If we look at the current Consensus Mock Draft,  for the Steelers in the first round here’s the picture:

There are some guys you’d hope might fall somehow…. However, Spikes and McClain have been snapped up.  The big Tackle Davis from Rutgers has been taken.  The premier nose tackle in Dan Williams made it past Miami and Denver only to be snapped up by the 49ers.

Every year it seems that there is a parting between the top tier guys and the next bunch.  This year it looks like that drop off is right around #16 or so.

So who’s left at 18?  There are some good value guys hanging around.  Bulaga is a pretty safe bet as a RT.  Charles Brown could develop into a good LT.  Iupati would be an upgrade at RG.  The Steelers could upgrade at all of these positions.  Last year any of these OL guys would have been a quality pick.

This year things are different.  This year deficiencies at Safety and Corner became apparent.  This year James Farrior and Deshea Townsend lost a step.  This year Casey Hampton and Ryan Clark are free agents.

The depth at linebacker is severely depleted.  Larry Foote’s departure erased a lot of  the depth at ILB.  Bruce Davis did not make it as an OLB.  In fact, the Steelers were very fortunate to stay healthy at outside linebacker.  The OLB backups were shuffled extensively based on their abiliy to play special teams.  This shuffling is a not so subtle indicator of the backups’ discardable abilities on defense.

So who’s here at #18 to fill some of these voids and what are the other options.

Sean Witherspoon has purportedly been scouted by the team (Tweeted by Jim Wexell).  It’s an unusual news item since Witherspoon is mostly thought of as a Will LB in a 4-3.  However, He has great skills, great leadership and a good football IQ.  The Steelers would look at him for use as an ILB most likely.  The conversion might seem like a big deal but considering he’s going to spend half a year at Dick LeBeau University before he has any idea what he’s supposed to be doing, it’s probably not a huge deal.  The knock on Witherspoon is that he might not be good enough versus the run, making him essentially another version of Timmons.

Sergio Kindle was a great prospect going into the National Championship game and he shone brightly in the spotlight.  He would make an attractive candidate for an outside linebacker project.  This is another scenario where he’d be in school basically for the better part of a season learning the defense.  This would be a solid pick to address a real depth concern.

Patrick Robinson out of FSU is the top corner left at this point.  The Steelers drafted 2 corners last year and did not see much production from them.  In this kind of situation it’s really difficult as a fan to know how those guys are doing other than they’re not doing well enough to unseat the starters.  Burnett half cracked the line-up towards the end of the year, rotating with Townsend and Gay.  In my mind, Townsend Gay and Burnett are about equal in skill.  A talented corner could potentially move right into the #2 role. A quick glance at the big board shows a herd of corners with round 2 grades however so it might make sense to wait a round on this need.

At Nose Tackle, Dan Williams is already gone… you have Terrence Cody and Brian Price as possibilities.  Both are currently rated quite a bit lower than #18.  NT does not seem like a good value here.

One consideration here would be to trade down and get some additional early round picks.  My apologies to the prime time audience for the first round but this is a pretty sound idea.

So who might trade with the Steelers for this spot?

Kansas City is in the market for OL, showing an interest in multiple guards in fact.  They might be willing to trade Picks #36 and #52 for picks #18 and #113.

I asked the Online Draft Simulator what this trade would bring the Steelers and here’s the result for the first 4 rounds:

#36  Earl Thomas – Outstanding underclassman FS out of Texas.  Good value and it addresses a need.  Note that NT Terrence Cody and OC Maurkice Popuncey are still available under this simulation.

#51  Trevard Lindley — CB out of Kentucky will compete for #2 or #3 spot. This addresses a need and it’s a decent value.  Other corners such as Javier Arenas are still on the board.

#52 Darrell Stuckey — Top tier Talent at SS from Kansas boots Tyrone Carter from the team!  Potential to contribute right away on special teams and in nickel packages.  Polamalu get’s the understudy he’s needed for years.

#83 Vince Oghobase — The ODS picked a quality prospect at DE in the third.  Kam Chancellor (S) is still available in case you’d picked Cody at #36.  Toby Gerhart (RB) would be tempting here.  However  DT Jerrell Powe is still on the board and probably represents a more rare commodity than Oghobase.

All in all it looks like a pretty successful scenario.  Depending on your choices you have a couple of ways of getting 2 safeties, a corner and a Nose Tackle by the middle of round three.  Pretty solid start to a draft!

I focused on DLine,  Oline,  Safeties and Linebackers in the college bowls.  These are the positions most in Need on the Steeler roster at the moment.

