As most of us unfortunately remember, Miller’s career-year ended when he tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL on a routine-play late in that game.  Tearing three knee ligaments is downright scary, and many have recently questioned whether or not Heath will be ready to line up and start for the Steelers in Week 1 this September.

Even if he somehow returns for “Opening Weekend,” the tight end’s injury and lack of offseason reps could still limit his productivity over the course of the 2013 regular season.  Thus, if Miller is hobbled or even forced to the bench, then Pittsburgh will need their depth at the position to find ways to help to replace him in the aggregate through their run-blocking and pass-catching.

So like it or not “Steeler Nation,” but at least two of these three players will need to pick up the slack if Pittsburgh’s Pro Bowl tight end is not 100% this fall.

Matt Spaeth

As a blocker, I am not too worried about Spaeth stepping in for Miller for an extended period of time.  The veteran has the size (6’7″ 270 lbs.) and experience to capably fill in for the Pro Bowl tight end in that area of the game.  Unfortunately, Spaeth has never been an effective weapon as a pass-catcher at the professional level.

During his first stint in Pittsburgh, Spaeth snagged only 36 catches for 275 yards and five touchdowns as he played second-fiddle to Miller over that span.  Overall, the 2007 3rd round pick averaged nine grabs for 68 yards during his first four years in the league before he signed with Chicago as a free agent in the spring of 2011.

With Chicago, Spaeth was used as more of a “tackle eligible” than a tight end as he was more or less a non-factor in the Bears’ passing attack.  Matt recorded a total of 13 catches for 78 yards and three touchdowns during the last two seasons, and the Bears eventually made him expendable after they inked Martellus Bennett this past spring.

I am fine with Spaeth as a number two/blocking tight end in Pittsburgh’s offense who can chip in during red zone and short yardage situations. But if his career-production (or lack thereof) is any indication, Matt is not the type of pass-catching threat for an offense to rely on and target heavily on a week to week basis.  Nevertheless, the former Golden Gopher’s experience, as well as the lack of experienced depth behind him, will probably give him an inside track to step in for Miller if the Pro Bowler is unable to play.

David Paulson

Paulson, Spaeth and Johnson must play well if Miller cannot suit up for an extended period. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

David Paulson definitely intrigues me as he heads into his second year in the league, and I am interested to see how well that he challenge Spaeth for playing time this summer.  The 2012 7th round pick was considered by many to be a bit of an afterthought behind Miller, Leonard Pope and Weslye Saunders, and it looked as if the former Oregon Duck was headed to the practice squad for the entirety his rookie campaign.

Paulson however played well enough to force the team to release Saunders, but he even made his way onto the 53-man roster last year.  Heck, by the end of last year, the then-rookie had eclipsed Pope as the team’s number two tight end on the depth chart.  Overall, David made seven catches for 51 yards and gained much more experience than most people thought that he would have during his first year in the league.

Pleasant surprise last season notwithstanding, Paulson is still a bit skinny for the position (6’4″ 246 lbs.) and his blocking at the point of attack definitely needs work.  Nevertheless, he does have the hands and athletic ability to be a threat in the passing game, and that is definitely something that the Steelers will need more of this year if Miller is unable to suit up for an extended period.

Even though Paulson will likely make the 53-man roster again this fall, the pressure will now be on him to improve and beat out the veteran Spaeth for playing time behind and alongside Miller.  With Miller unfortunately sidelined for now, David has a perfect opportunity to play his way into more time on the offensive side of the ball.

David Johnson

David Johnson is a bit of a “wild-card” at the tight end position for the Steelers.  Although Johnson (6’2″ 260 lbs.) was more or less of a tight end during his first three years with Pittsburgh, he was working as the team’s fullback last year until an ACL injury ended his season during the first week of the preseason.

The ultimate “insult” to Johnson’s injury was the fact that his replacement, Will Johnson, performed quite well during his rookie campaign.  In fact, the starting fullback job should be Will’s to lose over the summer, and I for one am excited to see how well that the former West Virginia Mountaineer can play in year two of his career.  If the Steelers elect to go with only one fullback during the 2013 campaign, then David’s best chance of making the team could be as a backup tight end once again.  And with only Spaeth and Paulson in front of him, the task is definitely doable for the soon-to-be fifth-year h-back.

