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STEELERS vs. TITANS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 KICKOFF 8:30 P.M. HEINZ FIELD
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Steelers (0-0) vs. Titans (0-0)
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*Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0) vs. Tennessee Titans (0-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m., ET
Site: Heinz Field (65,050) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
TV Coverage: NBC (locally WPXI-TV, Channel 11)
Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play) Cris Collinsworth (color analyst) Andrea Kremer (sideline)
Local Radio: Steelers Radio Network WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) Tunch Ilkin (color analyst) Craig Wolfley (sideline)
Spanish Radio: Grupo Radio Acir (Mexico City) 88.9 FM
**A Look at the Coaches
**Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
Overall Regular-season Record: 22-10 (.688)/second season
Regular-season Record at Pittsburgh: 22-10 (.688)/second season
Playoff Record/Years: 3-1/two years
Tennessee Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher
Overall Regular-Season Record: 128-103 (.554)/15th season
Regular-Season Record at Tennessee/Houston: 128-103 (.554)/15th season
Playoff Record/Years: 5-6/six years
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Series History
*Series History: Series began in 1970
Overall: Pittsburgh leads 41-30
At Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh leads 24-11
At Tennessee/Houston: Tennessee leads 19-17
Neutral Sites: n/a
Last Regular-Season Meeting: Dec. 21, 2008 (in Tennessee)
Tennessee 31, Pittsburgh 14
Postseason Series: Pittsburgh leads 3-1
*(postseason record included in overall series record)
• Franchise in Houston prior to 1997; known as Oilers prior to 1999
Pittsburgh is 41-30 (including postseason) all-time against the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers, including a 24-11 advantage at home...Tennessee defeated the Steelers, 31-14, in Week 16 last season in a battle for the top seed in the AFC Conference at LP Field in Nashville...Pittsburgh has a record of 3-3 versus Tennessee in Pittsburgh since the Titans relocated in 1997, including victories in the past two games at Heinz Field...Pittsburgh has a 3-1 all-time record against the Tennessee/Houston franchise in season openers...Pittsburgh's season opening victories include one defeat since the franchise moved to Tennessee, 34-7, at Heinz Field in 2005, and two over the Houston Oilers, 29-24, at the Astrodome in 1992 and 31-17 at Three Rivers Stadium in 1980...Pittsburgh's only season-opening loss to the Tennessee/Houston franchise was a 19-7 setback at Three Rivers Stadium on September 20, 1970, the Oilers' first game as a member of the NFL...the Steelers have an all-time record of 11-6 against the Tennessee/Houston franchise in the home game following a loss at Tennessee/Houston...Pittsburgh has an all-time record of 12-3 versus Tennessee/Houston in September, including a 7-2 mark at home...Pittsburgh holds a 6-4 advantage versus Tennessee/Houston in prime time matchups, including a 4-1 mark at home...the Houston Oilers defeated the Steelers 6-0 in the Astrodome on Dec. 4, 1980 in the two franchise's only other Thursday Night meeting.
**Steelers-Titans Connections
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Steelers-Titans Connections: Several Steelers have ties to the Titans and the Nashville area.
Linebackers coach Keith Butlerplayed linebacker at the University of Memphis (1974-77) and also coached at his alma mater from 1990-97. Wide receivers coach Randy Fichtner coached at Memphis twice (1990-93, 2001-06). Titans with ties to the Steelers or Western Pa. include WR Nate Washington, who played for the Steelers from 2005-08. S Chris Hopealso played for the Steelers from 2002-05. QB Kerry Collins, played collegiately at Penn State. Assistant special teams coach Marty Galbraithcoached at Pitt in 1991, while offensive line coach Mike Munchakplayed at Penn State.
*What To Look For
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*PITTSBURGH TEAM NOTES
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• Pittsburgh looks for its seventh straight win on Kickoff Weekend, which is the longest in the NFL.
• The Steelers look to improve to 39-32-4 all-time on Kickoff Weekend.
• The Steelers are looking to improve to 39-30 all-time against the Tennessee franchise (formerly the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Oilers).
• Pittsburgh looks to improve 4-3 against the Titans in Pittsburgh since the team relocated in 1997.
• The Steelers look to improve to 4-1 all-time in season openers against the Tennessee/Houston franchise.
• The Steelers look to improve to
*PITTSBURGH INDIVIDUAL NOTES
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*QB Ben Roethlisberger
• Needs 26 yards passing to reach 15,000 passing yards in his career, becoming just the second QB (Terry Bradshaw) in team history to accomplish the feat. Roethlisberger currently has 14,974 passing yards.
• Needs two pass completions to move into second place on the team's all-time list ahead of Kordell Stewart (1,190). Roethlisberger currently has 1,189 career pass completions.
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*WR Hines Ward
• *Needs one touchdown to give him 454 career points, which would move him into sixth place on the team's all-time scoring list ahead of Norm Johnson (452 career points).
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*RB Willie Parker
• *Needs 11 rushing yards to reach 5,000 for his career, joining only Franco Harris (11,950) and Jerome Bettis (10,571). Parker currently has 4,989 career rushing yards.
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*TE Heath Miller
*• *Needs 68 receiving yards to give him 2,000 for his career, becoming just the fifth tight end in team history to eclipse the plateau. Miller currently has 1,932 receiving yards.
• Needs four touchdowns to move into second place ahead of Eric Green (24) on the team's all-time list for tight ends. Miller currently has 21 career touchdown receptions.
