Management doesn't know what they're doing

Apparently we are $6 over the Cap for next season.

Congratulations management, you bankroll on this season and we won't be higher than .500 and probably end up 7-9. ****ing dick****s.

Such a desperation move.

- Don't want rookies to play until their 26/27 on defense (Lewis will be 27 next season, he's not a young pup)
- McLendon will turn 27 by week 1
- This method needs to go

- Not signing free-agents (top tier ones) - Needs to go. I don't mean to sign a star every off-season but to nab one or two down the line can't hurt.

They need to be gone.

And here's more great news. LeBeau is coming back.

You're saying the Steelers are only $6 million over the cap? I thought it was closer to $15 million....

But yes, this thing with benching rookies until their third years is getting ridiculous. Rookies on other teams are making immediate impacts. The Steelers need to get with the times.

But we have cornball posters like Tarlstr running around talking about signing free agents and not playing rookies until their third year is the best way to do things. :rolleyes:

To sign Brown to a long term contract and snub Wallace led to some bad blood. That was one mistake.

To hire Haley who has communication problems with players has negatively affected this offense. That was mistake number two.

To have Hines Ward leave the team left a leadership vacuum. Perhaps to reward him with a job as a receivers' coach would have been a proper thing to do or at least offer it. To diss a guy who has given his heart and soul to the franchise does not endear the franchise to any of the players. His reward for grooming the younger players... zip.

It seems we have been rebuilding our secondary and offensive line for many years now. No answers in sight.

I could go on and on but... Hey have a happy holiday and it is not worth it to obsess over a bad season. Life has more to offer.

The salary cap is a complete joke. Every year people make a big deal about being over the cap, and every year they are under it without barely any personnel moves. Restructuring Timmons, Woodley, Ben (yes Crash, Ben will still be here) will already get a under and there are other contracts that can be restructured. I love seeing people get so worked up about the cap like it's this impossible riddle. Restructuring Timmons, Woodley, and Roethlisbeger will cut our cap number by 18.5 mil, putting us 4.5 below the cap. That's just be restructuring 3 contracts. It'll be fine lol.

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As we head into the final week of the 2012 season the Steelers currently have 34 players under contract for 2013 that will count $127,330,089.00 million against the cap, which is obviously roughly $6 million or so over the projected 2013 cap limit.

There is currently another $461,541 in dead money on the books for 2013 in addition to the above.

We can safely speculate that the 5 restricted free agents and the 2 exclusive rights free agents will all be tendered. The levels are of course open to debate, but for this early look we will go at the minimum projected levels for each which totals out at a projected $7.71 million.

This brings our projected total for 41 players and the dead money at a little over $135.5 million, or roughly $14 million over the cap.

So how will Omar Khan work his magic on this?

Let's start with LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons. Both will once again be restructured like they were this past offseason. Those projected restructures of their base salaries and the $2.5 million roster bonus due Timmons will easily clear roughly $11.5 million in cap space. I have wrote about this in the past and fully expect this to happen.

Ben Roethlisberger can be restructured once again without issue which should clear at most another $7 million in cap space. That figure is based on turning $10 million of his $11.6 million base into signing bonus. This is roughly what they did last season with him and there is no reason to think that it would not happen again.

With those three restructures done we have cleared roughly $18.5 million in cap space.

James Harrison is the big elephant in the room this offseason that needs his $10.035 million cap charge in 2013 addressed. Merely cutting Harrison will clear $5.105 million in cap space. There will not be a restructure I do not believe and I doubt they will go to him and ask him to take a pay cut. This is just the ugly side of the business.

Willie Colon is also somewhat of an elephant that will need to be addressed as well. Cutting him outright will save $1.2 million and it is something the Steelers really need to think about doing based on his injury history now. Had he stayed healthy this year he would have been safer.

Between those five moves we have cleared nearly $25 million in cap space which would have the Steelers roughly $11 million under the cap with only 14 roster spots left to fill against the cap, of which half will likely be draft picks.