Highlights:

• The Emerald features Prospects at OT and OC along with one of the top safeties.
• The Chik Fil-A bowl features top prospects at Safety and Nose Tackle along with several lesser rated prospects at multiple positions.
• The Liberty Bowl is worth a watch for mid rounders at Safety and DLine.
• The National Championship game has talent to watch at multiple positions

Saturday December 19

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL

Rutgers vs. UCF

Anthony Davis OT Rutgers – Early round RT prospect.

Kevin Haslam OT Rutgers – Late rounder, played some OG.

Ryan D’Imperio LB Rutgers – Good production, mid round prospect.

Wednesday, December 23

POINSETTIA BOWL

Utah vs. California

Tyson Alualu DT California – Plays 34DE already at Cal a bit short at 6’3

Mike Tepper OT Cal – late round OT

Zane Beadles OT Utah – mid to late round OT

Saturday, December 26

EMERALD BOWL

Boston College vs. USC

Taylor Mays FS USC – top 10 safety prospect

Charles Brown OT USC – 1st round LT

Kris O’Dowd C USC – Early rounder

Matt Tennant C Boston College – mid rounder — lanky

Anthony Costanzo OT, Boston College – Mid to late round OT

Saturday, December 26

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh

Marvin Austin DT North Carolina  — NT sized athletic prospect without good game day stats

Kyle Jolly, OT, North Carolina – mid round left tackle.

Mick Williams DT Pittsburgh –  6’1, 280 size isn’t a good fit for the 3-4

Greg Romeus DE Pittsburgh – Projects as a potential OLB for the Steelers.

Sunday, December 27

MUSIC CITY BOWL

Kentucky vs. Clemson

Ricky Sapp OLB Clemson – Mid round 3-4 OLB with good skills and athleticism.  Perhaps a bit lanky.

Thomas Austin OG Clemson – mid to late rounder

Micah Johnson ILB Kentucky – mid rounder, good leader.

Corey Peters DT Kentucky – 6’3 295 Late round prospect

Monday, December 28

INDEPENDENCE BOWL

Texas A&M vs. Georgia

Reshad Jones FS Georgia – First round Safety prospect

Geno Atkins DT Georgia – Late round NT prospect

Jeff Owens DT Georgia – FA DL prospect

Kade Weston DT Georgia – Late round NT prospect, possibly too tall.

Von Miller OLB A&M – Short relentless OLB prospect, early rounder.

Tuesday, December 29

EAGLEBANK BOWL

UCLA vs. Temple

Brian Price DT UCLA – Price is an underclassman and might not declare, but he’d be a great NT.

Andre Neblett DT Temple – FA NT prospect

Dominique Harris S Temple – Late round safety prospect

Tuesday, December 29

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL

Miami vs. Wisconsin

Jason Fox OT Miami – mid round LT prospect.

Allen Bailey DT Miami – underclassman with 34DE size

Darryl Sharpton ILB Miami – Late round ILB

O’Brien Schofield OLB Wisconsin – Mid round 3-4 OLB talent.

Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin – Mid round OT

Wednesday, December 30

HUMANITARIAN BOWL

Idaho vs. Bowling Green

Mike Iupati OG Idaho – Early round OG

Wednesday, December 30

HOLIDAY BOWL

Nebraska vs. Arizona

Ndamukong Suh DT Nebraska – Most dominating combination of size and talent for all DLine prospects, top 10 pick

Larry Asante S, Nebraska – Late round /FA safety

Phillip Dillard, ILB, Nebraska – Late round prospect

Earl Mitchell – DT  Late round NT prospect.

Thursday, December 31

SUN BOWL

Stanford vs. Oklahoma

Trent Williams OT Oklahoma – mid round tackle

Gerald McCoy DT Oklahoma  – 34DE size, 1st rounder

Travis Lewis OLB Oklahoma – probably ILB or even SS with the Steelers, 1st rounder.

DeMarcus Granger DT Oklahoma – Late/FA prospect w/injuries and character problems

Ekom Udofia DT Stanford – Late round NT prospect

Bo McNally SS Stanford – Late round SS prospect

Not that they’re on the needs list, but RB prospects Chris Brown, and Toby Gerhart should make this a good game to watch DL prospects.

Thursday, December 31

TEXAS BOWL

Missouri vs. Navy

Sean Weatherspoon OLB Missouri – projects to ILB early rounder.

