Every Sunday during the offseason I plan on recapping for you seven items related to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL that may have fallen through the cracks the past week that should be worth your time to read or view. This weekly feature will be entitled “Steelers’ Seven Shots.”
Shot #1 – Did you miss Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this past week? Below is the full interview in which Brown talks about his kids, his time on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ being on the cover of Madden this year, Tom Brady, and the ESPYs.
Shot #2 – Speaking of Brown, he and fellow Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will be teaming up in at least one Pizza Hut commercial this fall. The Steelers and Pizza Hut announced on Friday that they are forming a formal partnership. Zipporah Allen, Pizza Hut’s chief marketing officer, talked a little about why the company chose the Steelers as their second team partner and what can be expected moving forward.
“Few franchises in sports are as revered as the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it is with great pride that we enter into a partnership with one of the most iconic teams in the NFL,” said Allen. “We look forward to the opportunity of offering fans of the Steel Curtain exclusive deals, promotions and entertainment throughout the season.”
Below is a behind-the-scene glimpse of the commercial Brown and Smith-Schuster shot over the weekend.
Shot #3 – Former Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison should probably stick to analyzing head coaches and not talk anymore about player contracts and the failed negotiations of others. This past week on Undisputed, Harrison said he believes the Steelers were unable to sign running back Le’Veon Bell long-term because they didn’t have the money to pay him.
Shot #4 – Speaking of Bell, former NFL agent Joel Corry had a detailed post this past week on what’s next for the Steelers running back past 2018 and why he failed to get a deal done the last two offseasons with Pittsburgh.
Shot #5 – If you like both the Steelers and roller coasters, you’re probably going to really enjoy what’s coming to Kennywood in 2019. According to news this past week, Kennywood’s long-rumored new attraction will be a Pittsburgh Steelers-themed roller coaster. The new ride attraction will reportedly take riders 220 feet high in the air and send them twisting all about through a series of nine inversions. Construction is now underway at Kennywood in the space formerly occupied by the Log Jammer flume ride. With s top speed of 75 mph, the “Steel Curtain” will have two 24-passenger trains running on tracks that extend over the Lagoon at one point along the two-minute thrill ride, park spokesman Nick Paradise reportedly said. You can see a simulated point of view of what an experience on the new Steelers roller coaster will ultimately look like.
Does your team have a rollercoaster? We do.
Coming to @Kenny_Kangaroo in 2019: The Steel Curtain. pic.twitter.com/j6hn7XKGOd
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 20, 2018
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Shot #6 – An interesting Sunday morning tidbit from Pro Football Focus. According to their stats, The Steelers offense ran at the third-slowest pace in the NFL last season (25.8 seconds per snap).
Shot #7 – Also from PFF, the Steelers defense missed a tackle on 16.1% of all run plays in 2017 and that was the second-worst percentage in the NFL. Here’s to hoping that the additions of veterans, linebacker Jon Bostic and safety Morgan Burnett, via free agency and rookie safety Terrell Edmunds via the draft, can maybe change that in 2018.
TOP THREE STEELERS RUN-DEFENSE GRADES AMONG RETURNING PLAYERS:
CB Mike Hilton – 86.0
DE Cameron Heyward – 83.6
OLB T.J. Watt – 79.6
