Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

February 19, 2009
By Donald Starver

Steelers’ offensive tackle Max Starks must have been born in a field of four leaf clovers.  And he must carry a rabbit’s foot in his pocket.  And he probably throws about 10 pounds of salt over his shoulder each morning.  If you can think of anything else that brings good luck, Starks probably does that too.

Last year, the Steelers placed the transition tag on Starks, and ended up paying him $6.9 million, even though he wasn’t able to win a starting position in training camp.  Most fans thought that Steelers’ Director of Football Operation, Kevin Colbert, had lost his mind.  How could he pay a backup more money than he was paying any of his STARTING offensive linemen?  Heck, he was paying him more than he was paying his Pro Bowl running back, his Pro Bowl linebacker, his Pro Bowl nose tackle, or his Pro Bowl safety.  That didn’t make any sense, did it?

Of course we all know that Marvel Smith ended up hurting his back (again), and Max Starks was called upon to fill in for Smith.  Starks started at left tackle in the Super Bowl, and he went from being the butt of jokes to a hero in the Steelers championship run.  How lucky can that guy be?

Well obviously he still has a little more luck to draw upon.  Today the Steelers announced that they have placed the franchise tag on….(drum roll, please)………Max Starks. 

The franchise tag basically means that Starks will be paid an average of the top 5 salaries at his position.  So a guy who couldn’t even win a position at RIGHT tackle in camp is guaranteed to be paid like the top 5 left tackles in the NFL.   Max Starks has to be the luckiest man in the world.

On both occasions, the Steelers’ hand was forced by the tenuous condition of Marvel Smith’s back.  If Smith’s back hadn’t been an issue, Starks wouldn’t have gotten the transition tag last year, nor the franchise tag this year.  Max Starks should buy Marvel Smith something very nice for Christmas.

By franchising Max Starks, the Steelers are all but announcing that they are not going to maintain Marvel Smith’s services (unless they can do so at a drastically reduced cost, which is unlikely).  They cannot afford to go into another season with two highly paid and highly redundant left tackles on their roster.

The fact that Marvel Smith has missed 19 games over the past two seasons may scare other teams away from making him a large contract offer.  However, reports have it that Marvel’s back is doing fine, and that he should be able to pass any team’s physical.  Smith has always been a good left tackle when healthy.  Good left tackles rarely hit the open market, so teams may bid on Smith’s services despite his history of back problems.  If they do, then it’s bye-bye Marvel.

The franchise tag will prevent Starks from becoming an unrestricted free agent, and will guarantee him approximately $8.5 million in salary.

There are two types of franchise tags, “exclusive” and “non-exclusive”.  “Exclusive” means that the player receiving the franchise tag cannot negotiate with other teams.  “Non-exclusive” means that the player may negotiate with other teams, but if he signs with another team, his original team has the right to match the terms of that offer.  If they choose to let the tagged player sign with another team, the team will be compensated with 2 first-round draft picks.

The tag that was placed on Starks was non-exclusive.  Thus, the Steelers could potentially still lose Starks.  However, they will now get two additional first round picks to soften the blow.

In a pure open market, I don’t think that Max Starks would have commanded as much money as he was paid last year.  Moreover, I don’t think he could command as much money as the franchise tag now guarantees that he will be paid this year.  Nobody would argue that Starks is one of the top 5 tackles in the NFL. He’s not. Yet, because of the Steelers’ situation with other offensive linemen, signing Starks was the right move in both cases.

Max Starks, you are the luckiest man in the world.

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February 10, 2009
By Donald Starver

Note: This is the second installment in a three-part series.  If you haven’t already read the first part, please click here.

After dealing with the offensive linemen, Bryant McFadden, and Nate Washington, the next position that Kevin Colbert is going to have to turn his attention to is backup quarterback.  Both Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch are unrestricted free agents.  The Steelers will still have Dennis Dixon under contract, but they probably won’t feel comfortable placing the Steelers’ season on his inexperienced shoulders if Big Ben gets hurt.  Thus, resigning either Leftwich or Batch is going to be imperative.

At this point in their careers, there is no doubt that Byron Leftwich is the better quarterback.  However, Leftwich is only one year older than Ben Roethlisberger, and he thinks he still has a future as a starter in the NFL.  He knows that he won’t get to compete for that position with the Steelers, so he will probably choose to go elsewhere.

