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.

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Steelers Offensive Line Depth Continues to Thin; Plaxico Burress Goes on IR

An NFL training camp injury to an undrafted free agent rookie or a player making a second stab at NFL stardom in a second training camp normally isn’t news worthy.

This sounds brutal, but they not newsworthy because:

• A big part of the value of these players is that they are expendable.

Yes, the reality is that harsh. The vast majority of these players will never see an NFL practice squad, fewer will see the 53 man roster, even less will dress, and slimmer number yet will see significant non-garbage time, non-special teams action.

With the Steelers this year, it’s is different particular on the offensive line, as Jim Wexell’s Tweet from Monday August 12th indicates:

Cheadle carted awaywith apparent right knee injury. Was the favorite to win 9th OL spot.
— James C Wexell (@jimwexell) August 12, 2013

• Just who is Justin Cheadle anyway? 

Well, you know the answer and do not have a personal acquaintance with Cheadle and/or California University, then you almost certainly need to revaluate your priorities in life….

Steelers Offensive Line Injuries - Too Early to Say “I Told You So,” But...

…A site called Spotrac.com tells us that Cheadle played his college ball at California and spent 2012 training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs. (You can also learn on the site that he’s costing the Chiefs $3,000 in salary cap dead money, should you really want to know.)

Jim Wexell however does tell us something that we do want to know, and that is that this aspiring offensive tackle was penciled in to be the Steelers 9th offensive lineman….

It should therefore surprise no one that the Pittsburgh Tribune Review’s Allen Robinson got Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley on record as saying the team would look to bring in outside help.

As Steel Curtain Rising warned less than a fortnight ago, the 2013 Steelers have rolled the dice that lightning will not strike twice four times in the form of offensive line injuries.

They made that gamble when they let Max Starks walk to San Diego, Doug Legursky head off to the Bills and did not select an offensive lineman in the 2013 NFL Draft.

• They had hopes of developing an unheralded one in training camp from the undrafted rookie free agent pool.

Unfortunately one of those was Nik Embernate who is already on IR. Cheadle was apparently the next man up. Just saying.

Steelers Place Plex on IR

As expected, Plaxico Burress’s rotator cuff surgery has ended his season, and likely Burress' NFL career, as the Steelers placed him on injured reserve.

Interestingly enough, Matt Spaeth will not be placed on IR, at least yet. Spaeth was injured in practice and it was later revealed that he suffered from a Lisfrac injury.

And for those of you who’re dying to know, Jim Wexell provided Steelers Nation with its midday Cheadle health update:

@retiredmd37 No Cheadle update. I'm pretty much alone on campus now. Finishing up a McLendon feature for the Digest and then going home.
— James C Wexell (@jimwexell) August 13, 2013

No news, we trust, is good news….

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If Rotator Cuff Surgery End It for Plaxico Burress, Here's Why He Went Out the Right Way

Monday August 12 was Plaxico' Burress' 36 birthday. Per Ed Bouchette's tweet, it’s also the day that he underwent what will likely be career ending surgery to reaper a torn rotator cuff.

Steelers WR Plaxico Burress will celebrate his 36th birthday today by getting shoulder surgery. Ugh.
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) August 12, 2013

If this is the end for Plaxico Burress then it is a real shame for him. It may not be much consolation to him, but Burress can at least know that he chose to distinguish himself on the way out.

Remembering Plex

If Plaxico Burress is glad to finish his career in Pittsburgh then he can thank the fact that Kevin Colbert does not draft scared for his arrival.

Colbert arrived in Pittsburgh in February 2000 on the heels of back-to-back 7-9 and 6-10 seasons that brought a long simmering feud between Tom Donahoe and Bill Cowher to a head. Kordell Stewart was the Steelers quarterback, and Stewart was finishing the “My Buddy’s the Cop” phase of his career.

• Conventional wisdom generally dictates drafting the best available quarterback is the smart (and safe) move for a general manager walking into that situation.

The Steelers had the eighth pick, and Chad Pennington was the top quarterback on the board. Colbert and Cowher took a pass, making Pennington the 2nd most famous signal caller the Steelers never drafted after Dan Marino.

Plaxico Burress was their choice instead. After a rookie season that was a wash, Burress had his breakout game vs. the Titans on Monday Night Football (after Hines Ward instilled some good game preparation habits into him), helped transform Tommy Maddox into Tommy Gun and gave the Steelers 4 good seasons before departing to New York, much to Ben Roethlisberger's chagrin.

