Music by DJ E-Feezy and DJ A-N-D.

And here we thought it might be a distraction-free off-season for the Steelers.

But no-o-o-o ... the Notorious Pouncey Twins, newly empowered after signing ridiculous contract extensions: They're back in the news.

"Like a horribly gone-wrong Doublemint Gum commercial," wrote somebody identifying himself as Papa'sBasement in one of the many reader comments on this item on ProFootballTalk.com.  Lots of funny reader comments there, by the way.

Say "allegedly" all you want, but these guys just keep putting themselves in situations that call attention to themselves, and not in a good way. Not that they care.

The latest incident "allegedly" happened at 4:20 a.m. after Friday night, 7-11-14, at Cameo nightclub (open 11 p.m.-5 a.m.) in Miami's Entertainment District. Apparently it was the Pouncey Twins annual birthday bash, at least according to this promotional poster/handout and the club's promotional calendar. And that at least explains why the party wasn't held on one of the club's regular "Lapdance Tuesdays."

But on Friday night, it was the "Pouncey Twins Annual Birthday Bash," with Music by DJ E-Feezy and DJ A-N-D.

Was Johnny Manziel there?

Maybe not, but the Pouncey Brothers surely were, given that it was their "Annual Birthday Bash," which for all we know a hapless rookie offensive lineman may have been coerced and bullied into picking up the tab. Cameo (part of  The Opium Group) was the same place where the Pouncey twins were photographed with the infamous "Free Hernandez" caps at -- last year's birthday bash -- expressing their support for alleged murderer Aaron Hernandez.

All of which brings us to 4:20 a.m. Saturday morning and all of whatever it is that's going to follow in its wake. Which is probably nothing. Except more opprobrium and ugliness.

It's getting harder and harder to root for like feel halfway decent about not feel doubts about  Maurkice Pouncey. Thanks once again for making Steeler Nation proud. The world breathlessly awaits your next witty, rancid Tweet.

That recent contract extension for Maurkice Pouncey didn't feel right at the time, and feels less so now. It feels like we've said it before, but it's worth repeating in the wake of that ridiculous contract extension. Yes, "ridiculous." As in, Ridicule. Us.

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.

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?

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.

And there was the Rolling Stone article.

It's tough to root for this guy.

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"

Where are the Linebackers?

A this point, there's no sense over-analyzing the play of the Steelers' linebackers this year. Just let's say, to be kind, that their performance has been "uneven" all season. At times, it seemed, they disappeared, and Joey Porter's Pit Bulls were screaming in dismay, "Where are the linebackers?!"

To be fair, Jason Worilds has come on strong over the past five games and has shown burst, explosiveness and playmaking ability that we saw little of during his first three seasons. Worilds has brought pressure and played well enough during this stretch that the Steelers must consider re-signing him in the off-season. It may be too late to retain Worilds, however, as greener pastures will surely beckon, just as they do every year for guys like Paul Kruger, Danell Ellerbee and Victor Butler, last year's darlings on the free-agent market.

Lawrence Timmons more or less gets a pass, although his own performance has been a bit up and down. He had a monster 17-tackle performance in the first Ravens game and 12 tackles (with a broken hand) in Oakland, but he had only five tackles last Sunday against Miami. Only five tackles from an inside linebacker isn't very good.

Overall, the performance at linebacker this year has been a problem, to say the least. So has the lack of depth, and plain talent.

Isn't there something lacking, or plain wrong, when Troy Polamalu is lined up linebacker a bit too often? There sure was last Sunday, when Polamalu was late moving laterally and got crushed on a block that helped free running back Daniel Thomas for his 55-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

"No, I didn't do my job there,'' Polamalu said. "I miss-fit it. I just miss-fit it. A miss-fit is not fit. No, I just didn't get over to my gap. I was supposed to be on his other shoulder. (The big plays) are very frustrating, but I don't know if surprised is a proper word for it. I've been on defenses that really have made their money on now allowing them at all or one in a season or two in a season.

That quote came from Dale Grdinic's fine write-up here over at Behind the Steel Curtain, profiling Polamalu's dual role at safety and linebacker this season.

Schematically, it may make sense for Polamalu to bring his special skills to the linebacker position for some plays, but he was positioned at linebacker for about 50 percent of the snaps against Miami. That means two things: (1) When at linebacker, he's not roaming on the back end as a safety; and (2) He wouldn't even be at linebacker if the Steelers had anybody else capable of doing it.  Larry Foote is on injured reserve, and nobody else at this point is either good enough or healthy enough to do the job.

