Steelers 2013 Roster Analysis, Defense: Safety and Cornerback Are Not Secondary....

Steel Curtain Rising's analysis of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 roster concludes with a look at the secondary.

Starters:  Cortez Allen, Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu, and Ryan Clark
Back Ups:  William Gay, Shamarko Thomas, Robert Golden, Damon Cromartie-Smith, Curtis Brown, and Antwon Blake

Strengths: Cortez Allen looks to be the real thing, and Troy Polamalu is looking like he's in 2008/2010 form. If either of those two trends are sustained, the turnover dearth could be reversed in 2013

Weaknesses:  Like other areas of the team, proven depth is thin in the secondary, particularly at safety.

The Skinny: The Steelers gambled that they could get more bang for their buck by letting Keenan Lewis walk, and promoting Cortez Allen; they also made the unheard of move of trading a future draft pick to get Shamarko Thomas, who looked good in preseason. On paper this until looks like its ready to excel, but several unproven players must execute. If they do, good things can happen, assuming that Troy Polamalu doesn't get hurt....

Click here and scroll around to read analysis of other position areas on the Steelers 2013 Roster.

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Video Highlights of Steelers 26-20 Preseason Loss to the Chiefs

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost 26-20 in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs, assuring them the first losing preseason record of the Mike Tomlin era, for whatever that little factoid is worse.

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, (and no fan of watching things on the computer) Steel Curtain Rising could not see the game, but as always we’re happy to bring you highlights. Watch them while you can, because Roger Goodell’s YouTube police seem to be more aggressive than ever.



The results in preseason are of course meaningless. Its performance that counts. In that light Steelers Nation is faced with a half full, half empty situation.

On the plus side…

• Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp going 13-19-166, hitting Antonio Brown for 49 yards, Emmanuel Sanders for 24 yardsand Jonathan Dwyer for a 15 yard touchdown
• Markus Wheaton also looked strong with 3 catches for 54 yards including a 34 yard catch
• Felix Jones staked a claim to a roster spot, leading the team in rushing
• Cortez Allen roared back to life, leading the team in tackles
• Alan Baxter staked his claim to a roster spot registering 2 sacks
• Cameron Heyward and Ziggy Hood both registered sacks

On the negative side…

• Special teams were atrocious, giving up a 109 return for a touchdown and seeing a blocked field goal
• Despite playing Kelvin Beachum as a roaming tight end, Ben Rothlisberger was sacked twice and under pressure
• The Steelers were penalized 9 times for 98 yards, many of which ensured that the Cheifs stayed in the game
• The starting defense allowed Alex Smith to look sharp and tie up the score at half time
• Neither Jonathan Dwyer nor Baron Batch could make headway rushing the ball (no wonder why Batch was cut)

The other big news of the night was the injury to first round pick Jarvis Jones, but it has been reported that the tests he underwent were negative.

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Steelers Cut Hagans and McNeal, Sign Alexander and Smith

The Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to play their first preseason game but they continue to make roster moves, albeit at the bottom of the roster.

Gone are defensive end Cordial Hagans (not to be confused with Clark Haggans, we assure you) and running back Curits McNeal. Taking their places are running back Alvester Alexander and cornerback Devin Smith.

Of the two, Smith would appear to have a better shot at making the roster, or the practice squad for that matter, as the Steelers are facing a series of injuries at cornerback beginning with starter Cortez Allen. In addition to Allen, who had minor knee surgery, Curtis Brown has been injured, Demarcus Van Dyke has been out as well as rookie Terry Hawthorne.

Smith arrives to the NFL after making second-team All Big Ten at Wisconsin. He caught on as an undrafted rookie free agent with the the Dallas Cowboys, but he did not show Jason Garrett enough and was cut last week.

In contrast, this is Alexander's second summer of making the rounds of NFL training camps. Alexander played his college ball at Wisconsin and has spent time with the Bears, Colts, and the Titans.

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Batiste Signing Begs the Question – Will We Be Singing “Where did you go Maxwell Starks, Steelers Nation Turns Its Lonely eyes to you….”

It is far, far too early for Steelers Nation to begin panicking, but the injuries the Steelers have suffered thus far in training camp reveal just how little margin for error the Steelers have left themselves in 2013.

In wrapping up the Steelers 2013 off season, Steel Curtain Rising looked back at the gloom and doom predictions and preceded free agency, and complemented Kevin Colbert for pulling off the equivalent of a salary cap “Loaves and Fishes” miracle.

The premise was that, while the Steelers might have had to swallow hard watch stars on the rise like Mike Wallace and Keenan Lewis depart for greener pastures, Colbert had positioned Pittsburgh to get the most bang for its salary cap buck.

While that analysis holds true, success in such a maneuver depends on some very calculated risks.

Steelers Operating Without Safety Net

As Bob Labriola of the Steelers Digest pointed out, the Steelers in many ways are entering 2013 without much of a safety net.