Thursday, December 31

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL

Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

Eric Berry S Tennessee – Lights out Safety, early 1st rounder

Dan Williams DT Tennessee – great NT prospect in the 1st or 2nd

Josh McNeil C Tennessee – late rounder OC

Chris Scott OT Tennessee – Mid round OT

Sergio Render OG Virginia Tech – mid rounder

Ed Wang OT Virginia Tech – Late round OT

Jason Worilds OLB Virginia Tech – Late round OLB

Kam Chancellor FS Virginia Tech – Late round safety prospect

Cody Grimm LB VT – Son of Russ gets an honorable mention here.  He may be a SS FA prospect.

This is a blue chip game for Steelers fans.  Good prospects to watch on both lines and two safeties worth a peek as well.  If that’s not enough you can work up some drinking game for those commercials with the cows trying to get you to eat more chikin.

Friday, January 1

OUTBACK BOWL

Northwestern vs. Auburn

Corey Wootton DE Northwestern –Mid round 3-4 DE prospect, inconsistent

Antonio Coleman DE Auburn – Mid to late rounder with good production.

Josh Bynes ILB Auburn – Early to mid round ILB

Lee Ziemba OT Auburn – mid round underclassman

Friday, January 1

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

Penn State vs. LSU

Ciron Black OT LSU – early round OT

Danny McCray S LSU – Late round Safety Prospect

Jared Odrick DT Penn State – 34DE size, early round prospect

Sean Lee ILB Penn State – Early to mid round guy with good leadership and character.

Josh Hull OLB PSU – Projects as a FA ILB prospect.

Dennis Landholt OT Penn State – late round OT prospect

Stefen Wisniewski OC Penn State – Early to mid rounder

Friday, January 1

GATOR BOWL

West Virginia vs. Florida State

Ryan McMahon OC FL State—mid rounder underclassment

Rodney Hudson OG FL State – mid rounder, undersized.

Myron Rolle SS Fl State– mid to late round SS prospect

Selvish Capers OT West Virginia – early to mid round OT, undersized.

Quinton Andrews SS West Virginia – mid to late round SS prospect

Friday, January 1

ROSE BOWL

Oregon vs. Ohio State

Anderson Russell FS Ohio State – mid round prospect at FS.

Cameron Hayward DE Ohio State – Early round 3-4 DE prospect

Robert Rose DE Ohio State – Free agent DE prospect

Doug Worthington DE Ohio State – Free agent DE prospect

Friday, January 1

SUGAR BOWL

Florida vs. Cincinnati

Carlos Dunlap DE Florida – Early rounder with 3-4DE size

Brandon Spikes ILB Florida –lights out playmaker with character issues.

Jermaine Cunningham DE Florida – Projects as 3-4 OLB mid-late rounder

Major Wright FS Florida – underclassmen would be an early rounder if he declares

Ricardo Mathews DT Cincinnati – 6’3 295 DL late rounder

Saturday, January 2

INTERNATIONAL BOWL

South Florida vs. Northern Illinois

George Selvie DE South Florida – Mid round OLB prospect, poor production for the level of competition

Nate Allen FS South Florida – mid round prospect

Saturday, January 2

COTTON BOWL

Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi

Russell Okung OT Oklahoma State –one of the best tackles in the draft.

John Jerry OG Mississippi – mid round man blocking type

Saturday, January 2

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL

Connecticut vs. South Carolina

Eric Norwood OLB South Carolina – A short 3-4OLB.  Norwood had great production this season.  Mid to Early round pick.

Robert Vaughn FS Conn. – Late round FS prospect

Saturday, January 2

LIBERTY BOWL

East Carolina vs. Arkansas

Mitch Petrus OG Arkansas – Mid round prospect – missed a year for academics

Malcolm Sheppard DT Arkansas – Late round shorter DE prospect.

C.J Wilson DE East Carolina – Mid rounder, shorter DE prospect

Van Eskridge, S, East Carolina – mid round prospect

Jay Ross DT East Carolina  – NT size, mid round smaller school prospect.  Will he show up against a good Razorback OL?

A couple of shorter DE/OLB prospects here, probably too heavy to play OLB but might be a DE in the Von Oelhoffen mode.

Saturday, January 2

ALAMO BOWL

Texas Tech vs. Michigan State

Brandon Sharpe OLB Texas Tech – late round OLB prospect.

Monday, January 4

FIESTA BOWL

TCU vs. Boise State

Jerry Hughes OLB TCU – Early round prospect, a little short at 6’2

Daryl Washington ILB TCU  – Undersized mid rounder.

Tuesday, January 5

ORANGE BOWL

Georgia Tech vs. Iowa

Bryan Bulaga OT Iowa –1st round LT prospect

Kyle Calloway OT Iowa – mid round OT

Pat Angerer ILB Iowa – great college player rated as a late rounder.

Derrick Morgan DE Georgia Tech – Highly rated underclassman has good size.

