Going into this season, the Tennessee Titans were considered an afterthought in a division which contained the perennially powerful Colts and up-and-coming Jaguars.  Although they also made the playoffs last year, losing to the Chargers in the Wild Card Round, people seemed to think Jacksonville was the team primed to make the jump to the next level when Peyton Manning and company began their eventual decline.

The Jags were quickly exposed as an overrated farce of a team while Indianapolis stumbled out of the gate due to injuries to key players.  Meanwhile, Tennessee got off to a fast start and never looked back.  Throughout the majority of the season, the Titans have consistently been ranked the top team in the AFC.  While it was easily justied when they were undefeated, the team has gone 2-2 over the past four games and could even wind up losing the #1 seed in the playoffs if they were to lose this weekend.

While their opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have marched through the toughest schedule in NFL history, a close examination of Tennessee’s year reveals an assortment of creampuffs and pushovers.  Rather than just knee-jerk declaring them the best team in the AFC due to their record, it becomes more and more apparent that this is a team whose reputation is built on a lie.  In fact, going week by week through their schedule, it becomes more and more clear that this team hasn’t beat anybody at all.

1 – Jacksonville W (17 – 10)     Jacksonville (5-9) stinks.

2 – Cincinnati W (24 – 7)       Cincinnati (2-11) stinks.

3 – Houston W (31 – 12)     Houston (7-7) came on late but stunk early.

4 – Minnesota W (30 – 17)     Winning record but Gus Frerotte?  Really?

5 – Baltimore W (13 – 10)    Rookie QB on a team that we beat twice.

7 – Kansas City W (34 – 10)     KC (2-12) stinks.

8 – Indianapolis W (31 – 21)     Manning, Harrison, and Sanders were all hurt.

9 – Green Bay W (19 – 16)     Green Bay (5-9) stinks yet came thisclose.

10 – Chicago W (21 – 14)     Kyle Orton?

11 – Jacksonville W (24 – 14)     See above.

12 – NY Jets L (34 – 13)      Jets are overrated yet blew them out at home.

13 – Detroit W (47 – 10)     Detroit (0-14) really really stinks.

14 – Cleveland W (28 – 9)       Cleveland (4-10) stinks.

15 – Houston L (13-12)        Another loss, this to a non-playoff team.

From what I’m seeing, they have two quality wins (Baltimore and Indianapolis).  The games against the NFC North teams don’t count because that division is the NFL’s version of a Cripple Fight.  Two of them don’t have quarterbacks, the one that does has no defense, and the fourth is the Pittsburgh Pirates of football.  Every other game is either against a bottom 5 team or a loss.  Color me unimpressed.

That’s a Lionel Richie reference, son.

You know, ‘cause he kinda looks like Nicole’s dad. Too old for you kids? I’ll try to be a little more hip.

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

And I feel fine.

What could possibly have a member of Steeler Nation thinking about the end of the world? What catastrophe could turn a person’s outlook so bleak? What disaster would lead to such depths of despair?

QB Ben Roethlisberger was seriously injured in last night’s 23-6 victory over the Washington Redskins. Preliminary reports are he fully separated his right shoulder on a goal line dive at the end of the first half. He rushed to the locker room, hip checking a defenseless and slightly anorexic Redskin cheerleader in the process, then stood on the sidelines for the rest of the game, his right arm hanging limply at his side. Ben’s a tough guy who plays through a lot of pain but I’m pretty sure he’s missing at least one game considering he couldn’t even lift the arm above his waist when congratulating teammates.

And you want to hear something crazy? I don’t care.

Backup QB Byron Leftwich came on in relief and to say he looked good is a colossal understatement. Whereas other poorly run franchises have lost their star QBs and had to trot out the inept likes of Brad Johnson or Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Steelers turned the reins over to a guy who not only can play but play well. I have no idea what the 31 other GMs in the NFL were thinking when training camp rolled around with Leftwich out of work but that explains why a lot of lousy teams continue to be lousy year after year.

Let’s start at the beginning. Head coach Mike Tomlin began the game with an onside kick which went doubly awry as we didn’t recover and were offside on the play. That set the ‘Skins up on our 40.  I’m not really a fan of crazy gambles although in this case I applaud Tomlin’s call. When you have such a devastating force as the Blitzburgh Defense at your command, you can take a few chances. Indeed, Washington went three and out then kicked a chintzy FG for a quick lead.

