Game 2 Game Day: At Cincinnati

Jack Lambert

"If I could start my life all over again, I would be a professional football player, and you damn well better believe I would be a Pittsburgh Steeler."

-- Jack Lambert

It should be interesting to see how many Steeler fans will be at Paul Brown Stadium tonight. Typically we can count on about 30-40 percent of the crowd in Black 'n Gold.

And that reminds us what Steeler Nation is all about. We're all in this together. Time to regroup.

Tonight's matchup features enough X's and O's angles, interesting storylines* and potential scenarios to make your head spin.

The one thing Joey Porter's Pit Bulls will be watching out for is this: Is this year's Steelers team tough enough?

They may not have the talent some other teams have, but the Steelers need to regroup after last week's debacle and ask themselves the following questions: What kind of impression do I want to make? What kind of impression do I want to leave?  They're on national TV, but that shouldn't matter. They must look in the mirror, come up with some answers and realize who they are: The Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the big picture, then, to borrow the three points from the inspiring pep talk from actor Terence Howard's coach character in the movie Pride, tonight we'd love to see the Steelers win, of course, and do so by exemplifying the following traits:

• Pride -- The pride of wearing the Black 'n Gold, of being the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Resilience -- From game to game, from play to play, and from moment to moment, nothing is more important that resilience
• Determination -- The determination to constantly challenge defeat

On that note, we close this post with another quote from Jack Lambert:

"I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play" 
-- Jack Lambert 

  * * *   

*Storylines:  James Harrison; the Steelers' lousy offense; game plans; injuries; the Steelers' secondary vs. a Bengals receiving corps featuring A.J. Green, Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eiffert (whom the Steelers had a chance to draft No. 1 but passed on him in favor of linebacker Jarvis Jones, who may have to match up on occasion with Eiffert), Dick LeBeau's defensive schemes; and Ben Roethlisberger, of course, as always, etcetera, etc.

Yeah, lots of angles and storylines to watch tonight.

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.

"Obviously"

To use Mike Tomlin's latest favorite word -- "Obviously" -- the Steelers head coach obviously wasn't watching the same game the rest of us saw on Sunday.

The statements Tomlin made at his news conference today are alarming. He's either deluding himself or trying to bullshit the rest of us.

Tomlin said the Steelers' loss was "not all bad," but he couldn't possibly believe that. There was nothing good that came out of that game. Nothing. It was all bad.

"An explosive play or two" away from being in the game was how Tomlin described it. Yeah, and Tennessee was an explosive play or two away from making the game a complete rout.

The fact is, the Steelers got outplayed and outcoached in every facet of the game, any way you look at it.

And Tomlin's claim that the Steelers were "fortunate" no other team signed Jonathan Dwyer after Pittsburgh cut him? Hey, coach? There's a reason for that. Dwyer is unreliable, soft, and simply doesn't have what it takes to be consistently successful in the NFL. Nobody else -- not even the Browns, Jaguars or Jets -- wanted him. He stinks. That's why no other team picked him up. Obviously.

Instead of signing Dwyer, the Steelers would have been better off adding a clock-management expert to the payroll because Tomlin's in-game clock management has proven to be questionable, at best. "Lousy" would be another word for it.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls like Mike Tomlin, but this is ridiculous. Don't piss down our backs and try to tell us it's raining.

Still Not Good Enough

Jack Splat wouldn't stand for this.

To all those people who say the Steelers' defense didn't lose the game on Sunday, here are two points for your consideration:

1. The defense may not have lost the game, but the defense didn't win the game, either. No takeaways. Again. Not enough of a pass rush. Again. Failure to get off the field on third down in crucial situations. Just like last year. Allowing a torturous 12-play scoring drive just before halftime -- a drive marked by 11 running plays. During that drive, for the most part, the Titans rammed the ball between the tackles and right up the heart of the Steelers' defense. That sort of thing cannot be allowed to continue.
2. Consider the quality of the opposing quarterback (Jake Locker). The Steelers will see better quarterbacks, and better receivers, starting next Monday night in Cincinnati. Whether Andy Dalton is better than Jake Locker may be debatable, but there is no doubt that Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is much better than Kenny Britt, Nate Washington and Kendall Wright (who was not 100 percent vs. the Steelers in any case). Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers are also on the Steelers' schedule this year, and one thing's for sure: They're way, way better than Jake Locker. 

The defense has to do more.

Links Worth a Look:

• Behind the Steel Curtain:  Are we witnessing the fall of the House of Colbert?
• Steel City Blitz: Did the Direction of the Steelers Turn on One Awful Night?
• Steel Curtain Rising: Steelers Roll Snake Eyes
• That's Church: What They're Really Thinking: Burst Bubble Edition
• Steelers Depot: Steelers Defense Still Lacks Splash
• Bob Labriola: Labriola on Loss to the Titans
• Steel City Blitz: Stop with the Bring Back Cowher Nonsense

"Inexcusable. Not good enough. Unacceptable."