Burress’ time in New York will be remembered for him quitting on a long route, a game winning Super Bowl catch, and of course the self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Burress to Go Out the Way They All “Should?”

After prison the Steelers and, more specifically Mike Tomlin, briefly courted Burress, but he opted for greener pastures with the New York Jets.

Out of football for much of 2012, the Steelers brought him in late in the season. A poor route led to an interception, spoiling his debut in the comedy of errors in Cleveland.

His stat sheet will only tell this his second stint in Pittsburgh yielded 3 catches. The video quality isn't so good, but here’s the last one he made:




That touchdown helped seal victory for the Steelers in the 2012 regular season finale vs. Cleveland.

If rotator cuff surgery does spell the end for Burress, his homecoming in Pittsburgh might not have gone as he wished, but Burress' final catch will always be a game winning touchdown.

Isn't that the way every player dreams of ending his career?

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Steelers Free Agency 2013: Colbert's Salary Cap "Loaves and The Fishes"

The debate in Steelers Nation as Pittsburgh entered the 2013 off season was whether the Steelers were in “Salary Cap Hell” or merely “Salary Cap Purgatory.” No one on the roster not named Ben Roethlisberger appeared safe.

Now that the dust has settled, it is clear that while the Steelers have/had cap issues, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin pulled off the NFL Salary Cap equivalent of the “Loaves and the Fishes.”

• How’s that you ask? Read on young Padawan…. 

(Note Steel Curtain Rising has a strict “no politics, no religion” editorial policy but hopefully you will excuse this deviation as the metaphors are irresistible.)

“The times, they are a changing….”

It’s true that Steelers Nation has not experienced such off season roster upheaval since the 90’s. Back then, in the pre-Heinz Field days, free agent exoduses became an annual rite.

The process was agonizing. Tom Donahoe and Bill Cowher would draft and develop players, only to lose them as soon as they reached free agency.

What happened this off season is both similar and different. In the ‘90’s cash flow was the culprit, whereas during the Steelers 2013 off season it was lack of cap space, forcing Pittsburgh to swallow hard and cut contributors whose age, injury status, and cap values made them expendable.

Let’s look at how deeply the axe swung:

Steelers Salary Cap Casualties:
James Harrison, former NFL Defensive Player of the Year
Willie Colon, cut two years into a four year contract

Contracts Not Renewed by the Steelers:
Casey Hampton
Charlie Batch
Byron Leftwich

Steelers Players Poached in Free Agency:
Mike Wallace
Rashard Mendenhall
Keenan Lewis
Max Starks
Will Allen
Ryan Mundy
Doug Legrusky

Painful? Doubtless.

Consider this:  EVERY player that Pittsburgh lost in free agency, cut or declined to bring back started a game for the Steelers in 2013. Six of whom were full time starters.

In 2013 the Pittsburgh Steelers not only said good bye to a lot of talent, experience, and locker room leadership, but they also abandoned a fair amount of potential.

These loses will be felt. How badly? The answer to that question lies in what the Steelers did to compensate.

Steelers Free Agent Spending in 2013

The conventional wisdom is that the Pittsburgh Steelers are an inactive team in free agency. In the 2013 off season the Steelers were active, but many of Pittsburgh's free agent moves happened slightly below the radar.

Steelers ’07 Draft Class Revolving Door (former players reacquired):
William Gay
Matt Spaeth

Unrestricted Free Agents Resigned by the Steelers:
Ramon Foster
Larry Foote
Plaxico Burress
David Johnson
Greg Warren

Restricted Free Agents Resigned:
Emmanuel Sanders
Steve McLendon

Unrestricted Free Agents Retained via Tender for 2013:
Isaac Redman
Jonathan Dwyer

Steelers Free Agent Additions:
Brian Moorman
LaRod Stephens-Howling
Guy Whimper
Bruce Gradkowski

For a team supposedly on the precipice of Salary Cap disaster, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a lot of moves during the 2013 off season.

In pure quantitative terms, the Steelers came out ahead, signing/resigning 15 players while saying good bye, in one form or another, while losing 12.

• Quantity is one thing. What about quality? Did the Steelers come out ahead? 

That’s a more difficult question and one with a more nuanced answer.

