Just not sure what to think about the Larry Foote situation. When Joey Porter's Pit Bulls first heard the news that the Steelers had "released" him, we were kinda upset. Here was a good, solid player, reliable and sturdy, who has never missed a single start over five years of 16-game seasons. A mainstay.
Sure, he never made a Pro Bowl and, although plenty fans wear No 50 Foote jerseys, he wasn't exactly a household name ... but Foote's been a good player for the Steelers, a standup fellow who seems like a great guy, and it seemed unfair that the team would unceremoniously release him. After all, he's only 28, he just keeps getting better, and he's signed to a relatively reasonable contract.
THEN we heard that he had asked for his release, and that he'd been pushing for it all of last season and ever since. He reportedly said he's unhappy. Why? Seriously, why?
Larry, what have YOU got to be unhappy about? Dude, you're 28, you're making $2.8 million a year, and you own two Super Bowl Rings as a linebacker on the NFL's top-ranked defense -- which just happens to represent, arguably, pro sport's best-run franchise in all the world, literally.
Granted, it's none of our business. Sounds likes a personal issue, and if he wants the Steelers to release him, it appears the team is willing to accommodate his wishes. Reports out of Detroit indicate that Foote may want to play for the Lions, winless last season. Sounds odd -- going from the elite Steelers to the woeful Lions -- but Detroit is Foote's boyhood hometown. Perhaps more to the point, Detroit also is home to the birth-mother of Foote's young son, Trey-veion. According to the nice NYT article linked above, published just before Super Bowl XLV in February 2006, "With the blessing of Trey-veion's mother, Foote gained legal custody of the child, and in the fall of 2004, Trey-veion moved from Detroit to Pittsburgh to live with Foote. He sees his mother regularly, especially during the N.F.L.'s off-season, which Foote spends in Detroit."
It may be that Foote wants to move to Detroit for the sake of his son, and that would be admirable. Without more information, those of us on the outside -- fans and media alike -- are left to speculate. If Foote wants to move to Detroit and (play for the chronic-loser Lions of all franchises) for the sake of his son, that's admirable. Say so. We'd understand.
But if he wants out of Pittsburgh -- with one year left on his current contract, mind you -- only because, on the eve of free agency, he may lose playing time to the younger, up-and-coming Lawrence Timmons, well, that's another story. Be careful what you ask for. You just may get it.
Most observers, pundits and would-be draftniks, yours truly included, agreed that this year’s NFL draft class was thin at the top but deep throughout, particularly at several key positions (offensive line, wideout and cornerback in particular).
With that in mind, Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls (among others) figured the Steelers would probably stay put at at the end of the first round but might trade down in subsequent rounds. They did, kinda, with just one move, the trade of their pick at the end of the second round (No. 2.32) and their pick at the end of the fourth round at No. 4.32 (132nd overall) to Denver, in exchange for a pair of third-round picks, which the Black ‘n Gold braintrust used to pick up a guard/tackle (Kraig Urbik) at No. 3.15 (79th overall) and a wide receiver/kick returner (Mike Wallace) at No. 3.20 (84th overall).
Quite a few other franchises also took the trade-down-to-add-value approach, including New England (any surprise there?). Perhaps nobody did so more aggressively than the Cleveland Browns’ new management team, who took the approach to an extreme by trading down three times in the first round to stockpile bodies (not that it will do them much good). In fact, as if anticipating that the Steelers were eyeing Alex Mack, C, California, Cleveland, snatched Mack with what turned out to be their first-round pick, the 21stoverall (1.21) – having forsaken the opportunity to draft a franchise quarterback, Mark Sanchez with Pick No. 1.5, which they traded to the Jets for three fringe players and two draft picks. If Sanchez goes to the Hall of Fame, Cleveland fans will rue the day. Detroit fans, too, for that matter.
On the other hand, there’s always Brady Quinn, right? Right??
By the way, we still haven’t figured out why Sanchez was never in the discussion to go first overall, to Detroit, instead of Matt Stafford.Arm strength? That alone?? Can't help but wonder whether Detroit would have selected Stafford over, say, Joe Montana -- not that Sanchez has done anything to merit comparisons to Joe Montana, but we've all seen plenty of howitzer-armed QBs flame out over the years.