Isaac Redman fumbles.  Photo courtesy of Titansonline.com

A safety to open the game.

That was pretty much the highlight of the Steelers' season opener, and it was achieved by virtue of nothing they did.

By the late fourth quarter, with about five minutes left, CBS announcer Ian Eagle pronounced, "This has been a nightmare for the Steelers: injuries, poor execution, lack of execution, no running game."

That sums it up pretty well.  After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin said, "Inexcusable. Not good enough. Unacceptable."

Emmanuel Sanders lets the first pass of the season
go through his hands.
Photo  credit: Titansonline.com

On the first offensive play following that gift safety for a two-nothing lead, Ben Roethlisberger launched a perfectly thrown long pass that sailed right through Emmanuel Sanders's hands. Remind us, please, just why did the Steelers match the $2.5 million offer sheet New England offered Sanders? ... who was covered tightly all day and failed to catch another well-thrown long pass later in the game?

After that, Todd Haley's "offense" scored no points in the first half. And no points in the second half until the final two minutes, by which the time the game was lost.

Blame it on the catastrophic knee injury to center Maurkice Pouncey? Maybe, some, but just in part. Pouncey's injury didn't help, that's for sure. About David Decastro's cutblock on Pouncey --why? Pouncey had his man contained. Decastro went to Stanford --he should be smarter than that. It appears both Pouncey and linebacker Larry Foote (biceps) are done for the season. Not good.

DT Jurell Casey tortured Ben Roethlisberger all day.

Not surprisingly, following Pouncey's departure, the offensive line looked disjointed. The Titans mounted solid, steady pressure up the middle, with defensive tackle Sammie Hill hitting Ben Roethlisberger as he released the ball on the second-quarter interception.  Hill and fellow defensive tackles Jurell Casey and Mike Martin tortured Roethlisberger all day and allowed him little time to set up. Kelvin Beachum, Ramon Foster and DeCastro looked overmatched most of the day.

Isaac Redman, bottled up.
Photo courtesy of Titansonline.com

No Running Game
Pouncey's departure also presumably hampered the Steelers' running game, as well. Eye-catching stat: eight rushing yards halfway through the second quarter, with Redman laying the ball on the ground twice (one lost). Eleven carries for 13 yards in the first half.

On the other side of the ball, the run defense didn't look so good on Tennessee's scoring drive of 12 plays (11 runs) for 49 yards over seven minutes just before halftime. For a mere 49-yard drive, that's a lot of plays taking a lot of time off the clock. That sort of drive used to be Pittsburgh Steeler football.

On the plus side, Lamarr Woodley had a good-looking sack, and rookie linebacker Jarvis Jones announced his presence in a big way with a huge hit on Chris Johnson. Whoopee.

From a fan's perspective, this game was torture to watch.

Next game: At Cincinnati on Monday night, Sept. 16th.

Links Worth a Read:

Steel City Blitz: Tomlin Must Address a Plethora of Issues

Steelers Depot: Pouncey & Foote Injuries

Behind the Steel Curtain:  Maybe the 2013 Steelers are Who We Feared They Might Be

Gene Collier: No Excuse for This Awful Performance

Season Opener Game Day: Tee it Up

Remember this?

Before Steeler Nation makes it a foregone conclusion the Steelers will win today's 2013 season opener at Heinz Field, let's remember what happened in Nashville as recently as the night of Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012.

Mike Martin, Ben Roethlisberger

A flawed Tennessee Titans squad "upset" the Steelers behind the now-departed Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback. The Steelers' now-departed Drew Butler had a punt blocked, and that was just one of many, many mistakes that night for the Black 'n Gold.

The defensive line got pushed back consistently, and the secondary (featuring the now-departed Ryan Mundy and Keenan Lewis, who dropped an interception) got scorched. It was an ugly loss for the Steelers, and it foreshadowed subsequent losses to Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Diego and Baltimore.

That was then. This is now.

What do we know about the 2013 Tennessee Titans? 
The Titans have 20 new players on this year's roster. Twenty!  

That sounds like a lot of new faces on a 53-man roster, and it is. How many new players are on this year's Steelers' roster? Nineteen.

Tennessee invested heavily in beefing up their interior lines during the off-season. On offense, there's always lightning-fast running back Chris Johnson, but the critical additions this year are veteran left guard Andy Levitre, who signed on as a free agent out of Buffalo, and right guard Chance Warmack, who was drafted 10th overall with the team's No. 1 pick. For a while this past off-season, the NFL Network's Mike Mayock trumpeted Warmack as the best player in the draft and the potential No. pick overall. Also fortifying the offensive line will be tight end Delanie Walker, who was signed as a free agent from the 49ers.