Morgan Burnett SS / FS Georgia Tech – Another highly rated underclassman

Thursday, January 7

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Texas vs. Alabama

Earl Thomas SS Texas – redshirt freshman would project as a late 1st rounder if he declares.

Sergio Kindle OLB Texas – Not as productive in his senior year, still an early round pick.

Adam Ulatoski OT Texas – mid-Late round OT prospect

Jared Norton ILB Texas – Late round prospect.

Lamarr Houston DT Texas – NT size and good college production, mid rounder.

Terrence Cody DT Alabama – 6’5 365 monster could play NT.

Brandon Deaderick DE Alabama – Late round DL prospect

Lorenzo Washington DE Alabama – Late round DE prospect

Rolando McClain ILB Alabama  – Early round ILB prospect

Mike Johnson OG Alabama – Mid to early round OG

Drew Davis OT Alabama – Late round OT

Justin Woodall S, Alabama – Mid round Safety prospect.

Let’s take a closer look at the roster moves:

1.  Cut CB Keiwan Ratliff and sign Corey Ivy — Ratliff has been an insurance policy player this year.  He’s basically the 4th corner and the 4th FS.  As an aging veteran he could be relied upon to make some tackles and be in position.  He really wasn’t much of one for making a play on the ball and he was a little slow.  Ivy i sprobably not much better or worse but has been a good ST player for many teams  so I think this is probably a good move.  Also note that there are 2 rookie corners on the team who may have developed enough to make Ratliff expendable.

2. LB Donovan Woods was cut a week after being brought up from the PS.  He’s been replaced by veteran LB Rocky Boiman.  Boiman is a nine year vet who’s likewise been productive on special teams.

3.  Practice sqad moves:  offensive lineman Jonathan Palmer was added to the PS in place of Justin Vincent.  Vincent has been on the squad for a while, producing next to nothing in two preseasons.  Palmer is likely insurance as  LG Kemoeautu is out for the next game.

4.  Former Pitt QB Tyler Palko was reported to be added to the PS bu the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.  No confirmation from the team on that move or on who would be cut to make room.

Injury status:  LG Kemo is out, SS Polamalu is questionable, QB Roethlisberger is probable (supposely with no concussion symptons hours after the game), LDE Kirschke is probable

The Batch injury and the ringing of Ben’s bell kind of segways into a review of the QB situation:

Starter Big Ben Roethlisberger.  Not sure we need much analysis here, he’s a top 5 QB in the league and getting better every year.

Backup Denis Dixon is a second year player out of Oregon.  He’s been pretty good in the pre-season.  After you’re used to seeing Ben in the backfield, Dixon looks downright small.  He’s an athletic guy who should be the backup in years to come.  He’s technically third on the healthy depth chart but his physical game is far better than Batch’s at this point.

Injured Backup Charlie Batch is working on completing his transformation to Robo-QB with a metal plate in his wrist.  It’s never clear when the Steelers are going to hang up Batch.  Every year they take a look at some rookies and if they can find a better guy they’ll go with him.  So far Batch has been the guy and he seems to be ok with the arrangement.  As an experienced backup he’s second on the depth chart.  He’s a hometown guy who’s deeply involved in the community and has been transformational in the development of Big Ben as well.

The Steelers QB situation is adequate.  As in years past, I expect them to sign some UDFA camp arms to compete with Batch.  I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they looked for another backup in rounds 6 or 7 this coming year.  If Palko does sign to the PS, he might be the competitor with the inside track to oust Batch.

Following the Denver game, backup Safety Tyrone Carter was the defensive player of the week for his 2 INT performance.   He was basically in the right place to pick up some poorly thrown balls and made the most of it.  Ziggy Hood started seeing some decent playing time in Denver.  He has some pressure and was not challenged much by the running game.  Sunny Harris however has been inactive and the team has gone with only 5 D-linemen the last two weeks.  This may be a sign that Harris does not know the scheme enough to contribute or a sign that the Steelers are trying to stack the special teams units to somehow stop giving up touchdowns.

In the Cincinnati game, the offense and Ben largely were unable to establish a rhythm and sustain a drive.  Ben was throwing short without touch and kept under throwing the long balls.  The offense was toothless in the red zone.  A very frustrating game altogether to see Ben continuing to throw 30 yards downfield instead of focusing on making a first down.  During this game Polamalu tweaked his PCL and will miss one or two games as a result.  That should bring him to roughly a whole half season injured.  This underscores the need to have the best backup safety in the league.  And no, despite his performance in Denver, Tyrone Carter is not that guy.

