[The Drake]

Originally posted by The Bitter Truth@Mar 28th '06 @ 4:17 pm
Heh. That would be the one position that I would sway from that. You're so predictable. I even thought to myself, I need to add that exception otherwise "The Drake" will see his dinner hanging there and go all on full slobber for it.

You would do the same *****...

[Nixon]

/cue Drake's joke about me being a nerd to acquit his ignorance.

Originally posted by The Drake@Mar 28th '06 @ 4:22 pm


You would do the same *****...

[The Drake]

Originally posted by Nixon@Mar 28th '06 @ 4:23 pm
/cue Drake's joke about me being a nerd to acquit his ignorance.

I love you man I don't think you're a nerd.

Naw. He's a sci-fi geek.

[SteelerfanstuckinVa]

If you can potentially upgrade at a position you do it. It's really that simple especially picking where we are. Our starting TE (Tuman) returned from the 04 season but we picked Miller. Why??? To upgrade the position.

If DeAngelo Williams would happen to fall to #32 Cowbert would likely injure itself getting the card to the podium.

[Nixon]

**** yeah.

White would be an upgrade too though.

[JLambert]

Silly article, lots of slobbering about...

AFC coaches target Steelers


By Joe Bendel
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Coaches from around the AFC were up early Tuesday to indulge in a buffet featuring bulging omelets, crisp bacon and delectable fruit.

Pittsburg Steelers coach Bill Cowher and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy chat during a break at the National Football League annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. on Tuesday.
trib
noone on our roster is under 5 feet tall, I don't know what the hell he is talking about..." [/i]

"Pittsburgh is definitely the team to beat next season," added Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel. "They're the Super Bowl champs."

Crennel's words were pretty much universal at yesterday's event, where AFC coaches spent an hour talking football. Few of them revealed their strategies for the upcoming season, but they gave a strong indication that Cowher and the Steelers will be sporting bulls-eyes in 2006.

Even Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, whose team is the Las Vegas favorite to win Super Bowl XLI in Miami, conceded that the Steelers are the kings of the NFL.

The Colts are a 3-to-1 pick to win it all next season, followed by the Seattle Seahawks (6-1), the New England Patriots (7-1), the Carolina Panthers (8-1) and the Steelers (9-1).

"I guess that's good in a lot of ways," Dungy said of his team garnering preseason respect. "But the defending champions are always the team to beat. And that's who everybody is focused on."

Nobody said it would be easy in 2006 for the Steelers, including Cowher, who believes the Cincinnati Bengals (11-5, AFC North champs last season), the Ravens (6-10) and the Browns (6-10) are much improved in the division. The Steelers finished 11-5 and in second place in the North last season.

"It was a tough division," Cowher said. "I think the Baltimore situation with getting the quarterback (Kyle Boller) hurt early ... I think they're still a top team. They have a great defense, a tough running game. I think Cincinnati, as I said before, (coach) Marvin Lewis has kind of changed the whole culture over there, and I expect to see that continue. And I think Cleveland, with what they're doing with Romeo -- and I think they have a great young quarterback in Charlie Frye -- they're an up-and-coming team, as well."

The Bengals appear to be the biggest threat to the Steelers, provided quarterback Carson Palmer, the NFL's second-leading passer last season, can return from a knee injury sustained on the first play of a wild-card playoff loss to the Steelers. He said recently he would be back for the start of the season, which is vital because the Bengals' current backups are Craig Krenzel and Doug Johnson.

"Cincinnati is right there with (the Steelers)," Crennel said. "Because, if they hadn't lost their quarterback (in the wild-card defeat), it might have been a different game. He had just completed a 63-yard pass, so, if he stays in the game, they might have had a different outcome."

Billick -- whose team dealt with injuries to Boller, running back Jamal Lewis, linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed -- expects a reversal of fortune next season.

"I think we're going to be pretty good," he said. "We're banking on the fact that we can stay healthy ... and, hopefully, we'll have our quarterback for the whole year. Jamal, now removed from the year off, his M.O. has been -- you rehab, you have an OK year then you come back and have a blow-up year. Yeah, we think we're in pretty good shape, and we're not done."

The Browns were the most active of the AFC North teams in free agency, adding eight players, including center LeCharles Bentley, wideout Joe Jurevicius, linebacker Willie McGinest and defensive tackle Ted Washington.

"We have a chance to be a little more competitive," said Crennel, whose team could welcome tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and wideout Braylon Edwards, two former first-round draft picks who are trying to overcome knee injuries, next fall. "We have to play the Super Bowl champ twice and Cincinnati, a playoff team, twice. And Baltimore is still tough. We're in a tough division, and, hopefully, with the guys we added, we can be competitive. We know it won't be easy."

Cowher and the Steelers could not agree more.