Colbert and Tomlin’s Loaves and Fishes Salary Cap Miracle 

Measured in terms of raw football talent, it is impossible to argue that the Steelers weathered their most difficult free agency period since the Donahoe years and came out ahead.

Anyone who tells you that Plaxico Burress’ value to the offense is equal to or better than that of Mike Wallace is missing a few fries from his Happy Meal. Ditto any attempt to equate William Gay's value with that of Keenan Lewis.

• But success in the free agency era goes beyond questions of raw talent.

Yes, you need good players to win and great players are essential to winning big. This is true in any era. When asked about Steelers success, Dan Rooney’s stock response is “You have to start with the players.”

But success in the salary cap era doesn’t come down to who has the best talent, but who can get the most for their salary cap buck. And in that respect the Steelers have potentially positioned themselves to come out ahead.

• Take the Steelers situation at cornerback.

Without argument, the threesome of Ike Taylor, Keenan Lewis, and Cortez Allen beats the threesome of Taylor, Allen, and William Gay.

But the money the Steelers saved in not resigning Lewis didn’t just go to Gay. It allowed them to resign David Johnson and bring back Matt Spaeth. Now Johnson and Spaeth are marginal roster contributors to be sure. But that’s the point.

Assuming that Cortez Allen is the real deal and that Ike Taylor doesn’t slow a step, then the trio of Allen, Taylor, and Gay at CB combined with Speath, Johnson and David Paulson holding down the fort at tight end in Heath Miller’s absence arguably delivers more value for salary cap dollar than Keenan Lewis would have.

• The same can be said of Mike Wallace.

Had the Steelers really wanted to, they probably could have kept Mike Wallace.

But at what cost? Certainly Plaxio Burress wouldn’t have been resigned. Emmanuel Sanders either wouldn’t have been tendered or would have been allowed to go to New England. Either Jonathan Dwyer and/or Isaac Redman would have been gone too. AND LaRod Stephens-Howling probably never darkens any doors on the South Side either.

To go with a baseball analogy, Mike Wallace is a legitimate home run threat on any down and defenses must plan for. The Steelers will miss his contributions.

• But football is a team game, and the Steelers are calculating that they can make up for losing this home run threat with a series of base hitters.

Such strategies come with risks. Losing Ike Taylor for the year and fielding a Lewis/Allen corner tandem is quite different than fielding a Gay/Allen corner tandem. The same can be said for several other position areas, most notably offensive line and wide receiver.

• But making such calculated risks is part of life under the NFL’s salary cap. 

On paper Kevin Colbert has made a series of excellent “best bang for the salary cap buck” decisions. Soon Steelers Nation will know how those decisions play out on the field.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 Draft Class at a Glance

The 2013 NFL Draft is now history, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have 9 new players to show for their efforts. The Steelers entered the draft with serious needs at almost every position and depending on who you believed they either drafted for need, or were able to basically stick to their “best available” player philosophy while hitting their needs.

Neither answer will be terribly relevant as long as they players they picked pan out. Some of course will fail (think Limas Sweed), others will suffer misfortune in the form of injury (think Sean Spence,) while others yet will likely go on to exceed expectations (think Aaron Smith).

Here’s a snap shot of the 9 mean that Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin deemed worthy of a shot at becoming Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 Draft Class:
(click on the names below for capsule profiles and/or video highlights of

1. Jarvis Jones, Outside Linebacker, Georgia
2. Le’von Bell, Running Back, Michigan State
3. Markus Wheaton, Wide Receiver, Oregon State
4. Shamarko Thomas, Safety, Syracuse
4. Landry Thomas, quarterback, Okalahoma
5. Terry Hawthorne, Cornerback, Illinois 
6. Vince Williams, Inside Linebacker, Florida State University
6. Justin Brown, Wide Receiver, Okalahoma
7. Nicholas Williams, Defensive End, Samford

How the Class of 2013 Fits In

Regular readers knows that Steel Curtain Rising neither grades drafts nor evaluates individual draft picks. Such exercises are understandable, but day after draft evaluation is about as valuable as an opening day batting average.

Look back no further to the Steelers 2008 Draft, which the “experts” uniformly thought was a good draft the day after. Five years later the Steelers 2008 Draft looks quite different.

Potentially the Steelers have give themselves the ability to improve play making on the defense, bolstered their running back corps, and injected speed into their wide receiving corps. Markus Wheaton figures to give the Steelers needed depth at safety and could become a possible successor to Troy Polamalu and/or Ryan Clark.

