Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

It has now been 24 hours since the NFL free agent signing period began, and the Steelers have already had lots of activity.  Let’s quickly review what’s happened so far.

Mike Wallace - Gone!  That’s right, gone.  Everyone was expecting Wallace to sign with the Miami Dolphins, and that’s exactly what he did.  More importantly, he got paid the big bucks, just like he wanted to.    Wallace signed a contract that will make him second only to the likes of Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.    I guess holding out from training camp and dropping passes is actually a viable way to get a pay increase.  Who knew?

Willie Colon – Gone!  But unlike Mike Wallace, Willie Colon got cut.  You can’t make the club if you’re laying in the tub.  And that’s what Colon was doing far too often over the past 3 seasons.

Colon was actually doing well in his new position at guard.  But he was paid far too much for a player who has missed 36 games over the past three seasons.

Larry Foote – Signed!  The Steelers signed Foote to a 3-year extension.  After having left the Steelers once before to sign with the Detroit Lions, I didn’t expect to see him play for anyone else ever again.  And that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Now if only Sean Spence would get healthy and take Foote’s job permanently.

Plaxico Burress – Signed!  Yup, the Steelers signed Burress to another one-year deal.  I guess catching 3 passes is enough to earn another contract.  Who knew it was so easy?  I guess I’m going to have to be a walk-on at Steelers Training Camp this summer.  I’m pretty sure I can catch 3 passes.   That ought to earn me a spot on the squad.

Ramon Foster – Signed!  Ramon Foster is like a bad case of Herpes.  No matter how hard the Steelers try, they just can’t seem to get rid of him.

Frankly, I’ve always liked Ramon, and I’m glad to see that he’ll be back with the Steelers next year.  And if history is any indication, he’ll end up being a starter by mid-season.

Jonathan Dwyer – Signed!  Dwyer must have been concerned about his value on the open market, because he signed his tender offer before the ink was even dry.

David Johnson – Signed!  Johnson is back from his injury, and just signed a one-year deal.  He won’t be a viable replacement for the injured Heath Miller, but he is a good blocker.

Steve McLendon – Unknown.  The Steelers tendered an offer to McLendon, but he hasn’t signed it yet.

Isaac Redman – See Steve McLendon.

Emmanuel Sanders – See Isaac Redman.

Rashard Mendenhall – No news yet.  But Mendenhall is an unrestricted free agent, and most people believe that he will follow Mike Wallace out of Pittsburgh.  I agree with them.  But I actually wish there were a way to get him to stay.

Edit:  Rashard Mendenhall has signed with the Arizona Cardinals since this article was written.  He’ll be rejoining his former Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians.

Bruce Gradkowski – Signed!  That’s right, the Steelers signed free agent QB Bruce Gradkowski.  And I am totally ecstatic about the move.  In my opinion, Gradkowski is an upgrade over both Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich.  And unlike Batch and Leftwich, Gradkowski doesn’t already qualify for Social Security benefits.

I still remember when Gradkowski was playing for the Oakland Raiders, and he led them to a victory over his hometown team.  I’ve always thought he would look good in black and gold.   However, I probably shouldn’t get too excited about this signing.  After all, Ben Roethlisberger’s backups seldom see any action.  But it’s still nice to have Gradkowski on the team.

So what are your thoughts on what the team has done so far?  Which moves do you like, and which ones don’t you agree with?

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the Steelers released linebacker James Harrison this morning.

Harrison had spent the past 9 seasons with the Steelers, and is one of their best linebackers of all-time.  His interception during Super Bowl XLIII will always be a part of Steelers’ lore.  And who could ever forget when he body slammed that Cleveland Browns fan.

Harrison instilled fear in opponents, much like great Steelers of the past like Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Greg Lloyd, Joey Porter, and even Jerome Bettis.  He worked hard, and hit even harder.  Steeler Nation couldn’t have asked for a more ideal player than James Harrison.

But all good things must come to an end, and Harrison’s time with the Steelers is doing just that.  But the question is “was it a good decision?”

Harrison will be 35 years old next season, which is ancient for an NFL player.  And Harrison’s sack totals have dropped steadily over the past 3 seasons.  He had 10.5 sacks in 2010, 9 in 2011, and only 6 in 2012.  So it would appear that Harrison’s production has been on the decline.  But that’s not necessarily true.

