The Move North

Of course Nashville delivered a rainy last week for me but it did not matter because of my friends. Saturday my friend Kara and husband Chris hosted a send-off party for Tuff and me (minus Tuff since he is in Pittsburgh). It was such a good time, full of laughs! The theme was Nashvegas but only a few wore their best Nashville outfit.




Sunday after church many of the same group ate lunch together at Wich Wich, a yummy sandwich shop, then I had dinner with the Pleasant family Sunday evening. Reggie Pleasant is the Chaplain for the Titans. His wife Jessica leads the Titans women bible studies as well as co-leads the couples studies. I will miss them all, especially their sweet children Josh and Sarah. We all posed for a picture using the self-timer on my camera.

Monday was my last 'Young Couples' gathering. We were doing a book study of For Him Only/For Her Only and discussed the last chapters of the books. I will really miss this group of people, and speaking for Tuff, I know he already misses them.

Kristen, Cheryl, Casey and a few of his recruits helped me load the big 6X12 trailer Tuesday morning. Without them, I might have really struggled carrying some of the bigger items and loading two 250 pound scooters. Thanks! I'm overwhelmed with love from Nashville. My friend Libby helped me a few days earlier prepare all the furniture for the move. We wrapped everything in siran wrap, which keeps things from scratching. It was pretty fun.



In the photo below Casey is writing on an empty box how heavy it is and instructed me to have Tuff move this box when I got to Pittsburgh. Tuff did not fall for the "heavy box" joke but he did enjoy all the messages Casey and friends wrote inside the box. He liked it so much we are keeping this empty box.


You can probably tell, my last week in Nashville was full of social engagements. I had lunch on Tuesday after the move with the Titans women bible study group and a margarita later with Kristen and D.


My drive to Pittsburgh went very smooth. I kept the speed down to around 60 mph so it took me just over ten hours to arrive. Best of all the cargo stayed damage free. Way to go moving crew!

Our new place is very tiny so while back in Nashville I sold our couch/chair, washer/dyer, tables and our dresser. After we get some furniture in the new place I'll post some pictures.

We'll miss you Nashville.

Tuff has been hard at work on the practice squad and getting to know everyone. He is now on scout team as a wide receiver, so he is playing both sides of the ball at practice. No pictures of practice though. The first opportunity for pictures of Tuff in a Steeler's uniform will be if he makes the active roster.

Steeler Nation

Steeler fans are hard core, so Tuff and I found out September 10th at their home game opener versus the Titans. Tuff was not on the sidelines, but instead sitting in the stands with me behind the goal line. The Steelers do not have their practice squaders on the sidelines but off the field, either in a suite or the tickets they were assigned.






Wednesday my friend Kristen and I drove up to Pittsburgh to drop off a vehicle to Tuff. It should be about a nine hour drive but we got caught in some accident delays and road construction, making us about an hour behind. We spent Thursday driving around the city trying to get a feel for a possible place to call "home" for a while.

Kristen is in the only blue Jersey in the picture below. You can barely see her in the masses of Steelers Jerseys. Before the game there was a free concert in the park featuring Tim McGraw and The Black-Eyed Peas. We actually saw Tim and Faith in the hotel we were staying at Thursday morning.


Pittsburgh is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. I guess I did not know what to think of Pittsburgh. It is very beautiful, with amazing skylines and San Fransisco like hills. We had to keep those hills in mind while thinking of a place to live since Tuff will have to drive to work everyday and the winters can be brutal. By Sunday we found a place to rent and I flew back to Nashville to pack up the rest of our stuff and say goodbyes for the both of us, since Tuff remains in Pittsburgh working.

New Colors

Get your Steelers gear on because Tuff signed on to their practice squad this morning. Yesterday at 4:00pm he was contacted by his agent saying the Steelers were interested in Tuff as a punt returner. Their original intentions were to sign a defensive back whom they cut on Saturday to their practice squad, but because of the 24 hour waiver period, that player was picked up onto another team's active roster. Yesterday at 4:00pm was the official end of the waiver period and time when players could sign on practice squads. Since the Steelers lost their intended practice squad signee, they needed to find the best available practice squad eligible punt returner; and that was Tuff.

http://news.steelers.com/team/player/

http://news.steelers.com/article/109838/

Last year Tuff made several great special teams plays in the Titans vs. Steelers game December 21st, 2008 including this tackle in the photo below.

The stage is set for this Thursday's season opener in Pittsburgh, Steelers vs. Titans. Tuff will not play since he is on the practice squad but he will be standing on the sidelines in black and yellow.

Early Roster Changes

Wednesday's Tennessean published an article on Tuff's heritage, similar the article on the Titans website.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090902/SPORTS01/909020394/2072/SPORTS/Titans+safety+honors+Native+American+heritage

Wednesday night Tuff had dinner with all the defensive backs. I'm sure they loaded up with nutrients to dominate in Thursdays game. Tuff did an excellent job last night with several tackles. It was a perfect night for watching football.



However, Tuff was released this morning with no real hopes of being signed onto the practice squad. I do not know who else was cut since I just received a text message from Tuff saying he was cut. They will officially publish a list sometime tomorrow evening.

For now we will just stay in Nashville unless something else comes up. Usually to make the roster on another team, someone gets injured. This typically happens midway through the season. Its hard to say what will come of this release, but one things for sure and that is that God is good all the time.

We will continue to update you all on our whereabouts.

First Round of Cuts

Today the Titans reduced their roster from 79 to 75 players. They cut wide receiver Dudley Guice, running back Rafael Little, line backer Tyson Smith, and center Matt Lehr. This Saturday they will submit their final roster cuts. They play the Green Bay Packers on Thursday evening and probably will have most of their cuts figured out by Friday but will not submit the names officially until they are due on Saturday evening.

We are not sure how Tuff stands so these next few days are very unknowingly blessed. Last year he was cut the final cut day and the following day was picked up on the practice squad. About midway through the season he was bumped up to the active roster because of injury. The same thing happened with his first year in the league with the Dolphins.

So Tuff has never made an active 53 man roster after final cuts and we hope that this year will be his first year to do just that. He only has one year left of practice squad eligibility so there is always a chance to be cut on Saturday and picked up on the practice squad after waivers on Sunday. He could also be cut on Saturday and picked up on another team's active roster. There are a lot of possibilities. Another is this could be his last NFL hoorah. We don't want that to be the case but we are prepared for whatever.

Tuff did not play in last Saturday's game versus the Cleveland Browns, although he did dress. A few times I saw him on the sideline wearing his helmet so I thought surely he would go in the game. I asked him why he was wearing his helmet the whole game and he said it was kind of cold there in Cleveland.

Today the Titans had a physical practice and Tuff was out there running around making plays as usual. We hope to see him get in on some action in Thursdays game.