Arena football may be known for all the offense scored in it, but having some dominant defensive talent can go a long way towards separating a team from pretender and contender status.  The Power have been very focused on the defensive side of the ball but until today, they were still looking for a strong presence in the middle of their defense.

The Pittsburgh Power announced today that they have been assigned 1st team All-Arena jack linebacker Alvin Ray Jackson.  Jackson was a monster in the middle of the New Orleans VooDoo defense last year with 14 interceptions, which tied him with for the league lead in that category.   In two seasons in the AFL, he has amassed 22 interceptions overall.

“Alvin Ray makes any defense he plays in better,” remarked Power Head Coach Derek Stingley.  “My defense is his defense; it’s the defense where Alvin Ray cut his teeth in.  He knows all the checks, he understands all the situations like down and distance, field awareness, time and personnel.”

Stingley also commented on the impact Jackson will have in the turnover department.  “He’s a playmaker, his instincts are almost always spot on.”   This was something the Power really struggled with last year but the signing of Jackson, along with defensive backs Sergio Gilliam (six interceptions) and Chris LeFlore (nine interceptions), gives the Power defense a few ballhawks who will cause some serious havoc for opposing offenses in 2013.  Jackson and LeFlore both ranked in the top ten in the AFL last year in interceptions.  

The Power still have 13 open roster spots for the 2013 training camp roster and are hopeful that standout wide receiver and kick returner P.J. “Superman” Berry will also return to the team once he comes off the league’s injured reserve list.  By rule he is not eligible to sign with any team until then.

For the latest Power news keep checking in here at the blog.  Follow me on Twitter @SteelCityVoice as well.

Power sign eight more to the 2013 roster.

The Pittsburgh Power continues to stockpile talent for the 2013 season and have added some interesting players to the mix.

2010 Pittsburgh Power standout linebacker Gary Butler (6’1” 250 lbs, California of Pa.) is back with the team after a year off.  Nicknamed “The Bully” by the fans, Butler notched three sacks in his first four games, as well as three fumble recoveries.  He was also a presence with seven passes defensed.  Injuries slowed him down in the second half, but he was a vocal leader on the defense and should be a strong presence again this year for the Power.

Defensive lineman Dominie Pittman (6’3” 255 lbs, North Alabama) also returns to the Power coming off a solid pass rushing campaign last year.  He notched two multi-sack games against Orlando (Week 1) and Iowa (Week 17) and finished with 5.5 sacks overall.  He is looking to be a full time starter on the line this year for the Power.

The Power have also signed six rookies to the roster.

Running back Jason Ford is a 5’10 251 lb. bowling ball out of the University of Illinois.  Steeler fans will remember him from this year’s preseason roster.   He had 42 yards on 8 carries against the Colts before injuring his hamstring.  Considering he was merely an injury replacement on the roster to begin with, he was a longshot to make the team.  His bullying, bruising running style should make him a strong running back in the AFL.

Speedy wide receiver Curtis Walls (5’10”, 180 lbs., North Carolina A&T) has impressed the Power coaching staff enough to earn an invitation to training camp.  He played five seasons at North Carolina A&T (2003-07) and recorded 98 catches for 1,101 total receiving yards as a member of the Aggies.  He has also spent time on the rosters of the Montreal Alouettes (CFL) and the Tulsa Talons (AFL).

Defensive lineman Darius Powell is a 6’3” 245 pound pass rush specialist out of Fayetteville State.  He was 2009 Second team All-CIAA.  His best game was against St. Augustine where he had career-highs in tackles (7), tackles for loss (5), sacks (3), forced fumbles (3) and fumble recoveries (1).

Defensive back Dee Wolford was signed following his appearance at open player tryouts for the Power.  Dee spent two seasons at Geneva College (‘04-‘05) where he was named an All-MSFA Pre-Season All-American, and two-Time All-MSFA Defensive Player of the Week.  He totaled 79 tackles, 27 break-ups, and five interceptions. Wolford finished his college career with two seasons (’06-’07) at Shippensburg University by adding 83 tackles, two sacks, 11 break-ups, and one interception.  Wolford also played in 2010 for the Reading Express of the Indoor Football League.

The Power have also been assigned defensive tackle Willie McGinnis (three year starter at Rhode Island, five sacks) and defensive end Quintin Anderson from Wagner who as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Pittsburgh Power have used the exclusive free agency period to sign two players to the 2013 roster from last year’s squad.

Wide receiver Mike “The Joystick” Washington will return for his third season in the AFL, all for the Pittsburgh Power. The local Aliquippa native has been very consistent for the Power during his career, notching 114 receptions for 1,367 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2011 and 115 receptions for 1,484 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2012. He earned AFL Playmaker of the Week after catching 13 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns against Cleveland on April 28.

The Power have also signed defensive back Chris “Gingabread” LeFlore, who set the franchise single season record for interceptions last season with nine. Leflore, a three-year AFL veteran, helped lead a Power defense that was one of the stingiest in the league in terms of yards allowed. His two interceptions against Orlando on April 14th helped spark the largest successful comeback (35 points) in AFL history.

When asked what helped him make the decision to return, LeFlore said, “I love the fans in Pittsburgh. That’s one of the reasons I came back.”

