For Whom the Bell Tolls... Steelers Draft Le'Veon Bell in Second Round

Mike Tomlin made no bones about the fact that the Steelers needed to beef up the talent they had at running back and tonight in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft he made good on his promise.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Michgan State’s Le’Veon Bell in the second round of the draft. Weighing in at 230 and standing 6-1, Bell runs a 4.57 in the forty and proved to be a durable back at Michagn State, carrying the offense there by running the ball 382 times.

Steelers offensive Coordinator Todd Haley immediately compared him to Eddie George. Speaking with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette, Bell described himself this way:

I'm a balanced runner . . . I can go in there and get tough yardage and short yardage. A lot of people look at me like, 'He's just a short-yardage back.' But I don't look at myself like that. I can get to the outside and beat you with speed. I can catch the ball out of the backfield. I can pass protect. I can play special teams.

That’s a biased assessment, but as Mike Tomlin reminds us, you are what you put on tape (available as of 4/17/13):




Bell’s athleticism, versatility and outside speed certainly are in evidence and his style looks to complement that of that Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman. Or will we soon say that Redman’s and Dwyer’s style complements that of Le’Veon Bell?

That question will be decided later in July under the hot summer sun at St. Vincent’s in Latrobe.

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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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Steelers Begin Pre-Draft Visits with Christine Michael, John Simon, and Vince Williams,

April 1st might be April Fools Day but the Steelers devoted no time to goofing off as they began to evaluate prospects for the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft.

While other NFL teams have already been hosting college prospects for pre-draft visits, Monday April 1st was the Steelers first foray and they invited in three players in for interviews.

Those players were:

• Christine Michael, a running back from Texas A&M
• John Simon, a linebacker from Ohio State
• Vince Williams, another linebacker from Florida State

According to Dale Lolley, who was the first and thus far only major Pittsburgh writer to break the news, John Simon has good size for a 3-4 outside linebacker and as an OSU Buckeye he would be immediately familiar with the Steelers system.

Lolley also suggested that the Steelers would consider Vince Williams as more of an inside linebacker prospect.

Michael saw limited playing time as a senior because of injuries, but rushed for 34 touchdowns in four years at Texas A&M, according to ESPN.

At running back and at both linebacker slots Pittsburgh is dangerously thin, so its no surprise that the Steelers first pre draft visits would involve players that could meet those areas of need.

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Steelers, Rashard Mendenhall, Unlikely to Mend Fences

The Pittsburgh Steelers went into the 2008 NFL Draft with clear needs at offensive and defensive line. Yet they had a few players who they would not pass on, need be dammed, should they fall their way.

Rashard Mendenhall was one of them, and when he fell to them the Steelers picked him in the first round.

• And Mendenhall has remained an enigma ever since.

Rashard Mendenhall entered the NFL behind Willie Parker on the depth chart, but that looked to change early in the season as Parker fell injured vs. the Eagles. Mendenhall stint as the Steelers starter lasted all of one game, ended by Ray Lewis in Baltimore.

Mendenhall did his rehab in Pittsburgh but disappeared from the team’s facilities, spending his free time in museums.

Failure to “be on the details” caused Mike Tomlin to bench him before the Steelers road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, yet a injury to Parker saw Mendenhall starting vs. San Diego following week where he exploded for 165 yards.

• Mendenhall grabbed hold of the starting role and only injury forced him to relinquish it.

But that doesn’t mean Mendenhall's reign as starter has been an unqualified success. Instead, he’s been maddeningly inconsistent.

When Mendenhall runs decisively, he can hang with the top five backs in the league conjure memories of some of the best power rushers in league history. Think the AFC Championship game.

At other times Mendenhall hesitates and shuffles. And at those times there’s nothing to distinguish Mendenhall from the mediocre middle. While Mendenhall has clearly been the Steelers most talented running back during his time in Pittsburgh, he has never been its most consistent performer. (That distinction falls to Isaac Redman.)

And then there’s the question of attitude.

• Mendenhall’s early benching seemed to set him straight. (His Twitter tirades are unrelated to football and have no bearing in this discussion.) 

Later that same year he showed a ton of heart in picking himself up off the ground and running the length of the field to save a pick six.

But Mendenhall’s two fumbles in the Steelers mid-season meltdown vs. Cleveland earned him third string status. And Rashard Mendenhall responded by pulling a no show for the Steelers game vs. San Diego.

Such behavior is inexcusable and Mike Tomlin suspended him for it. Mendenhall for his part didn’t see anything wrong with not showing up for a game….

Could Mendenhall and the Steelers Mend Fences?

