Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

This is Part 9 of our Steelers position review series.  If you haven’t read Part 1 – 8, please click the links below.

Steelers position review – Cornerbacks

Steelers position review – Safeties

Steelers position review – Linebackers

Steelers position review – Defensive Line

Steelers position review – Quarterbacks

Steelers position review – Running Backs

Steelers position review – Tight Ends

Steelers position review – Offensive Line

I actually thought that I had finished this series.  Then one of my readers (thanks Dawson) reminded me that I forgot to review the wide receivers.  I’m not quite sure how I did that (no age jokes, please), but I did.  So here is my review of the Steelers’ wide receivers.

After the linebacker position, wide receiver may be the strongest position on the team.  Not only do the Steelers have a good group of receivers, but most of them are young.

Hines  Ward will enter his 14th year in the league in 2011.  Last year was Ward’s worst season since 2000.  However, I’m not the least bit worried about him.  Frankly, I’m much more worried about whether Ward is going to win on Dancing With The Stars than I am about whether he’s going to be ready to play next season.  When the season starts (and nobody knows when that will actually be), Hines will be ready to play.  You can count on it.

2010 was Mike Wallace’s breakout season.  He surpassed Hines Ward and became Ben Roethlisberger’s go-to receiver.  Wallace led the team in both receptions and receiving yards.  In fact, among receivers with 25 catches or more, only the Philadelphia Eagles’ DeSean Jackson averaged more yards per catch than Wallace.

I expect Wallace to have an even better season next year.  Ben Roethlisberger isn’t likely to miss 25% of the regular season like he did in 2010.  That bodes well for Wallace.  Also, now that he’s officially become the team’s top receiver, I expect Wallace to be get more opportunities than he did in 2010.

Wallace only had 60 regular season receptions in 2010.  That’s far fewer than other receivers who had similar yardage.  Houston’s Andre Johnson had 86 catches, but ended up with fewer yards than Wallace.  Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald had 90 catches , but also ended up with fewer yards than Wallace.  And Indianapolis’ Reggie Wayne had 111 catches, but only ended up with 98 more yards than Wallace.  Can you imagine how many yards Wallace would have if he had 80-100 catches?

Suffice it to say that Mike Wallace is going to be the Steelers top receiver for the foreseeable future.

Antwaan Randle El was brought back in 2010 to help fill the void left by Santonio Holmes’ departure.  Unfortunately, he didn’t do that.  In fact, by the mid-point in the season, Randle El had been surpassed by rookies Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown on the depth chart.  By the end of the season, Sanders had actually accumulated more catches and yards than Randle El.

Randle El is 31 years old, and his best days are behind him.  I seriously doubt that he’ll be able to make the team next year.

Emmanuel Sanders, on the other hand, will definitely make the team.  I hate to say “I told you so”, but I said early in training camp that this kid was good, and that he was going to make the team.  In fact, I think he’s the heir apparent to Hines Ward.

Unlike Mike Wallace, who is clearly a speed guy, Sanders excels in making the short and intermediate catches that Hines Ward has traditionally made.  I have little doubt that Sanders will enter 2011 as the Steelers unquestioned #3 receiver.

While I believe that Sanders will be the Steelers’ #3 wide receiver next year, fellow sophomore Antonio Brown isn’t just going to hand the position to him.  Like Sanders. Brown stepped in and made his presence felt during his rookie season.

I hate to say “I told you so” (okay, actually I love saying that), but many of you thought I was crazy back in training camp when I predicted that BOTH Brown and Sanders were going to make the roster.  But they both did.  And I expect to see even more from them in 2011.

Arnaz Battle is a special teams player.  While he’s officially listed as a wide receiver, we all know that he’s really not.  No need to discuss him further.

Tyler Grisham is a gritty young player who has spent the past two years on the Steelers practice squad.  I was actually the first blogger or reporter to write about Grisham at Steelers training camp in 2009.  I really liked the kid, and I accurately predicted that the Steelers would keep him on the practice squad.  Unfortunately, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown are just better receivers than Grisham.  With their emergence, I believe that Grisham’s days with the Steelers are numbered.

Limas Sweed (yes, him!) will be back with the team next year.  I know that many fans have completely given up on Sweed.  And frankly, I don’t blame them.  But I think fans have to give him another chance.

I know that in the past Sweed has been a dropped pass waiting to happen.  But I still have hopes for this kid.  He’s still the tallest wide receiver the Steelers have, and he’s still fast.  Only Mike Wallace is faster than him among the Steelers’ receivers.  So just imagine what would happen if he came back healthy, and somehow rediscovered his confidence.  There wouldn’t be a defense in the NFL that could stop Ward, Wallace, Sanders, Brown, and Sweed.