I’m guessing the Steelers should bounce back against the punching bag Chiefs this week.  Following that, they’ll have a good gut check versus the Ravens.  Kirschke and Polamalu are out this week.  Carey Davis is questionable with a minor injury from the Denver game.

In roster moves, The Steelers cut Arnold Harrison and signed Donovan Woods from the practice squad at linebacker.  Harrison has made a few tackles on special teams but is allegedly responsible for losing his lane responsibility on two of the TD the coverage units have given up.  Arnold Harrison had some versatility to play inside or outside backer.  He seems to have lost a step, perhaps due to injuries the past two years.  Woods was a standout on special teams last year.  He also played ILB well during pre-season. 

This move makes the Steelers thin at OLB with Andre Frazier the primary backup and ST guys Bailey and Woods a step behind.  Timmons can play outside as well.  If one of the OLB goes down, it’s a possibility that the team might move Timmons outside and put Fox in the middle. 

The team has signed Curtis Gatewood to the practice squad in Woods’ spot.  At 6-2, 245 lb Gatewood looks like an OLB/ST guy.  He’s in his second year in the league and has spent time with the Redskins, Lions, Chiefs and most recently the Eagles.  With the Eagles, for what it’s worth , he was listed as a 4-3 OLB.  He’s a DE converted to OLB so he could be a diamond in the rough who was unable to find a spot on those 4-3 teams.

Position Review – Wide Receiver

Starter Hines Ward – Super Bowl MVP, Fierce Competitor, All-World Blocker, Veteran Team leader, Community Service All-star – What more can you say about Ward?  He’s persevered through probably a dozen receivers drafted to compete with him.  He’s aged fantastically and is having as productive season as ever.  His infectious smile and spirit lift the team and fans alike.  While some think he’s on the fringe, I think there’s a spot in Canton for Ward.  He’s got a few more years left in the tank for sure.

Starter Santonio Holmes is the second Super Bowl MVP receiver on the squad.  He’s coming into his own and is probably mid-pack for a #1 receiver on an NFL team.  He’s signed through 2011.

Starter Mike Wallace is a promising rookie the team picked up in the third round this year.  He’s lighting fast, has good hands and is a very coachable player.  The sky appears to be the limit for this guy.  Wallace’s emergence is key in my opinion as it allows the team to take some chances with the #4 and 5 receivers down the road instead of signing a veteran insurance policy.

Backup Sean McDonald is a fine veteran receiver and the aforementioned insurance policy.  I don’t think he has the physical tools to start on this stacked squad but he should be considered a reliable fill-in in case of injury.

Backup Limas Sweed has so much potential but has yet learned to consistently catch the ball.  He’s fast and tall and can be found open in the endzone, but if Sweed can’t make the catch, there’s no room for him on the team.  As a second round pick he’s on the verge of being considered a bust.  At best, he’s been unacceptably slow to become a dependable receiver.  Look for him to get a few more chances this year to show something.  If he can’t get his head on straight, his next camp might be his last.

Practice Squad player Tyler Grisham could potentially find a roster spot down the road as a slot receiver and special teams ace.  He was a special teams captain at Syracuse.  The Steelers have a tradition of #5 receivers who are special teams dynamos.  Perhaps Grisham can be the next such player in the mold of Chidi Iwuoma and Sean Morey.

 After the game, Steelers party-boy and place kicker Jeff “Skippy” Reed was arrested for interfering with some cops who were in the process of issuing TE Matt Spaeth a citation for public urination.  It’s an odd situation.  Apparently Reed came out of a car driven by his dad and the cops thought he assumed a “fighting pose” whereupon they tackled him, cuffed him and charged him with several things.  The Steelers are investigating the situation.  Reed will certainly play this week.   My guess is that some charges will be dropped and Reed will pay a fine.  This might make the Steelers think twice about re-signing Skippy after this season as he becomes an UFA.

 This coming week should be a good matchup as the Steelers host the Minnesota Vikings.  The Vikings have several excellent aspects of their game.  Adrian Peterson is the consensus number one back in the league.  Jared Allen is a premier talent at left end.  The Williams boys at DT are very formidable against the run and collapse the pocket well on pass plays.  Lastly silver haired Saint Favre is at the helm of the offense.  While I’ve never been a Favre booster to put it mildly, he’s an improvement over Tavaris Jackson.

 The most critical challenge will be the Vikes D-line.  Expect Max Starks to be overmatched against Allen.  Expect the O-line to scheme to give him better protection.  Hopefully protection will not come in the form of poorly blocking TE Matt Spaeth.  The Williamses at DT and the 4-3 scheme should contain the run in the center of the field.  Due to those two factors, Ben hitting receivers on the hot routes is going to be critical to success in this game.  Antoine Winfield is doubtful for the game so that should ease things somewhat for the Steeler passing attack.

