recently wrote that he expects to be available to the public in 2024. The book will be titled A Legendary Defense, an ode to what Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told the unit before it finished off the Steelers’ 27-23 win over the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. 

    “I don’t know whether I’ve got to pay Mike royalties for that or not,” LeBeau joked during his interview with Bryant McFadden on the latest episode of the “All Things Covered” podcast. “It’s going to be worth the wait, I guarantee you that. It’s going to be a great book, I think.” 

    LeBeau shared one of the main reasons why Pittsburgh’s 2008 defense was so successful. That season, the Steelers defense — led by Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu and Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison — allowed just 13.9 points per game. The unit led the league in scoring, passing, third-down efficiency, red zone efficiency, and was second in rushing. 

    “You could all tackle, and you all wanted to tackle,” LeBeau told McFadden, a former Steelers cornerback who was one of the key members of that defense. “Defense is always going to be about finding the guy with the ball and getting his butt on the ground. It was like kicking a beehive when that ball was snapped. You were after that ball and you did not miss tackles.”

    While his career as a coach is Hall of Fame worthy, LeBeau was inducted as a player in 2010, largely on the strength of his 62 career interceptions…

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  • Northwestern hazing under Pat Fitzgerald proves meathead culture still permeates game at highest levels

    Northwestern hazing under Pat Fitzgerald proves meathead culture still permeates game at highest levels

    Football’s meathead culture still exists — even at one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. That was obvious through the weekend culminating with the firing of Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday.

    What was once accepted — and thought since to be rejected — still endures today. That, of course, is tragic. The only difference is the level of surprise across the 20th and 21st centuries. Apparently, we haven’t come too far.

    Green Bay Packers lineman Jerry Kramer wrote a best-selling book in 1968 about how the great Vince Lombardi drove his players to the edge to win championships.

    Fitzgerald didn’t have the romanticized chasing of championships as a (poor) excuse. Northwestern punched above its weight playing for the Big Ten title twice since 2018. It also fell to 4-20 over the last two seasons. And then what was going on behind the scenes came to light in what should be the enlightened year of 2023.

    Abuse is abuse and Northwestern’s former coach allegedly oversaw a program in which hazing was normalized. Within that culture, young players were supposedly “dry humped” in the dark by upperclassmen. A naked center snapped the ball to a naked quarterback proving … what, exactly?

    Certainly not that manly men were shaped by the experience. The conclusion is that, incredibly, the default setting for some coaches a quarter century into the 21st century remains that figurative sledgehammer: beat up players enough and they are become motivated enough.

    The difference being that, until now, we thought we were left with only those romanticized versions of hazing. Remember Junction Boys, the so-called “survivors” of Bear Bryant’s preseason camp at Texas A&M? Frank Kush was a molder of men at Arizona State until it was discovered…

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  • J.J. Watt would unretire for a price and for a game

    J.J. Watt would unretire for a price and for a game

    The Arizona Cardinals lost defensive lineman J.J. Watt to retirement this offseason after two seasons. He led the team with 12.5 sacks. Now he has moved on, is a minority owner of an English soccer team and will be doing TV work for CBS next season.

    Could he come out of retirement?

    Appearing on the podcast “Green Light with Chris Long,” a former NFL offensive lineman, he left the door open for a return under very specific circumstances.

    “If they want to throw out $20 million for one game, I’ll show up, no problem,” he said. “I’ll suit up for one game, $20 million.”

    The problem, though, is he is not working out to be fit for the NFL. He does what he calls are “vanity workouts,” working out to look good on the beach.

    He is not in a condition to take on NFL offensive linemen.

    They say everyone has a price. Watt named his. No one will come to him with it, so it is safe to say we have seen him play his last NFL game.

    An offer for Cardinals fans

    For the best local Phoenix news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to azcentral.

    Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

    More Arizona Cardinals!

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    New P Matt Haack’s 2022 punting stats compared to Andy Lee

    Story originally appeared on Cards Wire

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  • One NFL star doesn’t think Aaron Rodgers will make the Jets a Super Bowl contender in 2023

    One NFL star doesn’t think Aaron Rodgers will make the Jets a Super Bowl contender in 2023

    If there’s any NFL player out there who seems to have a pretty good idea of which teams might turn into a Super Bowl contender this year, it’s definitely Ndamukong Suh. 

    After going through his first nine seasons without winning a playoff game, Suh started to get more selective about who he was signing with and that decision has definitely paid off over the past few years. The five-time Pro Bowler has played for three teams over the past five seasons and ALL THREE TEAMS have made it to the Super Bowl at least once. 