Charlie Batch, on the other hand, is from the Pittsburgh area, and he would like to spend the rest of his career with the Steelers.  He understand that he has the ideal job.  He gets to collect Super Bowl rings with the team that he grew up cheering for, make more money than most people can even dream of making, and rarely have to even get his jersey dirty.  Not a bad deal for a 34 year old quarterback.  Unlike Byron Leftwich, Batch knows that his days as a starter are over, and he will do whatever it takes to stay with the Steelers.  He’s going to tell his agent to get this deal done.

So next year, I’d expect to enter the season with Ben as the starter, Batch as the backup, and the Steelers will probably bring in an undrafted free agent or a 6th or 7th round draft pick to compete with Dennis Dixon for the third string quarterback position.

The final unrestricted free agent that the Steelers will have to take care of is Keyaron Fox.  Fox will probably never be a starting linebacker for the Steelers.  However, he is a very competent backup, and a terror on special teams.  Fox emerged as one of my favorite Steelers, and that is difficult to do as primarily a special teamer.  But the Steelers were terrible on special teams for quite some time, and Fox has been a big factor in their turnaround.    With a salary of less than $500,000, Fox was one of the better values on the Steelers’ roster.

After languishing for years in that football Hell called the Kansas City Chiefs, Fox probably understands that he has a great situation in Pittsburgh.  He is a valued contributor on a team that has the potential to win more Super Bowl rings.  Moreover, he sees that the Rooneys run a class organization.  My guess is that he will want to remain a Steeler.   I also believe that Kevin Colbert and the Steelers coaching staff will want to see him stay as well.  Thus, this deal should get done quickly and quietly.

With the unrestricted free agents taken care of, Colbert will turn his attention to the restricted free agents.  We’ve already discussed Willie Colon in Part 1 of this series.  After him, the most visible restricted free agent is Anthony Smith.  When Smith was drafted, I had high hopes for him.  However, his act has worn thin.  He has never really shown anything on the field (except that he is easily fooled by a pump fake).  Fans and coaches won’t soon forget his silly prediction against the New England Patriots a few years back.  They also won’t forget watching Tom Brady throw touchdown after touchdown at Smith’s expense.  Smith just doesn’t seem to understand that his role is to be the last line of defense, and that he can’t bite on every pump fake that quarterbacks throw at him.

Frankly, I want to see Smith leave because I am tired of watching him try to take his own receivers’ heads off during training camp.  I don’t know why he thinks that he can prove his worth by showing how hard he can hit his own teammates.  The Steelers can’t afford to lose Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, or Nate Washington  to injury because Anthony Smith was trying to prove how tough he is.  Everybody but Smith understands this simple point.  Besides, can anyone ever remember seeing Anthony Smith get a good hit on ANY player who wasn’t wearing black and gold?  Ever?  Even once?  Neither can I.  Goodbye Anthony.  don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

The 3 remaining restricted free agents are LB Arnold Harrison, TE/FB Sean McHugh, and CB Anthony Madison.  None of these players are going to get much attention in free agency.  Harrison might be able to get some attention as a special teamer or as a backup LB, but that’s about it.  All of them will be best served doing everything that they can to stay with the Steelers.  Afterall, if they want to win additional championships, there aren’t many organizations that give them a better opportunity to do so than the Steelers.

In my opinion, losing any of these players won’t be a major loss to the organization.  Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has a tight end fetish, and he collects as many of them as he possibly can.  Therefore, he is likely to try to keep McHugh, even though most fans would probably prefer to see the Steelers get a legitimate blocking fullback (as opposed to a tight end playing out of position).

Harrison (Arnold, not James) is a good special teams player, and he is a good backup LB.  He has spent several years in Dick LeBeau’s defensive system, and he should know it pretty well by now.  Unfortunately, the Steelers are busting at the seams with talented linebackers.  Lawrence Timmons is going to supplant Larry Foote next year, and Bruce Davis has a lot of potential and will probably move ahead of Arnold Harrison on the depth chart next year if he continues to work hard.  The Steelers will probably keep Harrison if they can sign him for reasonable dollars.  But if he asks for too much money, the Steelers will let him go without losing any sleep.

