The Steelers Linebackers. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned This Week in the NFL Offseason:

• Steelers name new WR Coach
• Longtime minority Steelers owner Rita McGinley passes away at 94
• Franchise Tags will be handed out this week
• Steelers Linebackers in question

The Steelers offseason has been busy so far not just with the impending salary cap hell we’re about to get into once the league’s 2013 year officially starts but also with having to replace position coaches.  First was the offensive line coach as Sean Kugler left the Steelers for the head coaching job at UTEP and after Scottie Montgomery left the wide receiver coaching for Duke, the Steelers were left with their 3^rd position coach to hire for this offseason.  Tomlin selected Aliquippa native Richard Mann to coach their wide receiving corps.  Mann has a tall order ahead of him as the Steelers WR corps is about to get awful thin once free agency begins and Wallace signs with whatever team offers him the biggest pile of money.

The Steelers ownership has always been about family.  The Rooney family have been the majority owners the entire 80 years of the franchise and in 1946 shares of the team were sold to the McGinley family when then minority owner Bert Bell left the Steelers to become NFL Commissioner.  Imagine that for a second, a commissioner that used to own part of the Steelers.  What a wonderful, magical thing that would be.  Ok back on track.  Sadly, the Steelers family lost one of its original members this week as Rita McGinley passed at the age of 94.  McGinley was originally from Braddock, Pa and has loved the Steelers the majority of her life.  She often made it out to the games at Heinz Field and was even at training camp in Latrobe as recent as last year.  McGinley was most known for her love of the Steelers and for her charitable contributions in the city of Pittsburgh.  Steelers president Art Rooney II commented on McGinley,

“She was an all-around great lady who was extremely generous with her time and financial wherewithal.  Many organizations benefited from her generosity down through the years.  She was a wonderful person and someone we will miss very much.”

As we inch closer to draft time and the free agency period many teams are gearing up to pass out franchise tags on the players they’d rather not have enter the free agency market.  Last season a record 21 teams tagged players and the speculation is that the number of teams tagging players will be high this year as well.  The Steelers most likely won’t be tagging anyone as they’re already in over their heads with the salary cap situation and the only viable choice to tag would be Mike Wallace and that wouldn’t be very smart considering how much that tag would end up costing as well as the fact that Wallace could very well hold out again if tagged as he’s made it no secret he’s after a long term deal.  The franchise tag guarantees that other teams cannot negotiate with that particular player, but also gets them the average of the top salaries for that position.  The Ratbirds will most likely tag Joe Flacco in their process of eventually signing him to whatever long-term deal they’re going to overpay him for.  Along with franchise tagging, scouting combines, and free agency beginning teams are also starting to release veterans.  Already the Colts have announced that longtime pass rusher Dwight Freeney, who is an UFA, will not be pursued by the team and the Green Bay Packers have released Charles Woodson, their longtime CB.  Won’t just be the Steelers having to make difficult decisions to part ways with players you’d never expect to put on a different uniform.

This week the Steelers Linebacker corps came into question as a story was leaked that James Harrison is not interested in taking a pay cut in order to remain with the Steelers as well as some “anonymous” quotes from inside the Steelers locker room knocking the training and efforts but forth by LaMarr Woodley.  First off, when did we turn into the Jets?  An anonymous player?  Really?  We’re better than that aren’t we?  Actually, it’s not that hard to imagine the locker room in some kind of turmoil considering that’s what an 8-8 season will get you.  No one complains if you’re winning.  As far as James Harrison, I’ll believe he’s not willing to take a pay cut when he says it directly, or when he’s signing with another team.  Harrison is going to be about a $5 million salary cap this year if nothing is done with his contract.  He has had some injury issues but was about a zillion times better than his LB counterpart, LaMarr Woodley last season.  Two seasons ago Woodley signed a six year $61.5 million contract and has amassed less than a half dozen sacks and gone up probably two or three pant sizes in the period since.  Since signing his contract, Woodley has been plagued by hamstring, groin, and ankle injuries, which are injuries most commonly attributed to bad training.  I’m not one to ever question a players effort but it’s just too easy to take shots at the tubby Woodley after signing that giant contract and playing and looking how he has the past 2 seasons.  The Steelers are stuck with Woodley’s contract but hopefully not his gut if he can finally turn it around and go back to being the terror on QB’s he once was.

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Art Rooney II weighs in on his opinions of the 2012 Steelers Season. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Frustrated.  That seems to be the consensus all over Steeler Nation in regards to our emotions about the 2012 season.  This week Steelers President Art Rooney II made his first public comments about the Steelers 8-8 season and the future of the franchise.   The frustration keeps on going, too.  From the 2012 draft class that amounted to mostly injuries and arrests to an offense that could never seem to get on the same page.  The missed opportunities on defense and the impending salary cap issues will continue to cause frustration for the front office and fans alike.

