Yardbarker: Willie Reid

Joe DeCamillis can't be especially pleased with special teams

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:49:58 -0500

The new and improved Cowboys special teams units weren't so improved in the preseason opener. Sam Hurd was called for holding on the opening kickoff, giving the Cowboys terrible field position to start the game. Nick Folk missed a 36-yard field goal. Willie Reid muffed a punt, giving the Raiders the ball deep in Dallas territory. David Buehler, who hit pay dirt on every kickoff in the Alamodome, only put one of three in the end zone in windy Oakland. While special teams were a major foc...

Whoops! Willie Reid muffs a punt

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:56:46 -0500

WR Willie Reid's roster chances were slim to none anyway. Slim might have left the building the second he muffed that punt to give the Raiders the ball at the Dallas 11. The fourth quarter has been about what one should expect out of preseason opener garbage time, which is another way to say painful to watch.

Dallas Cowboys Training Camp: A Look Ahead to Thursday

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:11 -0500

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP Coach Joe DeCamillis has ditched the neck brace! Browse more photos » Now that BTB's on-scene coverage of Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 2009 has come to a conclusion, we get ready for the next phase, a pre-season game. This Thursday, the Cowboys will take on the Raiders and we'll get a first look at this new Cowboys team under "game" conditions. First order...

Cowboys Camp, Morning, Day 11: Dodging Injury Bullets

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:43:22 -0500

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP Mike Jenkins injured his right leg covering a similar pass today and could miss several weeks of work. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Browse more photos » MRI results are awaited but it appears cornerback Mike Jenkins may have escaped a serious, long-term injury this morning. He lingered on the turf on hands and knees for a couple of minutes after a passing drill and finally walke...

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #8

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:27:11 -0500

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP Roy and T-New battle for the ball. Browse more photos » Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-...

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #6

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:18:54 -0500

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP Hurd beats Scandrick. Browse more photos » Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt ...

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #4

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:37:19 -0500

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Full pads for today'...

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #3

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:03:13 -0500

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP Tashard uses the resistance-band to try and make Felix fumble. Browse more photos » Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-paren...

Philadelphia Eagles Free Agent List

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:30:22 -0500

The St. Louis Rams 2009 NFL Draft will heavily depend on the 2009 NFL Free agent Period which will begin on February 27th. Do you think the Rams will be interested in any the these Philadelphia Eagles Free WR Hank Baskett OL Nick Cole WR Willie Reid ...

TIME TO RETIRE YOUR SEAN MAHAN JERSEY

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:09:21 -0500

It's a sad day for the thousands of Yinzers who invested in a Sean Mahan Steelers jersey to wear on Sundays, because they just became outdated. Mahan, who came over from Tampa Bay via free agency last season, was just traded back to the Bucs for an undisclosed 2009 draft pick. Somehow, I doubt it's a first-rounder.

And thus ends the Steeler career of Mahan, which goes down as their 2007 Horrible Offensive Line Signing, a 5-year deal worth $17 million (with a $4 million signing bonus). In case you're wondering, the 2008 award has already been bestowed upon the nearly $7 million guaranteed contract to backup tackle Max Starks.

In other news concering disappointing Steelers, WR Willie Reid was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad. Yawn.

Steelers trade Mahan to Bucs [Trib]

Eagles announce practice squad

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:56:14 -0500

The Eagles announced their eight man practice squad today. It includes 5 players who they just recently cut: CB Kyle Arrington FB Jed Collins DT Mike Marquardt WR Shaheer McBride OT Chris Patrick WR Willie Reid LB Andy Studebaker CB Trae Williams Not too many surprises amongst the returning players. Studebaker and Arrington were obvious choices of players who were good enough to make the team but lost out in the numbers game. Keeping Collins is insurance in case Ton...

A DAY OF PITTSBURGH SPORTS TALK RADIO

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:12:42 -0500

Prior to this and a short post on Monday, the last article I wrote of any length was "The Legacy Of...Marian Hossa", written in advance of my absence and greeted by a lukewarm reception at best (too soon!)

