Yinz Guyz Gahn' Dahntahn?

Is it 5:30 yet? I'll bet you all are thinking the same thing I'm thinking right now - let me out of this friggin' place! It's time to do a little restin', relaxin', and most of all, drinkin'. But before I jet, I thought I'd offer you all a quick recap of the day's hottest Steeler/NFL/PA related news items.

So read on:

• Congress has spoken and it has said - screw you Gene Upshaw. You're a dick. Your players have shit for benefits after they retire. Now, give us all your records. Must have been Ditka.


• Rumor has it Kyle Boller might be starting for Baltimore this Sunday...that's enough. Next story.


• William Gay just "gets" Dick LeBeau. Hence, chances are we may see more of him in the coming weeks. Certainly Week 7 at Denver if McFadden is still down. Ain't gonna find any arguments here, hoss.


• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist John Harris and Steelers beat writer Scott Brown play Pardon The Interruption. Highlight 1: John Harris suggesting Daniel Sepulveda could or should be rookie of the year! Highlight 2: Scott Brown suggesting the Patriots need to work on their stealth videotaping skills, and John Harris putting the word out to Steven Spielberg.


• This week's police blotter chock full of Pennsylvania Running Backs: Steelers' Deuce Davenport and Penn State's Austin Scott. As far as Davneport is concerned - like I said in comment on D.C. Steeler Nation this afternoon - sometimes, like wayne brady, you just gotta choke a bitch. And regarding Austin Scott - they oughta lock his ass up and throw away the key. Awful human being. Course, I guess there's something to be said for innocent until proven guilty, huh?

Last thing I want to mention today is that my good friend Domski will be back in the 'Burgh this weekend. So if any of you yinzers see him out and about, possibly eating a fruit parfait (exhibit A below) or maybe some potato pancakes at Eat n' Park, feel free to say hello and ask him if he thinks the Eagles are going to win the Super Bowl. Taking the weekend off for a change. See yinz on Monday, drink some 'ahrns for me this weekend.

They Go Together Like Lamb and Tuna Fish...

Ok, so I have subscribed to receive e-mail updates from Steelers.com when there's something, you know, important going on with the team, sales on merchandise, and/or other such pressing agendas. So you can imagine my surprise when the other day I get an email from Steelers.com entitled "Steelers Style 2007." Intrigued, I hit the "show images" button in my email to get a better idea of what exactly they meant.

Low and behold, it's a god damned fashion show!! A Steelers fashion show featuring a number of the teams stars including event Co-Captains, the slender Casey Hampton and GQ's next Man of the Year, Big Ben. No cheerleaders, but a man fashion show? I'm confused.

Anyways, it's all for charity. So I suppose if you're in the general Pittsburgh area, do your part to make this world better and go watch Kendall Simmons walk down the runway to poundingly loud techno and pray that you get to see him "shake a little booty." By the way, should we be alarmed that it's apparently much easier to find a picture of Big Ben on the runway than Casey Hampton?? Wasn't Casey involved in that "NFL Big Man Dance Challenge" a couple years ago?

Steelers Style 2007...what else do you want me to say?

The 49ers Are Who We Thought They Were...

Not to diminish today's win at all but let's be honest, thus far, the Steelers have NOT been challenged offensively or defensively. So as Keisel "The Diesel" puts it...

"I don't think we can afford to get overly excited about where we are just yet. It's nice to be 3-0 and have that confidence, but let's hold on a little bit."

Still, we've outscored our 1st three opponents by a cumulative 97-36, amassing 6 TDs, just about 800 total yards offensively and even a kick return touchdown (1st time in 5 years for the Steelers...). The Steelers are rolling like it's January 2006 and that trend doesn't look to be changing anytime soon, with Arizona (Pittsburgh West) and Seattle being our next two kills.

As is becoming commonplace, here's my Monday Morning QB (errr...Sunday Evening?) positive highlights:

• #1 has gotta be Allen Rossum's spectacular special teams show. A 98 yard touchdown return and at least one solid tackle. Good pickup? I'd say so...especially since last season we were just hoping our returners could keep their hands on the ball.


• Willie Parker will run all over your ass...3rd straight week with 100+ rushing yards! Have we ever mentioned he was undrafted out of college? But I think the best part about Willie's performances this season has gotta be his unwillingness to go down. He's been espcially difficult to bring down this year...something I am really digging.


