Johnathan Franklin works out at the NFL Scouting Combine. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Gone are the days in the NFL of the big, bruising running back.  There’s not a Steeler fan on the planet that doesn’t love the sight of Jerome Bettis plowing through Brian Urlacher as if he was a tackling dummy but those days are long gone.  With the rule changes to the running backs’ ability to take on defenders with their heads up, to the Steelers tendency to lean towards smaller, faster backs now that Todd Haley is calling the plays; Steeler fans won’t be watching anyone like The Bus anytime soon.

Last season, the Steelers drafted Chris Rainey out of Florida for the backfield and although he possessed a ton of speed, he could fit in my purse.  Rainey had varying and inconsistent levels of success in the different packages he was put in for, including punt and kick return.  Rainey has since been released from the team due to his domestic violence incidents but it looks as though Todd Haley could be looking for his replacement in Johnathan Franklin out of UCLA.

Franklin is a 5’10” 205lb back out of UCLA who started 45 games and owns the school’s single-season rushing and career rushing records.  He followed in the footsteps of another small back, Maurice Jones-Drew from UCLA.  Franklin is described as a one-cut type of runner and has had some issues with ball security in his college career.  Most likely, the Steelers will be pursuing a running back in the 2^nd or 3^rd round, which is where Franklin is projected to be available.  Franklin might not be a starting-caliber running back, but the Steelers could still be in the process of signing a back like Ahmad Bradshaw and Franklin might be a good addition to add to the crew in terms of change of pace, and his possible kick return abilities.

We all know that great NFL running backs do not grow on trees and sometimes you can unearth a hidden gem in the later rounds of the draft like Tampa Bay did last season with Doug Martin.  If Haley likes his small backs, he had better have a better plan for them than he did last season.  I feel last year’s rushing game was one of the most crucial weaknesses of the overall offense.  Granted, the nonstop offensive lineman Tetris that seems to have to go on every friggin season does have a lot to do with the inconsistencies in the running game but I think one thing we can all agree on is that the Steelers do not have a franchise-type back on the roster right now and that’s something we’re not used to.

What do you think, Steeler Nation?  Would a back like Johnathan Franklin enhance the Steelers running game?

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Ray Lewis looking up to heaven following the Ravens 34-31 victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, or the ceiling of the Super Dome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned in the Super Bowl XLVII Weekend:

• Jerome Bettis snubbed from HOF for another year
• Adrian Peterson wins the Orange Peanut…MVP
• Ray Lewis talks murders before Super Bowl
• Lights go out in Super Bowl for everyone and then just for the 49ers

To all those Steeler fans that thought it would be better to root for the Ratbirds so that the 49ers wouldn’t tie the Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins, how’s that working out this morning?  Not as satisfying as you thought it would be maybe?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  The worst possible scenario for a Steelers fan has come true, the Ravens are the Super Bowl Champions and Joe Flacco is the MVP.  Ew.  Grab your big gulp of haterade and take some cheap shots with me.

Another Super Bowl weekend has passed and yet again the NFL’s 6^th all-time leading rusher has not been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Jerome was snubbed yet again in favor of a HOF class that included Warren Friggin Sapp as a first ballot HOF’er.  Nice connections with the NFL Network huh Sapp?  How on Earth Sapp is a first ballot HOF’er and not even Michael Strahan is I have no idea, but I can guess that Sapp is probably already having his bust appraised to be pawned to cover his debts.  The 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame class is as follows: Warren Sapp, Cris Carter, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen, and Bill Parcells.  The two senior selections were Curley Culp and Dave Robinson.

The NFL Honors awards show has gone the way of any typical awards show now for some reason.  It was held Saturday night and has finally settled the debate over the MVP for the league.  Adrian Peterson took home the award along with the award for Offensive Player of the Year.  Whoever was in charge of this shindig really dropped the ball by not presenting Peterson with an orange peanut for either of those awards.  That would have been comic gold.  Peyton Manning took home the NFL Comeback Player award and naturally the NFL Play of the Year was the Ravens converting the 4^th and 29 against San Diego.  So officially nothing has gone the way of Pittsburgh this sports year.  Some things have been self-inflicted and the rest just seems like we’re being punished for something doesn’t it?