So with that on my mind, I stared down a Tuesday chock-full of "real job" appointments around the city of Pittsburgh and realized that once again, I would be posting zip, zero, nada during the workday. Two days, no content. This week was off to a great start! I'm sure the readers were thrilled.Confined to my car, which currently has a Sirius satellite unit that's on the PUP list, I had no choice but to tune in to approximately eight hours (on and off) of Pittsburgh sports talk radio throughout the day. While I usually listen to some of the afternoon talkers in some capacity, my normal PM media consumption is usually a hearty mix of Howard 100 and Howard 101 (to avoid a total sports overload). With the set of circumstances dealt to me on Tuesday, I figured it would be a good opportunity to really catch up on what I missed last week as well as a chance to listen to the ever-hyped new lineup at 1250 ESPN, with the thinking that I might get some semblance of a column out of the experience. For the morning session, I tuned in to the all-new Stan and Guy (and Chris Mack) show on 1250. And while this show debuted just last week, I was immediately informed that Guy was on vacation. I'm certainly not one to tell people when to take their vacations, but that probably could have been planned a little bit better. So I caught bits and pieces of the Stan and Guy minus Guy show, which had ample time devoted to Savran's very candid dislike of the Olympics and a lengthy discussion between Savran and Mack on the first-year performance of Pirates Manager John Russell, which was pretty positive. It was noted that Russell has worked very well in conjunction with Neal Huntington, who followed through on his threat of accountability in 2008 with the demotions of Tom Gorzelanny and Ronny Paulino and the release of Matt Morris.
Personally, I would agree with them on the Russell/Huntington dynamic. I like the moves they've made so far, and although it's waaaay too early to make any calls, I like the direction where they are going. They're at least giving me some tiny, faint glimmer of hope, which is more than I could say about any of their predecessors. I'm not a huge Olympic fan per se, but I have caught myself tuning in to random events. I saw and enjoyed most of the Opening Ceremonies, I've been following the US hoops squad, and I was lucky enough to catch the miracle comeback from Michael Phelps and Co. on Sunday night. I might watch a few sports I would never watch otherwise, but that's probably due to the fact that I'm a fan of events. For example, I'm not a soccer fan at all and I know very few of the players, but I do watch some World Cup games when they come around. So in short, I would probably disagree with Stan's take on the Olympics.

I then caught some of the Tirico and Van Pelt national ESPN show between the hours of 1-3, and I nearly got in an accident due to falling asleep at the wheel. It was that bad. I once referred to Tirico this way: "describing his style as vanilla would be an insult to vanilla, for it actually has some flavor."Tirico went on and on about how he wanted to give up on his "beloved" Detroit Tigers, 58-61 and 8.5 out of first in the NL Central, choosing instead to switch allegiances to the Chicago Cubs. Two years removed from a World Series appearance and already jumping ship. You're a real fan, Mike.

front?run?ner n.

One that is in a leading position in a race or other competition: A competitor who performs best when in the lead; Mike Tirico

Later in the show, I was treated to extreme overanalysis of the Chad Johnson comments from Monday night, where he came off as little more than an egomaniacal rambling idiot talking about his antics for the 2008 season. I don't know when TV executives got together and agreed that Chad Johnson could constantly have a camera and microphone at his disposal, but at this point in time, I couldn't be more bored. Maybe his words might carry some, just some weight if he's ever won anything, but that's just not the case. By the way, I just broke my italics icon.

HOF resume: 0 career playoff wins (just like future HOFer Tony Romo!)

So it was on to 3 PM, where I switched off from 1250's new Paulsen and Crow and 970's Joe Bendel. And what were they both talking about for extended periods? Anthony Smith's unnecessary body blow on Hines Ward last week, discussed at length in a recent Gene Collier column, then brought up once again by Coach Tomlin at today's press conference. And while both shows probably discussed the incident a little too long for my liking, I thought it was pretty cut-and-dry: Smith was in the wrong, and it's just the latest in a career that's quickly becoming overshadowed by various incidents, such as a similar hit on Willie Reid in last year's camp, a 2006 showboating display against Carolina that enraged Dick LeBeau, and the infamous guarantee of victory against the then-undefeated New England Patriots in 2007.

Put it next to your ear...you can hear the ocean!

You just don't take shots at your own guys, especially at someone like Hines Ward, who you know will take it personally. Sure, Smith may be an intense guy, but there's a fine line between intense and alienating your own teammates. And it puts Tomlin in a delicate spot, as he clearly wants to defend his players in the media but not endorse Smith's actions.So after a day of talk radio, I can summarize the current pulse of Pittsburgh sports: Anthony Smith, Anthony Smith, Anthony Smith, and John Russell. Did I miss anything?

The Steelers Might have the Worst Luck

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 08:03:49 -0500

The Steelyard posted an injury report for Pittsburgh this week. This one stood out immediately. "Apparently, Kendall Simmons suffered a frostbite-like burn after applying a cold pack to his foot while watching Monday Night Football." Unbelievable. The Steelers won't be full strength for the Chiefs this weekend. Having a lineman hurt himself watching football doesn't. Follow the link to see who else won't be playing on Sunday.