Season 2, Episode 51 of The Terrible Podcast is up and David Todd and I got the Friday show started by looking at the Steelers injury report entering the weekend. We also take a look at the Bengals injury report and how it could have a big impact on this game, especially in relation to the Bengals secondary. How good of a play-action quarterback is Ben Roethlisberger and how bad are the Bengals against play-action? I fill David in on a stat that tracks that. This could be a thing to watch on Sunday. We talk about the recent comments made by Rashard Mendenhall and how Bruce Arians responded to them Read more [...]

It pains me to see Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith limp off into the sunset now as he likely will do now after being placed on injured reserve yesterday with a bad foot, but there are not many of us who did not see this coming based on his recent injury history and inability to stay healthy an entire season. I think even General Manager Kevin Colbert knew the extreme risk involved in keeping Smith along with his high 2011 cap charge this season, but he chose to do it anyways. Colbert is great at what he does, but this decision will not go down as one of his top ten best, regardless of how Read more [...]

By: Joseph Pucciarella If this were a heavyweight bout then we’re in the very early rounds and the former powerhouse Steelers just got knocked down…again. The crowd awaits to see if the former champ can get up and reclaim its glory. No matter how you’re feeling here’s the truth. Coming into this season the team didn’t have very much depth at the O-Line, especially after watching Flozell Adams and Max Starks walk off into the Free Agency sunset. Add on the injuries and then watch Ben Roethlisberger get pummeled weekly behind a suspect line. The offense has struggled getting into Read more [...]

Week 4 has come and gone and below is the offensive line report and breakdown for the Steelers week 4 Sunday game on the road against the Houston Texans. As I always like to warn, this grading is done on a play-by-play basis and a good or bad is given on every play. I always caution that it is impossible to know what the assignment on every play is. Thanks to nfl.com there are coaches tape views on several big plays and it makes it much easier to see things from that angle than normal TV camera views along with replays from behind the line of scrimmage. The Steelers offense as a whole gave up Read more [...]

The newest PDF gameday release for the Sunday game against the Houston Texans is up now and these always make great pre-game reading. The latest offering from Dejan Kovacevic is about the slow start to the season by linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons. I wrote after the Willie Colon injury that the Steelers were not likely to sign back Flozell Adams partly because of salary cap room and his high demands. Ed Bouchette blogged this morning that is likely indeed the case as well. John McClain wrote in the Houston Chronicle this morning that the Texans are soft both mentally and Read more [...]

The 2011 state of the offensive line was never one that any of us felt totally good about heading into the season outside of center Maurkice Pouncey and right tackle Willie Colon, but after 3 games now, the best way to describe it is by saying it is a hot mess. Something Steeler Nation has grown accustomed to over the years. The Steelers lost Colon for the season in the week 1 loss to the Ravens, but at least rookie Marcus Gilbert was ready to jump in at right tackle. Gilbert really has played above the line in his two starts, but is a ways away still from filling the Colon shoes. To make matters Read more [...]

A source has informed me that former Steelers left tackle Max Starks is flying to Minnesota on Monday to possibly sign with the Vikings. Starks has reportedly lost weight and is back healthy following his release from the Steelers prior to training camp beginning. The Steelers might have lost left tackle Jonathan Scott Sunday night for a few weeks with a high ankle sprain. Also injured Sunday night were right guard Doug Legursky and right tackle Marcus Gilbert. Reportedly neither are injured seriously. The Steelers had contacted Flozell Adams a few weeks ago, but no signing was imminent at that Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 16 of The Terrible Podcast is up and in Part 1 David Todd and I open with a look at the injury report, updating news on Jerricho Cotchery (bad), Chris Carter (good) and others. Of course Willie Colon isn't on that injury report because he is no longer on the Steelers 53-man roster. We thought the Steelers came out of Sunday's beating by the Ravens relatively healthy, but it turns out that wasn't the case. Colon tore his triceps late in the game and was placed on the IR by the Steelers Tuesday afternoon. We look at who the Steelers signed to fill his spot on the 53-man and discuss Read more [...]

I have been asked quite a bit why the Steelers have not re-signed Flozell Adams back after right tackle Willie Colon was lost for the season this past Sunday and the simple answer is there just is not enough cap room to meet his likely salary demands. I finally cleared up my 2011 salary cap numbers following the final cutdowns and prior to the new contract signed by Troy Polamalu, the Steelers were roughly $2.23 million under the cap. The new official contract numbers have yet to surface, but it figures it would only slightly increase or decrease his original 2011 cap hit of $8.595 million. The Read more [...]

The news is filtering out this morning that rookie second round draft pick Marcus Gilbert will be the new right tackle now that it appears that Willie Colon will likely be lost for the season with a triceps injury. Gilbert is the right choice here as he played some right tackle during the preseason and fared pretty good at the position. The Steelers reportedly reached out to Flozell Adams, but no deal is imminent at this time. Adams likely commands a large salary that the Steelers just can not swallow from a salary cap aspect and let's not forget he is yet another year older and has not taken Read more [...]

Ed Bouchette has cleared up the early report we gave you on Steelers left tackle Willie Colon. Bouchette reports that Colon indeed has torn triceps and he will have surgery Tuesday morning to repair the injury. His agent Joe Linta confirmed the injury. The injury means that the 2011 season is now likely over for Colon after just one game and he will likely be placed on injured reserve for the second season in a row. It is believed that Colon suffered the injury on an attempted fumble recovery during the second half on Sunday. Colon was lost last season prior to training camp with a torn Achilles. Read more [...]

Adama Caplan is reporting that starting right tackle Willie Colon may have suffered a serious triceps injury against the Ravens yesterday. Caplan says according to two sources, Colon suffered an arm injury, which is believed to be in the triceps area. Head coach Mike Tomlin did not list Colon as a player injured during his post-game press conference, but that means absolutely nothing right now. Tomlin is not scheduled to meet the media again until Tuesday. If indeed the Colon injury is serious, the Steelers might have to consider letting rookie Marcus Gilbert start at right tackle. Gilbert received Read more [...]

After the lockout ended the Steelers had five key players that they had to sort through contract wise. Two of those five players were unrestricted free agents in the form of Ike Taylor and Willie Colon. One was LaMarr Woodley who was wearing the franchise tag and the other two were players entering the final year of their contracts in Lawrence Timmons and Troy Polamalu. Taylor and Colon were quickly re-signed at the beginning of free agency and as expected, a new deal for Woodley followed about a week later. At that time the Steelers only had Timmons and Polamalu left on the to-do list and they Read more [...]

When it was reported this morning that Trai Essex was visiting the South Side, you had to know it wasn't just to pick up his AFC Championship watch. I believe that could have been easily taken care of through UPS or FedEx. By the time dinner rolled around, the Steelers announced that they had re-signed Essex to a one-year deal. The Steelers are likely now recognizing their depth issues on the offensive line after both Chris Scott and rookie Keith Williams have failed to impress during the Steelers first two preseason games. Throw on top of that the fact that Ramon Foster also had a rough go Read more [...]

With a handful of weeks left before the final roster cut-downs take place, the Steelers seem to have 8 cornerbacks vying for 6 or 7 roster spots on the 53 man roster. One of those 8 players is veteran Bryant McFadden. McFadden has been sidelined the last several weeks with a hamstring/quad type injury and he has yet to play in any of the two preseason games the Steelers have had. With McFadden sidelined, third year cornerback Keenan Lewis has received the starting nod at the left outside corner spot and seems to be finally turning the proverbial corner. In addition, free agent Donovan Warren Read more [...]