• Doug Legursky a staple “next man up” philosophy on the interior offensive line is in Buffalo
• Max Starks, who bailed out the line in both 2008 and again in 2011 is in San Diego
• Instead of Keenan Lewis, to fill in for injured Cortez Allen, the Steelers instead must rely on William Gay

In no area are the Steelers more exposed than on offensive line.

While the Cortez Allen’s injury is believed to be minor and should heal well before the season, in addition to Gay, the Steelers can still count on Curtis Brown and Josh Victorian, even if Demarcus Van Dyke and 5th round draft pick Terry Hawthorne are out with injuries of unknown severity.

They also have 4th round pick Shamarko Thomas, whose versatility is already on display (in camp at least):

With Cortez Allen out and William Gay moving up to LCB, look for #Steelers to use rookie Shamarko Thomas in the nickel defense
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) August 2, 2013

The loss of Nik Embertate is drawing a lot of attention, some of that is simply because of the nature of the NFL news cycle. Fans have long demonstrated a nearly insatiable appetite for news about the NFL, and in the age of smart phones and tablets, they have the means to get it.

Websites respond in kind with “content.”

But it goes beyond that....

Steelers Tempting Fate with the Offensive Line?

....The Steelers Achilles heal in 2011 and 2012 was neither their secondary nor their inability to create sacks and force turnovers on defense. No, it was the instability on their offensive line.

In Marcus Gilbert, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Mike Adams the Steelers have given themselves a potentially strong starting front five. Kelvin Beachum gives them another solid, young back up. John Malecki also has some game experience and adds stability to the inside.

Depth gets thin, quickly at tackle. Guy Whimper is the only player with real NFL experience, and Whimper’s ability has been savaged from every where from Behind the Steel Curtain to the Steel City Insider.

The hope was that Embertate would show enough to be an option their, if not on game days then certainly on the practice squad. Mike Golic Jr. was brought in as a tackle, but word his he looks better at guard.

Jim Wexell wrote glowingly about Pittsburgh-area native Mike Farrell and of course the Steelers have Joe Long, Jake Long’s younger brother.

• But the Steelers may have tipped their hand in signing D’Anthony Batiste

Batiste has played for 3 teams in six NFL seasons and been cut loose after his only extended stretch as a starter. Yet, as Neal Coolong has observed, he’s out performed Whimper….

The injury streak suffered by the Steelers at offensive line has been uncanny. The Steelers had some hard salary cap calculations to make.

• Did they roll the dice and calculate that lightning can’t strike 3 times?

Too Early to Start Missing Max Starks? 

Steelers Nation rightly cringes at the thought of either Adams or Gilbert falling injured. The decision to sign Batiste signals that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert do too.

“Where did you go Maxwell Starks Steelers Nation turns it lonely eyes to you…” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as the famous bar from Mrs. Robinson, but hopefully those bars will not be hummed on the South Side this fall.

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Cortez Allen Undergoes Surgery - Still Too Early to Hit the Panic Button....

As the Steelers 2013 training camp approaches the one week mark, injuries continue to lead the news, as Cortez Allen underwent minor surgery on his knee.

#Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen has had minor knee surgery.
— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) August 2, 2013

Dale Lolley also reported that it is his understanding that Allen suffers from a meniscus issue, although he could not confirm the news.

If that is the case, meniscus injures are relatively minor compared to ligament damage, and Mike Tomlin has said that he expects Allen to miss “a few weeks.”

Not Time to Hit the Panic Button Yet, But…

While the Steelers likely lost one of its most promising 2013 undrafted rookie free agents when offensive lineman Nik Embernate was carted off the field with what looked to be a season-ending injury, Pittsburgh is in better shape than some of the other teams around the league (see Dennis Pitta of the Ravens).

Allen has had 2 years in Dick LeBeau’s defense, and will likely return to practice well before the season opener.

• Still, for a team ravaged by injuries in both 2011 and 2012, the trend that is forming is not positive.

William Gay has assumed Allen’s slot at nickel back, and Allen’s injury presents and opportunity for Curtis Brown.

The Steelers selected Curtis Brown a in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and when Brown entered the NFL he was seen as more of a finished product than Allen, who the Steelers drafted in the 4th round in 2011. But while Brown has excelled on special teams, he also struggled last year when forced into the starting line up vs. San Diego (again, did anyone look good that day?)

Josh Victorian is also a likely beneficiary, as with Demarcus Van Dyke out he too will get more playing time.

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Steelers Cut Luke Ingram, Sign Buddy Jackson

On man’s tragedy is another man’s opportunity in the NFL and the Steelers are no exception.

Training camp is not yet a week old and the Steelers have already cut Nigel Malone and Omar Hunter, and today they made additional cuts, parting ways with long snapper Luke Ingram. As “Paper Champions” of Behind the Steel Curtain observed, veteran Steelers long snapper Greg Warren will sleep soundly tonight.

The Steelers waived Ingram to claim former Pitt DB Buddy Jackson off of waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs. Jackson made it into the league as a undrafted rookie free agent with the Indianapolis Colts, but got waived in camp. The Washington Redskins carried him on their roster for the last 7 games of the 2012 campaign.

