Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but after that draft weekend marathon, I needed to take a little break.

Once the draft ended, that opened the doors for all of the players who went undrafted to sign with any team that they wanted to.  The Steelers used this opportunity to add 13 undrafted free agents to their roster.

The Steelers signed the following players:

Steven Black (6’2″, 200 lbs.), WR, Memphis

Jeff Bradley (6’3″, 280 lbs.), DT, Western Carolina

Mark Estermeyer (6’1″, 251 lbs.), LS, Pittsburgh

Ramon Foster (6’5″, 328 lbs.), OT, Tennessee

Cedric Goodman (6’2″, 189 lbs.), WR, Georgia

Tyler Grisham (5’10″, 184 lbs.), WR, Clemson

Tom Korte (6’0″, 239 lbs.), LB, Hillside

Kevin McCabe (6’2″, 209 lbs.), QB, California (PA)

Steve McClendon (6’3″, 305 lbs.), DT, Troy

Isaac Redman (5’10″, 228 lbs.), RB, Bowie State

Mike Reilly (6’3″, 214 lbs.), QB, Central Washington State

Derrick Richardson (5’11″, 201 lbs.), S, New Mexico State

Andrew Schantz (6’1″, 234 lbs.), LB, Portland State

With the Steelers signing 3 wide receivers, in addition to drafting one, and potentially bringing in Ashley Lelie, the Steelers’ receiving corps shouldn’t miss a beat.

I was glad to see them bring in a safety, since they didn’t draft one, and we are woefully short on safeties.  I do think that Deshea Townsend would be a very good candidate to convert to safety.  He is very disciplined, and would make a good backup free safety.  I also believe that Keenan Lewis would make a good safety, but the Steelers have not said that they plan to try him at the position.

Both of the defensive tackles that they drafted are too small to play nose tackle, so I assume that they plan to convert them both to 3-4 DE’s.

I was a bit surprised that they brought in two free agent quarterbacks.  I don’t think either of them has a chance to beat out Charlie Batch or Dennis Dixon.  However, the Steelers are tight on cash, and if they think Dixon is ready to move up to #2, they may release Batch and keep one of these cheaper options as #3 quarterback.

I  am completely baffled by the long snapper signing.  Sure, Mark Estermeyer is from Pitt.  But Greg Warren will be back from injury, and Jared Retkofsky is still on the roster.  Do we really need that much competition for the long snapper position?  Maybe I’m missing something.  Wouldn’t we have been better served bringing another safety into camp?  Or perhaps a big, fat kid who can someday develop into a nose tackle?  Or how about a center.  All three of the long snappers are too small to ever play center.  I’m confused.

If you have any thoughts on the Steelers’ free agent signings, please leave a comment to let me know your reaction.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their final pick in the 7th round, the Steelers selected David Johnson, tight end, Arkansas State.   Johnson stands 6’2″, and weighs 268 lbs. 

Johnson wasn’t highly rated as a tight end.  Many teams probably didn’t even have him on their draft board. 

Johnson had a career high of 22 receptions for 356 yards in 2008.  His 2008 reception total more than doubled his 2007 output of 10 catches (for 204 yards).  This performance earned Johnson second team All-Sun Belt conference honors.

Johnson was actually an H-back at Arkansas State, and this is probably what the Steelers found appealing about him.   He was used primarily as a blocker in college, though he has very good hands.   He averaged 16 yards per catch in college. 

Johnson runs a 4.7 second 40 yard dash.  That is pretty fast for a player of his size.  He also has a 32.5 inch vertical leap, and did 21 reps in the bench press at the NFL Combine.  He also played baseball in high school, and is an excellent athlete.

Johnson is probably a better athlete than the Steelers’ current H-back Sean McHugh, and he should provide competition at the position.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their first pick in the 7th round, the Steelers selected A.Q. Shipley, center, Penn State.   Shipley stands 6’1″, and weighs 304 lbs.

A natural leader, Shipley was the first center to serve as team captain since 1996.  He was the winner of the 2008 Rimington Trophy, given annually to college football’s best center.  He was also named a 1st-team All-American.

A local boy from Moon Area High School, Shipley has been on the Steelers’ radar for quite some time.

Shipley is an intelligent player who comes from a very high quality program at Penn State.  He has good vision and recognizes blitzes.  He has excellent technique and his physicality and tenacity are unmatched in this year’s class of centers.  If anything holds Shipley back, it won’t be his desire or effort.

Unfortunately, Shipley has physical limitations that caused some scouts to downgrade him as a potential NFL center.  He is short for the position, and has very short arms.  He also needs to increase his lower body strength.  He can be bull rushed by larger defenders and pushed into the pocket.  This may be an even greater liability in the AFC North, where huge nose tackles abound.

Shipley lacks mobility, and is unable to offer guards much help in run  blocking.  He also isn’t a powerful blocker, and he struggles to generate movement by himself in the running game.

The bottom line is that Shipley is limited physically, but his heart, determination, and high football IQ should help him find a way to make an NFL roster.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their 6th round pick, the Steelers selected Ra’Shon Harris, DT, Oregon.   Harris stands 6’4″, and weighs 305 lbs. 

