Improving Offensive Line

The biggest and most important upgrades the Steelers have made on the Offensive side of the ball have been along their Offensive Line Front over the last few seasons.  The Front Office and Coaching Staff made a firm dedication to Big Ben’s health this past off-season especially when they acquired two of the most talented Offensive Linemen in The Draft (David DecCastro and Mike Adams) to protect Big Ben well into his 30’s, and shore up an injury-plagued and inconsistent unit.

Maurkice Pouncey is already an All-Pro player, and Marcus Gilbert had a fine Rookie campaign and gained some valuable experience and displayed his versatility as a Left and Right Tackle in 2011.  If veteran Willie Colon ends up staying healthy and/or kicks in to Guard, in two years, a healthy group of Mike Adams, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Marcus Gilbert will be keeping Roethlisberger upright and winning at the point of attack for years to come.

Pass-Catchers Are Fantastic

Antonio Brown is poised for another great season. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-US PRESSWIRE

As for weapons to throw to, Ben your pass-catchers are highly talented and bring a whole mess of skill-sets to the table.  In terms of a deep-threat, there are few which can match speedster like Mike Wallace (2010: 72 Catches, 1,193 Yards, 8 TD’s) in terms of raw speed and his developing talent.  Wallace will be as hungry as ever this season because he is in a crucial contract year, and will be looking to cash-in once the season ends.  Antonio Brown (2010: 69 Catches, 1,108 Yards, 2 TD’s) is jack-of-all-trades athlete and is well on his way to developing into one of the League’s most dangerous all-around pass catching threats.

Sure, Hines Ward is gone, but the Steelers still have some underrated and savvy slot options which understand route-running and have dependable and reliable hands like Emmanuel Sanders (2010: 22 Catches, 288 Yards, 2 TD’s) and Jerricho Cotchery (2010: 16 Catches, 237 Yards, 2 TD’s)  In the event one or both can stay fully healthy this season, acres of room will be open for them to eat Linebackers and Safeties alive when Pittsburgh employs 3 and 4 Wide Receiver sets, and help convert important 3rd Downs to keep drives alive.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot, the Steelers also have a Pro Bowl Tight End named Heath Miller (2010: 51 Catches, 631 Yards, 2 TD’s) on the roster that will likely be a bigger feature in the Offensive game-plans as well.  Hopefully Todd Haley recognizes the value of a big, reliable, smart, and talented target in the Red Zone and Miller will get many more chances to catch passes there unlike when Arians was in charge.  If that is the case, Pittsburgh will improve their Red Zone numbers, and Heath will emerge as a weapon teams must account for down near the goal line.

Running Back by Committee is Diverse Group of Talent

Redman will get his chance to take over the starting RB spot. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

While the Steelers will likely go with a Running Back by Committee this season, Isaac Redman (2010: 110 Carries, 479 Yards, 3 TD’s) will get the first crack to earn the “RB#1″ role this season after two solid years as Pittsburgh’s change of pace, “pound the rock” guy.  Over his career, Redman has displayed an ability to pick up tough yards and even do some nice things in the passing game.  The hope of many, including myself, is that Redman can build off of his successful Playoff outing in Denver last season, and prove to everybody that he can be the “RB#1″ in Pittsburgh for years to come.

Fighting for carries behind Redman will be the bruising Jonathan Dwyer and John Clay, both of whom will likely be battling against each other for one of the final backup spots on the roster.  Baron Batch will also be trying to earn a roster spot this season as the the Steelers’ 3rd Down Back as he works his way back from the devastating knee injury he suffered during Training Camp last season.

It will be a tough task for Batch though, because Rookie Chris Rainey will get his shot to become Pittsburgh’s 3rd Down Back, and Special Teams Return extraordinaire.  The Steelers will likely be utilizing the diminutive Rainey in a role similar to Dexter McCluster of the Chiefs, the team Todd Haley just came over from.  And getting the ball to Rainey in space a few times per game will be a high priority for the Steelers if they are in search of some splash plays.  If Rainey makes a guy miss, big plays will almost assuredly follow.

The X-Factor in all of this Running Back situation will be Rashard Mendenhall (2010: 228 Carries, 928 Yards, 9 TD’s), who could contribute as early as mid-season.  If Mendenhall proves he is healthy, and that his knee can hold up, the Steelers might consider giving the former Pro Bowler some work once he returns.  Because 2012 will be his contract year, Mendenhall will be hungry to produce as much as possible, and the Steelers could be big beneficiaries if he is fit to play this season.