Last season Rooney startled everyone when he stated in his post-season interview that he though Roethlisberger needed to “tweak” his game in order to prevent him from injuries.  Then of course he went on to announce the “retirement” of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians starting the sh** storm that still seems to be swirling around the team’s OC position as inconclusive reports on whether or not current OC Todd Haley has interviewed for a head coaching position in Arizona came out this week.  Rooney stated that he believes both Tomlin and Haley did a good job this season and expressed confidence in both coaches going forward.  For all the unnecessary drama that followed Haley and Ben during their first season together, none of it would have been as bad as it was if Rooney hadn’t of handled the transition of Arians to Haley so poorly.  Whether the majority of Steeler Nation wants to admit it or not, the best thing moving forward for the Steelers offense would be for Haley to continue to be able to implement a system in which Ben is protected more and his offensive weapons talents are maximized.  It’s obvious that didn’t get a chance to fully develop this season, with Ben still missing games due to injury and coming back a shell of his first half of the season-self.

What offensive weapons will Ben have in the next season?  Rooney also spoke about the salary cap issues that have presented themselves for the 2013 season.  The Steelers are projected to be roughly $10 million over the projected cap of $121 million with just about 30 players under contract.  Rooney would not discuss which players he thinks will be salary cap casualties and which will be asked to restructure as he stated that Tomlin was still in the process of evaluating the players.  Rooney stated in regards to the salary cap,

“We’re tight, similar to where we’ve been the past few years.  We’ve got work to do there.  That will be one of the challenges of this offseason, really trying to figure out how we’re going to put this jigsaw puzzle back together.”

Another topic Rooney tackled in his interview was the turnover situation.  The Steelers defense couldn’t create any and the Steelers offense couldn’t stop turning the ball over.  That’s a combination that will certainly secure a team’s fate of not playing any games in January.  While the Steelers defense ended the season with the overall #1 ranking in the league, that ranking only relates to yards allowed as the defense ranked 25^th overall in takeaways with 20 on the season.  The Steelers offense, on the other hand, coughed up the ball 30 times, most of those seemingly coming in that disaster of a game in Cleveland in Week 12.  In my humble opinion, the turnovers are going to haunt me the most this offseason.  With all the criticism of the offense, the lack of consistent rushing game, the defense not getting enough sacks or turnovers, and questionable discipline problem leading to ridiculous amounts of penalties and missteps made, the Steelers still had a chance to control their own destiny, still had a chance to make it into the playoffs until Ben threw that interception in overtime against the Bengals in Week 16.

In the midst of Rooney making his end of the season review, the Steelers unfortunately became the first team with an offseason arrest with RB Chris Rainey getting arrested in Gainesville, FL for domestic battery.  Rainey was almost immediately waived by the Steelers in response.  This brings the draft class of 2012 to a new low with their third round pick Alameda Ta’amu having been arrested during the season for a multitude of charges involving a DUI on the South Side.  Ta’amu wasn’t immediately waived like Rainey was and there seems to be no consistency involving the treatment of the two situations unless of course you take into account the fact that Rainey had already had a history of issues with domestic violence while he was a student at UF.  The rest of the draft class included the #1 overall pick David DeCastro spending the majority of the season on IR and Mike Adams not lasting the entire season falling to injury as well.

So when will this frustration go away?  We have yet to even scratch the surface of what this offseason will bring for the Steelers.  It remains to be seen whether or not Haley will return as OC or will be accepting a head coaching position elsewhere, there will be a search for a new OL coach along with potentially a new Special Teams coach, not to mention the news that Omar Khan might be on his way out as well with an interview for the GM position with the Jets.  There’s another change, well not necessarily a change as much as a return, for the Steelers this offseason.  Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney has relinquished his position as United States Ambassador to Ireland and will presumably return to the Steelers organization.  How much affect the 80 year old Rooney will have over the football operations remains to be seen.  The offseason is frustrating already for those of us who live and breathe for the Black & Gold.  Especially when it’s longer than it was expected to be.  Here’s hoping the front office can make the right moves this offseason to prevent some of the frustrations of the 2012 season from repeating themselves in 2013.

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Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (left) talks with Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II prior to the game at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

I read some of the comments that Art Rooney II made about the Steelers 2012 season and initially felt irritated that he was starting to lean toward the Jerry Jone’s style of ownership. I’ve been wondering just how the firing/hiring of the offensive coordinator was handled last year and it probably leads me to jump on comments a little quicker. After I read the actual article, I realized he was responding to reporters’ questions and not simply espousing his views about player and staff performance. However, that said, I thought his statements were meant to keep the media and Steeler Nation guessing about how he really felt and what direction the organization was heading.

