With the NFL’s free agency period in full swing, the Pittsburgh Steelers made some news of a different sort with the surprising release of RG Kendall Simmons a short 18 months after signing him to a big contract extension. Rumors were that Simmons, who missed most of this season with a torn ACL, was coming along very slowly in his rehab.  This isn’t shocking as an ACL tear is about the most serious injury a football player can have.  It usually takes a full year for the elite athletic players to come back and another year before they even begin to approach their old level.  For a guy like Simmons who’s hardly a decathlete and has to lug around 300+ pounds on that bum knee, the rehab curve is probably even steeper.

This is most definitely not a salary cap move as most last second player releases are this time of year.  By releasing Simmons, the Steelers actually lose MORE cap room than had they kept him since the guaranteed bonus portion of contract automatically kicks in, moving his cap hit up to $4.7 million.  This leaves Pittsburgh about $7 million under the cap after tendering offers to some restricted free agents.

CB Anthony Madison, FB Sean McHugh, and (hold the gitney) RT Willie Colon were all offered contracts for next season. Not on the list was S Anthony Smith, who now rides off in to the sunset with a place in Steeler infamy firmly secure.  Ex-coach Bill Cowher tabbed Smith as a future star in the league but his inability to shut his damn fool mouth cost him repeatedly.  First was the embarrassment against New England, then the final straw was this year when he whined about not playing when starter Ryan Clark was injured.

One person who won’t be joining the Steelers next year is Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday, who decided to re-up with the Colts at the 11th hour (thanks for the link Alison).  Too bad, as his weasel agent said he’s a Rooney type player what with his lying about wanting to come here and money grubbing ways.  Oh wait, that would make him exactly the type of guy the Rooneys despise.  Sorry, my bad.

Well, one thing is for sure, with the loss of Simmons the Steelers are almost forced into making a move in free agency.  We have only one starting guard on the roster and he’s a mediocre guard at that.  Expecting a rookie starter in the 1st round is a big gamble when you’re picking last.  We’ll definitely need to take a look at what’s out there and bring somebody in to shore up that line.

(pleasenotKemopleasenotKemopleasenotKemo)

After last Saturday’s debacle in Minnesota, where the Pittsburgh Steelers vaunted offense couldn’t manage a touchdown, the new look offensive line played downright offensive, and supposed superstar rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall couldn’t keep his hands on the ball, I suppose for our collective sanity we should move on to happier subjects.

With that in mind, NPC continues its 2008 Steeler team preview by focusing on the one aspect of the team that did look pretty good last Saturday, the defense. 

2008 BLITZBURGH DEFENSE

The Steelers still use the 3-4, although everybody keeps waiting for them to go to the Tampa 2 scheme coach Mike Tomlin allegedly prefers.   That won’t happen as long as grizzled defensive genius Dick Lebeau patrols the sidelines though.  Keeping Lebeau during the changover from the Cowher regime was a really smart move by the Steeler brass as I don’t believe there is a more clever blitz-caller in the league. 

Projected Starters:

RDE: Brett Keisel
NG: Casey Hampton
LDE: Aaron Smith
ROLB: James Harrison
ILB: James Farrior
ILB: Larry Foote
LOLB: Lamar Woodley
CB: Deshea Townsend
CB: Ike Taylor
SS: Troy Polamalu
FS: Ryan Clark

The D-Line is aging but still good as Casey Hampton is one of the best DT/NG’s in the game when his fatassery doesn’t land him in the dog house.  Aaron Smith is entering his prime as a run stopper and pass rusher. James Harrison is an incredibly athletic pass rusher coming off his breakout season. Both Larry Foote and the newly resigned (5 year deal) James Farrior are also getting up there in age but remain quality ILBs.  Farrior is the veteran QB of the defense and Foote, while unspectacular, will likely be platooned with 2007 first round pick Lawrence Timmons sooner rather than later.  Everybody liked what they saw out of Lamar Woodley last season and this year everybody expects him to be a more than adequate replacement for Clark Haggans.

The corners are decent but nothing exciting.  Townshend and Taylor recently flip-flopped the right and left CB spots for reasons I’m not entirely clear on.   Those two plus Bryant McFadden comprise an excellent cover secondary but they fall short when it comes to ball skills.  Slippery Hands Ike allegedly concentrated on his receiving skills this offseason so maybe he’ll be able to snag one or two of the enemy’s passes instead of simply swatting them away. 

