Great catch by JuJu.
The Official 2024-2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Thread
- Thread starter jack walsh13
- Start date
That fool is getting lucky. He's my QB in fantasy this week though and I only need 7 more pts from him.....so go Steelers lol
Hope you get your 7 but if we stop here.. they gonna lean on the run
Way too much time for all that. Steelers gonna need another score.
I think Conner maybe able to run over them and run the clock out. He'll certainly throw again though.
Come on man not a good time for penalties. 
Good run Conner!!! Best game of the year. Having Nix back makes a world of difference in the run game.
Damn shame Benny Snell got hurt. Wanted to see him a little more. Luckily Samuels will be back next week.
Fuck, now they will run it out
Told you. But I think you should be good. Mason got a few yards on that drive. 
Huge play by Nelson!!!!!
Moar!!Huge play by Nelson!!!!!
T.J. Watt is an underrated beast!!!
Damn Conner hurt now.
Yea. It looked like the trainer who was checking Conner said “clavicle.”Damn Conner hurt now.
Right. Samuels will be back next week though. James is tough. Hopefully Snell will be able to go next week.
STEELERSBanner relishing role as fan favorite
ByDale Lolley
Posted on October 29, 2019
STEELERS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN ZACH BANNER (72) TAKES IN THE CROWD CHEERING FOR HIM LATE IN MONDAY NIGHT'S WIN OVER THE DOLPHINS -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
It started early in Monday night's 27-14 victory by the Steelers over the Dolphins.
Every time referee Ron Torbert would announce, "Number 72 has reported as an eligible receiver," the crowd at Heinz Field would cheer.
No. 72 in this case is backup offensive tackle Zach Banner. Like many Steelers offensive linemen before him -- B.J. Finney, Jerald Hawkins, Chuks Okorafor and Chris Hubbard among them -- he has been used as an extra blocker, meaning he has to report as an eligible receiver.
And he reported as eligible a lot in the win over the Dolphins, as the Steelers ran the ball 29 times for 158 yards, with James Conner gaining 145 of that on 23 carries before leaving late in the fourth quarter with an AC joint injury in his shoulder.
Banner, who was signed by the Steelers following his release by the Panthers last season, hasn't talked to the media much -- if at all -- this season. He didn't want to jinx what he had going on in Pittsburgh.
The former fourth-round draft pick of the Colts in 2017 has bounced around the league since then, spending time with the Browns and Panthers. But he's found a home with the Steelers.
And even become a reluctant fan favorite.
"I love playing football now, like I did the rest of my life until that first year and a half in the NFL," Banner told me. "I love it here. I really do. To have the relationship with the GM, the owner of the team, the head coach. They’re backing me up. Smacking me on the (butt) after I pancake somebody. And these guys (pointing to the other offensive linemen), Matt (Feiler) is the one who told me to do the interviews. He was like, ‘C’mon brother, you got like 40 snaps today.’"
It wasn't always so easy for Banner, a five-star recruit at USC. He was a very good player for the Trojans, but he allowed his weight to balloon in his rookie NFL season, costing him jobs.
When the Steelers signed him last season after he was released at the end of the preseason by the Colts, he spent the entire season on the active roster, but failed to appear in a single game.
What he found, however, was a family atmosphere in which he could thrive. So he re-dedicated himself to the game. He dropped 40 pounds. And he earned the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates.
A quick-witted guy in the locker room, Banner, the son of former NFL star Lincoln Kennedy, who was raised by Ron and Vanessa Banner, was a fun guy to be around off the field. But he was starting to have fun on it again.
That's evident in his play, which has endeared itself to Steelers fans.
"I think at one point, one of those last drives, they said, '72 has entered the game, he's eligible,'" said quarterback Mason Rudolph, whose locker at the Rooney Sports Complex is next to Banner's.
"I said, 'Are they cheering for you?' And he was like, 'Yeah, they are.'"
Rudolph made an expression when he said that, putting a very Banner-like expression on his face:
"He's really happy about that. We definitely have to dial up a shot to him downfield or somewhere. I don't know how far he can get downfield, but we'll get him the ball at some point."