• Fun fact of the day: This is the 6th time in team history that the Steelers have opened a season 3-0. The other 5 times: 1973, 1978, 1979, 1982 and 1992. I like those odds...


• We finally got Heath Miller into the game (besides that TD from week one). If you ask me, I'll take running the ball and hitting the TEs in the flat all day long if it works. Plus let's put it this way - the guy was a 1st round pick at TE...we ought to use him accordingly.


• For that matter, getting Tuman into the mix? Good decision. 3rd straight week with a TE touchdown.


• Jeff Reed's hitting 49 yarders? Good shit...

...and I could go on all day...but I won't.

So I ask you Steeler fans, as Coach Tomlin consistently challenges the guys, Do we have the goods to be champions??? Oh we got the goods alright...they ain't seen nothin' yet.

Cheers to another beautiful win!

Here's a roundup of other post-game coverage:
[ESPN]
[CBS Sportsline]
[Post-Gazette]
[KDKA]
[Steel City Insider]
[New York Times]
[Beaver County/Allegheny Times]

PS - so I gotta ask, did anyone else dry heave when they saw the Eagles 75th Anniversary uniforms?? I guess the good news for them was pastels = touchdowns...as they scored what, 6? 7? I don't even know...

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to Mike Tomlin, NFL.com's Coach of the Week for Week 1. Guess all my lobbying really helped...you can thank me later Coach T.

Anyways, just wanted to spread the good news with you all via the interwebs...

Cheers and have a great weekend!

The Ladies Dig The Black and Gold...

For Steeler faithful, this isn't anything mind blowing, but a recent survey has now validated that the Steelers have the "Best Female Fan Base" in the NFL.

SO what does that mean? Well by the details I got from the Post-Gazette, it means that "34 percent of women in Pittsburgh identify themselves as fans" and that "Pittsburgh has more than twice the number of female NFL fans than the average market." In extracting this info, the survey, conducted by Scarborough Sports Marketing, polled more than 220,000 residents in more than 75 different NFL markets, and found Pittsburgh to have the best fan base, followed by Green Bay and our next kill, Buffalo.

And yet, still no cheerleaders! Maybe some of you female Steeler fans who have shapely bodies should get yourselves some tight spandex, bikini tops and form an unofficial troupe...? Just a suggestion...feel free to email photos to onefortheotherthumb@gmail.com, I'd be happy to make selections...

Moral of this story - chicks dig the black and gold...but if you had asked me, I could have told you that it's worked for me for years...errrr, something...

Jim Wexell - Coming to a Town Near You!!

Head's up Steeler Nation! Steelers beat writer and veritable guru, Jim Wexell, is hitting the road to canvas Steeler Nation.

His plan, which he's dubbed "A Steeler Nation: The Story Behind America’s REAL Team” is as follows:

Over the next 45 days attend/visit as many "games, tailgates, Steelers bars, anti-Steelers bars, hometowns of players, hometowns of legends, of ghosts" all "while living out of an RV".

As related by Wexell, his route will be -- up to Buffalo for Sunday's game, then on to Heath Miller country (Swords Creek, Virginia), then Willie Parker's homestead (Clinton, North Carolina), then Lawrence Timmons land (Florence, South Carolina) whereabout he'll also hit up Greg Lloyd (aka Mr. Miyagi) and maybe even live to tell about it, then Deshea Townsend's home state (Mississippi), then down through the Louisiana area (Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, Alan Faneca), and finally, to round out the FIRST WEEK (!), a nice little "Sunday at the Hamptons” in Galveston, Texas - where Wexell will catch the Stillers-9ers game with Big Snack's Mom. Boy, looking at that schedule, I'm wondering if Wexell plans on sleeping at all...

As for the rest of the journey: After taking in a Sunday matinee (game) with Casey's kinsmen (and women), Wexell will head up through Houston, Dallas and Austin, picking off as many Cowboy fans as possible, then head over to Glendale to watch the "epic battle" between a newly crowned tandem of coaches and their former team, then it's on to Hollywood. Post-Hollywood, where Wexell will no doubt rub elbows with the stars, he'll head up through Oregon to see where Polamalu grew up. From there he'll check out the great wide open that is Wyoming aka the home of Keisel the Diesel, then down to Denver to watch the Steelers-Broncos game. And then begins the long trek home, which will lead Wexell through Cincy where he'll watch "Face Me" Ike Taylor shut down Ocho Cinco, and with a few last stops in Ohio including Findlay, he will have concluded his 45-day tour of the country, no doubt having encountered more Steeler fans than he even imagined.