With what had been the Steelers’ 32nd pick in the second round (64th overall), the Broncos selected Richard Quinn, TE, North Carolina, whose specialty reportedly is as a blocking tight end. That seems awfully high to take a blocking tight end – another curious move by the Broncos’ new management team, headed by wunderkind rookie head coach Josh McDaniels, the Belichick protégé who made headlines this offseason by clashing with, and then trading, quarterback Jay Cutler, who is a punk, but still. Maybe the eager McDaniels was the perfect guy for the Steelers to do a deal with, and time will tell.
But then, at the very top of the third round, things got more interesting. With the very next pick after Quinn, the Jets selected Shonn Green, RB, Iowa, who wore black and gold for the Hawkeyes and would have looked very good indeed in a Steelers uniform (even though, as the roster is constructed today, there would be no place for him, as he would be behind Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore on the depth chart.
Other intriguing names chosen in the third round, before the Steelers chose Urbik at 3.15 (79th overall), were Alex Magee, DT, (6‘3”, 298), from Purdue, who went to the Chiefs at 3.3 (67th overall); YouTube phenom Jarron Gilbert, DE (6’5”, 288), from San Jose State, who went to the Bears via a trade with the Seahawks at 3.4 (68th overall); and Glenn Coffee, RB, Alabama, a Shonn Green clone (sort of) who went to the 49ers at 3.10 (74th overall).
Soon thereafter, the Steelers picked Kraig Urbick at 3.15 (79th overall), with one of the two picks they got from the Broncos.Offensive line coach Larry Zeirlein is on record as saying, flat out, that Urbick will compete for the starting right guard spot manned (fairly capably last year) by Darnell Stapleton. Presumably, Urbick will also see some time at training camp practicing at the right tackle position, as well, although he is not expected to vie for a starting job there.
Interestingly, during a radio interview shortly after Urbick’s selection, Zierlein responded to a question about why the Steelers may have passed over Duke Robinson, another highly rated behemoth guard prospect whom some people had speculated might be of interest to the Black ‘n Gold.“His motor doesn’t run fast enough for us,” said Zierleing of Robinson, the nephew of Motown legend Smokey Robinson.
“This guy’s does,” Zierlein added, referring to Urbik.
Five picks later, the Steelers used the second of the picks they picked up from the Broncos on wide receiver Mike Wallace from Mississippi, he of the reported4.33 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine -- but an even faster 3.77 (??!!!) time in other workouts on presumably faster tracks. By any measure, he's fast.
Notable receivers selected after Wallace, and before the Steelers’ next selection 12 picks later, included: Ramses Barden, WR, a Plaxico Burress clone at 6’6”, 226, selected by the Giants out of Cal Poly at 3.21 (85th overall); another big ‘un, Patrick Turner, WR, 6’5, 223”, selected by the Dolphins out of Southern California at 3.23 (87th overall); and Deon Butler, WR, 5’10” 185, selected by Seattle out of Penn State (3.27 (91st overall).
So, the Steelers passed on those three receiving prospects in favor of Wallace, and that says something about how highly they regard not just his potential as a wideout, but perhaps more importantly, his skills as a dynamic kick returner.
In any case, it will be interesting to see which of the four receivers (Wallace, Barden, Turner and Butler) has the best career as a pro.
The One That Got Away
Lamentably, the Steelers also passed on Rashad Johnson, S, 5’!!”, 203, selected by Ken Whisenhunt’s Arizona Cardinals out of Alabama at 3.31 (95th overall).
You can't get 'em all, but Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls see Rashad Johnson as the one who got away – the one player (who was available) we would have loved to see end up in a Steelers uniform. Having listened to a pre-draft radio interview with Johnson, we couldn’t help but think, “This guy has ‘Steeler’ written all over him.” Johnson played at a big-time winning program and, for what it’s worth, even grew up as a Steelers fan who was the son of a Steelers fan.Post-draft, ESPN’s Todd McShay said he expects Johnson to step into a starting position for the Cardinals right away and to be a stalwart there for years to come.
If you saw the Cardinals porous secondary durng the Super Bowl – which collapsed during the game-winning drive -- you’d have to agree: The Cardinals need help at safety. Still, we hated to see Johnsonslip through the cracks -- hated it -- but considering that Whisenhunt, the offensive coordinator for the Steelers’ 2005 Super Bowl winner, runs Pittsburgh West, it’s not all that surprising. He’s been adding former Steelers, and players in the Steelers’ mold, since he took the reins in Phoenix.