The coverage of Ray Lewis and his last ride has been disgustingly constant like a bad case of diarrhea and the crescendo naturally was the Super Bowl.  Ray Lewis sat down with Shannon Sharpe for an interview prior to the Super Bowl on Sunday and for some reason decided to address the families of the murdered young men from that fateful night in Atlanta in 2000.  In what can be gathered from his otherwise mindless blubbering about God and his will, Lewis actually took the opportunity to inform the murder victim’s families that “God makes no mistakes.”  Seriously, he actually said that.  Also adding to the at the very least, insensitive comments Lewis said in response to how he would address the families who still hold him responsible for the slayings,

“If you knew, if you really knew the way God works, he don’t use people who commits anything like that for his glory.  No way.  It’s the total opposite.”

That makes sense.  Ray Lewis couldn’t have played a part in those murders because he’s now so Godly and God wouldn’t have let that happen if he was a murderer.  So that’s that I guess.  What an awful piece of vile trash to say something like that.  And that’s not the only Godly nonsense Lewis spewed during Super Bowl Sunday.  Naturally Lewis was for the most part invisible during the game because he rarely plays a part in any actual football plays anymore, but it still credited for half a million tackles in the playoffs.  Lewis is also taking credit for Jacoby Jones’ 108 kickoff return touchdown to start the second half.  Lewis said that he was told (by God presumably) to place his hands on Jones’ chest before the play and what followed was not by the skill of Jones or the missed tackles on the 49ers special teams, but the divine intervention brought on by Ray Lewis.  Awesome.

Thankfully for the 49ers, following that miraculous kickoff return touchdown the lights inexplicably went off in the Super Dome for a total 34 minutes.  The Ravens were holding onto a 22 point lead at the time and looked to be in total charge of the game.  In the first half Joe Flacco threw 3 touchdowns like it was nothing and Colin Kaepernick was off in his throws and running.  After the power was restored, the 49ers exploded on offense and defense scoring 17 unanswered points and forcing a Ray Rice fumble.  Unfortunately for the 49ers the refs’ purple was sticking out from under their jerseys the entire game.  I’m not saying the game was fixed, but it’s worth pointing out that of the total 7 penalties that were called in the entire game, 5 of them went against San Francisco.  The Ravens seem to be the only team that gets the benefit of defensive pass interference calls these days, which seems to cause their “just let Joe chuck it up in the air” offensive scheme to work so greatly.  Must to every Steeler fans dismay, Joe Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP and will now be paid an embarrassingly large amount of money this offseason by Baltimore to continue his “eliteness” for them for years to come.  If Flacco knows what’s good for him he’d be awful nice to his offensive line and wide receivers once he gets his big money because without them playing out of their minds and catching anything and everything almost in their reach, Flacco and the Ravens don’t get passed Indy in the first round.

Well, there you have it Steeler Nation, the 2012-13 NFL season is a wrap.  Stay tuned to Nice Pick Cowher all offseason long to fulfill all of your Steeler needs with undeniably thorough draft coverage by Dom, breaking news by Craig, offseason storylines by Lori, and smart ass remarks by yours truly.  Here We Go Steelers!

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Jerome Bettis will have to wait another year before he’ll get that gold jacket.

Boy it sure seemed like this year could be former Steelers Jerome Bettis year in being part of the Hall of Fame class.  Instead, the 6th leading rusher in the NFL gets passed up again as a finalist for the third year in a row.

I guess in consolation, for Bettis to get into the final 10 two times in a row is something to be proud of.  It’s promising too.  The first three years he’s been eligible he’s gotten this far.  Steeler Nation can only hope that Bettis keeps chipping away at the hearts of the writers (who are a bunch of fatty fatties lame ducks mind you).  The stats seem like he should be there.  Bettis was with the Steelers for ten seasons and won a Super Bowl the year he retired.  He’s one of the all time leading rushers on the team – 2nd only to Franco Harris.  He ran for over 10,000 yards and 78 TD’s in his career.  He’s 6th all time in yards.

Sorry it wasn’t your year, Bettis.  Would have been great to see you on that stage this afternoon and again in August.  Here’s the list of the men (heavy on the defense) who will be inducted this year:

DT Larry Allen

DL Curley Culp (legacy)

WR Cris Carter

G Jonathan Ogden

Coach Bill Parcels

LB Dave Robinson

DT Warren Sapp

Oct 22, 2011; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Pittsburgh Steelers former running back Jerome Bettis at the 2011 NFL International Series commissioners fan forum at the Landmark Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The Hall of Fame voting just finished, and Tweets are coming out of who made the cut to the ‘Final 10.’  Steelers RB Jerome Bettis was part of that Final 10 and could very well be one of the players to find himself being inducted in August.  The voting started at 8 am and went all the way to 5 pm EST.