So if you live in any of these areas, keep your eyes peeled. You just might get to chat with a mastermind. And if you don't know what he looks like, just check out the inset image. Good luck Jim!

The Jim Wexell Agenda -- [SteelCityInsider]

Give 'Em Hell Tomlin...

Well, we can all breathe out now...for the moment. Preseason is over and we had no significant complications. In fact, 4-1, although it is Preseason, is pretty damn good. Still, I think while we looked good overall, the first team offense's lack of ability to score was a little bit concerning. Plus I'd be lying if I didn't say I think Ben is still trying to force some throws. Good thing I've got the cure for that -- Winning.

If the Steelers come out of the gate strong and Ben starts rolling, I'd hate to be any of our opponents weeks 8-17, 'cause if we're 6-0, 5-1, 4-2, and Ben's throwing rocks, it'll be pretty tough to stop us. Fact is, we love to play from ahead. Sure, everyone does, but the Steelers more so than others in my humble opinion.

So let's get down to the million dollar question that I've asked all of you with this week's poll - How many games will the Steelers win in 2007-2008? My answer is between 10 and 12. Ok, so that's a bit of a cop out, giving a range, but I reserve that right as editor of this here weblog.

Why 10-12? Let's have a look shall we:

Week -- Matchup	Result
Week 1 -- Steelers v. Browns (Away)	Win
Week 2 -- Steelers v. Bills (Home)	Win
Week 3 -- Steelers v. 49ers (Home)	Win
Week 4 -- Steelers v. Cardinals (Away)	Win (as if there were any doubt)
Week 5 -- Steelers v. Seahawks (Home)	Win
Week 7 -- Steelers v. Broncos (Away)	Loss
Week 8 -- Steelers v. Bengals (Away)	Win
Week 9 -- Steelers v. Ravens (Home) **	Win
Week 10 -- Steelers v. Browns (Home)	Win
Week 11 -- Steelers v. Jets (Away)	Win
Week 12 -- Steelers v. Dolphins (Home)	Win
Week 13 -- Steelers v. Bengals (Home)	Loss
Week 14 -- Steelers v. Patriots (Away)	Win
Week 15 -- Steelers v. Jaguars (Home)	Loss
Week 16 -- Steelers v. Rams (Away)	Win
Week 17 -- Steelers v. Ravens (Away)	Loss

Keep in mind, this is not necessarily how I think it will absolutely go, but rather just how it might possibly go. I mean hey, we could lose to the geriatric Trent Green, Joey Porter and the rest of the Dolphins...the beauty and the reason we keep watching is because you never know.

So of course I'd like to say we're going to run the table, but since that's not exactly realistic, you'll just have to read what I say and make up your own mind. What do you all think? How many wins? To whom will we lose? Who will shine? I'm all ears.

PS - I'll add another column, "Notes," to this table and add to it as the season rolls on....PPS - It's really hard to think objectively about Wins and Loses when you're a Steeler fan...

Offensive Lineman - Can't Live With 'Em, and They Can't Pee Standing Up...

A little reference to Major League II there for those of you who don't know...anyways...

It's no secret. Our Offensive Line is not exactly what any of us would call "solid." As it stands, we're looking at Marvel Smith, Alan Faneca, Sean Mahan, Kendall Simmons and Willie Colon. But right now, Marvel Smith's still on the sidelines, Faneca still "knicked" up and unhappy, the Mahan/Okobi "battle" is still not settled, I'm not super confident in Kendall Simmons, and Willie Colon has only ever started two games in the NFL (not that I don't think he can handle the job)...

However, the good news in all this, if there is any, is that our AFC North rivals are also having some problems with their respective O-lines. The Ravens have a few young guys who are still adjusting to life in the pros, The Browns are not positive LeCharles Bentley will play (or Steinbach for that matter), and the Bengals Levi Jones AND Willie Anderson are still sidelined.