Now, having said all that, it will be interesting to observe who will be the better pro: Rashad Johnson, or the two players the Steelers selected ahead of Johnson (Urbick and Wallace) … or for that matter, and perhaps more intriguingly, the player the Steelers selected with the very next pick, cornerback Keenan Lewis, CB (6’, 208), out of Oregon State, whom the Cardinals bypassed in favor of Johnson.Granted, you could make the case that Lewis fills a bigger need at cornerback with the departure of Bryant McFadden (to the Cardinals, coincidentally, via free agency).
Admittedly, we know next to nothing about either Johnson or Lewis. We just find their juxtaposition on the draft board an extremely interesting coincidence, and we can’t help but wonder which of the two players the Steelers would have chosen had both been available.
You could also make the case that the Steelers also have a need at safety, although the now-departed (and unlamented) Anthony Smith made nowhere near the contributions that MacFadden made.Of course, if any of the starters (Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor, William Gay/DeShea Townsend) go down to injury for any significant amount of time, we will all get a chance to start making the Rashad Johnson vs. Keenan Lewis comparisons earlier than we might have liked.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
All in all, we’re content with this draft. The Steelers addressed some long-overlooked needs for:
1)Youth, depth and potential starters on the defensive and offensive lines (Ziggy Hood and Kraig Urbick, particularly; and, for all we know, later-round picks Sonny Harris and A.Q. Shipley).
2)A fast receiver (Mike Wallace) to fill the fourth wideout position, who can also compete for the speed-receiver position that Nate Washington left vacant through his departure via free agency. If Wallace or Limas Sweed can play as well as Washington did last year, we’ll be happy.
3)A cornerback (Keenan Lewis) to step into the role filled last year by William Gay, who takes over the role played by the now-departed Bryant MacFadden.
4)The short-yardage specialist (Frank Summers) they have lacked – and desperately needed -- since Jerome Bettis retired. This was a glaring need last year, and it’s about time they addressed it.
5)A pair of dynamic kick returners in Mike Wallace (kickoffs) and Joe Burnett (punts).Both of these guys are said to be positively electric return guys.
If these guys work out, this will turn out to be a fine draft. Anything else is gravy.
Gotta admit: This is the first time in years that Joey Porter's Pit Bulls have seen not one of the Steelers' draftees play. Not one.
No, on second thought, we'll take that back. We saw most of their teams play, on television at least, except for UNLV and Arkansas State). But we can't say that any of the draftees made an impression -- not one played so spectacularly or with such ferocity that JPPBs bounced up and said, "Damn! Wish the Steelers could get that guy!" (Example: Hines Ward, a full 12 years ago, as a senior at Georgia, when the Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators in that year's edition of The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.)
Yet we have faith. Why not? The Super Bowl Champion Steelers seem to know what they're doing. As predicted here (and everywhere else), the Steelers drafted pretty much to fill depth and future needs on the defensive line, the offensive line, at wide receiver and at cornerback. We don't know much about these new Steelers, but they look and sound pretty good, which is usually the case the day after draft weekend. Unless it's Jamain Stephens.
Ziggy Hood looks and sounds like a Steeler. So does Kraig Urbik, Sonny Harris and A.Q. Shipley. Mike "60 Minutes" Wallace might be just a guy who can run really, really fast (4.3 40-yard dash) -- we'll see if he can run routes and catch the ball as a receiver. If he contributes as much as Nate Washington did last year, we'll be happy. Joe Burnett looks like a tremendous kick-return guy -- we'll see if he can help out at cornerback.
Frank "The Tank" Summers may be our favorite. Listed at 5'9", 241 pounds, the powerful Summers has been described as The Mini-Bus, after Jerome Bettis. We saw some video highlights (which are selective, of course, and therefore can be deceptive [see: Walter Abercrombie, Greg Hawthorne]), and damn, Summers did look impressive: Powerful, fast, nimble, low center of gravity, soft hands for crucial third-down receptions. Summers could be the short-yardage specialist the Steelers have been seeking since The Bus retired. In uniform, he looks not so much like Bettis, but more like Sidney "The Thundering Bull" Thornton. Let's hope Summers has better hands than Thornton; and, more importantly, a better head than Sidney, also known as "The Blundering Fool," about whom Coach Chuck Noll infamously said, "Sidney has many problems, and they are great."
