Steelers Roll "Snake Eyes," Come up Short in 16-9 Loss to Titans

As the 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers took to the field against the Tennessee Titans they did so as a squad looking to answer many questions, questions whose response typically began with “ifs.”

• If the investment in the offensive line pays off… 
• If the injury gods would grant them a hiatus from their wrath
• If they can incorporate 22 new players alongside a group of playoff tested veterans

So what was the answer to those “ifs?” Look no further than Mike Tomlin himself, who said “…we didn’t play well enough. We didn’t coach well enough.”

Steel Curtain Rising whole heartedly agrees with the Steelers reigning field general, but would add one additional “well enough” as in “We didn’t plan well enough.”

Steelers Roll Snake Eyes, End Up Snake Bitten

Steelers Digest editor Bob Labrolia previewed the season observing “The Steelers will be doing a Nik Wallenda imitation this season – working on the high wire without a net….” In fact, the Nik Wallenda metaphor is one he used multiple times in preseason.

• If the high wire metaphor is apt, then Steelers Nation got to see the football equivalent of an offense falling off that wire.

As the game started it looked as if the Fates might have chosen to smile on the Steelers, as Darius Reynaud stepped back into the end zone to give the Steelers a safety.

And on the Steelers first drive the offense gave Steelers Nation a glimpse of the best of what they could have reasonably hopped to see from a unit starting its third tight end, second string running back with a young offensive line learning a new blocking scheme.

• It wasn’t spectacular, the running game struggled, but the Steelers moved the ball in into scoring position in workman like fashion.

Of course they fumbled it away due to a bad handoff – which isn’t excusable, but perhaps understandable given the circumstances.

Its dangerous to extrapolate too many “could haves” based on the first 8 plays of a football season, but Ben Roethlisberger was sharp and Jerricho Cotchery and Antonio Brown showed that they could make a few plays.

Of course nestled into that 8 play series was a disaster of, shall we say, titanic proportions – Maurkice Pouncey went down, tearing his MCL and ACL.

The Steelers worst nightmare had come true, the rock upon which Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert had constructed their offensive line rebuilding project had crumbled.

• After that nothing else went right for the Steelers offense. Literally nothing.

The Steelers offense had 11 drives. Seven end in punts, one got fumbled away, another ended in an interception, the clock ran out on another and yes, on one the Steelers did get a garbage time touchdown.

• …OK, technically that wasn’t garbage time, but did anyone really think the Steelers were going to recover the on-sides kick and score?

Isaac Redman couldn’t run or hold onto the ball. Felix Jones didn’t get much of a chance. LaRod Stephens-Howling did and didn’t look horrible, but of course got injured and it appears may have torn his ACL. Ben Roethlisberger got sacked 5 times and hit 6 times.

If you subtract the 75 yards the Steelers consumed on their garage time touchdown drive, the team had 120 total yards of offense.

There really are no hidden gems, moral victories, or silver linings. The offense was atrocious.

Steelers Defense Above the Line, But….

Normally when you hold a team to 16 points in the NFL, you have a good shot at winning. When you hold them to 13 (as the Steelers defense very well might have had it not been for a 27 yard punt return after a bad punt) you stand a very good shot at winning.

• So judged purely by numbers, the Steelers defense played well vs. the Titans, especially when you consider Tennessee was working with short fields.

That doesn’t mean everything went well. Jake Locker had time to throw and was only sacked once, by LaMarr Woodley. The Steelers run defense held Chris Johnson in check, but the Titans did successfully nickel and dime the Steelers on their only touchdown drive of the day.

• And for the unteethen time since 2010, the Steelers defense failed to secure a turnover.

There’s no way to lay blame at the Steelers defense for this defeat but, given the quality of opposition, the level of dominance needed to carry an offense that looks to limp for a while was missing.

The Problem with Calculated Risks? Sometimes They Go Wrong

So disaster struck on the offensive line, and the Steelers did not have the personnel to compensate. The Steelers shoved Willie Colon out the door and let veterans such as Max Starks and Doug Legursky leave without so much as a token effort to keep them.

• Is it fair to say the Steelers didn’t “prepare well enough?”

Perhaps, and perhaps not. The Steelers salary cap situation is precarious, and management made a number of calculated risks in what amounted to a sort of Loaves and Fishes variety of salary cap maneuvering.

• They gave it there best shot and hoped for the best.

During the first round of what looks to be a marathon 16 round fight, Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert, and Mike Tomlin’s best clearly wasn’t good enough.

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Watch Tower: Dissention in Pittsburgh Over Jonathan Dwyer? Plus Hail to the Chief, Art Rooney Sr.

Cut down day always brings a flurry of news around the NFL, this year things were more active than ever at the South Side as the Steelers 2013 Roster contained some surprises, giving the Watch Tower plenty to focus on. And it begins by shining its light on a story that wasn’t told.

Dwyer:  The Glory and Agony of 140 Characters 

The biggest cut that the Steelers made the release of Jonathan Dwyer. Dwyer was not only their season leading rusher, he was also the only healthy back.

• Nonetheless, he got a visit from the Turk.

The fact that Dwyer’s roster spot was in jeopardy was not a surprise in Steelers Nation. On the blogesphere, (or at least at Behind the Steel Curtain) several articles and many fan exchanges rested on the premise that the numbers game would dictate that either Dwyer or Isaac Redman would be a goner.

But among the professional press, the conventional wisdom was that Dwyer was safe, esp. in light of the injury to Le’Veon Bell, as Jim Wexell’s tweet indicates.

This is why #Steelers wouldn't have cut Dwyer. They can win with him as feature back.
— James C Wexell (@jimwexell) August 15, 2013

To be fair, the arrival of Felix Jones complicated the picture, but the move to cut Dwyer was nonetheless a surprise.

Shortly after the move became public, Mark Kaboly  of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review dropped a bomb via Twitter:

One last thing on Dwyer ... it wasn't the coaching staff that wanted him gone.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) September 2, 2013

In journalism speak, Kabloy had a scoop.

