Not to get too excited ...

You knew the Steelers were going to bring in a veteran punter to compete with Brad Wing for the job this training camp. They did just that on Tuesday, with the signing of cancer survivor Adam Podlesh, who spent the last three seasons with the Chicago Bears after four years in Jacksonville. The Jaguars had made him a fourth-round draft choice (101st overall) in 2007, the same year the Steelers traded up to draft Daniel Sepulveda with a fourth-round pick (112th overall).

That trade and the selection of Sepulveda in the fourth round has always been a sore spot with Steelers' beat writer Ed Bouchette, as noted in a reader comment over at Behind the Steel Curtain:

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Another thing

In addition to whether he’s any good… the main downside to signing Podlesh is having to read Eddie B at the PPGcomplain about the Sepulveda draft pick. Again.

by EasyLikeSundayMorning on Apr 15, 2014 | 11:48 PM reply

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Podlesh has had some success in the NFL, however, and the Steelers' punting game last year was awful. The Steelers abruptly cut Drew Butler (now with the Bears, ironically enough) in 2013 training camp in favor of veteran Brian Moorman, whom they promptly cut in favor of Zoltan Mesko, who was dreadful and then was unceremoniously cut. Veteran punter Mat McBriar closed out the season. While McBriar had some good punts and one notable trick play, he was mostly, eh, not so great.

Adam Podlesh

Podlesh also had a bad year. As Neal Coolong at Behind the Steel Curtain notes, Podlesh ranked last in the NFL in punting (40.6 yard average; 37.9 net) last year, "so obviously the right move is to cut Zoltan Mesko, not re-sign Mat McBriar and hire the only punter in the league who failed to out-perform either of them."

There's hope, though, for Podlesh and also for Brad Wing, the other punter who will be in training camp.  Both have interesting stories.

At some point, we'll take a closer look at Wing, but if you want a bit more insight on Podlesh, read this piece and this article about his bout with cancer in 2011, and also this entry on Wikipedia, where you will learn he was a really fast runner on in the 200 meter and 400 meter events on his high school track team, posting the best times in New York State in those events. Who knew?

Either Podlesh or Wing may work out well and actually upgrade the Steelers' punting. There is room for improvement.

Low-risk, high reward? What's to lose?
The Steelers seem to be on a Pirates-like trend of signing scrap-heap, veteran cast-offs with some "pedigree" ( to use one of Mike Tomlin's favorite words) and hangers-on looking for one last chance at redemption. Hey, you never know.

In the Pirates' case over the past couple decades, they've had an ignoble history of signing such guys too numerous to mention. You might sign 25 broken-down players like, say, pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, who have lost their mojo and never get it back. But then you find a gem like pitcher Francisco Liriano, who had been written off but found new life in Pittsburgh.

Probably every NFL team does it, too. This off-season, the Steelers have made a couple of low-risk signings of "name veterans" who probably won't make much difference in the long run but are worth a shot to see what they've got.

From DVD to DHB
Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (DHB) no doubt signed with Pittsburgh hoping to finally fulfill his potential as a star receiver who was the seventh overall pick in the NFL draft not so long ago. The Steelers certainly also hope that, but may simply intend for him to fill the more limited role as a gunner on special teams. That's what he did toward the end for Indianapolis, and he did it well, too. There's nothing wrong with having an unstoppable gunner on punt coverage. The Steelers have gone from DVD (DeMarcus Van Dyke) to DHB (Darrius Heyward-Bey).

Give him a chance; see what he's got. The same goes for Adam Podlesh and Brad Wing. 

Punters are defenseless?

Remember former Steelers punter Daniel Sepulveda?  All 6'3", 230 lbs. of former college linebacker? He used to pride himself on covering kicks and making solid tackles. On more than one occasion, he blew up returners.

Somewhere along the way, the NFL apparently declared punters "defenseless."

Boom!

On Sunday night, Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber kicked a short punt that Antonio Brown got a running start on and shot upfield on his way to the end zone. Huber was more or less on Brown's route and unfortunately, for him, did not have his head on the proverbial swivel as he turned directly into a textbook block by Steeler linebacker Terence Garvin.

Huber was eyeballing Brown, didn't see Garvin coming, and got flattened. Cue the hue and cry.

A number of people, especially in Cincinnati, are crying that Garvin should have been flagged and will be fined. There was no flag, and we'll let the NFL suits debate a fine.

Just about anybody who's played football has been flattened like that, too. We feel bad for Huber that he suffered a broken jaw and, reportedly, a cracked vertebrae. It's a violent game, a collision sport, and we're not saying Huber should have seen Garvin coming, but Garvin was doing his job. What was he supposed to do? Fling himself sideways? Cut Huber at the knees, which could jeopardize his career? Ask Daniel Sepulveda about knee injuries. He's out of football because of them.

That looked like a good block, and we'd say the same thing if it were the Steelers' Mat McBriar on the receiving end.

Didn't the Steelers used to win this sort of game?

The one that got away: Charles Clay scores the winning TD
after Troy Polamalu and Cortex Allen failed to bring him down. 

Missed tackles. Blah. Blocked punt. Blah. A Ben Roethlsiberger fumble that led to a Miami touchdown. Poor clock management. Nine penalties. Dropped catches, off-target throws, sloppy play all around.

The Steelers' defense surrendered their 11th play of 50 yards or more this season, and it couldn't have come at a worse time: late in the fourth quarter, when running back Daniel Thomas broke a run for 55 yards on the decisive winning drive where Miami drove 80 yards to score with about three minutes left.

This came after another ineffective punt from Mat McBriar, who bounced one into the end zone for a net of 28 yards. That meant the Dolphins started their drive on the 20-yard line instead of backed up against their goal line.

The Steelers have had punting problems all season, and today was no different. In the first half, Miami blocked a McBriar punt and went on to score a touchdown. The Dolphins won by six points.

Center Cody Wallace played reasonably well.

On the plus side, the offensive line played reasonably well, and that includes third-string center Cody Wallace, who made his first start six seasons into his NFL career, and tackle Mike Adams.

Antonio Brown played well, although he had a drop, and almost won the game at the end had his momentum not carried him out of bounds. That would have been a play for the ages. Emmanuel Sanders had a touchdown catch among his four receptions but had a drop, too.

On defense, Jason Worilds and Cameron Heyward played well.  Also on the plus side, Mike Tomlin stayed on the sidelines.

Who's Calling the Plays?
Le'Veon Bell carried the ball only 16 times (for 63 yards), and had just one carry in the second quarter after gaining 36 yards on nine carries in the first quarter. We could ask why the Steelers didn't try to run the ball more in classic wintry conditions, especially in the second half. In fact, the question was asked of a testy Ben Roethlisberger during his post-game meeting with the media, and his response was a terse "No idea. Coach Haley's over there. You can ask him."

It was a legitimate question, though, and we hope somebody asks Haley, or Tomlin, and actually gets a meaningful answer, but that's not going to happen. Roethlisberger's response, though, just invites more speculation that there may be, and probably is, tension between Roethlisberger and Haley and provides more evidence of a disconnect between the two.

Oh, by the way, Mike Wallace caught only two passes for 19 yards and was not much of a factor. We didn't expect him to be.