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.

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Steelers Roster Moves Continue: Isaiah Green Returns via the Practice Squad

No one will accuse Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert of taking a "Set it and forget it" attitude to the composition to the Steelers 2013 Roster.

Per NFL rules, the Steelers cut down their roster to 22 players on Saturday. But that was hardly the final 53, as the Steelers went to the waiver wire not once, not twice, but three times, adding guard/center Cody Wallace, punter Zoltan Mesko, and cornerback Antwon Blake to their active roster.

They also placed Matt Spaeth on their injured reserve designated return list, which in turn led them to sign linebacker Terrance Martin from their practice squad.

With the exception of Wallace, all of these moves are aimed at shoring up a special teams until which was an glaring liability in preseason.

Practice squad move by @Steelers -- CB Devin Smith is off and CB Isaiah Green is added
— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) September 4, 2013

This shuffling with the regular season is having a spill over effect on the practice squad, which continues today as the Steelers said goodbye to practice squad star cornerback Devin Smith and replaced him with cornerback Isaiah Green.

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Steelers Continue Roster Moves - Cody Wallace in, John Malecki Out...

The fact that Guy Whimper's name was not alongside Jonathan Dwyer's as one of the 22 players cut by Pittsburgh Steelers was met by outcry in Steelers Nation. And the more level-headed response was, “Don’t worry, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin will scour the waiver wire seeking upgrades.”

Well, Tomlin and Colbert have made their first waiver wire transaction, and it didn’t include Guy Wimper or an offensive tackle.

Instead they picked up Cody Wallace, who most recently played center and guard in Tampa Bay.

• To make room for Wallace, the Steelers cut reserve guard/center John Malecki. 

The move amounts to somewhat of a surprise, as Malecki played on the Steelers regular season roster last year, and was generally viewed as having had a good camp. And the Steelers depth on the interior of the offensive line is not seen as being nearly as suspect as it is at the tackle position.

Malecki is only listed has having played one game in 2012, although Steelers.com informs that he was added to their active roster in October of that year.

If he has dressed for less than 8 games, he is eligible to return to the Steelers practice squad. Which will be bad news for one of the 8 hopefuls who were added to that list on Sunday….

Further Steelers Roster Moves Expected

Tomlin and Colbert are not likely finished with the Steelers 2013 roster. Observer-Reporter journalist Dale Lolley expects the team to resign linebacker Marshall McFadden after they play Matt Spaeth on injured reserve.

And of course there is Max Starks. One must suppose that if the Steelers were going to resign Max Starks they would have done so already. But until that doesn't happen, rumors will persist.

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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.

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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?

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Steelers Bolster Tight End Depth, Claim Michael Palmer Off of Waivers

The Steelers can remain mum about Matt Spaeth’s health for as long as they want, their actions indicated they are concerned. Before Matt Speath was carted off the field injured, the Steelers brought in tight end John Rabe.

• Apparently Rabe’s NFL dream, at least in Pittsburgh, as the team waived in.

The Steelers went to the waiver wire to bolster their tight end depth, claiming Michael Palmer off of waivers from the Seattle Seahawks, as reported by Behind the Steel Curtain.

Palmer entered the NFL in 2010 as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. He played in 14 games in 2010, 16 games in 2011, and 13 games in 2012, starting in six games total. His best year receiving was 2011, when he caught 10 passes for 72 yards.

Michael Palmer’s Upside?

Although he only has 21 catches, but 3 of them are for touchdowns, with one in each of his years in the league. That’s a 21% catch-to-touchdown ratio.

While this statistic is likely little more than a statistical anomaly the Steelers picked up another player labeled “retread” whose numbers told a similar story.

His name is Yancey Thigpen. In 1992 during Bill Cowher’s rookie head coaching season, the Steelers signed Thigpen as a street free agent wide receiver at mid season after San Diego Chargers had cut him in camp.

After two seasons, Thigpen only had 10 NFL catches to his name. But three of them were for touchdowns.

• Two year’s later Thigpen broke John Stallworth’s single season receiving record.

Will Michael Palmer write a similar story with the Steelers?

