Steelers Roster Analysis, Offense: Tight Ends

Steel Curtain Rising continues its analysis of the Steelers 2013 roster with tight ends.

Starter:  David Johnson, Heath Miller (injured)
Back Ups:  David Paulson, Michael Palmer and Matt Spaeth (injured reserve)

Strengths: Heath Miller is one of the best tight ends in the league. When healthy. David Paulson had a great rookie year and is a good pass catcher.

Weaknesses:  The top two players in this until are not healthy. David Johnson is a solid blocker, but not much of a pass catcher. David Paulson is the opposite.

The Skinny:  Does Todd Haley have a plan for replacing Heath Miller's 71 catches? Can the unit "get by" until Miller returns? And when he returns will he approach full strength? At tight end the Steelers need to answer a lot of question marks affirmatively, and doing so will only bring them to the "not a liability" threshold. Matt Spaeth is out until mid season, which gives the Steelers added insurance in the event of another injury.

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

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

The Life and Times of the Steelers David Johnson - From the PUP to Opening Day Starter?

Oh, to live the life and times of Steelers tight end-full-back-tight end David Johnson. Johnson:

• Was the last player taking from an undistinguished Steelers 2009 draft…
• Shifted to fullback with the arrival of Todd Haley…
• Saw the shift to fullback scuttled via a dreaded ACL tear (and the emergence of Will Johnson)…
• Entered free agency as an afterthought…
• Witnessed Steelers Nation meet his resigning by the Steelers with a collective yawn…

And where is David Johnson now?

• Well, David Johnson could very well end up as the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 opening day starting tight end vs. the Tennessee Titans. 

Johnson, along with fellow tight end Heath Miller, open training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but the Steelers have activated him from the PUP.

The Steelers find themselves in a precarious situation at tight end. Matt Spaeth, brought back in a surprise free agency reacquisition, has a lisfranc injury and will be out 8 to 10 weeks. Miller of course is rehabbing his own ACL tear.

David Paulson had what might have been the catch of the night, a 26 yarder from Ben Roethlisberger in the Steelers preseason loss to the Redskins, but his blocking has been suspect, and with a leaky offensive line that is an issue.

• David Johnson is no season savior. 

He’s the type of player who lives year-by-year. But, like a great many late draft picks, Johnson gives it his all and has shown the ability step it up when called upon. He is a solid blocker and he should provide some valuable veteran depth at an area where the Steelers truly need it.

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

Watch Tower: Right or Wrong, ESPN's Chadiha Simply Fails to Understand the Steelers

ESPN’s Jeffri Chadiha recently weighed in on the Pittsburgh Steelers prospects for 2013, and Steelers Nation will not like his conclusions. In a nut shell Chadiha says that the Steelers are destined for a downswing on the level that epic franchises such as the Redskins, Cowboys, and 49ers experienced.

Chadiha projects the Steelers as a third in the AFC North with 8-8 likely their best possible outcome. Chadiha’s overall argument has some merit. He could in fact be right. But the Watch Tower is more interested in deconstructing how Chadiha builds his argument.

ESPN’s Chadiha on What Ails the Steelers - Offense

The base of Chadiha’s argument for the demise of the Steelers can be summed up in two sentences:

The offense has quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a ton of questions. The defense is old and missing key performers from a unit that led the league in total yards allowed in 2012.

Right off the bat, the Watch Tower finds bones to pick with Chadiha’s methodology. Taken at face value, his breakdown of the offense appears to be correct, on defense, not so much.

• So just what are those questions the Steelers face on offense in Chadiha’s eyes?

The first two specifics that Chadiha’s cites are these:

It has been years since Roethlisberger has taken snaps behind an offensive line that could be described as sturdy and it's anybody's guess as to how well he'll coexist with offensive coordinator Todd Haley this season.

On the issue of the offensive line, Chadiha is right. The last time Ben Roethlisberger had a quality offensive line in front of him was 2007…

…And while Steel Curtain Rising has been beating the drum, the fact is that the Steelers have done quite well instead of offensive line deficiencies, particularly in Super Bowl XLIII.

• This is the first instance of Chadiha being (potentially) right, but through no fault of his own.

Offensive line remains an issue. The issue however is more one of health and depth rather than quality. Chadiha fails make that argument, and ignores the fact that the Steelers have invested heavily in building a high quality offensive line in the form of Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Ramon Foster, Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams.

Chadiha is on firmer ground when it comes to the Ben Rothlisberger-Todd Haley relationship but only slightly. As the Watch Tower pointed out, the press saw lots of smoke there in 2012, only to have Ben and Haley say all the right things, which worked fine until Bob Labriola of the Steelers Digest outed them after the season.