Anthony Madison is a career special teamer.  Technically, he is a cornerback.  However, in his 3 year career, he has never started a game, has never made an interception, and has never even had a single pass defensed.  He only makes approximately $450,000, so if he is willing to sign a new contract for the same amount, the Steelers will probably keep him around.  However, his position will be one of the most vulnerable come training camp.

That will take care of Colbert’s free agents.  However, his most pressing problem is not his free agents.  He has 9 important players with one year left on their contracts.  Among them are Hines Ward, James Harrison, Heath Miller, Ryan Clark, and Brett Keisel.  We’ll discuss what Kevin Colbert should do with these players in Part 3 of our series.

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February 7, 2009
By Donald Starver

The Super Bowl is over.  The confetti has been swept from the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.  The trophy is in the trophy case.  And Steelers’ Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert is back to work.

Colbert faces the unfortunate problem of having to protect his roster from opportunistic raiders.  This is an annual ritual in the NFL.  Teams that didn’t make it to the Super Bowl think that the easiest way to get better is to steal players from a team that DID make it to the Super Bowl.  Inevitably, the teams tend to pay way too much for those Super Bowl players.  A case in point is former Steeler Antwaan Randle El.  After the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, the Washington Redskins offered Randle El more money than Bernie Madoff stole from investors.  Randle El was a decent player, but he wasn’t worth what the Redskins paid him.  In the years since signing Randle El, the Redskins have learned that lesson too.

But despite the errors of the past, many NFL teams will line up this year to make the exact same mistake.  Nobody ever said that NFL GM’s were the brightest bunch.

The most vulnerable part of the Steelers’ roster is the offensive line.  Yeah, those guys who took tremendous heat from fans this season for letting Ben Roethlisberger get sacked 7,000 times (or maybe it just SEEMED like 7,000).  Despite their very public struggles this season, the offensive line will be the target of NFL raiders.

Four Steelers offensive linemen (Marvel Smith, Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu, and Trai Essex) are unrestricted free agents.  Starting right tackle Willie Colon is a restricted free agent.  That means that 3/5ths of the Steelers front five will potentially be leaving in the off-season.  That is not a good thing for a team that lost Alan Faneca last year.  History has shown that continuity is an important factor in the success of offensive lines, and continuity is the one thing that the Steelers’ offensive line has been lacking over the past 3 years.

The easiest decision (in my opinion) is Marvel Smith.  Smith has missed 19 games over the past two seasons (including post-season games) due to back injuries.  Smith has had back surgery twice.  After the first surgery, Smith said that he felt better than he had ever felt.  Despite feeling “great”, Smith’s back problems caused him to only be able to play in 5 games in 2008.  The Steelers remained hopeful that Smith would make a full recovery and be able to play, so they kept him on the active roster until December when they finally put him on the injured reserve list.

Smith will be 31 years old when the 2009 NFL season starts.  That’s not particularly old for an offensive lineman.  However, for an offensive lineman with a history of back problems, he may as well be 200 years old.

Everyone thought that Kevin Colbert was crazy when he signed Max Starks to that huge contract last year.  As it turned out, signing Starks ended up being a brilliant move, and Marvel Smith turned out to be their worst investment.  Starks’ $6.8 million dollar salary brought a much greater return on investment (ROI) than the $6.6 million that the Steelers paid Smith to get back massages.

When healthy, Marvel Smith is a very good left tackle.  Much better than Max Starks.  Moreover, he’s a very nice guy.  But can the Steelers afford to take another risk on his unpredictable back?  I say no.  B’bye Marvel.

Max Starks presents a dilemma for the Steelers.  He has been a starting tackle in two Super Bowls.  Yet, we all know that he’s not a top-tier tackle.  So what do the Steelers do?  Good left tackles rarely hit the free agent market.  A left tackle who has started in 2 Super Bowls is probably going to be considered to be a desirable acquisition by many teams.  In addition to having 2 Super Bowl rings, Starks is huge.  He’s 6’8″ and 340 lbs.  That’s pretty impressive (much more impressive than his actual on-field play).

