May 21, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley (56) participates in drills during organized team activities at the UPMC Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Today is the last day of this Organized Training Activity.  The Steelers will be back at after the Memorial day Weekend.

The Steelers continue to post interviews from some of the players.  Heath Miller patiently told reporters that he didn’t have any answers for when he would play.  I’m sure he is tired of the questions, but his presence on the field will be missed and we can only hope he comes back at 100%.  Ed Bouchette, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, gives his take on the interview and notes:

The knee is a funny thing, especially when the torque of playing football on it rips apart three different ligaments. It happened to Miller in the next-to-last game of 2012 when the anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments tore in his right knee.”

Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review looked at Heath Miller’s status and discussed how the Steelers did not pressure Miller to return by drafting a tight end:

Despite the importance of Miller in the Steelers’ offense — he had a team-high 71 catches and eight touchdowns while making the Pro Bowl last season — their only move to at least temporarily replace him was to re-sign Matt Spaeth. They did not draft a tight end.”

I don’t entirely agree with Robinson’s assessment.  Yes, the Steelers are a loyal team.  The best current example is that they haven’t outright released Sean Spence even though he isn’t ready to come back and start training yet.  However, the Steelers did pad their depth at the tight end position by signing Zack Pianalto and resigning David Johnson.  Heath Miller means a lot to this franchise, but they acknowledge they might need a different player at that position with some added depth if Miller isn’t 100% for the whole season.

LaMarr Woodley also stopped to answer reporters questions.  He answered multiple questions about the “anonymous person” in the locker room and how he felt about the comments.  When asked if he was in good shape this year, he gave a tongue-in-cheek response:

I’ve got to talk to the anonymous person about that. They have all the answers. Whoever the anonymous person was, we have to find him and ask him about that.”

Alan Robinson offers his perspective on Woodley and his approach to this year.  Woodley faces a lot of scrutiny because his productivity is down over the last two years.  Personally, I think the reporters need to let the “anonymous person” go.  They have their soundbites from Woodley.  Let’s let Woodley speak on the field.  Steelers’ fans want to see the familiar Woodley side-kick when he makes a sack a few more times this season.  It is probably too much to hope to see it during every game, but I hope that Woodley’s goal.

Isaac Redman showed up at the OTAs 10 pounds lighter, according to Mark Karboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.  Redman worked out with a speed and agility specialist over the off season.   With the changes in how the teams can work out the players, the players have to take more responsibility for their off-season conditioning and how they show up at the training activities.  I like that Redman gave it so much effort.  I think some players aren’t as motivated or don’t understand that they can’t just show up, walk onto the field and play at a high level.  Redman feels he put in the right effort during the off season and looks to prove it on the field.  That’s what I like to hear!

Mike Florio, of the NBC’s Pro Football Talk, has been heading up the network’s Mount Rushmore nominations.  I hadn’t seen anything about this before until he did an assessment of the nominations from the Steelers.   He noted that the Steelers have a lot of nominations and that it is impossible to narrow the list down to 12 let alone to 4.  I completely agree.  Just from the Steel Curtain era alone, there are tons of great nominations.  If you want to take a look at all the nominations and possibly add some, go here.  The results are going to be announced during one of their shows in June.

That’s it for today.  What do you think Steeler Nation?  What do you think is the most positive aspect from this first OTA?  Sound off!

Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heathe Miller (83) runs after a catch against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dan Connor (52) at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

When Heath Miller tore all three ligaments in week 16 against the Bengals, the hearts in all of Steeler Nation came to a complete stop. Not only did the Steelers lose that game, in turn knocking them out of the playoffs, they also lost their 2012 team MVP to a terrible knee injury.

After catching 8 touchdown passes last season, Heath Miller was elected to his first pro bowl. As a big fan of Heath Miller, I knew the potential Miller had to catch a boatload of touchdowns, but never did I envision Heath Miller to be the Steelers offense last season.

When Todd Haley had his introductory press conference, he only mentioned one name specifically that he was thrilled to work with, and that name was Heath Miller. The moment I heard Haley talk about Miller, I knew we were going to see a big season out of Heath. Miller fit perfectly the supposed “dink and dunk” offense that Todd Haley runs. The short yardage game is perfect for Miller since he is so big and strong. 71 catches later, Heath Miller became a vital part of the offense, something that Bruce Arians failed to do. I think the funniest thing is, the Steelers offense was its best in 2011 when it ran a short passing offense against the Titans and Patriots. But for some reason, Arians just did not want to use Miller.