Troy Polamalu is a superior safety when he’s healthy.  But that’s the big question mark with him as last season he was a shell due to injuries and he’s been seemingly plagued by a rash of problems this year as well.  A peak Polamalu would take the defense to another level.  Ryan Clark seems to have battled back from his season-ending spleenectomy.  Tyrone Carter has looked okay as his backup.  And I’ll say it, Anthony Smith is actually a very talented guy.  If you watch him closely, his size and speed make him stand out.   It’s just that despite his million dollar body, he was only given a ten cent brain.  If he could somehow find the wonderful Wizard of Oz to hand him even an average portion of intelligence, he could easily be a starter and a very good one at that.

Also for your perusal:

–The NFL Network has decided to follow my lead by doing a Steeler preview of their own.

–Hugging Harold Reynolds pokes fun at Steeler fans with this obviously photoshopped picture.  Bud Light?  Members of Steeler Nation aren’t sissies who drink light beer.  Somebody obviously confused us with Patriot fans.  Even our women drink and drink hard.   That’s why we have no need for cheerleaders.  They’re all the entertainment we need.   

Last night featured one of the most important events in the world of sports.

Oh, and the Olympics held their opening ceremonies.

The event I am referring to is the annual Battle of Pennsylvania between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philthydelphia Eagles. The reason it’s important is most years, that game signifies the start of the preseason, which, by extension, means the start of the football season. And truly, what event is more important than football season?

Actually, please don’t take away my Terrible Towel but I confess to flipping between the game and the ceremonies. If anybody can appreciate a futuristic, lit-up city and an outstanding fireworks display, it would be a Pittsburgher. Plus, the Chinese delegation featured flag-bearer Yao Ming and his little buddy Lin Hao. Hao is a nine-year-old boy from China’s Sichuan Province, where a devastating earthquake killed thousands of people back in May. According to Bob Costas, Lin Hao escaped his school when the quake struck and instead of doing what I would do and run away crying like a girl, he risked his life and suffered multiple injuries by going back to try and rescue some of his schoolmates. When asked why, he responded, “Because I’m a class monitor and it was my responsibility to look out for the class.” Nine freakin’ years old and he’s already manlier than I’ll ever be.

From what I saw of the game, here are the important things to note:

1) The Steelers won 16-10. Sure, preseason games are meaningless but losing to Philly (New motto: City of Brothas on Crack) is not an option. Ever.

2) Backup QB Charlie Batch broke his collarbone. He’ll likely be out 4-6 weeks which means Brian St. Pierre finally has the chance to… Oh shit. I forgot he took his clipboard and moved to Pittsburgh West (Phoenix). Let’s see, I guess that means, um, well, looks like rookie Dennis Dixon is our new backup. Not good. Well, he actually did look good last night (6 of 9 for 30 yards and had a gorgeous 41 yard bomb called back by a holding penalty) but I wouldn’t want to put the season on him if Big Ben makes another wrong turn on his Harley.

The Post-Gazette is suggesting former Jaguars bust Byron Leftwich is a possibility. Wait, I thought Coach Mike Tomlin had a problem with fat people?

3) Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker played two series. Ben had a nice TD pass to Santonio Holmes on a blitz pickup. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall chipped in with 34 yards on 7 carries. The offensive line looked okay on run blocking. There wasn’t enough evidence to judge their pass blocking. The play Batch got jacked up on wasn’t their fault as new RB Mewelde Moore missed his assignment and Charlie paid the price.

4) The first team defense only played two series. NT Casey Hampton didn’t suit up as he’s evidently still stuck in Fat Camp. DE Travis Kirschke, S Anthony “Hines Ward is my bitch…in practice” Smith, and, go figure, S Troy Polamalu all did not play. S Ryan Mundy, a local kid in his rookie season out of WVU, injured his leg on a tackle which puts the Steelers fairly thin at safety right now.

5) Special teams-wise, well, who cares about the kickers? Let’s talk about real football players. Mendenhall, surprisingly, was the kickoff return man. Actually, Najeh Davenport did fairly well in the role last year so I understand Tomlin’s thinking. I don’t think you want your star rookie running back kickoffs though. Moore returned one punt for 9 yards while Eddie Drummond, another local guy, returned his 21 yards. The key here is Moore is a lock to make the team as a 3rd down back while Drummond probably isn’t sticking around unless he wins the return job.

6) First roster cuts take place August 26. Final cuts come four days after that. Teams only have to cut five players on the first date, but ditch 23 more by the next one.

Pittsburgh Steelers first round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall was robbed at gunpoint while walking through the South Side lakefront of Chicago on Monday.

The police currently have no leads. Rumors that several members of the Cincinnati Bengals were seen in the area are thus far unsubstantiated.

Speaking of the Bungles, their wonderful Public Relations Department has seen fit to initiate a lawsuit against fellow Fan-Sided blogger David Howard over alleged improper use of photographs and insignia.

