More Articles About Grass

The New York Times has a feature story about the sod at Heinz Field in Wednesday's paper. Here's a peek:

"Steelers executives spent their last three road games walking around with their heads down. Not in shame, but in inspection of the turf fields at Gillette Stadium, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Rooneys, whose team is celebrating its 75th season this season, are traditionalists, and in their hearts, they want to stick with grass. They contend that the surface, until the Dolphins debacle, had been the best it has ever been."

The "problem," as discussed in the article, is that everyone except the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute plays on the field during the month of November. Unless that changes (or global warming kicks the temperatures up about 10 to 15 degrees) there won't be any long-term solutions other than Field Turf.

Cincinnati v. Steelers: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

For the first time since 2004 the Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh. Like all games there were things for Steelers fans to feel good about, and other things to make them cringe.

The Good
Saying that the Steelers' defense played "well" Sunday night is an understatement, in the extreme. The defense held the Bengals' offense to a season low point total (10), nearly 70 yards below their season average in rushing (23 yards v. 90.6 yards), and almost 100 yards below their season average in passing yards (175 yards v. 270.5). But as good as all of that is it is especially impressive when considering the tough spot that the defense found itself throughout the evening.

On three different occasions the Bengals began drives inside the Steelers' 30 yard line, and on two other occasions they began drives at their own 47 yard line. The sum total of those five drives was that the Bengals ended up with two field goal attempts, missing one. Statistically the Steelers are the #1 defense in the NFL, and Sunday evening they played like the #1 defense in the NFL.

An honorable mention has to go to the beleaguered offensive line -- no sacks (okay, one . . . for a safety . . . was negated because of a questionable defensive holding call) and decent (if not spectacular) rushing yardage -- 101 total for the Steelers -- allow the linemen to feel pretty good about things heading into their toughest game of the season.

One other honorable mention has to go to the Heinz Field grounds crew. Skewered by nearly everyone -- and rightfully so -- following the Monday night debacle versus Miami, according to Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer the field was in excellent condition before the rain began to fall. He did mention that conditions worsened as the rain continued to come down, but that the field was not any worse than it had been during prior visits to Pittsburgh.

The Bad
The poor quality of special teams play has been bemoaned frequently by everyone who watches Steelers football; but rather than kick/punt coverage, the problem against the Bengals was the kick/punt return teams.

The Bengals punted the ball three times and Alan Rossum was able to rack up five return yards. Total. Two kicks were returned for a total of 26 yards. Thirty-one total return yards on five opportunities? And the problem wasn't really Mr. Rossum -- he ran hard, for as long as he could, but there simply were not any seams for him to break through. Special teams coach Bob Ligashesky, and Assistant coach Amos Jones had to be pleased with the kick coverage teams (those units produced a turnover, and limited the Bengals to a combined average of 13.37 yards per return), but there is clearly more work to be done.

The Ugly
Willie Parker.

Fumbles.

Enough Said.

The Final Analysis
The game versus Cincinnati was the first of four games that the Steelers will play in less than three weeks, and it was important to get off to a good start -- which they did. However, the two most difficult games of the season lie ahead (versus New England 12/9, and Jacksonville 12/16) and their is still room, and a need, for much improvement especially along the offensive front and on special teams.

Fun Fact
After twelve games the Steelers have played seven games against six teams who have a losing record at this point in the season. Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Miami, New York Jets, and San Francisco have combined for a 20-52 record (with Baltimore playing New England Monday night), for a .277 winning percentage. Conversely, the Steelers' next two opponents have a combined record of 19-4 (with New England playing Baltimore on Monday evening) for a .826 winning percentage.

The Future of Heinz Field?

Following the Monday night Mud Bowl there's been nearly non-stop discussion regarding what the Steelers should do. The early favorite seems to be FieldTurf, and an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette specifically mentions a version of that turf known as Duraspine which has been installed at West Virginia University's Milan Puskar Stadium.

The miracle that is the internet allowed us to find a website for the product; and we were shocked to discover that Sea World in San Diego -- a favorite weekend destination -- makes extensive use of Duraspine. Until seeing that on the web we had no idea that there was anything fake about their grass.

Worse Than I Could Have Imagined

When, in light of the newly laid turf, a "disaster" was predicted for the Miami game one could never have imagined just how terrible the conditions would become.

Of course the prediction made by Pittsburgh Steelers Fanatic was that Willie Parker would have difficulty running -- ironically enough that was not really the case. While his per carry average (3.4 yards) was paltry, he did carry the ball 24 times for 81 yards; and given the miserable condition of the field that's like a 200-yard game.