If Summers is as good as he looks on video, well, Carey Davis, it was nice knowing you, and thanks for your contributions.
Granted, the Steelers admittedly failed to get one of the centers (Eric Wood, Max Unger or Alex Mack) they were targeting, but maybe they got the center they need in Penn State's A.Q. Shipley, a Pittsburgh native and lifelong, passionate Steelers fan. He was tremendous for three years at Penn State, a majorly winning program against big-time competition. Hopefully, he'll be very bit as good against the MUCH bigger nose tackles in the even more competitive AFC North. It's always nice to see a local guy get drafted by his hometown team. In a local (KDKA-TV) television interview last night Shipley -- wearing a Steelers cap and tee-shirt, looked extremely proud and psyched ... he looked every bit as excited as George Costanza did after learning the Yankees had hired him as assistant traveling secretary. "Bustin', Jerry! I'm bustin'!!"
Anyway, if the Steelers are happy with their draft picks, so are Joey Porter's Pit Bulls. And, as always, it will be fun to see who the Steelers bring in as street free agents -- and whether any of those guys emerge and develop as well as, say, Fast Willie Parker or even last year's team Rookie of the Year, Patrick Bailey, linebacker and kick-coverage demon whom the Steelers brought in as an undrafted free agent out of Duke, of all places. Let's hope they do.
We can always have a little faith.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Rd Pick Player Pos College
1 32 Ziggy Hood DE Missouri 3 79 Kraig Urbik OG-OT Wisconsin 3 84 Mike Wallace WR Mississippi 3 96 Keenan Lewis CB Oregon State 5 168 Joe Burnett CB Central Florida 5 169 Frank Summers RB UNLV 6 205 Sonny Harris DT Oregon 7 226 A.Q. Shipley C Penn State 7 241 David Johnson TE Arkansas State
When the NFL Draft has come around each April the past few years, Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls made the case for the Steelers trading down, out of the first round altogether.
Not this year, although perhaps there’s no better time to do so than when you’re coming off a Super Bowl Win.
This year, however, is not the year to trade down. This year, thankfully, the Steelers can sit right where they are, at Pick No. 32, and make a (hopefully) safe pick of a (presumably) quality player who will contribute this year and step in as a valid starter in 2010 and beyond. That’s because this year’s draft is widely considered to be thin at the top of the first round but deep at the bottom, especially at positions of particular interest to the Steelers (offensive line, defensive line, cornerback and wide receiver).
Names that have been bandied about include tackles Eben Britton (Arizona) and William Beatty (Connecticut); centers Doug Mack (California), Eric Wood (Louisville) and Max Unger (Oregon); receivers Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina) and Kenny Britt (Rutgers); defensive ends Jarron Gilbert (San Jose State), Tyson Jackson (LSU) and Evander Hood (Missouri); and corners Sean Smith (Utah), Vontae Davis (Illinois), Louis Delmas (Western Michigan), Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest) and Darius Butler (Connecticut). Some of these players will be off the board before the Steelers’ turn. Some will be better pros than others. One or two may even last until the Steelers pick at the end of the second round.
We've got a feeling the Steelers are eyeballing the cornerback position, but that there will be intense debate invovling several of the names listed above.
In any case, if the Steelers trade down at all this year, they are more likely to do so in later rounds. One potential trading partner would be Jerry Jones, the notoriously itchy-fingered trigger man for the Dallas Cowboys, who dealt away this year’s first-round pick to the Detroit Lions last year, in-season, for wide receiver Roy Williams.
In fact, the Cowboys have only one pick all day Saturday – the 51st overall – but Jones does hold other cards, notably two fourth-round picks and three fifth-round picks.
Pheh, as Myron Cope would say. Still, if the Steelers want to add depth in a draft deep at several positions of need, they may consider dealing with that old traveling carnival-snake-oil- wheeler-dealer-oilfield-gambler Jones, later in the draft.
Or not.
Personally, we’d like to see the Steelers bat their long lashes at Jones and then declaim, abashedly, “Why, Mr. Jones, I do declare, you are so forward!” and walk away. Let him stew.