Not Jake Locker

The Titans are hoping for a huge step up from last year's No. 1 pick, quarterback Jake Locker, who was drafted eighth overall in April 2011 but missed last year's game vs. the Steelers because of injury. In 11 games last year, Locker threw more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (10), and he took 25 sacks, but the Titans invested a high first-round draft choice in him, so he's their guy.  He will need help from receivers Kenny Britt, Nate Washington (former Steeler) and Kendall Wright, the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2012 draft.

On defense, the Titans have a strong defensive line featuring tough-to-move Mookie Johnson, Sammie Hill and Mike Martin in rotation at tackle and Derrick Morgan a mobile force as a pass-rushing defensive end. Morgan blistered Steelers tackle Mike Adams last year but will be paired up against Marcus Gilbert today, since Adams has moved to left tackle. The Tennessee linebackers and secondary have some question marks, although Tennessee invested heavily in the safety position with head-hunter Bernard Pollard (Baltimore) and veteran George Wilson (Buffalo).

Tennessee could have a good team this year, but ... with 20 new players, it has a lot of "ifs."

Pretty much the same could be said about the Steelers.

Links worth checking:
Dave Bryan at Steelers Depot offers his typically thorough analysis of the opposing team.

Steel Curtain Rising considers the team's potential vs. question marks.

Behind the Steel Curtain profiles new special teams ace Kion Wilson.

Still Shuffling the Pieces

The regular season starts in four days, for crying out loud, and the Steelers still continue to shuffle the roster, primarily to improve special teams.

On Tuesday, the Steelers made their fifth roster move since Saturday's "final" roster cuts, promoting linebacker/special teams demon Terence Garvin from the practice squad and designating tight end Matt Spaeth for the injured reserve/to return list.

Garvin is a light (221 lbs.) and mobile linebacker out of WVU. He has the look of a playmaker on defense, but he will be expected initially to make an impact on special teams.

With the additions of Garvin, cornerback/gunner Antwon Blake, new linebackers/wedge busters Kion Wilson and Vince Williams, and punter Zoltan Mesko, Steelers' management appears to be applying a white-hot glare to the special teams, which were lousy throughout the preseason.

As if to make a point, the special teams unit is the only one of the three units (offense, defense and special teams) still not to have a captain named yet.

It's a good thing there's no playbook, to speak of, for special teams. All the changes since Saturday are special teams moves, except for the addition of new backup center Cody Wallace.

By the way, the Raiders have claimed linebacker Marshall McFadden, whom the Steelers let loose last weekend.

Z!!! Zoltan to the Rescue!

Dude, where's our punter?

He's in the house, in the person of 27-year-old Zoltan Mesko, the 6'4" Romanian who was waived by the Patriots on Saturday and picked up by the Steelers on Monday..

Zoltan will replace Drew Butler, whom the Steelers unceremoniously booted into unemployment on Labor Day.

The Steelers clearly believe the left-footed Zoltan provides an immediate upgrade over Butler, who was consistently inconsistent. Butler's hang time was less than so-so, he had a tendency to come up short in key situations, and he had a punt blocked last year in Tennessee (and also in this year's first preseason game).  Butler had lost the confidence of the Steelers, who practically begged veteran Brian Moorman to seize the job this training camp.  Moorman failed and Zoltan came available, so the job is his.

Zoltan did a good job during his three years as a Patriot, kicked well during the pre-season and was a favorite of fans and media in New England. The Patriots actually spent a fifth-round draft choice on Mesko in 2010, when The Wall Street Journal of all publications, ran a feature article calling him "The NFL's Most Interesting Man."

Pittsburgh fans will love Zoltan.  He may be from Romania by way of Cleveland and then the University of Michigan, but on Polish Hill, the ladies are already cooking haluski and, in Hungary, they're ecstatic, as you can read in this blog post: Meskó Zoltán Steeler lett (make sure to check the reader comments; they're wildly enthusiastic).

Why did the Patriots let him go? Reportedly it was money -- the Pats went with an undrafted rookie who will make considerably less than the $1.32 million salary that was due Zoltan this year.

Antwon Blake

A New Cornerback, too
The Steelers also signed 5'8" cornerback Antwon Blake, a 4.2/40  burner with a 39-inch vertical leap who has the look of special teams gunner written all over him (where he's not covered by tatoos).

Blake, who was undrafted out of UTEP, also could get opportunities to return kicks. He made Jacksonville's "final" roster only to be cut a couple days later. He replaces rookie corner Isaiah Green, another undrafted free agent.

The additions of Mesko and Blake make four roster changes since the "final" cuts were announced on Saturday. Additional changes may be in the works.

Now, however, with the addition of Zoltan and Blake, there's every chance the Steelers will win five games instead of three. What?

Labor Day & "Pittsburgh Work Ethic"

"Find a job you love, and you'll never have to go to work."
      -- Mom

"You made their railroads rails and bridges, you ran their driving wheels.

And the towers of the Empire State are lined with Homestead Steel.

The Monongahela valley no longer hears the roar.

There is cottonwood and sumac weeds inside the slab mill door.

And this mill won’t run no more."

