Yes, it's a picture of a door.....as in "don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out." It's time to reflect on the season and what better way to start than to talk about starting to clean house a little bit. Before that though, in general it was an entertaining season to say the least. Crazy entertaining. My friends and I have just been discussing how Ike Taylor seems to shy away from contact instead of sticking his nose in there sometimes so what does he do yesterday? He handed out a "Check Please" type hit that makes Steeler Nation salivate. I still can't believe that a man his size can inflict that much damage. I guess when the guy you're hitting is smaller than most Quad A HighSchool players - you've got a shot. It was still nice to watch. I'm glad the dude is OK. In the end I don't blame the other teams for not winning - I blame our guys for falling down and not rallying around Polamalu's absence. Aaron Smith was missed as well but we got to see flashes of the future there. We saw nothing with Troy out but the back of Tyrone Carter's jersey taking yet another poor angle.
Let's discuss the Restricted Free Agents first. We would get compensation if they leave and a chance to match any offer they get. LB Patrick Bailey. Who? He plays for us? He doesnt need a contract tendered. T Willie Colon. I believe we will most definitely tender him a contract. I don't complain about the line as much as I used to. Both RBs showed they can run behind it and the sacks Ben took are mostly of his doing. Early in the season the line caused a lot, but not recently. Carey Davis I like, but nobody is going to offer him a contract so he is safe to not sign and wait and see what happens. William Gay. I am dead serious when I say I hope we've seen the last of him. He is not an NFL starter. Not even close. The bad news is, we don't have any other alternatives right now. Townsend is washed up. I would seriously vote for drafting a CB first and signing a classic Steeler type above average FA to start next year in Gay's spot. Sepulveda will be offered a contract. Spaeth will be offered a contract. Darnell Stapleton is a question mark. My gut says "no contract". Now let's take a look at the unrestricted Free Agents.
Charlie Batch will most likely be asked back but will also be asked to take the hometown discount. On the other hand, I don't think there is much interest out there for a fragile backup. He's more valuable as another "coach" for Ben. Dixon proved to me he can play so we'll see what happens to Charlie. Rocky Boiman is supposedly a LB on the team. No contract. Tyrone Carter is hopefully gone. Yes, he knows the defense, but what did that get us this year? There has to be a better backup safety available. Has to be. Ryan Clark I would have back in an instant. He got some bad press this year but I like him and what he adds. I wish he wrapped more people up rather than just hit them - but he is absolutley in people's heads as they roam around in our secondary. He is much better when Troy is out there. Nick Eason can play a little and with the age on our DL, we need to get younger there. Is he the person to help? I don't know. The only upside is that he knows the system. Hood will start soon. A rookie is cheaper. However, a lengthy injury to one of the grandpas and some experience would be nice. I say "no contract" right away. We need to see what happens. If all else fails, bring him back. Casey Hampton will not get a reward contract. He's a 2 down player who has no wind. Not sure how much interest he'll even generate. I say offer him a real contract for 2-3 years at market value. Kirschke is most likely gone. We need to get young. He doesn't fit that bill at all. Willie Parker can stay if he takes backup money. The Ravens are nice at RB with their dual approach. Parker showed a burst yesterday. They can't give him big money though. Will he remian a Steeler for less? I think not. I think he's this year's Antwaan Randel El and somebody will overpay for him. Should Mendenhall get hurt, Moore can fill in. Jeff Reed is crazy but he's also usually money. Bring him back but potentially see if somebody else can kickoff for next to $0. Townsend is GONE. I love the guy but he can't play anymore. Did you WATCH yesterday's game? Galloway is gone unless ridiculously cheap.
For the players under contract, will any be let go? Limas Sweed seems likely to me. James Farrior is also a possibility here. Again, I love him, but his play really dropped off this year. He's slow. We pride ourselves on side to side speed. Can't do that when slow in the middle. We also need to resign Santonio Holmes and Lamarr Woodley this offseason as they are up after 2010 and you know we won't do any deals after the season starts. They are core players and will absolutely get nice deals this year. They could both break the bank on the open market. I hope both work something out this offseason and I see no reason why they wouldn't. We've been very good at this recently.