 On the other side of the ball, the Steelers stand a good chance of containing Minnesota.  The defense is notoriously stout versus the run so Peterson should be held in check.  Lamar Woodley should get some pressure on Favre going against rookie Tackle Phil Loadholt.  As for Favre himself, he’s looked good this year – but keep in mind that 4 of the 6 teams they played have pass defense rankings of 20^th or more.

 Position Analysis:  Offensive Tackles

 Starter Max Starks has been with the team since 2004.  It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the mammoth (6’8, 345lb) Starks.  He started the Season at RT in 2005 through the Super bowl XL victory.  Since then he was beaten by Willie Colon for the job at RT, was given both the transition and franchise tags, finally receiving a big extension this offseason and securing a starting job at left tackle.  The rub on Starks has been that he’s a hot and cold player with some slow footwork.  This year his consistency is greatly improved. 

 Starter Willie Colon has been a fixture at right tackle since filling in for an injured Starks late in the 2006 season.  He plays with a mean streak that the coaches love.  He’s somewhat of a fan goat for some ill timed penalties last season.  After this year Colon is a free agent.  If there is no CBA he’ll be a restricted free agent.  The team thinks very highly of Colon so expect them to work on extending him.

 Backup Ramon Foster was picked up this year as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee.  He quickly impressed the coaching staff with his stout blocking abilities.  He’s the gameday active backup for both tackles and left guard.  In coming years he should push for a starting role on the line.

 Inactive Backup Tony Hills was drafted in the 4^th round last year.  He’s one of several Steelers players that were picked up on an injury discount (Limas Sweed, Dennis Dixon…) In his preseason rookie action he looked to be physically overmatched.  This year it looks like he’s made a quantum leap and should be a serviceable player next year.  Hills has more left tackle skills as far as quickness etc compared with Foster who’s a mauling blocker.

 Team needs at Tackle are moderate.  Starks is not ideal as a left tackle.  It’s not clear that Hills will be a standout starter.  If there is a new CBA and Colon is an UFA, then there is definitely a need for starter talent.  The Steelers have been very reluctant to draft linemen high in the draft in recent years.  Of the 11 players on the 53 man roster, IR and practice squad there are three 3^rd rounders, two 4^th rounders, a sixth rounder, a seventh rounder one free agent and 3 undrafted free agents.  As things stand, the Steelers could take a project tackle in rounds 3-4

 Last week in Detroit, the Steelers continued the trend of explosive offense and late game defensive swoon.  To be considered a top team, the Steelers need to put teams away convincingly.

The running game and play of the O-line continued to look good, although a step down performance-wise from the previous week.  The Steelers are creating a lot of fumbles, they’re just not recovering the ball most of the time.  If the breaks start to go the other way, this team could be perceived as much better.

 Personnel notes:

 Aaron Smith injured his rotator cuff last week.  He was placed on IR and is done for the season.  The team, re-signed Ra’Shon “Sunny” Harris from the Carolina practice squad.  Harris was a player that the Steelers liked coming out of training camp.  Carolina claimed him off of waivers and subsequently signed him to their practice squad. 

 While losing Smith is a big blow, the results should not be nearly as bad as they were in 2007 when Smith was injured late in the season.  Since that time, Tomlin has made it a point to rotate the ends.  Eason and Kirschke have looked quite good in relief.  The silver lining to the injury is that next year the team will have two young promising ends with a year of experience each.  The team has purportedly looked in to working out Orpheus Roye as a potential option as well.  Hopefully Harris can impress and continue the youth movement on the line.  With Smith out, Kirschke, Eason and first round pick Ziggy Hood will fill in by committee.  Kirschke has had some stiffness in his back so he may be limited as well.

 In good news, Willie Parker and Troy Polamalu are practicing this week and should knock the rust off against Cleveland come Sunday.

 Positional Analysis — Guards:

 Starter Chris Kemoeatu:  Kemo is an absolute behemoth at 6-3, 340lb.  He struggled last year understanding assignments.  He also oddly struggled at physically imposing his will on opponents particularly in run blocking.  This year, he’s shown some improvement and has looked quite good pulling at times.  If he continues to improve through this season, he’ll be a quality guard.  Kemo signed a 5 year $20 million contract extension before the season so he’s locked in for a while.  His signing bonus was only $4 million, so he wouldn’t be a cap burden if cut.  Kemoeatu has crazy Samoan hair to rival Polamalu incidentally.