-- from the song, "U.S. Steel," by Tom Russell

Labor Day is such a uniquely American holiday. 

For many people, Labor Day isn't even a "holiday" -- they go to work: on farms, in retail stores, convenience stores, in public safety, sports, entertainment, news, construction, mining, etc. These people have to work on Labor Day, whether they want to, or not.

Lots of people without jobs don't have that opportunity. Others choose to work -- self-employed entrepreneurs, artists, writers, musicians, etc.; they can't help themselves.

Granted, work is something you do, not talk about, but Labor Day is a good day to reflect on the nature and meaning of work. Work, any kind of work, represents opportunity. It puts food on the table; a roof over the head; toys for the dog.

Work can be enervating, energizing and inspiring. Or it can be soul-sucking; energy-depleting; drudgery. Work can be something you do because you want to do it -- because it gives you the satisfaction of a job well done, of achievement, of accomplishment, of something to be proud of. By work, we can make a difference; a better place of the world.

Mining: dirty, dark and dangerous

That holds true whether your work is "play" (pro sports), or entrepreneurship, craft, blue collar, white collar, gray collar, pink collar, sweat-stained collar, on the farm, in the factory, in the plant, at the waterworks, in the snakepit of politics, in the cloud of academia, or the gray of Cubicle City, Dilbert's world. Work is work.

One thing for sure: If you've ever been in deep coal mine, you'll appreciate working above ground.

There's such a thing as "Pittsburgh work ethic," and anybody from Pittsburgh knows what that is. You work.

If you're fortunate enough to have gainful employment, to have work that enables you to support yourself and the ones who rely on you, you're blessed, lucky, fortunate. Anybody who's been poor can relate. Work is good. It's good to have the opportunity to apply your talents and skills, your blood, muscle, corpuscles, neurons, hands, brainpower, energy. It's good to work up a sweat.

Even if you're unemployed, you have an opportunity: Your job is to get a job, or to make a job -- which more and more people are forced to do in this economy of self-employment.

Work is an opportunity. What you do with it is your business.

Labor Day: Time to get to work.

Two former Steelers Catch On Elsewhere

Linebacker Adrian Robinson has landed on his feet, having been claimed on waivers by the Broncos after being cut by the Eagles following his trade from the Steelers just two weeks ago.

The Arizona Cardinals have picked up Alameda Ta'amu, who played not a single regular-season down for the Steelers after they traded up to get him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. The bum.

No Major Surprises Among Final Cuts

The big names on the list of Steelers' cuts today are running back Jonathan Dwyer and nose tackle Alameda Ta'amu.  Neither will be missed.  Dwyer fumbled away his last chance in the final exhibition game, and Ta'amu was on the team for longer than was merited.

Veteran punter Brian Moorman failed to seize the opportunity to out-kick Drew Butler, so it's no surprise Moorman is gone.

Some of this year's draft picks, namely Terry Hawthorne and Justin Brown, simply didn't pass the eye test. Hawthorne couldn't get healthy and Brown looked average, at best.

We're a bit disappointed some of the undrafted free agents didn't make the final roster, which, it should be pointed out, is subject to change between now and the season opener on Sept. 8th.  We were pulling for defensive lineman Brian Arnfelt, linebacker Alan Baxter, safety Ross Ventrone and some of the young offensive linemen.  There's a chance some of these guys go to the practice squad.

The other notable name to get cut was corner Josh Victorian, whose tackling was suspect.  His departure saves the job, for the time being, of Curtis Brown, who needs to step up his game at corner and continue to make his mark on special teams, if he is to stick around for long.

Survivors 
Also spared the axe today were offensive linemen Guy Whimper and John Malecki,  tight ends Matt Spaeth and Michael Palmer, receiver Derrick Moye, linebackers Chris Carter and Kion Wilson, safety DaMon Cromartie-Smith, corner Isiah Green and nose tackle Hebron Fangupo.

A few of those names will provoke heated discussion among Steelers fans. No surprise there, either.

Justin Morneau: From the Twin Cities to the Three Rivers

The Clemente Wall beckons.

First-baseman Justin Morneau has the perfect swing for launching pitches over PNC Park's 21-foot-high Clemente Wall and into the Allegheny River.

With today's trade, Morneau immediately becomes the Pirates' regular first baseman against right-handed pitching. Moreneu, a longtime fixture and fan favorite in the Minnesota, will be a welcome addition to the Pirates' lineup.

Morneau will take at-bats away from Garrett Jones, whose opportunity for a shot at the majors, ironically, was blocked by Morneau while both were in the Minnesota organization.  Until Friday night, Jones had been in a prolonged, serious slump.  Jones broke out of that slump last night, but his home-run, four RBIs and 3-for-4 performance came too late.  The Pirates had to bolster the lineup.

General Manager Neil Huntington went for it aggressively, not only with Morneau, but also with the acquisition of veterans Marlon Byrd and John Buck earlier in the week. Give Huntington credit.