So misery loves company right? Sure, but let's just hope that we get our situation under control before they do. Otherwise it could be disastrous for our offense.

Even Jerome Bettis Has Feelings...

Since retiring from the NFL after a dramatic Super Bow XL victory, The Bus has taken a job as a national broadcast analyst, opened a restaurant on the North Side, and now, most recently, penned an autobiographical account of his career on and off the field, aptly titled, "The Bus: My Life In and Out of a Helmet."

This in and of itself is certainly not controversial. However, apparently, Bettis candidly comments on a couple things that Steeler fans might find "interesting" (for lack of a better word). The first of these being Kordell Stewart. According to The Bus, Kordell was "set up" for failure, and when Cowher benched him in 2002 in favor of Tommy Maddox, it was because the Steelers "didn't want to pay him a big salary and signing bonus." Bettis continues:

"It was cheaper for them if he didn't have success. If he recovered and had a huge year, then the public sentiment would be, 'Hey, you've got to resign him for whatever it costs.' I'm telling you, it was a monetary decision. The Steelers had no interest in paying Kordell his market value."

Of course, as the story referenced above points out, Bettis, being the loyal guy he is, was quoted at the time as saying:

"It's one of those things, a coach has got to make a decision in the best interest of this football team. You have to do what you have to do."

But really that's about the most interesting of the book's content, from what I can tell. Other "uncharacteristic" Bettis comments mentioned in the article (from the book) were: the 2005 loss to Jacksonville in which Cowher "just forgot" to put The Bus in, during "crucial short-yardage situations"; and a 2004 home game against the Bengals, in which he scored two touchdowns and noticed fans booing him (being a touchdown vulture). Now I can't say, not having been there myself, but I can understand The Bus being upset about the Cincy game. I don't really care how few yards he has, so long as we were scoring touchdowns. If it is in fact true that fans boo'd him for poaching touchdowns, that's pretty sad...but not all that unbelievable.

Anyways, the moral of this story - even giants have feelings...somebody give that teddy bear a hug.

Oh No, We Suck Again!

Just kidding. But in all seriousness, I was pretty unimpressed with what both the offense and defense did against Washington this weekend. First of all, 0 points off our starters who played basically the whole first half (at least Ben did) is pretty piss poor.

Even beyond that, there were a number of things I noted in the first half of Saturday's game (which I watched Sunday...and yes, only the 1st half...what're you gonna do), including:

• Verron Haynes looked better than all running backs. How many times in the recent past have you been able to say that? 7 rushes for 30 yards. Not too shabby. Speaking of running backs though, Gary Russell, 7 rushes for 24 yards, not bad either.


• It's seconds from the end of the 2nd Quarter, we're on the 'Skins goal line, and we false start? I'm sure this was because Ben was trying to snap the ball and Mahan just didn't hear him, but blame is not important. What is, is that it happened and as a result we had to settle for a field goal. That just isn't going to fly in the regular season.


• McFadden getting beat by Brandon Lloyd for that TD in the 2nd quarter wasn't exactly a slick move. I don't believe we were in man coverage so maybe "getting beat" is the wrong term but however you slice it, McFadden was responsible for covering Lloyd and he obviously did not do that well enough. This was just disappointing for me because he has been so good lately and was jockeying for a starting job. Not that this will negatively impact that but just that it will be duly noted.


• Was anyone covering Chris Cooley at any point? After first 2 or 3 catches you'd think we'd pay more attention to a pro bowl TE. Just so we're clear, Cooley (the TE) finished with 5 catches for 60 yards! You think Todd Heap will do any worse? Kellen Winslow? We need to be able to keep these guys under control. Didn't look promising on Saturday.


• On a brighter note, the punt coverage looked pretty good and Willie Reid didn't fumble. Actually, he had 2 kick returns totaling 37 yards. Hey, could be worse.


• O-Line still does not look like it's there. As Ed Bouchette pointed out in his recap, not having Marvel Smith at left tackle is a big problem, the only solution to which seems to be moving Alan Faneca into that spot. Max Starks clearly is not able to play there (nor is he really able to play his true position but that's another story) and Trai Essex did not exactly impress on Saturday. So that's one problem. But generally we just looked week in pass protection. That's gotta get better and fast.