Many people will tell you “Steelers are in trouble without Wallace.” I can honestly tell you I am more scared of life without being able to yell “HEATH” every game. Not only was Heath Miller a favorite target for Roethlisberger, he was also a fantastic in line blocker and personal protector. When you loose an entire package like Heath Miller, it takes away a dimension of your offense.

Kevin Colbert has been quoted numerous times saying that there is no time able for Millers return. For a while, I felt like Heath Miller was destined for the PUP list. One small unnoticed thing changed my mind. No, I don’t the Steelers are lying that they don’t have a good time frame, but I believe they figure to have Miller back soon enough. I thought at first Miller’s chances of playing a lot this year were very small, but when the Steelers didn’t draft any tight ends, I knew the front office had to have some faith that Miller would not miss more than a couple of games at the most.

After Miller’s surgery in January on his knee, Miller has been said to be walking jut fine without crutches or any assistance. At the point of the reports that came out, it was also said he was working on lifting lighter weights. While Miller is not there quite yet physically, he is a lot closer than some would be at this point.

Now say in theory, Heath MIller is the starting tight end come week 1 against the Titans. As great as that would be, we couldn’t expect him to just continue on right away where he left off. Even the great Adrian Peterson was eased into his starting role for the first couple games. At the age of 31, Heath Miller also isn’t as able to return to form as say a 25-year-old. Who knows if Miller returns to form ever again. Most of us assume that after completely messing up his knee, that he will just hop back on the field and be Heath Miller again. There is a lot of guessing involved with this, but what I will say is don’t count Heath Miller out just yet. Ben Roethlisberger was quoted saying “if anyone could do it, it would be Heath.”

All we can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best, but we all know that to make a run at 7, we need Heath Miller on the field. A season after Adrian Peterson came back better than ever, myself, along with the rest of Steeler Nation hope that Heath can do the same.

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Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Tyler Eifert (80) catches a pass defended by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Dee Milliner (28) during the first half of the 2013 BCS Championship game at Sun Life Stadium. Credit: Eileen Blass-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, it was David DeCastro. Leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft, not many analysts had DeCastro getting out of the top 15, much less the top 20. When the Steelers drafted David DeCastro with the 24th pick, the Steelers, as well as their fans were overjoyed. David DeCastro was not supposed to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, but he is. Another man who isn’t supposed to be a Pittsburgh Steeler: Tyler Eifert. You will see numerous mocks that have the Steelers drafting Jarvis Jones, who is like the Donta Hightower last off-season. Most draft analysts thought Donta Hightower would be a Pittsburgh Steeler, which honestly would have been a great pick. The Steelers instead took DeCastro, who was a top 10 talent. Many teams passed on him mainly for one factor, his position. As the NFL has turned into more of a passing league, a nasty run blocking guard like DeCastro is undervalued. Like the guard position, tight ends are usually undervalued as well. If you ask most fans of teams picking in the top 20, drafting Tyler Eifert before pick 20 is “a reach.” On Mike Mayock’s (NFL Network) draft board, Tyler Eifert is one of the most well rounded prospects in this draft at 13 overall. Even when his team struggled against Alabama in the BCS Championship game, the former tight end of Notre Dame still had a solid showing. It says something to me when the top defense in the nation put their best defensive player, Dee Milliner, on Eifert the whole game. Against Milliner, Eifert came down with 6 impressive receptions against the talented corner. Throughout the season, Eifert showed countless times where he would make impossible catches, beating whoever tried to get in his way. He is physical, has incredible hands, and is too fast for linebackers to cover. Not that it matters that much what he ran at the combine, but it is still notable that he ran a 4.68, a very solid number for a man of his size and stature.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and his hat toured ESPN studios to discuss the locker room drama.

I’m taking a short break from my series of things which are ruining the NFL to weigh in on the dumpster fire that’s going on with the Steelers right now.  By now we’ve all heard the comments from the still unnamed Steelers player who called LaMarr Woodley out for being a scooch too hefty and not as productive this past season.  As uncharacteristic as that is, an anonymous quote from a Steeler bashing another Steeler, the fallout seems even worse.  The Steelers 2012 locker room has been exposed for having a lack of leadership, personal agendas, and overall dysfunction.  How did the Steelers turn into the New York Jets?  Can this be fixed?

