Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Pop Quiz:  Rank the Steelers’ top needs in the upcoming NFL Draft.

I tend to disagree with the conventional wisdom on things like this.  For example, NFL Network says that cornerback is among the Steelers’ top needs.  I disagree with that.

The Steelers still have Ike Taylor, so one cornerback spot is covered.  They lost William Gay in free agency, and they cut Bryant McFadden.  But Keenan Lewis is now a seasoned veteran who should be ready to step up.  They’ve also got two rookies from last year, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, who both made their mark and who appear to be to take an even bigger role.  So while I’d definitely take LSU’s Morris Claiborne if he happened to drop to pick #24 (he won’t), I just don’t understand why so many people list cornerback as one of the Steelers’ top needs.

In my opinion the Steelers top needs are as follows:

#1 – Guard

The Steelers started two undrafted free agents at guard last year.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Ramon Foster and Doug Legursky.  But the reality is that each of them could be upgraded fairly easily.  Chris Kemoeatu was released.   Trai Essex is an unrestricted free agent.  And even Ramon Foster is a restricted free agent.  So the Steelers basically have a bare cupboard at guard.  I’ve often suggested that Willie Colon could play guard, but the Steelers have never shown any interest in moving him.

Even if the Steelers sign Ramon Foster and Trai Essex to new contracts, neither of them is a threat to ever make the Pro Bowl.  If you want to know why the Steelers couldn’t run the ball last year, look no further than their guards.  Guard is probably the weakest position on the entire team.

#2 – Nose tackle

Nose tackle is the most important position in a 3-4 defense.  And Casey Hampton is aging in dog years.  Hampton was once among the best nose tackles in the NFL.  But he hasn’t been dominant for the past 3 years.  Moreover, Hampton suffered an ACL injury at the end of the 2011 season.  That’s a difficult injury for any player to recover from.  But it’s particularly difficult for a 340 pound player who will be 35 years old next season.

Steve McLendon performed admirably when he was called upon last year.  But the reality is that he’s too small to be a full-time starter at nose tackle.

#3 – Offensive tackle

The Steelers could be in great shape at offensive tackle, or they could be in terrible shape.  Marcus Gilbert is scheduled to move to left tackle, but he’s unproven at the position.  Willie Colon is scheduled to return, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for the past two seasons.  So both starting positions are question marks.  Jonathan Scott is a backup at best.  And the Steelers have the potential to bring back Max Starks if he recovers from his injury.  So if everything goes well, the Steelers will be sound at the position.  But if Gilbert is unsuccessful at left tackle, Colon gets hurt again, and Max Starks doesn’t recover from injury (or the Steelers just don’t bring him back), then the Steelers are screwed.

#4 – Safety

Nobody ever lists safety as a need for the Steelers.  But as I explained in my position-by-position review, it’s one of the team’s greatest needs.  Both Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark are over 30 years old.  Moreover, Troy has only remained healthy for an entire season twice in last 6 years.  Do you think that he’s likely to get injured more or less as he gets older?

Ryan Mundy is the team’s only viable backup.  Will Allen is a special teams player, and Damon Cromartie-Smith is a practice squad player.  The Steelers need to start preparing for the future, and there’s no better time than the present to do that.

#5 – Inside linebacker

James Farrior is no longer with the team.  Stevenson Sylvester is listed as his replacement on the Steelers’ depth chart.  But the reality is that Sylvester has mainly been a special teams player during his 2 seasons with the Steelers.  Nobody knows how he’ll do as a starter.  Larry Foote is a dependable backup, but at this point in his career, I really don’t want to see him starting.

#6 – Kicker

That’s right, kicker.  Shaun Suisham had the lowest field goal percentage of any starter in the NFL last year.  He’s automatic on PAT’s and on FG’s inside of 30 yards or less.  But when they get longer than that, he’s questionable.  Since the kicker is usually the highest scorer on an NFL team, is this really a position where we can afford to have the worst in the NFL?