News of the front office overruling the coaching staff on a personnel selection, regarding a past and potential future starter, is a tremendous news coup for Kaboly. In fact, such a morsel literally screams for more.

• Yet none was forth coming.

Not in the regular Tribune Review, not in the Steel Mill Blog (which still remains inaccessible from the Trib’s main Steelers site – yours truly had thought the blog had gone dark and needed to find it by Googling it), not anywhere else.

To make matters worse, Kabloy himself seemed to validate the need for more information in an additional Tweet.

24 hours later and it still makes no sense whey #Steelers released Dwyer.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) September 1, 2013

• The Watch Tower agrees… or at least it makes no sense that a further explanation was given.

Kaboly obviously learned that Dwyer had supporters on the coaching staff, perhaps the entire coaching staff, but that they were overruled by someone else in the organization, and since you can rule out the business and scouting departments, that leaves the front office.

Which means that someone named Colbert and/or someone name Rooney spoke up on the issue. What happened?

• Did the coaches split and Colbert/Rooney provided the deciding influence?
• Were the coaches united, but a cap conscious Kevin Colbert, with backing from Rooney, overruled them?
• Or did Art Rooney II just pull rank?

We know from Bob Labriola’s tweets that coaches had concerns about Dwyer, but no matter how you slice it there’s a story screaming to be told there, and one that goes far beyond the confines of Twitter’s 140 characters.

5 Bars of Hail to The Chief

August 25 marked the 25th Anniversary of the passing of a legend, namely the death of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr.

The death of Art Rooney Sr. was a touchstone moment for me, as it coincided with my renewed following of the team (not very easy to do from suburban Maryland in the pre-internet era.)

And although his passing had little impact on the Steelers, clearly Pittsburgh lost some of its finest citizens then.

• Credit the Post-Gazette for remembering the anniversary.

It was entirely appropriate to do so and the Tribune Review did not run anything on the Chief. Neither did ESPN, nor did any of the other major fan sites.

• Yet the commemorative piece(s) were not without problems.

The article dealt with the way in which the five Rooney sons divided their father’s possessions, and then offered perspectives on how each of the five Rooney sons, Dan, Art Jr., Tim, John, and Pat, felt about that day and provided some insights into the relationships that the men had with their father.

• The real issue was with the Post-Gazette’s presentation of the articles. There was one article which told the entire story. And then there were five other articles on each of the Rooney brothers.

The problem was that the individual pieces on the Rooney brothers were written as part of a single story, and not intended to be stand alone pieces. So if you clicked on one of the individual links, such as the story on Tim Rooney, the stories were disjointed, making references to events in other stories.

The Post Gazette did later provide some clarifying text and a link to the main story, but that was only after several people complained via Facebook.

PG Takes Shot at SEO?

One possible reason behind the Post-Gazette’s decision to publish multiple articles on the Rooney brothers is to catch more search engine traffic.

• SEO, for those not familiar with the term, is the art of trying to get your pages to rank well on Google (and Bing, for what that’s worth) so that you get more visitors to your site.

While the Watch Tower has not (yet) done any comprehensive assessment of how the various major Steelers news sites fare in SEO, some cursoury analysis shows them lagging behind the competition.

Search rankings for major Steelers related stories are frequently dominated by the likes of Behind the Steel Curtain and the Bleacher Report.

The decision to break the Rooney stories up into multiple pieces, could be a step towards changing that, as could their decision to create a separate landing page for what has been a rather impressive series of regular season previews.

Post-Gazette Goof on Dwyer

While the Post-Gazette’s regular season preview coverage was generally very good, they did let one rather glaring error slip through in Ed Bouchette’s Five Keys piece as the screen shot reveals:

Jonathan Dwyer had been cut by the time this ran...

• The problem with this piece is that Jonathan Dwyer had already been cut by the time this article ran.

Its normal (and highly advisable) to write stories like this in advance of publication, but going back and making these corrections is also necessary.

Steelers Today Goes Dark?

Finally, the Watch Tower notes, and laments, what appears to be the passing of a long established, well written fan site Steelers Today.

Steelers Today has been around for several years, dating back to about 2006 if memory serves. While the site was known for long periods of inactivity during the off season, it had been active up until the NFL draft.

However, attempts to access it now reveal that the domain registry has expired, seemingly signaling that the days one of the more prominent fan-based sites has unfortunately come to an end.

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Steelers Roster Analysis, Offense: Running Backs

Steel Curtain Rising's analysis of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 roster continues with running backs.

Starter: Isaac Redman
Back Ups: LaRod Stephens-Howling, Felix Jones, Le'Veon Bell (injured) and Will Johnson (fullback)

Strengths: The Steelers have tried and largely failed "run the ball better" since 2009. This year they kept only the most consistent performer and brought in fresh faces.

Weaknesses: During training camp the press all but changed Le'Veon Bell's name to Franco Jerome Harris Parker but he's carried 4 times. In preseason. Other than Redman, there are a lot of question marks.

The Skinny:  Steel Curtain Rising has long been an Issac Redman fan, but can Redman carry the load as a number 1 back for an extended period? While Le’Veon Bell is healing quickly is it really logical to pin so many hopes on a rookie? Art Rooney II may have been right when he said rushing provided the franchise with its foundation, but this year the foundation of the offense must likely come elsewhere.

Click here to read analysis of other position areas on the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 roster.

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Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 Preview: 4 Challenges Mike Tomlin Must Overcome

The Steelers 2013 home opener is just days away and coming off of an 8-8 season there has never been as great a split either inside or outside Steelers Nation as to what the Pittsburgh Steelers true prospects for a coming season are.

• There are good reasons for this. The predicted salary cap Armageddon instead became the salary cap equivalent of the Loaves and the Fishes.

The Steelers scouting has been under assault. And for good reason, as the 2008 draft class is now a total bust. Yet, as Ivan Cole of Behind the Steel Curtain has pointed out, the Steelers saw teams take restricted free agent runs at not one, but two players in the form of Emmanuel Sanders and Steve McLendon.