Jackson is the second defensive back the Steelers have added this week, when earlier they signed Ryan Steed, who spent time in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints.

Things change quickly in the NFL. Just one week ago when the Steelers began training camp, defensive back was not considered a need, but rather one of their deepest positions. However, cornerback Demarcus Van Dyke, himself fighting for roster spot, is out with a mild-to serious knee injury and Cortez Allen is out with an injury thought to be more minor. 5th round draft pick Terry Hawthorne is also out with an injury.

Presumably Steed and Jackson were brought on to be training camp bodies, but Mike Tomlin and Carnell Lake will give both men a fair shot at earning a roster spot.

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Back to School: 3 R's to Guide the Steelers at Saint Vincents: Retool, Recalibrate, and Refocus

It is fitting that the Pittsburgh Steelers still hold training camp at a college, because this franchise needs to concentrate on the 3 R’s while at St. Vincents.

Of course the 3 R’s in question are not reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic but Retool, Recalibrate, and Refocus. While each of the Steelers "3 R's" represents an area of individual urgency, all of them are interrelated.

Steelers First "R" for 2013 Training Camp:  Retool

The Steelers personnel philosophy since opening Heinz Field has been simple:  Keep the core together.

• Victories in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII vindicate management’s M.O.

But a shift away from this philosophy began after 2009 (see the departures of Willie Parker and Deshea Townshend) and has continued in fits and starts (see the return of Foote and Randle El in ’10) since then.

• Now the Steelers strategic personnel pivot has reached its end-game.

Whether the draftees and rookie free agents of 2012 and 2013 can win starting jobs and roster spots is now a moot question. They will win them because there are no veterans left to hold them back. Max Starks is in San Diego, Willie Colon is in New York, James Harrison is in Cincinnati.

The question now is can players like Jason Worilds, David DeCastro, Cortez Allen, and Mike Adams produce at high enough level for the Steelers make a Lombardi run while Ben Roethlisberger retains some youth (and health).

• The Steelers have been here before.

Precisely 30 summers ago a fair contingent of the Super Steelers had retired, and Pittsburgh found itself with some aging, yet viable, stars mixed with untested youth.

We now know that there were too many Keith Gary’s, Walter Abercrombie’s and not enough Tunch Ilkin’s, Brian Hinkle’s and Louis Lipps for the Steelers to snatch the elusive “One For the Thumb.”

But in 2013 Mike Tomlin has two advantages that Chuck Noll lacked in 1983:

• Terry Bradshaw was 35 and Ben Roethlisberger is 31
• Free agency, yes, free agency

The benefit of a younger franchise quarterback is self-evident. Free agency’s is not, but perhaps it should be.

Historically Steelers Nation has had a hate-hate relationship with free agency, viewing it has a force that has robbed Pittsburgh of talented players as they reach their prime. And that of course has happened.

But free agency also gives the Steelers the ability to divest itself of players who are not up to par or might be good but don’t fit their system. In practical terms this means that Mike Tomlin can get rid of Ryan Mundy whereas Chuck Noll was stuck with Lupe Sanchez.

The story of the Steelers 2013 off season was Kevin Colbert’s attempt to get the most bang out of the Steelers salary cap buck.

They made hard choices, saying good bye to tenured veterans and promising youngsters alike. At St. Vincent’s this summer Mike Tomlin's challenge is to simultaneously develop and mold that talent into a winning roster.

Steelers Second "R" for 2013 Training Camp:  Recalibrate

We all know the story of the Steelers 2012 season.

• When the offense was effective, the defense lacked
• When the defense began shutting down opponents, the offense imploded

Injuries were at the core of some of this ineffectiveness and inconsistency in 2012, but not all of it.

On offense Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley kept denying friction existed between the two of them until the Steelers Digest itself outed them, labeling the improvement of the Roethlisberger-Haley relationship as the off season imperative.

• On defense the issues are both trickier and more challenging.

Statistically the Steelers have fielded a dominating defense each of the last two seasons. But statistics can deceive. For as strong as the Steelers were in limiting yards, taking away the big play, and winning on third downs turnovers and sacks remained in short supply in both ’11 and ’12.

And this was also the case for the Steelers in 2009.

• There’s a pattern here, and one that reveals a deficiency that Dick LeBeau must rectify.

It won't be an easy task, and a single example suffices to show this.

The Steelers defense has been predicated on stopping the run. Casey Hampton took away the middle of the field almost single handedly, and James Harrison, for all of his hell raising in the backfield, was phenomenal vs. the run.

Stopping the run has been cited as a weak point for both Jason Worilds and Cameron Heyward – two potential starters on the front seven.

Dick LeBeau has a delicate balance to strike.

Steelers Third "R" for 2013 Training Camp:  Refocus

Friend and Behind the Steel Curtain scribe (full disclosure I also write for BTSC) Ivan Cole recently submitted were that were it not for a fumble in Oakland and one in Dallas that the Steelers would have finished in a three way tie for the AFC North crown.