Keep in mind that the Steelers will be able to roll over any unused cap space from this year, which figures to be around $3 million or so. I will have that number after the season is over. In addition, the Steelers will have (3) $250,000 veteran credits totaling $750,000 that can be used on veteran players as we get closer to the final roster cut down day.

If everything goes as I listed above the Steelers should be fine as far as cap space goes. Once again they will not be active in free agency outside of trying to sign a few of their own unrestricted players and one or two veteran bargains.

There might be a cap casualty or two of the players under contract below and the two obvious candidates would be Jerricho Cotchery and Brett Keisel. Those two, if released, would clear $3.835 million, but it might not have to come to that.

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http://www.steelersdepot.com/2012/12...y-cap-numbers/

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Originally Posted by lancer89074

To sign Brown to a long term contract and snub Wallace led to some bad blood. That was one mistake.

To hire Haley who has communication problems with players has negatively affected this offense. That was mistake number two.

To have Hines Ward leave the team left a leadership vacuum. Perhaps to reward him with a job as a receivers' coach would have been a proper thing to do or at least offer it. To diss a guy who has given his heart and soul to the franchise does not endear the franchise to any of the players. His reward for grooming the younger players... zip.

It seems we have been rebuilding our secondary and offensive line for many years now. No answers in sight.

I could go on and on but... Hey have a happy holiday and it is not worth it to obsess over a bad season. Life has more to offer.

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I don't have the time/don't want to take the time that it would take to reply to all of your points, but I can't ignore your point about the offensive line or secondary. No answers in sight? Seriously? How about Ike Taylor and Keenan Lewis playing legitimate Pro Bowl caliber football? How about Cortez Allen showing that he can be a damn good 3rd corner, not to mention a pretty damn solid starting corner? How about Ryan Clark having a career, Pro Bowl year? Sure Troy was hurt, but he still showed against Cincy that he is capable of being his old self. Obviously we need to address the safety position soon...But the secondary, for the first time in as long as I can remember, is a strength of this team. There's a reason they were the #1 team against the pass with absolutely ZERO pass rush help. That secondary with a pass rush could be downright lethal.

Now to the offensive line. That may be an even bigger head-scratcher. Do you really see no answers in sight? Not in our 3rd year, 3 time Pro Bowl, 2 time All Pro (so far) center, Maurkice Pouncey? Not in our 1st round, best guard prospect in years, pick who was injured all year, started his first game in week 15 and already showed flashes of why he's going to be so good (sure Geno Atkins ate his lunch but come on... It was his second game ever coming of major knee injuries and Geno Atkins does it to everyone): David Decastro? Not in our second round pick this year at RT who, when placed in the starting lineup jump started our run game, and our run game just happened to go to shit when he went down: Mike Adams? Not in our second round pick last year who, outside of falling on and injuring what seems like everyone on offense, has developed into a very good pass protector (run game needs work) and could definitely make the transition to LT (where he was slated to play his rookie year before he had to go to RT in place of IR'd Willie Colon): Marcus Gilbert? Not to mention the possibility of Max Starks returning who was ourmost consistent lineman this year.

I hate to be that guy, but you honestly picked the two aspects of this team that there actually is reason for optimism.

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Ben Roethlisberger can be restructured once again without issue which should clear at most another $7 million in cap space. That figure is based on turning $10 million of his $11.6 million base into signing bonus. This is roughly what they did last season with him and there is no reason to think that it would not happen again.

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What if he says no?

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Originally Posted by Crash

What if he says no?

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Yes because I'm sure he'd say "No. Why would I want my $10 million right now?" There's no reason for a player to say no to it. Especially when, contrary to your belief, there is absolutely ZERO chance he isn't with the Steelers next season.

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Originally Posted by Crash

What if he says no?

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It would be economically illogical to turn Down guarantees up front money just to attempt to earn that same money over time