• But Chadiha ignores what have to be at least a dozen stories detailing how Haley worked constructively with his coaches and players to open up the offense.

It would seem that any argument for the Steelers demise that’s based on the Roethlisberger-Haley relationship would have to take those developments into account. Chadiha doesn’t.

Chadiha also talks about the Steelers dismal 2012 running game and the loss of Mike Wallace and now Plaxico Burress.

• Again, these are potential issues, but he also ignores potential remedies. 

As Steel Curtain Rising has argued, the performance of the Steelers running game in 2012 was directly proportional to the health of the offensive line. In this respect Chadiha’s in good company – everyone else is also missing this.

Mike Wallace will be missed, but Chadiha ignores the fact that Wallace’s attitude has been at issue, and that he’s largely developed into a home run or bust type player.

Furthermore, there are other arguments Chadiha could use in his favor but fails to do so. The Steelers will open the season with David Paulson as their number 1 tight end. Emmanuel Sanders has a lot of potential, but his health has been suspect.

As for losing Plaxico Burress, Burress could have contributed, but he was projected to be a 4th or 5th receiver at best, and was no lock to make the team.

Deconstructing ESPN’s Chadiha on What Ails the Steelers – Defense

The bulk of Chadiha’s argument on the defensive side lies in the perceived age of the defense. Its as if Warren Saap’s “Old, slow and done” pronouncement has been recited enough to somehow take on an air of truth – facts be dammed.

In this respect, Chadiha focuses on the age of the Steelers secondary and ignores tendencies elsewhere. As Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review pointed out in may, the average age of the Steelers starting defense is projected to be at 29.3 years, almost two years younger than its 2011 predecessor.

• And such analysis doesn’t factor in likely increased playing time from younger players such as Cameron Heyward, Jarvis Jones, Shamarko Thomas, Al Woods and possible Marshall McFadden.

Perhaps the biggest potential liability facing the Steelers defense is how they’re going to compensate for the absence of James Harrison’s run stopping ability is one that Chadiha leaves untouched.

Deconstructing Jeffri Chadiha ESPN -- National Media's Failure to Understand the Steelers

All of these flaw’s in Chadiha’s methodology lead to one larger, and more fatal, flaw in his overall approach. Chadiha just doesn’t get how the Steelers operate. After detailing the franchise’s legendary stability and success he goes on to observe:

That level of success is the major reason it's so hard to envision their impending demise now. They've always beaten the odds. They've rarely stayed down for long. Just when it seems they've lost one too many key performers, another unheralded contributor steps up his game. This team seemingly can do no wrong at finding players to fit most pressing needs.

The Steelers have been so good in this department that they've never had to go on a spending spree in free agency. The coaches simply waited for their draft picks to grow up, step in and live up to expectations. But that formula will not be as reliable this coming fall. There are too many holes for the Steelers to fill. It's hard to believe they can be that fortunate at every position requiring an upgrade.

This team actually needs to get back to its roots before it ever can become championship-caliber again… [Emphasis added.]

There are a couple of issues here.

Have the Steelers always beaten the odds? Well, they’ve been better than many, but what about 1980’s? Sure, they never quite hit bottom the way say the ’88-’89 Cowboys did, but the period doesn’t exactly serve as an example of Steelers excellence (Steel Curtain Rising’s beloved 1989 Steelers not with standing.)

Indeed, one of the issues weighing down the Steelers in ‘80’s was their unwillingness to part ways with aging veterans and an inability to keep drafting and scouting aligned.

• Note, these Steelers have taken pains to avoid that.

Indeed, it wasn’t until Dan Rooney fired his brother Art Rooney Jr. that the Steelers drafting improved. (If you think that is a stretch, the firing occurred in late ’86 – Chuck Noll drafted Rod Woodson in 1987 and Dermontti Dawson in 1988 in addition to players like Hardy Nickerson, Merril Hoge, and Greg Lloyd.)

The other issue is Chadiha’s interpretation of the Steelers attitude towards free agency. He claims “[the Steelers] never had to go on a spending spree in free agency.”

Really? The Steelers had multiple times when they could have opted for wholesale rebuilding via free agency in the mid and late ‘90’s, the ‘00’s, and even in this decade.

• They never have gone on a free agency spending binge because it goes against the philosophy of the franchise.

The fact that Chadiha simply misses or doesn’t get this really cuts into his credibility as a commentator on the team.

One final criticism of Chadiha. He ends his piece saying that the Steelers need to get back to their roots, implying that it is not something in the offing, when a large part of the Steelers offensive plan going into 2013 is to take advantage of the tendency to build defenses to protect against the pass by running on them.