Shortly after the suspension, word leaked that Mendenhall was “negotiating with the Steelers.” As the Steelers have not negotiated contracts during the season since mid-1993 such negotiations probably consist of his agent leaving a voicemail with Kevin Colbert and leaking it to the press.

• Nonetheless, Kevin Colbert has said the Steelers have not ruled out resigning Mendenhall.

What does that mean?

Either Colbert is saying this because it’s his job to say something that like that, or the Steelers could be interested in welcoming him back.

• No matter how low his price goes, the Steelers should not welcome Rashard Mendenhall back

The extent of the divisions in the Steelers locker room remains a matter of debate. Absent social media, few fans would even know about the conflicts, be they real or perceived.

But the Steelers did struggle with discipline issues in 2012 and Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert will severely undercut their own authority if they bring back someone who abandoned his teammates.

Don’t expect that to happen.

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Raiders Rushing Game is More Anemic Than the Steelers....

The Pittsburgh Steelers running game remains stalled, badly stalled, two games into their 2012 season. Mike Tomlin minced no words about the subject at his Tuesday press conference declaring "We haven't run the ball as well as we have liked."

• That’s some what of an understatement.

In two games the Steelers have only rushed for a combined total of 141 yards – that was often times a single days work for Barry Foster, Jerome Bettis, or Willie Parker.

What’s more, they’re averaging 2.6 yards per carry, which is well below the respectable 4.4 average the achieved in 2011.

Issac "Redzone" Redman, the man who electrified with 100 yard performances against Cleveland in the regular season finale and in the playoffs vs. Denver, is barely eeking out two yards a pop.

Jonathan Dwyer has done a little better, who 3.4 yards per carry verges in respectability, yet after two games he only has 71 yards to his name.

• Those aren’t the totals of even an average, let alone an elite NFL rusher.

But you know what?

Jonathan Dwyer has more rushing yards than the entire Oakland Raiders combined.

That’s right, as a team, the Raiders have only totaled 68 yards rushing. Their star running back Darrell McFadden only has 54 yards to his name (at 2.1 yards a pop.)

Oakland’s number two rusher?

• Quarterback Carlson Palmer.

You know your rushing game is in trouble when your quarterback is your number two rusher and that quarterback happens to be Carlson Palmer (for those who must know, Palmer has carried the ball twice, for 7 yards.)

Mendenhall to Play?

Rashard Mendenhall has been practicing since the Steelers activated him back in training camp and the conventional wisdom is that he will not play until after the Steelers upcoming bye week.

Steelers Digest suggested as recently as a week ago that Mendenhall’s return might not come until Halloween.

Or it could come as early as this week, per Mike Tomlin.

The smart money says that this is a feign by Tomlin, that he won’t risk Mendenhall. But press accounts indicate that Mendenhall has looked very good in practice, and the Steelers rushing game could use a jolt of power.

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Steelers Cut Harpmann, 15 others, Sign DeJuan Harris

The Turk visited the South Side yesterday, and among the most notiable name he claimed was that that of David Harpmann.

David Harpmann had been perfect in the preseason, hitting on all of his field goal attempts, including several from 40 years plus – precisely the zone that has given incumbent Shaun Suisham trouble.

While he didn’t quite reach Isaac Redman proportions, Harpmann was gaining cult-hero status in Steelers Nation. Steel Curtain Rising was among those who felt he should replace Shaun Suisham.

The Steelers however are opting to stick with Suisham. While the arguments for going with Harpmann are strong, my friend Ivan Cole of Behind the Steel Curtain observed that Suisham was going to need to do something to get himself off the team as much as anything else. And Harpmann didn’t do that.

Now, will Harpmann be there if the Steelers need him mid-season? That’s just the risk they have to take.

The Steelers also cut:

Linebacker Ryan Baker
Wide receivers Paul Cox, Juamorris Stewart, and Jimmy Young
Cornerback, Andre Freeman and Walter McFadden
Long snapper Matt Katula
Tight end Jamie McCoy and Justin Peelle
Offensive lineman Kyle Jolly
Defensive tackle Kade Weston and Mike Blanc

The Steelers also placed Monty Ivy on the Waived/injured list.

It would appear to be the end of the line for Kyle Jolly, who spent 2010 and 2011 on the Steelers practice squad.

Steelers Sign DeJuan Harris

How desperate are the Steelers at running back? Well the claimed DeJuan Harris off of waivers today from the Jacksonville Jaguars. As Ed Bouchette reports, their main motive here is to have enough bodies to compete in their final preseason contest Thursday night vs. Carolina.

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