The Bar Was Low For Kevan

Kevan Barlow was cut by the Steelers earlier this week in an effort to get down to the 53 players that will make up the final roster. With Willie Parker being the only RB that was guaranteed to make the team....Barlow only faced another journeyman type in Najeh Davenport and a few undrafted free agents as competition. Verron Haynes was brought back into the mix during the summer as the Steelers probably feared what is happening right now. The bar wasn't set very high for someone with Barlow's pedigree facing a bunch of "no-names", he even played at Pitt giving him another edge knowing how much the Stillers like their HomeBoys. Well, he ran with zero passion and now may be forced to retire or at minimum sit around until injuries force another team to acquire his diminished services. I liked the signing at the time for the price if he played the way he did during his one good year with Frisco.....he did not and we'll move on. The other players cut were: running back Larry Croom, punter Mike Barr, kicker Connor Hughes, linebacker Richard Koonce, center Donovan Raiola, wide receivers Dan Sheldon and Eric Fowler, defensive end Derrick Jones and long snapper Jared Retkofsky who was a Steeler for all of 2 weeks. Nothing shocking here. We'll learn a ton more after the last preseason game.

Things That Make Me Go "Hmmmmm"

Willie Parker is listed at 5-10, 209. I'm guessing that 209 is more like 201. Najeh Davenport is 6-1, 247. Local Pitt guy and childhood Steeler fan Kevan Barlow came in for a free agent visit last week. He's listed at 6-1, 234. If Barlow happens to come on board, that would give us three very diverse runners. Parker would still get the bulk of the carries, but having 2 bigger backs would be nice in short yardage situations. Alas, before we get too excited about bringing in Barlow instead of Verron Haynes (who they are still in contact with) look at these numbers: AVG first three years 4.1, 4.7, 5.1. Nice. AVG last 3 years: 3.4, 3.3, 2.8. Yikes! He was more of a role player in the beginning of his career and when asked to carry the load later, he faltered. Maybe a situation of sharing the load again would do everyone good? I'm on the fence about this one. To me, it looks like it may be an insurance policy for Parker. Having an experienced runner if Fast Willie goes down would be better than what's on the waiver wire at that point in time. If the price is right - I could be convinced.