If you're reading my site, you're in good company. It's pretty obvious that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Director
of Football Operations Kevin Colbert are regular visitors as well.
In an earlier post, I ranked the Steelers'
top five draft needs as (1) defensive line, (2) wide receiver, (3) cornerback, (4) offensive line and (5) short-yardage back.
And who were the first five draft prospects to visit the Steelers? Wide receiver Mike Thomas of Arizona, cornerback
Joe Burnett of Central Florida, offensive tackle Philip Loadholt of Oklahoma, defensive tackle Ra'Shon Harris of Oregon
and on Friday, running back Frank Summers of UNLV.
I know Tomlin and Colbert will be calling any time offering
me a job. Of course to tear me away from my $10-a-year job at Steelahs.com, it would have to be a
damn good offer. I want a fridge full of Rolling Rock, Primanti Bros. coupons, free rides up and down the Duquesne Incline
and of course final say on who the Steelers draft.
I'm glad they took my advice about looking for
a short-yardage back. Summers is a short-yardage back in more ways than one. He's 5-foot-9, 240 pounds. He's been
called "The Tank," a "bowling ball of a back" and a "junior Bus," everything you could want
on fourth-and-goal from the one-foot line.
Since the retirement of the original Bus, Jerome Bettis, the Steelers
have had a hard time getting the tough yards. They were butt-naked last in the league in fourth-down percentage in 2008, converting
just three of their 12 attempts.
Being able to punch it through on fourth-and-1 is a sign of a team's toughness.
The Steelers winning the Super Bowl without being able to perform that simple task is like a chef not being able to make toast.
Summers gained 2,070 yards from scrimmage in his two season at UNLV. He also caught 36 passes. NFLDraftScout.com ranks
him as somewhere between a seventh-round pick and a free agent, but rising. He definitely provides a reason
to keep watching the draft on Sunday.
It figures. After I say the Steelers should trade up in the draft to get Boston College defensive tackle B.J Raji, SI.com
reports that he had a positive drug test last month at the NFL Scouting Combine.
It's not known which drug
was detected, but the 6-2, 337-pounder tested positive for marijuana while at BC. He also missed the 2007 season because of
academic problems. So we could have some character issues here.
But there's a chance this won't affect
his draft position at all. We'll have a better idea the closer we get to the draft.
I admit I'm way behind on my draft talk. April is here. So what better time to start than now?
The Steelers
have nine picks in this year's draft, including extra picks in the fifth and seventh rounds. Having a lot of picks is
good for teams that are rebuilding. The Steelers are Super Bowl champions, so I think they're beyond the rebuilding stage.
The Raiders, on the other hand, are in total rebuilding mode. And they only have seven picks. One of those picks in
the No. 7 overall selection in the first round.
The Steelers don't pay me to make these decisions. I do it
for free. They should package their first-round pick, No. 32 overall, along with some picks in the later rounds for the Raiders'
No. 7 pick.
Now what would the Steelers do with the No. 7 overall pick?
In light of what has transpired
this offseason, here are the Steelers' top five areas of need, in my view:
1. DEFENSIVE LINE:
Next season, Aaron Smith will be 33, Travis Kirschke will be 35, Chris Hoke will be 33, Casey Hampton will be 32, Brett Keisel
will be 31 (Sept. 19) and Nick Eason will be 29. The Steelers aren't getting any younger up front. If they could trade
for a top-10 pick, I wouldn't mind seeing them take a B.J. Raji from Boston College or a Brian Orakpo from Texas.
2. WIDE RECEIVER: The Steelers have lost wide receiver Nate Washington and cornerback Bryant McFadden
in free agency. I feel a lot better about William Gay taking over for McFadden than I do about Limas Sweed taking over for
Washington.
3. CORNERBACK: A lot of mock drafts have the Steelers taking a cornerback in the first
round, and this is supposed to be a deep cornerback class. I don't think the Steelers' need for a corner is as dire
as everyone else does, but I do think they need depth there. They need to pick a corner somewhere in the draft, especially
after not drafting one last year.
4. OFFENSIVE LINE: The Steelers are content to go into next
season with the O-Line that started at the end of last season. They're banking on the hope that they'll maintain their
slow, steady improvement with continuity. Still, there needs to be some competition for those jobs. It doesn't need to
be on the first day, but the Steelers should pick up an O-Lineman somewhere.
5. SHORT-YARDAGE BACK:
Not something they should spend a pick on early in the draft. But the Steelers haven't had a big bruiser in the backfield
since Jerome Bettis retired.
On this
final day of March, let me say that the NFL is giving new meaning to the term "March Madness."
Not only
does commissioner Roger Goodell want to add games to the regular season, but I heard yesterday on ESPN 1050 in New York that
if games are added to the regular-season schedule, it could push the Super Bowl to mid-February, and that because of weather
issues in northern cities, playoff games could take place at neutral sites.
What?!
It's a given
that the Super Bowl is played at a neutral site. It's just as much an event as it is a game. So I got no problem with
that.
But if a cold-weather team earns home-field advantage, it should reap the benefits. I've always said
that warm-weather and indoor teams should be required to win at least one game in the elements to be considered a true champion.
Remember the 2002 Buccaneeers? They hadn't won a game in sub-40 degree weather in their first quarter-century
of existence. Then they acquitted themselves in cold weather before beating the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. They beat the
Bears in Chicago on the last weekend of the regular season. Then in the NFC championship, they beat the Eagles in the cold
of Philadelphia.
And who can forget the Giants beating the Packers in sub-zero Green Bay in the 2007 NFC championship
game?
Playoff games are already held in mid-January. That's already the dead of winter. Is
it that much colder in late January or early February?
An 18-game regular season? Pre-Super Bowl
playoff games at neutral sites? I'm not liking these possible changes.
Hey, Roger. The NFL is like
your hair. You never need to fix your hair. And you don't need to fix the NFL.
