Category Archives: Steelers 2012 off season

The Colbert Record: Grading the Steelers 2012 Draft, B-

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The with 2017 NFL Draft in the books, it is now time to turn our attention to grading Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin’s performance with the Steelers draft class.

  • Of course, we’re talking about grading the Steelers 2012 Draft Class here.

The question of when a draft class is ripe to grade is an interesting one with no definitive answer. Same day draft grade border on inane, as Ike Taylor and the Steelers 2003 Draft Class demonstrates. Year after draft grades certainly aren’t much more helpful either.

After the rookie years of Sean Davis, Artie Burns and Javon Hargrave, the Steelers 2016 Draft Class is looking pretty smart. But the same could be said in May 1990 about the 1989 Steelers Draft class, which had its gems but also a lot of fools gold.

The Steelers 2011 Draft Class seems to make a solid case for why you really need to wait five years to grade a draft class, and while others may quibble, we’ll stick with it grade the Steelers 2012 Draft Class.

David DeCastro, Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers 2012 first round draft pick

David DeCastro blocking for Ben Roethlisberger. Photo Credit: Photo Credit: Chuck Cook, USA Today via kickoff coverage.com

 

Steelers 2012 1st Round Pick – David DeCastro, Guard, Stanford

When a highly rated prospect falls in the first round of the NFL Draft, it usually for two reason. First, some sort of off the field issue, be it true or not, surfaces and prospective buyers shy away. Second, sometimes one team will make an unexpected pick or trade scrambling everyone else’s draft board.

Going in to the 2012 NFL Draft, David DeCastro had been rated very highly, some experts had him in the top then. But then a run started on defensive lineman, and DeCastro continued to fall. The Steelers didn’t hesitate to pick DeCastro, and haven’t looked back since.

David DeCastro started as a rookie, although he lost most of that season ton injury, but was a full time starter by 2013. By 2014, DeCastro was establishing himself as a force on the field, and showing that streak of nasty that makes offensive lineman great. By 2015, David DeCastro had done well enough to see the Steelers exercise their 5th year option on him and eventually sign him to a long term deal.

For what it is worth, the NFL Network is rating DeCastro as the 97th best player in the league. Grade: Quality Value Pick (trending toward Grand Slam).

steelers, draft, grades, evaluations, bust, Kevin Colbert

True NFL Draft grades only come with years of hindsight

Steelers 2012 2nd Round Pick – Mike Adams, Tackle, Ohio State

Mike Adams provides the perfect example of a player who fell for kind of reason. In his case it was a failed drug test at the NFL Combine. The Steelers knew about this, and took them off their board because of it.

  • Mike Adams of course worked his way back into the good graces of Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers took him admitting that there are risks with every pick. The easy evaluation, based on the disaster that was Mike Adams starting at left tackle, is that the Mike Adams pick was a bust. That’s a tempting conclusion to take, but it is not quite accurate.

  • People forget that Mike Adams started 6 games (per Pro Football Reference’s count) at right tackle in 2012 and played fairly well.

HE also made four starts at right tackle in 2014 and again he performed well. 2015 was lost to injury. OK, if you pick a man in the a tackle in the second round, and you project him as a left tackle, you expect more than 10 good starts at right tackle out of the player.

But the Steelers did get some value out of Mike Adams, it just wasn’t enough. Grade: Disappointment

Steelers 2012 3rd Round Pick – Sean Spence, Inside Linebacker, Miami

This pick perhaps illustrates just how much of a factor luck plays in forming a successful NFL Draft. The Steelers drafted Sean Spence with an eye towards replacing Larry Foote. All indications in training camp and preseason were that Spence was capable of being that player.

  • Then disaster struck, as Sean Spence suffered what could have been a career ending injury during preseason.

The Steelers kept Spence on injured reserve for two years, and in the meantime drafted Vince Williams and Ryan Shazier. Spence returned to full health in 2014 and functioned effectively as “The Next Man” up starting 13 games over the next two years.