#7 – Punter

No, I haven’t been smoking crack.  But I genuinely think that both kicker and punter are more important needs than cornerback.  Dan Sepulveda is done.  He gets hurt too often, and the Steelers aren’t going to give him another chance.

Jeremy Kapinos was picked up off the junk pile, and he served admirably.  But he’s in the bottom third of NFL punters.  With all of those 7th round picks the Steelers have, they should be able to get someone who can punt better than Kapinos.

#8 – Cornerback

That’s right, I think cornerback is a less pressing need than kicker and punter.  I still don’t understand why NFL Network thinks it’s one of our top needs.  I have a lot of confidence in Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown.  Others may not.  But that’s really the crux of the argument.  Do you believe in Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen, and Curtis Brown, or don’t you?

#9 – Defensive end

Sure the Steelers have taken 2 defensive ends in the first round over the past 3 drafts.  But the reality is that Brett Keisel isn’t getting any younger, and the team doesn’t have a lot of depth at the position.

#10 – Outside linebacker

The Steelers have two of the best in the game in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.  And Jason Worilds is a capable (but not dominant) backup.  Chris Carter is unproven, but Lawrence Timmons can move to the outside in an emergency.  So it’s not a vital need, but you can never have too many linebackers in a 3-4 defense.

That’s how I’d rank the Steelers’ needs.  What do you readers think?  How would you rank the needs?  I’d love to hear which positions you think are more or less important than I do.  So go ahead, tell me how you’d rank the positions in terms of how great the need is.  I look forward to reading your rankings.

 

 

 

The Steelers will travel to Houston to take on the Texans on Sunday.  The game will be televised nationally on CBS.

This is a pivotal game for both teams.  Each team has a 2-1 record, but both teams have shown major flaws which need to be addressed.

The Texans have traditionally been a high-scoring team.  This year they’re 7th in the NFL in scoring, averaging 30 points per game.  However, despite the impressive scoring output, the Texans’ offense has actually struggled.  They’ve played without 2010 NFL rushing leader Arian Foster for most of the season, and they’ve struggled in the red-zone without him.

Foster’s back-up, Ben Tate, has been more than adequate in Foster’s absence.  He’s run for 301 yards in the Texans first 3 games, and the Texans rank fifth in the NFL in rushing yards.  However, the Texans rank 30th in the NFL in red-zone percentage.   They’ve managed to score on just 5 of 16 trips inside the 20 yard line.  Last week, against the New Orleans Saints, they were only able to score a touchdown on 1 of their 5 times in the red-zone.  Instead of touchdowns, they settled for 4 field goals.

Last year, Foster led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, and the Texans were fifth in red-zone percentage.  So his return should do a lot to help fix their red-zone woes.

The Steelers have had struggles of their own.  They’ve had difficulty playing on the road so far.  They got crushed in Baltimore, and barely squeezed out a win last week in Indianapolis.  So traveling to Houston may not be a good thing for the Steelers.

But perhaps more concerning for the Steelers is the fact that their offensive line, which was already struggling, got dinged up pretty badly against the Colts.  Jonathan Scott, Doug Legursky, and Marcus Gilbert all got hurt during the game.

Colts’ defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis had their way with the Steelers offensive line last week.  And things aren’t going to get any better this week when they face the Texans’ Mario Williams.  Williams is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and he may be better than either Freeney or Mathis.

Steelers left tackle Jonathan Scott seems to struggle against speed rushers.  He also struggles against big, powerful bull rushers.  He actually got pushed backwards fairly consistently last week by Dwight Freeney, who is fairly small for his position.  So what’s he going to do against Mario Williams, who is big, strong, and super fast?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with him, Williams is slightly bigger than Brett Keisel, but he runs like Lawrence Timmons.  See the problem?

Another player who may give the Steelers problems is Texans’ wide receiver Andre Johnson.  Johnson is one of the best receivers in the league.  He’s 3rd in the league in receiving, and will provide a worthy challenge for Steelers’ cornerback Ike Taylor.