The biggest excuse that was given as the reasoning behind why the 2012 Steelers were predicted to finish 3^rd in the AFC North was the void left in leadership positions without longtime Steelers Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, and James Farrior in the locker room.  That and they’re all old, which it seems like the Steelers have been called old for the past 5 years.  I and I know I wasn’t the only one, downplayed the “leadership issue” at the start of the season.  I never thought for one minute that a team that still had Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, and Heath Miller would have any issues with leadership.  I never thought they’d have issues in the locker room at all.  I thought that the whole idea was blown completely out of proportion because Ward, Smith and Farrior collectively hadn’t been on the field the past seasons due to injury or other reasons so how could their absence from the locker room cause any problems? Apparently I was all wrong.

Another cause of how this mess could have happened could be attributed to what Antonio Brown said this week was “certain” players being called out midseason for their contract issues citing Troy Polamalu as addressing other players by saying,

“It’s not about money or contract issues; it’s all about being together.”

Brown also stated the locker room was “different” than previous years.  While Antonio Brown was still unwilling to name names in referencing who was being called out for focusing on their contract issues it doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Mike Wallace’s hold out and impending realization that he’d be gone to free agency to the highest bidder at the end of the season, along with his uncharacteristic disappointing play, played a big part in the locker room dysfunction for the Steelers.  Think about the last time a high profile wide receiver for the Steelers held out during training camp for a long term contract.  Hines Ward held out in the summer of 2005 for a long term deal to allow him to retire as a Steeler and the Steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL that following February, as quite possibly one of the closest-knit teams the franchise ever had thanks to the collective effort to get “The Bus” back to Detroit to retire a champion.  This season we had Mike Wallace, part of the “Young Money Crew” holding out of signing his RFA tender during almost the entire training camp and therefore forfeiting his opportunity to negotiate with the Steelers for a long term deal considering the fact that the Steelers have a long standing rule of not negotiating contracts once the regular season begins.  Wallace reports to the team just before the season starts and has his worst statistical season of his career, partly due to not being targeted with the lack of deep balls thrown, but still not the kind of performance you’d think someone who thought they were underpaid would put forth.  Makes you wonder if he wasn’t targeted in the beginning of the season because he just wasn’t acclimated to Haley’s offense in time?  Was Wallace too concerned the entire season about his money that he never properly learned the new offensive scheme and therefore didn’t perform well enough in practice to have his number called in game situations?  Wallace reportedly turned down an estimated $50 million offer from the Steelers and I think he’s part of the reason the locker room was a mess this year.  The Steelers do not have a history of bringing their contract disputes into the locker room with them, that’s just not the way.  Call Woodley out all you want for getting fat and not performing after he got his contract but he sure as hell out performed his previous contract and never caused any kind of distractions while he was awaiting his deal.  It’s pretty clear that Wallace made “getting his money” a bigger priority than the team’s objectives.  Fortunately, if you can really call it that, Steeler Nation won’t have to worry about the Mike Wallace distraction for 2013 because even before free agency opens up he’s as good as gone.  If he turned down $50 million to stay with the Steelers and teams like the Miami Dolphins are willing to throw as much as $60 million at him, you can pretty much replace your #17 jerseys now.

So what’s a bigger problem for the Steelers, the fact that an anonymous player called Woodley out or the cavalcade of players going on talk shows now to talk about how crappy everyone was in the locker room this year?  Just this week Ryan Clark, Larry Foote, and Antonio Brown have all come out to talk about the locker room dysfunction.  First Clark called the anonymous player “a coward” on the NFL Network.  Then Larry Foote suggested that it might have been a coach rather than a player who made the comments, and Antonio Brown was all over ESPN on Wednesday to describe all the issues the Steelers had.  What the hell?  Who’s going on Dr. Phil then?  How did it get to this level in the first place?  I think when you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers and you finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs there are bound to be some issues that arise.  It’s way easier for the players to be a “brotherhood” when you’re winning than when you’re losing.

Ryan Clark takes part in the Steelers dysfunctional locker room world tour visiting the NFL Network.

