FAN: A Look Under The Hood

Not surprising. He fits the bill as the next guy to be one of the three. The only thing I read that scares me a little is that his lower body needs to add strength. If he is going to be NT we've always had shorter fire plug types who can get low and control. Here are some things I found:

Position: DT

Class: Senior

School: Missouri

Conference: Big 12

Ht., Wt.: 6-3, 300

40 Time: 4.89

BIOGRAPHY: Three-year starter awarded all-Conference honors since his junior season. Senior totals included 62/7/5 after 49/8/5 as a junior.

POSITIVES: Athletic defensive lineman swiftly moving up draft boards. Plays with terrific explosion, quick off the snap, and fluid changing direction. Holds the point of attack, resilient, and flies around the field trying to make positive plays. Displays an array of moves getting off blocks, possesses a burst of closing speed, and makes plays in every direction on the field. Moves well for a big man, and works hard until the whistle blows.

NEGATIVES: Stands to improve the strength in his lower body. Not a big or bulky lineman.

ANALYSIS: Hood is an athletic defensive tackle who has the physical skills to be used in a variety of positions at the next level, and he offers starting potential. He played well as a senior, and he really watched his game take off in the post-season. Hood could be a surprise selection in the late part of round one, based on his performance in the past six months.

DOG: Stillers Draft Analysis

And with the 32nd pick the Pittsburgh Steelers select... Eric Wood, C, Louisville

With the NFL Draft just 3 short weeks away... Here's the Steel City Slant on the 2009 NFL Draft as it impacts the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is not a prediction of who the Stillers will draft. This is not a mock draft of all the teams. This is an article for our loyal readers which gives some insight into the draft and some names to keep track of no matter who the players get drafted by.

I will mention some players I am actively rooting for to become Pittsburgh Steelers. I have an extremely poor history with this. Hardly anybody I ever want to be a Steeler ends up being one. This goes clean back to 1970 when I wanted either DT Mike Reid of Penn State or WR Walker Gillette of Richmond and we got Terry Bradshaw of Louisiana Tech. Reid was a great NFL player for the Bengals but ended up quitting football to become a concert pianist after only 6 or 7 NFL seasons. Gillette was a first round pick for the Chargers but was a marginal NFL player for 7 seasons. The lone exception to my horrid streak? Franco Harris. I hope this year is an exception too. So, in the vernacular of the true Stiller fan, here we go...

At the top of my wish list for this year is a 6-4, 310 C-G out of Louisville, Eric Wood (pictured above). This guy started every game he was eligible to play (47) in for 4 years at Louisville. He addresses a need on the offensive line at more than one position. Initially rated as a Round 2 or Round 3 selection he is moving up the charts from his workouts. With us drafting at 1.32 I wouldn't mind picking him in round 1 as I am pretty certain he will not be around by 2.64 unless we trade up in round 2 to get him. He just sounds like a Steeler, looks like a Steeler, and says he'd most likely fit into a "hard hitting franchise like the Steelers." If you look deep into his eyes you can see Mike Webster in there.

Another possibility for the Center position is 6-4, 311, Alex Mack of California. Mack is the top rated Center going into the draft but may have a tougher time at Guard. Plus he is from California which indicates he is "soft" right there. But the report is that he gets down real low and exerts great leverage over the opponent. So he's a possibility even though he may be gone by 1.32.

A longershot for the later rounds, possibly round 6 or 7 is Blake Schlueter, a 6-2, 290, Center from TCU.

Another early round choice to fill an offensive line spot could be Duke Robinson a 6-5, 329 Guard from Oklahoma. He is pretty highly rated, and for that reason I just don't see us getting a shot at him but he's an interesting prospect.

The only Tackle I'm going to mention is 6-6, 318, Jason Watkins of Florida who has had a visit with the Steelers so he's a definite possibility in rounds 4 or 5 most likely.

OK so that addresses the offensive line, widely acknowledged by Stiller fans as our area of greatest concern.

Next up is Cornerback and Safety. Our second greatest area of concern with the aging of DeShea Townsend and the departures of Anthony Smith and Bryant McFadden.

There are two cornerbacks I'd like to see us draft but I don't think we'll get either one of them because they are too highly rated and we are drafting last. But if one of these guys would happen to fall into our laps (a la Santonio Holmes) I'd be happy seeing either one in black and gold. And they are Alphonso Smith (5-9, 193) from Wake Forest and DJ Moore(5-9. 162) out of Vanderbilt. Both are "shorties" with the speed and athleticism to cover anybody all over the field. I expect both to be gone by mid round 1 however.

