Is Signing Antonio Brown a Good Football Move?

As mentioned previously here on Steel Curtain Rising, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a decisive statement when they cut off negotiations with Mike Wallace andopted (instead?) to resign Antonio Brown.

The move also satisfied an emotional need for a fan base who traditionally has had little sympathy with hold outs, although this later factor undoubtedly had no impact on the Steelers decision making.

But if the move provided Steelers Nation with an emotional high, the the question still remains:

Was giving Antonio Brown big money now the right football move?

It’s hard to say.

Based on what I saw during the second half of 2011 I was of the mind that if forced to choose between Mike Wallace and Brown I’d choose Brown. But then again, I thought drafting a quarterback in the first round of 2004 was a mistake….

Antonio Brown impressed greatly as a rookie, making an immediate impact and aggressively working his way into the Steelers offense.

He continued on that trajectory in 2011, becoming such a significant play maker that the drop off in Hines Ward’s play barely impacted the team.

Yet one stand out season is not a lot to hang your hat on.

To wit, the Steelers have never given a contract extension to a player after only two years.  The only exception closely resembling this would be the deal Willie Parker got in 2006, but that does not compare. Parker was an exclusive-rights free agent and had no contract.

Parker had also clearly proven himself as a starter by not only pushing Jerome Bettis but also Duce Staley to the bench.

In contrast Antonio Brown has started only three games for the Steelers.

That’s right, the Pittsburgh Steelers have just given 42 million dollars to a man with three starts under his belt who has yet to face a situation where defensive staffs game plan specifically to stop him.

That is a very thin resume.  But with that said, Antonio Brown has:

• earned his stripes in the trenches
• come up with clutch catches in the playoffs vs. the Ravensand then vs. the Jets
• is clearly in a position of establishing himself as a leader on and off the field.

At the end of the day the Steelers are taking a risk, but on balance its one worth taking. If Brown works out to be the player he is on track to become, this deal will look like a total steal for the Steelers come 2014 or so.

Why Resign Brown Now?

The next question is now the time for the Steelers to make such a move?

In cold, calculating football terms, the answer is certainly “no.” Wallace has one year left on his contract, and then he’ll be a restricted free agent. The Steelers would still hold the lion’s share of leverage next March.

Had Machiavelli written on NFL personnel matters as opposed to matters of state, he’d undoubtedly would have counseled Kevin Colbert to play the cards close to the vest, and hold off until the off season.

But that’s not the Steelers Way. Never has been and hopefully never will be.

Consider, in the past twelve months the Steelers have:

• Given a long-term extension to Troy Polamalu, when the smart money would have been to wait
• Released Troy Smith when Bryon Leftwich’s injury historywould indicate it would have been “wiser” to bring him to camp
• Cut Jonathan Scott instead of keeping him in camp

Each of the moves was the “wrong” move from both a football and a business stand point (with the possible exception of the money that releasing Scott freed).

Yet each of these moves signaled that the Pittsburgh Steelers are an organization that believes in taking care of its people. Make no mistake about it. The NFL is a business and the Steelers make unsentimental business decisions about personnel ever year.

That capacity was on display last spring with the departures of Aaron Smith, James Farrior and Hines Ward, to name a few.

But even in business, there’s a right way to treat people and a wrong way to treat people. And the Steelers, for the most part, treat their players right.

The most of the players associated with the franchise know this, they understand it, and they respect it. The organization is stronger because of it and the team certainly need not tie itself into knots over the players who don’t recognize that.

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Ben Roethlisberger Admits to Rotator Cuff Injury

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger gave a lengthy interview to reporters at training camp in St. Vincent’s in Latrobe today.

The primary focus of his conversation was on the development of the new offense that Todd Haley is installing. Steelers Nation will be pleased to know that Roethlisberger is taking well to the new offense and thinks highly of it.

The other piece of news to come out of the interview was far less encouraging.

Roethlisberger admitted, for the first time, he suffered a torn rotator cuff in the Steelers November loss to the Baltimore Ravens. (This admission adds further irony to the loss, because the game was arguably the offensive line’s best outing of the season.)

