Steelhead

Draft Thoughts

Evander Hood

I like his size at DE, being 300lbs.  I like his motor and style of play.  Will he replace Keisel or Smith?  I think this will be Keisel's last year with the Steelers.  This is his last year on his contract, and I'm sure the Steelers will want Hood starting next year.  Look for Hood to start contributing in the nickle 2-4-5 alignment by week 8.  A duo of Hood and Smith would give a nice balance of run stopping and interior pass rush.  This means Hood would be stealing playing time from Keisel - very similar to the Timmons/Foote scenario.

Kraig Urbik

Big and nasty - I love it!  Look for Urbik to challenge for the RG position in camp.  If Urbik picks up the zone blocking scheme and playbook, I think he'll be more effective than Stapleton for Week 1.  Wisconsin OL prospects do very well in the NFL, and I expect Urbik to excel in the Steelers scheme.  The interior running game should improve with him in the lineup, however, his big learning curve will be in pass pro, blitz recognition and stunt pickups.

Mike Wallace

For the love of Pete, all he has to do is make the team as a kick returner.  His primary competition, Gary Russell, was cut already.  Any production at WR would be bonus.   All he has to do is catch the ball and get past the 20 on KO returns, and not fumble punts.  The kid has speed, so if the ST unit can get him a crease, it could be very fun to watch.

Keenan Lewis

Kind of reminds me of Ike with less speed and identical hands.  Might be a free safety eventually, as Clark is in his last contract year, and Lewis has the size.

Joe Burnett

Too small for a Steelers corner, and doesn't have very good speed.  Maybe a good punt return guy, but reminds me of Willie Reid...and we know how that turned out.  Reid was faster too.  Can he make the team by just contributing on ST?  I guess we'll find out.  I think this is one pick that does not make the team...but contributes on the practice squad.

Frank Summers

I love this pick.  I think Frank already took Gary Russell's goaline role.  If I were Willie Parker, I'd be worried.  With Mendenhall coming back from injury, and Summers taking the short yardage situations, and Moore coming in on 3rd downs...well...what will Willie's role be?  I think Parker will be gone in two years, as his primary game is speed, and that will slip eventually.  Back to Summers - he is aggressive and physical and has decent speed too.  Has really good hands that can create a mismatch with a smaller defender.  Think LaRon McLain.

Ra'shon Harris

Eh - practice squad.

A.Q. Shipley

Value pick here, as he will be the backup center as a rookie, and might even start someday.  The biggest knock is his short arms.  If he can work through that, he will be a decent center for a while...certainly better than Mahan....oops.

David Johnson

Might challenge Spaeth for the 2nd TE spot, and McHugh for the H-back type role.  However, he's got his work cut out for him with McHugh.  Probably contributes on the practice squad until Spaeth moves on.

A lot of people are grading this draft...I'll wait to see who actually makes the team and contributes.  I do like the fact the Steelers brought in talented players at the positions of need.

Steelhead

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