This will not be Harris’ first time playing for “Pittsburgh”.  Harris actually graduated from Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, CA.   Perhaps being drafted by the Steelers was inevitable.

Harris is a big, strong player who enjoys spending time in the weight room.  He shared the team’s top bench press mark (415 lbs.) as well as topping the defensive linemen in the power clean (314 lbs.).

Harris didn’t see much action in his first two years.  He became a regular substitute during his junior year, and finally became a starter as a senior.

Harris has decent speed for a man his size.  He has an excellent anchor, and can hold up well against the double team.  He is good at plugging the middle when the run is straight at him.  He also gets a very good push and is able to collapse the pocket on passing downs.

Despite these strengths, Harris just isn’t much of a playmaker.  He gets very few tackles, although his ability to take up blockers did help his teammates.  Harris’ lacks mobility and agility.  His stamina and work ethic have also been questioned.  Despite his weight room prowess, he is in poor physical condition.

He did relatively well during East-West Shrine Game practices, and this probably got a lot of teams to look at him that wouldn’t have been interested otherwise.

Despite his shortcomings, Harris is a big body who can take up blockers.  This makes him a viable option as a 3-4 DE if he is willing to dedicate himself to improving his conditioning.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their second pick in the 5th round, the Steelers selected Frank “The Tank” Summers.   Summers stands 5’10″, and weighs 230 lbs. 

Nicknamed “The Tank” because of his bruising running style, Summers is a strong, physical running back from UNLV. 

At UNLV, Summers was known as a workhorse running back who tended to get better as the game wore on.  His physical style tended to wear down defenders.  He was named the toughest player to bring down in the MWC by Lindy’s.

Despite his large size, Summers is also a receiving threat out of the backfield.  He has soft hands, and is the only player in UNLV history to lead his team in both rushing and receiving touchdowns in the same year.  He posted both the team’s longest rushing touchdown and their longest receiving touchdown.

Summers rushed for 928 yards and 6 touchdowns as a junior, and 740 yards and 8 touchdowns as a senior.

Everyone knows that the Steelers have struggled in short yardage situations over the last few years.  The addition of Summers, along with the return of Rashard Mendenhall, should definitely help that situation.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their first pick in the 5th round, the Steelers selected Joe Burnett.  Burnett is a cornerback from Central Florida.  He stands 5’10″, and weighs 185 lbs.

Burnett was a record breaking cornerback and return man for UCF.  He was a first team All-American his senior year, and helped UCF to its first two bowl berths (2007 & 2008), and its first conference championship (2007) in school history.

Earned eight Conference USA All-Conference honors, including four straight first team punt returner awards.  Named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year his senior year.  Finished in 19th place for career punt return yards in NCAA history with 1,304.  Was the only player in the nation to be in the top 20 in both kickoff returns and punt returns.

Set the UCF career record with 16 interceptions.  Tied record for most career punt return touchdowns (3).

Is considered to be a bit small to play cornerback in the NFL.  However, he has good technique, and is stronger than you’d expect for his size.  He is never out of place, and plays with discipline.

Because of his size, he struggles to get off blocks.  He also tends to give too much cushion to receivers.

He can bring pressure as a blitzer, but he doesn’t finish off the quarterback.  He is more of a cut tackler, and doesn’t wrap up with his arms.

Burnett probably isn’t going to make an immediate impact on the Steelers defense, but he should have an immediate impact on special teams.   Earlier pick Mike Wallace is primarily a kickoff returner, while Joe Burnett will upgrade the punt return game.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their third pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Keenan Lewis.  Lewis is a 6’1, 198 pound cornerback out of Oregon State.

Like Mike Wallace before him, this pick comes as a surprise.  Few scouting reports had Lewis rated this high.  Most had him listed as being between the 12 -- 30th best cornerback in this draft.

Lewis has exceptional size for a cornerback, and I’m sure that is what attracted the Steelers to him.  Lewis is a solid defender who benefits from having played in the pass-happy PAC-10.

Best in bump and run coverage, Lewis likes to get his hands on receivers and use his long arms to jam them.

He is good in run support,  though he sometimes avoids contact.  He tends to duck his head when tackling, so he misses some tackles that he should probably make.  Nevertheless, he is a willing participant in run coverage, and can be coached in this area at the next level.

Because of his height and long arms, Lewis gets his hands on a lot of passes.  He reads and reacts quickly.

On the negative side, Lewis is a long-legged strider who doesn’t change directions quickly.  He lacks great athleticism and has only average speed.  He doesn’t have soft hands, and sometimes drops interceptions.

A solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl probably helped raise Lewis’ stock.

When you look at Lewis’ size and athletic attributes, he almost projects better as a safety than as a cornerback.  It will be interesting to see how the Steelers choose to utilize him, since safety is also a team need.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their second pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Mike Wallace.  Wallace is a 6’0, 180 pound wide receiver out of Mississippi.

This pick came as a surprise.  Few (if any) scouting reports had Wallace rated this high.  Most had him listed as being between the 25th – 34th best wide receiver in the draft.

