AFC North Review: Pittsburgh Steelers
June 7, 2009
By Donald Starver
This is part 4 of our AFC North review. On Thursday, Joe Barnes from the Baltimore Ravens blog The Ebony Bird started things off with a review of the Baltimore Ravens’ off-season. On Friday, Adam Kiefaber from the Cincinnati Bengals Blog Bengal Stripes gave us his review of the Bengals’ off-season. On Saturday, Don Delco from the Cleveland Browns blog No Logo Needed shared his perspective on the Browns’ off-season moves. Now it’s my turn to share my views on the Steelers’ off-season thus far.
AFC North Offseason Review: Pittsburgh Steelers
Best free agent signing and impact:
Biggest Loss and Impact:
What is your reaction to the Steelers’ draft? I really like the players the Steelers selected. Ziggy Hood adds much needed youth to the Steelers defensive line. Kraig Urbik should be able to win a starting position at right guard by mid-season. Mike Wallace has amazing speed, and is a star receiver of the future. Keenan Lewis should see some playing time if he can learn the playbook. Frank Summers is the short yardage back that the Steelers have lacked since Jerome Bettis retired. And getting a center in the 7th round who won the Rimington Trophy in 2008 was the icing on the cake. The Steelers addressed most of their needs, got much stronger in their return game, and added pieces for the future. Overall, an excellent draft.
What storylines will you follow in camp? 1) Will the sophomores finally make an impact. Rashard Mendenhall, Limas Sweed, Tony Hills, and Bruce Davis need to make their presence felt this year. They were all MIA last year, and that will have to change if they want to hold onto their roster spots. 2) How is Lawrence Timmons adjusting to being a starter? I think he’ll do fine, but I’d like to see it on the field. 3) Can the Steelers’ offensive line finally figure out how to keep QB Ben Roethlisberger off his back? Let’s face it. Big Ben gets sacked way too often. If he is going to last in this league, he is going to have to get better protection. 4) Can Joe Burnett and Mike Wallace make an impact on the return game? The Steelers didn’t have many weak spots last year. Their return game was one of the few.
So, that is my review of the Steelers’ off-season so far. I really like what they’ve done. I don’t think we’re going to miss any of the players who left, and I think the rookies are going to be solid. We won the Super Bowl last year, despite having the toughest schedule in the NFL. The road to the Super Bowl will be much easier this time around.
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Is there anything to this point that is showing that the ruunning game will be improved over last year? To me I believe that is one of the reasons that Ben struggled so much because last year there was no real reason to fear our rushing attack. A couple things that I would like to see is the use of the fullback quite a bit more and even though it’s not a part of the running game I’d like to see a few more screen passes per game to the running backs.
1I agree Benny. Our running game has been subpar for several years. As far as our O-line, I don’t know if they know how to run a screen. Overall, I’d like to see Arians add some diversity, use Dixon and make our offense more exciting.
2if you ask me,,, and you haven’t, we will miss nate washington. he was catching alot of deep balls late in the year, and that to me was clutch. mcdonald will not easily make us miss nate, and limas still has lots to prove, this is only a band-aid to the wound that steel town refuses to acknowlege, but as the wheels turn in the nfl, we will be ok, not great at the 3rd reciever slot.
3Benny and Troy,
I agree with you. I’d also like to see the running game improve. But a big part of that is the offensive line. It’s pretty tough to run effectively when the line isn’t opening up holes.
I do think the lack of a true fullback has hurt Willie Parker. He has stated that he prefers to run behind a fullback. However, Bruce Arians prefers to use the tight end/H-back in that role, so you may want to give up on your hope for a fullback.
Some people will crucify me for saying this, but I have never felt that Willie Parker was the answer. I know that he has been to the Pro Bowl multiple times, but I am still not a big fan. Parker is a one-dimensional back to me. He has speed. That’s all. He isn’t elusive, he can’t catch, and he can’t get the short yards. Sure, Parker will break a long one every now and then, but far more often, he will be stopped for almost no gain.
4David,
I disagree about Nate Washington being hard to replace. Nate was a solid contributor last year, but not irreplaceable.
If you look at what Limas Sweed did last year, he was getting very good separation from his defenders. Often, he was getting better separation than Nate Washington was. Sweed just couldn’t hold onto the ball. If he fixes that problem, he will fill Washington’s role easily.