David showed marked improvement over his first three years in the league, and he finally appeared ready to break-out in 2012 after a career year (12 catches, 91 yards, one touchdown) in 2011.  Of course for Johnson to leap-frog over Paulson and Spaeth at tight end, he will have to hold his own as an “in-line” blocker.  Still, Johnson could be a “wild-card” to make the roster this fall, and he will definitely be someone to watch during the preseason period to see exactly where he fits in Haley’s offense.

Final Thoughts

Many believed that Pittsburgh’s brass would target a tight end in April of this year’s draft.  But Colbert & Co. elected not to take one in the draft’s seven rounds, and they did not sign one as a UDFA either.  Thus, it certainly appears that Steelers’ brass either have confidence that Miller will return to the team at 100% by the time the season begins, or they are just that confident that one or more of the trio of Spaeth, Paulson and Johnson will be able to step in and help for an extended period of time.

I for one question how well that Pittsburgh’s offense can function without Miller.  If he is sidelined, Ben Roethlisberger will be without his most sure-handed receiver, his safety-valve, and number one red zone pass-catching threat.  And that’s just what Miller can do as a pass-receiver!  Heath is one of the league’s most underrated tight ends when it comes to his ability to “in-line block” and even pass-protect as a side-car.

As much as I would like to see Miller in the lineup as soon as possible, his health is just too important for him to be rushed back before his knee is fully healed.  I just hope that one or two of Heath’s three backups can play well enough if he is forced to sit for an extended period.  Replacing 71 catches, 816 yards, and eight touchdowns in the statistical aggregate is a tough order for any offense to do.  But replacing solid blocking, a professional attitude and a veteran presence in addition to those numbers are entirely different matters altogether.

Otherwise, Pittsburgh’s offense will probably sputter even more than they did last year.

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Help us Will Johnson, you're our only hope. Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

Steelers FB… or was it TE/FB… or just TE… whatever, #85 David Johnson is more than likely done for the season after Marcus Gilbert was pushed down and fell on Johnson’s leg in the preseason opener against the Eagles.  So now what?  Johnson in my opinion was a rather underrated player on the offense.  His improvement over the course of the season far exceeded most on the team.  His receiving stats were never anything to drool over (which would be the case for anyone if they aren’t thrown to often), but his blocking improved late in the season.  He somehow found that extra step to get infront of a blocker and figured a way to get a bit lower on a running play in order to get a little more leverage on his assignment.  Even though Tomlin backpedaled a bit by announcing that David Johnson wasn’t solely a fullback, he was sure to have a promising season at the fullback spot.  Such is the way in the NFL.

Fret not my fellow citizens.  There is hope yet in someone other than Ashely, who will be consistently that up close and personal with Big Ben’s big keister.  Much like Master Yoda telling Luke that there’s another Skywalker to bring hope to the Rebellion and the universe, so to am I here to tell all of you that there’s another Johnson that could be exactly the answer at fullback for the Steelers.

Will Johnson, who just so happens to be already on the Steelers roster (for now) could be exactly what the Steelers need.  W. Johnson is a pure fullback who was just signed to the Steelers in March.  W.J.’s story is a bit of an interesting one.  He graduated from WVU in 2010/11 but went undrafted.  Once the lockout ended, he pretty much was lost in the shuffle of all the other players out there who usually get signed to something during a very long off-seasonal period.  W.J. stayed in shape all year long by continuing to train in WV.  He attended the Pro Day at WVU and was reported to have greatly impressed Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert – benching 225 lbs. 30 times will do that.  He impressed enough that he was signed and began workouts with the team once OTA’s started.

While our former hero, D.J., gobbled up most of the time in camp, W.J. has been showing that he is a consistent and versatile back.  Maybe he hasn’t been stellar enough to shake up positional battles at camp – 4 TE’s and a TE/FB to battle it all out-  but he was certainly bound to make the practice squad.  Now that D.J. is bound for the IR, all hope at a Todd Haley fullback is placed in Will Johnson.  He’s strong, has good technique.  He’s a bit on the tall end at 6′-2″ for the position, but has pretty good hands for a back and is very athletic.