Yes, these 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers are a hard nut to crack, with professionals and bloggers alike sparing over the meaning of an 0-4 preseason start. No one really knows what to expect.

Rightly or wrongly, the man who will be held most responsible for the Steelers success or failure in 2013 is Mike Tomlin. And to that end Tomlin has four very specific challenges he must meet. (Click on the link below for a specific challenge for scroll down to read them all):

Tomlin’s First Challenge: Develop Talent
Tomlin’s Second Challenge: Fill the Leadership Void
Tomlin’s Third Challenge: Take on the Trap Games
Tomlin’s Fourth Challenge: Keep Things on an Even Keel


Tomlin’s Challenge: Develop Talent

Kevin Colbert pooh pawed the departure of the likes of Wallace, Rashard Mendenhall and Keenan Lewis as "losing players from an 8-8 team." He promised change. He wasn't kidding.

Colbert didn't simply sit back and let other teams overpay for newly minted Steelers free agents ala Tom Donahoe, he let go overpriced and aging superstars like James Harrison, snake bitten studs like Willie Colon, and dependable standbys like Max Starks depart. He also cleared the ranks of the supporting cast, but allowing Doug Legursky, Will Allen and Ryan Mundy to walk.

• In their place he's assembled a smart 2013 draft class, mixed with some first year players, 2012 draftees, and undrafted rookie free agents.

Mike Tomlin has long defended "The Standard is the Standard" by explaining that merely qualifying for an NFL roster automatically puts a player in the top one have of the top 1% of people that play football.

• Kevin Colbert has given Tomlin cart blanche to prove it this year.

One of Art Rooney II's implicit criticisms of Mike Tomlin after the 2009 seasons was that the team needed to develop talent faster. The delayed development of Lawrence Timmons comes to mind as one example.

To that end, Mike Tomlin has done a better job since then (see Antonio Brown in 2010 and 2011 as one example).

• 2013 will provide a far bigger test.  

Tomlin needs to find a way for these youngsters to grow up fast.

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Tomlin’s Challenge: Fill the Locker Room Leadership Void

At some point after the Steelers 1998 disastrous trip to Detroit that included Phil Luckett's infamous "heads is actually tails" incident, a fan wrote into the Steelers Digest and offered something long the lines of "Cowher needs to realize that this team lacks the playoff veterans of years past, and needs to take the team by the collective collar."

• The fan dead right of course, because so many players quit down the stretch in 1998.

Bill Cowher unfortunately did not get the lesson, and the late season meltdown in 1999 year was more spectacular. Lee Flowers even called out teammates for quitting.

Now fast forward to 2012. In the blink of an eye during the 2012 off season, the Steelers lost Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, and James Farrior, three acknowledged leaders both on and off the field.

As 2012 wore on and inconsistency became habit forming, it became clear that the leadership void was real.

• To his credit, Mike Tomlin seems to have readily realized that and acted accordingly.

Gone is Scotty Montgomery, a young coach feeling his way in the NFL. In his place is Richard Mann, someone who has been around enough to have coached for the Baltimore Colts, old Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens.

Tomlin hasn't stopped there, asking Ben Roethlisberger to take on a more active leadership role. He held the first training camp with live tackling since Chuck Noll began his "Life's work," and he and Colbert have been unsentimental in wielding the axe to the roster.

• On paper all of these are the right moves.

But ultimately it is performance on the field that will determine whether or not these moves bear fruit.

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Tomlin’s Challenge: Take on the Trap Games

Its become cliché in Steelers Nation to say that Mike Tomlin teams have an issue with trap games. But unlike Warren Sapp’s dictum of "Old, Slow and Done" the trap game charge stands up to scrutiny.

In 2007, Tomlin's rookie year, the Steelers dropped games to the Jets and Cardinals. In 2009, the dropped games to the Bears, Browns, and Chiefs. In 2012 the Steelers gave away "Gimmies" to the no-account Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and San Diego Chargers.

One criticism of Tomlin made in mid-2007 was that the Steelers played down to their competition under their new coach.

Since than that observation has been proven to be true... at times.

• At other times this has not been an issue.

Note that during the Steelers 2008 Super Bowl season, the Steelers dropped regular season games to the Giants, Colts, Eagles, and Titans -- all playoff teams. Yet that team made it into the playoffs with a first round bye because they won the games they were "supposed" to win, in addition to defeating the Ravens.

In 2010, the story was similar, with the Steelers losing games to the New Orleans Saints and getting spanked mightily by the New England Patriots. Yet that season they also beat the teams they "should have" beaten.

• The 2011 Steelers were a far inferior version of their '08 and '10 predecessors, yet the '11 Steelers avoided the trap game.

The ability of a team to take all opponents seriously is directly related to a head coach's ability to mentally prepare his players. At times Tomlin has been adept at doing this; at others his ability has failed him.

Tomlin cannot allow that ability to fail him in 2013.

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Tomlin’s Challenge: Keep Things on an Even Keel

Chose your cliché. "Start fast, finish strong." "Go the distance." Whatever.

Tomlin's less successful teams have had another nasty habit -- peaking near mid season.

• In 2007 the triumph of the 75th Anniversary game was followed by a 4-4 finish and first round playoff loss to Jacksonville
• In 2009 the Steelers dominated a Denver team that went into the game at 6-1 and finally looked like a defending champion - then followed with a 5 game losing streak
• In 2011 the Steelers enacted some vengeance by defeating Tom Brady and New England, only to follow it up with a home loss to Baltimore

In 2012 the Steelers won three straight games, getting stronger with each, then limped to victory over the Chiefs before dropping games to Baltimore and Cleveland. Then Charlie Batch rallied the team for a stunning road upset over the Ravens in Baltimore. The 2012 Steelers, it seemed, had arrived...

• ...Except that they went and lost 3 of their next 4.

To be 100% fair to Tomlin, injuries played a large part in several of these late season drop offs. However, to quote Tomlin himself "Injuries are no excuse."