When you talk about Mike Wallace, the first word that comes to mind is speed.  Wallace is one of the fastest players available in the draft.  He ran a 4.3 in the 40 yard dash.  Former Tampa Bay coach John Gruden said that they timed him at a blazing 4.28 seconds.  The kid is fast.  Super fast.  He is much faster than Nate Washington, Santonio Holmes, or Limas Sweed.  He is immediately the fastest receiver on the Steelers, and will challenge Willie Parker for team honors.

Wallace is capable of impacting the game in a number of ways.  He was one of the most dangerous kick returners in the country last year, and the Steelers will be able to utilize this aspect of his game immediately.  He averaged 23.2 yards per kickoff return, and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Wallace’s speed was also apparent at the wide receiver position, where he led the SEC in yards/catch for two consecutive seasons.  He averaged 18.8 yards/catch during his junior year, and improved it to 20.1 yards/catch last year.

Despite his blazing speed, Wallace is more of a track star than a football player.  His hands are suspect, and he is very thinly built.  He has mostly straight line speed, and is not particularly good at changing directions.

Wallace catches the ball with his body, and is going to have to learn to extend his arms and catch with his hands.  More importantly, Wallace is going to have to eliminate drops.  His speed will get him separation, but he has to hold onto the ball.  Moreover, he won’t be able to rely on pure speed at the next level.  Wallace will have do run crisper routes to elude savvy NFL defenders.

Wallace will also have to become more physical.  He is easily jammed at the line, and shows little desire to fight through it.  He also is not a willing blocker.

“He’s a burner”, said Steelers’ offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.  “He hasn’t gone over the middle a lot, but he’s an outside speed guy who’s an excellent return guy.  We really, really like him”.

Wallace will have an immediate impact in the Steelers return game.  However, his impact on the passing game may not be felt until year 2 or 3.  He must develop better hands and better route running skills.  But he has speed to burn, and that can’t be taught.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their first pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Kraig Urbik.  Urbik is a big guard from Wisconsin.  Urbik stands 6’5″, and weighs 328 lbs.  Like I said, he’s big.

Urbik was probably the best offensive lineman still available at this spot, and he represents good value.  More importantly, he meets a need for the Steelers.  The team has finally gotten around to addressing their porous offensive line.

First, lets look at the good aspects of this pick.  As I mentioned earlier, Urbik is a big, strong kid.  He comes from a quality Wisconsin program that has produced a stream of successful NFL linemen.  Urbik has a good motor and plays until the whistle blows.  He is tough, has good football intelligence, and is a very hard worker.

Urbik is a road grader who is very hard to move.  He is very hard to bull rush.  He will not be overpowered, regardless of who he faces.

Despite being a guard, he nevertheless emerged as a team leader on the Badgers.  He missed some games last season due to a knee injury, and the team struggled in his absence.  They lost 5 of 6 contest while Urbik was out, but then rallied to win 3 of their last 4 when Urbik returned.

Urbik started 50 games during his career at Wisconsin, including a few at right tackle, so he does provide some versatility.  He is a road grader who should excel in run blocking.

On the negative side, Urbik is not particularly quick, and he may struggle in pass coverage.   Urbik’s lack of quickness is frequently exposed by speed rushers.  During drills at the NFL Combine, this weakness was exposed as Urbik constantly had to hold speed rushers who had a good swim move or spin move.   Urbik struggles in open space, and is easy to get around.  Moreover, Urbik doesn’t have the speed to get out an pull.

Aside from his quickness problems, Urbik also has flaws in his technique that are going to have to be addressed at the next level.  He must work on his footwork.   His hand quickness will also need to be developed.  Lastly, he must sustain his blocks longer than he does.

Urbik will probably do better as a right guard than as a left guard due to his quickness problems.   While he did play right tackle at Wisconsin, this is not an option for him in the NFL.

The bottom line is that Urbik should see time immediately with the Steelers.  He should bump Darnell Stapleton out of the starting line-up.  However, he immediately help the running game.  However, he is not the answer to Big Ben’s sack problems, since pass blocking is his weakness.

For previous pick, click here.

For next pick, click here.

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Excuse my outburst, but I just watched the Steelers trade their second round pick to the Denver Broncos.

The trade is actually not a bad move.  The Steelers gave up their second and fourth round picks (number 64 and 132) in exchange for the Broncos’ 2 third round picks (number 79 and 84).  I can live with that.   The team moved back  15 picks, but they get to move up 48 picks on their next selection.  Not a bad exchange.

The reason that I reacted badly initially is that I have been glued to my couch all day watching the selection show.  It was a beautiful 80 degrees outside, and I could have been fishing or playing golf.  But instead, I chose  to forego enjoying the beautiful weather in order to watch the Steelers make two draft selections.  TWO draft selections!!  So you can imagine how unhappy I was to learn that I had wasted all that time watching the 2nd round unfold, only to learn that the Steelers weren’t going to pick.  #$%^^&%@!!!!!

Okay, I’m over it now.  That was my Tourette’s Syndrome speaking.  Sorry about the foul language.

Can’t wait until tomorrow.  I’ll be glued to the couch again.

Here we go, Steelers!  Here we go!!!!

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