Beyond that, the rest of the class realistically will hope to exit St. Vincents having shown they can contribute enough on special teams to merit a roster spot.

Certainly Vince Williams could cost Stevenson Sylvester, Adrian Robinson and/or Chris Carter a roster spot. Justin Brown could force Jerricho Cotchery and/or Plaxico Burress to seek out what Chuck Noll referred to as “Life’s Work.” Nicholas Williams could cost Al Woods a roster spot.

Or maybe not….

A Shot at a Dream of a Life Time

…But all of that sorting out can wait until the sun shines down on Latrobe.

For now each of these nine men have been given a shot at a dream that all of us shared the first time we touched a Nerf football, called out the cadence of a meaningless snap count, and argued over whether there should be a 3 or 5 Mississippi rush.

At this moment congratulations are in order for the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 Draft Class. Congratulations gentleman, good luck, and welcome to Steelers Nation.

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Steelers Draft WR Justin Brown in 6th

The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiving corps just got bigger and younger. After taking Markus Wheaton in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Steelers again opted to add an wide out when they picked former Penn State and current Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Justin Brown with the first of their two 6th round picks.

Justin Brown also becomes the second Oklahoma Sooner to don the Black and Gold, as the Steelers also picked his teammate Landry Jones in the 4th round.

Brown stands at 6’3” and weighs in at 209 pounds. Last season for Oklahoma Brown led the team in receiving catching 73 balls for 879 yards and five touchdowns.

In picking Brown the Steelers coaches have hopefully put themselves into a position to make some difficult decisions during training camp. Antonio Brown and projected starter Emmanuel Sanders will certainly be with the team come opening day, as will Wheaton.

That means veterans Jerricho Cotchery and Plaxico Burress will need to fend off challenges from David Gilreath and Brown for roster spots.

The Steelers typically keep 5 wide receivers on their regular season roster, although at times they’ve carried as many as six and as few as four. The pick of Brown gives them 7. Clearly someone will have to go.

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Steelers Go Deep: Draft Markus Wheaton in 3rd Round

The Steelers stayed on offense during the second day of the 2013 NFL Draft when they picked Oregon State wide Receiver Markus Wheaton in the third round.

In that respect, Wheaton has a bit of a pedigree, with the Steelers having drafted Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace, and Hines Ward in the third round (of course that was also the round they drafted Willie Reid, Derek Hill, and Charles Lockett… or if you want a middle of the road example, Andre Hastings.)

Wheaton is not the tall receiver that Ben Roethlisberger hopped to get standing at only 5’11” and weighing 182 pounds. Wheaton’s time at the NFL scouting combine in the 40 was 4.45, although Wheaton himself claims he can do it at 4.3 speed.

As Dale Lolley observes, if he can split the difference at 4.37 he’ll be fast enough to help the Steelers make up for the absence of Mike Wallace.

Markus Wheaton arrives in Pittsburgh having broken Oregon State’s receiving records and, again pointed out by Lolley, this is the school that produce Chad Johnson (or Ocho Cinco if you prefer, why not call himself ochenta y cinco?) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.



The first challenge Wheaton will face in Pittsburgh is to carve himself out a spot on the depth chart.

Antonio Brown is entrenched as a starter, and Emmanuel Sanders remains the incumbent. Behind them are two seasoned veterans Jerricho Cotchery and Plaxico Burress. It is conceivable that Wheaton could cost one of the two his roster spot, probably Burress, but some of that will probably depend on the development of David Gilreath.

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Steelers Draft Needs: Wide Receiver and Tight End, Two Positions with the Opposite Problem

It’s a Tale of Two Cities for the Steelers tight end and wide receiver needs entering the 2013 NFL Draft. Both positions are areas of need, but for very different reasons.

• Speaking strictly in the short term, the Steelers do not need wide receivers. 

They’ll start 2013, assuming no injuries, with Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery, and Plaxico Burress with David Gilbreath as a worthy contender for the 5th receiver spot.

• An NFL team could do worse with this front foursome at wide out.

Of course appearances can be deceiving and in this case they do. Burress and Cotchery are well into their 30’s, and recent restricted free agent Emmanuel Sanders is in the final year of his contract.