Final Thoughts

Change is never easy to deal with, and I can understand where Ben and some of the other members of the Offense are coming from in regards to their displeasure.  However, this team is loaded with Offensive weapons and is only getting better.  Not only is Pittsburgh loaded with Offensive weapons with plenty of experience at the skill positions, they have a 2-time Super Bowl winning Quarterback leading them as he enters the prime of his illustrious career!  With the Offensive Line being solidified with a nice mix of experienced youth and talented youth, this Offense could be a “sleeping giant” this season, and a real force for seasons to come.

I would guess that many outside of Steeler Nation do not have high expectations for this Offense because of the new Coordinator and a perceived lack of production.  Sure, the Steelers went outside of their norm by hiring Haley outside of the organization, but the Front Office and Tomlin must feel that the guy is the perfect one to mesh all of this talent together and get them to play at their highest level.  So let’s not look at Haley’s hiring as a negative.  In fact, let’s be happy that a change was made, because Haley proved what he could do with great weapons in Arizona when he helped take that Offense to the Super Bowl in 2008.  Yeah, there might be some growing pains along the way, and a steep learning curve to master for some.  Yet the talent is there to succeed, and with some hard work, and a small amount of patience, there is plenty to be optimistic about for seasons to come.

So chime in “Steeler Nation:”  Are you excited to see what this Offense will do under Haley?  Should Ben stop complaining?  Will Wallace show up this season?  The floor is yours.

Statistics Courtesy of Steelers Team Page on ESPN.com

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Cowher is back in front of the mics once again. But this time it's to address something that you can't see.Credit: US PRESSWIRE

Former Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher, could be a spokesperson or salesman for just about anything you could think of.  It wouldn’t be because of a twinkle in his eye, or that white toothy grin, or a slight raise of his right eyebrow as he tells you how nice it is to see you.  Oh no.  It’s the sticks out so far he could poke you in the chest with it jaw.

This time around, Cowher is taking that stare and jaw to the streets as he is becoming a spokesperson for melanoma awareness – specifically in men.  Most of you in Steeler Nation should know that already that Bill Cowher’s wife passed away back in 2010 from the awful skin cancer known as melanoma.  And as most people who are touched by a certain kind of tragedy want to do – Cowher wants to educate men of the disease.

‘Men are naive to their bodies.  They don’t pay attention to their skin like women do.’

It’s true.  How many guys out there really pay attention to how much sun they are getting when outdoors?  Even in this age of heightened awareness of the damages over-exposure the sun can have in the long term on our bodies, us guys just don’t really give those things a second thought.  And then there’s your ‘fake bakers.’  My cousin has contracted melanoma because he baked at least once a week for years.  Now he will have to deal with this for a long time, and it could end up killing him.  It’s a very serious disease, and advocates for prevention have a great ally in their corner with Cowher.

I doubt he’ll be doing any of his classic sideline grab a player by the facemask, stick out the jaw, and yell – all the while soaking the player with about a gallon of venomous spit.  I’m sure he’ll take a gentler approach.  It’s unclear right now what his exact role will be – tour around the US to schools and other organizations, or just a billboard of the Super Bowl champion coach holding up a football and lettering underneath him that says, ‘It’s time to tackle melanoma!’

All kidding aside, I hope it really is the former and not the latter.  I could see his participation being just billboard slogans, but I hope it’s far more than that.  Cowher is the kind of coach and man that could really make a difference if he goes out there to the masses.  He usually doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, but you know exactly when he is being sincere.  You can just see it in those eyes.  Kaye’s story is a powerful one, and Cowher being the powerful speaker he is, could give a much needed wakeup call to those of us who don’t think about our skin.

There was another article about Cowher posted today on ESPN that detailed comments Boomer ‘Whiny’ Esiason  gave about where he could see Cowher coaching.

“The only two coaching spots that I think that he would ever come out of retirement for … one would be the New York Giants and the other one would be the Chicago Bears, because he’s that type of guy”

That’s right Boom Boom.  He’s that kind of guy.  A class act and a powerful personality.  However, I don’t think we’ll ever see him coach on the sidelines ever again.  If this spokesmanship is the real deal, then I could see him being an analyst by day and night light as someone who will probably make it part of his life’s duty not to let Kaye’s death be something that happened in vain.

Best of luck to Coach Cowher.  A great coach and an even classier man.  I hope he can change many lives by going out there helping to prevent this terrible cancer.