Yes, Harrison did only have 6 sacks in 2012, but that’s because he was slow to recover from knee surgery.  He got steadily better as the season progressed.  In fact, if you break down the 2012 season, you’ll see that Harrison had only one sack in his first 6 games following the injury.  But in the final seven games, he had 5 sacks.  That’s a pretty good pace.  In fact, it projects to 11.5 sacks over a full 16 game season.  Harrison has only exceeded 11.5 sacks one time in his entire career.

I understand that the real reason the Steelers had to cut Harrison was for salary cap reasons, and not productivity reasons.  Harrison was scheduled to make $6.57 million in 2013, and $7.57 million in 2014, and the Steelers needed to free up salary cap space.  But let’s face it, the Steelers’ linebacker who isn’t earning his big paycheck wears #56, not #92.  But of course, LaMarr Woodley is only 28 years old, and that’s far too young to give up on him.  So instead, James Harrison is no longer a Steeler.

As much as I hate to say it, I actually agree with the Steelers’ decision.  Just as I agreed with their decision to get rid of James Farrior last year.  You can’t build a team with 35 year old players.  It’s impractical from an age standpoint, and from a salary standpoint.  Younger players are usually cheaper, and have many more years left in their career.  So it’s time for Jason Worilds to step up and prove why the Steelers drafted him so high.

If the Steelers use the available cap space to sign Keenan Lewis, it will make losing Harrison easier to bear.  But even if they don’t do so, I still think Kevin Colbert did the right thing.

What do you readers think?  Was cutting James Harrison a smart business move, or a big mistake?

According to published reports, cornerback William Gay could be returning to the Steelers.

That noise you just heard was the sound of thousands of Steelers fans fainting in unison.  Anyone who watched Gay play while he was with the Steelers will understand why his return would elicit that response from fans.

Gay is scheduled to be at the Steelers training facility today, and he tweeted that he’s rejoining the Steelers.  First he changed his Twitter account information to say “Cornerback of the Pittsburgh Steelers”.  Then when asked on Twitter by Steelers’ safety Ryan Mundy if he was returning to the team, Gay replied “Yea.”  He also wrote, “I’m glad I didn’t sell my condo in Pittsburgh.”

Gay would give the Steelers a veteran presence in the backfield.  This is particularly important because it looks like Keenan Lewis may leave via free agency.  If that happens, the Steelers don’t have much depth at the position.

The concern that I have over a possible return by William Gay is that he was arguably the most hated member of the team when he left.  Gay’s career was schizophrenic.  Fans were never sure if Gay was going to make a great play, or if he was going to get burned for a touchdown.  But getting burned for touchdowns seemed to happen far more frequently.

Gay spent 5 years with the Steelers  before leaving in 2012 to join Ken Whisenhunt and the rest of the Steelers’ castoffs with the Arizona Cardinals.  But after one season in Arizona, it looks like Gay will be returning to the Steelers.

So what do you fans think?  Is Gay’s return a good thing or a bad thing?  I’d love to hear your opinions.

Grading an offensive line is always a difficult task.  To do it fairly, we need to know each offensive lineman’s assignment on each individual play.  But we don’t have that information.  So we have to do a bit of speculating, and that’s inherently unfair.

But having said that, we need to evaluate the performance of the Steelers offensive line this past season, so here we go.

The first thing that I should point out is that the Steelers ranked 26th in the NFL in rushing.  Is that the fault of the offensive line, or the running backs?  Or both?  If you say that it’s the fault of the offensive line, then our offensive line had a terrible season.

But on the other hand, Ben Roethlisberger was only sacked 30 times this season.  That’s the second lowest sack total of Roethlisberger’s career.  So perhaps the offensive line didn’t do so badly.

Frankly, I don’t think it’s meaningful to look at macro-statistics like that.  I think you really have to look at each offensive lineman individually.  So let’s start with…….

Max Starks
Big Max was the only Steelers offensive lineman who started all 16 games this season.  That’s a pretty impressive statistic for a lineman whom the Steelers have been trying to get rid of for years.  Frankly, other than Ramon Foster, I’m not sure that any Steelers offensive lineman has more reason to feel unloved than Max Starks.

Max Starks will never be confused with Joe Thomas.  He’s not a premier left tackle.  But he does an acceptable job.  I’ve always been a supporter of Max, although at times I think he’s often been paid more than he was worth.  But that’s on the Steelers, not Max.

Now Max is an unrestricted free agent, and I doubt that he’ll be back.  The rumor is that the Steelers are going to move to a zone blocking scheme, and that really doesn’t fit Max’s strengths.  So goodbye, Max.  Thanks for 9 good years.