Ultimately, the final outcome of the game may be determined by the Steelers’ front 7.  If they can stop the Texans’ running game, that will greatly aid in sealing a win.  Over the past 10 years, the Steelers have been one of the best teams in the NFL at stopping the run.  But for some reason, they’ve struggled in that area this season.

In particular, the left side of the Steelers’ defense has struggled.  Aaron Smith has been unsuccessful at holding his ground and occupying blockers, and LaMarr Woodley has applied almost no pressure to the quarterback.

I anticipate the Steelers are going to struggle with offensive line issues for the rest of the season.  That same issue has plagued the team for at least the last 3 seasons, so there’s nothing new there.  But if Smith and Woodley can pick up their respective games, then the Steelers have a real chance of leaving Houston with a victory.

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The Steelers will face the Indianapolis Colts in a nationally televised game on Sunday night.  The game will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Most fans are probably aware that the Colts’ star quarterback, Peyton Manning, is out with a neck injury.  Without Manning, the Colts have started the season 0-2.  This is the team’s first 0-2 start since Manning’s rookie season.

Not only are the Colts 0-2, but with Kerry Collins starting at quarterback, they’ve failed to pass for 200 yards in both of their games thus far.  Collins is averaging 194 passing yards per game.  That ranks 27th among NFL quarterbacks.

With such a poor passing attack, you’d think that the Colts would be relying heavily on their running game to carry the offense.  However, that hasn’t really been the case.  The Colts have only averaged 86.5 rushing yards per game.  Moreover, their low rushing output has come against the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns.  Neither defense is in the same class as the Steelers’.

A weak passing attack, and a weak rushing attack, are not the ideal weapons to bring to a battle against the Steelers’ defense.  Knowing that the Colts have been impotent rushing the ball AND passing the ball, I expect to see Steelers’ Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau call for blitzes early and often.

Despite the dominant win last week against the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers can definitely use an opponent like Indianapolis.  Neither LaMarr Woodley nor James Harrison has shown their normal dominance yet this season.  Harrison, in particular is still working himself back into shape after two off-season back surgeries.  So the Colts may be just what the doctor ordered.

On defense, the Colts aren’t much better.  They have the 29th ranked rushing defense in the NFL.  They’ve been yielding and average of 136.5 yards per game on the ground.  I’m sure that statistic has Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman salivating.

Even the Colts’ defensive stars Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathias are off to slow starts.  The duo has recorded just 6 total tackles and 2 sacks through the the first two games.  Of course, they’ll be facing a Steelers’ offensive line which is suspect at best.  So maybe that’s just what the doctor ordered for the Colts.

Lucas Oil Stadium is known for being loud and rowdy.  And because Sunday’s game is going to be on national television, I expect it to be louder and rowdier.  But that shouldn’t matter.  Without Peyton Manning, the Colts just don’t have enough weapons to beat the Steelers.

I predict a Steelers win, by a score of 24-7.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers will be featured on the television show NFL Turning Point.  NFL Turning Point is a new weekly show co-produced by NFL Films and the NBC Sports Group.  The show airs on VERSUS.

The Steelers’ segment will air on Thursday, September 22, 2011, at 9 p.m. ET.  The show will also air at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

The hour-long program, hosted by Football Night in America’s Dan Patrick, will air throughout the NFL regular season and will focus on the crucial “turning point” moment in several games for football fans each week.  The program will provide a perspective that is more detailed than ever by utilizing NFL Films’ unmatched cinematography and sideline and on-field audio.

Patrick will conclude each show with a segment featuring his Football Night colleagues Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison that covers the most relevant NFL topics, such as this week’s examination of whether or not the Steelers defense is still championship quality.  They will also look ahead to the upcoming Sunday Night Football game on NBC.

Aside from this week’s episode, which airs at 9 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET/PT, NFL Turning Point airs a new episode at 10 p.m. ET/PT every week through November 3.  Beginning on November 10, when Thursday night NFL games begin on NFL Network, new episodes of NFL Turning Point will air at midnight ET.

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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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