Time for the young guys to step up.

One reason Polamalu has had to play so much at linebacker is the lack of progress (or talent) from some of the younger guys. Rookie sixth-rounder Vince Williams has played like a rookie sixth-rounder. He's shown some potential to be a thumper, maybe, but he's already lost, at least temporarily, his short-lived opportunity to seize the starter's job because he got caught out of position too often and was generally so slow that he was a real detriment. Just as crucially, he didn't show that he can cover receivers, and that's a problem in a passing league. He could develop, but he's not ready yet.

Neither is rookie first-rounder Jarvis Jones. He's played small, and he looks small, which has been a concern from the very first day we saw him at mini-camp. Jones has shown flashes at times, but at this point, he looks like "just a guy," and one with a 4.92 40 time. Small and slow is not what the Steelers need from their prize first-round draft choice. They need him to make an impact.

Undrafted free agent Terence Garvin hasn't gotten on the field a whole lot, but he may be the most impressive, so far, of the three rookies. He's relatively light but rangy and fast, and he's shown playmaking instincts in small sample sizes. There may be a place for him.

The other backups, Kion Wilson and Stevenson Sylvester, are hanging on as fringe players. Each is "just a guy."  Neither was able to seize the opportunity to nail down playing time once they had their opportunity. Injured Sean Spence may never see the field, as he is still recovering from the massive knee injury he suffered in his rookie training camp. Chris Carter has been a non-factor since he arrived in 2011.

Whither Woodley?
And that, finally, brings us to the Big Kahuna, the highest-paid linebacker on the team, LaMarr Woodley. Before getting hurt and missing three games before Miami, Woodley was leading the team in sacks with five, but he's had only 36 tackles (20 solo) in the 10 games he's played this year.

It all looked so promising when
LaMarr Woodley appeared on the cover of
the Sept. 2, 2011 issue of
Sports Illustrated. The SI cover curse?

This year, there have been four games Woodley has registered zero tackles. ZERO. He didn't even get in on any assisted tackles. Four games with ZERO tackles. Those four games were Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit and Oakland.

The best you could say about Woodley's performance is that it has been sporadically okay -- but he hasn't been the linebacker who showed enough a few years ago that the Steelers signed him to a $61.5 million contract. He's been injury prone ever since signing that deal and just not as productive as he was for about two years beforehand, when he was an absolute beast as the bookend opposite James Harrison.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls don't necessarily agree with people who say that Woodley got "fat and happy" -- and out of shape-- after signing that deal.  Yet the production and the impact hasn't been there, although he entered this season apparently determined to show otherwise.

Columnist Dejean Kovacevic noted the following about LaMarr Woodley and his performance during last Sunday's game vs. the Dolphins:

LaMarr Woodley lost his spot at left outside linebacker in being shifted to the right for Jason Worilds, already humbling for a $61.5 million player, then turned in a total of three tackles and zero QB hits from the right. 

“I think it worked out pretty good,” Woodley said, oblivious as ever to his own shortcomings.

"Oblivious as ever to his own shortcomings." Ouch. Well, that's Kovacevic's comment, not ours. But the fact that comments like that are out there, well, they wouldn't be out there if Woodley didn't invite them.

Woodley had zero tackles in the loss at Oakland, and afterwards had some interesting comments, as noted in the following excerpt of a column by the Post-Gazette's Gene Collier (with the bold-faced emphasis below courtesy of yours truly):

"This is no step back for us; we're still movin' forward," said linebacker LaMarr Woodley, whose movements seemed almost designed to avoid tackles in a 21-18 loss to an almost equally dreadful football team. "We just had some mistakes out there and the Raiders capitalized on it. So, we're still a good football team, but we gave up some big plays. That's the only thing you can really look back on. You gave up some big plays. I wouldn't question us as a football team."

If the Steelers really want to retain Jason Worilds next year, that may require applying the franchise tag on him. And that would require jettisoning some other big contracts, one of which might be Woodley's.

There almost certainly will be others, and we wonder if Maurkice Pouncey's name is one of the ones being bandied about in Steeler offices on the South Side. Woodley and Pouncey would land elsewhere, of course, and possibly do well.  Yet the Steelers may need to free up cap space, and those would be two candidates that will bear scrutiny, among others (Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu, Levi Brown, Matt Spaeth, etc.)

Their respective 2014 cap hits? According to this report cited at Behind the Steel Curtain, Woodley's 2014 cap hit will be $13.59 million; Pouncey's will be $5.55 million.

