Free Agency Update and Pre-draft Thoughts

Free Agency Updates

1.  Losing Nate

I'm unsure of the effects of losing Nate Washington.  If Sweed steps up, then it is no big deal.  If Sweed struggles, then the offense might not be as effective on passing downs.  They still have Ward, Holmes, Miller and Moore as good receiving threats.  Mendenhall might be a decent receiver out of the backfield, like Moore.  However, Sweed has shown that he can get separation against nickle backs.  If Ward or Holmes miss playing time due to injury, then Sweed might struggle against starting corners.  How will this uncertainty affect the draft?  Will the Steelers take another WR at 1.32?

2.  Losing McFadden

A good nickle back is no longer a luxury in the NFL.  If you want to compete at a high level, the defense has to have 3 solid CBs.  The Steelers currently have Ike, Gay and Townsend.  These three are good, but an injury might cause issues at depth.  This position is a lot like the WR position, in that the starters are good, but depth is needed.

3.  Keeping Debo

This is a great deal getting Harrison signed long term.  I think that was a necessary thing to do, as he completely outplayed his contract.  Good for an Akron boy!

Pre-draft Thoughts

1.  Positions with need now

Right guard is the most glaring need on this team right now.  Stapleton is a good backup, but as a starter he is not as consistent as you'd like.  As the Steelers parted ways with Simmons, this is the position that has the biggest immediate need.

2.  Positions with need in 2010

Hartwig, Ward, Clark, Foote, Colon, Starks and Hampton all are playing on their last year of contract in 2009.  Ward will be re-signed, as will Big Snack.  The question is, how will the Steelers upgrade ILB and C?  Timmons is a good ILB, but he needs another young buck next to him.  Farrior is no longer at his peak.  Will the Steelers re-sign Clark?  Will the Steelers re-sign their OTs?

The DE position is getting long in the tooth, so a young buck here would be nice too.

3.  Steeler options

The Steelers can draft the best interior lineman available.  I like Alex Mack, who can play RG as an immediate upgrade in 2009, and then slide to C in 2010.  The kid out of Oregon, Unger, woud be good for this too.

Look for the Steelers to have high priority for drafting the following positions:  C/G, WR, CB and DE.  Other positional needs are OT, ILB and FS.  The Steelers will most likely not draft a QB, TE, RB, FB, SS, OLB and NT.

Steelhead

Steeler OL Update

With Kemo's re-signing, the projected 2009 OL looks like this:

Starks - Kemo - Hartwig - ? - Colon

Some fans would like to see Colon move to guard, which might happen if they Steelers can get a quality RT in the draft.  Or, if not, the Steelers could draft an interior lineman.  Stapleton is a good backup, but not exactly what is needed for a starter.

ESPN's McShay has the Steelers taking Eben Britton at 32.  Here is a sampling of post-combine rd 1 picks for the Steelers:

McShay - Eben Britton (OT), Arizona

Rob Rang, Prisco and Chad Reuter (CBS) - Eben Britton

Walter Football - Duke Robinson (G), Oklahoma

Most of the other mock drafts have the Steelers taking Eben Britton also.  If Britton is gone, the Steelers can look at Alex Mack or Robinson for the interior.  Or thay can surprise everyone and take a skill position player.

Steelhead

AFC North Free Agency Updates

From the bottom up:

Browns

Big news is that Winslow was trades to TB.  I think this is a good move by the Browns, as Winslow's act was getting old.  They got rid of a bad locker room guy, and got a 2009 2nd and 2010 5th (or so it seems) for him.  They need picks badly.

The other big story is that Shawn Rogers and Mangini have some issues.  I think that Dutch from Postgameheroes has it right.  http://www.postgameheroes.com/?p=5799&cpage=1#comment-4333

Bengals

No big news yet.  Let's see where TJ lands.