Big Ben insists that the injury no longer causes him problems and that he does not expect it to be an issue in the coming season.

Such confidence in the face of injury is admirable, but  rotator cuff injuries are nothing to make light of, particularly if you’re a quarterback. Roethlisberger insisted that the injury did not impact his play late last year, but that assertion is dubious.

Aside form the fall off in offensive performance, Behind the Steel Curtain’s Neal Coolong noted that he saw a significant drop in Roethlisberger’s arm strength.

Tribune-Review Steelers beat writer Alan Robinson downplayed the severity of the injury observing:

A lower-grade rotator cuff tear usually does not require surgery, only rehabilitation. An injury common to athletes, it is more like inflammation, and the shoulder often returns to normal function without surgery.

Ben Roethlisberger, while helping redefine the concept of "tough" for his willingness and ability to play with injuries is also noted as being some what of a drama queen.

Nonetheless “rotator cuff” and “quarterback” are two words which you never want to see in the same sentence….

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Steelers Sign Antonio Brown, Make Statement to Mike Wallace

“One thing that experience has taught me is that this is bigger than all of us. It’s bigger than Wallace and it’s bigger than me.” – Mike Tomlin on Mike Wallace’s hold out

While Mike Tomlin’s comments on Mike Wallace’s holdout were clear and fairly strong, they did not go much beyond standard Pittsburgh Steelers head coach boiler plate for contract disputes.

• Actions, of course speak louder than words.

It’s easy for a coach to talk about focusing on "The guys who want to be here" but it’s another for an entire franchise to put its foot down. And make no mistake about it, the Pittsburgh Steelers put their foot down by giving Antonio Brown a five year contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2017.

Since Mike Wallace became a restricted free agent this off season, Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, and Art Rooney II have said all the right things about resigning him.

This is true despite credible reports that some of the Steelers Brain Trust had reservations about Wallace. The drop off in Wallace’s production during the second half of 2011 was troubling just as the drop off in the 2010 playoffs raised yellow flags.

But both Ed Bouchette and Len Pasqurelli wrote about people in the Steelers organization having worries about the role that attitude played in his drop off.

• Then came the rumors that Wallace expects to be paid Larry Fitzgerald like money.

The Steelers commenced training camp and Wallace no showed. Add in the fact that Wallace’s is holding out against the advice of his agent Bus Cook, a man who has a history of orchestrating hold outs.

• Connect the dots and the pattern you get is not a pleasant one for Steelers Nation.

Make no mistake, the Steelers negotiated in good faith. While character and locker room chemistry are important to the Steelers, senior management knows Wallace is one of the rare NFL players who truly is a threat to go all the way anytime he gets the ball in his hands.

That alone makes him valuable. And even when Wallace is dropping passes or letting defensive backs make uncontested plays on under thrown balls, he’s still stretching the field for Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery and Health Miller.

The Steelers stood ready to give Wallace real money in a long-term deal. And they made good on that intention. Except Antonio Brown’s name was on that contract, not Mike Wallace’s.

There are franchises in pro sports that allow themselves to be defined by a single player or personality. The Pittsburgh Steelers are not one of them.

The Steelers are a far weaker team without Mike Wallace in the line up. But the statement the Steelers made in signing Antonio Brown is that the organization will not be dictated to by one player, no matter how valuable.

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Steelers 2012 Training Camp Imperative: Develop Talent

Finally, it is time to strap on the pads.

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 training camp has commenced. Players have completed the run test. Now real football can begin.

The advent of free agency and the internet have transformed NFL football into a year-round phenomena. While all those free agent trackers, mock drafts, mini-camps and OTA’s are great for providing fans with their continuous fix of NFL football, in the end they're all meaningless.

• Lump free agent signings and draft choices in that category too.

Yes, that’s right. By themselves those decisions represent nothing more than potential and opportunity costs.

As Steelers standard bearer Mike Tomlin is fond of saying, “I am not a fan of football in shorts.”

Since 1967, before anyone in Pittsburgh had even heard the name “Chuck Noll,” the fields of St. Vincent’s have served as the crucible where men have alternatively made or broken their dreams.