The focus as of now has been the short game for the offense, and until we see more of Haley’s offensive scheme as the preseason progresses we may not really know if W.J. and his skills are a good match.  We will all witness this in the coming weeks right up to the season opener.  The TE battle has certainly cleared up and now the fullback questions is all but answered with W.J. needing to fill the role.  I don’t think not having a true fullback is an option for Haley’s offense, so something needs to happen there.

I’m pulling for the guy.  I hope he can fit in the offense and mature quickly or the offense could be as disappointing as having to kiss your twin sister…..

Even Tomlin had some things to smile about last night. Either that or his dinner was still stuck in his teeth. Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

There was some good, some bad and one big ugly to the Steelers preseason opener against the Eagles on Thursday night.  If you thought after last night’s comeback by the Eagles that the season is already at a loss – you need to get your head examined.  There was much to take away from a game like that – many things were learned and the coaches are sure to know where the focus needs to be for the next several weeks.  And let’s face it, it’s not like Todd Haley was going to show his full bag o’ tricks to a team that he will see later in the regular season.  Even Roethlisberger said that offense was a bit ‘vanilla.’

The best play of the night by far came from future rookie sensation, Chris Rainey.  His 57-yard touchdown from a swing pass was a great catch and run.  His returns were promising too.  This kid is going to go places while with the Steelers and it will be fun to watch.  The offense seemed effective but still needs to shake off the Red Zone blues – how about that 1st and Goal that resulted in 3 points? – and the defense showed some glimpses of what it might be capable of – especially Steve McLendon’s progression during the offseason.

There were some bad and ugly associated with the game to, as is to be expected in the preseason.  The Steelers’ rookie lineman had a bit of a rough night.  DeCastro was fairly quiet for most of the night, but Mike Adams got the brunt of the bad night blues.  Letting up 2.5 sacks – two of which were sack fumbles – Adams was slow to the edge and was beaten more than those two times.  He injured his right knee in the process of recovering a fumble, but reports say that it isn’t very serious.  Seems bad to me if a rookie lineman that’s expected to start can’t practice when he needs to.  The second and third team defenses allowed a comeback from a second and third team offense.  So, the older and slower and more done guys did better than the young’ins.

The ugly occurred when David Johnson suffered a major knee injury when Marcus Gilbert rolled up on his leg.  Ouch.  It looked bad and early reports are he could be done for the season.  So much for having a fullback.  Johnson looked promising as the 2011 season came to a close, and there have been bright spots early in the preseason training sessions – which is one reason why I think Tomlin may have announced that Johnson could be playing his dual role at TE/FB prior to the injury.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and depending on how things shake out after Wesley Saunder’s suspension, this could be Johnson’s final game in a Steelers uniform.

Well Steeler Nation, you’ve read numerous articles.  You’ve watched the news.  You’ve gone back and perhaps looked at some replays of the game.  What are your opinions of Thursday’s game?  Is the offense starving for a Mike Wallace return?  Is Chris Rainey going to be the newest sensation on the Steelers?  What’s the over/under on Roethlisberger’s sack total for the season?  I wanna hear it from you.

David Johnson faces off against Steven Sylvester at camp. Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

When the Steelers signed Leonard Pope to a contract during the offseason and then drafted David Paulson in the draft, I was pretty certain that David Johnson would be named the team’s fullback.  He was… but then Mike Tomlin pulled a bit of the ol’ switcharoo when announced that Johnson would be back at playing his dual role as FB/TE.  And, with that announcement brings even more uncertainty to an already crowded position for the Steelers.

The Steelers haven’t had a ‘real’ fullback since Dan Kreider in 2007.  Underutilized with the arrival of Bruce Arians, Kreider was quickly dismissed and was picked up by the Rams and then finished his career in Arizona.  David Johnson joined the team as a 7th rounder in 2009.  Johnson quickly began playing a dual role as TE and FB.  Seemingly a better blocker after getting a head of steam, Johnson appeared more comfortable in the FB position.  In May of this year, the coaching staff said that Johnson would be playing fullback in the upcoming season.  That was good news for Johnson, and I for one was excited for the change.  I liked Johnson – quiet but a continually hard worker throughout the season – and did not want to see him fall victim to elimination by numbers.