This pattern continued throughout the first half as the Steeler D just absolutely stifled the vaunted Redskin offense. QB Jason Campbell was under duress every time he dropped back. Every one of our LBs and DE Aaron Smith had a sack, finishing the game with a season high 7. RB Clinton Portis, who had been averaging over 5 yards/carry this season, was stuffed like a fat kid on Halloween, finishing the game with a meager 51 yards (22 of which came on one bad play). Other than TE Chris Cooley being open on dinky-dunk short check down stuff, the WRs were blanketed all game.  At halftime, the Washington offense had amassed a whopping 71 total yards.

Which would’ve been great except our offense only amassed a whopping 71 total yards. To be frank, our offense in the first half was atrocious. Remember how I said our showings against the Eagles and Giants were bad? Next verse same as the first. Big Ben looked completely confused and out-of-sorts today. He had happy feet and never seemed comfortable with what he was doing. He’d miss wide open receivers, he’d shuffle back and forth unsure of whether to run or stay put, he made several poor throws (one of which should’ve been a Pick-6) and he’d hold on to the ball too long when given time. Only his touchdown plunge which came after a blocked punt by special teams ace Andre Frazier kept the first half from being a total loss.

But the offensive crappiness can’t all be placed on Ben’s sore shoulders. When he did manage to get the ball to the WRs, they kept dropping the passes. I’m not sure when this allergy to pigskin started but it contributed to Roethlisberger starting the game 1 for 9. Worse yet was our playcalling. I know bitching about O-coordinator Bruce Arians is getting old but so are his horrific game plans. Pothole Willie Parker finally returned to the field and looked good, made his cuts, and showed that burst he’s known for. Awesome except for the fact Arians seemed intent on passing every down instead of establishing any sort of running game. He’d give Parker a carry and unless he broke a 8-9 yard gainer, it was pass pass and then pass some more. Establishing a running game means giving your star RB more than 10 scattered carries per half, Arians.

Then the second half began and it was like a totally different team in Black and Gold emerged from that locker room. With the backup QB in there, Arians was forced to focus more on the run. This made the D cheat up more to counter Parker and opened up the Tiffin Thunderbolt Nate Washington for one of his patented Long Bombers. Leftwich was coolly efficient as when he felt pressure he either stepped up and fired or stood in the pocket and absorbed the hit in order to deliver the ball down the field. Say what you want about his Carlos Zambrano-like delivery, the man has a cannon. With FWP and Mewelde Moore providing ground support and Lord Byron firing bullets all over the field, the offense finally clicked.

Two nice drives capped by TDs put the game out of reach for the overmatched Redskin offense.  Our defense held them to 200 total yards, at least 1/4 of which was gained during garbage time.  Honestly, it was like bringing an Uzi to a knife fight.  Best of all, our secondary picked off Lionel Jr. twice, finally putting an end to his Zero INTs streak so whatever terrible announcers work the game next week can shut up about that one.

Obviously, we’ll all be glued to the news and papers awaiting word on the severity of Ben’s injury. We owe a lot of this year’s success to his heroics and I wouldn’t for a second want to diminish his ability or what he means to our team. However, I think if he’s hurting and that is going to limit his effectiveness, then he should be willing to step aside for a week or two, get himself healthy (or healthier) and not come back until he can play up to his usual level. It’s pretty clear that Byron Leftwich is capable of filling in more than adequately and I don’t know about you but 100% of Lefty appears to be vastly preferable to 50% of Big Ben. Tomlin had the guts to call for the fake punt, let’s see if he has the grapefruits to do what Bill Cowher was never willing to do: tell Ben Roethlisberger to take a week off for the good of the team.

]]> http://nicepickcowher.com/2008/11/04/week-9-recap-dancing-on-the-ceiling/feed/ 2 http://nicepickcowher.com/2008/09/19/week-3-preview-steelers-vs-iggles/ http://nicepickcowher.com/2008/09/19/week-3-preview-steelers-vs-iggles/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:38:19 +0000 chris http://nicepickcowher.com/?p=272 When the Philadelphia Eagles made the surprise pick of Houston QB Kevin Kolb, it appeared that 2007 would be the end of the Donovan McNabb era. While McNabb has had a great career in Philly, it’s been filled with controversy and he has missed 15 games in the last three seasons due to injury.  In [...]