Also, Shaun McDonald is a much more accomplished receiver than Nate Washington. He will easily be able to fill Nate’s shoes.
Finally, Mike Wallace is going to be better than Nate ever was. He has speed that Nate Washington can’t even begin to approach. Wallace has Willie Parker-type speed. The kid is F-A-S-T! He probably won’t contribute this year, but in a few years, he should become one of Big Ben’s favorite downfield targets.
5WOW!! I thought my cousin and I were the only two Steelers fans that thought #39 was overrated. I think he is good in a system like the Giants use where they will switch up 2-3 RB’s to try and keep things fresh. Now I would like to keep him if Rashard turns out to be as good as his draft location would indicate. They could turn out to be a nice one-two punch.
And in regards to missing Nate I don’t think it will be a huge deal because Limas, even though he didn’t have many catches, dropped the least amount of passes for us last season http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcnorth/0-2-287/Steelers–drops.html. And it might just be me but Nate and Ben always looked like they had timing issues with htting the deep ball. I’ll reserve judgement on Shaun until I get to see him in some of the preseason games.
6I agree with most of this review. HOWEVER,
MY CONCERN IS : The BACKUP QUARTERBACK POSITION!
The STEELERS BRASS DROPPED THE BALL by letting BYRON LEFTWICH GO!!!
He was,in my opinion, the best backup Quarterback that we have had in a long time. If BIG BEN went down I am sure that we could of relied upon him to take us to the playoffs and Superbowl.
Not to knock Charlie Batch. I like him but he is getting older and more injury prone. LETWICH had a VERY QUICK RELEASE…just like TOM BRADY and P.MANNING.
I do not have that much confidence in DIXON either. He is still not proven and green. He seems to me as being better at a SLASH POSITION!
P.s. IF it came down to it….would the STEELERS be able “TO BEAT” the PATRIOTS with TOM BRADY back at their helm and their veteran stacked players that they picked up this year–in his arsenal!
” THE STEELERS TRACK RECORD AGAINST BRADY AND NEW ENGLAND IS NOT THAT GOOD!
7Benny,
I checked out your link, but I have to disagree with it. Drops are not an official stat in the NFL, so I question the data. Also, the number of drops wouldn’t be meaningful, even if drops were an official stat. What would be much more meaningful would be % of drops. That would show how prone the player is to drop the ball. I would expect Hines Ward to lead the team in drops. After all, he gets the most ball thrown to him. However, as a percentage, I would expect his drops to be very low. Sweed, on the other hand, probably has a high percentage of drops even though his absolute number drops is low due to the low number of passes thrown to him.
I watched Sweed a lot when he was in college. I feel confident that he will be fine. He just needs to get over the rookie jitters. Do you remember how long it took for Nate to become a dependable receiver?
8Jeff,
Thanks for the comment. However, I disagree with a part of it.
I agree that the Steelers lost a valuable player in Byron Leftwich. He was a franchise quarterback at one time, so having him as a backup was a big benefit for the Steelers. However, the Steelers could not keep him because Byron wanted to be a starter. He didn’t want to be a backup. Also, he wanted to make starter money. That meant that the Steelers and Byron Leftwich had no long term future.
Also, Byron did NOT have a quick release. He had a looonggg, slooooow release. He winds up like a baseball pitcher. He throws the ball hard, but it takes him a long time to do it.
Lastly, I agree with you on Brady. Until we beat the Patriots with Brady at the helm, then we haven’t really established ourselves as the team to beat. Brady’s Patriots are the team to beat until proven otherwise.
9Hey Folks,
Just wanted to give my thoughts to these excellent thoughts. First off, I have to disagree completely with Jeff on Byron’s “quick release”.. Quick release?? Are you kidding? You could run to the fridge and make a sandwich between the time he spotted and open receiver and actually completed his throwing motion! That said, I think he was a great backup QB. I do like Charlie Batch as well.. hopefully he can bounce back with a solid preseason and give us some confidence.
As far Nate Washington. To me he will not be hard to replace. He was a decent number 3 receiver, but he had two many drops for my liking. He had decent speed, but I think we may actually have better options on the roster right now.
