Steelers Free Agent Focus: Ramon Foster

Ramon Foster joined the club as part of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2009 rookie free agent class and since then has developed into another shining example of Kevin Colbert’s unrestricted rookie free agent success.

Foster got a baptism by fire, starting in the Steelers 2009 away loss to Baltimore Ravens on the night when Dennis Dixon was their lone starting quarterback, which was also the first time that season where no sacks were allowed. Foster would go on to start vs. Green Bay, Baltimore, and Miami that season.

In 2010 Foster began the season on the bench, but began starting vs. New England when Chris Kemoeatu was injured, and started the second half of the seasons and all of the post-season.

Despite that, he started 2011 on the bench, but injuries and Kemoeatu’s ineffectiveness led Foster to start 14 games that year.

The arrival of David DeCastro was supposed to relegate Foster back to the bench, but David DeCastro’s injury and Foster’s solid play kept him in the line up. He, along with Max Starks, were the only offensive lineman to start all 16 games, although Foster did do double duty at tackle.

Steelers Likely to Say Farewell to Foster

Under normal circumstances, with that pedigree, the Steelers would be looking to lock up Foster to a long term deal.

However, that is unlikely to happen. Like fellow unrestricted free agent Max Starks, Foster is likely to fall victim to the Steelers salary cap crunch. Unlike Max Starks, Foster is now breaking into his prime years as an athlete and his prime earning years.

He has far less incentive than Starks to offer a “home town discount,” and even if he were its hard to imagine that another team will not reward him far more lucratively that the Steelers can.

• Expect Ramon Foster to play in colors other than Black and Gold in 2013 and beyond

This is unfortunate, but most probably a mathematical necessity.

Scenario for the Fixing up the Steelers with Foster

There’s a big X Factor for Foster’s future with the franchise, and that comes by the name of Willie Colon.

Once Willie Colon successfully transitioned to guard he transformed the entire line. But he got injured, and finished his third straight year on IR. A decision by the Steelers to cut Colon would clear the way for Foster’s return.

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Steelers Shed Salary, Super Bowl Rings, and Locker Room Leadership....

Institutional memory is a curious concept. Clearly one can neither precisely define or measure it, but institutional memory nonetheless remains a tangible quality.

One of the lessons that the Steelers organization took from the ‘70’s is that they held on to too many Super Steelers veterans too far past their prime.

After parting ways with Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, Chris Kemoeatu, and James Farrior no one can hurl that accusation at Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert, and Mike Tomlin.

In 1976 the Steelers left their 1975 first round pick Dave Brown unprotected in an expansion draft…

• …Brown went Seattle where he made a Pro Bowl, two UPI All Pro Teams and one AP All Pro teams

In 1979 the Steelers kept a rapidly fading Dwight White over rookie training camp sensation Dwaine Board…

• White was done within two years, whereas Bill Walsh snapped up Board, who posted three double digit sack seasons with the 49ers in the ‘80s.

And of course in the spring of 1983 the Steelers figured the could squeeze a couple of three more seasons out of Terry Bradshaw, opting to pass on a kid named Marino...

• ...Steelers Nation knows how passing on Dan Marino turned out.

Who knows?

Were memories of those mistakes echoing through Art Rooney II’s head as he gave the word to Kevin Colbert to lower the hammer on yet another franchise icon?

Or did salary cap realities simply force any shred of sentimentality out of the Steelers?

No one can be sure.

The Steelers did start the off season $20 to $25 million over the 2012 salary cap. Colbert and Omar Khan did they damdest to giggle the numbers to the extent where its reasonable to ask whether the Steelers are mortgaging their future.

But the contract restructurings of Ike Taylor, LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons and Ben Roethlisberger were all to get the Steelers under the cap.

Which only reaffirms the status quo.

• Positioning the Steelers for the future required untethering the organizations it from its recent past.

So now gone are James Farrior, Chris Kemoeatu, Aaron Smith, Hines Ward, Arnaz Battle, and Bryant McFadden.

Giving these six players their walking papers freed up approximately 10 million dollars in salary cap space.

• But the Steelers are also saying goodbye to 12 Super Bowl rings if you throw in Chris Hoke's retirement.