This summer promises to be no different for the 85 plus young men who come to Latrobe seeking to realize or extend their shot at membership in the elite few who can say they played in the NFL.

But there is a difference for the franchise, an important difference:

• Developing the current draft class is more important now than it has been in previous summers.

Training Camp Reveals You a Lot, Often Times Quickly

Training camp doesn't provide a perfect guide by any means.

Thaddeus Gibson drew rave reviews in the summer of ’10 only to be gone by October

But if every camp has its flash in the pan, each camp also confirms the rise or decline of half dozen or so rookies. Exchanging pre-draft hype for shoulder pads and three point stances  tends to have that effect.

Huey Richardson broke his nose in non-contact drills during his rookie camp and found himself dispatched to the Redskins in a fire-sale trade one summer later.

In contrast, Joe Greene showed up late and overweight his first summer at St. Vincents, yet tossed veteran Ray Mansfield aside like a rag doll and crushed the on coming back in Chuck Noll’s infamous “Oklahoma drill.”

Four summers later, Ray Mansfield himself watched rookie Mike Webster excel in the same drill, and told the coaches and he thought he’d just met his successor.

Players have moments like these over the next three weeks. The Steelers however, need more players to have Greene and Mansfield moments as opposed to Richardson moments.

Why This Camp Is Different for the Steelers

Developing young talent is of course an important goal in every camp. But this year is different for the Steelers. Understanding why requires both looking back and forward.

The Pittsburgh Steelers recent run of success has made them the envy of just about every NFL team save for perhaps New England and New York. They’ve switched coaches, restructured ownership, battled off season issues, held their offensive line together with bubble gum and duct tape for seemingly seasons on end.

• Yet they continue to win.

Dan Rooney, Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin should rightfully be proud of that achievement.

But that very accomplishment has obscured an inconvenient truth.

The Steelers have had some bad drafts of late.

A team need not turn in a grade ‘A’ draft every year to remain a contender. But it can only afford so many mistakes.

• Willie Colon will be the lone representative of the 2006 draft
• Of the 2008 draft, only Ryan Mundy and Rashard Mendenhall remain

A team seldom suffers an immediate impact from a bad draft. Instead, the impact surfaces in succeeding years. The consequences might remain obscured to the untrained eye.

Think the Steelers brought back Randle El and Larry Foote out of sentimentality or signed Will Allen in 2010 simply to take advantage of the uncapped year?

Not a chance. You can directly tie those moves to the failures of Bruce Davis, Limas Sweed, and Anthony Smith.

A poor draft can also have a ripple effect on draft conducted a few years in the future. Attentive readers will remember that Steel Curtain Rising began 2010 training camp with a similar column.

I don't like recycling columns, but the point was valid then is even more valid today.

Consider this - If Tony Hills had developed even a competent tackle, maybe the Steelers use this year’s second round pick to shore up an aging safety corps.

Yes, this summer is different for the Steelers, and they themselves implicitly acknowledge that.

Mike Tomlin himself has said that David DeCastro and Mike Adams must prove themselves as 2 of the team’s top five lineman to start.

• That’s the policy of a head coach who wins Super Bowls.

But make no mistake about it. The Steelers are counting on DeCastro starting almost immediately and Mike Adams starting shortly there after. And while they might not be “counting” on Alameda Ta’amu this year, their short term plans for him are clear.

• The Steelers have never a rookie class figure so prominently into their plans for an upcoming season.

While it’s certainly conceivable that the Steelers can climb the Stairway to Seven without immediate contributions from their 2012 draft class, the imperative goes beyond this season.

The Steelers top three play makers, arguably, are James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, and Ben Roethlisberger. All three are on the wrong side of 30.

The big 3-0 isn’t quite the milestone that screams “decline” that it was a generation ago thanks to advanced training and nutrition techniques. But it does indicate that these men have logged more seasons in the past than they will in the future.

• And the Steelers Super Bowl window is held open on the shoulders of these men.