Sean Spence after forcing a fumble in Steelers 2014 win over the Houston Texans. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire, USA Today Steelers Wire

Who knows how good Sean Spence would have been had not been injured? How well would have he would have played during 2014 and 2015 had Shazier not forced him to the bench? Will never know the answer. All indications are that Colbert and Tomlin made the right pick with this selection, but unfortunately due to no one’s fault, injury prevented the Steelers from recouping its full value. Grade: Serviceable Pickup

Steelers 2012 4th Round Pick – Alameda Ta’mau, Nose Tackle, Washington

Note to Kevin Colbert: Next time you think of trading up to grab someone in one of the middle rounds, don’t pick a guy that is getting KOed on highlight films by your first round pick.

Because that’s exactly what the Steelers did in 2012 when they traded up to get the “last pure nose tackle in the draft” even though one of David DeCastro’s highlight reels included him totally dominating
Alameda Ta’mau.

That didn’t stop some pundits from predicting that Ta’Mau would become Casey Hampton’s heir apparent. Instead Ta’Mau became best known for his South Side drunken rampage, where only by the grace of God no one got seriously injured.

The Steelers didn’t cut him immediately, but he was gone by year’s end without playing a down and played in 14 games for Pittsburgh West over the next two season. Grade: Bust

Steelers 2012 5th Round Pick – Chris Rainey, Running Back, Florida

Unlike Ta’Mau who had a previous alcohol incident that the Steelers knew of but was not public knowledge, Chris Raniey brought a checkered history to Pittsburgh. However, the Pouncey family vouched for Rainey and the Steelers gave him a chance.

  • Chris Rainey was supposed to be a utility back for the Steelers – a small speedy back who could come out of the flat to spread the field.

As a running back Rainey saw spot duty in 2012 and had a respectable rushing average, and he also caught 14 passes on 22 targets which is also respectable, although he never showed any of that field stretching ability. Rainey had a minor run in with the law late in the season, and then his name popped up in the police blotter for domestic violence in January.

The Steelers cut their losses immediately and sent Rainey packing. Grade: Bust

Steelers 2012 7th Round Pick, A – Toney Clemons, Wide Receiver, Colorado

Toney Clemons never caught on with the Steelers, but he did play four games in 2012 for the Jacksonville Jaguars and was never heard from again. Grade: Farm Team

Steelers 2012 7th Round Pick, B – David Paulson, Tight End, Oregon

Fans will remember David Paulson for his dropped pass in the Steelers road loss to the Bengals in the second game of the 2013 Steelers 0-4 start. And yes he should have caught that, and yes it could have been a difference maker.

  • But David Paulson was a number 4 TE playing as a number 2 TE.

All told, David Paulson had 13 catches on 21 targets over 32 games for the Steelers. Those are hardly Mike Mularkey numbers, let alone Heath Miller type stats. But not bad production from the 240th man taken in the draft. Grade: Quality Value Pickup

Steelers 2012 7th Round Pick, C — Terrence Frederick, Cornerback, Texas A&M

Terrence Frederick never made caught on with the Steelers but played 5 games in 2012 and 2014 for the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints. Again, not bad for a 7th round pick and not a bad way to pocket six figures before starting your “Life’s Work.” Grade: Farm Team

Steelers 2012 7th Round Pick, D – Kelvin Beachum, Tackle, SMU

If most NFL General Managers would be forced to confess, when they get to the 248th pick of the draft they’re probably thinking, “If this works out well, he’ll land on the practice squad.” You don’t pick a man that late and expect him to play seven games for you that year, let alone start 5.

Yet that’s what Kelvin Beachum did for the Steelers as a rookie. There weren’t many bright spots for the Steelers offense on the backend of 2012, with Ben Roethlisberger’s injury to Young Money going broke, to the three headed implosion at running back.

