Yeah, true. I think these comments are interesting and unexpected. My money would've been on none of the Rooneys speaking publicly about this season or the direction of the team, leaving that to Tomlin. Art II has a little bit of that modern boss in him. He's sharper because he's younger but also a little less patient and willing to put some pressure on. I've noticed this before.

I can't help but look at this matchup between the Jets and Colts and think what if you took the Jets out and put the Steelers in. Would it be a better matchup? I guess that's open for debate but I have to say the Steelers potentially are definitely as good or better than all of the other AFC playoff teams we've seen besides the Colts. They are potentially if they get the defensive guys back healthy.

WOulda been tough to win in SD for the steelers. Were bad on the road, and the defense wasnt as stout this year but who knows...TP may have been back for the playoffs.

That said...steelers have beaten the Chargers at least three straight...but i think all @ home.

Did ya sse Ryan Clark on First and ten this AM? He did pretty well. He was all GQ'd up and I didnt recognize him. @ first I was like...well, this guy isnt bad...i bet he is a writer as @ first he was a little stiff but loosened up and did a fine job.

The Steelers defense as it was never could've done it this year.

But I'd say the Steelers with Polamalu and Aaron Smith are at least the second best team in the AFC.

I agree but ya know...injuries are part of the game and when you miss your best DL, and best secondary player that is tough.

ya know tho......if our "down years" are 8-8 then, well, we dot have a whole lot to complain about.

This team isnt too far away from being very, very good.

If we know one thing it's that the Steelers defense will be back. We all can rest easy on that.

Hopefully the offense can build off of this season with Ben playing several more years.

thavoice wrote: WOulda been tough to win in SD for the steelers. Were bad on the road, and the defense wasnt as stout this year but who knows...TP may have been back for the playoffs.

That said...steelers have beaten the Chargers at least three straight...but i think all @ home.

Did ya sse Ryan Clark on First and ten this AM? He did pretty well. He was all GQ'd up and I didnt recognize him. @ first I was like...well, this guy isnt bad...i bet he is a writer as @ first he was a little stiff but loosened up and did a fine job.

Was very impressed with Ryan this morning. I thought is was funny after he buried Jerry Jones the espn guy scratched the Cowboys off of the list of teams that he could sign with in the future.

Non wrote: As I said awhile ago, if there is a new CBA the Steelers should pursue G David Baas from San Francisco.

He's a road grader and a guy just coming into his own at 28.

I remember you saying that and we discussed it a bit. As far as if i is possible to get him...think we looked at his years of service. If this is an uncapped year he may not be available because the rules change as to when ya become an unrestricted FA.

As the norm..and I say it every year because its pretty much true....i dont look for them to be real active in teh FA market even if here is an uncapped year. I expect BAU for the steelers regardless of what the CBA looks like.

We did talk about it before and he won't be a UFA if no deal is done and it's an uncapped year.

Which it looks like that will be the case unless something happens drastic.

The Steelers signed Jeff Hartings as a free agent back in 2001, a solid guard/center prospect. He was a bigger name with more credentials at that time than Baas. So while it's true they never go crazy in free agency they've been known to sign one here or there that is around 27-30, solid pro but not a star. If you go back to the 90s they brought in Duval Love at guard.

According to the Post-Gazette's Chuck Finder, Omar Khan did not get the GM job in Seattle, so the Steelers will have their lead negotiator and salary cap expect back.

Randy Fichtner will go from WR coach to QB coach.

And the Steelers signed a good special teams tackler from the CFL, Derrick Doggett

Steelers are close to hiring Al Everest as special teams coordinator. He held that position in San Francisco for three years.

Jerry Olsavsky and Earl Holmes are candidates for the defensive quality control job.

Good ole Jerry O. I saw that Snickers NFL replay when the steelers beat the Colts i the AFC Champ game before SB XXX and he was flying round the field!!

It was cool watching it.......if the WR doesnt run the wrong route, twice, who knows what happens. Then, of course, NYG giving ODonnel 25 mil over 5 years to bolt the team.

Ligashesky is the new TE's coach in Denver. I'm glad he rebounded well....Good guy and took way more blame for the special teams than was deserved.

Non wrote: We did talk about it before and he won't be a UFA if no deal is done and it's an uncapped year.

Which it looks like that will be the case unless something happens drastic.

The Steelers signed Jeff Hartings as a free agent back in 2001, a solid guard/center prospect. He was a bigger name with more credentials at that time than Baas. So while it's true they never go crazy in free agency they've been known to sign one here or there that is around 27-30, solid pro but not a star. If you go back to the 90s they brought in Duval Love at guard.

Saw jeff a few months ago.....told him he should come back and play!!! but..he is getting small right now. He lost alot of weight. He said if his knees felt this good at his bigger, playing weight then he woulda kept playing but it just wasnt possible.

Good guy. Played against him in football and basketball. He put a pick on me in hoops that was literally like I ran into a brick wall.

capninsano wrote: Ligashesky is the new TE's coach in Denver. I'm glad he rebounded well....Good guy and took way more blame for the special teams than was deserved.

Happens alot in coaching at the pro level. When a unit doesnt perform well changing an asst coach is easier than revamping the roster.

Dont know if he is a good tactitioner or not on ST, it comes down to execution but ultimately you are responsible for the production of your unit. Last year ST was good...not so much this year.

I don't know all the specifics of good kick coverage but the Steelers weren't close this season.

It's one thing if you give up a long return in a game and the rest of the time you're solid. One missed tackle and a guy breaks a big one and it ruins the entire day as far as grading the special teams.

That wasn't really the case this season. They rarely got down the field and buried the returner around the 15-20 as you see other teams. With the Steelers the kick returner gets a running start and is guaranteed at least the 25-30 before the tacklers are there.