And he's right. Injuries certainly didn't cause force the fumbles, kickoffs returned for touchdowns, coverage lapses, and interceptions that marked some of the '07, '09, '11 and '12 signature losses.

• Like the trap games, this is a demon that Tomlin vanquished in 2008 and 2010. In 2009 he also pulled the team out of an 0-5 nose dive.

In 2013 it will be essential for Mike Tomlin to keep his players mindset focused on the long term.

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Preparing for the “Unknown Unknowns”

Every NFL season brings a certain X-Factor, a certain amount of unpredictability. Think ever reliable Jeff Reed sudden descent into mediocrity in 2010.

Steelers Nation already knows that a younger roster with desperately thin depth, particularly on the offensive line, will test the Steelers.

• But 2013 will present the Pittsburgh Steelers with additional trials that no one can anticipate today.

But if Mike Tomlin can master the four challenges discussed here, he'll have given the Steelers a shot at also overcoming the unexpected.

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Watch Tower: Doing a Double Take on Tomlin's Coaching Changes, Plus Heyward vs. Hood

The NFL press credential unlocks access to a world that fans only dream of visiting – the NFL locker room. Many argue that social media diminishes if not eliminates the need and role of the traditional press.

• There’s some truth there. 

The internet, YouTube, blogs, streaming video, Facebook, and Twitter connect players, coaches, scouts, front office staff, and owners with fans in ways that Joe Gordon, Steelers Communications director during the Super Steelers era, never dreamed of.

• Yet a press credential remains invaluable. 

Simply because it gives accredited members of the Pittsburgh Pro Football Writers Association daily access to those self-same players, coaches, and scouts.

Yes can Steelers.com picks and chooses post-game quotes that Twitter, Facebook, ESPN.com, FOX Sports quickly recycle. Sure, Art Rooney II can change the spin of a story by using a video interview to explain that he didn’t mean the Steelers offense needed to run more just that it needed to be able to run better.

• These mediums have their impact, but they also have their limits.

And that’s because beat reporters establish build relationships players and coaches. They make small talk by the water cooler and in the lunch room. They’re privy to numerous 60 second “off the record” 1-1 elevator rides, parking lot exchanges and, yes, urinal conversations.

Credentialed Steelers press writers have an excellent feel for what gets said in private, behind closed doors, when the tape records and cellphone cameras are put way.

The Watch Tower has long suspected that many if not most of the Steelers press corps writers frequently know a lot more about the stories than reaches the light of day.

• And that’s what makes our first case so interesting.

Revisiting the Sean Kugler, Amos Jones and Scotty Montgomery’s “Resignations”

Steelers Nation knows well how Mike Tomlin said his coaching staff would be back in January 2012 after the Steelers suffered their playoff “Tebowing” in Denver only to have Art Rooney II pulled rank and fired Bruce Arians.

• The move drew a firestorm converge, and the attempt to pass it off as a “retirement” made the Steelers look bush league.

Mike Tomlin started the Steelers 2013 off season off with three coaching changes, which collectively got less coverage than the Arians fiasco.

Perhaps that was a mistake, because it appears there was a story behind the story...

• ...Depending on who you listen to.

But this plot takes an interesting twist. This is no case of local rivals peddling competing stories or even of the local press vs. the national press. No, this time the Watch Tower shines its light on divergent stories coming from the same publication….

Bouchette vs. Dulac with Blog Posts at 30 Paces….

In just two days in mid February PG Plus readers got a treat that gave them their money’s worth for a month.

On Monday the 11th, Ed Bouchette directly suggested that the resignations of Tomlin’s assistants were less than voluntary. And in doing so, he reported several interesting new facts.

Bouchette characterized Amos Jones move to Pittsburgh West, aka Arizona, as a “side ways move” and pointed out that Jones joined the Steelers as an assistant and only got the special teams coordinator job due to Al Everestt’s mysterious firing.

Although he doesn’t report any new facts, but reminds readers that Jones didn’t get the job after Bob Ligashesky got fired in 2010, and suggests that Tomlin either told him he would be demoted or suggested he find a new job or be fired.

Scottie Montgomery’s departure is Bouchette’s next target, and hits the bull’s eye with some new facts. Bouchette begins by reminding us that the Duke PR department was nebulous about what Montgomery’s new duties would be, and that a move from Pittsburgh to Duke is hardly a step up the career ladder. Then he delivers the goods.

We were told that Montgomery did not exert enough control over the wide receivers the past season and, with Hines Ward no longer around, the students ran the classroom and became more undisciplined. Their performance on the field certainly would back that up.

Although Bouchette does not mention this, the hiring of Richard Mann provides further evidence to support his claim. Anyone who saw his draft day press conference could easily see that Mann exudes and air of “Been there, Done that.

Bouchette closed by taking a look at Sean Kulger’s decision to accept the head coaching job at UT El Paso, suggesting that he might have at least been motivated by a philosophy class with offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Haley’s new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell has in fact installed a new, run blocking scheme.

So here we have an inside story from the Dean of the Pittsburgh press corps telling us that Tomlin’s coaching changes were as much about house cleaning as they were climbing the career ladder. Case closed, right?

Not so fast.

• Only a day later Gerry Dulac penned another PG Plus story telling a very different tale.

Dulac began by attacking the notion that the changes were a case of “rats leaving a sinking ship” and went as far as to state:  “And none were made because of any conflict or dissatisfaction with Coach Mike Tomlin.”

Dulac pointed out that Kulger’s chance to return to his alma mater was simply “too good to pass up.” In discussing Amos Jones move, Dulac reported that Jones got more money and a longer contract than was presumably available in Pittsburgh.

In discussing Montgomery’s return to Duke, Dulac says:

But Montgomerie [sic] was said to very friendly with Tomlin and, according to one assistant coach, was reluctant to leave Duke the first time to join the Steelers.

Bouchette vs. Dulac Who to Believe? 

So here you have two reporters for the same publication, telling very different stories based upon what they see from behind the scenes on the South Side. Who to believe?