Week 3 Preview: Steelers vs. Iggles - Nice Pick, Cowher - Nice Pick, Cowher - A Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

When the Philadelphia Eagles made the surprise pick of Houston QB Kevin Kolb, it appeared that 2007 would be the end of the Donovan McNabb era. While McNabb has had a great career in Philly, it’s been filled with controversy and he has missed 15 games in the last three seasons due to injury.  In a story which will sound familiar to Steeler fans, McNabb repeatedly failed to advance his team past the NFC Championship game and then played poorly in his lone Super Bowl appearance, thus leading to questions about his ability to win the Big Game.

Last year, McNabb’s knee was healthy enough to play, but wasn’t healthy enough to make him feel comfortable early on. The Eagles were also not helped by the keen eye of former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who saw that the Eagles receivers struggled badly against corners who bumped off the line of scrimmage. The normally efficient Eagles offense wound up finishing 17th in points per game.

As the season progressed, McNabb got more and more comfortable with his knee, but it was still too late to turn things around and the offense was still inconsistent at best. They wound up winning the last three games of the year to turn in an 8-8 record.  Still, for all intents and purposes THIS season looks to be one last hurrah for head coach Andy Reid and McNabb as similar to the Favre/Rodgers situation in Green Bay, the trigger will have to be pulled on the Kolb era fairly soon.

STEELERS DEFENSE VS. EAGLES OFFENSE

McNabb’s game has changed over the years. He started out being the type of quarterback that could excel if he had the right receivers.  Now it seems like, while he could definitely use some receivers, it’s more important that the O-Line protect him because he’s become more accurate with the ball and better at reading defenses but doesn’t have the mobility he once did.  He doesn’t throw a lot of interceptions because when he misses his throws, he usually misses them low.

For all of the talk of Andy Reid relying on the running game more, the Eagles still threw the ball 58% of the time. In fact, Reid’s teams have thrown the ball an average of 57% of the time throughout his career, regardless of depth at WR. Here’s a look at the percentage of time the Eagles have thrown the ball during Reid’s tenure:

2007…………………… 58%
2006…………………… 57%
2005…………………… 63%
2004…………………… 59%
2003…………………… 54%
2002…………………… 53%
2001…………………… 56%
2000…………………… 59%
1999…………………… 53%

Those number can be slightly deceiving, however, as a big reason why the Eagles pass so much is that Reid is a big fan of the screen pass play which, for them, functions almost the same as a handoff would on another team.

The offense actually has not revolved around McNabb for awhile. Instead, it’s revolved around RB Brian Westbrook.  He’s not good enough to be a receiver and he’s not good enough to be a chain-moving running back but he’s athletic enough to do a little bit of both.  He’s the “real” Reggie Bush in that he does everything that Bush was expected to do coming out of college.

The key to curbing Westbrook’s effectiveness is to stick a cornerback on him or use multiple spies on him to follow him around the field.  As I said, Westbrook doesn’t excel in any one area but he’s a decent runner, a great screen receiver, and they even split him out at wide receiver, all of which creates match-up problems galore.  Last week, Steelers LB Mister Lamarr Woodley didn’t look very good when assigned to cover TE Kellen Winslow and he’s probably the fastest backer we got.  Lawrence Timmons has the raw athletic ability to be an intriguing spy but he doesn’t start.  I have no idea who defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau plans to use against him but he better have one helluva scheme cooked up or it’ll be a long day.

Beyond that, the Eagles feature a rather mediocre corps of receivers.  Kevin Curtis’ numbers are not as hot as they look on paper. He only had 80+ yards receiving in 3 games. Of course 221 of those yards came against an awful Lions defense, 121 yards came against the awful Jets defense, and 111 yards came against the Vikings, who also had a weak pass defense. He struggled heavily against teams with corners who could play the bump and run like Washington, where he only had 7 catches for 48 yards in both games against the Skins. Reggie Brown wasn’t any better against the bump and run. So what Reid did was load the receivers up on one side and force the opposing defense to play more zone coverage. While that may seem like a nice solution, it makes the offense pretty one dimensional.  Class Dunce DeSean Jackson can stretch the field and return punts. However, Jackson lacks size and is a big enough moron that some clever work from wily vets like CB Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu should keep him fairly quiet.

STEELERS OFFENSE VS EAGLES DEFENSE

Philly employs a 4-3 scheme that is designed to play a variety of coverage packages, so they are very typical of a lot of 4-3 schemes in that they go after speed and sacrifice size to get that speed. They usually play Cover shells 1-3 and d-coordinator Jim Johnson is one of the at best throwing blitzes, stunts, and twists at you until the cows come home.  Because they rely on quicks instead of beef, they are very reliant on having depth up front.  Even with all of their starters in place, if the backups are weak this defense can struggle. That’s why the Eagles draft a defensive tackle just about every year and go after players like Darren Howard (who can play both DE and DT) and Chris Clemons (who can play LB and DE).

