Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

We’ve been saying it for years, but the Steelers wouldn’t listen.  But finally, our prayers have been answered, and oft-injured Steelers right tackle Willie Colon is moving to guard.

“I’ve made the transition to left guard,” said Colon .  “I like it. It’s just a matter of learning the verbiage.”

Colon has been the Steelers’ starting right tackle since 2007.  He missed the 2010 and 2011 seasons due to injury, but he had been penciled in to return to his spot at right tackle in 2012.  But that was before the 2012 NFL Draft took place.

In the recently held draft, the Steelers selected guard David DeCastro and tackle Mike Adams with their first two picks.  And apparently the team wants to see both players in the starting lineup right away.

The original plan was for Marcus Gilbert to move from right tackle to left tackle, and for Willie Colon to return to his right tackle spot.  However, with the acquisition of DeCastro and Adams, those plans have been changed.  Instead, Mike Adams has been penciled in as the starting left tackle, Willie Colon will move to left guard, Maurkice Pouncey will remain at center, DeCastro will play right guard, and Marcus Gilbert will remain at right tackle.

And just like that, one of the greatest weaknesses on the team (the offensive line), may have become the team’s greatest strength.

There is of course the risk of playing an untested rookie at left tackle.  After all, the left tackle is responsible for protecting Ben Roethlisberger’s blind side.  However, the Steelers will have plenty of time during training camp to make sure that Adams is up to the task.  If he’s not, changes will surely be made.  But on paper, this sounds like a move in the right direction.

I was extremely happy when the Steelers drafted DeCastro and Adams.  And today’s announcements have made me even happier.

I may be getting excited too soon, but I think the Steelers’ red zone problems may have just been eliminated.

Go Steelers!

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker Terrell Thuggs…..errrrr, I mean “Suggs”, tore his Achilles tendon.  The team doesn’t have confirmation on exactly how bad the injury is.   They are awaiting news from doctors.

I would never celebrate a player getting injured.  That would be a crass and classless move.  But I must mention that Suggs’ injury may actually be a good thing for the Steelers.

Suggs is the reigning NFL Defensive Player Of The Year, and has been a constant thorn in the sides of the Steelers.  Despite widespread belief that the Ravens are Ray Lewis’ team, Suggs is the most feared player on that team.  Lewis and Ed Reed are both past their prime.  But Suggs is in his prime.  Moreover, he probably gets his hands on Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger more frequently than any other opponent.

In my opinion, at this point in their careers, Suggs and Haloti Ngata are far more dominant than Lewis and Reed are.  They’re really the heart of Baltimore’s defense.  Moreover, they’re the two players that I spend the most time worrying about each time the Steelers play the Ravens.

Initial reports said that Suggs would likely miss the entire 2012 season due to the injury.  However, Suggs made a public statement indicating that he thought that he would be able to return by mid-season.

Despite Suggs’ positive attitude, that’s just speculation on his part.  He is scheduled to have surgery next week.  He won’t have a meaningful estimate of when he can return to the playing field until after the doctors complete the surgery.

Good luck, Terrell.  I wish you a speedy recovery.  As much as I hate to admit it, the Steelers/Ravens rivalry is better when you’re on the field.

This year, we held our inaugural Steelers Mock Draft Contest.

We got dozens of entries, and lots of variation in how fans thought the draft would play out.

There were a few consistencies in the picks that people made.  For example, one thing that was very consistent was that most of you thought that the Steelers were going to take Dont’a Hightower, the inside linebacker from Alabama.  Of course we now know that Hightower ended up going to the New England Patriots one pick after the Steelers selected David DeCastro.

Another thing that was pretty consistent was that most of you didn’t get a single Steelers selection right.  Not one!  (And you call yourselves Steelers fans). 

In fact, it’s worth noting that Dawson Payne was the only fan who got more than one of the Steelers’ picks right.  He accurately predicted that the Steelers would take Mike Adams and Alemeda Ta’amu.  He didn’t win the entire competition, but he deserves recognition for getting more of the Steelers’ picks right than anyone else.

But the overall winner of the competition was…………(drum roll please)………..Shane Hallam.  Shane didn’t get a single Steelers pick right (Shame on you, Shane), but he did better on the other teams’ picks than anyone else.  Even with the bonus that I awarded for getting Steelers picks correct, Shane still outscored his closest competitor by 2 points.

Shane will receive a free copy of Pittsburgh Steelers - The Complete Illustrated History, by Lew Freedman.  Congratulations Shane!