But Kelvin Beachum was a true bright spot for the Steelers, as he went on to save the Steelers season in 2013 by stepping in at left tackle, and established himself as a legit starting left tackle in 2014. Grade: Grand Slam

Grading the Steelers 2012 Draft

Only David DeCastro remains of the Steelers 2012 Draft Class and by many measure’s that’s bad, because in theory this is when your draft picks should in their prime, hitting their stride. And when that happens, a team wins. See the roles the Steelers 2002 Draft Class played in winning Super Bowl XL.

  • But the 2011 NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement’s rookie salary cap altered that calculus a bit.

By essentially mandating that every NFL team devote the same portion of his salary cap on its draft class, it raised the marginal value of the production a team gets out of its draft picks during their rookie contracts.

Viewed in that light, the Steelers got excellent value out of David DeCastro and Kelvin Beachum. They also got solid contributions from the Sean Spence and even got “Something” out of Mike Adams and David Paulson. Unfortunately are weighed down by the loss of value of Ta’amu and Rainey and the draft pick they used to get Ta’Amu.

All told, Steelers 2012 Draft Class had a “Good But…” quality to it, and that’s why we’re grading out with a B-.

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Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Reup for 3 Years

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are less than 24 hours away from convening training camp at St. Vincents Collegein Latrobe and almost as if on cue came the announcement that they had extended the contract of head coach Mike Tomlin.
The move will keep Tomlin on the Steelers sidelines through the 2016 season.
The Steelers policy has been to extend their head coach when he has two years remaining on his contract. The Steelers did just that two years ago, although at the time Joe Starkey of the Tribune Review noted that the extension was for 2 years plus an option, a departure from their standing operating procedure of offering straight three year extensions.
The Steelers move in 2010 was somewhat logical, as the team had suffered a mighty post-Super Bowl hangover during the 2009 season.
Since then Tomlin should, and apparently has, erased any doubts. In 2010, the Steelers became the first NFL team to begin its season with its starting quarterback serving a suspension – Pittsburgh landed in Super Bowl XLVnonetheless.
The Steelers fortunes during the 2011 season weren’t quite so rosy, but Tomlin kept the team in contention despite roster ravaged by injury.
No Surprises This Time

There was little serious doubt that the Steelers would renew Mike Tomlin this time around. The only naysayer was Ron Cook of the Post Gazette, who suggested that Tomlin might resent Art Rooney II forcing him to fire Bruce Arians so much that he would refuse an extension.
Today it became clear why Cook could offer no reporting to back up his claim.
Although financial terms were released with the deal, one would figure that the contract extension would include a hefty increase for Tomlin. If this is true then it also dispels the notion that the Rooneys would refuse to pay top dollar for a quality head coach.
The bottom line is that Mike Tomlin is happy coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Steelers are happy to have him. That’s a win for both sides in addition to a win for Steelers Nation.

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Steelers Sign David DeCastro

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Just days before convening training camp in at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania the Pittsburgh Steelers came to terms with David DeCastro their number one pick from the 2012 NFL Draft.
DeCastro signed a 4 year deal which includes an 5th option year at the end.
The news comes as no surprise, but is nonetheless welcome. Although Doug Legursky or Ramon Foster might be “officially” penciled on the depth chart to begin training camp at right guard, the Steelers are clearly counting on DeCastro as their starter. For that to occur he needs to begin camp on time, which now will happen.
The Steelers also signed undrafted rookie free agent offensive tackle Bridger Buche who was a two year starter at Eastern Michigan.

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Steelers Cut Jonathan Scott

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One day after resigning veteran offensive tackle Max Starks the Steelers made another move by cutting reserve tackle Jonathan Scott.

Johnathan Scott was part of the Steelers 2010 Free Agent Signing Spree that included the returns of Antwann Randel El and Larry Foote. Scott brought on to be a back up but injuries forced him into the starting line up.