As for Willie Parker, I agree completely that he is simply a speed guy. He does have some decent cutting ability, but I think he has poor vision and definitely is not a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. I do think he is pretty solid in pass protection though.
As for the team to beat.. The team to beat is the team that won the last Super Bowl….period.!
Dave
10Dave,
Couldn’t have said it better.
I understand your point about the Steelers being the team to beat. I agree in part. However, the Patriots were so dominant before Brady went down that I would like to see how the Steelers do against them. Before Brady’s injury, they went undefeated during the regular season, and only a miracle by the Giants kept them from winning the Super Bowl. They certainly whipped us that year.
I’d definitely like to see the Steelers get a crack at them now.
11To piggyback on the Leftwich release comments, he does have a short release when it comes to passes less than 10 yards but there is no way that you can put his name next to Peytons, that’s just foolish. Also I think he is a very capable back up but I feel just as confident with him as I do with Charlie.
Now in terms of who is the team to beat in the league obviously most people go with defending champs but the Patriots have almost always had our number this decade. So if we can beat them this year AND win the Super Bowl then the Steelers will truly be as great as we all believe them to be.
12Thanks…BLACK-N-GOLD BLOGGERS for your comments on LEFTWICH.
I believe the STEELERS should of looked into bringing quarterbacks…DAN MARINO or JOE MONTANA out of retirement as backups QB’s for the STEELERS….They have ties to the STEEL CITY! HA. Ha.
P.s. Would be a cool “APRIL FOOLS” gag during the 2009 year if they dressed Terry Bradshaw up in a Steelers uniform as an emergency backup QB. ….CAN YOU GUYS IMAGINE THE PRESS COVERAGE OF THAT!
Nice breakdown Admin. on Steelers.
13Hello, and welcome back.
I would like to comment on a few things that has not been mention in your review. IMO,
14Was the Steelers’ biggest need addressed?
Sure the Steelers could use help on the O-line but IMO the return game on special teams was terrible last year, Holmes did provide some sparks but overall there was a glaring lack of speed demons! Now, they drafted 2 players and brought in a guy from the CFL name Stefan Logan aka “The Human Joystick”, so the Steelers stats in punt return and kickoff return in 09.
Benny,
I agree. I want to see the Steelers beat the Patriots WITH Tom Brady so badly that it hurts. I hate that team, but I respect them. The Steelers have to beat them in order for our status as “kings of the hill” to be cemented.
What we have is kind of like the Houston Rockets winning the NBA championship when Michael Jordan was playing baseball. We are the reigning champs…….sort of.
We have to kick the Patriots’ arses in order to silence any doubts as to who is supreme.
15NotjustaSteelerfan,
Good point. I think I did mention the return game, but I may not have given it enough emphasis.
I think Logan, Burnett, and Wallace are going to supercharge the return game. That is one weakness that is now a strenth.
16the steelers are 9 months away from hoisting up another vince lombardi rophy. what was it the great george halas said,,, what the hells going on out there!
17I think this is a big year for the Steelers scouting department. It’s kind of a reloading year, and we have several high draft picks from previous years who should be ready to contribute. Timmons, Mendenhall, Sweed, and Dixon are all to some degree unknown commodities that could end up making the front office look very good or very bad. Also by not dramatically altering the O-line, the front office has made a key decision that could end up being touted as brilliant or idiotic. Last year, Woodley made a lot of teams sorry they passed on him (some passed on him twice!), and I’m betting most of these guys will pan out too.
As for the backup quarterback situation inparticular, don’t forget that Dixon was a Heisman contender before the injury. If he hadn’t blown out his knee he probably would’ve become some lackluster team’s franchise quarterback.
18Matt,
Excellent points.
I think Timmons and Sweed are going to contribute a lot this year. Mendenhall, I have high hopes for. I am a little nervous about the fact that he only had one good year in college. However, it was a VERY good year. I hope he can make a name for himself this year.
Dixon is going to be a solid backup, but as long as Big Ben is in front of him, he isn’t even going to be given a chance to compete for the starting position. But I think he has a lot of talent. Last year, they ran him in the wildcat package in practice, and the defensive players said that they couldn’t stop him. It the #1 defense in the NFL says that they can’t stop someone, that is a great compliment for that player. I hope we see Dixon is a few plays this year.
19Thanks, and yes you did mention anyway I have a question I would like to ask your opinion.