 Ramon Foster
As I mentioned above, Ramon Foster may be the only lineman who should feel more unloved than Max Starks.  It seems as though each of Foster’s 4 seasons with the Steelers has been like deja vu.  The Steelers always try to find someone else to start at guard, but Foster always seems to end up as a starter.  And 2012 was no different.

Like Max Starks, Ramon Foster will never be confused with a Pro Bowl caliber player.  But also like Starks, Foster was one of the most consistent offensive linemen the Steelers had.  He always worked hard, and he was there when the Steelers had exhausted all other options (and believe me, they always exhausted every possible option before settling on Foster).  He never complained, and he did his job reasonably well.

Foster is also an unrestricted free agent who doesn’t appear to fit well in a zone blocking scheme.  He’s never been particularly mobile.  So he’s probably seen his last days as a Pittsburgh Steeler.  So long, Ramon.

Willie Colon
In my opinion, Willie Colon is the biggest question mark on the Steelers offensive line.  He’s under contract for one more season, but the question is, “should the Steelers bring him back?”

When he’s healthy, Steelers coaches have always said that Colon is one of their best offensive linemen.  Unfortunately, Colon has had a difficult time remaining healthy.  He missed 15 games in 2011, and another 5 games in 2012.  That’s a lot of missed time at a position where consistency is key.

Colon actually played well last season when the team moved him to guard.  But like Starks and Foster, he’s better in a man-to-man blocking scheme.  He’s a traditional “road grader”.  So despite having Colon under contract, the Steelers may choose to let him go to free up more salary cap space.

Because the Steelers will likely lose Starks and Foster to free agency, I don’t think they can afford to also lose Willie Colon.  He brings experience and position flexibility that the Steelers are going to need until Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams prove that they can be mentally and physically reliable.

Maurkice Pouncey
Pouncey is the Steelers’ resident offensive line superstar.  He’s viewed by many to be the best in the NFL at his position.  So there’s not much that we need to say about him.

My only concern with Pouncey is that he always seems to get hurt at the most inopportune times.  But other than that, I hope he remains a Steeler for life.

David DeCastro
We all know what DeCastro was expected to be when the Steelers drafted him.  Unfortunately, that’s not what he delivered on the field.  Not because he wasn’t capable of doing so, but because he got injured before the season even started.

DeCastro missed 12 games with an injury, so his rookie season has to be considered a mulligan.  However, he does have the mobility that the Steelers will probably look for in a zone blocking scheme.  So I’m very optimistic about DeCastro’s future.

Marcus Gilbert
Marcus Gilbert is turning into the new Willie Colon; he’s solid when he’s healthy, but he’s almost never healthy.

Gilbert missed 11 games in 2012 due to injury.  He also missed 2 games due to injury during his rookie season.

If he can stay healthy, Gilbert is the leading candidate to be the Steelers’ starting left tackle next season.  But staying healthy hasn’t proven to be an easy task for Gilbert.

Mike Adams
Rather than write a review for Mike Adams, it might be easier to just write “See Marcus Gilbert”.

Like Gilbert, Adams was drafted with hopes that he might even win a starting job in his rookie season.  But Adams struggled mentally, and then succumbed to injury (sound familiar?).

Adams was actually named the Steelers’ rookie of the year in 2012, but that’s mostly because they got so little from their rookies, that Adams won by default.

I’m going to give Adams a mulligan on his rookie season.  But I expect to see much better production (and health) from him in 2013.

Kelvin Beachum

When the Steelers announced their draft picks last year, few expected 7th round pick Kelvin Beachum to make the team.  And I’m sure nobody expected him to have a better season than David DeCastro or Mike Adams.  But that’s actually what happened.

Beachum was healthy, played multiple positions, and started the last 5 games of the season.  That’s not bad for a 7th round draft pick.

Doug Legursky
Legursky is a Steelers success story.  He joined the team in 2009 as an undrafted rookie, and he went on to make the roster in each of his 4 seasons with the team.  He has 17 starts during that time.

But Legursky’s key strength was his position flexibility, and the Steelers now have that from the younger (and cheaper) Kelvin Beachum.

Legursky is an unrestricted free agent this year, and I don’t expect to see him back next season.

John Malecki
Most fans are probably saying, “Who?”

Malecki had no playing time to evaluate, so he gets a pass.  The only reason that he’s even worth mentioning is that his presence (along with Kelvin Beachum’s) likely makes Doug Legursky expendable.