On top of that, none of the players on the Steelers roster at wide out is known for his speed, an obvious deficiency.  The Steelers must think to the future, and begin to reload their wide receiving corps, and they’d be wise to begin doing it early in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Troubles at Tight End

At tight end the Steelers have the opposite problem. Assuming Heath Miller makes a full recovery from his ACL tear, at age 31 he’s got a number of years of quality football left in him.

Behind him the Steelers have David Paulson, a 7th round draft pick who “overachieved” and looked quite good in 2012. Matt Spaeth is back and so is David Johnson, both of whom should be growing into their best football years.

Now, neither man is every going to be the second coming of Mark Bruener let alone David Casper, but getting just a little extra value out of the number 40 through number 45 men on your game day roster can take you a long way in the NFL

• The problem is that Heath Miller will likely not be available until late in the season.

That means that the Steelers need to find some way to make up for his 71 catches either through the tight ends, wide receivers, or through an improved running game or a combination of all three.

• Paulson, Johnson, and Spaeth are not going to combined for 71 catches next year…

…but the other two scenarios are plausible, but depend on a lot of “ifs.”

The Steelers can’t base their offense, not to mention Ben Roethlisberger’s health, on a series of “ifs.”

They need to upgrade at tight end, and they need to bring in someone who can help them relatively quickly or else suddenly get really strong at running back or much more dynamic at wide receiver.

• And therein lies the danger. 

Many mock drafts have the Steelers picking Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert at 17th in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Yet many other draft nicks say that Eifert isn’t good enough to go that high. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Steel Curtain Rising is not fit to say whether Eifert is a worthy pick at 17, a reach, or someone so terribly overrated he'll be a bust in the NFL.

• But one thing is clear.

The Steelers have a need to fill at tight end, but they must resist all temptations to reach to fill it. The last time the franchise attempted to do that, Troy Edwards happened.

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Steelers Match New England, Emmanuel Sanders Stays in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers ultimately decided that Emmanuel Sanders was indeed worth more than a third round pick and have matched their offer, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In doing so the Steelers are bucking conventional wisdom of both the press and, if reports are accurate, their front office. Dale Lolley reported that the Steelers front office was prepared to let Emmanuel Sanders to and take the draft pick. Numerous commentators of the Steelers press corps also concluded that letting Sanders go and taking the pick was the right move.

• Mike Tomlin and his offensive coaches ultimately won the day.

The next question is, did they make the right move?

Hard to Understand the Steelers Logic on Sanders Unless…

Although there are pros and cons to resigning Sanders, taken at face value, this move is very hard to understand. Move brings the Steelers available salary cap space down to around $700,000, all but foreclosing the option that they will sign someone like Ahmad Bradshaw.

And should a team make a run at signing the Steelers two remaining restricted free agents Isaac Redman and/or Steve McLendon the Steelers would be virtually powerless to stop them – unless they wanted to do even more contract restructuring, which they clearly want and need to avoid..

In this age of the flat salary cap winning comes down to getting the most bang for your salary cap buck, and in that light it is not too hard to think that a low-priced rookie could produce the same kinds of numbers that Sanders produced.

However, the case for keeping Sanders is strong, particularly if the Steelers can meet one condition, namely, get him to agree to a more salary cap friendly long-term deal this summer in Latrobe.

As it stands, the Steelers will enter the season with Sanders as a starter. Sanders has shown promise since his rookie year, and even was elevated to co-starter status by Mike Tomlin last fall.

• But like the rest of the Steelers receiving corps, Sanders play suffered.

Beyond injury and consistency concerns, Sanders return assures a few things:

• Stability. With Mike Wallace in Miami and Heath Miller injured, the Sanders gives the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger an option downfield
• Depth. The Steelers still must build their wide receiving corps, but along with Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Plaxico Burress, the Steelers now have four legit NFL wide receivers.

While this isn't a reason to resign Sanders, per se, Sanders return also lowers the potential opportunity cost of seeing yet another player drafted very recently depart to another team.

Ultimately the Sanders decision will come down to two things – is the real Emmanuel Sanders the Hines Ward-like receiver they saw in the first half of 2012 and if so can they agree to a long-term deal at a reasonable salary?

If the answer to those two questions is yes, then the Steelers will have made the right move.

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The Pros and Cons of Letting Emmanuel Sanders Defect to the Patriots

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make on wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

As Steelers Nation now knows, after one false alarm the New England Patriots have tendered an offer to Sanders as a restricted free agent, and the Steelers are divided over whether to match it.