Even if  Limas Sweed doesn’t develop into the player that I hope he’ll be, I still believe that the Steelers’ wide receiving corps will be a strong unit in 2011.  They should easily be able to sign a free agent to fill their final roster spot if Sweed can’t hold onto it.

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The 2011 NFL Draft begins in just 8 days.  Anyone who read my position-by-position analysis of the Steelers knows that I think that cornerback is the Steelers’ biggest need.

When I read mock drafts and various websites, there are two primary names that I keep hearing in connection with the Steelers.  One is Maurkice Pouncey’s twin brother Mike Pouncey, and the other is Texas cornerback Aaron Williams.

I’ll talk about Pouncey in my next article, but today I want to discuss Aaron Williams.

Quite a few mock drafts have Williams coming to the Steelers in the first round.  Moreover, Steelers fans on the various message boards seem to think that he’d be a great fit for the Black & Gold.  All I have to say about that is………”Huh???!!!”

Has anyone actually seen Aaron Williams play?  I have.  The kid gets burned more frequently than microwave popcorn.  I actually liked him when I watched him play in 2009.  But in 2010, he regressed terribly, and at times he didn’t even look like an NFL cornerback prospect.

Two things happened in 2010 that I believed affected Williams.  Firstly, he moved from the slot to the outside.  Secondly, he no longer had 2009 1st round draft pick Earl Thomas backing him up.

The fact that Williams looked far more vulnerable when he didn’t have Thomas behind him seemed eerily reminiscent of how the Steelers’ cornerbacks look any time Troy Polamalu isn’t in the lineup.

Williams’ move to the outside also seemed to cause him problems.  Frankly, I don’t think Williams ever looked comfortable on the outside.  Unfortunately, you can’t waste a first round pick on a nickelback.  To be worthy of an early draft position, Williams has to be comfortable on the outside covering one of the opponent’s top 2 receivers.  And I don’t think he can do that.  At least not yet.

I recognize that many scouts think that Williams is one of the best cornerbacks in this year’s draft, but I don’t agree with that assessment.  In fact, he’s not among my top 5 cornerbacks in this year’s draft.  I actually think that Williams is ultimately going to end up playing safety in the NFL.  But of course, we’ll have to wait to see if that prediction comes true.  (For what it’s worth, I said the same thing about Steelers’ cornerback Keenan Lewis.  To date, the Steelers have not moved him to safety).

There’s no doubt that Williams has great physical traits.  That’s why I think so many people are so high on him.  He’s a tall (6’0″) cornerback with great athletic ability.  He has a 37.5 inch vertical leap, and I’m sure scouts salivate when they envision him covering some of the tall wide receivers in the NFL today.

But physical characteristics and athletic ability are not all that it takes to be a great cornerback.  It also takes ball skills, and Aaron Williams doesn’t have those.  Do you know how many interceptions Williams had in 2010?  None.  That’s right, NONE.  Not one.  Zero.  Zilch (He’d fit right in with the current Steelers cornerbacks).  In fact, he only had 4 interceptions in his 3 year college career.  And it wasn’t because quarterbacks were afraid to throw in his direction.  They threw at him frequently.

Go back and watch some of his games.  If you watch his game against Oklahoma State, you’ll swear that he must have been covering Randy Moss.  He got burned deep repeatedly.  In fact, throughout 2010, Williams got beat far too often by receivers who will never make it to the NFL.  That makes me nervous.  I’d be much more comfortable if he only got beat badly by receivers like A.J. Green and Julio Jones.

If you watch Williams’ technique, you’ll notice that he has a (bad) habit of peaking into the backfield.  When he does, he often loses his man.  If college quarterbacks recognized that and took advantage of it, what do you think Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Drew Brees will do to the kid?

Not only does Williams lose track of his man when he tries to spy the quarterback, but he’s also extremely susceptible to double moves.  And unlike players like Hall-of-Famers Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders, Williams hasn’t shown that he has the closing burst to recover when his man gets separation.

The Steelers sent all of their coaches to Texas to watch Williams at his Pro Day.  Then they brought him to Pittsburgh for another visit at their South Side facility today.  So obviously, they have interest in him.  But hopefully, they’ll watch some of the games that I saw him play in.  Because the guy that I watched play is not a guy who is going to significantly upgrade the Steelers’ porous defensive backfield.

