Planning for a future with Faneca and Starks.....

[BlitzburghRockCity]

There's no reason to think Faneca would actually move to Center; it just an option that was explored in the article but the team has never given any indication that they were headed in that direction. Let's not forget this is the guy who up until last year when the whole team stunk; actually earned every one of those pro bowl trips and everybody was singing his praises as one of the best OL in Steelers history, etc. I don't believe he suddenly started sucking but I do think his contract status this year has affected his play. At this point if they were able to resign him for a reasonable amount I would say keep him and but still draft an OG this year to take his place and be ready to go in the next couple years.

Mahan needs to go, he's worthless..draft a Center that we can have around here for as long as we had Webster, Dawson, or Hartings.

Simmons, the jury is still out; I think he's production is directly affected by the lack of production from the players on his right and left. They get overpowered and then he's left getting overpowered as well. He's got a big deal so he'll be back next year.

Colon, I think the Jury is still out on him as well but like BG32 has said before he may be better suited at Guard. Either way I still think that Tomlin needs to hold an open competition at Tackle next year on both ends of the line. On that note as far as Starks goes I think he will probably come back; I don't know how good he's going to be but I think he's got potential if they can just make up their mind where they are going to put him and leave him there. It wouldn't surprise me to see him not come back next year though because as Koopa mentioned we could use serious injection of Youth and dominance on the line this year.

Marvel, we have to wait and see how his back goes this offseason but still he is getting older and a dominant LT should be drafted. Again this depends on if they think Starks can take over at LT. Right now there are a lot of questions surrounding the line but if nothing else please draft a Center and then let's see how things shake out.

[JensK]

I wouldnt mind having Faneca for another season... Sure, we need to find a new young player who can step in for Feneca, but with the upcomming 08 season it seems like we are going to need all the experiance we can get. Its not exactly a walkinthepatheticpark schedule. Faneca knows what he is doing and i believe he could help the Steelers a lot if he stayed another season. This dosnt mean we shouldnt draft a stand-in for him when times come. Actually having Faneca and a new young player sounds like a good plan to me, since we get injuries and a year where he can learn and get some experiance would be to prefer in my opinion...

[Stlrs4Life]

If this were to happen, our OL problems would drastically change for the better. Come draft day we could concentrate on other needs, specifically our DL on day 1 instead of trying to find 2 lineman on day 1.

Even if this does happen, we need to draft the best available OL, and get some in FA if possible.

[Iron City South]

Let's clear the air and set a few things straight:

Fact #1 - Faneca can still play this game at a very high level. He's still considered in the "elite" class as far as players in his positions go. He had at least 2 bad games this year that I know of which could be largely attruibuted to the stiffs he's playing along side of. (Smith = back problems and Mayhan planted on his face). Sorry, Faneca can't help everybody regardless of how good he is.

Fact #2 - - Faneca is not too old contrary to the homespun fables the naysayers are trying to sell. He's currently in great health and has never had a history of injuries that tend to return and linger in older veterans. He's strong and has good legs and back which are both critical because they're both usually the first to break-down in vets.

Fact #3 - Steelers will not be able to fortify their OL issues within a year if they let both Faneca and Starks walk knowing Smith may have re-occuring back problems and knowing Mahan isn't the answer at Center. You can't expect this team to be good with 4 or 5 new guys up front .... it's just not realistic. The Steelers know this which is why they will probably try to get both to sign no less than a 3 year deal. Starks may be offered a 5 year deal considering his age. I believe the first to sign will get the deal and I also believe they'd rather it be Faneca than Starks ... but they know they need to sign at least one of 'em.

[DIESELMAN]

Fact #1 - Faneca can still play this game at a very high level. He's still considered in the "elite" class as far as players in his positions go. He had at least 2 bad games this year that I know of which could be largely attruibuted to the stiffs he's playing along side of. (Smith = back problems and Mahan planted on his face). Sorry, Faneca can't help everybody regardless of how good he is.

Yeah theres definitely got to be cohesiveness and especially trust in the guy next to you to do his part. Mahan couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag with a hole in it.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

That's why they are making a run at both of them, if they don't get both their chances are good at getting atleast 1 of them. I'm not convinced Faneca really wants to come back anymore because he feels slighted by the team that he gave his career too. As far as Simmons goes he has never been the same since he blew out his knee but he did show signs of coming back to form last year and this year has been up and down with the rest of the OL.