Jones is a fan favorite in Pittsburgh, and his slump has been distressing to watch. Today's edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Byrd offered Jones some sage batting advice, which may have helped last night and, hopefully, will continue to help. After being benched for three straight games, Michael Sanserino reports, "Jones spent his time down watching video, taking swings in the cage and talking to coaches and teammates about all topics baseball and otherwise."

"Marlon Byrd, when he first got up here, he came up to me and said, 'You could be a guy that could hit 30, 40 home runs,' " Jones said. "We started talking about hitting, and just a few things he said to me made a lot of sense."

"Specifically, Jones said Byrd gave him a couple pointers about getting extension on his swing."

Any Pirates' fan would be all for that, and Jones may see playing time in right field against right-handers. Byrd could get some time in left field until Starling Marte returns from the disabled list.

Going to the Twins in exchange for Morneau is outfielder Alex Presley and either cash or a player to be named later -- not likely to be a top-tier prospect. Let's hope that "player to be named later" is not first baseman Nick Kingham or pitcher Tyler Glasnow. 

That's a topic for another day. For now, it's exciting the Pirates have made moves designed to improve the team.

On this, the last day of August, the Pittsburgh Pirates are legitimate contenders in a pennant race. And we haven't been to say that for a very long time.

Ready or Not ...

"Ready or not," Mike Tomlin said after last night's final pre-season game in Charlotte. "That's the reality this time of year."

Center Ray Mansfield, "The Ol' Ranger"

Like it or not, the start of the regular season looms.  Not that the glorified scrimmages known as pre-season games are a reliable indicator of how any NFL team will perform in the regular season, but the Steelers have looked mostly sloppy and not very good in all four pre-season games.

Running back Jonathan Dwyer fumbled yet again last night, and, although it was recovered by the Steelers, he showed once again that he is not entirely reliable.  Remember last year, the fumbles at Oakland and Cleveland?  The "tapping out" following three consecutive carries? Do we really want more of the same?

It's a little scary to think that newcomer Felix Jones might be the best alternative to Dwyer, but both Dwyer and Isaac Redman offer essentially the same between-the-tackles style, while Jones offers not only a different type of game (burst, speed, shiftiness), he can return kickoffs.   Then again, Jones and Larod Stephens-Howling are essentially the same player, but if Redman is healthy enough to start the season, and considering that Le'Veon Bell should be ready to return to action soon ... Dwyer could and should be the odd man out.

Most of the other cuts to the 53-man roster will be easy.  Dave Bryan over at Steelers Depot offers a list of players who distinguished themselves as Winners and Losers" in last night's Steelers-Panthers game -- click here to read it.  And Marc Uhlmann over at Steel City Blitz chimes in with some interesting observations, which you can read here.

Not all of the following players will make the 53-man squad, but current personal favorites among the bubble players are Brian Arnfelt, Hebron Fangupo, Alan Baxter, Isiaih Green and Mike Golic, Jr. 

We suspect the Steelers will carry just four wide receivers (Brown, Sanders, Wheaton and Cotchery), and that they may pick up somebody from the waiver wire to help the secondary. It needs help.

About the final preseason game ... will Byron Leftwich even make it through without getting hurt?

Man, preseason NFL football is just about unwatchable any more ... but we'll watch some of tonight's Steelers-Panthers game to see how rookie QB Landry Jones looks, and final roster battles, and to see whether Byron Leftwich* gets hurt again, and to see, what?  How our guys who will be looking for jobs next week do against their guys who will be looking for jobs?

It's not so long ago that NFL fans watching the third and fourth pre-season games were able to get a better feel for how their teams were shaping up for the regular season. Steelers' broadcaster and former right tackle Tunch Ilkin, who played for Chuck Noll in the 1980s, noted as much in a conversation he had this week with the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette.

"In his time," Bouchette wrote of Ilkin, "the final preseason game tonight would have been the most important, when coaches played their first teams into the fourth quarter to have them ready to open the season. The starters would play about one quarter in the first game, close to a half in the second and third and most of the fourth.

"I liked that," Ilkin said. "I felt I was more game-ready for that first regular-season game. Usually, that first game, if it's 1 o'clock outside, it's going to be hot. I wanted to know in my mind that I could play 60 minutes in the heat."

"I loved the old way. I understand why they do it this way, because of the injuries. If you get hurt in the last preseason game, you don't have a lot of time to heal up. If you get hurt in that third preseason game, now you have two weeks to get ready."

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls see it this way: In recent years, the Steelers haven't always looked ready for the regular season when it kicks off. Remember the 2011 debacle in Baltimore? Typically, in recent years, even with early wins, the team hasn't rounded into form until the third, fourth of fifth game.

It would be nice if they got off to a fast start this year. Based on what we've seen thus far in the pre-season, though, for what that's worth, it would be a stretch to say they look ready for prime time.

That's it, Fort Pitt.

*What? Whaddya mean, Byron Leftwich's not even on the team?