That statement is perhaps overly dramatic, because 5 of the 6 players had seen age, injury or ineffectiveness drastically reduce their role from 2010 to 2011. James Farrior was the only starter released, the only player with no heir apparent, and the only one who arguably could have contributed in 2012 were salary on consideration.

But winning is just as much about the intangible as it is about the measurable.

• James Farrior, Hines Ward and Arnz Battle were all captains of their respective units
• When William Gay and Kennan Lewis sent Bryant McFadden to the bench, McFadden embraced his role on specials teams with relish.
• Aaron Smith never hesitated to take younger players whom he knew had been drafted to replace him, under his wing.

However necessary their departures might have been, each of the men the Steelers parted wasy with was an important leader, both on and off the field.

That's not something to gloss over lightly, as the Redskins experience of the 90's reveals.

The first Joe Gibbs era in Washington ended just as the salary cap era was beginning. In the blink of an eye veterans like Art Monk, Ernest Byner, Charles Mann, Ricky Sanders and other Super Bowl veterans were gone. These were players who had learned how to win, a lesson which their successors are still struggling to master almost 20 years later.

The Steelers recent “termination” binge was not as wholesale as Washington’s was in the mid-90’s. By all accounts the organizational culture on the South Side is far different that of Redskins Park, and one that’s strong enough to manage the coming locker room leadership transition.

• But the Redskins lesson reminds us that there is no set formula for letting go of Championship Era players as they grow old.

Regardless of whether you let your veterans go too late or too soon, its always about getting the next decision right, and it is rarely just a question of simple numbers.

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Steelers to Part Ways with Aaron Smith, Chris Kemoeatu

One day after saying good bye to Hines Ward, their franchise leading and future Hall of Fame wide receiver, the Steelers also decided to part ways with the best 3-4 defensive end in franchise history.

Ed Bouchette is reporting that Aaron Smith will not be back with the Steelers in 2012. Unlike Ward, Smith will likely begin, in Chuck Noll's words, his "life's work" as he has indicated that he has zero interest in playing elsewhere, which is most likely a sound decision, given his history of injury.

Smith finished the 2007, 2009, and 2011 seasons on injured reserve. Likewise he sat out most of 2010 injured.

2008 was the last full season where Smith played healthy. Its no concidence that that was season in which the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII that year.

Chris Kemoeatu Also Cut

Ed Bouchetee is also reporting that the Steelers will cut Chris Kemoeatu. Kemoeatu was as sixth round pick in the 2005 draft. Possessing incredible size, Kemoeatu always tantalized.

However, he did not start until the 2008 season, after Alan Fanaca’s departure, and did a serviceable job as a starter over the next four seasons.

However by 2011 poor play and inane penalties landed Kemoeatu on the bench, and his release was widely anticipated.

With these latest moves, the Steelers have freed between 8 and 10 million dollars from the salary cap, which will allow them to sign their draft picks and give them a shot at resigning their own players and perhaps players from outside the organization.

Casey’s Turn at Bat?

If reports are correct, the Steelers have yet to finish their house cleaning. It is generally assumed that either James Farrior or Larry Foote will be waived in the coming days and, although Kevin Colbert’s comments at the scouting combine might indicate otherwise, Casey Hampton’s name has been mentioned as a possible cut.

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Steelers Report Card vs. Browns at Heinz Field

The Steelers Thrusday Night matchup was not shown here in Buenos Aires, so we'd like to thank Tony Defeo for doing this week's report card. You can read Tony's work regularly on Behind the Steel Curtain.

Quarterbacks
What more can be said about Ben Roethlisberger? Just when we all thought he couldn't enhance his reputation as one of the toughest players in the league, he outdoes himself by returning to play in the second half after leaving late in the first half with a very serious ankle injury. I thought Roethlisberger played a great game, and if not for the injury and many miscues by his teammates, may have had an even more impressive night than his line of 16/21 for 280, two touchdown passes and an interception. Grade: A-

Receivers
Antonio Brown and Company were making it look like it was going to be an easy game of Pitch and Catch between them and Roethlisberger over the better part of the first two drives to start the game. But then two reliable veterans--Hines Ward and Heath Miller--fumbled the football away on successive trips inside the red zone and it seemed to take the zip out of the passing game at that point, and it was a while before things got back on track. All-in-all, though, a solid performance by the receivers as a whole. Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace haven't connected on a deep ball in a while, but I believe Wallace's presence is the best thing to happen to the development of the other young receivers. Brown had 5 catches for 151 yards and salted things away with his 79 yard touchdown catch and run with under three minutes left. Grade: B.

