Hartings To Retire

I first learned to respect Kevin Colbert's opinions when he brought Jeff Hartings with him from Detroit. Hartings wasn't a known commodity to me then since I'm more of an AFC guy, but I quickly became aware of just how good he was. Colbert knew he had talent and needed to be on a good team to be recognized. Reports are coming out that Hartings has played his last down as a Steeler. I wish him well. This move also makes the draft quite interesting. If Tomlin wants to go 4-3 in the next 2-3 years, I think he'll be forced to take a DL. However, if Rooney and LeBeau are in his ear to keep the 3-4 alive and well, we may see a center as the first pick as Okobi may not be the guy to lead us into the future. True, he may be a stop-gap, but for goodness sakes - he's been there a lot of years already and probably isn't considered the center for the next 6 years or so.

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!!!!!

Hartings Will Renegotiate...Or Else

Jeff Hartings is due to make more than $4 million dollars this year. I'm sorry to say it won't happen in a Steelers uniform. What I am happy about, though, is that Jeff Hartings will still be your opening day starter for the Steelers. I'll bet my foosball table that Hartings will be a good citizen and work with the Steelers front office to make more cap room available to sign free agents. This will probably be Hartings last year in the league. He has bad knees and a Super Bowl ring - not to mention millions of dollars in the bank. I think he will restructure and they will try to give a backup some playing time during the season. They will definitely draft a center and they already signed a FA center and assigned him to NFL Europe. Chucki Okobi will be playing for his career in the preseason. He is due to make $2 million because the front office probably thought he would be starting this year. The only way Okobi starts this year is if Hartings refuses to restructure and gets cut. I just don't see the Steelers paying a guy his age $4 million plus this year. I just don't. Note to Jeff: Please restructure! We want you around! We've not only had stability at head coach, but we've had it at the center position also. From Ray Mansfield to Mike Webster to Dermonti Dawson to Jeff Hartings to.....? I don't want the answer to that question until 2007.