A star basketball player in high school, Banner told me in the preseason when he started working in the tight-end role that he had caught some passes in high school, as well.
But his goal remains eventually finding a starting role in the NFL.
"I really want to be a starter in this league," he told me. "Until then, I know my role. I love that role. When I’m not in, I’m signaling to the guys what front they’re in, like if they’re in nickel or base. That way we get better offensive-line play. I just like being part of the team."
And he likes the love from the fans, too.
"Fans are going to find their thing," he said. "I’m super grateful. It’s awesome. As a professional, you’ve got to be able to focus. I didn’t start cheesing until late."
But he will "cheese," as he put it -- mug for the cameras. It's all in fun as part of the effort he's putting forth.
"It’s effort. And if they acknowledge the effort, I’m going to keep giving it to them," Banner told me. "I’m going to keep going. I’m not going to stop until my legs come off."
https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2019/10/29/steelers-zach-banner-cheers-fan-favorite-dolphins-fdl/
Maybe I'll watch a game!!!! Maybe!!!!
Who is Zach Banner, other than the most-eligible Steeler? 'A one-of-a-kind guy'
To know Zach Banner is to hear him.
“From the moment he got to training camp, you were kind of like, ‘Who’s this guy who’s talking a lot?’ He just wouldn't be quiet,” Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph thought back to last summer. “It went from a little bit too much at times to, like, you love it now. He’s hilarious.”
“He talks a lot, and he talks loud,” said rookie tight end Zach Gentry. “And he’s not afraid to come at you.”
“Very positive, very loud,” said practice squad wide receiver Tevin Jones. “I feel like his body frame fits his personality. Great person to be around.”
This is what you hear when Banner enters the game: “No. 72 is reporting as an eligible receiver.”
This is what Rudolph hears: “He kind of lets out this, like, psychotic scream when he’s heading onto the field for that ‘big’ personnel. I hear that scream and you just know there’s big energy coming into the huddle, and you know he’s ready to smack someone in the face.”
That’s Banner in a 6-foot-8, 340-pound nutshell, that frame Jones alluded to. He’s the Steelers’ sixth or seventh offensive lineman, one who has elicited more attention than he ever expected in a season in which none of the starters have missed a game.
You could call Banner a walking paradox, but he’s more of a blocking paradox. He’s easy to get to know but also an acquired taste. He’s usually the most boisterous in any room but has been hesitant to do interviews, because he doesn’t believe he’s arrived. Banner made an exception and broke his unofficial vow of silence after Monday’s 27-13 win against Miami, the night he played his most snaps of the season, as a Steeler and in his NFL career, with 26, all as an extra blocker. And, accordingly, that meant a season-high in the announcements that note Banner’s presence at Heinz Field, each one drawing a louder and louder ovation from the crowd.
But, to placate Zach Banner, this will be a story that doesn't quote Zach Banner. It’s not hard to get teammates to talk about the their unofficial roast-master general.
"He’ll make some comments, make some jabs,” Rudolph said with a smile. “Great sense of sarcastic humor, for sure. There’s a lot that I maybe can't say on this.”
It wouldn't be a stretch to call Banner a fascinating NFL player. Born on Christmas in 1993, Banner was a four-star recruit in high school and carried lofty expectations with him into college at Southern California. Growing up in Tacoma, Wash., Banner was a good enough athlete that he also starred in basketball at Lakes High School, even walking onto the team his freshman year at USC.
“What a unique teammate to have,” Rudolph, whose locker is next to Banner’s at the team practice facility, was saying last week, a few days before Banner’s big night. “He’s a one-of-a-kind guy.”
Given his size and his surname, Banner sometimes refers to his blocks as a “Hulk smash.” When the Steelers get into the victory formation for their quarterback to take a knee, Banner mockingly sets up as if he’s trying to stop Lawrence Taylor.
“He’s an exciting guy,” said right tackle Matt Feiler. “He’s very verbal, but he’s a hard worker.”
With Banner, if he’s chattering, he’s probably joking. Or, he’s acting as if he’s deadly serious, but he’s really not.
“He tries to figure out how your personality is,” Feiler said with a chuckle, “and feeds off that.”