7 comments:
Please, for the love of my eyes... Choose one of these two for future posts: 1) Bullets or 2) Paragraphs.
Please.
Anon - I did use paragraphs. I've been noticing a Blogger issue lately where depending on what machine I use to post, the spacing is published differently. Sometimes I have to go back and hit enter 3 times to get a single line break. The next time I hit enter 3 times without looking and then I get 3 physical line breaks. Its frustrating.
That Blogger dashboard has been driving me nuts since the beginning.
You have to switch back and forth between edit html and compose to get it to work close to how you intend... but there's no guarantees.
Furthermore, you can preview til your heart's content and that don't mean it will publish the way you previewed it.
I do the best I can and don't worry about it any more. I just hope you can make sense of the stuff I write.
I was thinking of all the Steeler jerseys that are about to become obsolete. Stiller fans aren't ones for wearing the names of guys on other teams. (i.e. not many Porter or Foote jerseys out there.)
Here's hoping the Steelers break form and get a little more aggressive in the free agent market. Seriously, we need two professional football players at the corner position; I don't think even a high draft pick at that position will suffice. (Although we do need to spend a high pick on a corner.) Ryan Clark is a nice example of a good FA signing... and he was not considered elite.
Regarding who stays and who goes:
Casey Hampton: Welcome to the Franchise Tag, brother. Like it or not it's your immediate future.
Why did it take until the last play of a 16 game season for Ike to make a pick? Still, given the state of our secondary, Ike can stay for a while.
Clark needs to do more than lay a nasty hit. A little centerfield would be nice for a Free Safety. I think he stays somehow.
Patrick Bailey doesn't cost us more than dog food and a case of beer. If he's OK on special teams he can stay. If not, adios.
Not crazy about Colon but I'd keep him unless somebody in the front office comes up with a better alternative.
Ty Carter and DeShea Townsend have grown too old. They must be replaced. Burnett? Lewis?
James Farrior must be replaced. I'm OK with him being on the team in situational downs (run stop or blitzing) but he's a liability on any sort of pass coverage. He got real old real fast.
Fuck Will.I.Am Gay and Carey Davis. They could leave now and I'd not shed a tear. Not sure that Frank "The Tank" can replace Davis but Tomlin thought so last year so we shall see. That is, if he can stay healthy.
Spaeth is worthless as tits on a boar. A man his size who can't catch and can't block can't play on MY Pittsburgh Steelers. He's pretty good at pissing in a parking lot though, but so am I and I can't play for the Steelers either.
Darnell Stapleton will get a chance. I have a lot of questions about that Offensive line yet. Essex, Stapleton, Foster, and Urbik in particular. And Hartwig is now apparently the weakest link. Could Legursky play center next year??
Homestead Charlie will retire. I hope we can find a role for him with the team somewhere though.
Sweed will get one more chance in Latrobe. But I could see him missing the cut if there's not significant improvement. Tyler Grisham is already ahead of him on the depth chart!
I hope Fast Willie Parker will take a discount to stay because every team needs 2 quality backs nowadays. I have my doubts we can make this happen however.
Looks like we may need to load up on the defensive side this offseason. Whether through the draft or free agency or both. A stud O lineman in rounds 3-5 would be good but I realize that's asking alot.
I thought spaeth caught a boatload of tds his first year? I thought he was a serviceable backup TE. I also saw Carey Davis blow some people up this year on Special Teams and in the backfield.
Spaeth caught 5 balls in 16 games this year. He can't block worth a shit. They don't throw to him for a reason. If all he's going to do is block and he sucks at it, let's carry an extra tackle and be done with it. If we could find a RG Trai Essex might be that extra tackle since he played some TE in college. Right Guard has been an issue for a loooong time on this team.
Regarding Carey Davis, he didn't make the team coming out of camp as a seasoned veteran. That says to me we've seen all Carey Davis has to offer. There has to be a better option out there. His special teams play is all that saved his ass. But I'm looking for vastly improved special teams next year which puts Davis on the bubble from the get go.
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