Free Pouncey?

What team doesn't over-value some of its own talent from time to time? Certainly the Steelers, yes, or they wouldn't be coming off consecutive 8-8 seasons and teetering on the the brink of sustained mediocrity and even irrelevance.

Derrmontti Dawson

Is Maurkice Pouncey as good as he thinks he is, or as good as the long-time Steelers' braintrust have seemed to think he is? Has Pouncey ever performed as well as he did during his 2010 rookie year, when the first-round draft choice earned a spot in the Pro Bowl?

With that rookie season, Pouncey gave Steeler Nation hope that the the team had found a worthy successor to the decades-long lineage of centers that included Hall of Famers Derrmonti Dawson and Mike Webster, and very good centers such as Jeff Hartings and Ray Mansfield.  Nobody's had better centers over the past five decades than the Steelers. It's a proud tradition.

In 2011, Pouncey notched a second Pro Bowl appearance and then, in 2012, was given a third, which surprised some. To the casual observer, it appeared his play had declined during both the 2011 and 2012 seasons, but you know how Pro Bowl selections are -- the incumbents keep getting named once they're in.

Maurkice Pouncey, about to be carted off with a
knee injury in the 2013 season opener, with Antonio Brown
offering words of encouragement 

Overvaluing Their Own Talent?
We've had the sense for some time now -- and this goes back three, four, years, at least, that this Steelers' management team overvalues much of its own talent. And we all know they've had, ahem, mixed success, at best, in the draft (see: 2008-09 drafts).

Management has shown misplaced faith in some players, held on to some others for too long, given others probably too much rope, and let some others go they probably should have kept. It's that way to some extent for most teams, but the most successful teams do less of that, of course, and make adjustments along the way.

Which brings us to the crossroads at the center position, brought to a head over the past few days by Cleveland's signing of Alex Mack to a $42-million contract that includes $18 million guaranteed over the first two years. As noted on Friday's post on this blog, what's bad for the Steelers, and other NFL teams, is the deal is overpriced and sets a new level of expectation for centers across the league.

Ray Mansfield, The 'Ol Ranger

Trade Possibilities?
Question No. 1: Might the Steelers entertain pre-draft (or draft-day) trade offers for Pouncey? With holes galore, cap space tight, and lacking a true third-round draft pick this year (not counting the compensatory selection at the end of the third round), trading Pouncey has to be a consideration.

Question No. 2:  Go ahead and scoff if you want, Steeler insiders, but would another team even be interested? That depends on how they rate Pouncey, how much he would cost, and whether he'd be an upgrade over what they have already or might get on the open market. It's basic Return on Investment (ROI).

The hard truth is, the Steelers might not get much value in return for Pouncey, who is coming off a season lost to a torn ACL/MCL knee injury, and going into the last year of his contract.

Nobody at Steelers' offices will say it publicly, of course, but many people think Pouncey is over-rated. Many more were put off by his association with alleged murderer Aaron Hernandez (including Pouncey's clueless "Free Hernandez" B.S.); antics like hosting dinner for the Miami offensive line the night before the Steelers lost to the Dolphins; and some of his Twitdiocy (Twitter Idiocy) over the past few years, including inane comments like, "I’m rich play for the steelers and have a awesome life!! Are u mad loser", which he posted shortly after the playoff loss in Denver.

Mike Webster,
Hall of Famer

Many in Steeler Nation would not be heartbroken to see Pouncey on another team.

We'd been thinking for a while now -- even before the Mack signing in Cleveland, that the Steelers may be able trade Pouncey, and that a third-round choice in return (along with, possibly, a conditional choice next year), might be a reasonable return for a 305-pound three-time Pro Bowler coming off injured reserve and facing the last year of his contract.

The excellent Neal Coolong over at Behind the Steel Curtain makes an excellent case for such a trade, and he even proposes a potential trade partner: the Jacksonville Jaguars, who lost out on Mack when the Browns retained his rights.

The Trouble: Other Teams See What We See
The trouble with expecting much return for Pouncey is that other teams also know his play was not stellar in 2011-12, despite being named to the Pro Bowl. He got pushed around too often. The whole line was a sore spot, and Pouncey, the linchpin, was a big part of it. Pro Football Focus rated Pouncey 25th among centers in 2012. You can take that sort of rating with a grain of salt, but we didn't need Pro Football Focus to tell us what we saw.

Then came the 2013 season opener in which Pouncey injured his ACL/MCL in the first game and was put on injured reserve. Fernando Velasco stepped in off the street and the line solidifed as the season progressed. While Velasco was not as mobile as Pouncey, he seemed to hold the point of attack and pass-protected better than Pouncey had been doing in 2011-12.

The partying Pouncey twins, wearing their
cute little "Free Hernandez" hats expressing support
of accused murderer Aaron Hernandez

Is There a Trade Market?
All of which brings us back to a potential trade market for Pouncey. If we fans can see the dropoff in performance before Pouncey got hurt, it's reasonable NFL talent evaluators also saw it.