Of all of the moves, the departure of Kulger’s appears to be the most straight forward. He got the chance to return to his roots, and presumptively would have stayed in Pittsburgh had that opportunity not surfaced.

There’s likely truth in both men’s rendering of Amos Jones’ departure. Jones quiet likely could have stayed in Pittsburgh, but only in his old role as a special teams assistant.

In the case of Montgomery, the Watch Tower is prone to believe Bouchette. The wide receiving corps was supposed to be Pittsburgh’s strength last year, but "Young Money," aka Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, and Emmanuel Sanders, played more like a penniless group of receivers, much to Ben Roethlisberger’s chagrin.

• There is one thing that both Bouchette and Dulac agree on, one that is perhaps a little disturbing for Steelers fans. 

In discussing Montgomery’s move, Bouchette observed this “If Tomlin – or someone above him – didn’t force Montgomery out, his move to Duke is a strange one indeed.”  Dulac went a step further, and finished his article suggesting:  “Of course, sometimes what Tomlin wants and what actually transpires are two different things. Just ask Arians.”

While the idea of Art Rooney II involving himself in Mike Tomlin’s staffing decisions  isn’t in and of itself bad, one would hope that Art II would emulate macro-manager Daniel Rooney and not micro-manager Daniel Snyder.

Which Way is Heyward Heading?

One of the the most important story lines at Steelers training camp in St. Vincent’s will be the development of Cameron Heyward, the Steelers 1st round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Cameron Heyward’s limited contributions as a rookie drew good reviews, however opinion of his second year development remains split.

Ralph Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review wrote a feature-length article admonishing Hewyard to “step it up” commenting that:

The Ohio State product begins his third season amid a cloud of uncertainty.
He isn't likely to supplant Ziggy Hood or Brett Keisel in the starting lineup, but he can dictate how much playing time he'll get — and how his future will be shaped.

To back up his argument, Paulk cites any number of statistics on Heyward’s production, and quotes Heyward himself discussing how he’s fallen short of his goals.

However, Kyle Curry of the Pittsburgh Sporting News also ran an article on Heyward last week citing statistics that show Hewyard out performing Ziggy Hood on a snap-by-snap basis, and he informs that Ed Bouchette is reporting that Heyward has a chance to replace Hood in the starting lineup.
Heyward’s development, and the press’s coverage of it will be interesting to see.

Smizik on Wallace

The final off season installment of the Watch Tower would not be complete without comment about retired Post-Gazette columnist turned blogger Bob Smizik’s criticism of Steelers salary cap management and free agent decisions.

• Mike Wallace, as everyone knows was one of the top available free agents, regardless of position and was expected to command at least 10 million per year and he eventually got closer to 12.

Keeping Wallace, in Smizik’s view was essential for the Steelers, and the retired scribe all but implied that the Steelers needed to do what was necessary to keep him. And in the same breath, he slammed the Steelers for being so tight against the cap that they couldn’t make an offer.

• That’s right – slam the team for not writing Wallace a blank check in one breath, while slamming them for salary cap problems in the next.

Sounds like the same guy who criticized the Steelers for drafting Rashard Mendenhall without taking Willie Parker’s feelings into account, and then complained when Mendenhall wasn’t getting more carries early in ’08….

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Steelers Training Camp Preview: A Closer Look at Mike Tomlin's New Assistants

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 NFL Draft class won’t be the only new faces feeling their way through their first training camp at Latrobe. So will three new assistant coaches. And that's unusual.

• Unlike his predecessor Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin isn’t trigger happy when it comes to firing assistant coaches. 

So it’s understandable that Mike Tomlin’s coaching shake ups in after the Steelers 2009 and 2011 seasons captivated Steelers Nation’s attention. Yet Tomlin’s coaching changes in the wake of 2012’s disappointment’s barely raised an eyelid.

• Perhaps that shouldn’t be the case – at the very least some patterns appear to be replicating themselves…

Let’s take a closer look.

Bill Cowher to Mike Tomlin, From Trigger Happy to Trigger Hesitant on Assistants

In his first season Bill Cowher assembled a team of coaches who’d never worked together before. Dick Hoak was the lone hold out from Chuck Noll’s staff. Cowher had cold called offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt out of the blue.

• Skeptics wondered if it could work and 1992 Steelers 11-5 take the league by surprise season shows it did.

But unity did not last long. The day after a blocked punt in a wild card game at Kansas City ended the 1993 Steelers playoff run Bill Cowher fired, in summary execution style, special teams coach John Guy, receivers coach Bob Harrison and defensive line coach  Steve Furness (Furness, a veteran of the Steel Curtain, dismissal was the most surprising, and friends said he never recovered.)

Assistant coach firings became the norm for the Cowher years as Ron Erhardt, Ray Sherman, Kevin Gilbride, and Tim Lewis all got the boot and that’s only counting the coordinators. Other coaches such as Bobby April left because they found Cowher difficult too work for.

In contrast, Mike Tomlin went two years without firing any assistant. Word is that he resisted pressure (who knows why) to fire Bob Ligashesky after special teams disasters sabotaged the Steelers 2007 season.

Tomlin likewise went to the mat in 2009 to defend Bruce Arians job, but he did nonetheless make other coaching changes.

A Closer Look at Tomlin’s Coaching Changes

Although he saved Arians job (with Ben Roethlisberger's help), Tomlin fired Larry Zierlin and Bob Ligashesky. Ken Anderson retired as quarterbacks coach creating another vacancy.

Back in 2010, to fill those vacancies, Tomlin hired:

• Al Everest to coach special teams
• Sean Kulgler to coach the offensive line
• Scotty Montgomery to coach the wide receivers 

The vacancy at the quarterbacks coaching spot was filled by Randy Ficthner, who’d served as receivers coach.

Fast forward to 2012. Art Rooney II again pressured Tomlin to fire Bruce Arians, and this time Tomlin declined to stick his neck out for his coordinator, even though he’d already invited Arians back.

• Then in the middle of training camp, Tomlin shocked Steelers Nation, firing special teams coach Al Everest.