They're not the only players with big cap numbers, but Woodley's will be the second-largest on the team (behind Ben Roethlisberger), and the Steelers may consider moving Maurkice Pouncey in a trade for badly needed draft picks, considering they've already traded their 2014 third-round choice to Cleveland and will be docked a later-round pick because of Mike Tomlin's sideline antics in Baltimore. Naturally, however, before moving Pouncey, the Steelers would need to feel comfortable they have a satisfactory replacement for him.

Anything's a possibility. One thing's for sure: They need improved play at linebacker.

Dinner at Maurkice Pouncey's House?

We have to ask: Will Steeler center Maurkice Pouncey (currently on injured reserve) invite Cincinnati's offensive line over to dinner at his house on Saturday night?  ... the way he supposedly did for his twin brother Mike's team, the Dolphins, last Saturday night? ... the night before the Dolphins beat the Steelers.

The Pouncey twins, wearing their "Free Hernandez" hats.

At least that's what was reported here, before the supposed dinner event.

We can't help but wonder: Do you get the feeling Maurkice Pouncey would rather be with the Miami Dolphins than the Pittsburgh Steelers? He's from Florida, his twin brother plays with the Dolphins, and he could play guard just as easily as center. The twins could even wear their "Free Hernandez" hats.

And Mike's pal Richie Incognito, a guard, won't be in Miami next year, so that could open a spot at guard for Maurkice -- which is where the Steelers might consider putting him anyway.

Just wondering.

Here Come the Bengggals, with a grrrowl ...

For a worthy overview of this year's Cincinnati Bengals, visit Anthony DeFeo's write-up over at Behind the Steel Curtain: "These Aren't Myron Cope's Cincy Bungals Anymore."

Maybe, but they're still the Bungles.

The Curious Case of Rashad Butler and Offensive Line Roster Machinations

We're just curious: What in the name of Levi Brown happened with offensive tackle Rashad Butler? Is he a Steeler or not?*

Ray Mansfield: Where's a guy like the
Ol' Ranger when you need him?

You remember Levi Brown, don't you?  The Steelers actually traded for Brown in early October after it had become clear that Mike Adams wasn't up to the job of starting left tackle, never mind that Brown himself was about to be cut by the Arizona Cardinals after having proved that he wasn't up to the job of starting left tackle for the team coached by Bruce Arians, the former Steelers' offensive coordinator who is once again in the running for NFL Coach of the Year, an award he won last year. And how's that for a run-on sentence?

You'll recall that a few days after joining the Steelers, Brown reported triceps discomfort in warm-ups immediately before the Jets game and was subsequently placed on injured reserve -- without having played a snap for the Steelers. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls suspect that Brown was injured before he even arrived in Pittsburgh, and that the team should have never allowed him to pass a physical. We have no way of knowing that, of course; it just seems an eminently possible scenario, and we have a suspicious nature borne of life experience.

Flash forward to the loss in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night, when the team lost half its offensive line to injuries of varying severity. Four of the eight offensive linemen on the active roster went down with injuries that game: tackle Mike Adams (ankle), guard David DeCastro (foot), tackle Kelvin Beachum (sprained knee) and, most seriously, center Fernando Velasco (Achilles), whose season ended.

That left us with Cody Wallace, Guy Whimper, Marcus Gilbert and Ramon Foster as the only "healthy" offensive linemen on the active roster.

Right Tackle Charlie Bradshaw, 1967

In the wake of all that, the Steelers last Saturday signed two players who had been sitting around waiting for calls: Rashad Butler, a journeyman tackle whom the Browns released on Nov. 5, for crying out loud, and Eric Olsen, a center waived by New Orleans at the end of training camp.

Over the weekend, then, Butler showed up (or did he?) and almost immediately left the team "for personal reasons."

In the wake of Butler's departure, the Steelers had to sign another tackle, right? Maybe promote Joe Long from the practice squad?

Apparently not. Despite the injuries to Beachum (in a walking boot and listed as "questionable" for Sunday's game, which means "probably not") and Adams, the Steelers opted to sign yet another center, David Snow, who was cut by the Buffalo Bills at the end of training camp.

Let's see: Cody Wallace is a center. Eric Olsen is a center. David Snow is a center. Do the Steelers have enough centers? Probably not.

Presumably these guys have "positional flexibility." Still, Wallace has been in the NFL for nearly six full seasons and on Sunday will make his first start. Counting his 40 snaps this year with the Steelers, Wallace has been on the field for all of 58 plays. That means, what? ... that Cody Wallace is good enough to make an NFL roster but not good enough to play? That seems to be what his coaches have thought. Or not.

