Derby targets, joining the Warehouse at Baltimores Camden Yard

PITTSBURGH -- Its not the kind of shutout the Pittsburgh Steelers defense had in mind to start the season.Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins dropped back to pass 43 times in Pittsburghs 38-16 victory in the opener last Monday. And 43 times Cousins was able to get the ball off without finding himself laying on the ground underneath someone clad helmet to cleats in black-and-gold.Sure, the Steelers won easily. Yet theyre well aware they need sacks if they want to slow down Cincinnati on Sunday.We have to get pressure, defensive end Cam Heyward said. You can cover up a lot when youre able to hit the quarterback. Weve got to put (Bengals quarterback) Andy (Dalton) on his butt. Thats as simple as its got to be.Even that might not be enough. Cincinnati edged the New York Jets 23-22 in Week 1 despite Dalton getting dropped a career-high seven times. When given time, Dalton carved up New Yorks secondary by finding do-everything wide receiver A.J. Green. Pittsburgh collected three sacks in each of its three meetings with the Bengals a year ago, doing it thanks to a variety of exotic blitz schemes designed by defensive coordinator Keith Butler.Yet the Steelers were decidedly more vanilla against Washington, often just rushing the front four and dropping seven and sometimes eight men into coverage to protect against the deep ball and give its secondary littered with inexperienced players all the help it could get.When you blitz, sometimes theres a little bit of a risk factor that they could make a big play on you, stuff like that, Butler said. A lot of times, we rushed three. Did we want more pressure than we got out of a four-man rush? Yes.The Redskins also relied heavily on a passing game that requires Cousins to get rid of the ball quickly. Rarely did he require a handful of seconds to throw it downfield. Yet thats hardly an excuse to Heyward. Pittsburghs already matched its total of sackless games from 2015, when it finished with 48 sacks in all, a nearly 50 percent jump from the 33 the Steelers collected in 2014.The pocket got awfully uncomfortable in the pocket for the opposing quarterback at times, helping the Steelers for 30 turnovers in 2015, a significant uptick from the 21 they forced in 2014. All that heat helped Pittsburgh make the playoffs for a second straight season despite finishing 30th in the league against the pass. While two of Cousins throws ended up in the arms of guys in a different colored jersey -- momentum-turning plays that served as the fuel for an eventual blowout -- Cousins passed for 329 yards and his jersey didnt even get dirty.Im not OK that we gave up yards, no, Butler said. At the same time, well get better, I think, as the year goes along. At the end of the day, its still about winning, not about how many yards we gave up or where were at defensively in the league. Would I like to be No. 1 in the league? Of course I would. At the same time, I want to make sure we win, too.Butler is likely to open up the playbook as the season goes on and rookie cornerback Artie Burns and rookie safety Sean Davis become more comfortable. Their development would allow Butler to get creative in finding ways to let outside linebackers James Harrison, Arthur Moats and Jarvis Jones get to work coming in off the edge.I felt like we were definitely creating the climate we wanted, Moats said. We got the turnovers we needed.Just no sacks. Something the Steelers know cant become a regular occurrence. Or else.I do think we have the guys, Heyward said. I have high goals for us and when we dont hit them, Im not going to be happy about it.Game notes WR Antonio Brown received a pair of fines from the NFL, one for the touchdown dance against Washington that drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct and another for wearing blue cleats, a violation of the leagues uniform policy. Brown did not rule out dancing again but added he didnt want to do anything to hurt the team. ... LB Ryan Shazier (knee) and WR Markus Wheaton (shoulder) are questionable. C Cody Wallace, CB Senquez Golson and FB Rosie Nix are out.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Gary Carter Mets Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Keon Broxton Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. http://www.metssale.com/ .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Tim Tebow Jersey . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Juan Lagares Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. SAN DIEGO --?Giancarlo Stanton wore out Petco Park with a record display of power in the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night, peppering every landmark from the left-field corner to center field.Stanton hit 20 homers in the final round to best defending champion Todd Frazier of the Chicago White Sox. Overall, the Miami Marlins slugger hit a record 61 homers, shattering the single-night mark of 41 by Bobby Abreu in 2005.Stantons impressive shots hit the top level of the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the left-field corner and the top of the batters eye in center field.He sent several balls just below the giant scoreboard high atop the left-field stands and several over the bullpens in left-center.For sure, being on the West Coast and taking the flight out here just for this, you know. I figure its a waste if I dont bring this bad boy home, Stanton said, hoisting the trophy.The three-time All-Star is not on the National League roster for Tuesday nights game after batting .233 with 20 homers and 50 RBIs before the break.I had a great time. I had a blast.Literally.His longest shot was estimated at 497 feet. He hit the eight longest homers of the competition and 20 of the 21 deepest drives.When I get a few in a row, I would kind of bump it up 5 to 10 percent, he said.?But most the time I stuck at 80-90 percent. I knew I could do it, endurance-wise. I was just hoping my swing didnt fall about.Stanton can defend his title at home next year when the Marlins host the All-Star Game.That is where I got my childhood memories, watching the Home Run Derby as a kid, said Stanton, whos from Los Angeles.Maybe some kids are watching me. I wouuld like to return that.ddddddddddddStanton is baseballs highest-paid player with a $325 million, 13-year deal. His new hitting coach is home run king Barry Bonds.Frazier, whos not on the American League All-Star team, hit 13 in the final round. He was a hometown winner last year while with the Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the White Sox in December.The Western Metal Supply Co. building served as one of the better Derby targets, joining the Warehouse at Baltimores Camden Yards in 1993 and McCovey Cove outside San Franciscos AT&T Park in 2007, which were all targets for lefty hitters. Stanton hit 24 homers in the first round to eliminate the Seattle Mariners Robinson Cano (seven) and 17 in the semifinals to knock out Mark Trumbo (14) of the Baltimore Orioles.Frazier hit 13 in the first round to beat Carlos Gonzalez (12) of the Colorado Rockies, and 16 in the semifinals to eliminate Adam Duvall (15) of the Reds. Trumbo, who leads the majors with 28 homers, had two of the most impressive shots of the night, off the scoreboard in left field and onto the top of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in his semifinal matchup against Stanton.Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres tried to become the second hometown player to win the Derby. With younger brother Beau -- an infielder-outfielder at Appalachian State -- pitching to him, Myers hit 10 homers in the first round and was eliminated by Duvall with 11. Beau Myers hit his brother with a pitch early in the four-minute period, and nearly nicked him another time. ' ' '