Ravens

Bart Scott is gone to the Jets.  Scott is an OK player.  He is pretty average at ILB, but I think the Jets want him to be the signal caller for the defense as he knows Ryan's schemes.  Not a huge loss for the Ravens, but they'll need to find a way to get another average ILB, or hope one of their backups steps up.  I'm sure Scott is relieved to not see Hines Ward twice a year anymore.  BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Ray Ray has slowed, and he's not getting many offers from the outside.  He's a liability in coverage, and has lost a step.  If you run right at him, he's pretty effective.  He will probably stay with the Ravens as they have already lost Scott.

Ravens cut McAlister and Leonhard from their secondary.

Steelers

Starks get franchised and Kemo is re-signed.  Colon gets a RFA tender.  Looks like the only position to be fixed is RG.

Harrison's new deal is not finished yet.  We'll see how this works out.

Who knows where Nate and McFadden will land?  Good riddance to Anthony Smith.

Steelhead

Steel Curtain Radio #3

http://media.libsyn.com/media/wtcb/SCR_3.mp3

Steelhead

Leigh Bodden

As McFadden looks like he's heading away from the Steelers, an option to replace him would be Leigh Bodden.  Bodden was cut from the Lions today, and is an UFA.  Pro's for Bodden's signing:

1.  He knows the AFC North after being on the Browns squad from 2003-2007.

2.  He can compete in for the starting CB position with Gay.  Townsend, Bodden and Gay competing for that position would be fun to watch.

3.  I do not think there would be any appreciable drop off in the secondary.

4.  He'd be cheaper than McFadden.

You have to wonder why he was cut from Detroit.  Was he really that bad, or was he a casualty of the new regime purge?

I hope the Steelers re-sign McFadden, but Bodden might be a good Plan B if McFadden bolts.

Steelhead

Kendall Simmons is released

Kendall Simmons has been released.  In 2007, he signed a 4 year extension worth $23.1 million.  His release will not save the Steelers several million in cap space in 2009, which will not help put together the contract for Silverback.  What does this mean for the OL?  It means it will get better.  Simmons was playing sub-par football prior to his Achilles injury.  Stapleton, an average OG, came in and added some stability to the RG position.  Look for the Steelers to target the best interior lineman in the draft.

Anthony Smith will become an UFA, as he did not receive a tender.  It will be interesting to see if anyone signs him.

Also released is ILB Mike Humpal.  He might be re-signed for the practice squad at a later date.

Steelhead

Jeff Saturday to the Steelers?

Rumor and reports have it that Jeff Saturday, the former center for the Colts, would be OK with being a Steeler.  I think this is good, as it may provide some leverage in the Kemo negotiations.  It may reduce the price the Steelers have to pay Kemo to keep him.  Saturday made $3.5M last year, and is 34 years old.  He was an undrafted FA, so his salary history has not been too crazy.  Let's look at the pros and cons for signing Saturday:

Pros

1.  You know what you are getting from him.  Jeff is a known quantity.

2.  Jeff has played in the zone blocking scheme that Zierlein likes to run.  I'm not a fan of it, but get guys that know it if you are going to do it.

3.  He is position flexible in the interior.  Jeff is an established center and guard who can certainly pass protect.  Pass pro and short yardage situations seemed to be the Achilles heel for the Steelers OL in 2008.

4.  He is smart and can make all of the protection adjustments.  Currently Ben runs those calls, but it would be good to have another pair of experienced eyes to help him.

5.  Hartwig is in the last year of his 2-yr $3.725M deal.  This would give some flexibility if Hartwig does not re-sign.

Cons

1.  He's 34.

2.  He might not want to take a pay cut.  I think the Steelers would want to pay him at most $2.7-$3M per year.  With Starks and Harrison getting new deals, how much will be left?

3.  Jeff has had an increased injury problem the past two years.

The Steelers did sign Hartings when he was 30, but that gave him 6 years with the team.  At 34, the Steelers will probably get 2-3 good years from Saturday.

So, my hunch is that the Steelers will not sign Saturday due to his age and injury situation.  The Benglas, however, are a team who will overpay for an aging player that will not provide a long term answer.

Steelhead