Can the problems all be traced back to the head coach?  I have to admit I often defend the criticism of Mike Tomlin when it’s stated that he’s got a lack of control over the team, particularly when he’s compared to Bill Cowher, but this kind of unrest can only lead back to the head coach.  Tomlin either didn’t put the right message in the right player’s hands or didn’t give the players the direction they needed.  In some ways the Steelers are as old as people claim they are but in other positions they are relatively young, and quite possibly immature.  The “next man up” mantra has served the Steelers well for many seasons but this season not so much because the next man was often unprepared to fill the shoes of his predecessor.  The Steelers running back situation in it of itself was a dumpster fire this season and you had Rashard Mendenhall getting suspended one game for failing to show up for a game he wasn’t dressing for.  Tomlin was widely criticized for benching RB after RB during the monstrosity of a game that was Week 12 in Cleveland where everybody and their mother was putting the piggy on the ground but was he trying to start a fire in an otherwise ineffective group?  When you think of the Steelers lacking leadership, not only can you blame it on the head coach but you might as well blame it on the players you most expected to have stepped up in those leadership positions.  Ryan Clark is a very outspoken member of the team and did seem to step into a leadership role this season, his comments on the NFL network regarding the anonymous player ripping Woodley,
“That shows that this team that is normally close, you had the Joey Porters, the Alan Fanecas, just down the line, leader after leader, this team was close-knit.  It shows there is a fracture in that.  I think that is the most disappointing thing about that coming out.”

Kevin Colbert addressed the media on Thursday while attending the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.  He addressed the situation regarding anonymous sources,

“Whether you win a Super Bowl or finish 8-8, there is no 100 percent harmonious locker room.  I don’t care where it is.  I think it’s more likely to happen when you go 8-8, but quite honestly, I’m not concerned about our locker room.  Coach Tomlin and I have had the opportunity to speak to our players, sometimes more than once, since the season ended.  We have a very good finger on the pulse of where we stand from a team standpoint.  We’re comfortable with that.”

Bottom line is the Steelers having locker room issues like these is about as common as ESPN’s NHL coverage so it’s going to be blown out of proportion no matter what is going on but you’d think that some of these problems are going to take care of themselves.  The players’ comments basically point to Mike Wallace and Rashard Mendenhall being the biggest distractions in the locker room and neither are likely to be wearing the Black & Gold in 2013.  Ron Cook, of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, who initially reported the anonymous quotes, has said that the comments were made by more than one player and several coaches and not at all intended to demean or ridicule him but rather fire him up.  When it comes down to it, LaMarr Woodley’s gut was not the sole reason the Steelers went 8-8 last season and we all know that.  His lack of production and injury problems have definitely contributed to the Steelers pass rush being listed on milk cartons along with missing children but definitely wasn’t the only reason the Steelers missed the playoffs this year.  I feel like the Steelers need to straighten these issues out immediately, well as immediate as they can without even the 2013 roster being anywhere near set, but the very people making the comments bashing the anonymous player and describing the problems in the locker room are the ones that need to step up.  Antonio Brown might want to focus more on not putting the piggy on the ground and maybe not run backwards 20 yards into the endzone since he’s likely the Steelers #1 receiver now.  Steeler Nation expects a lot from their team and we know they expect a lot from each other.  There’s a simple solution to all of this drama and in lies in the immortal words of the dearly departed Crazy Al Davis; Just win Baby.

What are your thoughts, Steeler Nation?  Are you worried about the Steelers locker room problems spilling over into 2013?

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Heath Miller, an iron man for the Steelers could miss significant time in 2013. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Heath Miller will have surgery to repair what has been diagnosed as a torn ACL and MCL.  That’s another Steeler going down with a knee injury near the end of a season.  Knee injuries like this are brutal.  They are very difficult to come back from, and have been known to be career enders – just simply because recovery is so long and teams do not want to invest the amount of time and effort to get a player back.

It’s awful to see any player go down with an injury like this.  It’s even worse when it’s a Steeler.  It’s down right devastating when it’s someone as beloved as Heath Miller, and, well… someone who was so integral to any glimmer of success for the Steelers’ offense this season.  As is the tradition with any football player who succumbs to an injury such as this, there is a long road to full recovery ahead.  Now the knee jerk reaction would be to search for a free agent during the off season and pay up for a person who could start now.  Or, the other option would be to draft a top rookie who could also start now.  For the Steelers, neither one of those options would be ideal, and could quite frankly, send a ripple effect that the organization would be reeling from for years.