• That’s a tantalizing hypothetical, as success or failure in an NFL season often does boil down to a handful of plays.

But the picture in Pittsburgh in 2012 was far more complex. Several times in 2012 in the comments supporting the Steelers post-game report cards it was observed that coaches shouldn’t be held responsible for fumbles and inopportune penalties.

• And that’s true.

Neither Mike Tomlin nor Amos Jones forced Antonio Brown to fumble in Dallas, just as momentum swung to Pittsburgh.

But Brown’s fumble wasn’t an isolated incident. There were myriad lapses vs. Oakland. The Cleveland road game was a comedy of errors, and vs. Chargers nearly everyone wearing black played just like they’d exited shock treatment. (Heck Mendenhall didn’t even grace the team with his presence that day.)

It is ironic, but not coincidental that the Steelers followed their best game of the season, the backup-powered road victory over Baltimore, with their worst, at home against San Diego where they did their best to make Norv Turner and Philip Rivers look like a modern day Air Croyle

• Such erratic performance generally boils down a lack of focus.

Fortunately focus is something that can be taught, practiced and bred into a football team. Chuck Noll called it "Singleness of Purpose." Neither Greg Lloyd nor Merril Hoge were gifted with natural athletic talent. But both men became household names in Steelers Nation because they with competing on every play in every practice, did extra reps and always put in the necessary physical and mental preparation.

A generation later, Hines Ward and James Harrison followed their example.

• And so it must be with 90 men the Pittsburgh Steelers have brought with them to Latrobe.

Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher both referred to training camp as the time to lay a team’s foundation. Mike Tomlin is no different. The summer the Steelers spent at St. Vincient's in 2013 needs to be a time where they lay a foundation based on fundamentals and focus.

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Steelers Announce 2013 Training Camp Schedule

Breath easy Steelers Nation. We are about to exit “The Void.” Thanks to free agency, the draft, and the miracle of the internet, true NFL off season runs from mid-May to mid-July.

• But even the darkest night is broken by the dawn.

And the first signs of dawn came yesterday as the Pittsburgh Steelers announced their 2013 training camp schedule.

Those fortunate enough to think of traveling to St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe for a chance to shake Ben Roethlisberger’s hand, tell Troy Polamalu you love him, time yourself in the 40 against Lawrence Timmons or Ike Taylor, and see if Cortez Allen is the the real deal check on LaMarr Woodley’s weight, you can now begin to make plans.

The Steelers begin training camp on Friday, July 26 and fans can begin attending practices the very next day, although you’ll have to settle for watching Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders playing “football in shorts.”

It won’t be until July 29th that you’ll see Jason Worilds and Steve McLendon strap on full pads to justify their status as heirs apparent to legends like James Harrison and Casey Hampton.

As always, the Steelers will hold two night practices. The first at at 7 p.m. Friday on  Aug. 2 under the lights of Latrobe Stadium. The second will be 12 days later on fields of St. Vincents and that will start at 5:30 p.m.

The Steelers will break camp on August 18th, and conduct the balance of preseason preparations on the South Side.

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 full training camp schedule is as follows:

Friday, July 26 -- Players report; campus closed
Saturday, July 27 -- (Helmets and shorts)
Sunday, July 28 -- (Helmets and shorts)
Monday, July 29 – Full Pads
Tuesday, July 30 -- Players off; campus closed
Wednesday, July 31 – Full Pads
Thursday, Aug. 1 – Full Pads
Friday, Aug 2 -- Night practice at Latrobe Stadium, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 3 – Full Pads
Sunday, Aug. 4 – Full Pads
Monday, Aug. 5 – Full Pads
Tuesday, Aug. 6 -- Players off; campus closed
Wednesday, Aug. 7 – Full Pads
Thursday, Aug. 8 – Full Pads
Friday, Aug. 9 -- Campus closed
Saturday, Aug. 10 -- Steelers preseason opener vs. N.Y. Giants at Heinz Field
Sunday, Aug. 11 -- Players off; campus closed
Monday, Aug. 12 – Full Pads
Tuesday, Aug. 13 -- Players off; campus closed
Wednesday, Aug. 14 -- Evening practice at SVC, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 15 – Full Pads
Friday, Aug. 16 – Full Pads
Saturday, Aug. 17 – Full Pads
Sunday, Aug. 18 -- Steelers break camp, return to South Side; campus closed

The Steelers afternoon practices are open to the public, unless indicated above and they run from 3-5.

Just Do It - If You Live Close Enough, Go to Latrobe

Once upon a time I habored fantasies of making a pilgrimage to the fields of St. Vincients. I had the flexibilty in my work schedule (and then some) to make the trip. Could have even driven up and back in a day as budget for a hotel would have been tight.

• For one reason or another, I didn’t go.

That was when I lived in Maryland. Now of course I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Going to see Steelers training camp really is a fantasy now.