Running Backs
On paper, the running backs did OK if not great last night against the league's 31st ranked rush defense -- Mendenhall, Redman and Moore rushed for a combined 126 yards on 26 carries--but there were those four stuffs of Mendenhall from inside the two yard line early in the 4th quarter. Mendenhall is normally a pretty decent goal line back, but he was running too straight up and down during that critical sequence of plays. It's hard to say what may have happened if Mendenhall would have had some early cracks at the goal line, but thanks to those red zone turnovers, we never got to find out. Grade: C

Offensive line
The running game averaged 4.6 yards a carry, and Roethlisberger was only sacked one unfortunate costly time--and it was a coverage sack--but the group didn't get a great push on the infamous goal line failure (not all the blame was on Mendenhall's straight up style), and those penalties, man, they were drive killers. Marcus Gilbert had two false start penalties, and Chris Kemoeatu was a real buzz kill with two holding penalties and a hands to the face infraction. Just when it looked like the coaching staff had finally had enough of Kemoeatu, Maurkice Pouncey suffered a high ankle sprain, and now, it looks like the staff may have to deal with Kemo's undisciplined style for at least a couple of games. Grade: D+

Defensive Line
The Browns had some success rushing in the first half (mostly on a 28 yard draw play on 3rd and 20), but things settled down in the second half, and Cleveland really couldn't get much going on offense. I thought Cam Heyward played a solid game while filling in for an injured Ziggy Hood. Bottom line, the Browns only rushed for 98 yards, and the defense had two pretty impressive stands at the beginning and the end of the game, so things couldn't have been too bad up front. Grade: B.

Linebackers
There was the good: Larry Foote and James Farrior combined to stop Peyton Hills on 4th and goal on Cleveland's first drive of the game, and Jason Worilds recorded two sacks while filling in for Lamarr Woodley. There was the bad: Lawrence Timmons looked very outclassed while covering Browns' tight end Evan Moore on his 33 yard catch on the first drive of the game. And then there was the ugly: James Harrison and James Farrior were both flagged for personal fouls committed on Colt McCoy. There was enough good stuff to outweigh the bad, but I'd hate to think what the results may have been with a more experienced quarterback. Grade: C+

Secondary
Troy Polamalu recorded his first interception of the year, and for the second time in the last four games, William Gay made a crucial interception when he picked off McCoy in the end zone. I can't ignore the fact that the NFL Network pointed out Polamalu gambling and being out of position a couple of times, but you have to take the good with the bad with number 43, and I never got the sense that McCoy was ever fully capable of exploiting the unit. Grade: B

Special Teams
Nothing to write home about, and maybe that's a good thing. The Steelers were unable to return a punt the entire game, mainly due to Cleveland's punter doing a great job of angling his kicks deep and out of bounds, but Joshua Cribbs was barely heard from all night, and to me, that's the most important part. Grade: C

Coaching
Didn't notice any real coaching errors, and when your franchise quarterback is hobbled, your Pro Bowl center is out with a high ankle sprain, and your young defensive end must leave the game with a groin injury, sometimes you just have to survive and get out of dodge with a win. I didn't even have a problem with Tomlin going for it on 4th down early in the 4th quarter. I know the Steelers didn't make it, but I wasn't too worried about the Browns mounting any kind of serious offense from their own one yard line. Grade: C+

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Doug Legursky Starts, Kemoeatu Benched

Its been said that Mike Tomlin is a mix of Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll.

Noll, for all his well earned reputation as a demanding, hard-driving coach, could be an old softy when it came to benching or cutting his veterans. (See the Dwaine Board story that Ed Bouchette trots out each and every time the Steelers cut a young defender).