Despite the Steelers 8-8 finish, Tomlin fired no assistant coaches, but there’s been plenty of turnover nonetheless. Amos Jones followed Bruce Arians to Pittsburgh West (aka the Arizona Cardinals), Sean Kugler left to coach UT El Paso, and Scotty Montgomery returned to Duke University.

Those departures resulted in Tomlin hiring:

• Jack Bicknell Jr. to coach the offensive line
• Danny Smith to coach special teams
• Richard Mann to coach the wide receivers

So, in two years time Tomlin has replaced the exact same set of position coaches…

…Does that mean anything? Perhaps not but it’s a coincidence that deserves recognition. Jack Bicknell has no ties to the Steelers or Tomlin, but the same cannot be said for Danny Smith and Richard Mann.

Danny Smith is a Pittsburgh and Central Catholic graduate. He coached at William and Mary, Tomlin alma mater and also coached in Detroit while Kevin Colbert was there.

Richard Mann has worked in the NFL long enough to coach for the original Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Colts and the Baltimore Ravens. He also happened to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just when Tomin was breaking into the NFL.

So while Tomlin might have shuffled some assistants some, not all of them are exactly new faces. Perhaps that will turn out to be a good thing. Time will tell.

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Watch Tower: Analyzing Press Coverage of the Steelers 2013 Draft

The 2013 NFL Draft is in the history books. The Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 Draft Class has been revealed, and Shamarko Thomas is the first to be signed.

The NFL Draft is a veritable media bonanza, and 2013 was no exception, give the Watch Tower plenty of materials to shine its light on. Let’s take it from the top.

Steelers Draft Board vs. Steelers Needs

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2013 with a draft needs matrix that was wide and deep. Factor in the egg that the franchise laid with their 2008 Draft class, plus the need to re-arm while Ben Roethlisberger still has prime years of play, and health, remaining and getting the 2013 Draft right was imperative for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

• How did such imperatives impact the Steelers as the draft unfolded?

Well, it depends on which journalist’s rendition you’re reading.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, concluded that the Steelers managed to walk the tightrope arguing:

The Steelers have long maintained they stick to their draft board, taking the player with the highest grade and not reaching to fill any position. And general manager Kevin Colbert reaffirmed that stance Saturday when the three-day NFL draft came to a close. 

But, after drafting nine players and addressing each of their biggest needs in the first four rounds, the Steelers did a deft job of sticking to the board and filling positions with players who have a chance to help make up for some of their significant losses. Whether luck or coincidence, it seemed to work. [Emphasis in the original]

That’s a reasonable conclusion, but hardly a universal one among the Pittsburgh Pro Football Writers chapter.

Allan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review took the opposite tack, observing:

This is the draft in which the oh-so-traditional, oh-so-reliable Steelers Way wasn't the Steelers' way at all.

The Steelers insisted they stuck with the tried and true and drafted the best available player with their nine picks in seven rounds. But it appears to be anything but coincidental that in a draft in which their needs for an outside linebacker, running back, wide receiver and safety were as glaring as fuschia lipstick, the first four players they drafted were an outside linebacker (Jarvis Jones), running back (Le'Veon Bell), wide receiver (Markus Wheaton) and safety (Shamarko Thomas).

Who is right? Perhaps both and perhaps neither.

The fact is that the Steelers needs were so diverse, that they could have remained faithful to their draft board and filled their needs.

Revving Up the Steelers Running Game

The Steelers once-vaunted running game hasn’t been the same since Willie Parker’s injury in the 2008 season. The issue has gotten the attention of everyone in the franchise from Art Rooney II on down so it was no surpise when the Steelers drafted running back Le’von Bell in the second round.

The move, did however, prompt an interesting comment from Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who contended that:

The Steelers wanted to improve their running game in 2012, then they did a strange thing: They did absolutely nothing to help the rushing attack and, in fact, reduced their chances of running the ball better heading into last season. [Emphasis added.]

Regular readers know that the Watch Tower’s purpose isn’t to slam writers who voice dissenting opinions (although that does happen, at times) but the Watch Tower does hold writers accountable to the facts.

On a simplistic level, Bouchette is right. The Steelers did neither used a premium pick to draft a running back in the 2012 NFL Draft nor did they sign one in free agency.

• But does that mean “They did absolutely nothing” to boost the fortunes of the running game?

No, not by a long shot.

In fact, the Steelers made several moves that aimed at least in part at beefing up their running game:

• Drafting David DeCastro in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft
• Drafting Mike Adams in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft
• Moving Willie Colon from tackle to guard
• Selecting Chris Rainey in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft

Granted, of the four moves, only moving Colon to guard yielded any benefit in 2012 and then only for a short time. But two major draft picks, one minor pick, and one position change is far cry from “absolutely nothing.”

Beating a Dead Silverback

The ghost of James Harrison loomed large over the Steelers draft, in the eyes of the Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook who argued that the Steelers “dug themselves into a hole” prior to the draft.

It all goes back to the botched negotiations with linebacker James Harrison. Both sides allowed personal feelings to get in the way of a business deal that would have benefited each party.

When the Steelers parted ways with James Harrison, Cook made a strong plea that James Harrison is still enough of a game-changer that you keep on your team no matter what. That’s an excellent argument.

But to say that the Steelers “botched” the negotiations stretches credibility. If anything, the Steelers were willing to offer too much money. To say that pride prevented Pittsburgh from taking Harrison back, belies the calculated low-cost moves the Steelers made with money they saved from Harrison.

The “Source” and Sean Spence’s Injury

One of the Watch Tower’s chief mission’s is to get at the nut’s and bolts of how stories about the Steelers come to live, and the situation of Sean Spence provided an excellent opportunity.

The biggest potential scoop on draft day came not from the Post-Gazette, Tribune Review, or even ESPN, but from Behind the Steel Curtain’s editor Neal Coolong, who dropped this bomb:

The Steelers have been oddly quiet about Spence's status heading into the 2013 season.
As it turns out, there's a specific reason for that.