Heath has been an Iron Man for the Steelers since he was first drafted in 2005.  Out of 127 games, Heath has started/played in 124.  For a guy who plays as physically as he does and performs in role that he has on the offense, that’s quite a feat.  He pounds out the blocks and lowers the shoulder after ever catch he nabs.  It’s hard to find that kind of quality.  Finding a player like this in the draft or in FA would be costly to the Steelers and derail them of what will be the process of rebuilding this defense and reinforcing the offense.  I seriously doubt that GM Kevin Colbert has been scouting any TE’s lately.  Choosing to use a pick on a TE or spend big bucks for a player with Heath’s caliber will more than likely prevent them from moving in a significant direction in the linebacker, safety, and defensive line positions.  It’s that much of a game changer.  But, I don’t think the team needs to be that drastic…. yet.  NFL fans have seen two recent knee injury/return from knee injuries to use as a comparison as to how Miller’s situation might pan out.

Most notably, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson sustained almost the same exact injury as our dear Heath Miller.  He sustained that injury late last season and was thought to be shelved for a long time.  Not only did AP start in Week 1, he came ‘this close’ to breaking the single season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson back in 1984.  (I say ‘this close’ because, even though he’s been tearing it up week after week, I doubt he will get over 280 yards on Sunday).  There are several things playing into Peterson’s amazing comeback: skill, fortitude, and heart.  Peterson’s natural skill has not been compromised from this injury.  He knows when to cut and has great field vision.  That you don’t lose after an injury like this.  The combination of his fortitude (now proven) and his heart (always evident) has gotten him to this point in the 2012 season.  Physically he is built to recover, we’ve seen that now 16 weeks into the season.  His heart has taken him the extra distance to get the fullest recovery he can – which turns out to be 100% (or better???).

On the other side of this coin there is Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall suffered an ACL tear at the end of last season and took a long time to recover.  He did not play in a game until Week 5, was out from Weeks 7-10, was back for two weeks, and then out again for another two.  He came back last week and had limited action against the Bengals.  Just like Peterson, there are three things that attributed to Mendenhall’s less than desired comeback: skill, fortitude, and heart.  Mendenhall has always been questionable in the skill set.  His dancing ‘happy feet’ at the line of scrimmage has left him in some precarious spots and left him with little or no gains on numerous run plays.  He has (had) speed, but did not use it often by not being able to decidedly bounce outside quickly enough.  We’ve witnessed now that perhaps physically he is not built to sustain that kind of injury and recover 100%.  That just happens sometimes – the body gets broken and doesn’t fully recover.  We’ve also been able to witness the lack of heart Mendenhall has when it comes to playing football for the Steelers – nothing more blaring as an example as his suspension a few weeks ago.  All of these factors have left him vulnerable in a contract year and more than likely shopping for another team with just 45 carries, 163 yards, and a 3.6 average in 2012.  Honestly, I would not be surprised if Mendenhall is done for good in the NFL.  However, some lower level team desperate for a running back might just take a chance on him.

Miller has the chance to fall somewhere between Mendenhall and Peterson.  More than likely, it will be a heavy lean on the Peterson’meter because Miller has a much larger advantage than Mendenhall did in those three key areas:  skill, fortitude, and heart.  Miller is one of the best players at his position.  He is incredibly underrated in the league, and I don’t need to tell anyone in Steeler Nation just how awesome this guy really is. We’ve seen with his style of play that he can take a huge punishment week after week and keep going.  He’s a big guy and is built to recover from stuff like his knee injury.  And lastly, Miller has a ton of heart.  There is no question down after down, game after game, season after season that this guy loves what he does, and he loves playing for the Steelers.  Those three things quite possibly could drive him back to a full 100% recovery from such a brutal injury.

Will he excel like Peterson has since his own return?  Maybe not that magnificently, but you can expect Miller to be back in 2013 starting and racking up numbers like he did in 2012.  The question then becomes, ‘When?’  That answer is still lodged in the murkiness of scopes, rest, and training.  But, I think that the Steelers will have some sense as to where he is in his recovery progress before the draft nears.  That gives them 4 months to assess where they are with Heath.  I really don’t think the Steelers will spend an early draft pick on Miller, and I certainly don’t expect them to try and pick up a free agent.  There’s no FA in the league this offseason who can meet the level of Miller – at that is the litmus they need to compare any player.

No no, my friends of Steeler Nation.  Rest easy this offseason.  Heath Miller will be back in 2013 lining up on that line of scrimmage…. right where he belongs.