Steelers in pivotal off-season
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photo courtesy of www.espn.com |
March 16, 2008
www.Steeleraddicts.com
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| Entering this off-season the Steelers had several key address to address as they look forward to upcoming training camp and subsequent 2008 regular season. This year offers challenges just like any other off-season would. Players coming to the end of their current deals, positions that need to be addressed because of age, salary cap, performance reasons, or a combination of those factors all go into the analysis that Head Coach Mike Tomlin, and Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert must look into. |
| Priority number 1 as expressed by the Rooney's and Colbert was to get QB Ben Roethlisberger signed to an extension so the franchise player would be assured of staying in the black n gold for a good long time. Credit the Rooney's for realizing how important the chance of having a franchise QB stick around to lead the team really is. They know all to well what this team has suffered through since Bradshaw retired and having the possibility of going through more years with sub par cast offs or team projects at the helm was not an appealing scenario for a franchise looking to add to the championship trophy case that now includes 5 Vince Lombardi prizes. Ben has lived up to the hype of a first round draft pick, and then some and was as deserving of a big time extension as any other franchise player in the league could be. I'm not saying anybody should be paid 100+ million to play a professional game; but I digress and we'll save that topic for another day. Suffice it to say that the Steeler Nation as a whole is happy to see Big Ben signed, sealed, & delivered. |
| On other notes the team has issues to deal with concerning players coming to the end of their deals after 2008. James Farrior, Deshea Townsend, Bryant McFadden and Marvel Smith are all entering in the final years of their deals. The Steelers generally have done a very good job over the year in analyzing a players continued potential performance on the field and know when to let a player walk or how to aggressively go after them. Porter wasn't going to get the kind of money he wanted in Pittsburgh and he knew it so he jumped ship to Miami. The most recent departure is Alan Faneca who left feeling hurt and dejected by a team he thought he could retire with; but in the end the organization felt it best to part ways with the 30+ pro bowl Guard and let him seek greener pastures and paychecks in free agency. Most Steeler fans, although sometimes we forget or don't want to admit, realize the Rooney's pretty much know what they are doing when it comes their players. Generally speaking, they don't let themselves get into a position of having a must need draft scenario heading into the off-season because they continually stock pile talent that is ready to take over when called upon. Recent history with players like Ike Taylor, James Harrison, Willie Parker, Santonio Holmes, Brett Keisel, and the like have proved this. The list goes on and on but you get the idea that all of those players listed have stepped up to the challenged and have performed well in the place of their previous black n gold counterparts who left via free agency. |
| Now though the team is faced with several key areas to consider even after signing Ben to his extension. James Farrior is coming to the end of his deal and Foote's current deal ends in 2009. The team has 2007 first round pick Lawrence Timmons ready to battle it out in camp for the starting spot opposite Farrior. The loser of this battle will of course be the prime backup and spell the starters as well as probably playing on ST too. However in this years draft does the team look to take a LB to begin grooming for when Farrior retires or do they try and resign him to say a 2 yr deal and worry about his replacement next year? Perhaps Foote gets an extension after 2008 so he and Timmons will be side by side starters in the middle? All of these players have a very favorable cap number so the issues becomes who does the team think is the best tandem to focus on for the future and does that solution lie on the current roster already? |
| Another area is Cornerback; Ike Taylor is locked to a big deal and has entrenched himself in the starting role opposite Townsend. Deshea has had his best year to date in 2007 and right now is the teams best cover corner but he's not getting any younger. McFadden wants a new deal and has enlisted the styling of one Drew Rosenhaus to help him in his quest. McFadden has seen his share of injuries and limited time on the field but he has shown signs of brilliance. This whole thing will come down to how much confidence the team has in Bryant to win the job from Deshea and take over as the starter. McFadden doesn't have a lot of leverage for a blockbuster deal but he does have enough to warrant at least a medium range type of contract with a good base salary and a lot of incentives; perhaps in the 3 million dollar per year range for 4 years with incentives for playing time and performance that could boost the contract assuming he stays healthy and performs. In an optimal situation this is what the team would love to I'm sure but it's a matter of if McFadden is willing to go that route or if he's willing to walk and take his chances with another team. There's always somebody willing the break the bank on an unproven free agent with a big upside but in this fans opinion it would behoove Bryant to stay in the black n gold and take the best deal he can get because he'll be a starter eventually if he stays. As far as Townsend goes, he is the type of player that would give a home town discount to stick around and play in a reduced role as not only a performer on the field but also a mentor and leader in the secondary. |
| Recent additions to the team have stepped up and performed well; seemingly ready to take on increased roles and become integral parts of a unit that expects greatness year in and year out. A place where making the playoffs is expected every year. Guys like Lamarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, Matt Spaeth, Nate Washington, and also hopefully Anthony Smith. |
| Speaking of Smith, does anyone else find it interesting that the team has paraded several free agent Safeties into their facility this off-season? With Ryan Clark continuing to recover from having his spleen removed after problems arose at Invesco Field at Mile High last year, the team was counting on then 2nd year man Anthony Smith to take over the role. Smith was having a solid year until he declared the guarantee against New England and subsequently Tom Brady took him to school all day long. Since that game his performance clearly suffered and was eventually benched in favor of backup Tyrone Carter. So far the team has not signed anyone else to compete at Safety this year but there is still a long off-season ahead including the draft and another wave of free agents that will inevitably be released after the weekend of April 26-27 to make room under the cap. |
All in all it's just another crazy off-season in the NFL and another chance for the Rooney's to show that once again they will step up to the plate and work to keep a competitive team on the field and on the bench.
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[Discussion]
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Matt - Top Gun
SteelerAddicts.com |
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