If they do select him, Carnell Lake is going to have to spend a lot of time with him.  He relies too much on athletic ability, and doesn’t seem to have mastered proper technique.  Against the average college receiver, superior athletic ability is all you need.  Against NFL receivers, that’s just not going to cut it.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t hate the kid.  If the Steelers were able to draft him as a 2nd round safety, or as a 3rd round cornerback, I’d be very happy with the selection.  But as a 1st round cornerback, I just don’t think that his play has justified such a high selection.

But clearly many of you think that he would be a great first round pick, so let me know why you think that.  I’m always open to having my mind changed.

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This is Part 8 of our Steelers position review series.  If you haven’t read Part 1 – 7, please click the links below.

Steelers position review – Cornerbacks

Steelers position review – Safeties

Steelers position review – Linebackers

Steelers position review – Defensive Line

Steelers position review – Quarterbacks

Steelers position review – Running Backs

Steelers position review – Tight Ends

The next position that we’re going to look at is the offensive line.

Offensive line is the position that I most often see the “experts” list as the Steeler’s greatest need.  I don’t agree with that assessment.  Frankly, I don’t think the Steelers are very far from having an exceptionally good offensive line.

Let’s take a look at what the Steelers have to work with.

Max Starks was the Steelers’ starting left tackle until he went down with a season-ending injury.  Every indication is that Starks will be ready to take back his starting position next year.  So the left tackle position gets an immediate upgrade due to Starks’ return.  And no draft pick was necessary for the upgrade.

Starks is a good, but not great left tackle.  He is big and strong enough to withstand anyone’s bull rush.  However, he doesn’t have the swiftest feet in the NFL.  So speed rushers like the Cowboys’  DeMarcus Ware tend to beat him routinely.

Anytime a team can get a great left tackle, they should do so.  But with the 31st pick in the draft, the Steelers aren’t likely to get anyone better than Starks.  So I think that Starks will suffice for now.

Jonathan Scott came over from Buffalo expecting to be a backup with the Steelers.  Little did he know that he would be thrust into a starting role when Starks got injured.  Scott is never going to be confused with the Cleveland Browns’ LT Joe Thomas, but he did an adequate job as a replacement.  The experience that he got starting in 2010, along with the 4 years of experience and 14 starts that he already had under his belt, will make him an even better backup in 2011.

Tony Hills is officially listed as the 3rd string left tackle.  Hills was drafted by the Steelers in the 4th round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and he’s been AWOL ever since.  Even with all of the injuries that the Steelers had on their offensive line in 2010, Hills only saw action in 4 games.  Moreover, he wasn’t even on the active roster for the majority of the games, while undrafted free agents like Ramon Foster saw plenty of action.  That fact alone says just about all that needs to be said about Hills.  He’s likely seen his final days in a Steelers uniform.

Chris Kemoeatu is the Steelers’ left guard.  Kemoeatu is a bit of an enigma.  “Kemo” is a massive player who seems to have been born to play guard in the NFL.  Physically, Kemoeatu is a stud.  Mentally………..well that’s another story.  Kemoeatu is prone to making stupid mistakes at the most inopportune times.  He can be counted on to get an off-sides penalty or to get flagged for a late hit after the whistle.  We can never be sure WHEN he’s going to do it, but when know that at some point during the game, it’s gonna happen.

Physically, Kemoeatu is bigger and stronger than Alan Faneca ever was.  But mentally, he’s not even in the same league.

Trai Essex is officially the backup at left guard (and right guard).  But each time he’s called into active duty, he seems to play badly.  Then he’s replaced by an undrafted free agent (e.g. Ramon Foster, Doug Legursky, etc.).

Essex is valued by the Steelers’ coaching staff because of his “position versatility” (i.e. he can play all of the offensive line positions except center).  Unfortunately, he seems to play all of the positions badly.  Do you really want to see Essex playing left tackle (even if only for a few plays)?  I didn’t think so.

Essex, a former 3rd round draft pick, has spent 6 years with the Steelers, and hasn’t been able to win a starting position in all that time.  He’s a free agent this year, and I strongly believe that the Steelers should allow him to continue his career with another team.

Maurkice Pouncey is the Steelers’ starting center.  He was All-Pro at his position…….as a rookie.  Need I say more?  He’s a keeper.

Doug Legursky replaced Pouncey at center during the Super Bowl, and played reasonably well.  He’s no Pouncey, but he did a good job on short notice.  Moreover, Legursky has also filled in at guard.  Legursky is a guy that I trust to come in and fill in when needed.

