Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

September 5, 2009
By Donald Starver

The Steelers have finally published their final cuts for the 2009 season.  Head coach Mike Tomlin was originally scheduled to announce his cuts yesterday at a press conference at 4:00PM.  However, the Steelers decided not to give the other NFL teams advance notice of which players the Steelers would be releasing.  The Steelers believed that would have given the other 31 NFL teams too much time to negotiate with and steal players that the Steelers would like to sign to their practice squad.  So instead, the Steelers kept their official cuts secret until the last possible moment.

Among those cut by the Steelers were preseason star Isaac Redman, last year’s 3rd round draft pick Bruce Davis, fullback Carey Davis, Dallas Baker, and 2009 draft picks Sonny Harris and A.Q. Shipley.  Also cut was CB Anthony Madison, who was seldom used as a defensive back but was the team’s leading special teams tackler.

The Steelers tried to make last minute trades, but appear to have been unsuccessful.  One area that they would have liked to upgrade is their backup left tackle position.  Tony Hills is the top backup at left tackle, but the Steelers would rather have a more experienced veteran playing this critical role.

So the Steelers’ roster appears to be as follows:

Quarterbacks – Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch,and  Dennis Dixon.

Running backs – Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore, Frank Summers, and Stefan Logan.

Wide Receivers – Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Limas Sweed, Mike Wallace, and Shaun McDonald

Tight ends – Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, and David Johnson.

Offensive linemen – Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu, Justin Hartwig, Trai Essex, Willie Colon, Doug Legursky, Neo….ummm, I mean Tony Hills, Ramon Foster, and Kraig Urbik.

Defensive linemen – Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke, Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Travis Kirschke, and Nick Eason.

Linebackers -  James Harrison, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Keyaron Fox, Patrick Bailey, Andre Frazier, and Arnold Harrison.

Safeties – Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Tyrone Carter, and Ryan Mundy.

Cornerbacks – Ike Taylor, William Gay, Deshea Townsend, Keenan Lewis, Joe Burnett, Keiwan Ratliff.

Specialists – Jeff Reed, Dan Sepulveda, and Greg Warren

This is almost the exact roster that I predicted last week in this article.  The only real changes are Summers instead of Redman, Eason instead of Harris, Ryan Mundy instead of Donovan Woods, and Joe Burnett instead of Anthony Madison.

So this is the group that will take the field for the black and gold in their quest for championship #7.  Here we go!

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April 25, 2009

With the 32nd pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Evander Hood, DT, Missouri.

Hood is a 6’3″ 300 lb. defensive tackle.  Despite his large size, Hood is quite athletic.  He plays with a constant motor and never gives up on a play.  Hood displays a variety of pass rush moves.

Hood doesn’t jump out at you on film, but he is a solid player who doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses.  He had a very good showing at the Senior Bowl, which may have elevated his status.

Hood is too small to play NT, so the Steelers probably project him as a DE.  While he is a tad short, I had him as the 4th rated 3-4 DE in the draft.  I felt that Tyson Jackson, Fili Moala, Robert Ayers, Ziggy Hood, Sen’Derrick Marks, and then Jarron Gilbert were the top six 3-4 defensive ends in this draft.

Hood was a 4-year player at Missouri.  He got progressively better throughout his career.   As a senior, he had 62 tackles.  Eight of those tackles were for a loss.  He also had 5 sacks during his senior year.

This is a good pick for the Steelers.  Yet, they still have more needs on the defensive line.  All of their starters are over 30 years old.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked up either Fili Moala or Jarron Gilbert in the 2nd round (if either is still available at pick #64).

Of course, the Steelers have other needs as well.  I would guess that defensive back will be a consideration at #64 as well.  The Steelers must come out of this draft with a safety.  Their need for a CB is still there, though it is less pressing since they signed Keiwan Ratliff yesterday.

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

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February 17, 2009
By Donald Starver

I was talking to a friend about the Steelers’ awesome 2008 season, and suddenly he came to a shocking realization.  It occurred to him that winning the Super Bowl means that the Steelers now get the honor and privilege of picking 32nd in the upcoming draft.  That’s dead last.  I could see the look of horror cover his face as comprehension set in.

Firstly, it amazed me that any true sports fan could be unaware of that particular ramification of winning the Super Bowl.  It’s the booby prize that comes with the Lombardi Trophy.   The two are intrinsically linked.  It’s kind of like that pesky burning and itching feeling that you get after a night of sex with Paris Hilton; you can’t have one without the other.

But I digress.

So after he realized that every team in the NFL gets to select before the Steelers FINALLY get to pick, my friend proceeded to whine about how unfair that is, and how the Steelers are totally screwed.  I was quick to remind him that it’s actually a pretty fair trade-off for trophy #6.  Ask any team which they’d rather have, the #1 pick in the draft or a Super Bowl championship.  I’m sure the answer will be unanimous.

But to further put him at ease, I reminded him that the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and Oakland Raiders always seem to have top 5 draft positions.  Yet despite getting their pick of the best young talent available, they continue to suck year after year.  Meanwhile, teams like the Steelers, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles seem to pick in the second half of the draft each year, and yet they remain perennial playoff teams.  So there is more to winning than just having a top 10 draft position.

There will be plenty of good talent available at pick #32.  In fact, the Steelers will probably have their pick from among some of the top interior offensive linemen available, should they choose to go that way.

Here are some recent 32nd picks, along with the team that made the pick.  I’m also including in parentheses a few of the players that were drafted immediately after  pick #32.

2008 – Patriots forfeited pick so Giants select Kenny Philips 31st (Philip Merling was selected next).

2007 – Colts select Anthony Gonzalez (Alan Branch, Paul Posluszny).

2006 – Giants chose Mathias Kiwanuka (DeMeco Ryans).

2005 – Patriots chose Logan Mankins (Brodney Poole, Lofa Tatupu).

2004 – Patriots chose Ben Watson (Karlos Dansby, Chris Snee).

2003 – Raiders select Tyler Brayton (Eric Steinbach, Boss Bailey).

2002 – Redskins picked Patrick Ramsey (Jabbar Gafney, DeShaun Foster).

2001 – Ravens select Todd Heap (Drew Brees, Alge Crumpler, Chad Johnson)

So as you can see, some very good players have been chosen at pick #32.  Moreover, there is usually very good talent available even after the 32nd pick.

We all know that the Steelers had several starters on their Super Bowl championship team that weren’t even drafted.  James Harrison, Willie Parker, and Darnell Stapleton were all undrafted free agents.  That’s proof that good talent can be found, even after “Mr. Irrelevant” comes off the draft board.

So fret not, Steeler Nation.  Picking last is a small price to pay for winning the Super Bowl.  Kevin Colbert is very good at what he does.  He’ll get the Steelers what they need, even if he has to trade down to get it (remember the trades he made to get Troy Polamalu and Santonio Holmes?).

So if you find yourself feeling down because of the Steelers’ draft position, just remember that we could be picking first, like the Detroit Lions.  That would REALLY suck.

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