But, of course, looking at game statistics really misses the big story of the game: the field itself; and more importantly just how in the world can a professional sports organization as well run as the Steelers allow such a debacle to occur.

The general perception is that Dan Rooney has a strong preference for playing on a natural surface, and there is little doubt that the resulting slow field that emerges as winter sets-in (i.e. frozen and muddy) serves to assist the Steelers, especially the (shaky) defensive secondary. But what happened Monday evening was, in a word, embarrassing, and I can honestly say that that isn't something that I've ever felt before as a fan of the Steelers.

The hope here is that the National Football League will impose a hefty fine on the Rooneys thereby sending a message that the amateurish attempts of the Steelers organization to create a playable field are unacceptable, and in so doing perhaps
nudge the Rooney family towards creating a more permanent, and effective, solution to what has consistently been one of the league's poorest playing surfaces.

I Predict a Disaster

The woeful condition of the turf at Heinz Field is something that occurs with the regularity of the swallows returning to Capistrano -- every single year. Now, with Pittsburgh high school football championship games to be played at the stadium Friday, Pitt playing on Saturday, and a little NFL game on Monday night, comes word from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of a unique "solution":

"Heinz Field will have a new look to it when the Steelers play the Dolphins Monday night.

It will have a whole new field.

The Post-Gazette has learned that the Steelers this weekend will cover their entire field with new sod, placing it over the DD GrassMaster field that is mostly composed of grass. However, that grass has deteriorated as usual into November and it won't be any better after the four WPIAL high school championship games are played at Heinz Field Friday, followed by Pitt vs. South Florida Saturday afternoon.

The current turf won't be replaced but covered up by the new sod, which is heavy enough that it won't have to be tied down. The work will begin after Pitt's game ends.

It's the first time sod will cover the DD GrassMaster that was installed four years ago . . .

The sod will stay in place through the rest of the 2007 NFL season."

And the prediction here is that Willie Parker will have the look of someone running on ice -- traction will be an issue, and a running game that has struggled the past couple of weeks will have something else about which to be concerned.

Heinz Field News

It seems there are some people in the NFL who don't like the field at Heinz Field, and apparently 53 of them play for the Baltimore Ravens.

The following is taken from an article by Edward Lee in the Baltimore Sun:

"Home-field advantage has taken on a literal meaning for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 65,050-seat Heinz Field in Pittsburgh is home to not only the Steelers, but also one of the worst playing surfaces in the NFL.

The turf there is called DD GrassMaster, a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and polypropylene fibers that are sewn vertically into the sod.

The grass, however, is nonexistent between the hash marks and through the entire length of the field and gives the stadium a sandlot look that seems to contradict the modern appeal the venue was supposed to present when it opened for the 2001 season.

The turf at Heinz Field was ranked as the sixth-worst surface in the league, according to an NFL Players Association poll that surveyed more than 1,500 players and was made public in February 2005.

The Ravens have played there once a year, but this week was the first time players revealed that they haven't warmed up to the turf.

'It's not a good field,' linebacker Ray Lewis said. 'That's no secret. Everybody knows it's a terrible field. The grass is always up. You're playing on plain dirt. You have to deal with it. Bottom line, you just got to go play.'

Added coach Brian Billick: 'They feel very good about their surface being in the condition that it's in. They feel like that's an advantage, and they play to that advantage. So, [you face] the great crowd and the field and having to be on the road late in the year and all the things that you struggle with on the road. That's why you like to play at home.'

The Ravens aren't going to win any sympathy from the Steelers. Coach Bill Cowher is a big advocate of the surface at Heinz Field.

'Both teams are playing on it. I like that stuff. That's what the game should be played on," Cowher told The Tribune Review of Pittsburgh earlier this month. "I think a natural surface is much better. Most players would much rather play on grass than any kind of artificial surface.' "

Another article about Heinz Field comes from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and discusses the less than adequate jumbo screen at the stadium, and its impending replacement:

" Heinz Field is going HD.

The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority yesterday approved the purchase of a new $2.4 million high-definition video display board for Heinz Field, to be ready for the 2007 season.

The Daktronics video board will replace the existing screen, which has been in use since the stadium opened in 2001 and which does not have high definition capabilities.

Steelers officials told the board they have had problems with the existing board, including times when they've lost the use of parts of the screen and in some cases feared it would not operate at all.

The new board also will enable 3,600 ticket holders who now are unable to see anything on the existing screen because of their viewing angle to get a clear picture. That will leave only about 400 fans without any ability to see the giant screen, which sits at the south end of the stadium.

Of the cost for the new board, $1.9 million will come from a SEA-overseen capital replacement reserve account funded by Heinz Field ticket surcharges. The Steelers will pay the rest."