It only took less than three months of a few OTA’s, mini-camps and two weeks of camp for Johnson to get moved back to the dual role.  Ok so it’s not 100% official, but Tomlin said that Johnson would be taking significant reps at TE when the team returned from Philly.  I don’t think this is ‘bad news’ for Johnson.  I’m sure he’s been doing just fine at FB.  I think what it really means is that this is code from Tomlin stating that he’s not happy with his other tight ends.  Putting Johnson back at TE puts pressure on the others already there – would the team really carry 4 TE’s or more?  Doubtful.

So who’s the one not stepping up?  Heath Miller?  Are you kidding?  Newly acquired Leonard Pope?  Suspended Wesley Saunders?  Or is the rookie, David Paulson, out of Oregon already blowing it?  My money is on the uncertainty of Saunders state of readiness when he returns from a four game suspension.  He was an undrafted FA last season and had yet to really impress.  He could be on a short leash when he returns.  The team may be getting Johnson ready for the possibility of playing TE either until Saunders returns, or that Saunders absence becomes a permanent one.  David Paulson is probably safe for at least this year until he can develop during his rookie season.  Leonard doesn’t seem to be the right choice in this mix of ‘who’s it gonna be?’ because he’s come straight from Todd Haley’s system over in Kansas City.

I still believe that Johnson will ultimately get to play FB and only FB for the majority of the season.  The Steelers, as in Steeler fashion, are just doing a bit of CYA in case they can’t get three strong TE’s within the first few weeks of the season.

David Johnson (left) will be doing much more of this in the seams in 2012. Credit: Jason Bridge-US PRESSWIRE

We all knew there were going to be changes, some drastic, when Todd Haley took command of the Steelers offense. And though I wouldn’t list this one as ‘drastic,’ I will categorize the recent revelation as ‘big.’  David Johnson will be playing the fullback slot fulltime.

David Johnson can stop taking the Haloperidol (look it up) and concentrate on having one job and one job only – fullback.  No more of this tight end business.  No more of trying to remember where to line up each snap – behind Ben’s butt or next to Gilbert?  I’m still not sure whether or not this will be a good move for Johnson, but I do like what this move means in the big picture of Steelers football.  Let’s talk about Dave, first.

Johnson took a fourth of his snaps in the fullback position last season.  The rest, he was either lined up at the line on the left or right side, or off the line in those ‘jumbo’ packages.  So, he’s no stranger to the fullback position.  He was, however, really starting to get good at being that 2nd TE the Steelers like liked to utilize in their running game (the BA running game).  Johnson could block well right off the snap, and aside from a few case of the dropsies, he started catching the ball better than he did his first two seasons.  Seemed like Johnson was settling in well, and prior to BA’s firing retirement, it appeared that Johnson was well on his way at becoming a dependable tight end and move away from the fullback spot.

New OC Todd Haley’s new offense utilizes the fullback as a much bigger role than previous coordinators’ schemes did for the Steelers.  It was rumored back in March that this was going to happen, and with the official move of Johnson to the FB slot rumor has become truth.  Ahh the good ol’ days of Dan Kreider.  Where art thou?  But not so fast my lead blocking lunatics.  I wouldn’t expect Haley’s fullback to be a fullback in the traditional sense.  Sure, Johnson will be lead blocking out of the backfield and put some stank on that first hit in the hole or crease.  But that’s not the only thing he’ll be doing.

In Kreider’s eight seasons with the Steelers the most catches he had in a single season were 18.  I have a feeling that Johnson will have more than 18 catches in 2012.  And, if he doesn’t, it’s not because Big Ben didn’t throw him the rock.  Haley loves to use running backs as receivers coming out of the back field – screen, slant, pitch, it doesn’t matter.

The big question I have for Johnson is – will he be able to block coming out of the backfield.  As I stated earlier, he got pretty good locking up defenders when starting from the line of scrimmage, but how will that 260lb (as of last season) frame consistently make it to the hole and hit that blitzing LB so that Redman can get to the 2nd level of the defense?  We’ll know more come training camp.  I for one feel pretty good about this move.  Johnson can stay focused on position and excel at it.  Haley’s taking a bit of a risk using Johnson.  There were some other mainstay FB’s free agents out there.  Salary cap or lack of confidence in the pool of FA’s – not sure why they stuck with Johnson.  But, they did and his success will play a large in part in Haley’s overall success in his first year as the Steelers new OC.