Trent Cole is the gem of the defensive line as he’s electric on the field. He’s a bit like the Giants’ Osi Umenyiora in that he’s weaker against the run than going after the passer, so good run blocking offensive tackles can give him problems. Also like Umenyiora, he’ll have these games where he’s absolutely on fire and looks like the best defensive end in football.  They’ll rotate the other DTs heavily and look out for rookie Trevor Laws, who was one of the lone standouts last year at Notre Dame.

QB Ben Roethlisberger is hurting.  Nobody knows how badly, especially not Andrea Kramer.  The best medicine for what ails him would be feeding a steady diet of Fast Willie Parker to the Eagles.  There should definitely be running room and nothing would be better than 30+ carries for Willie and only 15 pass attempts or so for Ben.  Hopefully Tomlin will let RB Rashard Mendenhall out of the dog house so he can chip in with a few carries, as well.

The Eagles only finished with 11 interceptions last year.  The Eagles stress turnovers more than most defenses because they are trying to get off the field as quickly as possible. They planned to trade Lito Sheppard this offseason but he’s still there, along with future starter Sheldon Brown. They also signed free agent Asante Samuel who has had 16 picks over the last two seasons. Samuel was tremendous in 2006 so they threw at him a little less in 2007 which explains while he had a decent passes defended %, he only had six picks. The Eagles like to play a little more man-to-man than Samuel played in New England so he may have some difficulty making that transition but will nevertheless continue his ball-hawking ways.  None of these guys looked particularly impressive last Monday as the Cowboys went up and down the field like they were playing Madden Football ’08.   If Ben’s sore shoulder can hold up, there should be plays there to be made.

The Eagles are a strange team because once you think you know how well they will play, they go out and do the exact opposite. For years I thought the Eagles were doomed after watching teams destroy them by running the ball against the defense and negating their blitz. But the Eagles wound up winning and winning.  When it appeared the Eagles defense was going to be unstoppable (i.e. 2005), they played lousy and all of the flaws in Andy Reid’s game plan became apparent.  They crushed a hapless Rams team in week 1 and gave the mighty Cowboys a competitive game last Monday night.  They definitely have the firepower to give the Steelers fits but their lack of quality talent on defense is going to make things difficult when they play good teams.  If the Steeler line can impose their will in the running game and the defense can keep them in third-and-long situations, those might just be the keys to a victory.

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I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up. Don’t ask me to specify which science. I just knew “scientist” sounded like a pretty cool job. Plus, there was always the hope I would some day get accidentally bombarded by gamma radiation. Then came calculus and I quickly realized “scientist” might not be my intended career path after all.

I still admire what they do. When I was at Carnegie Mellon, I was always eager to hear about their advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence. When our evil metallic overlords rise up to enslave us all, you can safely direct a large amount of the blame toward that fine institution. I also enjoyed hearing about how their robotic creations were used to find and explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before…

Of course, some scientists do their exploring the old fashioned way. They use a big ass telescope. Recently, a Dr. Eric Mamajek , clearly a man of high moral character and good taste in an oasis of Massholes, peeked through his big ass telescope and saw something between Mars and Jupiter. They call it a “minor planet” although that sounds like calling something a “minor groin pull.” Ain’t nothing minor about either one.

The International Astronomical Union, an organization which no doubt purchases pocket protectors in bulk, has officially named it 7835 Myroncope.

Yes, Myron Cope has a freakin’ planet named after him. A minor planet, but a planet nonetheless. No word yet on whether they plan to send a space probe over to plant a Terrible Towel in the soil. But they should.

Other football related news:

–Taking a cue from Carlton Haselrig, several Steelers decided to turn mini-camp practices into an MMA event last week. “I don’t know, maybe they’ve been watching Georges Laraque,” said OL Max Starks. No Max, if they’d been watching Laraque, they would’ve stood around watching other people start shit while waiting for the coach to tap them on the shoulder and remind them they’re supposed to be an enforcer.

–The Post-Gazette thinks Marvel Smith is in the same boat as Alan Faneca. I guess they’re doing P.R. work for agents now. Sure, they’re in the same boat. Unless you count the fact Faneca is a five-time Pro Bowler while Smith made it once and Faneca is relatively healthy while Smith is coming off major back surgery which caused him to pretty much miss the entire season last year.

