Probably the quietest stat from the pre-season opener versus the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday was the 6 catch, 69 yard performance by veteran free agent receiver Shaun McDonald. McDonald is still fairly young at 28 and can play in various positions. He is a solid possession receiver and works well out of the slot. Of his 220 career receptions, 126 have moved the chains. McDonald also adds the element of being able to return punts if needed. The biggest thing McDonald will add is veteran experience. With Limas Sweed and Mike Wallace on the roster, McDonald will be an experienced presence should Read more [...]

The Steelers seem to be trying every possible scenario in order to keep second year Tony Hills on the roster. The emergence of rookie undrafted free agent Ramon Foster has Hill clearly on the bubble at this point. In the first pre-season game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Steelers lined Foster up at the left guard position and Hills at the left tackle position on the second team line. Foster performed well and while Hill showed some improvement, he is still not where he should be as a second year left tackle. According to reports, Foster may get some looks at the left tackle spot on Saturday Read more [...]

All of the experts will tell you that running back Carey Davis is a safe bet to make the 53 man roster. But just how safe is that bet? Without a doubt, Davis is a special team warrior, but with the rise of rookie free agent running back, Isaac Redman as a short yardage specialist and the move of 5th round pick, Frank Summers, to fullback, it makes you wonder. Both Redman and Summers are getting work on special teams and Redman may be the Steelers answer to their short yardage woes as well. Summers is not afraid to hit and is doing everything the team has asked in order to make the squad and could Read more [...]

I have just finished watching the Steelers Cardinals game for the third time. Below is my report card for the first preseason game along with notes I made. Offense Quarterbacks - Ben Roethlisberger played only two series and Charlie Batch just one. Ben showed he still has his escapability when he was almost sacked for a safety and threw the ball relatively well. Batch under threw Limas Sweed on one of his two passes, but Sweed came back and hauled in the pass. Dennis Dixon got off to shaky start as he was asked to run the two minute offense on his first possession. The more he played, the Read more [...]

Steelers rookie undrafted free agent running back Isaac Redman and punter Dan Sepulveda stole the show in the preseason opening 20-10 win Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals at Heinz Field. Redman, from Bowie State, ran 10 times for 32 yards and 2 touchdowns in second half action. Redman began his uphill climb to make the Steelers roster as a short yardage specialist. Sepuldva saw his first game action since tearing his ACL last July and punted 6 times for a 43.8 yard average. He is a welcome return to the poor punting game the Steelers had in the 2008 season. The Steelers starting Read more [...]

The Steelers kick off their pre-season Thursday night versus the Arizona Cardinals at Heinz Field. Below are 10 things to look for in the first game. Return Game - The Steelers return game ranked 31st in punt return average and 29th in kickoff return average during the 2008 season and is a huge focus this season. Rookie Mike Wallace is a lock to make the roster as a number three or four wide receiver, but more importantly he can help instantly on the kick-off return. Rookie corner Joe Burnett will get some looks as a punt returner and will likely have to shine doing so to make the final 53 man Read more [...]

While Steeler fans everywhere appreciate all the training camp reports they can get, sometimes mis-information is put out. Such is the case with Brian Carson who is handling the CBS Sportsline Rapid Reports for the Steelers. Brian keeps reporting that undrafted free agent tackle Ramon Foster is not practicing, when in fact it is rookie defensive lineman Ra'Shon Harris who is hampered by the groin problem. Both Foster and Harris are wearing #73 in camp. I have tried to email him to let him know to no avail. Perhaps Steeler Nation can help. You can email Brian at the address below. Let him know he Read more [...]

Let's go back in time to September 5th, 2004 when Willie Parker out-dueled Dante Brown for the final running back roster spot of the 2004 season. Parker was buried behind Jerome Bettis, Duce Staley and Verron Haynes at the time and spent most of the 2004 season on the inactive list. Parker continued to work hard and thanks to injuries to both Bettis and Staley, Parker got his shot and opened the 2005 season as the starting running back. Parker never looked back and took the league by storm with his blazing speed. He was living the dream of an undrafted free agent running back that culminated in Read more [...]

With the Steelers 2009 training camp underway, one thing is apparent, the depth of the left side of the offensive line could be a sore spot this season. Both starting left tackle Max Starks and left guard Chris Kemoeatu have new contracts and both will be relied on heavily to protect the blind side of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. While both are not pro bowl caliber at their position, they are capable of getting the job done. The main problem arises if either go down with injuries or need to be spelled for a series or two. Second year tackle Tony Hills and third round draft pick Kraig Urbik have Read more [...]

In order to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2009, the Steelers must answer these six pressing questions below: Is Limas Sweed ready to fill the shoes of Nate Washington? Over the last 3 years, Nate Washington averaged nearly 35 receptions for 568 yards and 4 touchdowns. Pretty big shoes for the second year Sweed to fill. He has the size and speed to get separation, but needs to show consistency to make every catch when called upon. If defenses do not respect him fully, it will cause more attention to be put on both Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. Sweed needs to catch everything in sight Read more [...]

