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| The offensive line needs all the help it can get. |
Fernando Velasco may well be the most popular Steeler since Zoltan Mesko.
By all accounts, the Tennessee Titans released Velasco, who was their starting center for all 16 games last year, not because of
performance but because of the salary he was schedule to make this year. His release occurred just two weeks ago today.
By releasing him, Tennessee was able to sign a decent free agent center (Rob Porter) who would be “good enough”
at a salary low enough to free up cap room. Velasco wasn't making that much money, but Tennessee needed all the cap room it could get to sign key free agents like guard Andy Veltre,
tight end Delanie Walker and
safeties Bernard Pollard and George Wilson, all of whom are
considered keys to their rebuilding (as we saw last Sunday vs. the Steelers).
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| Dermontti Dawson, Hall of Famer |
Joey Porter’s Pit
Bulls take with a grain of salt the Pro
Football Focus player rankings, but there is something to them -- they do have some merit. Pro Football Focus rated Fernando Velasco
the 11th-best center in 2012 and Pouncey No. 25. That’s a big
difference and, while it may not be entirely accurate, it suggests the anticipated
drop-off from Pouncey to Velasco may not be so bad. Actually, that ranking suggests Velasco is the better center, but we in Steeler Nation don't believe that could be possible, do we? Eh? Do we?
The fact that Velasco is going to start just
six days after being signed points to just how dire the situation might be if he
weren’t here. And, in fact, he may be pretty good.
What becomes of the zone-blocking scheme?
The big question will be the effect on the new zone-blocking
scheme. Steel City Blitz makes an
interesting point that Velasco is more of a stay-at-home center
than the mobile type usually associated with the zone-blocking scheme.
The Steelers counted on Pouncey to move
laterally, but apparently Velasco is a conventional type whose strength is controlling up-the-middle bull rushers like Baltimore's Haloti Ngata. And that’s not a bad thing, not at all, if he's any good at it.
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| Mike Webster, Hall of Famer |
If Velasco is a
less-mobile center than the Steelers were planning to have (i.e., Pouncey), presumably he is not
going to be able to move as much laterally on pulls and swing passes, etc. Does that mean the new zone-blocking scheme
will not work as planned? Will Todd
Haley and Jack Bicknell have to scale back or mix up their schemes?
One thing for sure: The running backs just have to perform
better (and that includes their blocking). Right now, believe it or not, Felix
Jones may be the best fit for the zone-blocking scheme, and that makes you
wonder why the Steelers implemented a scheme that may not be suited to the
skills of at least half their RB personnel (Isaac Redman and [help us] Jonathan
Dwyer). We shall see.
For all that, Fernando Velasco may be just what the
doctor ordered, especially considering the types of nose tackles and defensive fronts that have
given the Steelers trouble the past few years, including Haloti Ngata and Cincinnati's relentless Geno Atkins and Domata Peko, the tandem we will see on Monday night and who are no vacation, by any measure.
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| Ray Mansfield (left), The Ol' Ranger |
No doubt, the Steelers got a bad break losing Pouncey,
although the quality of his play over the past two seasons remains up for
debate. They got lucky, however, when Velasco was still available.
Right now, following the loss of Pouncey, he appears to be just what they need at the center position. Unfortunately, they still need a lot
more help along the offensive line, especially at both tackle positions. Over at Steelers Depot Jeremy Hritz discusses the woes of the offensive line in this piece, and fellow writer Matthew Marczi offers his take here.
Velasco alone won't solve the Steeler’s
offensive line problems, but he should stabilize
the middle of the pocket and protect Ben.
Good pickup.
Yet here we are.
Yet here we are.
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