A source close to the team is saying the Steelers are optimistic Spence can play in 2013, but not enough to publicly discuss it. They are targeting Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti - a player who's coming off a knee injury of his own.

When all was said and done, the Steelers passed on Michael Mauti and Steelers Linebackers coach Kevin Butler said it would be “miraculous” if Spence made full recovery.

• Both developments it would seem, would amount to a big black eye for BTSC, right? 

Not so fast.

Only a few days after Butler’s pronouncement, Mike Tomlin offered a very different take on the prognosis for the linebacker the Steelers took in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, topping off his retort with a classic Tomlinism:

All the rehab is going to according to plan. No news there. I did hear the opinion regarding Spence. My opinion differs. I think he'll have a full recovery. But now you have two opinions, neither of which are expert medical opinions, so do with it what you will

Kevin Colbert also spoke on the Spence’s health, seemingly taking a middle position telling a conference call of Steelers season ticket holders:

When you have as serious a knee injury as he unfortunately had, it sometimes is a very long process. Sometimes it takes over a year to fully rehabilitate. But the good thing is we are seeing signs of progress, albeit small steps. But it is progress.

Clearly, there is a legitimate diversity of opinion on the South Side with respect to the Sean Spence’s prospects for a recovery and clearly that diversity lends some legitimacy to BTSC's reporting.

(Full disclosure: I also write for BTSC and correspond frequently with the editor but I neither have access to nor knowledge of the source in question.)

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Would a Steelers off season be complete without stories on Max Starks contract or lack thereof situation? Stories on Max Starks contract situation have provided bloggers and professional press pundits with legitimate copy every spring since 2008 and 2013 is no exception, except that it might be the last time this is true.

The Pittsburgh Steelers of course signed free agent Guy Whimper, a veteran offensive tackle who brings a decidedly mediocre track record to Pittsburgh. The move was significant because the Steelers lack depth on the line, and as Ed Bouchette explained:

By signing Whimper, the Steelers likely are indicating that they are moving on without Max Starks, an unrestricted free agent who has yet to sign with any team. 

Concluding that Guy Whimper's arrival spells Max Starks exist are a logical conclusion on Bouchette’s part. But the problem was that it was only part of the story.

Mark Kalboy of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review took the extra, but hardly extraordinary, step of calling Max Starks and getting him on the record to confirm that his days in Pittsburgh were likely done:

Let me say this, (Starks and the Steelers) had a conversation prior (to the Whimper signing), and that decision (to sign Whimper) was made after our conversation.
Now it wasn't said directly to me, but you kind of take that as an indication of what they are thinking. It is not so much on my part as more of them wanting to move on.

Kaloby went on to explain that Starks neither seems himself as a back nor as someone who should play for backup money.

Put bluntly, Bouchette got badly out hustled on this story by Kalboy.

Bouchette Delivers on Greene Retirement

After throwing Bouchette under a bus not once but twice, it is only appropriate that he get his just due on the Joe Greene story.

Bouchette’s coverage of Joe Greene's retirement was overall very good, both in the regular PG and PG Plus (no, PG Plus has not decided to take my money, I got a free view there). He managed to cover something that other missed:

Noll hired him to coach his defensive line in 1987 and, after five years of doing so, Greene was a finalist to succeed Noll after the coach's retirement following the 1991 season. But when the job went to Bill Cowher, and the new coach did not keep Greene on his staff.

"When Chuck retired and I basically got fired, that was definitely emotional," Greene recalled.

Many forget that Greene was a strong candidate to replace Chuck Noll, and his non-selection drew very little coverage at the time, and was seldom discussed after his return to the team during the Cowher-Colbert era.

Kudos to Bouchette for getting Greene on the record on one of the under reported stories in Steelers history.

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Steelers Hall of Famer Jack Butler, 1927-2013

Former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame cornerback and long time BLESTO Director Jack Butler has died after a long battle with a staph infection he received as the result of an artificial knee transplant.

Butler was 85, and is survived by his wife and 15 grand children, and 8 children, including his son Mike, who recently joined the Steelers scouting department.

Unknown to the last several generations of fans in Steelers Nation, Jack Butler was a star on the SOS squads “Same Old Steelers.” As the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1950’s struggled in mediocrity, Jack Butler was building a Hall of Fame resume as a cornerback.

According to the obituary published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by Bob Cohn, Butler intercepted 5 passes as a rookie.

The Steelers were on the road and losing 13-0 to the Washington Redskins and despite out rushing and out passing the Redskins all day, Butler had intercepted the legendary Eddie LeBaron 3 times.

As told by Tim Gleason in his classic, From Black to Gold, the Steelers scored a face-saving touchdown late in the 4th to make it 13-7. Butler intercepted LeBaron a still NFL record 4th time, returning the ball for a pick-six and leading the Steelers to victory.

Butler’s career was cut short in 1959 when he blew out a knee, which is a shame because he’d intercepted 19 passes in his final two seasons – an even more remarkable feat when you consider that Butler only played 12 game seasons in an era where a team that threw 20 passes a game was considered “pass happy.”

All told Butler played in four Pro Bowls, three All NFL teams and the NFL’s All Decade team for the 1950’s. As of May 2012, Butler stands tied for 15th on the NFL’s All Time career interception list, picking off legendary quarterbacks such as Sammy Baugh, Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Y.A. Tittle and Norm Van Brocklin.

Butler even saw spot duty at wide receiver, catching 7 passes and took four of them into the end zone for four touchdowns.

From Being the Talent on the Field to Finding the Talent to Field

After retiring from the game, Jack Butler first dabbled as an assistant coach and then join the BLESTO scouting combine, serving as its director from 1966 to 2006.

BLESTO stands for Bears Lions Eagles Steelers Talent Organization, and was formed when player data on NFL prospects was far from ubiquitous as it is today.

In his capacity as BLESTO scout, Butler hired and/or trained hundreds of NFL scouts, including former Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Football Operations Tom Donahoe and current Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert.