Guard Larry Gagner, 1968

We will find out on Sunday, when Wallace starts in place of the injured Fernando Velasco, who was starting, and playing well, in place of the injured Maurkice Pouncey. Presumably the newly signed Eric Olsen will also suit up on Sunday and David Snow will be on the inactive list. Presumably.

More about David Snow: In 2012, the Bills signed Snow as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas. He was on Buffalo's practice squad, promoted to the active roster, and appeared in five games for the Bills during the 2012 season. The Bills let him loose at the end of the 2013 training camp.

Anyway, it appears the Steelers are counting on either (or both) Beachum and Adams to be available to play left tackle.  Otherwise, you would think, the Steelers would have signed somebody with tackle experience to at least be in uniform in case either Beachum or Adams get hurt again on Sunday.

Why not promote the practice squad players?
These roster machinations are always a mystery. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls wish somebody would answer a simple question: With two offensive linemen on the practice squad -- tackle Joe Long and guard Chris Hubbard, why did the Steelers go outside the organization to add guys like Butler, Olsen and Snow? Presumably the answer would be the Steelers believe the newly acquired players are better than the guys on the practice squad and would provide more help immediately. Huh.

Which brings us to our final question of the day: Why does the NFL even require a certain number of game-day inactives?  What purpose does that serve?

*As for Rashad Butler, the Post-Gazette reports he remains under contract but is now on the "exempt" list after the Steelers received a roster exemption. What the real story is, we'll likely never know.

Fernando Velasco

The Steelers' Thanksgiving loss to the Ravens was costly beyond the won-loss record. On Saturday, the team placed starting center Fernando Velasco on injured reserve with a damaged Achilles tendon, ending his season.

Fernando Velasco

Velasco has been stalwart in the middle of an offensive line that finally began to look reasonably cohesive the past few games. Signed off the street after Maurkice Pouncey went on injured reserve following the season opener, Velasco proved he may be better than Pouncey at aspects of the position. Although not as mobile as Pouncey, Velasco may have been better at handling the big nose tackles (such as Baltimore's Haloti Ngata) now so prevalent in the NFL.

Velasco seems reliable, serious about his job, and a quiet source of inspiration for anybody willing to pay attention. Joe Starkey of 93.7-FM The Fan recently aired a poignant interview with Velasco, which is re-capped here in an excellent write-up by Rebecca Rollett on Behind the Steel Curtain.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls are pulling for Velasco to return to the Steelers next season, hopefully as starting center.

"Everybody has a story...Everyone has some obstacles along the way, but what doesn't hurt you makes you stronger...I was blessed to have a grandfather who has helped me along the way. I've seen him go to work every day until he was 80-some years old; the only thing I've seen my whole life [from him] has been hard work...That inspired me to always keep working hard, no matter what the situation is, and just trust in the Lord...You can't use excuses in this life, you just take what you get and keep going." 

-- Fernando Velasco

Fernando Velasco: At the center of it all

The offensive line needs
all the help it can get.

Fernando Velasco may well be the most popular Steeler since Zoltan Mesko.

Who?

Fernando Velasco, the Steelers' new starting center, that's who. 

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).

Dermontti Dawson, Hall of Famer

A different type of center

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.

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.

A stabilizing force -- just what they need?

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.

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. Fernando Velasco just might become the linchpin of the Pittsburgh offensive line. That statement was inconceivable just one week ago, considering most Steeler fans had never heard of the guy.

Yet here we are.

Getting Centered

Now that the ritual unloading of vehicles is over, Steelers training camp is in full swing. In today's Post-Gazette, Ed Bouchette offers encouraging words about the first impressions made by Maurkice Pouncey, the first-round draft pick (18th overall) from the University of Florida.

According to Bouchette, who has seen it all and is rarely quick to praise, Pouncey already has evoked comparisons to former Steeler great Dermontti Dawson, and that is no faint praise indeed ...

"... it became quickly evident that Pouncey was the most talented center in camp after his first two practices Saturday, which went well.

"... people in the organization were talking about how they had not seen this kind of play by a center against nose tackles since Dermontti Dawson retired a decade ago. Pouncey, who lined up at center and right guard in the two Saturday practices at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, moves nose tackles back. He gets low, gets leverage and away they go as if on roller skates. His feet move like no center since Dawson."

The Steelers have sorely missed that sort of talent, mobility and power at the center position the past few years. It would be nice, to say the least, to see Pouncey continue the tradition of great Steelers centers from Ray Mansfield to Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson.

What a relief that would be.