Wow. Perfect Predictions So Far

Superb job by the front office. We signed Keisel the Deisel....let Kimo walk. Chris Hope took a walk and we signed a replacement before he left. We restructured Hartings. We signed Rodney Bailey to a very cheap contract and kept Tuman. Good solid players at backup prices. Depth and defense win Super Bowls. The thing that worries me is that Ike Taylor is drawing interest. I feel like he is now a core player. I would hate it if he walked. Townsend is still up in the air, but it is not the end of the world if he leaves either. The Steelers offerred Hope about 2.5 per year but he left for greener pastures. Have fun not making the playoffs in Tennessee, Chris. His replacement, Ryan Clark, is only making $7 million over 4 years....an outstanding Steeler contract. Don't forget we also signed a solid backup QB in Charlie Batch. He could be integral if Big Ben misses time again this year since Batch knows the offense well. After cutting Maddox it was great to see Charlie come back. I would now like to focus on getting Quincy Morgan signed. As I've stated here before, I like him to start at the #2 wideout position more than Cedrick Wilson just because of his size and blocking. Ced can play the slot. I'd love to make this 10 paragraphs - but I'm still in St Louis and trying to make a meeting! Go Steelers!!!!!

Chris Hope Update: Don't Get Greedy, Chris!

From steelerslive.com:

"Hope told the Tribune-Review earlier this week that he wants to be paid like one of the top five safeties in the league, which would take a lot of maneuvering for the Steelers. The team clearly has to rework the deal for Pro Bowl center Jeff Hartings, who stands to count $8.1 million against the cap in '06."

Quote: "I love the city, love the way (it) treats the team and I like the organization. But I can't continue to play for less than my worth."

Well, then I guess you'll be wearing the uniform of a different team next year. You are NOT one of the top 5 safeties in the league. Period. This team needs depth. To create depth, you have to slot values for certain positions and not overpay. Since we will have to overpay Troy Polamalu in the near future, we CANNOT overpay Chris Hope. We just can't. We can resign him, but we can't overpay him. We also can't overvalue him just because we won the Super Bowl. It doesn't work like that. You have to keep your core players.

In my mind, the core players are: Ben, Willie Parker, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, Alan Faneca, Marvel Smith, Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, Joey Porter, James Farrior, Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu. Yes, the other players are good, but I feel they can be replaced. Jeff Hartings is in the core, but at his age with his past knee problems, he is not a priority to resign. Randle El is special because of his 'X' factor, but I still don't see him as essential. Nice? God Yes. Essential? No. It's great to have the good younger players we have: Trai Essex, Max Starks, Haggans, Foote, Coke, McFadden, Kreider, Keisel....I could go on and on....but they aren't in the core YET. They may be by next year, but as of right now - they aren't. I want consistency in the defensive backfield, but we can't devote too much cap space to role players. That's a blueprint for disaster. Here is one Steeler fan who will not be upset if the 2006 season starts without Hope, Randle El or Kimo. Sad? Yes. Upset? No.

Hoping For A Fair Deal

Chris Hope is an unrestricted free agent. He's young. He hits hard. He's still learning. He shouldn't command a royal payday. Those are his good attributes. On the other side of the coin - he misses some tackles, he hits too high and gets carried and he just won the Super Bowl. Ask around the league what the ring is worth on the free agent market. As much as I want this defensive backfield to stay together for consistency's sake, I do not want to simply outbid all comers for Hope. Hopefully Kevin Colbert has a number in his head that is fair and he won't deviate too far from it. When you look at this rationally, Hope is near the bottom rung on the 11 player defense's ladder. In no particular order, the other starters that are more important to the team on defense are Smith, Hampton, Kimo or Keisel on the other side, Porter, Farrior, Haggans, Polamalu and Taylor. That leaves Larry Foote, Hope and Townsend as the least important. I could very easily see Townsend getting replaced with McFadden or Coke next season. The way the Steelers draft and develope linebackers, Foote can also be replaced. Hope is interesting to say the least. I like him and I want him to stay, but if he gets a ridiculous offer, they can survive without him. Like I said earlier, Randle El can walk and we'll miss his versatility on gadget plays and punt returns - not on the starting 11. For the life of me, I can't think of one reason why we would miss Chris Hope if he left. Sign him - just don't go crazy with the zero's.