• On another bright note, Santonio looked great as the starting split end. 2 catches for 51 yards in limited action is alright by me. He showed some of that speed we wanted to see and clearly he's going to become quite a weapon. Rock n' Roll.


• William Gay had yet another INT. Kid is a machine! Getting him in the 5th round seems to be a steal. Sure, we could've taken Revis in the 1st round but apparently we may have made another great decision. Gay has been exceptional this preseason...whereas Revis has yet to play (or did he play the other night? I didn't really watch that game).


• I think I might owe DeShea Townsend an apology. I've been touting McFadden as the right option at starting corner opposite Ike Taylor, and saying how DeShea is older, and a little on the short side. But who cares if he's making plays. From what I saw, he had a nice sack and played some pretty nice coverage. Overall he looked good. Cheers DeShea!


• Woodley continues to kick ass, with a sack and two solo tackles in Saturday's game. Going to be a tough decision where to put him this year. He's still young but he's already shown he's ready to run with the big boys. I'm curious to see where this nets out...


• Another dominant force was Sepulveda. 50 yard punt avg! I can dig that...I mean hopefully we won't be punting all that often, but if we have to, I wouldn't want anyone else performing that duty but SEPULVEDA!


• Last but certainly not least -- No TDs? None? We better get ourselves together. No TDs against Cincy and Baltimore will = no win. Especially since our first team offense couldn't even get a score out of an entire half of play!

So all in all not the best effort we've put forth. Still, this coming week is another test, and hopefully we will use the results of this game to correct mistakes and come out stronger on Sunday against cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. What did you all think of the game? Any other spots of promise? How did the 2nd half go? I only saw the first couple minutes...

Somewhere In Pittsburgh There's A Very Happy Barber...

Attention Steeler faithful -- In case you hadn't already heard, it was reported today that the team is close to a new deal with Troy "I don't care, pull my hair" Polamalu, one which they hope to have nipped in the bud "around the time" training camp opens on Monday. So while it's not exactly a done deal, that didn't stop the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from reporting it's impending significance this morning. Good F'in news man, the kind I like to read!

Apparently, unbeknownst to me (am I living in a cave or what?), rumors were circulating that in spite of his seemingly faithful and dedicated demeanor, Polamalu was thinking of leaving the Steelers and "returning to the West Coast to be near his family" after his deal was up. Oh well, looks like he'll be staying put, with his OTHER family in the 'Burgh!

Obviously details were sketchy at best, but it looks like they are considering financials in the neighborhood of $10-12 million for signing bonus alone (Ed Bouchette reported his salary of $1 million + this season could be about a tenth of what his signing bonus would be to enter into the new deal, IE - $10-12 million...hey, I'm no math major). So much for the Rooneys being frugal...take that Michael Silver!

But let's also not fail to mention that as my headline states, somewhere in Pittsburgh there's a barber who just bought himself a new pair of shoes...

Slainte Troy, here's to many more years of confusing offenses, crushing receivers, ball carriers and QBs, and of course, getting tackled by your excessively and unnecessarily long hair. We love you man, Cheers!

Angry Rant of the Day...

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and it really irks me to no end that many people - members of the media, bloggers, sports fans in general - have never seemed to give the Steelers much credit for the achievement of winning Super Bowl XL. Either it was because the Seahawks just didn't belong there in the first place, or that Big Ben didn't post up hall of fame numbers, or the game wasn't exciting enough...

Well let me tell you something pendejos - When in recent NFL history has a 6th seeded AFC team gone on the road and won 5 games in a row (if you include the Super Bowl) to capture a championship? That not exciting enough for you??

Some might say this sentiment came about because it was "the Colts year". Well it's been the Colts year for like the last FOUR years, supposedly (no offense Colt's fans). So I don't even want to hear that argument. Frankly, it shouldn't ever be anyone's "year." I believe the saying goes "Any Given Sunday." Rather than be disappointed the Colts couldn't pull it off, why not embrace how hard the Steelers worked and all they had going for them? (PS - I know the media hopped on the bandwagon once the Steelers made it past the Broncos so don't think I'm overlooking that fact)

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but it just seemed to me like many people thought the Steelers didn't deserve it.

Anyways, my whole point is, this Super Bowl win should not be overlooked as a fluke. As any doubters will see this coming season, despite the struggles in 2006, the Steelers will be back in the post season in 2007. I am confident that the fluke was 2006, not 2005.

Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Verron Haynes...

but were afraid to ask.

In honor of the Steelers re-signing fan favorite and would-be 4th stringer (to be fair he could be 3rd), Verron Haynes, I thought I'd pass along to you this link to Verron Haynes' personal website.

Haynes gives you a nice glimpse of his entire life's work - everything from his game last September 12 when he carried the ball once for two yards on down to his double major in Finance and Business at the University of Georgia (via Western Kentucky).

I personally like under his "High School" accomplishments where he lists "Winner of the 100 Percent Wrong Club High School Running Back Award." Not sure what the "100 Percent Wrong Club" is, but I'd be interested to find out. So Verron, if you're reading this, drop me a line.

I wonder though, how did he forget being named one of Pittsburgh's 25 most beautiful?

Either way, Verron, it's nice to have you back buddy.

Manufacturing News 101....

More like repurposing...

Since there hasn't been a whole lot of news from Steelers country the past few days, I'm using a combination of superior wit and good looks (ok, you got me...mostly wit) to provide the hopefully-entertaining commentary/links below. Enjoy!

• Talk about being a little behind the curve...Matt Mosley at ESPN gives Sepulveda a nod...the same nod I gave him here, on May 2...


• Willie Colon, starting Right Tackle? Good thing Max Starks is making close to 2 million bones this season...vs. $360k for Colon


• The one that got away?...I'd rather have somewhat less production but better work ethic/attitude anyday...but that's just me.


• For that matter - Free Agent Losses (98-01) and (02-06)...I'll be starting the Yancy Thigpen fan club shortly...also, let the record state that the Steelers let Mike Vrabel slip away.


• Santonionioniono...


• Care For a Beverage Mr. Cotter?


• The Cowher era personnel poaching continues...although I guess technically it's not poaching if they're no longer with the team...whatever, I'll still call it poaching. Makes me wonder, who are Whis/Grimm going to go after next? I hear Andre Frazier can be had for a price...shh, don't tell Cincinnati


• Oh yeah, Joey Porter plead guilty to assaulting Levi Jones...his dogs on the other hand plead no contest

How Many More Months Til The Season Starts?

Yeah, I got nothing for you today...check back tomorrow.

Just kidding, here's an oldie (kind of) but a goody - Joey Porter introducing the Steelers D on Monday Night Football, Howard Dean style...For as much of a pain in the ass as he was, I gotta think I'm going to miss this jackass crap -

King Me Bernie Kosar!

Ebay item of the day: Browns vs. Steelers Checkers Set

What a great idea. Too bad it looks like it was made for Browns fans...although I guess it is checkers so if you can look past all the Browns BS on the packaging it's a Steelers checkers set for all intents and purposes.

If you're into ebay and cool shit, this is for you. Alstavernhockey can thank me for the free promotion later. Happy Memorial Day weekend Steeler fans!

Ain't Nothin But a Casey Hampton Party...

This pic from DrunkAthletes(see links) just makes me love Casey Hampton more...

Nothing more entertaining than a 300+ pound Nose Tackle bringin sexy back and makin it rain on some hoe's.

Oh, and as for the DrunkAthletes blogger referring to Casey as "obscure"...dude, are you living in a cave? We're talking about a three-time pro bowler and as Wikipedia points out, a player who is tied for the best DT rating on Madden '07, a 97!

See post here for more

Searching For The Next Willie Parker...

Not exactly a move to quell the masses, but yesterday the Steelers signed 11 undrafted free agents, most important of which were 3 running backs. Of course, this speaks to the issue raised over the past couple of days regarding the Steelers neglect for the position during the draft.

I guess the rationale was, "hey, it worked once, look at what Willie Parker has done." I mean I suppose I commend them for actually doing SOMETHING, but bringing undrafted free agents to training camp with the hopes that one will pan out hardly makes me confident in our depth at the position.

Most notable of the 3 RBs was former Minnesota back Gary Russel, who Ed Bouchette points out in his article this morning (see link above), wracked up 1,274 yards and 18 touchdowns two years ago as the thunder to Lawrence Maroney's lightning (but not in the traditional sense...if you catch my drift). Backup RB in college wracks up big numbers in one season then gets signed as undrafted free agent....Sounds familiar, right? Anyways, Russel ended up being left off of Minnesota's 2006 and 2007 roster due to academic problems, instead transferring to junior college in the hopes that he could get by and still play ball.

