BlitzburghRockCity
04-30-2008, 06:22 AM
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08121/877688-66.stm?cmpid=HBEHTML
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As accolades for the Steelers' draft over the weekend roll in, one nagging question remained, the kind an old woman on an old television ad might ask:
"Where's the beef?"
On Jan. 10, coach Mike Tomlin talked about a need to improve his offensive and defensive lines.
"We need to strengthen ourselves in our lines, of course," he said. "If I could identify anything at this point, I would say we need young, big people."
Later in that news conference, Tomlin added:
"I talked about offensive and defensive lines earlier in terms of our focus. Because you always need big, strong men in the interior on the rise. We're older in those positions. We are. That will be our intentions, along with all areas, of course. But in terms of having the personality that we want to have, there is no secret that we want to run the football and run it big time. We want to smash the run so it starts inside and up front."
Instead of strictly trying to plug needs, the Steelers took the course -- the correct one, most in the organization believe -- that they would draft the players they had rated highest on their board when it was their turn.
That philosophy yielded such gems as tailback Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois in the first round and Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed on the second, two players they had rated much higher than the 23rd and 53rd picks. They also filled needs by drafting them and others, such as outside linebacker Bruce Davis in the third round.
But of their seven selections, they drafted only one lineman, an offensive tackle in the fourth round, 6-foot-4, 304-pound Tony Hills of Texas, and no defensive lineman.
As Kevin Colbert, the director of football operations, said: "You just can't get everybody. It is impossible in any one year to address the entire team. There's going to be positions you don't draft."
The Steelers signed two undersized defensive tackles as rookie free agents Monday, but as Tomlin said, "Those are tough animals to sign after the draft."
So, where does that leave their two lines?
They still have a strong starting line for a 3-4 defense with ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel and nose tackle Casey Hampton. But those three and their top three backups all will range between 30 and 34 years old by September, including ends Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason and nose tackle Chris Hoke. Kirschke and Eason re-signed after their contracts expired this year.
"It's one of the reasons we were happy to sign Travis and Nick prior to the draft," Tomlin said, "so we wouldn't put ourselves into a position where we felt like we needed to reach."
The Steelers will monitor other teams' cuts through training camp to see if anyone might be worth adding to the defensive line. They had hoped to get a younger player to work in, particularly at end. They also have Ryan McBean, a fourth-round pick last season, on their roster at end, but he's still using crutches, the result of a stress fracture in his foot in the offseason.
The Steelers did add two players to the offensive line in Hills and veteran free-agent center Justin Hartwig, but it also lost seven-time Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca. Hartwig will challenge Sean Mahan at center, and Chris Kemoeatu will replace Faneca. Marvel Smith should be healthier next season after back surgery. Kendall Simmons returns at right guard.
It also appears that Willie Colon will stay at right tackle, where he knocked Max Starks out of his two-year job as a starter last summer. The Steelers thought so much of Starks that they signed him to a guaranteed, one-year $6.9 million contract, fueling speculation he will get his old job back.
"Right now, Willie is the right tackle," line coach Larry Zierlein declared. "Max will get an opportunity to compete."
Zierlein saved his highest praise for Kemoeatu, a 6-3, 344-pounder drafted in the sixth round in 2005 who nearly bumped Simmons from right guard last summer.
"I'll tell you what, I have a lot of confidence in that guy," Zierlein said. "Aside from the physical thing, he's a big kid. He was ready to play last year. He was ready, and Kendall kind of won the thing, but it was close. When we came out of training camp, preseason games, the grades were close.
"But this kid is ready to play. The thing that I told him the other day, 'It's obvious to me, when you see blitzes, you understand it all. Just become a little more verbal.' "
Zierlein changed some blocking techniques for the line in his first season as coach in 2007. It was a season in which Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 47 times, second most for a quarterback in Steelers history. Having experienced a year of those changes should make the line better for it in 2008, he said.
The problem facing the Steelers might not be immediate, but in '09 as the defensive line continues to age much of the offensive line could disappear. Smith, Starks, veteran backup tackle Trai Essex and Kemoeatu all have contracts that expire after '08.
This team is going to have a whole new look on the OL after this season. At this point our team is pretty much set in terms of the lines and players we have so now the battles will begin to see who's going to step up. I'd like to see us grab somebody after the next round of cuts come in as teams begin signing draft picks. Our line will be better simply with the addition of Hartwig the Tackle situation is going to be unsettled for the immediate future.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As accolades for the Steelers' draft over the weekend roll in, one nagging question remained, the kind an old woman on an old television ad might ask:
"Where's the beef?"