Cowher, on the other hand, could sometimes be callous. Levon Kirkland’s departure was common knowledge to many in the Steelers organization long before it happened, and Kirkland himself discovered the news from Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette.

On this front, Tomlin it appears is indeed a mix of the two. During the 2009 mid-season meltdown Tomlin promised/threatened all important roster changes.

Steel Curtain Rising even reflected on how this meant so much more than would were it to occur in an organization like the Washington Redskins.

Then his changes amounted to playing Joe Burnette a few extra snaps in an awful loss at the Mistake by the Lake.

Two years later, Tomlin is taking a decidely different approach. He's not mentioning much about personnel changes to the press, but he certainly isn't shy about making them.

Heads are Rolling

Bryant McFadden started the year at corner, went out due to injury, and now plays special teams. Chris Hoke played quite well in relief of Casey Hampton until he too got hurt. Enter Steve McLendon, and Hoke no longer dresses.

And of course, as we know, Hines Ward now finds himself deep inside the Steelers depth chart.

After starting the year as a glaring liability, the return of Max Starks and a break in the constant stream of injuries, the offensive line has seen some stability and some improvement.

However, stability alone is not what interests Mike Tomlin. Tomlin apparently isn’t satisfied with the line’s over all play, and has made another change, as Doug Legursky returns from injury and claims Chris Kemoeatu’s left guard spot as a consequence.

Legursky started the season at right guard and struggled at times (as did every member of the unit.) But injuries forced him into the left guard spot and he played well.

Kemoeatu’s play has always been inconsistent, and his penchant for idiotic penalties has hurt the team on a number of occaisions.

Mike Tomlin has apparently seen enough. He’s dead serious about trying to put together another Super Bowl run, and he’s showing he’s not afraid to upset the apple cart, ruffle a few feathers, or relegate the offensive line’s highest paid player to the bench in his quest to bring home Lombardi Number Seven.

Good for him.

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Casey Hampton, Chris Kemoeatu, Aaron Smith Out for Titans Game

Perhaps reporters should conserve ink (and pixels) by reporting on who is playing for the Steelers vs. the Titans.

Because the injury list is horrendously long.

James Harrison is of course out with an orbital fracture. So is Aaron Smith. Chris Kemoeatu is out. So is Casey Hampton.

Rashard Mendenhall is listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury. Hamstrings generally do not heal quickly, and a hamstring would seem to be a bigger issue for a running back than say, a lineman (which isn’t to say it would be insignificant for the lineman.) Don't expect Mendenhall to play.

Ben Roethlisberger is going to suit up using his special protective boot.

Chris Scott Returns, via Practice Squad

The Steelers 2010 5th round draft pick Chris Scott was a roster casualty in the wake of Max Starks return. This was a shame, because the Steelers need to develop young lineman.

Scott returned to the Steelers today, via the Practice Squad. Welcome back Chris.

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Kemoeatu Activated, Harris Waived

The Pittsburgh Steelers made two roster moves in the wake of their preseason loss to the Washington Redskins. They activated starting guard Chris Kemoeatu, who had opened camp on the physically unable to perform list. To make room for Kemoeatu they cut 2009 7th round draft pick Sunny Harris.



Chris Scott had been drawing rave reviews throughout camp and was believed to have a serious shot at one of the starting guard positions. But Scott performed poorly in the preseason opener.



Perhaps the Steelers had planned to activate Kemoeatu all along at this point in training camp, but with Kemoeatu active Chris Scott will get fewer chances to start.



The decision to waive Sunny Harris likely spells the end to this young man's NFL dream. Drafted in 2009, Harris impressed a lot of folks in the Steelers organization, and Ed Bouchette even drew comparisons between the decision to cut Harris to the Steelers decision to cut Dwayne Board back in 1979.



Carolina prevented the Steelers form keeping Harris on the practice squad, but he did not last long on Carolina's active roster. The Steelers brought him back after Aaron Smith's injury, but cut him again in training camp last year.



Harris popped around a few practice squads last year until returning to Pittsburgh's when Aaron Smith went on IR again.



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