When asked about the perception that there was a lack of discipline, he said he didn’t feel that was a problem but pointed to the poor turnover ratio. “When you’re on the negative side of the turnover ratio, most of those teams aren’t in the playoffs.” Well, I looked up the stats and the Steeler’s defense  turnover stats are about the same for this season and the previous five seasons. With the exception of a really great year in 2010, this hasn’t been the strong point for the defense. Why point it out now? Perhaps because someone in the media pointed it out and it’s a safe topic? If this is really a concern, why do you keep the same defensive coach year-after-year? Don’t think this is a knock on Dick LeBeau – it isn’t. This is just me wondering why Rooney picked this as a problem.

Courtesy of NFL.com, here are some of the Steeler’s turnover stats.

Steelers Defense Stats:

             2012            2011             2010            2009             2008           2007

Interceptions                 10                11                 48                12                  20                11

Forces Fumbles            15                10                 24                14                  12                25

Sacks                             37                 35                21                47                 51               36

Offense Stats

                        2012            2011           2010             2009             2008             2007

Interceptions            8                 15                9                  14                    15                14

Sacks                      30                42              43                  53                    49                  47

Turnover ratio         -10              -13             +17               -3                     +4                 +3

I don’t have the full fumble stats from Steeler’s RBs, and WRs, but they are substantial and contribute the largest amount to the negative turnover ratio.  Fumbles and dropped catches were rampant this year and spread among the offensive. Fumble-fingers Wallace needed some stick-em. Mendenhall was so overjoyed at being back on the field he figured that everyone would feel the same way and just get out of his way so he didn’t need to secure the ball. And those are just two of the offenders. Dwyer and Rainey had their share as did Antonio Brown. So the blame can be spread around for turnovers, but if you’re looking for something to fix do you get rid of all of everyone who fumbled? This year marked very low numbers for sacks on the Steelers QB as well as interceptions and it went to waste because of fumbles?

I see some of Rooney’s point, but does keeping the same coaches and expressing confidence in them help? (Rooney expressed full confidence in Todd Haley and Mike Tomlin.) Perhaps Rooney believes you have to give a coach more than one year to work miracles and I usually agree with that. However, something has to change. There has to be a meeting of the minds of Roethlisberger and Hayley and they need to buy into one another. Rooney has expressed support for both of them, but if they aren’t getting along well someone has to police the playground and figure it out. If the QB and the OC aren’t in sync, the attitude ripples across the defense. Yes, everyone needs to do their job and not worry about what is going on around them, but that isn’t reality. People are affected by what is going on around them.

Mr. Rooney also pointed to Ben’s injury as being a turning point in the season. I agree, but I’ll go back to my point from a previous blog of what did you do to prepare the team for potential injury to your first-string players? I don’t think they put much thought into it besides: “let’s try to design plays so Ben doesn’t get hit.” Well, ok Skippy, nice thought, but this is a violent league and he’s going to get hit. Now, go figure out a real back-up plan.

So, Rooney’s comments didn’t reveal anything to me and I honestly wondered if he borrowed from some of the sports pundits. The turn-over issue has been a constant question to LeBeau, Haley and Tomlin. I thought about searching for some of his phrases from among other articles, but decided that wasn’t worth the time. I support the Steelers whole-heartedly, but I’m left wondering what the Steelers believe they need to change for 2013. I don’t expect them to tell anyone. Things stay pretty close to the vest and I understand that. Just stop sounding a little like Jerry Jones, please Mr. Rooney.

One more thought: NicePickCowher already has a blog on Chris Rainey’s arrest and subsequent release. Here’s another example of someone given a second chance who failed to turn it around. It’s amazing how youth and emotions, one of the things we prize in football players, work against people. According to Alan Robinson’s article, there is more pending than just this arrest:

Last month, Rainey was issued a defiant trespass citation, a summary offense, after entering the Meadows Racetrack and Casino near Washington, Pa., on Dec. 2, the same day the Steelers beat the Ravens, 13-10, in Baltimore. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, a person can draw such a citation if that person agrees to stay away from a gaming center but returns.

Accordingly, the Steelers acted very quickly to release Rainey. It tells me that they don’t have a lot invested in him and his value was judged to be easily found somewhere else. He’s made poor decisions more than once. However, I find it hard to see him dismissed so quickly (before he has his day in court) when Roethlisberger wasn’t. I understand business and all that and I feel certain that Roethlisberger’s case came down to money. But, loyal fan or not, guilt or innocence aside, the Steelers have not handled everything about off-the-field activities in the same way:  zero tolerance. You either have no tolerance or you don’t and you either let the courts work or you don’t. Either way, good luck Chris Rainey – maybe the Cowboys or the Jets have a spot open.

Some excepts from Rooney’s statements to the press are courtesy of The Pittsburgh Tribune Review and Ed Bouchette’s Twitter feed.