 Starter Trai Essex:  Essex has been a Steeler backup for 5 years.  He’s filled in at Left Tackle previously and performed well.  When Darnell Stapleton went down in the preseason, Essex became the de-facto winner of the position battle between the two.  Partnered with Willie Colon, the right side of the line has been very productive in Run blocking this year.

 IR  Darnell Stapleton:  Stapleton filled in for the injured Kendall Simmons last year.  Stapleton was clearly a backup level talent although to be fair it was only his second season.  He has extra value to the team as a backup center.

 Backup  Doug Legursky:  Similar to Stapleton, second year man Legursky is a Guard/Center for the Steelers.  He filled in for Hartwig at center in week one and looked pretty good.  He also saw a few plays in relief of Essex last week.  He’s a powerful player who hasn’t disappointed thus far.

 Backup Ramon Foster:  An undrafted free agent pickup out of Tennessee this year, Foster impressed with his dominating run blocking.   He’s been a game day active, backing up at tackle and left guard.

 Inactive Kraig Urbik:  A third round draft pick out of Wisconsin, Urbik is basically taking a year to develop and strengthen up at this point.  In camp he had some issues in one on one blocking but that may not be such an issue as guards are expected to “fight in a phone booth” so to speak.

After playing the 28^th ranked run defense, the public opinion of the O-line and Rashard Mendenhall is through the roof.  Visits to Detroit and Cleveland should do nothing to dampen the mood.

The performance versus the Chargers was remarkable in some individual ways however.  Left Guard Chris Kemoeatu was pulling smoothly and generally had an unpublicized break out game.  Max Starks also played with much improved consistency.  While the o-line opened up ridiculous holes for Mendenhall, he did hit said holes with flair, running in good timing with the blocking.  One of the loudest cheers all game was for a thunderous Mendenhall block on a blitzing Charger linebacker.

Personnel Notes:

Willie Parker’s turf toe is improving and Troy Polamalu is also close to making his return.  The Steelers put Nick Eason back on the 53 man roster, moving Isaac Redman back to the practice squad.

Rookie DT Ra’Shonn “Sonny” Harris who was previously claimed off of waivers by Carolina at summers’ end was cut from their 53 man roster.  He chose to sign with Carolina’s practice squad over the Steelers’.  He allegedly citied a better chance to make it back to the 53 man roster — He must have missed the forklifts unloading the pallets of Geritol at the Heinz Field loading dock.

Positional Analysis – Center:

Fans were certain that the Steelers were gunning for one of the top flight centers this past draft.  The draft played out in such a way that the Steelers didn’t have a shot at one of these guys at the price they wanted.  They did pick up local talent A. Q. Shipley out of Penn State in the 7^th round.  Fan expectations for center are extremely high as they look for a player to claim the pro bowl mantle of Mike Webster, Dermonti Dawson, and Jeff Hartings.

Starter: Justin Hartwig was one of the bright spots of the O-Line last year.  Acquired as a free agent from Carolina, Hartwig also played for Tennessee for several years.  He’s been a consistent pass blocker and competent in the run game.  He’s been pretty stout against the bigger nose tackles of the division and has provided some veteran leadership on the line.  Without a young star in the lineup the Steelers recently re-signed the 30 year old Hartwig through 2012.

Backup:  Doug Legursky was picked up last year as an undrafted free agent out of Marshall.  Legursky is more of a short, squat, and powerful player at 6’1 315lb.  He set the weight room record for the squat at 705 lb at Marshall.  He was on the practice squad last year.  The pre-season injury to Stapleton more or less guaranteed him a roster spot although he may have claimed one outright with stout play at guard and center.

IR:  Darnell Stapleton was picked up as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers in 2007.  After some time in 2007 on the practice squad, he started in 2008 after Kendall Simmons went down with an injury.  While he filled in admirably, he was clearly a backup level talent.

PS:  AQ Shipley was drafted in the 7^th round this year out of Penn State.  At Penn State he won the Rimmington trophy for best Center in college.  He grew up in the ‘burgh and he’s actually a family friend of Mike Webster’s Family (RIP Iron Mike).  He’s a very intelligent and hardworking player who impressed coaches in his rookie camp.  Physically he’s fairly similar to Legursky at 6’0 298lb and strong as a bull.  He’s famously been criticized for having short arms.  If not for Stapleton’s injury, Shipley may not have made the PS.