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Farmers Field, the new football stadium in Downtown Los Angeles, from an artists rendering; courtesy ms-ent.net

With the news officially announced this past week that Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has signed a bill that will authorize a partly bond-financed plan for a $975 million football stadium in the Twin Cities, it appears that the Minnesota Vikings are now off the table as a player in the Los Angeles NFL saga.  The Vikings seemed to be the franchise most-likely to move to SoCal as their lease with the aging Metrodome was coming to an end, another tradition-soaked victim of the modern era of sports economics doomed to move away from a region that helped build their legacy.  Now that the bill has been passed, the Vikings are set to begin a new chapter in Minnesota that will take them through a final season or two at the Metrodome, then a short stint at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium, before finally moving to their new digs.  The Vikings have been dealing with the antiquated Metrodome for years, a building that has seemed to age in dog years.  A new stadium was key to keep the team in town, and if the deal hadn’t come together it was only a matter of time before the Los Angeles billionaires started throwing diamond and furs at team owner Zygi Wilf.

Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States, and by far the largest without an NFL team.  The region is preparing to break ground on the $1.2 billion Farmers Field, a gigantic stadium that is tailor-made for attracting a professional football team.  As the plans for building Farmers Field have developed, owner Anschutz Entertainment Group has been quietly courting potential teams to make the move to Los Angeles.  The Vikings were very much on that list up until this week.  Who are the other possible teams that could legally make the move to the new stadium in Downtown Los Angeles – which could be ready as early as the start of the 2015 season and has plenty of temporary plans to house the new franchise until then?

courtesy chargers.com

.1  The San Diego Chargers – The Bolts were a charter member of the old AFL, and spent one season in Los Angeles before settling in permanently in San Diego.  The Chargers play in Qualcomm Stadium, known to most long-time sports fans as Jack Murphy Stadium.   As far as NFL facilities go, the “Q” is pretty close to the bottom of the list.  Old, run down, and only ascetically pleasing due to its location in the most beautiful city in the Country, Qualcomm Stadium is nearing the end of its usability for the league.  The team has had trouble selling tickets the past few seasons, despite a run of quality teams with numerous Pro Bowl players.  The Spanos Family, majority owners of the franchise, know the riches that await them just two hours down Interstate 5.  A move to L.A. would be a major step up for the team, and although they would lose some of their dedicated fanbase – for the most part if the people of San Diego still wanted to follow the Chargers, it wouldn’t be hard.  San Diego has gradually moved into the neighborhood of a decent sports town.  The Chargers have had some very good teams during their time there, and the baseball Padres are now playing in a brand new ballpark (PetCo Park) and trying to rebuild their club in the tough small-market climate.  Traditionally, San Diego has been more of a vacation spot than a hard-nosed sports town.  Moving the Chargers to L.A. would be one of the easiest transitions for an NFL team to make (not the easiest, that distinction falls to the Oakland Raiders, who we will get to shortly), and the move would not be considered a black mark on the legacy of the NFL.  The Chargers have to be considered the top option for moving to Los Angeles.

Oakland Raiders fans; courtesy prweb.com

2.  The Oakland Raiders – The Raiders spent 1982-1994 as the Los Angeles Raiders.  After a very successful 21-year run in Oakland, owner Al Davis spearheaded the move to L.A. with the idea that the Raiders would be more financially stable playing in the larger city, despite moving to the already outdated L.A. Memorial Coliseum.  The Los Angeles area had two NFL teams at that point, with the Raiders and the Rams playing their games down the road in Anaheim.  The Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII while representing the City of Angels, claiming their third Lombardi trophy.  In 1995 it was back to Oakland, as Al Davis signed a letter of intent to move his team back to the Bay Area once more, where they have remained ever since.  The team has had its share of glory years, but for the most part have been also-rans since returning to Oakland.  Furthermore, the stadium situation in Oakland is horrendous.  The Oakland Coliseum (or whatever it is called now) is a dump.  The Raiders are the last NFL team to share their stadium with a MLB team, and are unable to generate the type of ad revenue in Oakland that an NFL team should.  With their history in the Los Angeles market and the fan base the has maintained allegiance to the Raiders, this is a perfect scenario for the team to finally put their long nomad past behind them and become the sole proprietors of football in Los Angeles.  The Bay Area has the San Fransisco 49ers as the #1 team in the region, and moving the Raiders to L.A. would only help to further the fortunes of that franchise.  The Raiders should be considered the #2 option for moving to L.A., with only a very team-friendly stadium lease keeping them from being the top dog.