Would the Jacksonville Jaguars, say, be willing to surrender a third-round draft choice for a player coming off an ACL injury, whose performance had arguably been so-so before the injury, and who is looking to receive a massive contract when his current one expires after this upcoming season?

The Steelers have salary cap issues and at least one possible replacement for Pouncey, if they decide to trade him. Cody Wallace would be that replacement, although the current Steelers' depth chart lists David Snow as the starting center.

Cody Wallace

Wallace played well in his limited playing time. Wallace is a career journeyman, but he showed mobility, ferocity and tenacity in his four starts. The Steelers re-signed Wallace to a new three-year contract this off-season, it's reasonable to think the team was hedging its bets in anticipation that they may have trouble signing Pouncey to an extension before he hits free agency after the 2014 season.

For all intents and purposes, the Steelers currently don't have a third-round pick. Conceivably, it's possible the Steelers could use Pouncey as a trade chip -- but only if other teams are willing to assign him the value the Steelers think he's worth. And that may be problematic -- if so many fans in Steeler Nation believe Pouncey is over-rated, so too must a number of scout and personnel people at other NFL teams.

Enter Mike Munchak
And that brings us full-circle to the question of to what extent the Steelers may over-value their own players. While the Steelers brain-trust in recent years may have been guilty of that, there is one key person new to the staff who brings a fresh perspective: Offensive line coach Mike Munchak, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman himself. He stated last week on Steelers.com that he will "have a chance to coach some young offensive linemen that I think can be really, really good."

We wonder which offensive linemen Munchak has in mind?

One footnote about Cody Wallace:  He hasn't had an easy path to get to this point, if the following excerpt from his page on Wikipedia is any indication:

"Wallace was raised by his paternal grandparents, since both his parents died when he was young. When he was 8, his father, aged 43, died in prison—which he was in for charges that include theft—due to liver failure and a ruptured esophagus, both caused by alcoholism. 

"His mother died of an unknown illness when he was 16, and was unable to take care of her two children many years before that. To feel his mother's presence, he wears her stud earrings. His older brother by two-and-a-half years has served four years in prison for drug charges. 

"Wallace stated: "Going through so much at a young age, it seems like I can handle more difficult situations maybe easier than most people. I just kind of look at everything in a little bigger picture."

The NFL Cesspool: Sheer Ugliness, Painted With a Very Broad Brush

Sometimes Joey Porter's Pit Bulls can't help but wonder what we're supporting with our cable TV payments and emotional/financial investment in the NFL. As much as we love the game itself ...

It's getting tougher and tougher to buy what the NFL is selling.

If you're a fan of the NFL, we recommend you read the entire "REPORT TO THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE CONCERNING ISSUES OF WORKPLACE CONDUCT AT THE MIAMI DOLPHINS."  Read the whole damn thing. All 144 pages.

And if you watch the NFL Network, you may have noticed the terse mention on Friday of Darren Sharper. He faces ugly criminal charges that are about as ugly as ugly gets without the word "murder" involved, as in the case of Aaron Hernandez.

Words that come to mind thinking about the NFL in the wake of these most recent stories: Shameful, despicable, sordid, criminal, idiotic, vile, base, offensive, disturbing, off-putting. Cesspool.

The report on the Dolphins was compiled by a law firm hired by the NFL to present findings on the escapades of the oafish Richie Icognito and his pals, Mike "Free Hernandez" Pouncey (twin brother of Steelers' center Maurkice "Free Hernandez" Pouncey), John Jerry and, apparently, the entire Dolphins coaching staff and management organization. If the coaches deny it, they're lying.

The Pouncey twins, wearing their cute little
"Free Hernandez" hats expressing their support of
accused murderer
Aaron Hernandez, former NFL player

The report makes clear and lays bare the sheer ugliness in Miami, and you can be pretty sure we're still not getting any near the full story. As columnist Greg Stoda of the Miami Herald wrote, "Forget locker-room mentality; the Miami Dolphins have a prison-yard mentality."

When all this broke a few months ago, any number of Incognito apologists made the point that the sort of behavior described in the report is common across the NFL, as if that makes it okay. If so, let's keep in mind our cable TV dollars pay for the precious "locker room culture" and lifestyle of the players described in the report.

Richie Incognito made nearly $5 million last year alone, even with the suspension. The 24-year-old Pouncey made nearly $3 million, and Jerry made more than $1.5 million. Five million dollars in one calendar year: In what other line of work could the incomprehensibly stupid, oafish, porcine, boorish, loutish, obtuse, bullying, dense Incognito make that kind of money?

And you wonder why your cable bill is so high?

How some people are able to maintain jobs is a wonder. You'd think Stephen Ross, the billionaire owner of the Dolphins, would want to clean house. Fire everybody. Sever ties with all the coaches and several players, including Incognito, Pouncey and Jerry and probably others.

