Tag Archives: pittsburgh steelers

NFL

Cockrell, Ross

Card: Sage 2014 (212/250)
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

Ross Cockrell played collegially at Duke where he was a starter as a true Freshman. In 49 games playing for the Blue Devils, Ross had 233 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 12 interceptions for 80 yards and a TD.  A solid special teamer, Ross also holds the school record for the longest blocked field goal return for a TD with a 75-yard gallop against FIU in 2012. Ross performed well at the combine, and improved upon his numbers at his pro day.

Cockrell was selected in the 4th round by the Buffalo Bills, but after seeing limited action his rookie year, he’d be cut a year later. The Bills hoped to bring him back to the practice squad, but he’d jump to the Pittsburgh Steelers instead.  He quickly assimilated the defensive game plan and started 7 games in 2015. He posted 2 interceptions, 11 pass deflections, a forced fumble, and 33 tackles.  During 2016, Cockrell started the entire slate of games, and had 47 tackles, 14 pass deflections, and a fumble recovery. He’d be traded to the New York Giants in 2017 after the arrival of Joe Haden in Pittsburgh. Over 9 starts, Ross recorded 3 interceptions, 11 pass deflections, and 37 tackles.

Always flying under the radar, I had hoped the Texans would make a move for Ross, who is a pretty good slot man, however they had their fill of DBs bringing in Aaron Colvin and Honey Badger.

Ross took his talent to another defensive minded franchise instead for 2018- The Carolina Panthers. Ross had a pretty solid camp ongoing, and was expected to start, until he broke his leg. He spent the entire season on IR.

NFL

Lipps, Louis

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 7/8    Received: 7/18   (10 days)*
* Fee enclosed

Louis Lipps is a highly reliable TTM respondent, provided you insert his very nominal fee. He’s got a great signature with two very nice loops in it, which accentuates these cards very nicely. Once ProSet and Score came out, a bevy of really nice action shots popped up of him. Among my favorites are these Proset entries and the Gameday card I got autographed. I always hesitated getting Lipps- much like many members of the Steelers, because of the rivalry that they shared during the late eighties and early nineties with the rise of the Oilers.  He always seemed to bring his best games against the shoddy secondary of the Oilers there for a while, until Cris Dishman and Darryll Lewis stepped up.

Louis Lipps slipped onto the NFL radar and into the first round of the 1984 draft. Selected by the Steelers out of powerhouse Southern Mississippi, Louis had a stellar rookie season, under the tutelage of grizzled veteran John Stallworth. Louis went on to become NFL rookie of the year, with 656 yards in punt return yardage, to go along with 856 yards on 45 passes and 9 TDs. He also earned a Pro Bowl berth and AP honors. His best season as a receiver came the following year, when he posted 59 catches for 1,134 yards and 12 TDs. A solid barn-burning option, Louis had 4 seasons over his career where he averaged 18.9 or more yards a click. While he’d never crack the 1,000 yard plateau over the rest of his career, Louis twice peaked at over 900 yards with 973 in 1988, and 944 in 1989- a year in which he was named team MVP.  He finished his career taking a flyer with the Saints for 2 games in 1992, in an otherwise unremarkable season.

 Thanks in part to playing during the highly forgettable era of the mid to late 80s (for Steeler fans), and a swath of unheralded quarterbacks, Lipps largely is ignored for his contributions and numbers in the Steelers stat books. He also was surrounded by talent from other eras such Lynn Swann, the aforementioned John Stallworth, and then in the current era by guys like Antonio Brown. Louis currently lives in the Pittsburgh area.

G/GS 110/98     REC 359     YDS   6019    AVG   16.8     TD 39    LG  89T
PR  112     YDS  1234     AVG  11.0     TD  3     LG   76T

NFL

Graham, Ray

Card: Panini Contenders 2013
Acquired: 2017, EBay

Ray Graham played football at Pitt from 2009 to 2012. He put together increasing numbers in each year, culminating in his Senior year when he ran 222 times for 1042 yards and 11 TDs.  Over 4 years he had 595 carries for 3271 yards and 32 TDs. Ray also displayed a really nice touch out of the backfield, catching 98 passes, including 36 in his Senior year.  Considered more of a slasher at the pro level, scouts tore apart his game and did not feel that Ray had the size to play at the pro level. He went unselected in the 2013 NFL Draft but signed a free agent contract with the Houston Texans.

The Texans were looking for runningback help. As nagging injuries were catching up with Arian Foster and Ben Tate, the Texans were looking for new blood to help out in the backfield.  They signed a trio of free agents- all promising backs: Ray, Cierre Wood, and Dennis Johnson. Ray had a decent preseason scoring a really nice TD against the Vikings, and as a natural zone runner, I really liked his style, but unfortunately in a game of numbers, he’d be cut- as the team opted to keep Wood.  Graham was picked up by the Steelers and added to their practice squad.

As things would have it, Arian Foster went down due to injury. Wood blew his chance with the team violating an ‘unspecified team rule’ and was released. Graham found himself back on the squad and rushed 4 times for 8 yards. He’d also make one catch for 12 yards.

Ray had enough talent to probably take his game to another team in 2014 after he was cut, but currently is considered a free agent or retired from the sport.