The Steelers came into the second day of the draft with eight picks to make and I surely did not think they would finish the day with eight players picked. I thought they would package a few to move up earlier in a round. Maybe they tried and just did not have what teams wanted to move up. Regardless, we can now welcome eight additional players to the Steelers fold to join Evander "Ziggy" Hood who was drafted on Saturday. The Steelers had a busy third round, beginning with offensive linemen Kraig Urbik from Wisconsin. Although listed as a tackle, Urbik is expected to begin working at the right Read more [...]

If ever there was a great year to pick last in every round, this was the year. The 2009 draft class is very thin on blue chip prospects. Sure there will be some great players that contribute for many years and perhaps a future Hall of Famer or two, but as far as the scouts are concerned they are not very identifiable going into the draft. The Steelers did exactly as they said they would do, wait and let the draft come to them and identify the top 32 players on their board. The most pressing need based on the best player available left on the board was the defensive line position. The current Read more [...]

The Steelers currently have 9 draft picks for this weekends 2009 NFL draft, but do not be surprised if they come out of the draft with only 6 or 7 players. The likelihood of the Steelers trading away a few picks to move up in the early or middle rounds of the draft is a high probability. The Steelers are strapped salary cap wise and do not need the burden of having to sign 9 players. There will likely be a slew of 8 to 10 undrafted players signed after the draft as well. There are always teams willing to trade down in the middle of the first round and other teams like Dallas that want back in round Read more [...]

Following the upcoming NFL draft the Steelers will begin the process of signing the draft picks. As those draft picks sign, the likelihood of their salary counting against the top 51 salaried players begins. At the current time, the Steelers are right up against the cap limit of $127,000,00.00, thus some players will need to be released that are currently in the top 51 salaries. Below are a few players I think will be released sometime in May. LS Greg Warren - This grizzly veteran long snapper will save the Steelers around $650,000 in cap money and assuming Jared Retkofsky is fully recovered Read more [...]

The buzz around the Steelers draft complex has been heavy this spring with talk about some Ohio State Buckeye draft prospects. The Steelers were front and center for the Buckeye pro day and the Steelers have been successful at robbing the state of Ohio of NFL caliber players over the past few years. Do not be surprised if one or two Buckeye players listed below have their names called by the Steelers this coming weekend. Also do not rule out the smaller colleges like Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Kent State, Miami of Ohio and Ohio. i have listed some of the smaller Ohio school top prospects Read more [...]

Here is a look back at the 2008 pre draft prospect visits the Steelers visited with. Two players, Dennis Dixon and Ryan Mundy, ended up being drafted by the Steelers. All though you can not read too much into the list of 2009 players they have had in, you can assume one or two will likely end up being Steelers. POS Name College G Branden Albert Virginia DE Cliff Avril Purdue DT Red Bryant Texas A&M RB Jehuu Caulcrick Michigan State T Gosder Cherilus Boston College LB Shawn Crable Michigan QB Dennis Dixon Oregon DT Keilen Dykes West Read more [...]

Below is the list by position of the first round draft picks the Steelers have made since 1970. Judging by history and current needs of the Steelers, it is a pretty safe assumption that the 2009 first round pick will be a cornerback, offensive lineman or wide receiver. 7 Defensive Backs (1973, 1975, 1978, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2003) 7 Wide Receivers (1971, 1974, 1984, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2006) 6 Offensive Linemen (1986, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002) 5 Defensive Linemen (1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2001) 5 Running Backs (1972, 1979, 1982, 1989, 2009) 4 Tight Ends (1976, 1990, 1995, 2005) 3 Quarterbacks Read more [...]

Below is my 2009 Steelers mock draft for the upcoming NFL draft on April 25th & 26th. Unless anything major happens in the next few days, I will be sticking with this mock draft as my official mock. Please feel free to comment below on why they will or will not draft the players below. Round 1 - T Eben Britton - Arizona Played both offensive tackle positions in college and has a great combination of speed, wingspan, strength and field smarts. Scouts compare him to Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns. Quality character guy with good quickness for his size. Would provide great depth and Read more [...]

The recent moves by the Steelers to keep in tact most of the offensive line and depth from the 2008 season now opens up the chance to truly draft the best player available in the upcoming 2009 NFL draft. Free agents Chris Kemoeatu, Willie Colon, Trai Essex and Max Starks are all back in the fold with only Marvel Smith and Kendall Simmons being allowed to get away, both of which were injury concerns going forward. Headed into free agency and the draft, it look that drafting an offensive lineman in round one would be a priority. Now the Steelers can let round one come to them and choose the best Read more [...]

As free agency officially begins at midnight tonight, the Steelers will likely be on the sidelines watching all of the action. A salary cap report earlier in the day by Adam Schefter said the Steelers were only $7,400,000.00 under the $127,000,000.00 salary cap. My Steelers salary cap estimation has them at $9,476,280.00 under the cap after the release of Simmons and Humpal and the tendering of the other five players. This leaves me off by $2,076,280.00 which I am sure is an error on my part by missing some dead money along with being off a bit on a few contracts. Before the Steelers go after Read more [...]