Whither Jeff Locke?

Just six weeks ago, Jeff Locke was on the National League All-Star team.  Now, he appears to be this year's James MacDonald -- a sterling first half of the season, and a collapse (for no apparent reason) in the second half.

Locke's been stuck at nine wins since July 21st, his only victory since the All-Star game, which was July 16th. In his last six starts, Locke has an 8.10 ERA, and hitters are batting a whopping .388 against him.

It will be interesting to see whether Locke somehow becomes eligible for the post-season roster.

In a clever bit of roster engineering (a "paper" roster move), Pirates general manager Neil Huntington optioned Locke to their Class AA minor league team, the Altoona Curve, along with catcher Tony Sanchez, to clear space on the 25-man roster for the two newly acquired players, right fielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck, who were picked up from the Mets in a trade for a (very) young shortstop prospect and a player to be named later.

To digress for a moment, but that player to be named later? It could be somebody currently injured (Travis Snyder?).  Let's hope it's not 19-year-old pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow,.whom Baseball America recently described as "the most unhittable pitcher in the minors, and it's not even close.".

By sending Locke to Altoona, he will not be eligible to rejoin the major league club until Monday, Sept. 2. Major League Baseball rules stipulate playoff rosters must be set by Sept. 1. The rules are arcane, fuzzy and open to some interpretation, but it appears the only way Locke would be able to pitch in the playoffs would be as a replacement for an injured player.

For all we know, Locke himself has been injured. He didn't even get to pitch in the All-Star game because of what was reported as a minor back injury (lower back strain, spasm or discomfort). Although he's had one good outing since then, he hasn't been the same pitcher he was in the first half of the season, when he was 9-2 with a 2.11 ERA.

At his best, a young Tom Glavine?

If Locke is not hurt, our suggestion for him is to study video of Atlanta Braves great Tom Glavine. At his best, that's who Jeff Locke reminds us of, Tom Glavine.

At this point, it makes sense for Jeanmar Gomez to replace Locke in the rotation, and the Pirates may also call on current minor leaguers Chris Johnson and Brandon Cumpton. both of whom have pitched well in spot situations for the big-league club this year. Gomez has been excellent all season, no matter the situation. He deserves a spot in the rotation, and has for some time.

If the Pirates go with a four-man rotation for the playoffs, it shapes up as Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett, Charlie Morton and Jeanmar Gomez. As unlikely as it seemed six months ago, that could be a very competitive rotation.

Also, if the Pirates are serious about limiting rookie Gerrit Cole's innings, now might be the perfect time to transition him to the bullpen (although he's never pitched in relief).  It would be interesting to have a 100-mph fireballer available to pitch the fifth, sixth or seventh innings in advance of Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli, who is on track to return soon. Now that could be a shutdown bullpen.

If the bats start coming around, and they could ...

Outfield Shuffle
With left-fielder Starling Marte on the disabled list for almost two weeks, it will be interesting to see whether manager Clint Hurdle splits playing time in left field between Jose Tabata and Felix Pie.  Tabata's defense is questionable, at best. Frankly, so his overall talent.

Pie has not been bad at the plate or in the field in the small amount of playing time he's had, and he gives the team a little base-stealing and hit-and-run flexibility on the basepaths.

With Marlon Byrd playing right field every day, it's fair to speculate whether Andrew Lambo (32 minor league home runs this season) may start to take playing time away from Garrett Jones at first base.

Beat 'em, Bucs!

Prepping for Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is the name that comes immediately to mind upon reading the following, by Bob Smizik:

"In terms of OPS against left-handed pitching, the Pirates now have four of the top 11 in the National League. Andrew McCutchen is first (1.120), Starling Marte second (1.078), Marlon Byrd tenth (.980)and Gaby Sanchez eleventh (.958). 

"Marlon Byrd is hitting .285 with an .848 OPS. He has 21 home runs and 71 RBIs. John Buck, 33, has 15 homers and 60 RBIs Byrd has been feasting on left-handed pitching and doing well enough -- much better than any Pirate -- against right-handers. His batting line against left-handers is .345/.383/.597 -- .980. Against right handers: .255/.304/.479 -- .783. Fourteen of his home runs have come against right-handed pitching."

Troy

"It's tough watching any game, but it's a great spiritual learning process for me. It's very humbling. But it also gives me a sense of appreciation for what I do have when I am healthy. 

-- Troy Polamalu

Troy Polamalu is the wild-card of the 2013 Steelers' defense. 

At 32 years of age, will he once again be the whirling- dervish-disruptive-force-of-nature that he was in 2010, when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year?  Or will he once again be the diminished shadow of his former self? ... the player of 2011-2012, bedeviled by chronic injuries (calf, Achilles tendon, concussions, etc.) that forced him to miss 22 games over the past four seasons and rendered him noticeably off his game even when he played.