Scott struggled, mightily at times, during the regular season, but stepped up his game impressively during the playoffs and Super Bowl XLV. The Steelers thought so highly of his progress that he began the 2011 season as the starter.

That changed fast, however, as he was unable to protect Ben Roethlisberger’s blind side, and the team quickly moved to bring back Max Starks. Scott continued to receive action however, as repeated injuries forced the Steelers to play musical chairs on offensive line.

The Steelers likely waived Scott now, a week before training camp, to give him a chance to sign on elsewhere. The move also potentially opens up a roster spot for either Chris Scott, the Steelers 5th pick from the 2010 NFL Draft and/or Kyle Jolly, an undrafted rookie Free Agent who from 2010 who has spent the last two years on the practice squad. Trai Essex, who can play tackle, also remains on their roster.

Alan Robinson of the Tribune Review reported that the move will save the Steelers 1.7 million dollars against the salary cap – funds that could be used towards a long-term deal with restricted free agent Mike Wallace.

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Steelers Send Message With Decision to Resign Max Starks

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The Steelers sent a message in the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft: 

  • The era of “Plug and Patch” offensive line building in Pittsburgh is over.

Mike Tomlin’s offensive staff quickly confirmed this move after drafting DavidDiCastro and Mike Adams when they called Willie Colon to inform him that theoft-rumored shift to guard was going to become real.


The Steelers shifted Colonbecause they’re projecting Mike Adams to start at right tackle.

Today in resigning Max Starks the Steelers sent another unequivocal message: 
  • You have to earn your role as a starter when you’re a Pittsburgh Steeler

The latter message was just as important as the former. Mike Adams brings more than his fair share of baggage to the NFL – Adamsknocked himself off the Steelers draft board with a positive drug test at the NFL scouting combine.


Adams worked himself back into the Mike Tomin and Kevin Colbert’s good graces, and they rewarded him by giving him a chance.

But when news of Colon’s shift to guard was accompanied by confirmation that Marcus Gilbert would remain at right tackle the idea that the Steelers braintrust might be giving Adam’s more than a chance wasn’t so outlandish.

Afterall, the only two people he’d have to beat out were Trai Essex and Jonathan Scott – both mean whose track record at the left tackle position is checkered – to be charitable.

But with Max Starks on the roster, the Steelers have brought in a veteran whom Adams will have to push himself to beat. They’re also giving themselves the luxury of allowing Adamsto grow into the position.

Steelers Sign Starks – an Annual Off Season Rite

Perhaps when I launched Steel Curtain Rising in January of 2008 I it never occurred to me to  write up a batch of generic articles to cover typical, recurring, events.

One such story could have been “Steelers Resign Max Starks.” 

That would have come in handy as hardly a year has passed without Max Starks putting ink to paper with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That four year contract got cut short, however as Starks injured his neck during 2010 and had to finish the season on IR.

The Steelers “Resign Max Stark” yarn took an unexpected twist in 2011 as Starks, after weighing in at over 400 pounds at Ben Roethlisberger’s wedding, was cutas soon as the lockout ended.

When WillieColon went down after the Debacle in Baltimore, many fans expected the Steelers to rush to the Red Phone to resign Starks (or perhaps Flozell Adams who actually offered his services to the Steelers — for a price.)
That plan lasted all of 3 games when it became crystal clear that Jonathan Scott was not a 16 game starter at left tackle. Discretion is that better part of valor, and the Steelers turned to Max Starks, initially thinking he would provide depth, but Starks started immediately — and the Steelers offensive line improved as a result.

Starks appears to be happy with the Steelers, Alan Robinson of the Tribune Review indicated that Atlantawas interested in signing him, despite the fact that the Steelers never seemed to have made up their collective mind on him.

However rumor is that Starks was never high on Bruce Arianslist, and that of course is a moot point now. Welcome back to Steelers Nation Max (again).