Tha'ts precisely what I was talking about with Faneca and what could also be the case with Simmons as well. Both of them are stuck working beside a terrible Center in Mahan which makes their jobs even harder. Faneca has had off games this year and I think he's been distracted by his contract situation which as affected his play IMO at times but overall he's still the best OL we got (which may not be saying much but still...LOL).

[BlackGold4vr]

Let's clear the air and set a few things straight:

Fact #1 - Faneca can still play this game at a very high level. He's still considered in the "elite" class as far as players in his positions go. He had at least 2 bad games this year that I know of which could be largely attruibuted to the stiffs he's playing along side of. (Smith = back problems and Mayhan planted on his face). Sorry, Faneca can't help everybody regardless of how good he is.

Fact #2 - - Faneca is not too old contrary to the homespun fables the naysayers are trying to sell. He's currently in great health and has never had a history of injuries that tend to return and linger in older veterans. He's strong and has good legs and back which are both critical because they're both usually the first to break-down in vets.

Fact #3 - Steelers will not be able to fortify their OL issues within a year if they let both Faneca and Starks walk knowing Smith may have re-occuring back problems and knowing Mahan isn't the answer at Center. You can't expect this team to be good with 4 or 5 new guys up front .... it's just not realistic. The Steelers know this which is why they will probably try to get both to sign no less than a 3 year deal. Starks may be offered a 5 year deal considering his age. I believe the first to sign will get the deal and I also believe they'd rather it be Faneca than Starks ... but they know they need to sign at least one of 'em.

I would still love to see Faneca return! And moving him to center could be an idea that warrants some exploration if they can indeed resign him. Mahan folds like a lawnchair on a pretty regular basis. Gee, I wonder why the Bucs let him go? I have a nickname for Mahan.....TS (turnstile). I still like Capizzi and I hope he sticks around. I think Simmons is salvageable at RG and could also be an option at center. Colon can still play but he needs to improve in both run blocking and pass blocking techniques. Trai Essex is not so good and is expendible along with Starks IMO. I also like Chris Kemoeatu and think he could find his way into next years starting lineup. Adding a first round O-lineman will open up a plethora of options in next years training camp. Most of the first and second round O-lineman drafted last year either started or made significant contributions to their teams this year! I am not an advocate of the 3 to 4 year seasoning regimen that many on this site seem to believe in. Football is not rocket science. It's a mans game and either you can play or you can't.

Bottom line: keep Faneca, dump (TS) Mahan, draft O-lineman and infuse some young talented drafthorses into the mix and we will be just fine next year.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

My only problem with Kemoeatu is that there was an open competition at RG this year and he couldn't get it done. I liked him ever since we got him and I think he played well last year in his time on the field but Im not sure he's still worth investing money into at this point. We probably won't know too much of how things will shake out in FA hits and we see if they are able to resign Starks or Faneca, that will go a long way to show how much they will make OL a priority in the 2008 draft IMO.


If this team doesn't take OL on Day 1 of the draft I'm going to throw a fit !

[Iron City South]

I'm not convinced Faneca really wants to come back anymore because he feels slighted by the team that he gave his career too.

I actually think Starks is the one who already has his mind made up that he would like to return to his home state of Arizona. When you read things like this:

“I’d be open to listening,” he said. “I’m not saying I would do that or be against it. I’d definitely be open-minded and talk about it with whomever.”
The Steelers also believe Faneca might give them a slight break, or “hometown discount,” because of his wife Julie’s affinity for Pittsburgh.
“We made lots of great friends here,” Faneca admitted. “No one ever said it would be easy.”

I tend to believe Faneca and his wife consider Pittsburgh home and would like to stay if a "fair market" deal can be worked out. It's much easier to move around when you're younger (in your 20's), but when you hit 30, football player or not, it becomes much more difficult. Older guys don't want to move around, especially if they're entrenched in the area with family and a social network of friends.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

I don't know, I do think Max would like to go back West but at the same time he's on a championship caliber team and if the team gives him a real good deal he might stay. Im sure Whiz will make a nice run at him if he gets the chance.

As far as Alan goes, he's been saying since the offseason that he felt his time was up and he was preparing for that so unless the Steelers really give him a deal comparable to what he thinks he's worth I don't think he'll stay. He's already said before in an interview on KDKA that there is no hometown discount for him, he wants what he thinks he's worth based on the market value for his talent and he said all the offers so far weren't anywhere close to what he thinks he needs. His belief of "fair market value" vs what it really is may be largely different