Granted, the two summers in question were that of 1998 and 1999 – two of the Steelers worst seasons of the post-Chuck Noll era. By that point ‘90’s studs like Kevin Greene, Yancey Thigpen, Greg Lloyd and Rod Woodson were gone, and other stalwarts like Dermontti Dawson and Carnell Lake were on their way out.

• Still, I would have liked to have gone and regret passing on the opportunity.

This may be your last chance to see the likes of Ryan Clark and Brett Keisel up close. So if you get the chance, take it.

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Steelers Draft Terry Hawthorne, Cornerback from Illinois in 5th Round of NFL Draft

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers do not lack for bodies at cornerback, they are taking no chances drafting cornberback Terry Hawthorne of Illinos in the 5th round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Carnell Lake compared Hawthorne to incumbent Steelers starter Ike Taylor, although he also characterized him as a “fast raw prospect.”

Hawthorne stands at 6’ and weighs in at 190 pounds, here is a brief highlight sketch of him from the Illinois OSU Game (available as of 4/27/13):



Joining the Steelers as a 5th round pick in no way guarantees Terry Hawthorne a roster spot. He will need to earn one. Ike Taylor is of course going no where and neither is projected starter Cortez Allen, nor will the Steelers cut William Gay after resigning him.

That means that Hawthorne will need to beat out Courtney Brown, Justin King, Josh Victorian, DeMarcus Van Dyke and Isaiah Green.

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Steelers Draft Needs: Cornerback

Unless injuries or some other unknown intervenes, the Steelers 2013 corner three-some should be Ike Taylor, Cortez Allen, and William Gay.

• Yes, the Steelers will miss Keenan Lewis there, but that’s not a bad first three corners.

Behind them they have Courtney Brown, Josh Victorian, DeMarcus Van Dyke, and Justin King, all of whom have some game experience. Isaiah Green is also on their roster.

• Nonetheless, the Steelers cannot ignore cornerback in the 2013 NFL Draft

Certainly the Steelers long and short term needs at corner are less severe than at other position areas. But Ike Taylor isn’t going to play forever, and last year injuries took the Steelers to the point where they were playing their 5th and 6th corners.

With the passing game evolved to what it is in today’s NFL, the Steelers can simply ill afford to ignore a quality corner, especially if one falls to them early in the draft, including the first round, however unlikely that may be.

There’s another reason to think long term here. Playing behind Taylor are two other thirty somethings, by the names of Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu.

The first ability that Father Time typically robs an NFL player of is his speed.

• Biological realities all but dictate that Ike Taylor will have “slowed a step” by 2015 if not by 2014.

If and moment arrives, and if by that time that Ryan Clark and/or Polamalu need to begin what Chuck Noll called “Life’s Work” then it is completely feasible that Taylor might still have enough speed to finish his career at safety, the way Rod Woodson did (and should have done in Pittsburgh, but that’s another story.)

And that’s why if fate allows a blue-chip corner to fall to the Steelers in the 2013 NFL Draft they’d be wise to take him.

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Steelers Lose Lewis to Saints, Mundy to Giants

Now it starts to hurt. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost Mike Wallace and Rashard Mendenhall in rapid succession on days one and two of free agency. Both moves hurt the team, but both were expected.

• Day three brought the defections of Keenan Lewis to the New Orleans Saints and Ryan Mundy to the New York Giants. 

Keenan Lewis’ departure was some what expected, particularly after the Steelers resigned William Gay, after William Gay’s release from Pittsburgh West, aka the Arizona Cardinals.

But it Keenan Lewis defection nonetheless hurts and hurts badly. After languishing deep down the Steelers bench in 2009 and 2010, and looking almost every part the misfit, Keenan Lewis blossomed under the tutelage of Carnell Lake.

In 2011 he rose to third down back and in 2012 he became a starter and with each week he seemed to surpass himself in his ability to defend passes. Indeed, by year’s end Lewis led the league in passes defensed.

• This is normally the kind of player the Steelers would lock up to a long term deal

But circumstances are not quite normal, Art Rooney II’s protests to the contrary.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in salary cap purgatory and are trying to avoid salary cap hell – a situation where management would be required to essentially liquate the team to stay under the cap, and their ability to offer long term, big bonus deals is limited.

By all accounts Keenan Lewis’ contract in New Orleans was not break the bank level. But the Steelers are already projecting Cortez Allen as next year’s starter and hence the team’s next big investment at corner. On the opposite side the team has big money invested in Ike Taylor, who is aging.

In a perfect world they’d lock Lewis down with an eye towards starting him and Allen in 2014 or 2015.

Instead, the Steelers calculate that the trio of Allen, Gay and Taylor can give them more bang for their salary cap buck in 2013 while hoping for the best after that.

What Mundy's Move Means

Ryan Mundy’s decision to sign with the New York Giants was a minor surprise, but as mentioned in our free agent focus article on Ryan Mundy, its perhaps time for the Steelers to cut their losses with Mundy, who saw himself demoted behind veteran Will Allen.