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Steelers Not Among iPad Early Adopters in NFL

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Training camp is still a few weeks away, but this might be the last summer that a familiar NFL ritual plays out in St. Vincents.
What every player dreads all summer long in Latrobe is a knock at the door from “The Turk.” Who knows who plays the role of “The Turk” today.
That’s not what’s important. It’s the news he brings.
The knock at the door is usually followed by the grim phrase:  “Coach wants to see you. And bring your play book.”  The later part of that phrase tells all – your days as a Steeler are over.
Some unfortunate few will hear that dreaded phrase this summer, but they might be the last.
No, the Steelers are not planning on holding camp elsewhere.
But as NFL.com recently profiled, tablet computer technology is sweeping the NFL, simultaneously replacing the traditional pen and ink playbook and radically alerting the experience of film study.
As the article details, every NFL team is experimenting with the iPad with several teams discarding dead tree editions of the playbook.
The Steelers, as reported by Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain, are not one of them. The Steelers will make film and plays available for iPads, but they’re not making them mandatory.
Avoiding “Putting on the Dog?” Not so Fast
Why aren’t the Steelers early adopters? There’s no way to be sure.
Art Rooney Sr. always admonished against “Putting on the dog,” his way of reminding the boys to be modest, translating his credo in to practical advice such as “Don’t get a Cadillac, get a Buick instead.”
Dan Rooney is a traditionalist when it comes to the game and its presentation. In 1998 when a Jacksonville Jaguars team mascot and mocked the Steelers huddle Rooney loudly complained, going as far as to say, “It’s a shame we didn’t have Lambert or Lloyd with us. They’d have put him in the hospital.”
When the Jacksonvillebeat reporter protested “But its only entertainment” Rooney’s report was “At Three Rivers Stadium our entertainment is in between the lines.”
But it would be a mistake to insist that the Steelers resist technology.
In fact, as part of the BLESTO scouting combine, the Steelers were one of the first teams to use computers in the scouting and evaluation of players. In fact, former Steelers defensive back, long-time BLESTO head, and soon to be Hall of Famer Jack Butler starred in a Sperry Rand commercial touting its computer’s role in the NFL draft.
Down Side to Technology
Traditionalists like Art Rooney Jr., who ran the Steelers scouting department in the 70’s, were “OK” with using computers, but were smart enough not to become slaves to them.
As he details in his biography/autobiography Ruanaidh, that self-same BLESTO computer didn’t think that Mike Webster could cut it in the NFL.
Even when it factored in intangibles like attitude and football intelligence, Webster simply lacked the measurables, or so that Sperry Rand algorithm concluded.
Fortunately Dick Haley, Tim Rooney, Art Jr. and Chuck Nolltook the time to look at tape on Webster, who of course became a Hall of Famer.
The smart money says that the Steelers will fully embrace tablet technology. But they’ll leave it to others to work out the kinks.

So it might be a few summers before the phrase “Coach wants to see you, and bring your iPad” are uttered in the halls of St. Vincents.

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Watch Tower: Calling Out Mike Florio, Revisiting Mike Tomlin and Kordell Stewart, and Taking Our Own Medicine

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NBC Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio attracts attention to himself. Last month Florio drew the ire of Steelers Nation by taking Mike Tomlin’s William and Mary Hall of Fame induction speech and twisting it so far out of context they it was unrecognizable.

Fellow scribe Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain immediately pounced as did Steelers Depot and Dan Gigler of the Post Gazette’s Blog ‘N Gold.

Then I watch Tomlin’s speech (click here for the full video) and now I question whether or not Coolong was harsh enough.

But the purpose of Watch Tower’scritical eye is to analyze and understand what drives the coverage that the Steelers get in the press.
  • So the Watch Tower went right to the source:  Mike Florio himself.

I sent Florio a message, asking if he’d read the full text of Tomlin’s speech or viewed it (Florio quoted passage, citing Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column).

