Willie Reid Is Gone

Slantedamus was right yet again. Willie Reid was cut this year in favor of Dallas Baker making the 5 wideouts Holmes, Ward, Washington, Sweed and Baker. I thought Baker might get beat out by Micah Rucker, a 6'6" 221 lb monster, but Baker is a nice size and has spend a year on the practice squad. I'm guessing Mewelde Moore spelled the beginning of the end with his ability to return both punts and kicks. I wasn't surprised by any of the cuts this year, mostly because I failed to watch a ton of preseason games! I guess I was a little surprised to see Orpheus Roye back on the roster instead of developing a younger player. I also feel bad for Charlie Batch. What started out looking like a shorter injury has turned into being placed on IR. I hope Ben stays healthy, I don't want to have to rely on Lefwich for any length of time. Can't wait to start the weekly game capsules.

Is CutWillieReid.com Available?

Will this be the year Willie Reid stops sucking up a roster spot? Historically the Steelers have carried five wide receivers on their roster. The flunker, I mean flanker, from Florida State was supposed to be our new Antwaan Randle El in the kicking game when ARE bolted for the Redskins a few years ago. Willie was a high draft pick and hasn't shown me bubkiss yet. He is either hurt, or just plain ineffective. With the signing of Mewelde Moore and the drafting of Mendenhall - we have more options to look at for the return game. Also, Jeremy Bloom may blossom after a full camp given the shot. He's a burner, but much like Reid will be a liability in the passing game. It's a damn shame we can;t return a punt or a kick worth a squat since before ARE's last year. Maybe it's time to have open competition and have every starter and backup with any kind of experience catching kicks back there. If Parker were more durable, I'd even consider that. Can you imagine shortening the field by 8 more yards after every change of possession? Anyway, with all the bodies in camp, let's look at who your opening day WRs will be - in order:

1. Santonio Holmes - yes, Hines is the heart and soul of the team since Bettis retired, but this is going to be Santonio's breakout year.....as long as he keep his clothes on.
2. Hines Ward - Nuff said.
3. Nate Washington - coming along fine. Needs to squeeze more balls. No comments, you know what I meant.
4. Limas Sweed - a 2nd round pick is not getting cut.....he will be on the team.
5. As far as I can tell, this spot is open to either Jeremy Bloom or Dallas Baker. Baker is 6-3 206 and already has time on the practice squad. Bloom is a burner who returns kicks for a living. Since Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth are already monster targets and Sweed was added to the mix, I wouldn't be surprised if Bloom makes the team. However - with the Passing Game getting more important every year, maybe they'll keep 6. Who knows? I see another monster rookie on the roster by the name of Micah Rucker out of Eastern Illinois. Dude is 6'6" 221. They gave him Weegie Thompson's old #87. I can see a play on the 2 yard line consisting of Miller, Spaeth, Sweed, Baker and Rucker. Doesn't matter, Benny'll get sacked.

Rossum Gone

The Steelers released three players yesterday including Allen Rossum and Jerame Tuman. Clint Kriewaldt was a special teaming linebacker. Tuman pretty much was gone after Spaeth proved he could get open in the end zone. While Rossum didn't light the world on fire, he was better than anyone else we put back there to return kicks. If that job goes back to Willie Reid, I'll scream. Actually, I'm betting he doesn't even make the team. What we need is someone who can return kicks, but can also be used at their normal position, like Randle El. Needless to say, we didn't lose anything valuable. Tuman was a bargain, but can be easily replaced. Losing those three will most definitely bring down the average age of the team whichis a need as well.

What Happened To Our Defense?

I understand Ben, Troy and Hines didn't play today and they are three of our best players, but week after week, I am more and more upset by our defensive showing. When a 3rd string running back tears us apart like Mr. Ross did today, you have to wonder if it's our players, our player's psyche or our schemes? With the above players dinged and Aaron Smith, Marvel Smith and Willie Parker gone for the year, I really don't know how we will compete with Jacksonville next weekend. I can hear Jack Del Rio firing his troops up right now. If Musa Smith and company can hurt us - what will Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew do to us? If a rookie quarterback can drive the ball on us, what will the more seasoned Garrard do with even better receivers? If our coach is calling timeouts at 2:04 will he crack in his first playoff game? Should he have tried a second onside kick? Should he have challenged the catch in the endzone of the kickoff? He has not shown a keen ability yet at managing the "game time" decisions. I'm more than a little worried. I think we could have bounced Cleveland or Tennessee on talent alone. Jacksonville could very well come into our house as a slight favorite. I'm not giving up or turning negative - I'm speaking the truth. I'm worried. I think if you're not worried, your NFL IQ might not be as high as you think it is. I'm putting our chances of winning this game at 51%. Also, that 51% is based on Ben, Troy and Hines all playing. Some other thoughts:

I was looking for one bright spot today...one! I'm not sure I saw one. If I missed it, please fill me in. I guess you could say we covered kicks ok today.