 The first three weeks of the season for the Steelers have been pretty trying.  They’ve had 3 close games and ended up on the losing end of the last two.  There’s been plenty of blame to spread around for these team losses:

•  Drops by Holmes and Sweed have been costly. 
•  The offense has struggled to produce points and sustained drives late in the game. 
• The defense has likewise yielded long fourth quarter drives to give up some wins. 
• Defensive play calling has been somewhat conservative without Polamalu. 
• Pressure on the passer has not resulted in many sacks. 
• The team has started using Townsend and Ratliff to cover for Carter at SS during passing downs, but the result has not been good enough to shut down opponents in key situations. 
• And yes…. the running game continues to be a work in progress.

Coach Tomlin

 These moves did allow the team to keep promising young talent in TE David Johnson as well as OG/C Doug Legursky.  With Summers relegated to the IR, the Steelers have brought back Carey Davis at FB.   Davis has been cited as the closest thing the RB group had to a leader to mentor struggling second year back Rashard Mendenhall.  Although he’s been a fan scapegoat for troubles running the ball, he’s an obvious improvement over Summers.

 With each post here, I’m planning on giving my take on the personnel situation by position.  Here’s a start, looking at the Defensive Line.

 Nose Tackle: 

Casey Hampton

 Chris Hoke is a very capable, and likewise old, backup with the capability to play DE as well.  In past years he’s filled in for Hampton with no noticeable drop-off.

 Steve McLendon on the practice squad figures to compete for a roster spot next year.  He’s an UDFA pickup but the coaches like what they see in him.  At 6-4 280 he’s built more like a 3-4 DE, but saw pre-season action at nose.

 Despite some speculation to the contrary, this year’s number one pick Ziggy Hood is not projected to contribute as a NT.

 There is definitely room for next generation talent at nose tackle, particularly for an exceptional athlete with the right fireplug physique.  If the right talent is available in early rounds, the Steelers would definitely pull the trigger.

 Defensive End: 

 Aaron Smith continues to control the left side of the line and has been effective against the run.  At 33, his productive years are likely limited however.

 Brett Keisel is a coaches’ favorite at RDE.  He’s an exceptional athlete and a high character guy.  At 31 he’s not young, but he’s a low mileage player with only a few years as a starter.  He’s not contributing much to the pass rush so far this year.

 Travis Kirschke is a very capable backup who’s served in relief duty over the last several years.  He’s 35 and an UFA this year.

 Nick Eason is a slight step down from Kirschke as far as consistency.  A few years back he seemed like a liability, but during the 08 season he definitely picked up the level of his play.  He’s fairly young at 29.  Also an UFA this year

 Ziggy Hood is the first round draft pick this year.  He won’t see much action this year with heavily entrenched starters and very capable backups.  In preseason, however he flashed the athleticism and drive that could make him a starter in short order.

 The Steelers have tended to take a somewhat short term view of talent at DE, choosing to keep competent aging backups over more raw young talent.  Assuming that Ziggy is able to start or be a primary backup, the team should have room for a player to compete for a backup role.

Richard Seymour

Sorry about the pun, everybody’s doing it – I wanted my turn….

Anyway, down to business. With any luck, Seymour will be in the Silver and Black this season, and we can get a better sense of where our run-defense is weakest. With Seymour on the line, the other players can be held more legitimately accountable, and can reap the rewards if success is achieved. After initial speculation, I asked our fearless leader at Drafttek to change the Raider’s primary need form DT to LB (once Khalif Barnes comes back, I’ve got faith in our OL, plus an OG or C would be a second rounder anyway).

Our LB corps is possibly the best in the business at defending against the pass. While last years numbers didn’t add up to the year before (interceptions, touchdown returns), the respect was still there. That said, Seymour was brought in, I believe, due to his 2-gap run-stuffing ability. Blame for the horrible run defense was tossed back and forth last year, with LB’s saying that the running back had a full head of steam at the second level, and D-linemen complaining at the lack of “stack and shed” ability from the LB’s. Having Seymour on the line, reduces the amount of complaints that can be lodged against the d-linemen, and the responsibility for shedding blocks and making plays is going to rest on the broad shoulders of the LB corps, and that’s where I feel our weakness continue to be exposed. It’s not that I didn’t feel that our d-line was free from blame, on the contrary I felt we needed (and would target) a big, Sam Adams style NT to play 2 gaps and tie up blockers. With both the play of DT Desmond Bryant, and the Seymour trade, I have downgraded that need, and instead focused on the LB corps. If Morrison and Brown (or Alston) can’t keep teams from running down our throats, look for that need to be top of the list come draft time.

But hey, it’s not all about me – tell me what you think. Is LB our top weakness? Do we need another WR? Will Seymour even show up? Always happy for fan interaction.

Take care,

Tim, YOUR Oakland Raiders Team Needs Analyst