More realisitically, Domoique Johnson at 6-1, 197 from Jackson State in about round 5 could be our pick. And in the 7th round or as a UFDA, look at 5-11, 185 Darren Banks from little West Liberty State down in West Virginia. He's met with the Steelers as well.

On to priority number 3 as I see it, the aging of the defensive line.

Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton, and Chris Hoke, our 4 best defensive linemen are all on the wrong side of 30 and so are their backups. So we need not only some depth here but finding a player who can be a starter in year 2 is vital.

At the top of my wish list for defensive line is Pereia Jerry, a DT from Ole Miss who could translate to a 3-4 DE at 6-2, and 299. Again, Jerry is highly regarded and is probably someone's round 2 selection, most likely not ours.

A name that is often linked to the Steelers is another college DT who translates as a 3-4 DE and that is Jarron Gilbert (6-5, 288) from San Diego State. Gilbert will probably go in round 3 and we have two selections in that round. So I'd say he has a chance depending on how the front office feels about him.

Dorrell Scott (6-3, 312) from Clemson is also a possibility, most likely in round 4 or later.

A couple linebackers to keep your eye on, because you just don't know how many quality linebackers Tomlin thinks he can use, are: Connor Barwin (6-4, 256) out of Cincinatti and Larry English (6-2, 254) from Northern Illinois. I can't imagine either one going any later than round 3, and probably higher. But we'll see.

We've got a WR slot up for grabs with the departure of Nate Washington and I've got a couple guys to keep your eye on for filling that slot. First and foremost is Brian Robiskie of Ohio State. His dad is/was an NFL player and coach. Plus we'd have a pair of Buckeyes in Robiskie and Holmes if we could get him. He's not afraid to block which is a necessity at WR anytime Hines Ward is on your team. He's probably round 2-3 material so again we'll just have to see how the cookie crumbles.

Another couple of possibilities at WR are Juaquin Iglesias (6-1, 210) from Oklahoma and Mohamed Massaquoi (6-2, 204) from Georgia. Both of these guys could go anywhere from round 2 through round 4. Steelers have expressed some limited interest in Massaquoi but I'd imagine it'd depend on how far he dropped.

Now for the miscellaneous and "Best Player Available" possibilities.

There are two guys who are tops in this category. First, Fullback Frank "The Tank" Summers, at 5-9 240 from UNLV who could be the short yardage guy we've been missing since Bettis retired. Maybe we can replace "The Bus" with "The Tank?" And second is WR/QB Pat White (6-0 197) of West Virginia. White could be the possibility at WR if the guys I mentioned above in that category aren't available. White looks like no better than a 5th rounder but most likely a 6th or 7th rounder. He has already stated that he's a Steeler fan and would love to play in Pittsburgh. Which is to be expected having spent his last 4 years setting offensive records in Morgantown.

In order of preference, here's the players I'd love to see us get with no regard for the round in which we get them.

1. Eric Wood
2. Pat White
3. Brian Robiskie
4. Jarron Gilbert
5. Frank "The Tank" Summers
6. DJ Moore
7. Peria Jerry

Also wanted to mention that the fullback from Texas A&M who scored a ton of TDs as a junior and was highly regarded a year ago, Javorksie Lane, has been scratched from my list. Apparently Mean Joe Greene attended Lane's workout on campus and Lane had ballooned from his playing weight of 270 up to 290 and ran a 40 yard dash in which Casey Hampton could have beaten him. When asked, Greene said that having difficulty managing weight when you know you're being timed for the pros is often indicative of other potential problems. I guess it's kinda like wearing a t-shirt and cutoffs to a job interview. Anyway, don't look for Javorskie Lane to be a Steeler.

So that's what I've got here a few weeks before the draft. I doubt much will change between now and then. I'll let Fan grade my scouting after we see who the Steelers pick. Based on my track record it'll be very few to none of these guys. But we shall see.