Pittsburgh has until Monday to exclusively sign players who were on the 2012 roster. The Power have already teased fans with a big announcement on Monday, so perhaps another key player is already in the mix.

The Power will also be holding open tryouts for the team on November 10th. For more information about how to tryout, go to www.pittsburghpowerfootball.com

Pittsburgh Steelers Need To Shift Their Focus Back Onto The Field

Rashard Mendenhall is back at his old Twitter nonsense. This time he is calling out Steeler Nation for not supporting this team.

“Seriously, if you’re gonna talk trash about your team and everyone on it, don’t call yourself a fan. A fan is a supporter.” – Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall on Twitter)

Is it really talking trash, or more like discussing the cold hard truth about this team? My gut feeling is that the Steelers need a wakeup call in more ways than one.

Maybe the Steelers need to focus more on themselves and not what the fans or media are saying about them. They have enough issues to worry about. In the end, nothing a fan or media person says about this team matters. All that matters is that you go out and win football games like you are paid to do.

This team is clearly lacking in the focus department. Plenty of stupid penalties, missed tackles, blown coverage, poor fundamentals, poor coaching and playing down to opponents. You name it, they are doing it. They are very hard to watch right now.

Rashard, you are paid to play the game of football. You are paid to win games. Fans pay good money to see you guys play on the field, and many invest their time and passion into a team. They identify with a team. You represent the city of Pittsburgh on and off the field.

God forbid Steeler fans actually call out the team for playing lackluster, uninspired football on the field. Are the fans supposed to blindly applaud when this team is losing to the worst teams in the league? Oakland and Tennessee are terrible and Denver is also a losing team and yet the Black and Gold have found a way to lose to all three.

Pittsburgh fans are some of the most knowledgeable football fans in the world. They recognize a stinker when they see it, and the Steelers right now stink with the worst of them. There’s no mistaking their 2-3 record, they’ve earned it by being one of the most undisciplined teams this year in terms of penalties. They’ve dug themselves a hole by letting teams hang around and steal victory from them. Good teams find ways to win close games like this, the Steelers aren’t and therefore, they aren’t a good team.

At what point do we see these losses to inferior teams and conclude the Steelers might also be an inferior team? This was supposed to be the “easy” part of the schedule, and they are 2-3 and face a must-win game next week against Cincinnati. Lose that one and fall to 2-4 with 4 losses in conference already.

The defense can’t stop blowing fourth quarter leads. The coaching staff makes head scratching decisions like going for a career long field goal with a high likelihood of failure. Shockingly, the defense couldn’t stop the Titans from moving right into field goal range. Not like we haven’t seen that story out numerous times this year.

Despite all this, you’d think Mendenhall would be more concerned with finding ways to improve his game. Maybe even stay on the field and help contribute. With all the time he spends standing on the sidelines lately, maybe it’s time for the Steelers to hire actor Orlando Jones to serve as his double. They’d probably save some money on his contract.

The Steelers need to get their focus back and soon, or else they’ll have an entire offseason to spend tweeting about how good they are. Seeing the lack of focus from them, maybe they’re already there.

Are The Pittsburgh Pirates Allergic To Winning?

After today’s loss to the New York Mets, there is absolutely no margin for error if the Pittsburgh Pirates hope to end their 19-year losing streak. If the Pirates truly want to crush their fans hearts in style, they should win four games then lose the last two and finish just below the mark. That seems to be how they do things around here.

Look at the fact they got to 16 games over .500 and most experts, including myself, thought there was no way in hell even the Pirates could blow such a lead. Boy was I wrong. Hey if you’re going to suck, you might as well do it in style.

Do you think I’m being too negative? What about the message being sent by the organization this week? I think the fans and the players, and the rest of major League Baseball have gotten that message loud and clear. Winning is an allergy around here.

Before you say I’m crazy in suggesting this team is allergic to winning, take a look back at 2010. Matt Walbeck was the manager of the Altoona Curve, the Pirates AA affiliate, and led the team to the Eastern League Title. He was fired shortly thereafter when Assistant GM Kyle Stark made some BS comment about how Walbeck didn’t fit in with the organization.

That’s right; a manager had success in the organization and was promptly canned. Here we are two years later and after back to back collapses, no one is getting fired?

Say whaaaaaaaat?

I’m trying to wrap my brain around that, I really am. Of course it probably comes down to money. In spite of the constant reminders this organization would spend money when the time was right, we got to this year’s trade deadline, and the team went cheap. They made trades for reclamation projects with years of control rather than one or two impact bats that may have helped jumpstart a second half offense that, at its most generous description, is anemic.

It’s entirely possible Bob Nutting doesn’t want to spend the money to pay off one GM contract and hire another guy. That could possibly lead to replacing and paying for two managers as well.

Hindsight might tell us maybe Huntington felt this team wasn’t really good enough, but that’s just a copout excuse. The message was sent to players like Andrew McCutchen that this team will not do everything possible to win. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

What free agent with any modicum of talent would consider coming here? We saw all of these players at the deadline reject the notion of playing here. I thought perhaps the fun start to this season would change that perception. The players were having fun flashing Zoltan signs. The Fans were rallying around this team. Once again their hopes were dashed.

It’s pretty sad when the fans are willing to go all-in and management isn’t. The city of Pittsburgh deserves better than an ownership group willing to accept this culture.