• The odds are against it.

But as Ramon Foster’s agent advised him when he was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2009, “Pittsburgh is the land of opportunity.”

At tight end in addition to Palmer the Steelers count Heath Miller and David Johnson who are on the PUP list, Matt Spaeth of aggravated a knee injury, David Paulson, Jamie McCoy, Peter Tuitupou and Nathan Overbay whom they also signed today.

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Steelers Cut Mike Farrell, Sign Tight End Nathan Overbay

The Steelers have not yet confirmed the extent of Matt Spaeth’s foot injury, yet they could be tipping their hand with their actions.

• Or not.

One day after Matt Spaeth was carted off the field with what Mike Tomlin confirmed was a foot injury, the Steelers cut undrafted free agent rookie Mike Farrell who was hoping to make the team as an offensive tackle, and replaced him with tight end Nathan Overbay.

• While Farrell’s chances of making the final roster were remote, he was both a former Penn State player with roots to Pittsburgh and a slot on the practice squad seemed to be a possibility.

According to the site Behind the Steel Curtain, Overbay entered the NFL in 2010 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but did not dress for a game with them. He signed a futures contract with the Detroit Lions but was cut according to BTSC, but the website Pro Football Reference lists him on the rosters of the 2011 and 2012 Detroit Lions, although he recorded no statistics.  (ESPN and NFL.com do not list any stats for the Lions.)

The idea that the Steelers might be tipping their hand is questionable given Overbay’s sketchy pedigree and given the fact that depth at offensive tackle remains at issue for the Steelers as highlighted by the team’s decision to sign D’Anthony Batiste (another player with a questionable track record.

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Steelers Tight End Matt Spaeth Carted Off Field @ St. Vincents

This time you can't fault Kevin Colbert for not having a contingency plan.

The 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers entered training camp as a team with many needs and little in the way of a safety net. As recently observed here, the Steelers openly decided to tempt fate, wagering that the offensive line injury muses would not look down in disfavor again, and assembled a roster with precious little depth at either offensive tackle position.

Should Mike Adams or Marcus Gilbert fall injured, the Steelers contingency plans are named Guy Whimper and D'Anthony Batiste. Neither strike fear on to hears of Haloti Ngata or Terrell Suggs.

In contrast, knowing full well that Heath Miller would not be available to start the 2013 season, the Steelers put a contingency plan in place.

• Unfortunately it looks like the contingency plan himself got hurt.

Late into the afternoon Mark Kaboly dropped this bomb via Twitter:

Steelers TE Matt Spaeth carted off with injury. Didn't see what it was.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) August 7, 2013

Matt Spaeth of course was a member of the Steelers 2007 draft class, and Kevin Colbert's decision to resign Spaeth off of the free agent market turned some heads but it ultimately made sense.

• No one would accuse Spaeth of being a world beater, but he certainly offered more value than Leonard Pope. 

Colbert also gave himself another back up option, in deciding to resign tight end/fullback David Johnson, a member of the Steelers 2009 draft class whose shift to fullback in 2012 was widely heralded, only to be derailed by Johnson's torn ACL.

• Johnson however, began training camp on the PUP list.

The nature of Spaeth's injury is not known. The news broke in the late afternoon via Twitter, but it wasn’t until the late evening that the Post Gazette published a story on it, and then on PG Plus. The Tribune Review had not published a story on it as of 11:38 Buenos Aires time (yeah, that’s right, how often do you see that time stamp on Pittsburgh Steelers stories?)

• But players rarely get carted off the field unless it is serious.

At tight end the Steelers also have David Paulson, whom they drafted with their second pick 7th round of the 2012 NFL Draft and Jamie McCoy whom they also drafted in the with their first 7th round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Spaeth’s Injury Steel Curtain Rising’s Fault?

If a server personnel crisis at tight end can’t be laid at the feet of Kevin Colbert, might Steel Curtain Rising be the culprit…?

Who knows. But the fact that Spaeth got injured on the same day that we published an full throated endorsement of Mike Tomlin’s “No to Golf Carts, Yes to Full Contact” training camp philosophy is ironic to say the least…..

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