When healthy, Polamalu is a great player. The Steelers need him to be great, and at full-speed, all season. They don't have enough talent, and not enough depth, to overcome any prolonged absence by him or diminished play. It's worth remembering that the 2012 defense had just 10 interceptions.

Troy Polamalu is 32 years old and, arguably, an old 32.

In an interesting piece that appeared recently on the NFL Network's website, Judy Batista wrote, "He found a new physical therapist, and they spent hours each day during the offseason -- he is still working twice a day during training camp -- attempting to break up the knots of scar tissue that have formed in his calves. In what might be best described as an extremely intensive and not-at-all-relaxing massage, the therapist kneads the clumps of hardened tissue that have formed around the small tears in Polamalu's muscle. The hope is that, as Polamalu endures the strain of the season, his calves will not tighten up again."

However ...

"I felt pretty good last preseason, too," Polamalu said. "I am feeling healthy as we stand here today."

It's pointless to worry about injuries that may not happen. As the late, great Elmore Leonard said, "Don’t worry about anything—unless you absolutely know what the outcome will be. People worry about things that never happen to them. You waste your life like that."

Nobody is potentially more valuable to any NFL team's defense than the Steelers' own Troy Polamalu.  He is the wild card. 

No surprises

Good luck and fare thee well, Baron Batch and the rest of the players cut by the Steelers on Sunday. Much can happen between now and final cutdown.

Guys we're pulling for include Reggie Dunn, Hebron Fangupo, Al Woods, Brian Arnfelt, Isiaih Green and Mike Golic, Jr.

Ironic, isn't it?

Having jettisoned the disappointing Rashard Mendenhall this past off-season, the Steelers have traded for the underwhelming Felix Jones, the running back selected immediately before Mendenhall in the first round of the 2008 draft (21st and 22nd overall). Neither player has lived up to his respective hype.

What do the Steelers want with Jones?  The reports out of Philadelphia say that his skills have eroded and he was about to be cut, even after being signed as a free-agent during the off-season.

Here's what blogger Jimmy Kempski wrote on Bleeding Green Nation after the trade was announced on Friday  ...

Felix Jones is done.

A week ago, I listed my 5 best and 5 worst performances at Eagles training camp. The first name I listed under "worst" was Felix Jones:

Felix Jones: He can't run, catch, pass protect or play special teams anymore. But otherwise, he was great.

Jones had virtually no chance of making the team, so the Eagles did well just to get a body in return for him at a position where they are very thin.

That's nice. It also represents the consensus opinion from Philadelphia.  On top of all that, Jones injured his ribs in his last appearance in an Eagles' uniform. He's passed his physical, though, so now he's a Steeler.

For Steelers' fans, it's another puzzling move.  Frankly, we're still mystified why they tendered/signed Jonathan "Tap Out" Dwyer in the off-season.

Dwyer's focus and motivation seem to go off and on, and off again, his weight fluctuates wildly, he fumbles, and last year, he "tapped out" of games after getting "tired" following a handful of consecutive carries. He's simply not reliable.

If the Steelers think Jones is more reliable than Dwyer, they're in trouble. Maybe the Steelers have no intention of keeping Jones. If that's the case, however, why did they trade for him?

Who will be cut?
The acquisition of Jones signals somebody currently on the roster is gone. Just before last Monday's game vs. the Redskins, we heard Mike Tomlin's pre-game radio interview, during which he called running back Baron Batch by the wrong name, "Byron Batch."  Oh-oh.  Not a good sign.

Even if the Steelers cut Baron Batch, some other running back will also be cut. Maybe it will be off-season free-agent acquisition LaRod Stephens-Howling, whose size and game is similar to that of Jones. Could it be that Howling is hurt more seriously than any of us outsiders know?

Might Isaac Redman be cut?  We'd rather have him than Dwyer.

About That 2008 Draft ...
In any case, adding Felix Jones feels like grasping at a straw in the wind.  It's also a bitter reminder of that 2008 draft. Not one player from that draft is on the Steelers roster today.

Most galling, not to beat a dead horse, to draft Mendenhall, the Steelers passed on Rutgers' Ray Rice, who was no secret to anybody and especially not to Pittsburgh fans who watched Rice trample Pitt and the rest of the Big East during his collegiate career. Now, Rice is arguably the best running back in the NFL and a linchpin for the hated Baltimore Ravens, no less.

Also in that 2008 draft, as Rebecca Rollett points out over at the always-worth-reading Behind the Steel Curtain, the Steelers passed on running backs Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Jamaal Charles -- all of whom have been much better than Rashard Mendenhall and, yes, better even than Felix Strinkin' Jones, the 21st overall pick in that draft.

Friday's trade for Felix Jones is probably a non-event. Honestly, though, sometimes we do wonder what the front office is doing, and what the hell they're thinking.

The shelf life for running backs in the NFL is about four years, give or take.  By all accounts, Felix Jones's "Best if Used By" date has expired.  There must be somebody out there who has more upside than Felix Jones.