St. Louis Rams fans,; courtesy prlog.com

3.  The St. Louis Rams – Another former L.A. tenant, the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995 and within four years were competing in a Super Bowl and seemed to be on pace to build quite a legacy in the Midwest.  Their fortunes went south after that, and attendance has become a serious issue for the team in the immense Edward Jones Dome.  The year to watch in 2015, the year the Rams lease with the dome expires.  If the team does not have a legitimate stadium plan in place by 2013, the relocation bounds will be barking loudly in St. Louis.  The team seems to be heading in the right direction on the field, with new head coach Jeff Fisher crafting a young, talented team.  It could be a perfect storm for the NFL to move an up-and-coming team with many marketable pieces into the second-largest city in the country.  Keep an eye on the Rams and their stadium situation in St. Louis, if they are unable to secure a new stadium chances are good the Rams are going to be out of Missouri and heading somewhere – L.A. Toronto, maybe even London – and obviously Los Angeles would top that list.

4.  The Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jaguars were on every list of potential teams heading to L.A. up until this past year, when the ownership team led by Shahid Khan purchased the franchise.  Now the Jaguars appear to be setting down permanent roots in Florida.  Jacksonville was a heavy gamble for expansion by the NFL in the mid 90′s and for a while it appeared that the gamble would pay off.  Then the lean years came and the fans stopped buying tickets, causing the team to have most of its home games blacked out in the Jacksonville area.  The team tarped off a huge section of seats at EverBank Field to avoid those blackouts and have a lease that binds them to the stadium – a fine NFL facility – until 2027.  With new ownership committed to the Northern Florida area and the lease in place, the Jaguars can be officially taken off the list of potential Los Angeles suitors.

Buffalo Bills fan; courtesy sportsillustrated.cnn.com

5.  The Buffalo Bills – Oh, the poor Bills.  Rabid fans, great football area, storied history, and absolutely no respect for any of it by the league.  Playing home games in Toronto wasn’t bad enough, having their franchise named as a possibility to move across country to Los Angeles is a sick, twisted, way to treat a fan base that has supported their team despite terrible coaching and player management decisions over the years.  For me – a Steelers fan – I believe football is a game that should be played outdoors in cold weather.  The more snow, the more wind, the better.  Buffalo is a fine NFL city, and a unique small town that loves its Bills, not quite as small as Green Bay – but frankly, very similar in many ways.  The Bills were a founding member of the AFL, they have played in four Super Bowls, they have many Hall of Famers that played their careers in Buffalo, and they sell out their stadium.  Ralph Wilson Stadium is old and needs updated, something that the people of Buffalo will have to deal with soon if they want their team taken off this list.  Owner Ralph Wilson is 92-years old and when he passes, the last connection to that city and that stadium will be gone.  The city and its fans need to work out a lucrative stadium deal to keep the Bills in Upstate New York, where they belong.  Until then, the unfortunate reality is that the Buffalo Bills will be courted to move to L.A..  Here is hoping the franchise gets it all sorted out and remains where they belong, just like the Vikings did in Minnesota.

Is Las Vegas, NV ready for an NFL expansion team?

6.  An Expansion Team – The probability of another NFL expansion seems dim under the leadership of Roger Goodell.  Any expansion plan would need to include two new teams to keep the league balanced.  So where would the second team land?  Is Las Vegas ready for a professional sports team?  Has the financial success of the Toronto Raptors and Blue Jays proven that American professional sports work in the gigantic Toronto Metropolitan area?  Would the league consider setting up shop in another large Florida market like Orlando – a city with a major powerhouse company in its back pocket (Disney)?  How about San Antonio, TX?  At one point it seemed the New Orleans Saints could have been permanent residents there and a team in San Antonio would further the league advances into the Mexican-American community.  How about a SECOND team in Chicago, a city that has two distinct towns (north side and south side) and already supports two major league baseball teams with a similar setup?  Could the Windy City sustain a second NFL team?  Finally, what about another college football crazed town – Omaha, Nebraska or Columbus, Ohio.  Do either have the population to support a team in their city?

Expansion would be the safest and quickest way to get a team into Los Angeles, and with no limit on the amount of investors that would line up to finance a team, it is a very real possibility.

One way or another, the National Football League is going to get a franchise in Los Angeles by 2015.  Whether it be by moving ans established team or expansion, the wheels are already in motion and the league is not going to turn away from the economic boom a team could provide for them in the Los Angeles region.  If put together correctly, a team in L.A. could immediately become one of the most valuable professional sports teams in the country.  It will be interesting to see where this goes from here.

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