Ramon Foster manned the right guard position after Trai Essex proved to be incapable of doing so.  Foster was an undrafted free agent from Tennessee that the Steelers picked up in 2009.  Since he’s been with the team, he’s stepped in for Chris Kemoeatu in 2009 and played well (for an undrafted rookie), then he beat out Trai Essex for the starting right guard position in 2010.  Not bad for an undrafted guy.  He still has to prove that he has the potential to be a long-term starter, but I definitely like him as a proven backup.

Flozell Adams started at right tackle in 2010.  The former All-Pro left tackle from the Dallas Cowboys had to learn a completely new position with the Steelers, and he did it.  He made a lot of mental errors early in the season (which was to be expected), but by mid-season, he seemed to have settled in at right tackle.  Some might even argue that after Maurkice Pouncey, Adams was the second best offensive lineman for the Steelers in 2010.

Adams is 93 years old, and his career is coming to an end.  But he has one more year left on his Steelers contract, and I believe he’s earned the right to stay for that additional year.

Willie Colon is the final (meaningful) offensive lineman for the Steelers.  Colon got hurt before the season missed the entire year.  Reports say that he is on track to return to the field in 2011.

Before being injured, the Steelers coaches seemed to think that Colon was their best offensive lineman.  Unfortunately, Colon is a free agent this year.  This will probably be his last opportunity to get a big payday, and so he’ll probably be quite open to the idea of leaving the Steelers.  After all, the Steelers are not known for breaking the bank to keep their free agents.

It’s unknown what Colon will do.  But if he stays, then I believe that the Steelers offensive line has the potential to be a strength in 2011 (despite what all of the “experts” are saying).  In my opinion, the Steelers should move Willie Colon  to right guard.  Then they’d have a starting lineup of Starks, Kemoeatu, Pouncey, Colon, and Adams.  Their primary backups would then be Ramon Foster, Jonathan Scott, and Doug Legursky.

I could definitely live with that group.  Moreover, there’s no way that an offensive line made up of those individuals could be considered to be a weakness for the team.

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This is Part 7 of our Steelers position review series.  If you haven’t read Part 1 – 6, please click the links below.

Steelers position review – Cornerbacks

Steelers position review – Safeties

Steelers position review – Linebackers

Steelers position review – Defensive Line

Steelers position review – Quarterbacks

Steelers position review – Running Backs

The next position that we’re going to look at is the tight end position.

Tight end is a strength for the Steelers…….sort of.

Part of the problem is that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has a unique view of the tight end position.  Arians is a firm believer in using a tight end as an H-back to serve as the primary blocker for his running back.  Steelers fans have long complained about this approach and lobbied for a traditional fullback, or using two running backs so it isn’t always so obvious who is going to get the ball.

Arians has also shown a greater reluctance to throw to his tight end relative to many other offensive coordinators.  Seventeen tight ends caught more passes than Heath Miller in 2010.  Dallas Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten caught 94 passes in 2010.  That’s more than twice as many as Heath Miller caught (42 passes).  Moreover, it’s twice as many as Heath Miller has averaged throughout his career (47 catches/season).

So in my opinion, part of the Steelers problem at tight end lies with the offensive coordinator, and not the players.

Heath Miller is one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL.  He has sure hands, and seldom drops a pass.  He’s also one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL.  But as mentioned earlier, Miller doesn’t get nearly as many opportunities to catch the ball as many of his contemporaries at the position.  Players like Witten, Tony Gonzalez, Ben Watson, and Kellen Winslow play a much more integral role in their team’s passing attack.

Part of Arians’ reluctance to involve Miller more in the passing attack is probably due to the Steelers’ suspect offensive line.  Because the Steelers’ offensive line has been a weakness for years, they are often forced to keep Miller at the line of scrimmage to help in the blocking scheme.  If their offensive line were upgraded, I believe Miller would be freed up to catch more passes.

David Johnson is the Steelers’ H-Back.  He’s a vicious blocker who is rarely targeted in the Steelers’ passing game.  In fact, Johnson only has 6 reception in his two year NFL career.  The Steelers use Johnson so seldom in the passing game, that I believe that they should do so every now and then just to catch their opponent by surprise.  Having watched film of the Steelers, the opponent will NEVER expect them to throw to Johnson.

While Johnson is a very physical blocker, he has shortcomings at the position.  He sometimes fails in picking up blitzes.  He’s also not particularly fast, and sometimes seems to be in Rashard Mendenhall’s way when he’s trying to hit the hole.

The Steelers’ third tight end is Matt Spaeth.  When the Steelers first drafted Spaeth out of college, I was excited about the pick.  After all, I was envisioning Ben Roethlisberger throwing the ball to the 6’7″ Spaeth in red zone situations.  Yet, in the 4 years that Spaeth has been with the Steelers, we’ve seldom seen him used in that fashion.