It’s likely that some team will offer Starks lots of money.  Probably more than the Steelers would like to pay him.  But if they let Marvel Smith go, then they have to do something to keep their $100 million quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, alive.  Letting their top two left tackles go in the same year might not be something that the Steelers are willing to do.  So unless Tony Hills is starting to look like an emerging superstar, the Steelers may end up paying Max Starks far more than he’s worth for the second year in a row.

Chris Kemoeatu and Willie Colon may as well be the same player.  Their situations are almost exactly the same.  Both players were thought of pretty highly when they were brought in.  Yet, after spending 4 and 3 years, respectively, on the Steelers roster, neither has developed into an offensive lineman who instills much confidence in his coaching staff.  Both players are an off-sides call or a holding penalty just waiting to happen (and they usually happen at the most inopportune times).

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t think there would be a big market out there for either of these players.  However, the Super Bowl champ phenomenon will probably cause both players to have unexpected suitors.  The surprising play of Darnell Stapleton and the return of Kendall Simmons will probably make Kemoeatu more expendable than Colon.  I’d expect the Steelers to let Kemo walk, and to tender a reasonable offer to Colon.  However, if the price tag gets too high, Colon will be gone as well.

Trai Essex is not likely to attract many offers.  In his 4 years with the team, he has not been able to break into the starting lineup except for when someone has been injured.  When Kendall Simmons went down with an ACL injury, undrafted practice squad player Darnell Stapleton earned his starting spot, while Essex continued to languish on the bench.  That probably tells us all that we need to know about how much confidence the Steelers’ coaches have in Essex.  Essex’s future with the Steelers is probably nonexistent.  See ya, Trai.

The next easy decision for Kevin Colbert is Bryant McFadden.  McFadden was arguably the Steelers’ best cornerback this year.  He doesn’t have the physical talents of Ike Taylor, but his effectiveness can’t be denied.  Unfortunately, McFadden took too long to prove his worth.  Had he played this way last year, the Steelers would have extended his contract and we wouldn’t be talking about him now.  But he didn’t, and we are.

Good cornerbacks are prime candidates for getting over-paid in free agency.  Bryant McFadden is going to be the beneficiary of that phenomenon.  Most Steelers fans would probably like to see McFadden remain on the roster.  So would I.  But the Rooneys have proven over the years that they don’t pay extravagant prices for free agents, no matter how well they’ve played.

Bryant McFadden has already tasted Super Bowl glory.  Twice.  So the allure of playing for a winner is not going to be his primary motivation.  He realizes that his next contract is going to be the one that sets up his family financially for generations.  He’s going to steal a line from “Jerry McGuire”, and adopt the mantra “SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!”

Fortunately for the Steelers, Deshea Townsend continues to be a dependable player despite his age, and William Gay has been reliable whenever he’s been on the field.  I haven’t yet forgiven Gay for wearing Arizona Cardinals’ colors to the Steelers parade (is it just me, or was that the most boneheaded move ever?  Our colors are BLACK & GOLD, William.  Black and gold!!!!!), but I’m glad that we have him as an insurance policy.  Goodbye, B-Mac.  We appreciate your contribution.

Nate Washington spent his first 3 seasons with the Steelers proving that there was no such thing as a pass that couldn’t be dropped.  Nate redefined “butter fingers”.  In fact, he appears to have taught his methods to Limas Sweed.

However, in his 4th year something changed.  Nate Washington blossomed into the Steelers best long threat.  He even managed to surpass Santonio Holmes in that regard (until the Super Bowl).  Washington averaged 15.8 yards per catch (during the regular season) as opposed to only 14.9 for Holmes.  Moreover, Washington had 4 catches of 40 yards or more, while Holmes only had two.

Washington has always been able to get separation from his defenders, but holding onto the ball was an issue.  Now that he’s solved that problem, I think the Steelers will try to keep him.  He’s only 25 years old, he has worked hard to improve.

Of course, if another team offers Washington a ridiculous amount of money, then the Steelers will wish him well.  But Colbert will probably make a legitimate effort to keep Washington.  In fact, he may offer him more money than fans expect.

Mitch Berger is a no-brainer.  Dan Sepulveda will be back next season.  See ya later, Mitch.

Tomorrow, in Part 2 of our series, we will take a look at the rest of the Steelers’ unrestriced free agents, and the the restricted free agents.  In Part 3, we will look at the players with one year left on their contracts.

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