State of the Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
State of the Team – Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers bounced back this past season nicely after a dismal 2006. Tomlin has more experience and looks to build on a team that came this close to getting the chance to face the Pats in the playoffs after losing to them in the regular season. The Steelers thin line was made thinner this off-season after losing pro bowl Guard Alan Faneca to the Jets, Thus, the Steelers must improve a line that allowed Ben Roethlisberger to be sacked 47 times in 2007.
Coaching Changes
There were no major changes in coaching philosophy.
2008 Team Needs
OT/ OG – The Steelers definitely bounced back well in 2007, but they did so, in spite of erratic play along the line. Marvel Smith sucked, and Willie Colon wasn’t much better with his inconsistency. Pro Bowl OG Alan Faneca is gone and bottom line he needs to be replaced. Kendall Simmons could slide over to the left guard spot, giving a rookie a chance to develop on the right side or they could draft a Tackle and Chris Kemoeatu could play LG, Simmons at RG and Starks could win his job back from the unimpressive Colon.
DE – The injury to Aaron Smith showed the Steelers complete lack of depth at the DE spot. Pittsburgh has made Brett Keisel a full time starter opposite of Smith, but he is a bit undersized. Nick Eason is terrible and will not be back. The Steelers need to add to the defensive front to allow their LB corps to grow and take care of business behind them.
WR – Hines Ward still leads this crew but at 32, needs a replacement. Big Ben talked about wanting a tall receiver and that could be the way they go, but they are also looking for someone who is fast and can return kicks although that could be addressed by picking up a CB in the draft that also returns kicks.
Possible Free Agent Solutions
Mahan didn’t live up to his contract so the Steelers went out and signed Hartwig who was recently released from Carolina. More than likely, Hartwig will be the center with Mahan backing up at Guard and Center.
The signing of RB Mewelde Moore should help FWP at the Goal line as Moore is not going to steal carries in that area. However, his signing is flying under the radar as he should really flourish in this offense and is a great compliment to Parker.
Possible Draft Solutions:
The Steelers currently hold the Following picks…
23rd (1st round)
53rd (2nd round)
88th (3rd round)
In addition they have a 4th (119), 5th (148), 6th (179).
With the 1st rounder, I’m going with the majority in that the Steelers are getting Branden Albert. He is listed at Guard and the Steelers can certainly use the top Guard in a pretty weak Guard class. However, people are starting to believe that he can play tackle. With his long arms and solid footwork, it is not a surprise; when the scouts started to take a closer look at the combine, they saw all these tools. By most accounts, Albert interviewed well and should be able to quickly pick up a blocking scheme and everybody likes a big and smart lineman.
…in the 2nd round, I was going to address the Dline with this pick, but instead they Steelers get the depth at DB and one of the best return men in the country in the form of CB Tracy Porter. Porter was voted 1st team All Big Ten by the media this year and garnered 2nd team honors from the coaches. Porter is currently second among active NCAA players with 16 career interceptions (6 this season, with a 22.8 yard return average). As a four year starter at Indiana, Porter was a star on the defensive side of the ball. Porter has 24 career pass break ups, along with 5.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. He shows awesome coverage ability, especially when playing man-to-man. Porter's also one of the best tackling corners in the country. The 5'11", 185 lbs. Porter has recorded 83 tackles this season (63 of them solo). As I also stated, Tracy is a stud return man. As a junior he averaged 18.6 yards per punt return -- scoring on an 86 yarder -- while only sharing the duties. During the regular season, Porter returned all 23 punts for the Hoosiers, averaging 11 yards per return.
With the third round selection, Pittsburgh selects DT Red Bryant. After red shirting in 2003, Bryant was a Freshman All-America honoree in 2004 after registering 34 tackles (3.5 for loss) and starting 12 games for the Aggies. After a stellar sophomore campaign, his junior year was cut short due to injury. But, he's come back significantly in his senior season, posting a career-high 45 tackles in the regular season (six for loss) and one sack. The most obvious thing about Bryant is his big body, which makes him the perfect hole-clogger at nose tackle. But, he has great speed for his size and by using that speed and great strength, can get into the backfield and cause problems. That size also means that he can bat down passes (nine pass breakups in his career) and block kicks (three career blocked kicks). At Texas A&M's Pro Day on the 5th, Bryant ran a best of 4.9 seconds in the 40 (better than the 5.0 40 that he registered at the combine).
Conclusion:
Tomlin is a coach with a focus and a fiery attitude. The Steel City is not as far off from having a championship caliber team and once they sure up the trenches, then the rest of the respective units should be able to have better advantage than they did in their resurgent year of 2007.
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State of the Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
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