Monday, January 21, 2013

What's Next

Get ready for two weeks of intense media frenzy over the Harbaugh Bros. and RAY LEWIS, RAY LEWIS, RlAY LEWIS, Joe Flacco, Colin Kaepernick, Ray Rice, Harbaugh Bros., Harbaugh Bros., and RAY LEWIS, RAY LEWIS, RAY LEWIS.

Tune out the noise of the next two weeks, and tune in for the game.

Wethinks San Francisco presents matchup problems on offense for Baltimore.  The Ravens have been susceptible to the run all season, and the 49ers can run the ball, have the talent to run the ball and aren't afraid to commit to running the ball , primarily with Frank Gore, but also with designed runs for the exceptional Colin Kaepernick.  The Ravens will have a tough time preparing for Kaepernick (duh).  And the Niners' offensive line, with Joe Staley and Mike Iupati leading the way, is the kind of mauling, mobile physical force the Steelers should have built.

On the other side, Joe Flacco throws probably the best deep ball n the game, and the Ravens do have the threat of Ray Rice.  On defense, however, even though the Ravens played well yesterday, they aren't a dominant squad.  Again, their run defense can be had, and to be fair to Tom Brady, New England's receivers on Sunday had at least six drops, including three by Wes Welker.

Here we go, Steelers ... 
As for the Steelers, it's time to get serious about the Senior Bowl, free agency, the salary cap and the NFL Draft in April.  It's a bit too early to project moves, but the Steelers have so many holes, they should just take the best player available in the draft, which is usually a good approach in any case.

The Steelers will have to shed salaries to consider moves in free agency, but they may be able to lure a restricted free agent such as New Orleans Saints running back Chris Ivory, who entered the league four years ago as an undrafted free agent -- which means he wouldn't cost a draft choice.  The Saints would be able to match any offer Ivory would receive, though, so there are no guarantees.

The Steelers will let Rashard Mendenhall depart via unrestricted free agency, and we wouldn't match any offer that Jonathan Dwyer might receive in restricted free agency. We'd try to keep Isaac Redman, also a restricted free agent, but he may get an offer the Steelers won't choose to match.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls believe in building a team from the inside out, which brings us to the NFL Draft.

If available, Alabama guard Chance Warmack (6'2", 322) would merit consideration at Pick No. 17.  He ate up Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o in the BCS Championship game, and the Steelers could plug him in at left guard to solidify the middle of the offensive line with center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro.  Re-sign Max Starks to play left tackle, and let Mike Adams and Marcus Gilbert battle it out at right tackle.  Kelvin Beachum would be available for position versatility at guard and tackle. Re-sign Doug Legursky as a backup at center and guard.

With the pending departure of cornerback Keenan Lewis, the Steelers might also consider Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes (6'1", 217) in the first round.

If they are looking to beef up the defensive line, the Steelers might consider Alabama DL Jesse Lewis (6'3", 320) who appears to fit the mold of a Steeler d-lineman.  The Steelers need playmakers, however, and the team has so many holes ...

It's early, but it's later than you might think.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Changes coming to the Steelers roster? Yes, please.

Steelers personnel punjab Kevin Colbert told mainstream media reporters on Wednesday that big changes will be coming to the Steelers' roster this off-season. Good. We should hope so.

Of particular interest to Joey Porter's Pit Bulls was Colbert's comments about the running backs. Ed Bouchette's article in the Post-Gazette noted that Colbert said:
  • "Where we were in the running game last year was indicative of the talent at the position ... That group of players didn't produce the way we anticipated they would."
To that, we say, Amen!  The Steelers absolutely must add two or three viable running backs this off-season.  Let's take a look at the 2012 stable of running backs:
John Henry Johnson they ain't.
  • Jonathan Dwyer?  He can be replaced. Dwyer is too inconsistent, too soft, too unreliable, misses holes and taps out after three plays to go to the sideline and "take a blow."  He totally blew a golden opportunity to become entrenched as a starter.  Isaac Redman?  He runs tough and is probably a keeper in a limited role, but he hasn't proven he can stay healthy.  Baron Batch?  The late-round draft choice enters his third year still unproven and apparently unable to stay healthy.  Rashard Mendenhall?  Gone and won't be missed.  Chris Rainey? Good riddance.
The entire group must be upgraded.