And as Dale Lolley reports, the division between keeping Sanders and letting him walk falls between the coaching staff and the front office. For good reason, there are pro’s and con’s to both keeping Sanders and letting him go.

The Pro’s of Keeping Emmanuel Sanders, And the Cons to Letting Him Walk

One of the strongest arguments in favor of keeping Sanders was he drafted in 2010 and that mean he should be entering his professional prime. With weak drafts in 2008 and 2009, Steelers have precious few players in that “peak” point of their careers.

But what does that really mean? Objectively speaking you can say:

• Sanders still has some upside, having his development struggled with injuries in 2011
• Sanders performance in the first half of 2012 was strong, looking at times like a young Hines Ward
• Depth. After Antonio Brown the Steelers have Plaxico Burress and Jerricho Cotchery, who are now closer to retirement than their rookie years

Add to the factors above, losing Sanders would severely limit the weapons the Steelers have downfield. Heath Miller will not start the season, Chris Rainey is gone, and David Gilreath doesn’t exactly project as the next Yancey Thigpen.

• Sanders is a known commodity, who will deliver value to the Steelers in 2013.

A draft pick simply delivers potential. Two third round picks could bring the Steelers the next Mike Wallace and Keenan Lewis, or the next Anthony Smith and Willie Reid.

Yes, Sanders and Brown contributed as rookies, but recent experience with the likes of Willie Reid and Limas Sweed show how dangerous it is to bank on rookie receivers.

You could add that to the fact that, immediately after the 2012 NFL Draft the Steelers projected Mike Adams, David DeCastro and Alameda Ta’amu be early contributors and that did not work out so well.

The Pro’s of Letting Emmanuel Sanders Defect to the New England Patriots

If there is an upside to keeping Sanders and a downside to losing him there is both a football and business case for letting him go.

Experienced Steelers writers such as Dale Lolley and Jim Wexell have said that the 91st pick is far more valuable than Sanders, and that the Steelers would never give up their third round pick to trade for a player of Sanders caliber. And that is only part of the football case for letting him walk to New England:

• Percentages. Yes, the draft is uncertain, but without Sanders the Steelers get 4 picks of the top 91 prospects in the 2013 NFL Draft, which statistically improves their chances of striking gold
• Flexibility. With an extra third round pick the Steelers gain a buffer against the temptation to reach and improve their ability to move up
• Durability. Sanders has had injury issues. How much these impact him in the future remains a question
• Consistency. Sanders was the offense’s unsung hero in the first half of 2012, in the second half, not so much

In 2013, personnel decisions in the NFL never come down to pure X’s and O’s, there’s the business side. Sanders signed a 2.5 million dollar tender, according to ESPN. The business side boils down to this:

• Matching Sanders offer means sacrificing the ability to make any other moves until June 1st
• Allowing Sanders to leave, gives the Steelers 1.3 million more to their cap, improving flexibility
• Investing towards the long term. Match the offer and the Steelers only keep Sanders for a year vs. applying that cap space towards the future on their terms

There's also one other consideration not being discussed

• The Steelers still have two more restricted free agents are Steve McLendon and Isaac Redman

The Steelers even have less depth at running back and on defensive line. Matching Sanders now would hamstring their ability to match tenders for Redman or McLendon and the Steelers get nothing if they lose McLendon or Redman.

What Decision Should the Steelers Make on Emmanuel Sanders?

When Steel Curtain Rising concluded its Steelers 2013 Free Agent Focus on Emmanuel Sanders with a call for the Steelers to sign Sanders to the a long term deal.

That made good football sense then and still makes good football sense now.

• In spite of that, the Steelers should probably allow Sanders to walk

The full picture of the Steelers salary cap situation is known now, unlike in early February and the Steelers are in salary cap purgatory.

The idea of using some of the money gained by Willie Colon’s departure to sign Sanders while at St. Vincents is a good one, but the Steelers don’t have t he luxury of waiting that long.

• In a perfect world the Steelers would sign Sanders to a 3-4 year contract this summer. 

But the Steelers salary cap world is far from perfect, and the economic realities of the game say that they the Steelers should let Sanders walk.

This move will hurt and the toll would be immediate and likely heavy in early 2013. But if the Steelers play their cards right the dividends they could reap in the long term could outweigh the costs in the here and now.

