Kevin Gorman Columns category, Page 8
Kevin Gorman: Losing Ben Roethlisberger for the season is seismic shift for SteelersVideo
Before Ben Roethlisberger clutched his right elbow Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were aware their franchise quarterback was experiencing pain in his passing arm. But they trusted in his threshold. “I don’t think anyone was too worried about it,” right guard David DeCastro said. “You know Ben. Ben’s going to come...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers lost not because of pass-interference penalty but their reactionVideo
Kameron Kelly watched the replay and knew what was coming next, that a new NFL rule was about to put the Pittsburgh Steelers in a precarious position. On a prayer of a pass from Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett on a second-and-20 from the Seattle 27, Kelly was defending in...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Steelers rally behind Mason Rudolph but can’t stop Seahawks
The Pittsburgh Steelers had their starting quarterback, running back, inside linebacker and free safety sidelined with injuries for the second half against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. That should have been a recipe for disaster. The Steelers just traded third-string quarterback Josh Dobbs to Jacksonville this past week, leaving only...
Kevin Gorman: No defense for Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi’s costly call against Penn StateVideo
UNIVERSITY PARK — Pat Narduzzi dared to defend a decision that defied logic with an explanation that was inexplicable. The Pitt coach had his Panthers in perfect position to score an upset over No. 13 Penn State: Trailing by seven points, they had a fourth-and-goal at the 1 with 4...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pat Narduzzi’s decision costs Pitt in final game against Penn State
Pitt and Penn State should play every year. Let’s start there. The 100th meeting between the schools, played after a 40-minute lightning delay and before a crowd of 108,661 at Beaver Stadium, showed the rivalry remains true. That it came down to the final seconds, a Hail Mary by Kenny...
Kevin Gorman: If Pitt wants to revive Penn State rivalry, the Panthers need to win
Pat Narduzzi and James Franklin spent the week talking about what makes Pitt-Penn State a great rivalry and all of the reasons why they can’t continue to play each other. That makes perfect sense, especially given the absurdity that Pitt and Penn State will play for the 100th time Saturday,...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers center B.J. Finney ready to put snap-count snafu behind himVideo
B.J. Finney can laugh now at the false start that was because of the snap that wasn’t, and how a penalty became a punch line. All of the linemen, the referee announced after rolling his arms to indicate the infraction, except the center. “As soon as everybody moved, I knew,”...
Kevin Gorman: It’s time for Pirates to clean house, top to bottomVideo
Bob Nutting might be more of a businessman than a baseball man, but the Pittsburgh Pirates owner should be smart enough to recognize a failing entity when he sees one. If the Pirates weren’t pleased with an 82-win season last summer and truly are committed to winning a World Series...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Mike Tomlin won’t give an inch on why Steelers can’t get a yard
Mike Tomlin had the same response to the individual efforts of the Pittsburgh Steelers as he did their collective performance in their season-opening loss at the New England Patriots. Zero. And. One. It was as submissive as it was dismissive, the Steelers coach showing no one deserves accolades after a...
Who runs the North? Ravens lights out; Steelers, Browns duds in Week 1
For all of the offseason hoopla about the megalomaniacal wide receivers — whether it was the one the Pittsburgh Steelers traded away or the one the Cleveland Browns traded for — the season-opening week in the AFC North wasn’t about AB or OBJ. Instead, Hollywood got two thumbs up. Marquise...
Kevin Gorman: Sound the alarms. Steelers looked lost without Antonio BrownVideo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. What we wanted to see more than anything from the Pittsburgh Steelers in their season opener was how their passing game would be affected by the absence of All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown. This debut was a disaster, to put it mildly. That Brown orchestrated an offseason trade...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Patriots show Steelers how far they are from Super BowlVideo
Not only did the Pittsburgh Steelers open the season amid the banner celebration of the reigning Super Bowl champions but in the shadow of the New England Patriots signing superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown. That was the talk of the Sunday Night Football telecast, where analyst Tony Dungy was critical...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Connecting the dots on the Steelers’ Antonio Brown trade
It’s amazing how trading Antonio Brown went from a bad deal to a great deal to a really bad deal for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Narratives in the NFL can change as quickly as Brown changes teams — and he’s on his third before the start of the 2019 season. I...