The move nonetheless robs the Steelers of the final member of their 2008 Draft Class, something which Steel Curtain Rising will be focusing on in the near future.

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Keenan Lewis Now Likely to Leave Pittsburgh as Free Agent

If William Gay’s return to the Steelers signals Keenan Lewis’ exit, Lewis will leave Pittsburgh haven proven two things:

• While history often serves as a useful guide, those who live in the present ultimately write their own history
• Position coaches can and do make a difference in the NFL

Keenan Lewis was one of three third round picks from the Steelers in the 2009 NFL Draft along with Mike Wallace and Kraig Urbik. Yet, it was fifth round pick Joe Burnett that got all of the attention and playing time in what was one of the most trying times for a Steelers secondary in recent memory.

Injuries kept Lewis out of all but three games in that season, yet he came back strong in training camp the following summer in Latrobe. He looked so go that it was said he might challenge for a starting job – until he actually got his audition in Denver.

Lewis flopped badly and took out his frustrations on a sign in the Broncos locker room, an act which Mike Tomlin forced him to pay for. 2010 was tough for Keenan Lewis, he only played in nine games and then mainly on special teams in spite of Bryant McFadden’s struggles at corner.

Keenan Lewis Writes His Own History

By the summer of 2011 most of Steelers Nation had given up on Lewis. History was also against him. A quick survey of Steelers 3rd round picks showed that if they hadn’t shown “something” by the end of their second season, they never would (click here for the comparison between Keenan Lewis and previous third round picks).

A number of Steelers coaches had apparently also come to that conclusion. Fortunately for both the franchise and Lewis, newly installed defensive backs coach Carnell Lake wasn’t one of them.

Lake allowed Lewis to start with a clean slate, and Lewis rewarded his coach’s faith. By the time the Steelers had broken camp at St. Vincent’s Lewis had shown he could play, and by beginning of the season he’d earned a spot in the 3rd down rotation.

Lewis didn’t come on gang busters in 2011, but played well, breaking up passes and making a game-saving interception on Monday night vs. Kansas City.

William Gay’s departure to Pittsburgh West aka Arizona opened a starting spot and Keenan Lewis fought through injury to fend of a fierce challenge from Cortez Allen and won the starting spot.

Again, Lewis rewarded the coach’s faith in him by transforming himself into a one man pass defending machine. Week after week Lewis seemed to make odds-defying pass break up after odds-defying pass break up. By season’s end Lewis had 23 passes defensed – that’s ten more than Ike Taylor and only two less than Taylor’s career best in 2005 (source Steelers.com).

• Not bad for a player labeled a bust after his “sophomore” NFL season.

Lewis benefited from what my friend Ivan Cole from Behind the Steel Curtain has called the “Lake Effect.” Credit Carnell Lake for having the faith and the ability to teach Lewis to play corner in NFL. But Lewis couldn’t have done so without ignoring the naysayers and simply focusing on playing football.

Do the Steelers Have the Cash to Keep Keenan…?

The downside is that Keenan Lewis is budding into a top NFL cornerback just as he’s reaching free agency. In the past, the Steelers have made it a point to try to sign players like Lewis before they hit the open market.

They haven’t done that here. Last summer such a move would have been too risky, and now the Steelers need to guard their salary cap dollars closely and Kevin Colbert has indicated Lewis will be allowed test the waters.

Prior to William Gay’s return, what was to happen to Lewis was anyone’s guess.

• Dejan Kovacevic of the Tribune Review nailed it when he said the Steelers need to pick a number for Lewis and stick to it

The same logic holds true now, except that the number the Steelers pick will be far, far lower.

• One of the clear lessons of the NFL’s salary cap age is that you can’t over pay.

Ideally Lewis can and would be an asset to the Steelers for years to come. But for as strong as Lewis has come on, Cortez Allen has come on even stronger, and could conceivably wrest the starting job from Lewis.

There’s no reason to pay a back up starter money if you don’t have to, and the Steelers are paying William Gay back up money.

Keeping Keenan Lewis would be a great success story for Carnell Lake and the Steelers secondary, but hard to imagine Lewis will not command an average salary that trends towards 8 figures on the open market.

That’s simply going to be out of the Steelers price range.

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Like B-Mac Before Him, William Gay Returns to The Steelers via Pittsburgh West

Who says that lighting does not strike twice?

Bryant McFadden was drafted by the Steelers in 2005 worked his way into the line up, and by the time he was playing out his restricted free agent tender he was alternating as a starter.

Following Super Bowl XLIII, McFadden departed to Pittsburgh West aka the Arizona Cardinals.

• A year later McFadden was back with the Steelers, via a draft day trade.

The Steelers drafted William Gay in 2007. He worked his way into the line up, first alternating with starters, then he won the starting, lost it to McFadden, and then won it back albeit he played in the slot position on 3rd downs.

As a free agent in 2012 William Gay signed with Pittsburgh West….

