Steelers Morning Huddle 5/16/13

October 7, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton (98) reacts to the crowd as he takes the field against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 16-14. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Steeler Nation – I am waiting for Friday to get here, how about you?  There is very little specific Steelers news, but here are a few interesting things from the world of football and all the goodness it brings.

During one of his online chats, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was asked if he thought the Steelers would resign Casey Hampton.  He said that while Hampton probably wants to keep playing, the Steelers don’t seem to want him.  Also during the chat, he agreed with one participant that there is a lack of depth for the O-Line and noted that Legursky is still available and is a possible option for the Steelers.  Last year I remember thinking that they should give up one of the RBs and add another offensive lineman at the start of the season, but concluded that they really thought they were going to need the extra RB.  It might be easier to keep linemen on the practice squad and bring them up.

Jamison Hensley, the ESPN blogger who covers the AFC North, looks at the at the secondaries among the five teams and ranks Pittsburgh at the top.  He acknowledges the average age of the starters is old but thinks they have one more good year particularly with the tandem safeties of Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu.  I hope he is right because I think the Steelers are counting on it in their planning.  I’m not sure that is smart given Polamalue’s injury history, but he’s got a tremendous reputation.

Mike Wallace continues to make the headlines.  He was asked what he thought of Ryan Tannehill and he said Tannehill can be as good as Big Ben:

"It’s funny, they both played receiver at the beginning of college,” Wallace told reporters, according to The Miami Herald. “They both know what we [receivers] like to do out there, so the chemistry is there already. Both have strong arms. Ryan has a cannon, can really fling it.”"

Ok, I don’t know what else he is supposed to say.  Wallace has to be a team player for Miami and he has to express confidence in his QB.  I think Tannehill has potential to be a decent QB in the league, but I don’t think comparisons really do him any good.  Put your head down and get in there and work with the guy.  Scale back the positive rhetoric.  The Miami fans probably need cause for hope, but let’s not make them expect too much.  I’d say it would be better if they were pleasantly surprised.

In PA-related sports news, Penn State QB Matt McGloin was signed by the Oakland Raiders according to Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.  All I can say is, well, at least it isn’t the Jets.  I hope for McGloin’s sake that Dennis Allen succeeds in changing the culture in that franchise and McGloin gets a chance to prove he can play in the NFL.  However, transitioning to the NFL is an uphill battle and it won’t be a cakewalk in Oakland:

"The Raiders have five quarterbacks on their roster, including former Ohio State and Jeannette standout Terrelle Pryor. McGloin is one of three rookie quarterbacks on the roster.”"

That’s it for today.  Be sure to let us know what you think!