The Steelers coaches probably can’t do anything extra to ensure that David DeCastro, Mike Adams, Sean Spence, Alameda Ta’amu, ChrisRainey, Toney Clemons, David Paulson, Terrence Fredrick, and Kelvin Beachum realize their potential. These coaches will play their normal role of nurture while the “nature” side of player development runs its course. 

It’s a deliberate process, but one that remains decidedly and art and not a science, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have more than usual riding on its outcome.

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Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Reup for 3 Years

The Pittsburgh Steelers are less than 24 hours away from convening training camp at St. Vincents Collegein Latrobe and almost as if on cue came the announcement that they had extended the contract of head coach Mike Tomlin.

The move will keep Tomlin on the Steelers sidelines through the 2016 season.

The Steelers policy has been to extend their head coach when he has two years remaining on his contract. The Steelers did just that two years ago, although at the time Joe Starkey of the Tribune Review noted that the extension was for 2 years plus an option, a departure from their standing operating procedure of offering straight three year extensions.

The Steelers move in 2010 was somewhat logical, as the team had suffered a mighty post-Super Bowl hangover during the 2009 season.

Since then Tomlin should, and apparently has, erased any doubts. In 2010, the Steelers became the first NFL team to begin its season with its starting quarterback serving a suspension – Pittsburgh landed in Super Bowl XLVnonetheless.

The Steelers fortunes during the 2011 season weren’t quite so rosy, but Tomlin kept the team in contention despite roster ravaged by injury.

No Surprises This Time

There was little serious doubt that the Steelers would renew Mike Tomlin this time around. The only naysayer was Ron Cook of the Post Gazette, who suggested that Tomlin might resent Art Rooney II forcing him to fire Bruce Arians so much that he would refuse an extension.

Today it became clear why Cook could offer no reporting to back up his claim.

Although financial terms were released with the deal, one would figure that the contract extension would include a hefty increase for Tomlin. If this is true then it also dispels the notion that the Rooneys would refuse to pay top dollar for a quality head coach.

The bottom line is that Mike Tomlin is happy coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Steelers are happy to have him. That’s a win for both sides in addition to a win for Steelers Nation.

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Steelers Sign David DeCastro

Just days before convening training camp in at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania the Pittsburgh Steelers came to terms with David DeCastro their number one pick from the 2012 NFL Draft.

DeCastro signed a 4 year deal which includes an 5th option year at the end.

The news comes as no surprise, but is nonetheless welcome. Although Doug Legursky or Ramon Foster might be "officially" penciled on the depth chart to begin training camp at right guard, the Steelers are clearly counting on DeCastro as their starter. For that to occur he needs to begin camp on time, which now will happen.

The Steelers also signed undrafted rookie free agent offensive tackle Bridger Buche who was a two year starter at Eastern Michigan.

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Steelers Cut Jonathan Scott

One day after resigning veteran offensive tackle Max Starks the Steelers made another move by cutting reserve tackle Jonathan Scott.

Johnathan Scott was part of the Steelers 2010 Free Agent Signing Spree that included the returns of Antwann Randel El and Larry Foote. Scott brought on to be a back up but injuries forced him into the starting line up.

Scott struggled, mightily at times, during the regular season, but stepped up his game impressively during the playoffs and Super Bowl XLV. The Steelers thought so highly of his progress that he began the 2011 season as the starter.

That changed fast, however, as he was unable to protect Ben Roethlisberger's blind side, and the team quickly moved to bring back Max Starks. Scott continued to receive action however, as repeated injuries forced the Steelers to play musical chairs on offensive line.

The Steelers likely waived Scott now, a week before training camp, to give him a chance to sign on elsewhere. The move also potentially opens up a roster spot for either Chris Scott, the Steelers 5th pick from the 2010 NFL Draft and/or Kyle Jolly, an undrafted rookie Free Agent who from 2010 who has spent the last two years on the practice squad. Trai Essex, who can play tackle, also remains on their roster.

Alan Robinson of the Tribune Review reported that the move will save the Steelers 1.7 million dollars against the salary cap - funds that could be used towards a long-term deal with restricted free agent Mike Wallace.

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