…Last week the Cardinals cut him, word leaked he was headed to the South Side, and presto he’s a Pittsburgh Steeler again.

Hopefully, however, he will not repeat McFadden’s return performance in Pittsburgh. While McFadden did a respectable job in his only full season as a starter, he struggled in the 2010 playoffs. He got injured in the Debacle at Baltimore and never to return as a starter.

When the Steelers found themselves 25 million over the cap in the 2011 off season, McFadden was one of the first cuts.

Does William Gay’s Return Spell Keenan Lewis' Exit?

The immediate speculation is that William Gay’s return signals the end of Keenan Lewis’ days in Pittsburgh. Lewis, by all accounts, wants to stay in Pittsburgh.

But he will likely command a multi million dollar salary on the open market, and the Steelers are strapped for cap space. Add that to the fact that Lewis will have to hold off Cortez Allen for the starting.

Gerry Dulac reported that William Gay signed for approximately 1.5 million dollars a year – not dirt cheap, but a lot less than Lewis will make.

Time will tell, but the probability of Keenan Lewis playing next year in Pittsburgh just took a hit. And irrespective of how it impacts Keenan Lewis' prospects, William Gay's return could also move James Harrison and/or Willie Colon closer to the exit.

We will soon know.

Thanks for visiting. Click here for the rest of Steel Curtain Rising or here to see our Steelers 2013 Free Agent Focus.

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Steelers 2012 Report Card

From the grade book of a teacher who could never quite decide of his star pupils simply had too many absences due to sickness, under achieved  or was perhaps the victim of over estimation here goes the Pittsburgh Steelers report card for the 2012 Season.

Quarterback:
Steelers management sought to give some tough love to Ben Roethlisberger by showing Bruce Arians the door and bringing in Todd Haley. The question was, could Roethlsiberger get rid of the ball more quickly but still "be Ben?" Through the first 9 games of the season the answer as a "Yes" as in staistical terms Roethlisberger was having an MVP type season. Then came the injury, and not only was Roethlisberger not the same, he threw two interceptions that cost the Steelers two must win games, and Ben's slide at the end hurts his overall grade. Grade:  B-

Running Backs
Rashard Mendenhall began the season unable to play giving a golden opportunity to both Issac Redman and/or Jonathan Dwyer. Neither man sized it, although both were battling injuries themselves. Mendenhall had a chance to reestablish himself upon his return but instead found himself benched and then suspended. All three running backs showed flashes at times and struggled at others, all had issues with ball security. At the end of the day no one back established himself as "the man" and the Steelers offense suffered accordingly. Grade:  C-

Wide Receivers
Perhaps nothing was more disappointing about the 2012 Steelers than "Young Money." Antonio Brown (probably) dropped more passes in 2012 than he did in 2010 and 2011 combined. Mike Wallace made some spectacular plays, stretched the field, but also dropped the ball and admitted he wasn't concentrating at times. Emmanuel Sanders seemed to be quietly laying claim to the role of "go to guy on 3rd" until ball skills and ball security became an issue with him too. Jerricho Cotchery played well, but his opportunities were limited. Plaxico Burress made good on his return, for what it was worth. The only consistent star of this until was Heath Miller, who was heads and shoulders over everyone on the offense week in and week out. Were it not for Miller, this grade would be lower yet.  Grade:  C+

Offensive Line
After years "plug and patch" on offensive line the Steelers invested four premium picks into their offensive line yet still finished the season starting undrafted rookie free agents, 7th rounders, practices squad promotees and veterans they've tried to cast off. Injuries are no excuse. The report card measures performance and results. Neither were consistent in 2012. The offensive line’s performance rose and fell with Willie Colon. Early in the season pass blocking was better, except at critical junctures in games, but run blocking suffered. After Colon settled in guard run blocking improved, only to suffer again after his injury. The line played well at times and was under duress the whole season, but its performance was not that the Steelers needed.  Grade:  C-

Defensive Line
The Steelers rush defense was 6th in the league – a fall from prior standards but something they improved upon as the year progressed. The unit’s leader again was Brett Keisel, who had 4.5 sacks and got better as the year went on. Casey Hampton started out slow, but finished strong. Ziggy Hood remains a disappointment. Measured by pure statistics, Cameron Heyward had half of his productivity in a quarter of the snaps. Steve McLendon made a lot of noise in preseason, and made the most of his opportunities once the games counted. This unit improved as the year went on, but must bear some responsibility for the lack of turnovers.  Grade:  B-

Linebackers
Larry Foote lead the unit in tackles and registered four sacks. While those numbers are good, he struggled in coverage at times and at other times was a step slow on run containment. Still, his job is to get everyone lined up correctly, and with the Steelers finishing number 1 in overall yards, he did something right. James Harrison started of slow but finished the season with a bang, making “splash” plays when they counted, and tied for the sack lead in spite of his injuries. LaMarr Woodley fought hamstring injuries all year and more or less disappeared form the defense late in the season. Jason Worilds did well in relief of Woodley. The class of the unit was Lawrence Timmons, who finally lived up to his potential.  Grade:  B