Take Christian DiLauro, for example, a player who draws paychecks from the Steelers but is one you might have never heard of. DiLauro is a practice squad offensive lineman signed by the Steelers two weeks ago, whose locker is on the other side of Rudolph.
His time in Pittsburgh might be brief. He wasn't drafted last year, has never appeared in an NFL game and isn't particularly close to cracking the active Steelers roster, but he spent some time with the Cleveland Browns, just as Banner did two years ago.
“He was the first guy to kind of reach out to me, because he knew that,” DiLauro said of joining the Steelers. “I would definitely say he’s the one who welcomed me the quickest — the minute I got here.”
One-man welcoming committee is just one role Banner serves in the locker room, in addition to being the de facto tight end when the Steelers go to their heaviest formations. He’s also a popular DJ in the weight room, with an eclectic taste, perhaps not surprising for a mountain of a man with bouncy black curly locks who actually performed a crowd-pleasing routine to “What a Feeling” from “Flashdance” at the annual Steelers fashion show in early October.
“He can play anything for anyone in the room,” Rudolph said. “He reads the room. He gets the feel, and he attacks it.”
“He’s a big kid off the field,” said nose tackle Javon Hargrave. “On the field, he’s a giant, destroying people.”
‘
A unique character’
Certainly, Banner wants to be known for being a significant contributor — maybe even a starter — rather than as a “cult hero,” as coach Mike Tomlin put it Tuesday. And he has no shortage of motivation to get there.
Sunday, the Steelers play host to the Indianapolis Colts, the team that drafted Banner late in the fourth round in 2017, after he bypassed what could’ve been his redshirt senior season at USC. Banner didn't even make it to the regular season, getting cut coming out of training camp.
He landed in Cleveland, where he made his NFL debut by playing in the final eight games of his rookie year but was released again the ensuing offseason. Picked up by Carolina, dropped by Carolina after two months and some change. Banner will be the first to admit he didn't love football for that first year and a half. He was embarrassed, and worst of all for his NFL prospects, he was out of shape, weighing 420 pounds.
And then, last August, he got a call from the Steelers.
“I’ll tell you what,” Steelers offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett said this past offseason, “Zach Banner is lightyears away from where he came in to now. … He’s the type of guy, he’s sitting there talking to the young guys, trying to give them advice, because he’s already been through it. He’s already been a guy who’s been put on the street and knows what he’s got to do to stay here.”
More than four months after those words from Sarrett, Banner has, indeed, stayed here. Maybe even carved out a little niche for himself.
“He’s really locked in and changed his body, changed his mindset. He’s had some ups and downs early on in his career, so for him to have the crowd going crazy — it doesn't take much to get Zach excited, so I know having Heinz Field like that cheering for him, it’s deserved from the work I’ve seen him put in,” running back James Conner said Monday on his radio show. “All of us on the team, we’ll make sure he doesn't get too big-headed, but he deserves it.”
Speaking of weekly radio appearances on 93.7 The Fan, that’s another place you can find Banner in his element, at 6 p.m. every Thursday. At first blush, it’s a bit strange for a backup lineman to have that kind of gig, but Banner might just be perfect for it. If Devlin Hodges was worried about taking any hits from the Chargers defense before his first NFL start, Banner thickened his skin with a barrage of cut-ups the night “Duck” agreed to join the show.
But Banner doesn't just embrace being a proud son of Guam with some ink. He actively raises money for his B3 Foundation, which supports children in academics and athletics in Tacoma, Los Angeles and Guam. For the Dolphins game, he auctioned off two tickets to the highest bid from a Steelers fan. Appropriately, the winner got to see, and hear, a whole lot of Zach Banner.
“It’s refreshing, because there’s somebody that really lightens the mood and makes you enjoy football, even in those tense moments,” Rudolph said.
“We appreciate him being here,” Jones said. “Because if it’s a dull moment in the morning, he’ll bring out the energy. He brings the best out of you.”
“He likes to take jabs,” said Gentry, the rookie who also has benefited from Banner’s mentoring side. “You’ll be having a conversation with somebody else, and he’ll just kind of insert himself in, hit you with a little jab and walk off, and you’re like ‘OK … ‘
“He’s a goofy guy. I have a lot of fun with Banner, but yeah, he’s a unique character. I don't know if I’ve met anybody quite like him.”