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Emmanuel Sanders Reportedly Signs Offer Sheet with New England

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Steelers fourth year receiver Emmanuel Sanders has signed a one year offer sheet from the New England Patriots. If the reports are true, Pittsburgh has five days to match the offer or lose Sanders, a restricted free agent, in-exchange for the Patriots' third round draft pick.

Sanders caused quite a stir and a bit of a panic in Steelers Nation during the end of Week 1 of free agency when he visited New England and was rumored to have signed a deal.

• However, those rumors of Sanders defection appeared to be unfounded and the story quieted down....until now.

According to Schefter's sources, the money in the deal shouldn't scare the Steelers away from signing Sanders if they want him to return, which they might, considering Mike Wallace was signed away by Miami last month, and Sanders' departure would leave the team with three veteran receivers--Antonio Brown, Plaxico Burress and Jerricho Cotchery--heading into the 2013 season.

And to compound matters, tight end Heath Miller suffered a serious knee injury in the next-to-last game of the 2012 season and isn't expected to be ready in time for the upcoming campaign.

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Johnathan Franklin, Josh Boyce Make Pre Draft Visits to Pittsburgh Steelers

The percentage of linebackers comprising the Pittsburgh Steelers collegiate visitors in advance of the 2013 NFL Draft has officially dropped to 58.3% after the Steelers entertained two more prospects that meet clear areas of need.

The Steelers worked out TCU (Texas Christian University) wide receiver Josh Boyce and UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Allan Robinson, the Steelers could look to Franklin as early as the second or perhaps the third round, while Boyce is projected as a mid-rounder.

• Franklin leaves the Bruins as the team’s top single season and career rusher, while Boyce is projected as an NFL slot receiver.

Mike Tomlin is on record saying that the Steelers need more talent at running back, after having seen both Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman fail to seize the starting job in 2012.  Baron Batch is the only other Steelers running back under contract.

At wide receiver the Steelers talent in depth are better, with what remains of “Young Money” Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown backed up by veterans Jerricho Cotchery and Plaxico Burress.

But Emmanuel Sanders is a restricted free agent who appeared to be headed to New England, and both Cotchery and Burress are playing down the back end of their careers.

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Wallace Departs - Larry Foote, Plaxico Burress & David Johnson Stay with Steelers

In the end, those who predicted that some other team would pay Mike Wallace the 10 million dollar a year that Pittsburgh wouldn’t were way, way off. That’s because the actual number end up at 13 million and the team in question was the Miami Dolphins, who out bid the Vikings, among other teams.

This contract was far greater than what the Steelers had offered Mike Wallace before his hold out and far more than what Antonio Brown got instead.

The Steelers will suffer without home run threat Mike Wallace, but Mike Wallace is no where near with the money Miami is paying him.

Steelers Far From Not Idle – Foote, Burress, and Johnson Return

While the Steelers never wade into to the free agent signing free for alls, they were  hardly idle back in Pittsburgh. 24 hours before free agency began, the Steelers came to terms with Ramon Foster who signed what is reported to be a 3 year 6 million dollar contract with between 900 and 800 thousand guaranteed.

Ramon Foster had been getting feelers from other teams and the Steelers acted quickly to keep him off the market, as they did with Larry Foote who’d been courted by Pittsburgh West aka the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers had been in talks with Larry Foote, and are desperately thin at inside linebacker, especially as Sean Spence’s season if not his entire career are in serious doubt at this point.

The Steelers also made what journalists were describing as a “surprise” move, by signing former Kevin Colbert first round pick Plaxico Burress to a one year deal for the league minimum. After the season ended, there’d been talk that Burress would be back, but as recently as Tuesday morning Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette claimed that any Burress signing would happen in June.

And late in the day it was reported that the Steelers agreed to terms with David Johnson, their fullback – tight end who was injured last year in preseason at the hands of Marcus Gilbert. With Heath Miller ailing, David Paulson and David Johnson now give the Steelers two healthy tight ends.

Colon Expected to be Cut

Even if the Steelers did turn a few heads by locking down a few of their own players to contracts, the exodus will continue as Rashard Mendenhall and Keenan Lewis are expected to receive offers from other teams.

• And so might Willie Colon. 

The Steelers ability to resign Ramon Foster makes Colon, who has finished the last three seasons in injured reserve and earned an average of a million dollars per game actually played, expendable.

The Steelers are expected to cut Willie Colon, but designating him as a post-June 1st cut, which will allow Colon to seek another offer while the Steelers can prorate the dead money impact on the salary cap over two years.

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