Pittsburgh Steelers selected for Hall of Fame game

By Baxter Colburn | Feb 12, 2015

The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Minnesota Vikings in this years Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio on August 9th. NBC will broadcast the game at 8 pm eastern. Both teams see a former player for their organization get the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame during the exciting weekend.

Entering the Hall for the Steelers in long-time running back, Jerome Bettis. After spending 10 seasons with the Steelers, he finished off his career a Super Bowl winning player. On top of that, Bettis rushed for 13,662 total yards and 91 touchdowns during his time in Pittsburgh and with the Saint Louis Rams.

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Minnesota sees a former center, Mick Tingelhoff, receive the honor of entering into the Hall.

This game marks the sixth time the Steelers have play for this historic event. The Vikings enter the game as their fourth trip down to Canton in team history.

Both organizations are very excited about the opportunity to play in this prestigious and historic event.

"“This is a tremendous honor for our organization to be featured in the Hall of Fame Game,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said in a statement. “It will give our players and coaches an extra week to prepare for the regular season and an additional opportunity for us to evaluate our roster. Pairing the game with Mick going into the Hall of Fame, it will be a special weekend for the Minnesota Vikings and our fans.”"

Due to Pittsburgh and Minnesota being selected for this game, each team will play five preseason games and report to training camp earlier to prepare for this game.

The general consensus around the NFL is that preseason is a waste of time for most teams and players. However, if a team approaches this extra opportunity in a positive way, it can have good long-term benefits.

Pittsburgh goes into next season with a new defensive coordinator, Keith Butler. Long-time coordinator, Dick LeBeau now coaches the defense for the Tennessee Titans. With LeBeau gone, Pittsburgh knows their defense will need the extra time to gel as a unit but also with their new coach.

The Steelers made an unfortunate and surprising exit in the first round of the AFC Playoffs to divisional rival, the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 30-17. Since that game, the Steelers have had to reconsider the direction of the team and know that without LeBeau, it could get interesting next season.

Thankfully for the Steelers, it seems that quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger will rework his contract and return for several more seasons with the team. On top of that, the Steelers also return one of the best wide receivers in the game, Antonio Brown.

Now, the Steelers will be without their top running back, Le’Veon Bell for at least the first two games of the season, as he faces a ban for getting caught with Marijuana. Even once that issue gets resolved, Bell will come back and make the Pittsburgh offense even more explosive and dangerous.

Having to play five preseason games is favorable to the Steelers and will allow the team extra time to test and figure out which players will help the team fight for a Super Bowl berth in the AFC next season.

Next: Pittsburgh must part ways with Ike Taylor

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