Regarding the rest of the roster, as noted in our 2012 season recap, the 2012 team had too many players who either under-achieved (Jonathan Dwyer, Mike Wallace, Lamarr Woodley, Maurkice Pouncey, Ziggy Hood, etc.); are past or near their expiration date (Casey Hampton, Larry Foote, Brett Keisel, Charlie Batch, Troy Polamalu, Max Starks, etc., although it should be noted that som of these guys played well last year); are question marks because they haven't really proven anything (Cameron Heyward, Marcus Gilbert, Mike Adams, Jason Worilds, Curtis Brown, Stevenson Sylvester, Sean Spence, etc.), or simply don't have much talent and won't be missed (Ryan Mundy, Robert Golden, Josh Victorian, etc.).  

Not to mention the quarterback situation.  We're a bit mystified and more than a little worried about Ben Roethlisberger. And the Steelers are long overdue for addressing the backup QB position.

There's so much more that can be said about the roster.  It's a long, cold off-season.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 Post-Mortem: An Anticlimactic End to an Inglorious Season for an Ineffective, Irrelevant, Inconsequential and Inauspicious Squad

The 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers -- our Pittsburgh Steelers -- were a shadow of the Black 'n Gold squads who made Steeler Nation proud so often for the past 40 years.  Far too often, this squad lacked intensity, cohesion and focus; for the most part, it was soft and ineffectual. The 2012 Steelers evoked memories of the middling mid-1980s squads.

Granted, injuries took their toll this year -- as they do every year for every NFL team -- but players who were asked to be the "next man up" failed to meet The Standard.  It's safe to say this team underachieved. It may be conceivable, however, that this squad actually over-achieved in some respects: In other words, this edition of the Steelers just wasn't very talented.

The biggest disappointment? There were so many.  For Joey Porter's Pit Bulls, however, one telling aspect about this team -- the one that stood out like a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake (credit: Raymond Chandler) -- for us, the one telling thing, the major disappointment was this:
Too many of the younger players displayed a sense of entitlement. They "displayed" instead of played. Too many of them -- some of whom have enjoyed occasional flashes of success -- played as if they'd arrived -- when in actuality, they haven't accomplished anything of substance or duration. The perception here is that too many of the 2012 Steelers failed to understand what it takes to succeed consistently in the NFL, let alone what it means to be a Steeler.  They seem to have no clue. 
The play of some of these guys suggested that their expectation was that just because they had some modicum of success at major NCAA programs like Georgia Tech (Jonathan Dwyer), Missouri (Ziggy Hood), Florida (Chris Rainey), Texas (Curtis Brown), etcetera, that they would be given a free pass in the NFL. It doesn't work like that, and certainly not in Pittsburgh.

Just ask retirees Aaron Smith, Hines Ward, James Farrior, Chris Hoke, DeShea Townsend, Jerome Bettis, Alan Faneca, etcetera, and the list goes on and on. This is not to say there was no leadership on the 2012 Steelers: Some of the veteran players like Ryan Clark, Larry Foote, Heath Miller, Max Starks and others, no doubt, did what they could. Others probably could have done more.

Most certainly, however, too many of the young guys just didn't step up their game, and they didn't seem to appreciate what it means to be a Steeler.  Mike Wallace and Rashard Mendenhall come to mind.  Mendenhall quit on the team.  Wallace too often appeared sullen and disinterested. Those two are gone.

Jonathan Dwyer was given a golden opportunity -- he was handed the starting job at running back -- and fumbled it away, figuratively and literally.  Chris Rainey found there is a big difference between the SEC and the NFL.

Others probably just aren't very talented and may be hard-pressed to make the team next year: Ryan Mundy is a relatively young guy who had every opportunity to establish himself and just couldn't do it. Baron Batch couldn't stay healthy and flubbed the few opportunities he had.  We root for these guys and want them to succeed, so it's frustrating to see them struggle, but even they must be wondering whether they will be in the team's plans for 2013.

Two key veterans who'd previously achieved real success also failed to play up to their own standards and expectations -- and probably injuries had something to do with that -- but still, Lamarr Woodley and Maurkice Pouncey were big disappointments.

On defense, age and injuries may or may not have caught up with James Harrison and Troy Polamaulu. Nose tackle Casey Hampton has been done for three years. Larry Foote might be at just about his past-due date, although he played valiantly, and the same could be said about Brett Keisel, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark and Will Allen  -- those guys aren't getting any younger. On offense, ditto Max Starks, who was probably the most reliable and steady of the offensive linemen.  Heath Miller may never be the same.

On the bright side, Keenan Lewis played extremely well for the most part, as did Ramon Foster, Kelvin Beachum and Antonio Brown before he got hurt.

Byron Leftwich should be gone. Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams still have to establish themselves, if they can stay healthy.

Ziggy Hood and Cameron Heyward haven't shown anything to speak of, but Hood had more than ample opportunity and did next to nothing to indicate he may ever become a disruptive force on the front line. He was largely ineffective. He was drafted in 2009.

Players drafted after Hood that year include: DE Connor Barwin (2/46, to Texans); RB LeSean McCoy (2/53, to Eagles); and OT Sebastien Vollmer (2/58, to Patriots).  In hindsight, Barwin certainly would  have been a better selection at Hood's position. Yet knowing that Pitt's LeSean McCoy could have been in a Steelers uniform these past three years? Ouch.

Because he didn't get much playing time and he was only in his second year, Cameron Heyward gets a pass, more or less, but you have to wonder about the 2011 first-rounder (31st overall).  In light of Hood's lackluster performance, why didn't Heyward get more playing time?  Maybe the Steelers simply took a flyer on that draft pick and reached for a player that was rated only the tenth-best at his position that year. Yes, you'll recall he was the 10th defensive end taken in his 2011 draft class -- the tenth! -- and, well, you just have to wonder.

The Steelers' depth chart has Heyward behind Brett Keisel, but one would think he would have gotten some of Hood's playing time in any case. He's been slow to develop, and players drafted after him have certainly been more productive.

In retrospect, the Steelers would have done better to draft defensive end Jabal Sheard out of Pitt (now a starter with the Browns, and playing well) or -- all together now, seriously -- quarterback Colin Kaepernick or even Andy Dalton.  All were available when the Steelers selected Heyward, as were the following players: OLB Brooks Reed (2/42, to Texans); OLB Justin Houston (3/70, to Chiefs); G Clint Boling (4/101, to Bengals); CB Richard Sherman (5/154, to Seahawks).

In 2012, Jonathan Dwyer proved only that he can't carry the load. Ike Redman can't seem to stay healthy.

And Ben Roethlisberger seemed to lose his fourth-quarter magic, and he hasn't shown much of that since losing in the Super Bowl to Green Bay. Instead, this year, he found ways to throw late interceptions and lose games (Denver, Dallas, Cincinnati). Too often, he simply didn't do enough. Yes, he got hurt. Again. Yes, he rushed back from injury too soon. Again.  He hurt the team by doing so, and the coaches allowed it.

And, once again, Roethlisberger's teammates named another player as Team MVP. This season, it was Heath Miller; in 2011, it was Antonio Brown. Doesn't that say something?

To a large degree, the coaching staff failed to find solutions when needed. The NFL's 26-ranked running game failed badly. The defense tackled poorly, didn't instill fear in anybody, and it certainly didn't confuse veteran quarterbacks Peyton Manning in Denver, Carson Palmer in Oakland, Matt Hasselbeck in Tennessee, Phillip Rivers of San Diego, or Tony Romo in Dallas.  All year, the pass rush rush was lacking, and the defense had a stunning but frustrating inability to take the ball away.

Talented, well-coached teams -- good teams -- do not lose to teams such as Oakland, Tennessee, Cleveland, Dallas and San Diego (in Pittsburgh in December, no less).

And the special teams were awful, all things considered -- too many penalties, missed tackles, a blocked punt, sporadic kick coverage, mental gaffes, etc.

Decisions must be made. The Steelers hold the 17th pick in April's NFL Draft.  A talent infusion is needed, and an attitude adjustment, as well. Much needs to be done to reverse the descent and avert a free fall.  This team can either go up or down. Let's see what they do.