Which Steeler Free Agent do you think will have a Pro-Bowl year?
Reminder of those players: Willie Parker, Heath Miller,Brett Keisel,Casey Hampton,Ryan Clark or Deshea Townsend.
Which one will be resign first?
My money is on Hampton due to the fact Tomlin had already singled him out last year and I think he will come to training camp in shape for the 09 season vs Keisel or Miller.
Meaning, Hood is a DE not a DT for this 3-4 defense and Keisel is more like DE for a 4-3 defense. Where’s the beef?
As for Miller, with a (should be) improved running game with the return Mendenhall and the 5th round pick in Summers He’s value should decrease with the short-yardaged package.
Then again they may resign Townsend next, he should be on Survivor when he retires. He was not resign then was resign from the Patriots, now he’s being offerred a position switch(SS). I hope he doesn’t make the same mistake like Woodson.
But the Safe Pick would be Jeff Reed(pk). Because too much attention spent on Rundy Mundy(fs) and for some strange reason, Jeff Reed doesn’t get any press for his performance!” I mean, he is a “game-winner”.
Thanks for your time.
20Notjustasteelerfan,
Wow, there is quite a bit in that question. Let me answer it in bite sized chunks.
First, I don’t think that any Steelers free agent is going to have a pro bowl year. I think that Casey Hampton’s best days are behind him. While he still has several quality years left in the tank, I don’t think they will be Pro Bowl years. Willie Parker won’t make another Pro Bowl until the offensive line finally gets its act together. Jeff Reed should be a Pro Bowler, but he doesn’t get enough points since the Steelers don’t use a high octane offense. Also, he is handicapped due to having to kick in the mud bowl called Heinz Field. Heath Miller is possibly the best tight end in the NFL. He can block with the best of them, and he has extremely reliable hands. Unfortunately, tight ends seem to be judged by the receiving yards only, and Heath will never be high in that category as long as he plays for the Steelers.
As far as which free agent will resign first, my hope is that it will be Heath Miller. As I just mentioned, I think Miller is a Pro Bowl caliber player. The Steelers simply need to utilize him more.
As far as Hood goes, I agree with you that he is strictly a 3-4 DE. He doesn’t have the size to play DT in a 3-4.
I don’t see Deshea Townsend going anywhere. He is too old to generate much interest from another team. Also, after winning Super Bowl rings and playing for a great organization, why would he want to leave? I love the idea of Deshea moving to free safety. While he is a bit small for safety, he has the perfect skill set for the position. In my opinion, Deshea has never been particularly talented, however he is very intelligent and plays with discipline. He is always where he is supposed to be. That’s EXACTLY what you need from your free safety. And it’s exactly what we didn’t get from Anthony Smith.
Finally, I agree 100% about Jeff Reed. He is a game winner. People don’t seem to realize how difficult it is to play in Heinz Field and still be as accurate as Jeff Reed. He is the most under-rated player on the team if you ask me. I hate his off-field antics, but I love his on-field performance.
21has anyone talked to brett favre about signing with the steelers. he definitly can contribute!
22Don’t forget that Sepulveda the Barbarian is coming back (I completely made that up for no reason but I like it
). We can’t forget that that was the most pitiful display of punting in recent memory. But also all of the special teams were definitely lacking last year and I’d like to see what our offense could have done with better field position.
23Benny,
24I hope Sepulveda is all the way back. I won’t believe it until I see it, but I am certainly hoping he is 100%. I can’t take another season of Ernster or Berger.
thanks again,
Here’s two items I heard on ESPN NFL Live and I would like to get your opinion on them.
1st, Adam Pacman Jones would make a perfect fit as far as a punt returner (per them) for the Steelers. Do you think that the Steelers would be willing to give a chance? Base on their history probably NOT.
2nd, Ben vs Tom on who would have more Super Bowl rings at the end of their career?
Not to be a homer but for my money give me Ben,
He has shown that he can handle the pressure and deliver on time. Sure the O-line gave up alot of sacks but Too many drop passes by the wide-outs (mainly Nate Washington) cause more pressure on that O-line.
Which unit do you think will be ranked higher in 09 Offense or Defense?
25Notjustasteelerfan,
Those are easy.
1) Pac-Man Jones: No way. No how.