I inquired if he weighed the context of Tomlin’s and if he’d sought comment or clarification from Tomlin or the team. One imagines that Burt Lauren, Steelers Communications director, would take Florio’s call. Finally, I asked Florio if he really did want to insulate that Tomlin condoned attempts to injure players.
The response from Florio?
Nothing.
  • Despite repeated attempts, Florio chose not to respond.

The professional press criticizes bloggers, often rightly, for hiding behind anonymity as they poison the well of public discourse.

But the fact that Florio put his name beside his attacks fails to make him any better.

He could have responded to my inquiry in several ways. He could have defended his work, offered a mea culpa or even dismissed the question with a hearty “who the hell are you?”
Instead, he chose silence.
  • And for that, the Watch Tower calls out Florio as a coward.

If you’re going to make scandalous charges about one of the classiest individuals in the NFL Mike, then man up stand behind what you write.

Kordell the Best Between Bradshaw and Ben?

Kordell Stewart surprised Steelers Nation yet again with his “retirement.” Stewart generated more controversy than perhaps any man to wear the Black and Gold and his decision to call it quits 10 years after leaving the team drew a variety of responses.
None were more puzzling, however, than Ron Cook of the Post-Gazette.
Reflecting on Stewart’s career Cook concluded, “He was the Steelers’ best quarterback between four-time Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw and two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger.”
Two paragraphs later Cook doubled down:

Stewart once predicted he would make the Hall of Fame. He fell considerably short, but he was better than everyone on this list: Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Scott Campbell, Bubby Brister, Steve Bono, Todd Blackledge, Neil O’Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Jim Miller, Kent Graham and Tommy Maddox. They are the other Steelers quarterbacks who followed Bradshaw and preceded Roethlisberger.

  • Cook makes a bold claim.

The Watch Tower takes no issue with Cook’s opinion, he’s entitled to it and there’s an argument to be made to support. But successfully making such an argument requires marshaling evidence that Kordell was better than Neil O’Donnell at least, and perhaps Tommy Maddox.

Cook doesn’t do that. He probably didn’t have the column space, but his piece would have been far more interesting if he had.
Mike Tomlin’s Contract
Earlier this year he suggested that Tomlin might resent Art Rooney II’s forcing him to fire Bruce Arians so much that he’d decline to renew his contract. Regular readers will remember that the Watch Tower took issue with Cook then for not backing his analysis up with any reporting.
Cook mentioned the Arians firing, but took a different direction and in doing so raised the possibility that Steelers Nation will get an answer to a long-unanswered question.
Cook reasons that market dynamics dictate a significant raise for Tomlin, in the range of what it Bill Cowher could have commanded in 2006.
  • Many believe that Cowher simply because the Steelers would not pay premium dollar for a head coach.

Personally I’ve always felt that the Steelers probably would have met his price had he indicated that his future was in Pittsburgh. But we never got to find out because Kaye Cowher was already in the family’s newly purchased home in North Carolina, hence the Rooneys declined to open their check books.

If Cook is right we could find out just how ready the Rooneys are to pay top dollar for a coach in a few weeks.

Love for Troy Smith, No Love for Mewelde Moore

The Steelers lost Mewelde Moore when he signed with theColts and decided to part ways with Troy Smith. You’d figure that Moore’s departure would merit more attention than Smith.
That was not the case, at least in Pittsburgh’s to leading dailies. News, let alone a story, about Mewelde Moore’sdeparture was no where to be found on either website save for a brief mention in Seth Rorabagh’s “Morning Links” column on PG Plus.
  • In contrast, Smith’s departure drew short stories in both the Tribune Review and Post Gazette.

Moore’s departure was widely forecast, but he was an unsung hero in the Steelers 2008 Super Bowl season and deserved more of a send off. Nonetheless, the lack of coverage was fitting as in 2008 the press largely ignored Mewelde Moore until injuries forced him into the line up (click here for that story.)