Does Richie Incognito and his pals have sisters, mothers, wives and/or girlfriends? What do those women think about their boys now? The same guys who "jokingly" threatened to assault and gang-rape the sister and mother of Jonathan Martin, who threatened to kill Martin (even as fellow NFL player Aaron Hernandez [he of the "Free Hernandez" cap worn by the Pouncey twins] faces murder charges), and who threatened to shit in his mouth?

Karma has a way of swinging around on people. There is no way to polish the turds that Richie Incognito and his pals threatened to shit in the mouth of Jonathan Martin and fling at others in positions of weakness, including rookie players and the assistant trainer who happens to be of Japanese descent. If any NFL team adds Incognito to its roster, shame on them. They will have relinquished any claim to the word "character" ever again.

And then there's the NFL Network, the league's own. Darren Sharper, presumably, won't be on the NFL Network anytime soon. We'll just have to rely on Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp,. et al,  for the kind of precious insight, pithy wit, jocular mirth and "expert analysis" we just can't get anywhere else. Yeah.

Friday was a dark day for the NFL, and it's getting tougher and tougher to feel good about so much that the NFL presents. Why are we supporting these people anyway?  Roger Goodell?

Links:

Greg Doyel, CBS Sports: "After Richie Incognito Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine ..."

Slate: "The Best Report on Bullying Ever"

Will Brinson: "Dolphins Lack Leadership from Top to Bottom"

Deadspin:  "Darren Sharper Allegedly Drugged, Raped Women in Four States"

William Rhoden, The New York Times: "A Vile and Graphic Report"

The Sacramento Bee: "Harbaugh: Jonathan Martin Can Resume Successful NFL Career"

Has the NFL Jumped the Shark?

This post will go over like a Led Balloon; skip it if you don't want to read anything negative about the NFL.

First, let's be clear: Joey Porter's Pit Bulls remain passionate and emotionally invested in football generally and the NFL in particular.

We love the game of football that appeals to the kid in all of us who played ball in the backyard, in the street, on oil-slicked rock-hard fields, in high school, in college, in highly competitive venues, in crazy situations of all kinds. Intensely. We love football.

But ... this latest bullshit with the oafish, reptilian Richie Incognito and his ignorant apologists is yet another major turnoff in a series of diminishing returns.

The NFL is perilously close to jumping the shark.

As heretical as it sounds, the NFL has lost some of its patina that appeals to the kid in all of us.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. During Roger Goodell's tenure as commissioner, it feels like the NFL sold it soul somewhere along the way.

It's increasingly tough to overlook ... 
the golden goose that is television, with its ceaseless fawning, incessant babble, over-saturation of coverage, Thursday night games, Sunday night games, late-season Saturday games, Monday night double-headers -- oh, and, of course, the all-too-frequent and lengthy commercial breaks during games -- the NFL doesn't seem so special and fun anymore.

It's increasingly tough to overlook ...
performance-enhancing drugs, steroids and human growth hormone; absurd rules changes; rampant bounties; institutionalized extortion, thuggery, hazing, browbeating as "initiation" rites; concussions, CET, brain damage and early-onset dementia; designated "strike zones;" deliberately targeted knee hits prompted by the new rules governing upper-body hits; constant and eternal roster attrition from injuries, injuries and more injuries; the continuous legal squabbling; the ridiculous regular-season games in London and Roger Goodell's continuing threat to move franchises to London (from Jacksonville and maybe other cities) and Toronto (from Buffalo).

It's increasingly tough to overlook ... 
the many, many player arrests (from the seriously disturbing Aaron Hernandez  murder case to the insanely absurd Alameda Ta'amu incident on Pittsburgh's South Side); cretins like Michael Vick; blockheads like Riley Cooper; jerk owners like Jerry Jones, Zygi Wolf and Dan Snyder; asshole coaches like Rex Ryan, Joe Philbin, Greg Schiano, Gregg Williams, Bill Bellichick, et al; Todd Haley and his wife; the selfies; the constant Tweets by clueless self-absorbed idiotic athletes, self-imporant talking heads and former-player blowhard "analysts" like Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin and Warren Sapp; the breathless bloggers, the uber-analytical Pro Football Focus Sabremetric-type "experts" who are about as fun as actuaries ... and so on, and on, and on.

It all detracts, takes its toll, from what used to be a more enjoyable, fun diversion and, yes, a passion that still means a lot to us.

Football is supposed to be a game, but it's got "business" written all over it.

It's as if Roger Goodell and his minions never heard of the adage,"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls remain deeply invested in the whole scrambling omelette, but ... there is something to be said for perspective and balance, if you will, if not wisdom.

We still watch the Steelers closely, with passion and intensity, but ... we're also watching the Aaron Hernandez and Richie Incognito situations, along with all the other crap, almost as much as we're watching the games.  The bad with the good; you don't get one without the other.