Ridiculously Early 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers Projected Roster and Other Goodies (V 1.0)

Posted on April 29, 2013 by ted

The Steelers went a long way toward boosting their thinnest depth chart in recent memory and addressing several needs by drafting nine players and signing 15 rookie free agents over the weekend.

Pittsburgh, however, still has a major need to add depth for its offensive line, where the team has only six players on its roster who have played in more than one NFL game. It was ridiculous for some Steeler experts to argue for taking an offensive guard in the first round, since no one on the Steelers’ projected starting offensive line could become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2014 season. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Camp Updates, Free Agency, Front Office | 19 Comments

3 Steelers’ Mock Drafts, Some With Trades

Posted on April 25, 2013 by ted

Feel free to add your thoughts, mocks and critiques. But these mocks try to address Pittsburgh’s major, long-term and depth-chart needs, while taking advantage of the draft’s strengths at various rounds for specific positions.

DRAFT 1

Staying Put (Steelers do not make any trades).

1. OLB Jarvis Jones, 6-2, 245, Georgia

2. WR DeAndre Hopkins, 6-1, 214, Clemson

3. RB Jonathan Franklin, 5-10, 205, UCLA

4. S T.J. McDonald, 6-2, 219, USC

5. ILB A.J. Klein, 6-1, 250, Iowa State

6. OT Emmett Cleary, 6-7, 316, Boston College

6b. DE Joe Kruger, 6-6, 269, Utah

7. CB Josh Johnson, 5-10, 199, Purdue

Continue reading →

Posted in Draft, Front Office | 86 Comments

Steelers Should Draft OLB Jarvis Jones If He Falls To No. 17

Posted on April 24, 2013 by ted

Kevin Colbert has a simple philosophy when drafting in the first round, with the Pittsburgh general manager having repeatedly said over the years that the Steelers’ brass places the most value on actual gametape, instead of 40-yard-dash times or other physical measurements.

That strategy has served Pittsburgh well in the Colbert era as no team in the NFL carries a better track record of first-round success, starting with the selection of Plaxico Burress in his first draft as general manager in 2000.

Continue reading →

Posted in Draft, Front Office | 9 Comments

Steelers Defensive Position Analyses and Draft Needs

Posted on April 22, 2013 by ted

As Terry Bradshaw so eloquently likes to say, “When you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers, you think of defense.”

That sentiment has largely held true for the better part of 40+ years. For the second consecutive year and fourth time in the last six years, the Steelers yielded the fewest yards in the NFL in 2012. Amazingly, the Steelers have ranked in the league’s top 10 for total defense (yards allowed per game) for every season this century. Continue reading →

Posted in Draft, Free Agency, Front Office | 21 Comments

Steelers Offensive Position Analyses and Draft Needs

Posted on April 21, 2013 by ted

A long-standing premise in evaluating a team’s NFL draft is that landing two eventual starters and three contributors equates to a successful draft. But the Pittsburgh Steelers likely need a much better haul in both of those categories from this week’s draft to remain among the NFL’s elite in the near future.

Over the past 40 years, the Steelers are the NFL’s winningest franchise in large part due to strong drafting, steady coaching staffs, player development and success at keeping most of their key players before they depart for free agency. Continue reading →

Posted in Draft, Free Agency, Front Office, Offseason | 13 Comments

Did the Steelers make the right move keeping Emmanuel Sanders?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by adam

By matching New England’s offer sheet for restricted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders the Steelers have one less hole to fill heading into the 2013 season. And that’s a good thing.

There is just one tiny little problem with that: It’s a short-term fix for a team that probably isn’t going to be very good this season and has a growing list of long-term holes that need to be addressed.

That’s probably bad.
Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 28 Comments

Fear and Loathing in Pittsburgh

Posted on February 26, 2013 by adam

Hines Ward, a former Steeler that once called out his team’s two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback on national television for not playing with a concussion, joined the circle of seventh grade girls that has been the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room this offseason and chided the current team for airing its dirty laundry in public.

This is not what the Steelers do, you guys.
Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 123 Comments

Mike Wallace won’t be easy to replace

Posted on December 31, 2012 by adam

Mike Wallace, like most members of the Steelers offense in 2012, did not have an impressive season.

This has resulted in most of Pittsburgh (at least from my perspective — maybe you’re seeing and hearing something different) to wish him well in his future endeavors (well, maybe they haven’t been that kind about it) and for him to not let the door hit him on his way out of town.

When it comes to Wallace there are no shortage of theories as to why his production dropped from where it was over the first three years of his career.
Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 steelers, Wide Recievers | 253 Comments

Week 17 Game Thread: Cleveland Browns

Posted on December 30, 2012 by ryan

Well, this is it. Seven guys landed on IR this week, including Mike Wallace who may not be back, and the Steelers’ 2012 season ends with the Browns coming to Heinz Field in a game that means absolutely nothing unless you’re Thad Lewis.

Unlike previous underachieving Steelers’ teams, this group just couldn’t catch a break. Yes, there were underwhelming games against the Raiders and Titans early on, but Ben was having an MVP-type season until the Chiefs game. It happens, and maybe in the long run, this will be for the best. Pittsburgh will be picking in the middle of the round and it’ll allow them to get younger on defense.

Oh, one more thing: I tweeted this after the Bengals loss but I’ll mention it here, too: if Haley gets the Cards’ gig (there has been speculation that he’s a favorite of the Bidwells), the Steelers should bring Whisenhunt back to be the offensive coordinator. More likely: running backs coach Kirby Wilson gets the gig (which, frankly, is fine too). But whoever’s calling plays in 2013, it’ll be interesting to see if Ben complains less than he did this season.

Posted in 2012 steelers | 18 Comments

The 2012 Steelers: Missed Opportunities, Mind Games, And Trying To Figure Out What The Hell Happened

Posted on December 26, 2012 by adam

Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers still have one game remaining on their schedule we already know the 2012 season is officially over.

In what is a relatively rare event around these parts (a regular season Steelers game that doesn’t mean shit) the Steelers will close out the 2012 campaign on Sunday by playing a completely meaningless game against the Cleveland Browns. It’s sure to be a pig of a game (the Browns could be starting some guy named Thaddeus Lewis at quarterback. I have no idea who that is or where he came from) that will be seen by dozens of uninterested people in the tri-state area that have nothing better to do with their Sunday afternoon (hello!).

Quite honestly, it might be the most pointless game in the decades long rivalry between the two teams.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 steelers | 17 Comments