Steel Curtain Rising Takes Its Own Medicine

The Watch Tower bright lights do not discriminate, not even when it comes to its home site.
When news broke that the Steelers planned to keep Marcus Gilbert at right tackle I jumped to the conclusion that meant they were therefore were by default (given that they won’t be so dense as to start Jonathan Scott or Trai Essex there) handing the job to second round pick Mike Adams.
  • As it turns out, Marcus Gilbert did see time at LT during OTA’s and word also circulated that the team might give Max Starks a look.

Two pitfalls of the internet are haste in getting “content” on a page can lead to sloppy judgment and that nothing generates hits like a negative headline.

So be it. Yours truly fell prey to both of those and I duly accept my comeuppance.

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Steelers cut Troy Smith

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The Pittsburgh Steelers announced yesterday via Twitter that they have cut 4th string quarterback and former Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith. The Steelers had signed Smith to a futures contract in January.
The decision to sign Smith surprised some, but was quite understandable as Bryon Leftwich, Charlie Batch, and Dennis Dixon were all unrestricted free agents heading into the off season. Both Leftwich and Batchhave since resigned with the Steelers.
Smith had worked out with the team throughout the off season, including OTA’s and Minicamp.
Saved by the Bell….
Anyone who (that is anyone who works a full time job) has their own site about their favorite sports team can tell you, one of the biggest frustrations is having more ideas than you have time to write about.
Sometimes, however, that is a blessing.
I know little of Troy Smith, other than he’s bounced around the league for a few years in spite of his strong college pedigree. Yet, a recently published story on Smith in the Post-Gazette, combined with tales form PG Plus about his arm strength got me thinking that perhaps Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin had brought Smith as more than insurance.
According to press reports, the Steelers actively want to groom a young signal caller to be Ben Roethlisberger’s back up. They didn’t draft a quarterback in the 2012 NFL Draft, seemingly leaving room for Troy Smith to win a job in camp.
Or so my article was about to argue.  Sometimes being too busy to write is a blessing.
Daylight for Dennis Dixon….?
Smith’s departure brings the number of experienced quarterbacks on the Steelers roster to 3. They traditionally bring four to camp to keep everyone fresh.
Dennis Dixon, the team’s 5th round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft had expected (or at least hoped) to cash in during free agency.
The first two rounds of free agency are over and the draft has come and gone and no one has called Dennis Dixon’s number.
This amounts to pure speculation on the part of Steel Curtain Rising, but one has to wonder if letting Smith go opens up a slot for the team to give Dennis Dixon a chance to win a spot in camp.
That prospect is not entirely likely, as Dixon was unhappy with his role last year and made noises about being traded, but the possibility remains.

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Which of the Steelers 2012 Draft Picks Will Fail?

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IF you’ve found this page in June our July of 2012, you might be head scratching over the current poll because the Pittsburgh Steelers2012 Draft Class is being met with tremendous fanfare. An overwhelming number of fans in a previous poll were ready to anoint David DeCastro as the next Alan Faneca.

Fortune shined the Steelers favor, allowing them draft the best players available without needing to reach. 

  • Or so the tale goes.

Truthfully, having David DeCastro slip to them in the first round was likely an incredible stroke of luck for the Steelers. And, prior to his positive drug test, Mike Adams had been pegged as a sure first rounder.

There’s no doubt that the Steelers 2012 Draft Class is a group brimming with potential. 
  • But with every draft class the challenge lines in transforming that potential into to production.

In other words in when the Steelers convene camp in Latrobe a month from now reality will begin to set in.

  • And that reality dictates that some of these draft day superstars will fail in the NFL.

As pointed out here recently, many of the same things begin said about the Steelers 2012 draft class were also being said about Pittsburgh’s 2008 draftees (click here for the article.)