A change at tackle? It's starting to look that way ...

The Post-Gazette's Ray Fittpialdo reports today that head coach Mike Tomlin has had offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum working exclusively at tackle this week. Let's hope so.

During Monday's slovenly loss at Washington, starting offensive tackles Gilbert and Adams played like Gilbert & Sullivan, or a vaudeville act. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert looked slow, lost and ineffectual, again,  and left tackle Mike Adams appeared as if were stumbling around looking for the parking valet at 3 a.m. on the South Side. Again.

That dubious quality of play got Tomlin's attention, evidently, as he told Fittipaldi that Beachum, at practice, "played tackle last week and he's playing tackle again this week. He'll be given an opportunity to make a case for himself in that regard."

That certainly sounds like Tomlin is considering a switch, and, as if that last statement isn't clear enough, Tomlin added, "We're going to give him an opportunity to ascend."

This, despite the Steelers having invested high draft choices in Gilbert and Adams, both second-rounders. It may be too soon to say they've squandered their chances, but time is running out.

Beachum: Not backing down vs. the Ravens, 2012

Beachum, just 14 months removed from being the fourth of the Steelers' four seventh-round picks in the April 2012 NFL Draft, may be a better option at this point than either Gilbert or Adams.

Make of that what you will, but last season, Beachum showed enough, surprisingly, that even without the "pedigree" of the higher-dtafted Gilbert and Adams, he now merits consideration as a starter at tackle.

He may be the only option.

As columnist Gene Collier noted following Monday's game vs. the Redskins, "Beachum represents perhaps the lone viable alternative for any kind of offensive line shakeup as the regular-season opener moves within two weeks of Sunday. He's built more like a guard or center than a tackle, but it was at tackle where Beachum got his first pro start last December in Baltimore, and the Ravens quickly found he was no day at the Beachum."

And this: "Beachum might not be a better choice at any of those spots, but as a former All-Academic choice who got a master's degree at SMU and gave the commencement speech to the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development, I imagine he can keep track of the assignments," Collier wrote.

Let's hope so.  After all, it won't be long before somebody will be lined up at tackle facing one James Harrison of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rest in Peace, Elmore Leonard

"Leo narrowed his eyes and stared, trying hard to fake who he was. He raised his preshaped plaid hat and recocked it, see if that would help. No, there was nothing dumber than a dumb guy who thought he was a hotshot. You did have to feel a little sorry for him ..."

-- excerpt from Get Shorty, by Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard at home

Elmore Leonard died on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. He was 87. He's been a favorite of Joey Porter's Pit Bulls for many years.

Why? The ability to draw in the reader and tell a no-frills yet rich story with an uncanny ear for dialogue and an unfailing eye for detail.  The humor. The knack for letting a story unfold from the inner dialogue of his characters, all of whom have defects of character, but whom Elmore coaxes to share their view of the world straight from their mind's eye and the internal voices in their cockeyed heads.

The passage quoted at the top of this post just happens to be from a page in the middle of Get Shorty, which Joey Porter's Pit Bulls just happens to be re-reading, again.  Elmore Leonard apparently had a fondness for the dumb guys, even the ones who thought they were hotshots. In that passage, for all we know, he could have been talking about an earlier, spiritually truncated version of himself -- "Leo" / "Leonard" -- Elmore Leonard was self-deprecating and self-effacing, but his writing displayed a sly, wry humor with a wickedly sharp edge.  By all accounts, he was mostly non-judgmental -- generally amused, but mostly non-judgmental.  He wrote it like he saw it.

We could go on and on -- but, honestly, your time would be better spent reading Elmore Leonard.

Elmore Leonard and Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Or watch Justified, the FX television series based on Leonard's story, Fire in the Hole. As noted by The Los Angeles Times, "Before tackling the adaptation, the show's creator Graham Yost gave each member of his "Justified" writing staff various novels that the prolific Leonard had written so they could understand the rhythm and tone of his work. Yost also gave them each a bracelet inscribed with the letters WWED (What Would Elmore Do), an accessory Yost still wears."

Elmore Leonard had the knack of writing lines that seemed to seek him as a channel for expression because, well, somebody just had to say them, they were too good:  One of his characters, a lawman on a stakeout watching a hapless criminal, said, ""He's over there casing the joint about as subtle as a marching band."

Elmore Leonard was never subtle as a marching band. He was cool. He was subtle as the "b" in subtle, to borrow a line from Dorothy Parker.

Leonard's own advice? “Don’t worry about anything. Don’t worry about anything—unless you absolutely know what the outcome will be. People worry about things that never happen to them. You waste your life like that."

And then there's this line Leonard wrote for U.S. Marshall Art Mullen, a character in his 2012 novel Raylan and on Justified: "You don't think of your manners and let the woman go first," Art Mullen said, "not when she's pointing a gun at you."

Words to live by.

Various links, tributes, quotes, obit, and excerpts will appear when you click the "Read More" jump break, below: