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.