Secondary
If someone had told you Troy Polamalu would miss half the season but that the Steelers would finish number one against the pass anyway, would you have believed them. The biggest reason for this was the emergence of Keenan Lewis, who seemed to make highlight reel worth pass defenses week in and week out. Ike Taylor struggled early, called out the media for criticizing him, and then went and backed it up by improving. Ryan Clark was a force all over the field. His contributions are under valued. Will Allen proved his worth while Ryan Mundy disappointed. Cortez Allen came on strong at the end of the year. Strong performance from a unit who finished the year with the arrow pointing up.  Grade:  B

Special Teams
Chris Rainey was one of the few bright spots on this until and now he’s gone. And that’s the kind of year its been. Shaun Suisham’s kick offs were deeper than they’ve ever been, and he was far more accurate than anyone in Steelers Nation gave him credit for. Drew Butler was decent, but he left room to improve in terms of length and directional punting. Antonio Brown had some nice returns. His errors were game-changing however. And that’s the tale of this unit. At least two touchdowns were erased by penalties. Numerous long runs got called back. Even more normal runs saw penalties that put the Steelers with their backs to their own goal. Opponents converted two fake punts and partially blocked another. An errant snap cost the Steelers 3 points in a key division game decided by a field goal in over time. All unacceptable. Grade:  D

Coaching
Mike Tomlin graded himself as an 8-8 coach for 2012 and Steel Curtain Rising concurs. There are positives to the 2012 effort which the coaching staff must share credit in. Tomlin's move to improve the offsense with Todd Haley was a wise one, as Haley designed an offense that allowed Ben to be Ben while reducing punishment taken. Likewise, Tomlin and Dick LeBeau started the season with a defense that could not hold leads in the fourth quarter but they managed to reverse that trend by mid season. Certainly return to health of players like Harrison, Polamalu, and Hampton had a role in this, but early in the year there was talk of LeBeau's defense having been solved. No one said that at year's end. And Tomlin'sSteelers are the final team to defeat the defending AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens. The players of course deserve credit for that, but so do the coaches.

However, there are negatives. Tomlin could not prevent his players from riding the roller coaster following the Raven's win, and the horrendous performance vs. San Diego was the result. For all of the talk about "The Standard is the Standard" injuries hurt the Steelers, particuarly late in the season. It may seem harsh to criticize the coaches here but, as Kevin Colbert pointed out, there were teams that lost more starter games to injury than Pittsburgh yet still made the playoffs.

The issue of turnovers, however cannot be ignored, now that the Steelers finished a second year near the bottom of the league in turnovers and sacks. Perhaps its is because of smart coaching that the Steelers, in spite of this absence of "Splash Plays" still finished number one. Fair enough. But take aways and sacks are game changers, and those game changers were in far too short supply too often.

Discipline also is an issue. No, Tomlin is not responsible for the off the field transgressions of players like Rainey and Ta'amu, but on the field and in the locker room discipline was an issue. Rahsard Mendenhall got benched and opted to skip a game -- what if a running back had injured himself in warm ups? Mike Wallace admitted to checking out mentally during portions of games. The Steelers committed a host of penalties many of which were pre-snap penalities -- ones that good coaching can reduce to a minimum.

And of course special teams remains a glaring issue. We may never know why Tomlin chose to fire Al Everestt, but Amos Jones was clearly not up to the task. Amos Jones is now set to follow Bruce Arians to Pittsburgh West. This is a welcome sign. Tomlin and Jones are close going back to their days coaching together at the University of Cincinnati, so perhaps Tomlin "encouraged" his friend to seek emplomet elsewhere. But any objective analysis reveals that Jones deserved to get the ax outright.

In the final analysis, lurking below Tomlin's 8-8 record lies the fact that he entered the season without established team leaders like Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, and James Farrior. While coaching can only replace locker room leadership to a point, the fact is that the discipline issues show that Tomlin needed to adjust his coaching style to better compensate for the transition.  Grade:  C

Unsung Hero Award
When Steel Curtain Rising previewed the 2012 season the challenges, particuarly on defense were obvious - an aging unit was starting the season without some of its top stars. Others would have to step up if the Steelers tradition of stoudt defense was to be maintained.

One player did that. In a second season where the Steelers defense faced a shortage of "Splash Plays" this man stepped up and not only led in sacks but also interceptions -- two categories for which his position is not necessarily know. He also came in second in total tackles but even there, numbers do not quite tell the tale.

This player excelled because, like other true Steeler defensive legends such as Rod Woodson or Greg Lloyd, he was around the ball at critical times, making tackles that ended drives, prevented scores, or stopped the loss of additional yards. And he did it, for the most part, when most in the media and many in Steelers Nation, were focusing on injuries to James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, and LaMarr Woodley.

For all of that, Lawrence Timmons wins Steel Curtain Risings "Unsung Hero Award" for the Steelers 2012 season.

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