Anyway, as for whom the Steelers actually may pick in the first round, eh, it’s tough to say – simply because it’s tough to predict who will go in the first 31 picks.Although the Super Bowl-winning offensive line remains nearly intact, it needs help, and depth, and future re-tooling. Same goes for the more polished and productive, but aging, defensive line.
Holes opened this offseason at cornerback and wide receiver, with the departures of free agents Bryant McFaddenand Nate Washington, both of whom were valuable contributors and who will become starters for the estimable Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, respectively. DeShea Townsend at corner isn’t getting any younger, nor is Hines Ward at receiver.Both entered the league together 12 years ago and have been with the Steelers ever since. It’s time to add some (talented) depth to those positions. You can never have too many corners or receivers (good ones, that is).
In any case, we’re optimistic the Steelers will select a good player at good value for Pick No. 32. Let’s hope the Steelers draft at the very end of the first round every year.
For what it’s worth, we felt the much the same uncertainty last year, when first assessing the 2008 draft a full three-and-a-half weeks ahead of the actual event.In fact, Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls were tempted to take the easy way out this week and simply use last year’s initial assessment once again this year, with some minor modifications:
No clue.During our long winter somnambulance, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls like others across Steeler Nation have given plenty of thought to the NFL Draft, April 26-27 25-26. And we still don't have a clue.
The top of the draft appears muddled, with no clear choice for a consensus No. 1 overall pick. This uncertainty produces a ripple effect, of course, on how the next 22 31 picks will shake out, and the Steelers go on the clock at pick number 23 32. We usually have a clearer sense of this, by the way, even allowing for the wildly varying quality of most mock drafts and prognostications.
Most of this year's mock drafts predict the Steelers will pick an offensive lineman in the first round. Sounds eminently reasonable, and a couple of months ago, we would have said two of the first three picks should be offensive linemen.
Maybe. But, uh, maybe not.
A closer look at the offensive linemen likely to be available at 1.23 1.32 raises more questions than answers. The very best tackles (Jake Long, Michigan; Ryan Clady, Boise State; Chris Williams, Vanderbilt; Jeff Otah (?), Pitt) will be gone, and questions remain about the others (Sam Baker, USC; Gosder Cherilus, Boston College; Eric Young, Tennessee).
Best Available?
If you take the Steelers at their word, they will pick the best player available regardless of position (except for quarterback and tight end).
But still … the offensive line was putrid last year and should have been addressed either in last year's draft or during the off-season in free agency. We can't say with any confidence that Justin Hartwig or Darnell Stapleton (or Kendall Simmons or Woody Allen for that matter) will be an upgrade at center over the overmatched Sean Mahan, who got thrown around, consistently, like a rag doll last year.
Besides offensive line, what other positions do the Steelers need to fill, and who might be available? This is so hard to read, this year, partly because the Steelers have problems, they are many, and they are great (to paraphrase Chuck Noll's famous statement about running back Sidney "The Bull" Thornton).
Again, if you take the Steelers at their word, they need to shore up all positions except quarterback and tight end. Presumably running back would be a lower priority, although you would like to see a solid fullback added to the roster. West Virginia's Owen Schmitt would look good in black and gold, assuming you could get him, say, when the Steelers pick in the third round (not likely, from what we're reading).
On defense, the defensive line is showing age, and inside linebackers James Farrior and Larry Foote aren't getting younger, either.
Nor can you ever have too many corners (good ones, that is). Might cornerback Antoine Cason from the University of Arizona be a possibility in the first round? There are other corners being discussed as first-round material include … but we like what we've read about Cason.
On the other hand ... we're leery of Cherilus and Baker at that point in the first round. A defensive lineman? Ehh, maybe, but probably not this year, not in the first round.
In the end, not knowing whether Ryan Clark would return in good health and good form (which he did, with impact, just ask Baltimore running back ) we “chose” the University of Miami’s Kenny Phillips, a safety, whom the New York Giants selected with – you guessed it -- Pick No. 32 at the end of the first round. Nice symmetry, eh?
Just not sure what to think about the Larry Foote situation. When Joey Porter's Pit Bulls first heard the news that the Steelers had "released" him, we were kinda upset. Here was a good, solid player, reliable and sturdy, who has never missed a single start over five years of 16-game seasons. A mainstay.