2) Don’t know who will have more rings. But Ben is only one behind Tom, and he is much younger. So as a wishful homer, I’m going to choose Ben. That said, I still think that Tom Terrific is the better quarterback. IMO, Brady and Peyton Manning are in a class by themselves when it comes to reading defenses and making the right calls. Each of them can beat you all by themselves. They both get rid of the ball so quickly. They can carve a defense up like a surgeon.
Ben’s strength is in his ability to keep the play alive. He is much better than Tom or Peyton at that. He also has better arm strength than either of those two. But for precision passing, I don’t think Ben has reached their level…….yet.
As far as offense versus defense, there is no question the defense will be rated higher. Arians just doesn’t run a high octane offense. We will never put up passing numbers like Drew Brees does for the Saints. That will prevent the Steelers’ offense from being rated very high. However, the defense should be in the top 3 in the NFL, just like they are almost every season.
26Here’s another question for you,
Who would you vote into the Hall of Fame first?
T.O, Randy Moss or Hines Ward.
I liked your 09 draft review by the way (one of the better reviews)anyway who is your sleeper pick to make the roster from this
27draft class?
Also which vet will lose their roster spot in 09?
Those are some tricky questions. I would vote Moss in first, Ward second, and T.O. third. However, I can tell you that Moss and T.O. will get in without any trouble but Ward will have to scrath and claw his way in. I have no doubt Bouchette will speak eloquently in his defense and point out the myriad of ways Ward was a benefit to the team but a lot of HOF voting is very #’s driven. Ward (spending his entire career in a run first offense – other than 2 years of Tommy-gun) simply isn’t going to have the same career #’s as other WR’s. It might take an Art Monk type campaign to get him in.
By sleeper pick, I would have to assume it is one of the 5th-7th round picks since the Steelers have not cut anyone in the third round or below in recent history. With that caveat, I would say Summers has the best chance to make the 53 man roster. All he has to do is beat out Carey Davis…which shouldn’t be that hard. Everyone else has ‘practice squad’ written all over them.
The only Vet who could actually lose his spot (barring injury) is Stapleton (to Urbik).
28Ok John, thanks for your response but I like to note something about on the HOF WR’s, One of the old 70′s Cowboys player was interview during a replay. He said “it’s all about the rings”! Hines=2 Moss=0 TO=0
I see your point about the stats but SuperBowl MVP would be kinda hard to get out don’t you think?
Mine sleeper pick is TE David Johnson.
And for the Vet would be SS/FS Tyrone Carter.
I had heard this on NFL Live yesterday, The question is “Who has the Best QB tandem for 09? One of them answered The Pgh Steelers with Ben and Charlie Batch. I agree but not with Batch, but Dennis Dixon makes things interesting.
thanks again
29Sorry, I read it too quickly and misinterpreted the roster spotquestion. I was thinking of starters who might lose their starting job. I do not expect Stapleton to lose a roster spot. So, to revise my answer, Carter is a possibility if Townsend moves to safety or if Mundy impresses but I would say Davis for the reason expressed above and obviously Eason or Kirschke will lose a spot to Hood.
30Sorry, I read it too quickly and misinterpreted the roster spot question. I was thinking of starters who might lose their starting job. I do not expect Stapleton to lose a roster spot. So, to revise my answer, Carter is a possibility if Townsend moves to safety or if Mundy impresses but I would say Davis for the reason expressed above and obviously Eason or Kirschke will lose a spot to Hood.
On the WR question, the SB’s (and especially the MVP) will help but it will still be an upward battle for Ward. In today’s passing era, his stats will lag behind many many others and I think some voters will take that too much into account. You can look at the case of Art Monk – he had the SB’s but it took a long time for him to make it in.
Nowadays, a lot of the pundents and public look at players based primarily on their fantasy numbers. That’s why Miller is unappreciated outside of Pittsburgh – he’s a great tight end but he doesn’t put up fantasy stats. Even Ben get’s underappreciated/underrated occasionally even though he has an incredible won-lost percentage.
31I agree with John on just about all counts. Ward is definitely HOF-worthy, but I don’t think he is going to have an easy time getting in. His numbers just aren’t gaudy enough. Moreover, many people still view him as a dirty player. That will work against him.