I think Willie Reid will not make the team next year. With Rossum hurt, this was his time to get pissed off and show Steeler Nation why he was drafted so high. Well, you see how well that worked out. If he can't be a decent #5 receiver and we're forced to make Cedric Wilson field punts, cut him. Apparently we can add him to the list of good college receivers who can't play in the NFL.

Ike Taylor continues to aggravate me with his inability to catch.

Najeh Davenport looks like a different runner every week. He may be the most inconsistent player on the team. If he's not - who is? I have laid down the gauntlet.

Willie Colon and Keamoeatu are going to rack up a ton of penalties next year. Bank on it. I like a Steeler with a bad disposition, not one that has to push and shove every time they don't like the way they are handled.

I'm done complaining, more to follow this week.

These Are The Ones That Hurt

We only stopped ourselves on offense. They really had no answers. When you lose and you are on the 15 yardline and turned the ball over, what, 5 times.....you deserve to lose. The entire game hinged on Coke fumbling a punt. We were in clock kill mode at that point. We wouldn't have even been putting the ball in the air. We would have went on a 70 yard running drive to end the game. Instead, we turned it over twice and gave up two TDs in :54. Can you believe that? Even with Big Ben throwing an ill-advised pick in the first quarter with 1st and goal. Even with Ben heaving a jump ball in the second quarter for a pick. Even with Nate Washington dropping a TD in the 4th. Even with Holmes dropping another ball deep in Bengals territory. With everything NOT going our way - we were still winning and controlling the game. The Bengals didn't control the game once, not until the gun sounded. They were constantly under attack and reacting instead of acting. I can take last week's tough loss without much discomfort. This one causes some discomfort. I was all ready to sport my new jersey on the plane to Hotlanta tomorrow, but now I think I won't. I don't want to have to answer 50 queries from perfect strangers about "What happened yesterday?". I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to have Lucy's Ricki back there returning punts. Then, after Coke screwed his up, Holmes turns around to make a basket catch over the shoulder - almost putting another one on the floor. Where is this ARE replacement that we spent a 3rd round draft pick on? Another thing about Coke - not only did he drop the punt, he gave up one of the TD passes as well. He's a hack and I'm really ready to see a lot more of McFadden. I guess we always start out slow - but how can you harass Palmer and sack him 6-7 times, stop their running game in it's tracks, run all over them...and still lose the game? Sick, Sick, Sick I tell you! Oh well, time to forget it and look towards the bye week. I would almost rather have Chad catch 2 on us than TJ. I liked seeing Chad Hi-5'ing our fans before the game and going over and talking to BC. He knows it's an act. TJ really seems like an arrogant butthead though. Loser.

Steelers Knocked Off Pedestal

Well, if the defending Super Bowl champs needed anything to get them going in camp, a good ass-kicking should do it. The Steelers got it handed to them by the Arizona Cardinals yesterday - even if the Cardinals kept their starters in longer than the Steelers. There weren't too many things that made me get excited. Big Ben did shake off a "would be" sacker and fired a bullet on the run for a completion. Brett Keisel made back-to-back plays that made me take notice and Santonio Holmes looked about where he should be for all the practice time he lost. What I didn't like far outweighed what I did like. Duce 'Sweatsuit' Staley continues to frustrate me. He looks tired, weak and slow to me when he runs. Where is the passion that he once had when it took 2-3 people to tackle him? I seriously think he needs to drop about 15 pounds. Duce needs to watch Rocky III and get "the eye of the tiger" back! Willie Reid did not impress me AT ALL as a punt returner. Let's hope last night was a lesson in catching the ball and they weren't really concerned with running it back. For all the hype I've heard about his return ability - I was disappointed. Also, the way Sean Morey plays special teams - Willie Reid better start to shine because being drafted by the Super Bowl champs in the 3rd round does not guarantee you a spot on the team. They will keep 6 receivers: Ward, Wilson, Holmes are locks. The other 3 are up for grabs. Nate Washington should make the team and I'd like to think Quincy Morgan will. That leaves one spot open with Lee Mays, Morey and Reid fighting for it. Number 28 is too small and doesn't like contact from what I saw. The drafted safety Smith sticks his head in and likes to pop people - he had a decent first game. There was a tight end who almost lost the ball after a catch and then dropped a perfect pass later in the game. He won't make the team. Boyd really really really needs to learn how to take something off the ball when he throws it or our receivers will have broken fingers! Willie Colon will make the team also. He's a bit of a project but he will turn out to be a player by year 3. I can't begin to say how disappointed I was in the pass defense. Kurt Warner made them look bad. He had plenty of time to throw also which is troubling. We'll shake the rust off - we did a lot of partying this off-season. I'm sure I'm forgetting other things I wanted to mention - but it is only the first preseason game. The point I want to stress is that it may better that they lost this game than to go out and win by 30. Time to get the heads out of the clouds and get back to basics.