It wasn't a problem with an easy solution. Maybe the kicks need to be better. Certainly they need to find a better mixture of players. The special teams coach doesn't always have the say so in terms of which players they keep and which players he can use.

Not sure how easy it would be to find these stats....but how good has San Fran's special teams been the last 3 years under Everest?

I don't think very good. That's a questionable hire.

Reed isn't helping things on special teams. I don't know that I'd want to get rid of him since hes so good at Heinz Field, but I can't remember the last time he had a touchback on a kickoff.

Non wrote: I don't think very good. That's a questionable hire.

Great.....:rolleyes:

Ligs wasn't even in charge of kickoff/kickoff return, just punt/punt return...that's why I don't think he got a fair shake. And yes, Reed's inability to put the ball deep hurt a lot.

Had a chance to talk with Kugler a few times...he seems like a great guy...definitely fits within the Steelers' organization....I hope he does well.

Reed doesnt kick deep...that does really hurt, but he has been great of FG's in a very tough environment. Few off the field instances but, to be honest...they are minor in the grand scheme of things.

IN looking at games the last couple weeks....a reliable kicker is very important. Ask the Chargers, Bengals and also Cards.....Rackers almost lost that game with an easy miss late in the game.

I say if they can resign him for a solid salary Id say go for it. 2008 they were very good in ST and JR wasnt kicking them deep then either.

About ST coverages.........

There are some vets/starters on coverage teams for all teams. Mostly though they were made up of backups and/or younger players and many times from the skill positions. Most of special teams is pure 'want to' by the players.

Could this be a result of not drafting good enough players mostly in rounds 3-7? Draftee's have been slow to develope for the most part under MT so maybe that is alot of it. It also shows on the depth of the team when guys do get hurt. Been some years when a guy gets hurt and the team rolls on much better than in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Could be not quite getting the best guys they could and have been, or with the lower draft picks ya have to be a lil more luckier picking through the players

It's hard to come up with a system to evaluate each draft. If you go around the league most teams miss a lot more than they hit with draft picks.

The Steelers have won two Super Bowls over the last five years which ends up being the final verdict.

Still, let's look back at the past six years.

I think in the first round you need to draft a core, nucleus player. It's more important for the Steelers because they don't look for big names in free agency. In the first round they have to land a good starter or flat-out star player. There is no grey area. They either hit or miss.

last six first round picks

2009-Ziggy Hood
2008-Rashard Mendenhall
2007-Lawrence Timmons
2006-Santonio Holmes
2005-Heath Miller
2004-Ben Roethlisberger

I would say 6 for 6. Still need more time with Hood but he looks very quick for a defensive end and should start for several years. All of the others are either core starters or stars. Grade here is A+.


In the second round, I still think the Steelers must get a long-time starter.

2009-no pick, traded down
2008-Limas Sweed
2007-LaMarr Woodley
2006-no pick
2005-Bryant McFadden
2004-Ricardo Colclough

Yikes. Only one second round pick in the last six years is a starter on the team currently. Woodley is a stud, Sweed a bust. Twice no picks which is not good. And two cornerbacks that didn't stick long-term. Grade here is D at best.


Even though the draft has changed I still think of the third round as being like the first day. Still need a starter or at the very least a productive rotation guy or special teamer.

2009-Kraig Urbik
2009-Mike Wallace
2009-Keenan Lewis
2008-Bruce Davis
2007-Matt Spaeth
2006-Anthony Smith
2006-Willie Reid
2005-Trai Essex
2004-Max Starks

Keenan Lewis is a player that needs to have a big second year. Urbik looks like a bust. Wallace is a great pick. I'd probably say 1/2 out of 4 between 2006-2008 with Spaeth accounting for only a half point. Essex and Starks have been decent along the the line. This is average. Grade here is C.


In rounds 4-7 I think if you have four picks you should be able to go 2 for 4. If you have any more than four, either five or six, you should be able to get 3.


2009
5-Joe Burnett
5-Frank Summers
6-Sunny Harris
7-.A.Q. Shipley
7-David Johnson

Too early but they have some work to do to get 3 out of 5. Burnett, Harris and Johnson are all potential long-term players.

2008
4-Tony Hills
5-Dennis Dixon
6-Mike Humpal
6-Ryan Mundy

With Dixon being a good backup QB and Mundy having a chance to start at safety in the future, I'm ok with this.

2007
4-Daniel Sepulveda
4-Ryan McBean
5-Cameron Stephenson
5-William Gay
7-Dallas Baker

Sepulveda and I guess Gay. That's only 2 out of 5. Fail.

2006
4-Willie Colon
4-Orien Harris
5-Omar Jacobs
5-Charles Davis
6-Marvin Philip
7-Cedric Humes

Only Willie Colon. This was an awful draft in the late rounds. 1 for 6.

2005
4-Fred Gibson
5-Rian Wallace
6-Chris Kemoeatu
7-Shaun Nua
7-Noah Herron

Only Kemoeatu. 1 for 5. Fail again.

2004
5-Nathaniel Adibi
6-Bo Lacy
6-Matt Kranchick
6-Drew Caylor
7-Eric Taylor

Terrible. 0 for 5.



In my very unofficial study, I'm concluding that the Steelers....

...receive an A+ in first round draft picks since 2004

....D in second round picks since 2004

...C in third round picks since 2004

...and they have achieved satisfactory performance in rounds 4-7 only once in the last six years with still the possibility of two out of six

Good observation Non. The 2nd round history is unacceptable.
Even if you go beyond 2004 the 1st round is outstanding. Hampton, Faneca, Burress.