Spaeth has 36 total catches during his 4 years in the NFL, and has only reached double digit receptions once (in 2008).

Heath Miller missed games due to injury in both 2008 and 2010.  In both cases, Spaeth proved to be a liability when he filled in for Miller.  Spaeth drops balls that Miller routinely catches.  Moreover, Spaeth is not a good blocker like Miller and Johnson are.  Frankly, Spaeth blocks like a matador (although he has gotten slightly better over the years).

So if he can’t catch, can’t block, and the team doesn’t utilize his height in the red zone, I have to ask “why is Matt Spaeth on the team?”

Spaeth is a free agent this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Steelers let him leave without tendering an offer.  His production (or lack thereof) can easily be replaced by a late round draft pick or an undrafted free agent.

The Steelers’ tight ends fit well in their current offensive system.  However, if they were to use their tight ends in a more traditional fashion, both Spaeth and David Johnson would probably need to be upgraded.  But until they do that, Johnson is probably safe in his role with the Steelers.

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This is Part 6 of our Steelers position review series.  If you haven’t read Part 1 – 5, please click the links below.

Steelers position review – Cornerbacks

Steelers position review – Safeties

Steelers position review – Linebackers

Steelers position review – Defensive Line

Steelers position review – Quarterbacks

The next position that we’re going to look at is the running back position.  I believe that running back is a strength for the Steelers.  However, I’ve seen several websites that have listed RB as a need that the Steelers might try to fill during the upcoming draft.

Personally, I think that the running back may be the strongest group that we’re going to review during this series.  The Steelers have a 1,000 yard rusher in the starting role, several quality veteran backups, and a rookie from last year who showed potential.  That’s pretty good, considering some of the glaring needs that I’ve already outlined at several other positions (and we haven’t even talked about the offensive line yet).

Rashard Mendenhall is the entrenched starter.  Nobody is going to take his position.  He had a career year in 2010.  He rushed for a career high 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Mendenhall started every game in 2010.  However, his rushing average dropped noticeably when Ben Roethlisberger returned to the starting lineup.  In my opinion, Bruce Arians has got to find a way to make the passing game and the running game work well simultaneously.

One thing that was worth noting was that Mendenhall had almost 100 more carries in 2010 than he did in 2009.  Yet, he only rushed for 165 more yards.  Thus, his rushing average declined from 4.6 yards/carry to 3.9 yards/carry.  Some of that may have been due to the absence of both Max Starks and Willie Colon for most of the season in 2010.  However, the Steelers did burn Willie Parker out in just 3 seasons.  Hopefully, Mendenhall is not starting to show signs of being overworked.

Isaac Redman is Mendenhall’s primary backup.  The Steelers use him primarily as their short yardage back, but I think he can do far more than that.  Frankly, I thought the Steelers added him to the active roster a year later than they should have.

Redman averaged 4.8 yards per carry.  That’s pretty impressive, regardless of who you are.  Moreover, Redman also averaged 8 yards per catch as a receiver.  That’s not bad either.  The only problem with Redman is that he is not particularly fast.  He’s more of a power guy than a speed guy.  So he’s not likely to break a long run outside the tackles.  But he’s very effective between the tackles.

Mewelde Moore is the Steelers’ third running back.  He’s probably the best receiver among the group, and he’s primarily used as a 3rd down back.

Moore had the lowest output of his career in 2010.  He rushed for only 99 yards.  He did have 205 yards receiving, but that still isn’t a very high output for a back with his experience.

You could make an argument that the Steelers might be better off replacing Mewelde with a younger (and cheaper) player.  His production could probably be replaced by such a player.  However, Mewelde is a good locker room guy who puts the team first.  He knows the Steelers’ offense, and he seems to have the confidence of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.  Based on that, I think that Moore is likely to be back for another season.

Even if he returns, Moore might be surpassed on the depth chart by Jonathan Dwyer.  Dwyer was a rookie last year and didn’t get many opportunities to show what he can do.  It probably didn’t help that he was hurt during most of training camp and didn’t give the coaches much to evaluate him on.  But during the opportunities that he was given during preseason, he looked good.  He rushed for 89 yards during the 3rd preseason game, and 86 yards during the 4th.  He ended preseason averaging 4.7 yards per carry.  So it will be interesting to see what he can do next year if he’s healthy and gets a full training camp under his belt.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe that the Steelers are in good shape at running back.  The most important thing that they need to do to improve their running game is upgrade their offensive line.  That will yield greater dividends than drafting another running back will.

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