Kevin Colbert leads one of the finest scouting efforts in the NFL. Colbert’s record in the first round is the envy of the league (click herefor a pick-by-pick breakdown of Kevin Colbert’s first round success.)
Yet my quick, back of the envelop calculations reveal that even Colbert has only picked average 2.5 quality contributors per draft. 
Rebecca Rollett, writing on Behind the Steel Curtain, has done a more exhaustive study of Colbert’s early, middle, and late round picksand, while her conclusions are slightly more generous than mine, they show that Kevin Colbert is ahead of his peers. (Full disclosure: I also write for Behind the Steel Curtain.) 
  • So be it. It’s likely that Colbert has drafted a couple of three studs in waiting.

But that doesn’t change the simple fact that some of these men simply won’t make the transition to life in the NFL.

I don’t say this to be a naysayer, but rather inject a little dose of reality into a conversation where many are already ranking the Steelers 2012 Draft along side the Steelers historic 1974 Draft.
No one would be happier if the 1974 prediction comes to bear because that would likely mean more Super Bowls in the Steelers future.
But basic math tells us that a 1974 repeat, or a even a near repeat is not likely. And that means that some of Aprils “Can’t Miss” prospects will. 
  • Who will fall through the cracks?

Will David DeCastro prove to be the new Huey Richardson? Might Mike Adams prove to be a Ricky Williams soul mate? Could Alameda Ta’amueat himself out of the league?

I don’t pretend to know, but I do offer you the chance to make your voice heard.
Take a moment to vote in the poll above or better yet, offer your reasons behind your vote in the comment section.

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Steelers Say Goodbye as Mewelde Moore Signs with Colts

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The Pittsburgh Steelers said good bye to reserve running back Mewelde Moore, who will rejoin Bruce Arians at the Indianapolis Colts.
Moore arrived in Pittsburgh in 2008 with little fan fare, the news of Moore’s signing breaking on the same day that Ben Roethlisberger signed his 100 million dollar extension.
Moorenever became a star with the Steelers, but he was an invaluable back up and effective third down back.
Mewelde Moore passed through training camp and the beginning of the 2008 campaign largely ignored by the press if not the coaches.
But Mooreplayed a crucial role when injuries felled Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhalland Carey Davis. Moore started in the all-important mid-season show down with Jacksonvillethat year and helped breath life into Mike Tomlin’s “The Standard is the Standard” philosophy by running the ball with authority.
  • Mooreplayed extensively during the rest of 2008, and was one of that Super Bowl season’s unsung heroes.
And that’s how his career in Pittsburgh will be remembered. Moore never got a lot of fanfare, but he always gave it his all whenever he stepped on the field.
Caught in the Backfield Glut
With Rashard Mendenhall still rehabbing his ACL and likely to start the season the PUP, Isaac Redman is poised to enter 2012 as the Steelers starter. 
Behind Redman the Steelers have quantity depth but the quality of the depth remains an unknown. Jonathan Dwyer looked good in his only start vs. Tennessee, but he’s had chronic off season conditioning issues and hasn’t been tested extensively.
Barron Batch was a training camp hero last summer in Latrobe before injuring his ACL and, while his potential is real, much remains for him to prove.
Chris Rainey, the Steelers 5th round pick from the 2012 NFL Draft, offers alluring potential but, then again, can’t we say that about every draft pick this time of the year?
John Clay also figures to be in the mix.
With David Johnson moving to full back, the Steelers will likely carry four pure running backs on their roster. Redman and Rainey are locks to make the team, with Dwyer and Batch holding down the other two spots – assuming that Rashard Mendenhall starts the year on the PUP.
  • Steelers coaches liked Moore, with Kriby Wilson likening him to “an old familiar suit case.”
While the Steelers made little or no effort to sign Mewelde Moore, word was that he might become a training camp addition, depending on how the competition at the back up spot played out.
  • For good for or for ill, that Indianapolis has now taken that option off of the table.
Best of luck Mewelde, Steel Curtain Rising wishes you great success in Hoosier country – as long as that success comes not at the expense of the Steelers….

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