So to summarize, the Steelers offense has the potential to be strong in 2013.  Marcus Gilbert, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Mike Adams would be a very solid line.  The problem is that each one of them is an injury risk.  So 2013 has a very high likelihood of looking like 2012….And 2011……And 2010…..And 2009.  The offensive line may struggle with inconsistency, not because they lack solid players, but because those players can’t stay healthy.  Consistency is critical for offensive lines, and the Steelers can never seem to find it.

Perhaps what the Steelers should be looking for in the 1st round of this year’s draft is a new trainer.  Somebody has to keep these players healthy.  That will help the team far more than a rookie running back, outside linebacker, or wide receiver can.

Well, the Ravens are the Super Bowl champions, while the Steelers didn’t even make the playoffs.  That’s not quite a zombie apocalypse, but it’s close.

But despite the despair that we all feel, life must go on.  So it’s time to review the Steelers 2012 team.  Let’s start at the quarterback position.

It might be easier if I just pulled out last year’s quarterback review and re-posted it.  After all, not much has changed.  Ben Roethlisberger is still the entrenched starter, and Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch are still the aging backups who are only called upon in dire emergencies.

So let’s start with the backups and work our way back to the starter.

Charlie Batch

I know everyone loves Charlie Batch.  So do I.  He’s a great guy.  He gives back to the community.  And he’s from Pittsburgh.

But let’s face it.  Charlie’s old.  In fact, he’s practically prehistoric by NFL standards.

Most NFL quarterbacks are out of the league long before they reach their 38th birthday.  But Charlie’s still holding on.  Unfortunately, it’s time for that to end.

The Steelers need backup quarterbacks who are in their 20′s, not approaching their 40′s.  Fans are quick to point out that Charlie beat the Ravens this year.  But they’re just as quick to forget that he lost to the Browns.

After 14 seasons in the NFL, it’s time to say “goodbye”.  Sorry Charlie.

Byron Leftwich

I used to be a big supporter of Byron Leftwich.  But not anymore.  Frankly, if I had to choose between Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch, I’d choose Batch.

Byron just doesn’t seem to have it anymore.  He’s always had problems with his slow delivery.  But he threw the ball so hard, that the zip on his passes made up for his slow delivery.  But these days, it seems like Byron is more of a liability than an asset.

Is it just me, or does it seem like Byron’s accuracy has completely left him?  His QB rating this year was only 54.9.   That’s JaMarcus Russell territory.  Not good.

In the two games that Byron appeared in this year, he completed less than half of his passes, threw 1 interception, was sacked 3 times, and threw no touchdown passes.  Couldn’t a 24 year old developmental backup give us that same level of production?   He’d be much less expensive than Byron, and he’d give us just as much on the field.

It’s time for the Steelers to once again do what they did when they brought in Byron and Charlie.  It’s time to sign a veteran to be the Steelers’ primary backup.  Then they need to add a developmental quarterback who is in his 20′s to be the team’s third string QB.

Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben is the Steelers’ starting quarterback, and he will be for the foreseeable future.  He’s the team’ best hope of picking up a 7th Lombardi Trophy.

Ben had a good, but not great season in 2012.  But much of that wasn’t under his control.  Ben was having a stellar season until he got hurt.  when he came back from his injury, he didn’t seem to be the same quarterback.

But the biggest issue with Ben this season was his adjustment to new offensive coordinator Todd Haley.   Haley’s system was both a blessing and a curse for Ben.  It made him a more efficient quarterback, and it drastically reduced the number of times Ben was sacked.  But it also took away what made Ben great in the first place.

Ben is a strong-armed quarterback who loves tossing passes waaaaaaay down the field.  But Haley seems to have eliminated that portion of Ben’s game.  And both Ben and Mike Wallace have suffered because of it.  Ben had the 2nd lowest yards-per-pass average of his career, and Mike Wallace was rendered ineffective as a possession receiver.

Ben also got rid of the ball a lot sooner than he had in the past.  He threw the ball away, or dumped it off to a running back, rather than scrambling around and playing “sandlot football” like he’s done for most of his career.

Frankly, I like the changes.  I never liked seeing Ben take 40+ sacks per season.  But I do miss the long passes to Wallace.   That had become my favorite part of the Steelers’ offense.

In  summary, I think the Steelers should only bring back one of the three quarterbacks currently on their roster.  Do you agree?  If not, why not?