(Redux) Black and Yellow: A Steelers M13 CCM

[Quackjack29]

Hello fellow Madden players, I bring you Black and Yellow!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amid Ravens Super Bowl win, the Steelers look to rebuild

It was an emotional night for the Balitmore Ravens. On the podium after defeating the surprising Minnesota Vikings, one of greatest to ever play the game retired with a second ring for the franchise. Ray Lewis left the game on the greatest stage, and the Pittsburgh steelers were left thinking "What happened?"

The Steelers only made the playoffs as the 6th seed at 9-7, and were quickly bounced out by the New England Patriots. The past 3 seasons have ended depressingly for the once dominant Steelers, and to make matters worse they were swept again by the now defending champion Ravens. It is coming more apparent that unless they can make another run, they will have to fight for second best in the division with the upstart Bengals and once pathetic Browns.

What can this Steelers team do to claim it's dominance once again?

[Quackjack29]

NFL loaded with surprise retirements, firings.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis got the boot this evening after an embarrassing late season collapse, but the most surprising coach move was the retirement of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

Mike Tomlin stated that he "had other business" to do, and would quit his job soon. He thanked the city of Pittsburgh for his experiences there, and wished the best for the franchise.

Neither Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley nor Defensive Coordinator Dick Lebeau wished to fill in his spot, so former High School and Collage coach Eriq Anderson was hired to fill in the spot.

No one saw it coming.

A personal friend of Tomlin, the unknown coach of local teams in Virginia was shown to Steelers ownership, and was hired soon afterwords. Not the best strategist, he is a top notch motivator, and many former players of his have pointed out they loved playing for him.

"He is a really good teacher of the game," said a collage player who decided not to give his name, "If he brings his skills to the NFL, who knows what can happen"

In other news, NFL players Ronde Barber, Terrell Owens, London Fletcher, Champ Bailey and Plaxico Burress called it quits as well.

[Quackjack29]

Offseason Wrap-up/Preseason Preview by position

QB- Superstar Ben Roethlisberger is still in his usual spot, but he has gotten a new backup.

38 Year old Charlie Batch surprisingly will stay with the Steelers for one more year, but the other two backups Byron Leftwich and Brian Hoyer decided to walk. Terrence George out of North Carolina was Pittsburgh's fourth round pick. He is of large stature, and has a strong arm, but his inconsistent play has worried some. We will see how he plays in the preseason.

HB- Big changes here. Starting HB Rashard Mendenhall and his #1 backup Isaac Redman both were let go. In a suprise move, Steelers coach Eriq Anderson traded the top 2 picks in 2014 for Alfred Morris of the Redskins. Jonathan Dwyer was retained, and Rashan Wallace out of Washington was drafted in the 6th round for Pittsburgh. Chris Rainey, Jonathan Dwyer, Rashawn Wallace and Alfred Morris will all compete for playing time.

FB- Will Johnson was kept. All there is to it.

WR- Big changes here as well. Mike Wallace was let go and signed with the Buffalo Bills. Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery were kept, and Randy Moss was signed to add another receiver to the mix, one with years of experiance. X'Zavious Bass was drafted out of Troy in the 2nd round. All five of these men will compete for time, but Brown will almost surely come out at #1.

TE- Steeler vet Heath Miller is still the go-to guy on offense, but his backup is now former Redskin Niles Paul, who was acquired in the Morris trade.

Offensive Line- LT George Foster was signed to add depth to the line. After missing most of 2012, Steelers 1st round pick David DeCastro will start at RG. Another Steelers sophomore, Mike Adams, will start at RT. Stud Center Maurkice Pouncey will start, as well as LG Willie Colon. Backups Marcus Gilbert, Doug Legursky, rookie Greg Johnson, Kelvin Beachum and George Foster will compete for time.

Defensive Line- Steelers vet Brett Keisel will start at RE, and another vet Casey Hampton will start at Nose Tackle. Cameron Hayward and Ziggy Hood will battle for the starting LE spot. Al Woods, Alameda Ta'amu and rookie Malcolm Attaway will fight for time.

Linebackers- The starting rotation of LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons is back, with their backups competing for time being Jason Worilds, Larry Foote, Sean Spence, Chris Carter and Adrian Robinson. #1 backup will surely be Foote.

CB- Ike Taylor will be the #1 guy, but the other four corners competing for time are Cortez Allen, Curtis Brown and rookie Jackson Carlson out of Alabama.

Safety- Troy Polamalu will start at SS, and Ryan Clark at FS. Their backups competing for time are Ryan Mundy, Will Allen, Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith and 7th round pick Jawan Washington out of Oregon.

Kicker- An all out war between Shaun Suisham, the kicker for the last few seasons and former Jets kicker Nick Folk.

Punter- Jeremy Kapinos, unless he fails to do his duties.

[Quackjack29]

Matchup Preview *|* August 11, 2013
	@
Detroit Lions (0-0, 0-0 Away)		Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0, 0-0 Home)
Injury Report Game Notes The preseason for the Steelers kicks off at Heinz where both teams look to test out their teams for the season. The Steelers will sit Big Ben and other starters to test out rookies and free agents, as well as let players try for regular season time. They will do this all four games before releasing a Week 1 depth chart for the game on the road against the defending champion Ravens.

[joshrmlb]

Looking good so far. Following.

[Quackjack29]

Updated to new edits.

[KBLover]

I hope X'Zavious Bass finds a spot for the name alone!

[Quackjack29]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

I hope X'Zavious Bass finds a spot for the name alone!

He is impressing me ALOT. For a projected 4th rounder I can't decided whether to up him or Moss. I think I will go Brown 1, Bass 2, Moss 3, Sanders 4, Cotchery 5.