I agree that this raises some red flags regarding his ability to learn an NFL offense. But honestly, he's not being brought in for the featured back role, so maybe he'll work out.

PLUS, they got this 6'3", 235 Paul Mosley from Baylor, who ran a 4.59 at the combine. Not exactly a burner, but he has some size, so may be a fit for that "thunder" role Fast Willie will need behind him.

So Much Action, So Little Time...

for blogging that is.

But I do want to discuss one thing, hit on by the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette in this morning's paper - The Steelers traded up in the 4th round to get a punter but made no attempts to add depth at Running Back. Now, Ed's column seems to suggest this was a mistake, but as tough as it is for me to disagree with such a football savaant, I have to think that the Steelers know what they're doing.

In his column, Bouchette mentions that Head Coach Mike Tomlin said they "considered some backs in this draft but the value just was not there." Michael, I wholeheartedly agree. After you got through the top 3 or 4 backs, there really wasn't a super impressive lineup to choose from, especially bigger backs that would complement Fast Willie's finesse running style. The guys I thought would have made sense were Tony Hunt and Michael Bush, who went in the 3rd and 4th rounds respectively - positions we obviously weren't comfortable drafting a running back in vs. other positions which we needed more (Punter, ahem ahem).

The value of a good punter cannot be understated. Gardocki has been the best for a long time, but after 16 years in the league, his leg is bound to have lost some power. Sepulveda was the top guy in this draft at the position, a two-time Ray Guy award winner, and although one really can't tell how good a guy will be until he's put in the situation, I think he'll be a good fit.

Plus, Punter is definitely a more pressing need than tailback. We resigned Najeh, and his job really should be to complement Willie. That doesn't mean I wasn't underwhelmed by his play last year, because I was. It's just that Punter was a more immediate need for us - let's face it, Mike Barr ain't exactly Gardocki incarnate.

So I like it, I know it's a high spot to draft that position and we gave up a 6th round pick to get him, but as usual, I gotta think the Steelers know what they're doing.

PS - why do I get the feeling I'll be talking about the draft for at least the next week?

Closing The Books...aka 2007 NFL Draft Retrospective Part IX

At 5:30 on Sunday, April 29, that about wraps it up for the Steelers 2007 NFL draft.

After our 4th round pickups, we also acquired Cameron Stephenson, OG Rutgers; William Gay, CB Louisville; and Dallas Baker, WR Florida.

I'll admit, out of those three the only one I'm remotely familiar with is Dallas Baker, whom I think is a good receiver pick for us. I think the hope is that if he made the team, and could show us something over the next year, two years, we would groom him to be a backup to Hines Ward. He's not a super fast guy, more of a posession receiver. The only thing that worries me is that according to Scouts Inc, he doesn't like to work the middle and does not block well. So Hines Ward he surely is not. I think the first obstacle for Baker will be making the team, then we'll see where he goes from there.

Cameron Stephenson - After doing a little light reading on Stephenson, I understand he has both size and athletic ability, but is a little on the light side at 6'4 1/2" and 306 pounds. Plus, his technique is lacking and his durability is "questionable". So as many of our later round picks, Stephenson will be a wait and see how he does in camp type of guy. Sounds like he doesn't get much drive off of his initial step, so might not be a great run blocker, but again, we shall see.

William Gay - My initial reaction is that I like pretty much any pick out of Louisville who was coached by Bobby Petrino. Though I don't remember much about Gay, I did see a few Louisville games this year and as a defensive unit they seemed pretty good. So I would hope that Gay could be a viable backup to our decent corps of defensive backs. I couldn't find a whole lot of objective analysis on him, but he's a little short, at 5'10" (a problem I have with DeShea Townsend), and only weighs 187. For a guy that light, running a 4.56 40 isn't super impressive (especially as a DB), but like the other two, I can only speculate as to how successful he could be in the NFL.

So there you have it, the last of the Steelers 2007 NFL Draft crop. It's been a long two days, and frankly, I've seen about all I need to see of this business.

Look forward to comments...if you've got 'em, bring 'em on.