From his perch at BLESTO Butler also had a hand, at least indirectly, on the scouting reports that Chuck Noll used to select Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Rod Woodson, and Dermontti Dawson – all of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jack Butler, Man of Class, Man of No Regrets

Injuries didn’t simply end Jack Butler’s NFL career, they impacted the rest of his life. He under went multiple surgeries, walked with a limp for over 50 years, and had both knees replaced – and it was the latter knee replacement which lead to the staph infection which cost him his life.

• Butler, however, had no regrets.

As Ed Bouchette recounted in the his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, When asked by Art Rooney Jr. if given the constant pain he struggled with, Butler would do it again, the former Pro Bowl cornerback did not flinch, telling Rooney, “’He said, “Playing football was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. If I could go out today and suit up, I would do it.”'"

Butler was also a class act, drawing praise from Dan Rooney who said “He was an excellent person both on and off the field, and he played an integral role in the BLESTO scouting program and our entire draft process before his retirement.”

Art Rooney II followed suit, explaining that “Jack Butler was one of the all-time great Steelers. He devoted his entire life to the NFL and made contributions to many teams and many players through his work with BLESTO and player personnel matters.”

Kevin Colbert’s comments were perhaps the most effusive:

Jack was a great person and great friend who always placed his faith and family first. Beyond his great play on the field, he was a legendary personnel man who helped so many of us get established in our scouting careers. He will be missed, but never forgotten.

It is fair to say that a majority of Steelers fans who’ve rooted for their beloved Black and Gold without knowing who Jack Butler was, but they certainly are well acquainted with his legacy.

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Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 Draft Needs Matrix

Depending on whose mock draft you read, during the 2013 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to take:

• Linebacker Jarvis Jones of Georgia, and if not…
• Safety Kenny Vaccar of Texas, and if not…
• Tight End Tyler Eifert from Notre Dame, and if not…
• Cornerback Dee Milliner from Alabama, and if not…
• Wide Receiver Tavon Austin from West Virginia, and if not…
• Safety Eric Reid from LSU

…And if its not one of the above players the Steelers certainly will take some other highly hyped college prospect in the first round.

Of course you know all of that.

Now here’s something you’re not likely to read on any other Steelers site, with or without a mock draft:

• Steel Curtain Rising will neither offer an opinion on who the Steelers will or should draft

Regular readers know this blog is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where suffice to say college football is not a sports programming priority. (Neither is the NFL, but at least there’s the Sunday Ticket.) Truth be told, I never followed the college game much when I still lived in the US.

But what I can do is focus on the Steelers Needs...

Breaking Down the Steelers 2013 NFL Draft Needs

...And needs the Steelers have a plenty. Unlike previous years, you have to go all the way to kickers and punters to find an area the Steelers can safely avoid in the draft.

Here’s another confession. Due to time constraints, I was not planning on doing individual needs analysis, but there was no way to construct a Steelers Draft Needs Matrix without doing so.

Even then evaluating the Steelers 2013 Draft Needs is difficult because of the conflict between short-term and long-term needs. The Steelers have both, and they don’t always over lap.

The temptation on the South Side to focus on the short term has to be strong.

• Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II must resist that temptation.

Focusing on short term needs is one of the things that caused the Steelers Dynasty of the 70’s to collapse under its own weight. With so many entrenched Super Bowl starters, Dick Haley, Art Rooney Jr. and yes, Chuck Noll, stopped focusing on taking the best player available, and drafted with any eye toward their depth chart, out thinking themselves into going for guys that other teams some how missed on.

Heaven only knows how many future Pro Bowlers the Steelers passed on in the late 1970’s based on the assumption that “there’s no way this kid can beat out Dwight White, even if he is getting old….”

Worse yet, focusing on the short term can cause a team to reach, as it did in the 1999 Draft when they picked Troy Edwards and Scott Shields 1 and 2, both men turning out to be horrendous busts.

And let’s acknowledge that the temptation for this kind of thinking has to be strong, given that Ben Roethlisberger’s window as a viable Super Bowl quarterback could be narrowing quickly, if the injuries of the past two seasons are any indication.

• But focus on the long term the Steelers must.

2013 Steelers Draft-Needs Matrix

And that brings us to the Steelers 2013 Draft Needs Matrix.

This matrix is not intended to suggest that the Steelers should target (aka “reach”) for players in this particular order. Rather, it is intended to guide the choice that must be made when the clock begins ticking, and there are two players of equal, or near equal, value on the board.

In developing this Steelers Draft Needs Matrix, absolute need is balanced against long term vs. short term need, with long term need getting the higher priority.

In that respect, safety takes precedence over linebacker, simply because the Steelers are order and thinner at safety with virtual novices playing behind Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark.

And outside linebacker takes precedence over inside linebacker because there’s just a little more depth and a few more players under contract for a longer time than at inside linebacker, and so on down the line.

Steelers 2013 Draft-Needs Matrix:
(click on the position title for a detailed needs analysis)

• Safety takes precedence over Outside Linebacker
• Outside Linebacker takes precedence over Inside Linebacker
• Inside Linebacker take precedence over tight end and wide receiver
• Tight End (barely) takes precedence over Wide Receiver
• Wide Receiver takes precedence over running back
• Running Back takes precedence over defensive line
• Defensive Line takes precedence over offensive line
• Offensive Line takes precedence over cornerback
• Cornerback takes precedence over Quarterback

And for heaven sakes, the Steelers should not even be thinking of drafting a kicker!

Note, however, that there is a very, very fine line separating the needs outlined below. Really, the Steelers needs, long and short term, at any of the positions mentioned above save for quarterback could merit a first round pick if the right man is available.

It’s not likely that a top ten prospect like David DeCastro could fall to the Steelers as happened last year or as happened in 1987 with Rod Woodson, but that’s the beauty of the draft.

Enjoy the 2013 NFL, my fellow citizens of Steelers Nation because our beloved Black and Gold’s ability to bagging Lombardi Number Seven during the Roethlisberger era likely depends on Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert getting this draft right.

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