Did we mention that Banner is one of two NFL players who can call himself a Chamorro? In other words, Banner’s mother is from Guam, and he now proudly sports a “CHAMORRO PRIDE” tattoo that covers his entire back. Rudolph even calls him “Chief Chamorro” as a lighthearted but admiring nod to Banner’s heritage.
Banner is a cool dude.
To know Zach Banner is to hear him.
“From the moment he got to training camp, you were kind of like, ‘Who’s this guy who’s talking a lot?’ He just wouldn't be quiet,” Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph thought back to last summer. “It went from a little bit too much at times to, like, you love it now. He’s hilarious.”
“He talks a lot, and he talks loud,” said rookie tight end Zach Gentry. “And he’s not afraid to come at you.”
“Very positive, very loud,” said practice squad wide receiver Tevin Jones. “I feel like his body frame fits his personality. Great person to be around.”
This is what you hear when Banner enters the game: “No. 72 is reporting as an eligible receiver.”
This is what Rudolph hears: “He kind of lets out this, like, psychotic scream when he’s heading onto the field for that ‘big’ personnel. I hear that scream and you just know there’s big energy coming into the huddle, and you know he’s ready to smack someone in the face.”
That’s Banner in a 6-foot-8, 340-pound nutshell, that frame Jones alluded to. He’s the Steelers’ sixth or seventh offensive lineman, one who has elicited more attention than he ever expected in a season in which none of the starters have missed a game.
You could call Banner a walking paradox, but he’s more of a blocking paradox. He’s easy to get to know but also an acquired taste. He’s usually the most boisterous in any room but has been hesitant to do interviews, because he doesn’t believe he’s arrived. Banner made an exception and broke his unofficial vow of silence after Monday’s 27-13 win against Miami, the night he played his most snaps of the season, as a Steeler and in his NFL career, with 26, all as an extra blocker. And, accordingly, that meant a season-high in the announcements that note Banner’s presence at Heinz Field, each one drawing a louder and louder ovation from the crowd.
But, to placate Zach Banner, this will be a story that doesn't quote Zach Banner. It’s not hard to get teammates to talk about the their unofficial roast-master general.
"He’ll make some comments, make some jabs,” Rudolph said with a smile. “Great sense of sarcastic humor, for sure. There’s a lot that I maybe can't say on this.”
It wouldn't be a stretch to call Banner a fascinating NFL player. Born on Christmas in 1993, Banner was a four-star recruit in high school and carried lofty expectations with him into college at Southern California. Growing up in Tacoma, Wash., Banner was a good enough athlete that he also starred in basketball at Lakes High School, even walking onto the team his freshman year at USC.
“What a unique teammate to have,” Rudolph, whose locker is next to Banner’s at the team practice facility, was saying last week, a few days before Banner’s big night. “He’s a one-of-a-kind guy.”
Given his size and his surname, Banner sometimes refers to his blocks as a “Hulk smash.” When the Steelers get into the victory formation for their quarterback to take a knee, Banner mockingly sets up as if he’s trying to stop Lawrence Taylor.
“He’s an exciting guy,” said right tackle Matt Feiler. “He’s very verbal, but he’s a hard worker.”
With Banner, if he’s chattering, he’s probably joking. Or, he’s acting as if he’s deadly serious, but he’s really not.
“He tries to figure out how your personality is,” Feiler said with a chuckle, “and feeds off that.”
Take Christian DiLauro, for example, a player who draws paychecks from the Steelers but is one you might have never heard of. DiLauro is a practice squad offensive lineman signed by the Steelers two weeks ago, whose locker is on the other side of Rudolph.
His time in Pittsburgh might be brief. He wasn't drafted last year, has never appeared in an NFL game and isn't particularly close to cracking the active Steelers roster, but he spent some time with the Cleveland Browns, just as Banner did two years ago.
“He was the first guy to kind of reach out to me, because he knew that,” DiLauro said of joining the Steelers. “I would definitely say he’s the one who welcomed me the quickest — the minute I got here.”
