Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Friday came to an end, and it turned out to be a day of defections from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Three players signed contracts with new teams on Friday, Keenan Lewis, Ryan Mundy, and Willie Colon.  Lets take a look at each of these signings, and discuss what it means for the Steelers.

Keenan Lewis
Starting cornerback Keenan Lewis was the one free agent that I was most hoping would decide to stay with the Steelers, but that didn’t happen.  Lewis signed with his hometown team, the New Orleans Saints.

The disappointing part of Lewis’ departure is that the Steelers could have kept him if they wanted to.  But they didn’t even make him an offer.  He didn’t get an offer last year when he was a restricted free agent, and he didn’t get an offer this year as an unrestricted free agent.  The Saints ended up stealing him for a price that will only count for $2.2 million against their 2013 salary cap.  That’s very cheap for a starting NFL cornerback.

In my opinion, Lewis is more of a philosophical loss than any of the other players.  The Steelers drafted Lewis, and he struggled for his first three years with the team.  But it all finally came together for him last year, and he emerged as a starter.  But now that he’s become a viable player for the Steelers, they let him leave for another team.  NFL teams can’t afford to invest time and money into grooming young players only to see them leave once they’ve become a finished product.  Now that Lewis is 26 years old, he is in his prime playing years, and the Steelers won’t get to reap the benefits of their investment into his development.  Hopefully, this isn’t a pattern that we’ll be seeing very often with young players.

Ryan Mundy
Mundy has been a mediocre backup for the entire time he’s been with the Steelers.  He never even came close to becoming a starter.  Moreover, he never did anything that couldn’t have been done by any random undrafted free agent.  So losing him is not a big loss for the Steelers.

Mundy signed with the New York Giants today, but other than his wife, I don’t think anyone really cares.

Willie Colon
Colon is also going to New York.  Only he won’t be joining Ryan Mundy on the Giants.  Instead, Colon signed with the New York Jets. 

I had been suggesting that the Steelers should move Colon to guard for years, and then last year they finally did, and he was great in the position.  The problem was that Colon just couldn’t stay healthy.  He missed 36 games over the past 3 years.  And made a fortune while missing all of those games.  So he can afford to sign for the one year, $1.2 million contract the Jets gave him. 

Others to watch
We’ll be watching anxiously to see which of the other former Steelers will be signing with new teams.  Rumor has it that James Harrison has had some very fruitful conversations with the Baltimore Ravens, who have lost 3 linebackers since the Super Bowl.  I would hate seeing Harrison wearing purple and black.  I’d also hate to see the Steelers have to face him twice per year.

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.

LB Larry Foote

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.

Don’t leave, Rashard.

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 slams 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.

Harrison sacks Flacco

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.

William Gay doing what he does.

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.”

William Gay allows another TD

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.

At least he’s consistent.

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 strikes again.

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.

He’s perfected this play.

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

Lest we forget.

It’s no secret that Pittsburgh Steelers fans are spoiled.  REALLY spoiled.

After the team’s 8-8 season, many fans have demanded that the team “Fire Mike Tomlin”.  Others have said that the Steelers should cut ties with Mike Wallace, Larry Foote, Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Max Starks, Ramon Foster, Willie Colon, Rashard Mendenhall, and many others.  I agree with some of those assessments.  I disagree with others.  And I’ll be writing an article soon to talk about who I think the Steelers should keep and who they should cut ties with.  But that’s not what I want to talk about today.

What I’d like to discuss is why an 8-8 record isn’t the end of the world.  8-8 basically says that the Steelers are a “middle-of-the-road” team.  They lost to as many teams as they beat.  They’re “average”.

For Steelers fans, being average is perhaps the worst sin that the team could possibly commit.  Steeler Nation has come to expect better than average.  And we expect the team to be “better than average” every single year.  Even though that expectation makes no sense.

The problem with consistently being a playoff team is that you consistently get to draft in the latter portion of the draft.  And that’s not good.

But that’s exactly what’s happened to the Steelers over the years.  They’ve been a victim of their own success.  How can a team infuse their roster with top talent if they consistently have to make their draft selection in the latter portions of each round?

Sure, you can draft the best guard, or center, or tight end in the entire draft with the 30th pick.  But you can’t get the best cornerback drafting there.  After all, there are certain positions that can only be replenished with top talent if a team is drafting near the top of the draft.  For example, a team simply isn’t going to get a franchise quarterback drafting 30th.  And they’re not going to get a shutdown cornerback drafting 25th.  And it’s highly unlikely that a team will find a Pro Bowl caliber left tackle with the 32nd pick in the draft.

Sure, there are sometimes exceptions.  Some players do slip through the cracks.  Tom Brady is the example that is most often cited.  But those instances are rare.  Typically, if a team wants a shot at the best players in the draft, they have to lose more than half of their games.  And the Steelers seldom do that.  8-8 is about as bad as it typically get for the Steelers.  Pittsburgh doesn’t know what it’s like to go through a 2-14 season.

The harsh truth is that an occasional bad season is actually a GOOD thing for a team.  If the Steelers hadn’t gone 6-10 in 2003, we never would have been able to draft Ben Roethlisberger.  Just think about that for a moment.

Similarly, if they hadn’t gone 6-10 in 1999, they wouldn’t have been able to draft Plaxico Burress in 2000.  If they hadn’t gone 8-8 in 2006, they wouldn’t have been able to draft Lawrence Timmons in 2007.

This year, the Steelers will draft 17th.  That’s not a bad draft position.  It’s not as good as drafting 1st, but it’s definitely better than drafting 30th.  And I really don’t think that Steeler Nation would be willing to tolerate the type of season that it takes to earn the 1st pick in the draft.  So 17th will have to do.

Go Steelers!