    The run started in 2018 with the Rams, and then two years later, Suh won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. He then followed that up with another Super Bowl appearance last year after he signed with the Eagles. 

    Suh is a free agent this year who’s looking to play for a winner and based on his recent track record, he’ll likely end up signing with a team that has a serious chance of making the Super Bowl. 

    Although we don’t know which team Suh will eventually sign with, we do know one that he likely WON’T be signing with and that’s the New York Jets. During a visit to “The Rich Eisen Show” earlier this offseason, Suh was asked if he thought the addition of Aaron Rodgers would make the Jets a Super Bowl contender and he answered with one word: NO. 

    “Do I believe they will be a Super Bowl contender [with Rodgers]? No,” Suh said. 

    Suh thinks Rodgers is one of the five toughest quarterbacks in the NFL, but he doesn’t think the four-time MVP will be leading New York to the Super Bowl. 

    “I think Aaron Rodgers is amazing and I think he is a great quarterback,” Suh said. “But there are a lot of things that have to transpire to be able to become Super Bowl contenders. I understand that they have an elite defense, but I’m not sure where their overall offense is right now, and adding just one particular piece, it’s a little bit different.”

    Suh does have a history of…

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  • The most important Pac-12 football games for each team in 2023

    The most important Pac-12 football games for each team in 2023

    The middle of summer is when college football fans and bloggers study the schedule and see which teams and conferences have tougher or easier rides. July is a month made for schedule analysis, and that’s precisely what Don Smalley of Ducks Wire did in his article on the most important games for each Pac-12 football program in 2023.

    Because some rivalry games are the most important game for both teams, there will be some repeat selections in Smalley’s list. Because of that replication, we’re adding some of our own selections which differ from Smalley — not because we think he is wrong (this is all opinion and personal viewpoint), but because there are other games which need to be spotlighted.

    We’ll start with Ducks Wire’s selections and then move into our own (added) choices for the biggest games of Pac-12 football in 2023, the last fully year in which USC and UCLA will be members of the Pac-12 Conference:

    DUCKS WIRE BIGGEST GAME FOR WASHINGTON STATE: VS. WISCONSIN, SEPT. 9

    Luke Fickell at his new program goes up against Jake Dickert and Washington State, coming off a 2022 campaign in which WSU won at Wisconsin. It will be interesting to see how good the Badgers are with their new head coach, but Dickert getting a win would be a huge boost of momentum for the Cougars.

    Get more Wisconsin news, analysis and opinions at Badgers Wire.

    BIGGEST GAME FOR WASHINGTON: VS. OREGON, OCT. 14

    Nov 12, 2022; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) throws a pass during the first half against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

    Washington versus Oregon once again is a game that could decide who heads to the Pac-12 title game.

    BIGGEST GAME FOR UTAH: VS. FLORIDA, AUG. 31

    Cam Rising and Utah against Anthony Richardson and Florida was sensational a year ago….

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  • Would Panthers be instant playoff contenders with DeAndre Hopkins?

    Would Panthers be instant playoff contenders with DeAndre Hopkins?

    The Carolina Panthers have whipped themselves up a pretty tasty dish on offense. They added one of the NFL’s most respected offensive minds as their head coach, a heralded up-and-comer as their coordinator, the top quarterback prospect of the 2023 draft and a handful of capable pass catchers.

    But do they still need a cherry on top?

    Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton suggested that they could certainly use it—in the form of a three-time First-team All-Pro. Moton lists the Panthers as one of five teams that would become “instant” playoff contenders if they signed free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins:

    This offseason, the Panthers have created a quarterback-friendly situation for the 21-year-old [Bryce Young].

    Carolina hired Jim Caldwell, a former quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator and lead skipper, and retired 17-year NFL quarterback Josh McCown to coach the position.

    On top of that, the club signed wideouts Adam Thielen, DJ Chark Jr. and tight end Hayden Hurst. According to ESPN’s David Newton, running back Miles Sanders could see an expanded role in the short passing game.

    Hopkins and Thielen would be a quality veteran duo for Young’s development. The rookie signal-caller completed 65.8 percent of his passes in three years at Alabama. He should be able to move the ball with two sure-handed wideouts on the outside, which may result in a playoff run.

    For all the additions the Panthers have made to the unit this spring, they’re still without a clear No. 1 option in the passing game. Thielen, Chark, Terrace Marshall Jr. and even second-round pick Jonathan Mingo could all conceivably have a shot at being the top target.

    So while a 31-year-old Hopkins may not be the same Hopkins from years past, he’d certainly fortify the top of the pecking order and give Young a proven game changer to throw to.

    Related

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