One-man welcoming committee is just one role Banner serves in the locker room, in addition to being the de facto tight end when the Steelers go to their heaviest formations. He’s also a popular DJ in the weight room, with an eclectic taste, perhaps not surprising for a mountain of a man with bouncy black curly locks who actually performed a crowd-pleasing routine to “What a Feeling” from “Flashdance” at the annual Steelers fashion show in early October.
“He can play anything for anyone in the room,” Rudolph said. “He reads the room. He gets the feel, and he attacks it.”
“He’s a big kid off the field,” said nose tackle Javon Hargrave. “On the field, he’s a giant, destroying people.”
‘
A unique character’
Certainly, Banner wants to be known for being a significant contributor — maybe even a starter — rather than as a “cult hero,” as coach Mike Tomlin put it Tuesday. And he has no shortage of motivation to get there.
Sunday, the Steelers play host to the Indianapolis Colts, the team that drafted Banner late in the fourth round in 2017, after he bypassed what could’ve been his redshirt senior season at USC. Banner didn't even make it to the regular season, getting cut coming out of training camp.
He landed in Cleveland, where he made his NFL debut by playing in the final eight games of his rookie year but was released again the ensuing offseason. Picked up by Carolina, dropped by Carolina after two months and some change. Banner will be the first to admit he didn't love football for that first year and a half. He was embarrassed, and worst of all for his NFL prospects, he was out of shape, weighing 420 pounds.
And then, last August, he got a call from the Steelers.
“I’ll tell you what,” Steelers offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett said this past offseason, “Zach Banner is lightyears away from where he came in to now. … He’s the type of guy, he’s sitting there talking to the young guys, trying to give them advice, because he’s already been through it. He’s already been a guy who’s been put on the street and knows what he’s got to do to stay here.”
More than four months after those words from Sarrett, Banner has, indeed, stayed here. Maybe even carved out a little niche for himself.
“He’s really locked in and changed his body, changed his mindset. He’s had some ups and downs early on in his career, so for him to have the crowd going crazy — it doesn't take much to get Zach excited, so I know having Heinz Field like that cheering for him, it’s deserved from the work I’ve seen him put in,” running back James Conner said Monday on his radio show. “All of us on the team, we’ll make sure he doesn't get too big-headed, but he deserves it.”
Speaking of weekly radio appearances on 93.7 The Fan, that’s another place you can find Banner in his element, at 6 p.m. every Thursday. At first blush, it’s a bit strange for a backup lineman to have that kind of gig, but Banner might just be perfect for it. If Devlin Hodges was worried about taking any hits from the Chargers defense before his first NFL start, Banner thickened his skin with a barrage of cut-ups the night “Duck” agreed to join the show.
But Banner doesn't just embrace being a proud son of Guam with some ink. He actively raises money for his B3 Foundation, which supports children in academics and athletics in Tacoma, Los Angeles and Guam. For the Dolphins game, he auctioned off two tickets to the highest bid from a Steelers fan. Appropriately, the winner got to see, and hear, a whole lot of Zach Banner.
“It’s refreshing, because there’s somebody that really lightens the mood and makes you enjoy football, even in those tense moments,” Rudolph said.
“We appreciate him being here,” Jones said. “Because if it’s a dull moment in the morning, he’ll bring out the energy. He brings the best out of you.”
“He likes to take jabs,” said Gentry, the rookie who also has benefited from Banner’s mentoring side. “You’ll be having a conversation with somebody else, and he’ll just kind of insert himself in, hit you with a little jab and walk off, and you’re like ‘OK … ‘
“He’s a goofy guy. I have a lot of fun with Banner, but yeah, he’s a unique character. I don't know if I’ve met anybody quite like him.”
Did we mention that Banner is one of two NFL players who can call himself a Chamorro? In other words, Banner’s mother is from Guam, and he now proudly sports a “CHAMORRO PRIDE” tattoo that covers his entire back. Rudolph even calls him “Chief Chamorro” as a lighthearted but admiring nod to Banner’s heritage.
Banner is a cool dude.
Fuck Bush got beat bad on that touchdown.
Looks like we gotta keep Dupree now!!
A strike thrown by Mason!!! Touchdown!!!!
That block by Heyward may come back to be huge!!!!