• Now the Steelers aren’t exactly announcing this strategic shift on their home page, but if a blogger in Buenos Aires with no direct access to sources can learn this, so should a reporter from a network with a billion dollar contract to cover the NFL.

In the final analysis, Chadiha’s predictions for gloom and doom in Pittsburgh in 2013 could turn out to be right. The Steelers have little to zero margin for injury on the offensive line and perhaps the secondary. A number of other things must work exactly as planned.

But Chadiha’s methodology and understanding of the franchise is so flawed that if he is right, the Watch Tower will say he is right be accident, and will award no bragging rights.

Thanks for visiting. To read more analysis of the media that cover the Steelers, click here to read more from Steel Curtain Rising's Watch Tower.

Read More

Steelers Come Up Small in Preseason vs. Giants, Lose 18-13

Its only August football, but Mike Tomlin cannot like what he saw as the Pittsburgh Steelers looked pretty sloppy in their 18-13 preseason loss to the New York Giants.

Steel Curtain Rising’s Golden Rule of Preseason is that while results don’t mean much exhibition games do tend to revealing about individual units and provide a good look at individuals.

Steelers Struggles vs. Giants

In that respect, Danny Smith’s special teams debut left a lot to be desired, with one blocked punt, and two kick off fielding errors on the part of rookie J.D. Woods and David Gilreath.

Rookie quarterback and fourth round draft pick Landry Jones had a difficult night, botching a hand off to Baron Batch leading to a fumble. Batch himself entered the game as one Steeler who was fighting for his NFL life, and he did not help his cause rushing 5 times for 4 yards.

Bruce Gradkowski, while going 6/11 had trouble connecting with his receivers, and was described by Behind the Steel Curtain as possibly “attempting to thin out the wide receiving corps.”

Jason Worilds did make his presence known by registering a sack, but also got noticed the wrong way with two roughing the passer fouls in two minutes.

Steelers Success vs. Giants

The star of the offense was LaRod Stephens-Howling who led all rushers with 40 yards on seven carries. Rookie Marcus Wheaton also looked good, as did David Paulson, although Michael Palmer, signed just a few days ago, got the starting nod.

The real “stars” of the game were the Steelers linebackers, with first round draft pick Jarvis Jones recovering a fumble and defending a pass. Adrian Robinson, who was reportedly having a rough time at St. Vincents, scored the Steelers only touchdown on an botched snap. Rookies Vince Williams and Brian Rolle also looked good in Behind the Steel Curtain’s estimation.

Rounding out the Steelers success on defense was Al Woods, who lead the team with 9 takcles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for losses, and 1 QB hit.

The Steelers picked up Al Woods off of waivers from the Saints in 2010, after New Orleans cut their then rookie draft pick. Woods then bounced around between Tampa Bay, Seattle’s, and Pittsburgh’s active rosters and practice squads.

Performance like Woods’ put in vs. the Giants will earn him a permanent home.

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More

Matt Spaeth Injures Lisfranc; Possible Done for Year; Steelers Thin at Tight End

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Matt Spaeth went down with an injury on Thursday August 8th. On Friday the Steelers added two more tight ends to their roster, in the form of Michael Palmer and Nathan Overbay.

• The timing of those two events was in no way coincidental.

The Steelers had released little in the way of information on Matt Spaeth’s injury, other than to say it was to the foot. But later this afternoon Pittsburgh Tribune Review writer Dejan Kovacevic broke the news:

Ouch. Unconfirmed, but I’m hearing #Steelers TE Matt Spaeth will have lisfranc surgery that will end season. That’s middle of foot.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) August 9, 2013

Other reports are pegging the recovery time at 8-10 weeks, which would put the Steelers at mid-season.

• Could Dejan’s prediction turn out to be too dire?

Perhaps, but most likely not. As Behind the Steel Curtain has pointed out, recent NFL history with Lisfranc injuries shows that they are normally season-enders, reminding us of how similar injures end the 2012 seasons of Santonio Holmes and Maurice Jones-Drew.

• One way or another the Steelers must make a decision on Spaeth. There is no way they can carry him on the roster until mid season hoping that he returns to health. 

They could carry him through the preseason and put him on injured reserve and designate him as a player who can return, as they did with David DeCastro last year, but that is not likely.

With Spaeth out, the 2012 7th round pick David Paulson now must “grow up fast” as the starting role will fall to him until Heath Miller can return to health. In the meantime, Ben Roethlisberger is going to need target for passes in the middle of the field.

In addition, the Steelers have David Johnson who is on the PUP list, as well as Jaime McCoy and Peter Tuitupou....

...Where is Preston Gothard when you need him?

Thanks for visiting. Click here to check out the rest of Steel Curtain Rising. Or... Follow @SteelCurtainRis

Read More