Kevin Gorman: Antonio Brown playing for Patriots is stranger than fictionVideo
When Antonio Brown mocked Mike Tomlin as the Pittsburgh Steelers coach was addressing the superstar wide receiver going AWOL, it should have been the seminal moment of his NFL career. Through bizarre behavior that should have screamed for buyers to beware, Brown orchestrated a trade in March to Oakland only...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers find security not in superstars but by drawing a lineVideo
So much of the hoopla surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers has been about the All-Pros they lost in the offseason, Le’Veon Bell to free agency and Antonio Brown through a trade. While they were two of the NFL’s most prolific players at their respective positions, the Steelers believed that they could...
Kevin Gorman: Jaylen Samuels embraces increased ‘slash-fun player’ role for SteelersVideo
To say Jaylen Samuels was a secret weapon for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season is an understatement, given even their coaches didn’t know what to call his college position. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner described Samuels a “tight end-slash-fun player that did fun things” at N.C. State, where he set a...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers LB Devin Bush ready to be tested by Tom Brady in debutVideo
As daunting debuts go, Devin Bush knows that he couldn’t ask for much more from his first NFL game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. The 21-year-old first-round draft pick from Michigan appears unfazed about opening the regular season against the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on a prime-time Sunday...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers need to stop watching and wishing they were PatriotsVideo
The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers opened the season in Foxborough, the New England Patriots didn’t just unveil their fourth Super Bowl banner. They trotted out their trophies, too. New England owner Robert Kraft was joined by Patriots greats Troy Brown, Willie McGinest and Ty Law in carrying their four...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: As Steelers get set for opener, Mike Tomlin in midseason formVideo
We don’t know what to expect from the Pittsburgh Steelers when they open the regular season at the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Sunday night. But take comfort, Steelers fans. Mike Tomlin is in midseason form. In the first weekly news conference, the Steelers coach Tuesday delivered...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers were smart to lock up lockdown corner Joe HadenVideo
Cameron Heyward was watching the Pittsburgh Steelers-New England Patriots game tape Sunday night as a refresher, but it ended up serving as a reminder of Joe Haden’s impact. Haden had 12 tackles, two passes defensed and made a picture-perfect leaping interception of a Tom Brady pass between Julian Edelman and...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Few surprises in Steelers cuts, except at receiver
There were few surprises when the Pittsburgh Steelers reduced their roster to 53 players on Saturday, but one thing stood out: The NFL’s most pass-oriented team only kept five receivers. For a team with the league’s worst run-pass ratio last season – throwing the ball about twice as much (66.6%)...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt came dressed to kill, but the Panthers delivered a dudVideo
If the hangdog expression on Heather Lyke’s face didn’t display the depth of her disappointment in Pitt’s 30-14 season-opening loss to Virginia, Pat Narduzzi’s explanation filled in the blanks. Lyke looked like someone who spent countless hours decorating for and delivering a birthday extravaganza, only to see the surprise spoiled...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt falls flat in second half of season opener against Virginia
It was a picture-perfect setting for a season opener. Pitt looked resplendent in its new royal blue and university gold uniforms. The playing surface was impeccable, and the temperature at kickoff was 72 degrees. All the Panthers had to do was open with a victory. That was the problem. ACC...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Even after Steelers’ cuts, Kevin Colbert has work to do
Even after the cuts come, Kevin Colbert’s work isn’t done. The Pittsburgh Steelers must trim their roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday, but their general manager has a history of making major moves leading up to the season opener. The Steelers acquired receiver Ryan Switzer last year and...
Kevin Gorman: Projecting the surprises on the Steelers’ final 53-man roster
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has the unenviable task of reducing the roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday, what he understands can be a “devastating moment.” “It’s hard because a lot of times you may be ending a kid’s dream and his career,” Colbert said Thursday night...