On Jan. 10, coach Mike Tomlin talked about a need to improve his offensive and defensive lines.
"We need to strengthen ourselves in our lines, of course," he said. "If I could identify anything at this point, I would say we need young, big people."
Later in that news conference, Tomlin added:
"I talked about offensive and defensive lines earlier in terms of our focus. Because you always need big, strong men in the interior on the rise. We're older in those positions. We are. That will be our intentions, along with all areas, of course. But in terms of having the personality that we want to have, there is no secret that we want to run the football and run it big time. We want to smash the run so it starts inside and up front."
Instead of strictly trying to plug needs, the Steelers took the course -- the correct one, most in the organization believe -- that they would draft the players they had rated highest on their board when it was their turn.
That philosophy yielded such gems as tailback Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois in the first round and Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed on the second, two players they had rated much higher than the 23rd and 53rd picks. They also filled needs by drafting them and others, such as outside linebacker Bruce Davis in the third round.
But of their seven selections, they drafted only one lineman, an offensive tackle in the fourth round, 6-foot-4, 304-pound Tony Hills of Texas, and no defensive lineman.
As Kevin Colbert, the director of football operations, said: "You just can't get everybody. It is impossible in any one year to address the entire team. There's going to be positions you don't draft."
The Steelers signed two undersized defensive tackles as rookie free agents Monday, but as Tomlin said, "Those are tough animals to sign after the draft."
So, where does that leave their two lines?
They still have a strong starting line for a 3-4 defense with ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel and nose tackle Casey Hampton. But those three and their top three backups all will range between 30 and 34 years old by September, including ends Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason and nose tackle Chris Hoke. Kirschke and Eason re-signed after their contracts expired this year.
"It's one of the reasons we were happy to sign Travis and Nick prior to the draft," Tomlin said, "so we wouldn't put ourselves into a position where we felt like we needed to reach."
The Steelers will monitor other teams' cuts through training camp to see if anyone might be worth adding to the defensive line. They had hoped to get a younger player to work in, particularly at end. They also have Ryan McBean, a fourth-round pick last season, on their roster at end, but he's still using crutches, the result of a stress fracture in his foot in the offseason.
The Steelers did add two players to the offensive line in Hills and veteran free-agent center Justin Hartwig, but it also lost seven-time Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca. Hartwig will challenge Sean Mahan at center, and Chris Kemoeatu will replace Faneca. Marvel Smith should be healthier next season after back surgery. Kendall Simmons returns at right guard.
It also appears that Willie Colon will stay at right tackle, where he knocked Max Starks out of his two-year job as a starter last summer. The Steelers thought so much of Starks that they signed him to a guaranteed, one-year $6.9 million contract, fueling speculation he will get his old job back.
"Right now, Willie is the right tackle," line coach Larry Zierlein declared. "Max will get an opportunity to compete."
Zierlein saved his highest praise for Kemoeatu, a 6-3, 344-pounder drafted in the sixth round in 2005 who nearly bumped Simmons from right guard last summer.
"I'll tell you what, I have a lot of confidence in that guy," Zierlein said. "Aside from the physical thing, he's a big kid. He was ready to play last year. He was ready, and Kendall kind of won the thing, but it was close. When we came out of training camp, preseason games, the grades were close.
"But this kid is ready to play. The thing that I told him the other day, 'It's obvious to me, when you see blitzes, you understand it all. Just become a little more verbal.' "
Zierlein changed some blocking techniques for the line in his first season as coach in 2007. It was a season in which Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 47 times, second most for a quarterback in Steelers history. Having experienced a year of those changes should make the line better for it in 2008, he said.
The problem facing the Steelers might not be immediate, but in '09 as the defensive line continues to age much of the offensive line could disappear. Smith, Starks, veteran backup tackle Trai Essex and Kemoeatu all have contracts that expire after '08.
This team is going to have a whole new look on the OL after this season. At this point our team is pretty much set in terms of the lines and players we have so now the battles will begin to see who's going to step up. I'd like to see us grab somebody after the next round of cuts come in as teams begin signing draft picks. Our line will be better simply with the addition of Hartwig the Tackle situation is going to be unsettled for the immediate future.