Steelers: On The Clock

When the new commissioner announces from the podium "Now on the clock, the Pittsburgh Steelers" in a few weeks, I have absolutely no idea what they are going to do. Here are the positions that can be safely ruled out for the #1 selection: place kicker, punter, running back, fullback, tight end, quarterback, safety and center. I am also ruling out wide receiver, but you can never be sure. I don't think they'll take a receiver, but a receiver is needed more than the other positions I mentioned right now. They may even consider a running back before another wideout, but I think the signing of Najeh Davenport will allow them to wait until much later for a running back - if they even draft one. So where does that leave us? Well, on the offensive side of the ball, With Hartings retiring, Marvel Smith getting another year older and Alan Faneca playing the role of "disgruntled fan favorite" this year - don't bet against O Line. The rumor mills had the Steelers looking at Arizona's 5th pick for Max Starks and the 15th pick but don't believe it. In rethinking that scenario - I don't think there is anyone the Steelers covet that much to move up - especially getting rid of a starter and paying out more money to a draftee to do so. On the defensive side of the ball, you could make a case for an addition at all three layers. With the possibility of shifting to a 4-3 in the next few years, a defensive lineman is not out of the question. In fact, we don't have a young stud at any position on the D line. Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton are very good players, but they are also in their prime. A stud rookie or first year player is clearly missing and would provide much needed quality depth at the position. Linebacker is also a position of interest. Losing Porter allows Silverback to move into the starting lineup. However, much like the D line, there isn't a young stud to be found. Farrior has been around a long time. Haggans is a classic overachiever. Foote is better than average, but nothing special. Silverback will keep the swagger going, but is anyone in this group or on the shelf the next Lambert, Ham, Lloyd or Kirkland? For that matter, is anyone even the next Holmes, Chad Brown or J Peezy? Hmmmm, a versatile linebacker that can tackle and cover would be more beneficial to me (considering Tomlin's 4-3 style) than a LB'ing pass rusher in this year's draft. Finally, let's talk about the corners. DeShea Townsend played a number of years before he even started. He is clearly winding down his career and another starting corner has to be groomed. While Ike Taylor had a disappointing year in many people's opinion - he is still their best corner with no questions asked. I'm in favor of promoting McFadden to start opposite Taylor this year. McFadden has showed promise in a bunch of chances and has earned the start in my opinion. Chokely is still on the roster and can be serviceable, but he's never going to start in this league. That gives us 4 true corners, 2 of which are legitimate starters. For that reason only, I think we'll draft a CB, but not in the first round. I'm going to do a little more homework and get back to this subject in the next week - but for right now - if I had to bet on our pick, I'm down to three positions: O line, D line or linebacker. Stay Tuned.........

Other NFL Players I Root For

I had this conversation recently - besides Steelers, here are my favorites:

Drew Brees - He's been a winner at every level.
Tiki Barber - What a nice guy. He has a good Sirius show.
Warrick Dunn - Pound-for-pound maybe the toughest runner in the league. He buys houses for single mothers as well. His mom was shot and killed when he was young.
Torry Holt - One of the best, yet not a prima donna. Always good-natured.
Joey Jerevicius - My favorite #3 in the league. Tough guy!
Brian Urlacher - A Steeler at heart.
John Lynch - See Urlacher.
Brett Favre - Just fun to watch, win or lose. Just a regular guy.
Jake Delhomme - See Favre.

Wow. I can't even really come up with 10. Dunn may be my favorite of the bunch. I'd like to see the numbers he would put up if he were given a chance to tote the rock as much as a Priest Holmes or Marshall Faulk in their primes.

Charles Robinson Is an Idiot

He writes for Yahoo sports. He is their main NFL man. He recently wrote a column about grading the draft. I am suggesting that Mr. Robinson knows little about most teams and arbitrarily assigned a letter grade to draft depending on how he felt at the moment. He added one paragraph to each assessment and there are 3 blatantly wrong assertions about the Steelers in this one paragraph and a few others that are questionable. The first..."The Steelers paid deeply to move up seven spots in the first round." Well, no we didn't. We had four 4th round picks and gave up our 1st, our 3rd and one of the 4ths. The real effect of this trade was that we swapped our 3rd round pick and made our highest 4th round pick our "real" 3rd round pick....which is hardly a big deal at all in my estimation, but what do I know? The second...."Safety Anthony Smith provides good depth at safety". Huh? Ok, dude, our safety left to go play with another team. The guy we signed to replace him is no standout. We needed to draft a good safety to play for the next 3-4 years until we determine his real value. What we did was draft a safety in the second round who most people didn't have on their draft boards and has been described as a "weak tackler". You use the 4th-7th rounds for depth. When you draft a safety in the second round, it better not be just for depth. Third...."DL Orien Harris could be starting by opening day." Mr. Robinson, I will bet you $1 million dollars that won't happen unless there is a bad injury to one of our starters. Starter? Are you kidding me? We just gave Keisel the deisel a HUGE contract to replace Kimo. Hampton is the unquestioned leader of the line and Aaron Smith is a key component on this team. How on God's green earth is a mid round pick going to start on this line? How long can this idiot write this drivel without being called on it by his superiors?