I can’t say I’m surprised. When I think of organizations which stress honesty and integrity, the Cincinnati Bengals are surely the first who leap to mind.

Hines Ward says he welcomes the addition of second round draft choice Limas Sweed. Of course, the first time Big Ben throws to Sweed in the red zone, Hines will wipe the tears from his eyes just long enough to start plotting ways to drop horse laxatives into his protein shakes like a lover/receiver scorned.

Marvel Smith says his back is fixed and he’s ready to play. This is encouraging news as a healthy Smith could provide a solid anchor at left tackle. Of course, this also means Max Starks will compete for the right tackle position against Willie Colon, who beat him out last year.

Yep folks, the Steelers might be paying a guy $7 million next year to ride the pine. That’s almost Matt Morris-level idiocy. Almost.

Ryan Clark says his guts are fixed and he’s ready to play. Spleen? He don’t need no stinkin’ spleen. He is a tad upset with the Steelers medical staff for basically thinking he was being a sissy nancy boy during his convalescence.

If Clark can return to form, that would also be excellent news for the Steelers. As we learned last year, the drop off from him to his backups is quite steep. Tyrone Carter lacks the athleticism to be a starting safety and Anthony Smith has never seen a play fake he didn’t bite on. I have hope for rookie Ryan Mundy making the team and developing into a solid backup but any chance he sees substantial playing time next year would likely be only in a disaster scenario.

In Coach Mike Tomlin’s post-game conference, he was forthright in saying that the team simply did not play well in all areas and needed to improve. And he was largely right, but he failed to publicly place blame in one area where it is sorely needed. Himself. Fortunately, guys on the internet like me exist to do that. When Tomlin started this season with early success the fans were ready to embrace him as the savior of the Pittsburgh Steelers after last year’s post-Super Bowl meltdown. But the Steelers haven’t played well in over a month now, barely squeaking out wins or losing in disappointing fashion of late. A pattern in Tomlin’s coaching style has started to emerge over this season that is frightening in its Cowherness: failure to make adjustments. Not just at halftime, but the game plan doesn’t seem to change that much from week to week either. The only recent exception would be the Cincinnati Bengals game, where the defense played a little bit more cover 2 than normal, which probably indirectly led young and foolish Anthony Smith to conclude that the Bengals have better wide receivers than the New England Patriots. At the start of the Season, Ben was airing the ball out a lot more than is typical in Steelers football, passing on first downs and sometimes passing on every down, to a wider variety of receivers than normal. But after the loss to the Denver Broncos, they went back to the old Steelers style of run on first, run on second, pass on third. The only time the Steelers tend to deviate from this plan now is when they feel they can’t execute, not when they want to mix up the play-calling. When the rest of the NFL is trying to move forward every week, standing still is just not enough.

Special teams is the one area that has showed signs of improvement. Najeh Davenport returning punts seems to be an admission that Allen Rossum hasn’t panned out. Why not deactivate Rossum and activate Willie Reid? Rossum didn’t do anything anyway, and this team needs all the receivers it can get. The team may not have a choice, as Nate Washington went out with an injury and may not be ready to play the St. Louis Rams on Thursday. Honestly, even though Washington caught a touchdown pass, given his play this year, he might be helping the Steelers more by not playing on Thursday.

Ben Roethlisberger definitely didn’t play his best game this week, but despite lackluster play, he’s far from the reason for the Steelers loss. Any game in which the quarterback throws three touchdowns and no interceptions should be enough. The offensive line has continued to play terribly; giving up five sacks today, as well as making Ben throw on third and long too many times. Alan Faneca has been as lousy as the rest of the line all season long, and he would be vindicating the Rooneys’ decision to not resign him, but the problem is who is out there to replace him with? Even if the Rooneys were willing to sign a big-time free agent in the off-season, offensive linemen of quality usually don’t go on the market. They can and should address that need in the draft, but the need is probably greater than the draft can fill.

As lackluster as the offense was today, they did put 22 points on the board, and that should have gotten the win. The greatest problem with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now is what used to be its greatest strength: the defense. The collapse against the Patriots last week was distressing, but the Steelers have always been particularly vulnerable to a strong passing team. However, the Steelers’ D has prided itself on stopping the run, and they completely failed to do that today. The failure was so complete that it’s hard to even understand or analyze the reasons why a defense could go from the best in the league to what we saw today.

They better figure out the reasons quickly, because the Cleveland Browns won against the Buffalo Bills today, tying Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North. (Pittsburgh does, however, own the tiebreaker with the head-to-head record). Playoffs still seem to be on the horizon, but nothing is as safe as the Steelers thought it was a month ago.