This is Bettis’ second time on the ballot and the second time he’s made it deep into the balloting process for the Hall of Fame.  Former LB Kevin Greene was on the finalists list, but apparently did not make the cut to the Final 10.

Bettis was with the Steelers for ten seasons and won a Super Bowl the year he retired.  He’s one of the all time leading rushers on the team – 2nd only to Franco Harris.  He ran for over 10,000 yards and 78 TD’s in his career.  Bettis is beloved by Steeler fans everywhere, and we all would love to see this guy make it.  Results should follow soon.

The rest of the Final 10 include: Michael Strahan, Bill Parcells, Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Charles Haley, Drew Ogden, Andre Reed, Warren Sapp and Aeneas Williams.

For the third year in a row, former Steelers RB Jerome Bettis will be anxiously awaiting the decision of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee on Super Bowl weekend.  It is the third time “The Bus” has been eligible, and also the third year in a row that Bettis has made the final cut to the round of 15.  He is joined in that final round by former Steelers OLB Kevin Greene, T Larry Allen, WR Tim Brown, WR Cris Carter, DE/LB Charles Haley, Art Modell, T Jonathan Ogden, Bill Parcells, WR Andre Reed, DT Warren Sapp, G Will Shields, DE Michael Strahan, DB Aeneas Williams, and Eddie DeBartolo Jr.  For the first time, Bettis does not have to battle it out with another Hall of Fame-worthy running back from his era.  In 2011, it was Marshall Faulk who stole the show, and in 2012 it was Pittsburgh native Curtis Martin who got in.  This year, it looks like smooth-sailing for “The Bus”, the last of his great generation of running backs to be inducted, despite being one of the most prolific players in NFL history.

If ever there was a year that Steeler Nation needed to be reminded of the glory of days not so far past, it is now.  Coming off an 8-8 season and with most of the veteran team that helped secure Super Bowl wins in both Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII either gone or on the verge of being gone, Steelers fans need a reminder of why we are so blessed to be fans of this great organization.  Jerome Bettis is a shining example of everything that is right in football, and he deserves to be in Canton among the immortals.  I believe this will be the year that “The Bus” makes that trip.

Jerome Bettis now sits sixth all-time in terms of rushing yards (13,662), having been passed by LaDainian Tomlinson in 2011.  With Tomlinson now retired as well, the next closest active player is the Rams Steven Jackson, who has 10,135 yards rushing but is already well into the final phase of his career.  “The Bus” is safe at the sixth spot, at least for the foreseeable future.  All five of the players ahead of him – Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin – minus Tomlinson, who will be in once he is eligible, are now enshrined.  The four below Bettis – Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Tony Dorsett, and Jim Brown – are all in the Hall, as are Franco Harris, Marcus Allen and Thurman Thomas.  In terms of rushing touchdowns, Bettis sits at #10, tied with Franco Harris at 91 rushing scores.  He is ahead of Martin, Dorsett,  and Dickerson in that category – as well as Hall of Famers Earl Campbell and Leroy Kelly.  With numbers that exceed or at least his peers, Bettis is well deserving of being in the Hall of Fame.

Bettis accomplished all of that while playing at over 255 pounds his entire career.  Backs of that size do not usually have lengthy careers, let alone lengthy hall of fame-worthy careers.  Bettis produced eight 1,000 yard rushing campaigns, and would have easily had nine had not been injuries that derailed his 2004 season.  Toss in the fact that “The Bus” played his entire career while battling his asthma condition that on occasion forced him to breathe through an inhaler on the sideline.

The current crop of players who have a chance to be enshrined include three Wide Receivers who are still waiting for their ticket to be punched.  Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed are all Hall-worthy players who should get in soon.  Offensive linemen usually do well on the ballot, so Ogden and Shields are a possibility, with Ogden being considered a shoe in by many so-called experts.  The other players nominated are on the fence, many will get in at some point and some will never get in.  Bettis is the last truly “great” player of his generation that has not yet been elected.  The Hall of Fame loves when a Steelers player is enshrined, as it brings thousands of fans to Canton and with it, tons of money being pumped into the local economy.  This is the year for “The Bus”, and we will find out Super Bowl weekend whether or not to start making plans to head to Canton.

Follow Jeff Snedden on Twitter @jeffsnedden or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JeffreySneddenSportsWriter.