T.O. and Moss have a much better chance strictly on numbers. The record breaking season that Moss had two years ago with Tom Brady really helps make a strong case for him. T.O. is another case. Much of his fame is because of his off-field antics, not because or his on-field performance. Nevertheless, his numbers are pretty impressive too.
As far as sleepers who might make the roster, I like both of your picks. I think Summers will make th roster, and I think David Johnson has a good chance of winning the H-back position from Sean McHugh.
Finally, the veteran that I think is most at risk would have to be Carey Davis. He just doesn’t bring enough to the table. He won’t beat out Parker, Moore, or Mendenhall. He isn’t big enough to beat out Summers, and he can’t play H-back like McHugh or Johnson. When the music stops, Davis isn’t going to have a chair.
I’ve never been a fan of Tyrone Carter, but I think he is safe because the Steelers are thin at safety, even if Deshea Townsend successfully makes the transition. I’d place my money on Travis Kirschke to lose his spot because he is just too long in the tooth. I’ve got to believe that Ra’Shon Harris is at least good enough to steal Kirschke’s roster spot. After all, Kirschke is 150 years old.
But the guy that I think is really vulnerable is Trai Essex. He has taken up a roster spot long enough without actually showing anything on the field. He should be embarrassed that he let undrafted free agent Darnell Stapleton beat him out for a starting position. He needs to go.
32Can’t wait for training camp and the up-coming season.
33This Steeler team looks better than last year’s
tesm, I know it’s early (real early) but 12-4 with another Super-Bowl win over either the Eagles or Bears if Plax lands there.
Personally, I heard that Brett going to the Vikings would make them a scary team. IMO Michael Vick going there is more than a scary thought. But then again imagine him running a wild-cat for the Colts or Patriots?
thanks again
ask ben if he can read a defense or not, our oline was very bad last year and ben still was able to throw over 3 thousand yards he got sacked alot but about a 3rd of the sacks can be blamed on ben, ben knows what he is doing, and he knows when he is gonna get sacked, thats why he never gets that banged up, when you know your gonna go down you mentally prepare yourself as an athelete, i rank it this way, tom
34ben
payton
eli
after those 4 its a free4all,,,,,,
Hines Ward is not a dirty player, his hits are legal, it is only because he is a wide reciever that puts focus on it, if he were a corner or safety, these hits would be highlight material.
35David,
36I agree completely. Hines Ward is the type of player that if he is on your team, you love him. But if he is playing against your team, you hate him. IMO, that is the greatest form of respect a player can receive.
Amen,
Congrats to the Pens, this season reminds me of the 05 Steelers season. They had to over-come so really big odds, and now they have the Cup. Congrats…
Question: Who Repeats First? Pens or the Steelers?
And does the Pirates have enough HEART to make it a Trio? Some call it Talent I call it Heart
because you can have the most talented team but without that drive to win, you’ll never be a champion and thats Heart. That’s one of the reasons why I believe Ward will enter the HOF first. Randy and T.O may have better numbers but IMO too much baggage from prior teams. Who knows about the future for those three players,
but if they retire Today, Hines would get my vote because he has surpass the other 2 that are currently in the HOF from the same team. I don’t know if Art Mork can say that, “All-Time Redskin WR”
IMO, I think it would be kinda hard for those Hall of Fame voters not to vote him on first time ballet. I know I sound crazy but do you think they would pass on Bettis? Yeah, I know different positions but Bettis doesn’t have flashy numbers either, so his in the Top 10 for RB’s. Does that give Curtis Martin a Free Pass to the Hall of Fame? His ranked higher than Bettis as far as RB’s all-time record but no ring.
It’s all about the ring, because their’s no excuss why Dawson and LeBeau should not be in the Hall of Fame, they both have the stats. LeBeau may get there as a coach, not as a player, no ring.
Besides somebody on TV will mention Hines Ward Future Hall of Famer. Just like they did with Bettis before he retired on the podium at the Super Bowl.
thanks again for your time
thanks again
37Notjustasteelerfan,
If I had to pick one of them to repeat, I think I’d put my money on the Penguins. They are so young, and so talented. If they can keep Crosby and Malkin together, they can be good for a very long time.
As far as Bettis goes, I think he is a definite first ballot hall-of-famer. No question. In fact, I think the way that he ended his career absolutely cemented his place in the HOF.
38