–Franco Harris spoke at Brashear High School. Meanwhile over in Hampton, Ben Roethlisberger visited Wyland Elementary. Luckily for Wyland, their second choice, Roger Clemens, declined their invitation. He already had a date for the weekend.

—Ex-Steeler/Super Bowl Champion Plaxico Burress is holding out for more money. Who didn’t see this one coming? He’s an elite player when he’s not missing every other game over some injury or totally disappearing in the playoffs. Burress did come up man-sized in bringing down the hated Patriots, though, so he’ll always get my respect for that.

–“Raven For Life,” Jonathan Ogden retires. Know what that means? Whichever talentless scrub Baltimore decides to trot out there this season just got a little easier for us to sack.

–The Bengals released both WR Chris Henry and LB Odell Thurman. If Cincinnati continues to remove all the criminals from their roster, they might not have enough players to field a team.

–Bills RB Marshawn Lynch is in trouble over an alleged hit-and-run incident. The Curse of O.J. Simpson, perhaps?

Rejoice!! The NFL Draft is almost upon us. Two days of hopes, dreams, triumph for some, heartbreak for others, quarterbacks waiting in anticipation with their hot girlfriends and Jet fans eager to boo whatever unfortunate sap is taken by their team.

‘Tis truly one of the most wonderful times of the year. I dare say it’s even better than Christmas. Yes, Mel Kiper is my Santa. Except this jolly old elf has perfectly-coiffed hair.

As you surf around the interwebz, you will probably come across a mock draft or two. Or four. Or three dozen. Concocting mock drafts seems to have become the second biggest time waster of choice behind only filling out as many March Madness brackets as a sports fan can get their grubby little hands on.

I will spare you such things on my site. Besides, this is a Steeler blog. I assume you come here to read about the Steelers. I also imagine you don’t much care who the Houston Texans may or may not take with their compensatory pick in the fifth round.

You care about the Steelers. So All-Steelers All-the-time is what I’ll give you. The following is a short synopsis of prospects you should keep an eye on because they are players the Steelers either have interest in or they should have interest in. If anybody has their own Players To Keep An Eye On, feel free to share your picks in the comments below.

Let’s hope somebody suffers the same fate as poor Brady Quinn. Watching him slide deeper and deeper down the draft board was high drama at its best. I would feel sorry for the kid except he’s still a multi-millionaire, his girlfriend looks like she could suck-start a lawnmower, and he plays for the Browns. Oh, and his name is Brady. I hate that name.

Brenden Albert OT Virginia – The crown jewel of the draft as far as the Steelers are concerned. Albert is a 6’6” 310 pound human bulldozer who plays either left guard or left tackle. He has the talent to start immediately and for our team, probably would. Unfortunately, he has flown up the draft boards in the last month, going from a late 1^st rounder to a possible Top 10 pick. Highly unlikely he’ll make it to #23

Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon – A 5’10” 235 pound power back. Basically, a bowling ball with arms and legs. Has some durability issues as he’s suffered a number of injuries while in college which could be a problem in the pros. Tandem backfields are en vogue in the NFL so that’s what makes him an attractive option. Still, make no mistake, taking Stewart would be a case of taking Best Athlete Available. We’re already 3 deep at running back so unless the Steelers are lying about Willie Parker’s success at rehabbing his broken leg, we have much more pressing needs than at RB.

James Hardy WR Indiana & Limas Sweed WR Texas – I grouped these two together because they both fill a similar hole: the big-ass WR that will make Ben smile and Hines cry. Sweed is 6’4” but coming off a major wrist injury that has scared some teams away. Hardy is 6’5” and basically a poor man’s Plaxico Burress. His biggest knock is his 40 times have been a bit on the slow side so some wonder if he can create enough separation at the pro level. WR is a wild card area in this draft as some people project guys like Hardy, Sweed, and Desean Jackson (a tiny quick guy we wouldn’t be interested in) to be 1^st rounders while others have them all slipping well into the 2^nd. If either of these two fall to the Steelers, I’d heartily endorse either as my preference for their first pick.

Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina – If you read the Saga of Booger or my posts on the inexplicable signing of Nick Eason, you know the Steelers are paper thin along the defensive line. Brent Kiesel, Casey Hampton, and Aaron Smith are still top notch players but they’re also getting older and the threat of injury is always there. Balmer, a smallish but explosive rusher, projects to being a defensive end in the Steelers 3-4. He’s a gamble, though, as speed guys are usually boom or bust plus he really only started to show any flashes of superior ability during his senior season.

Aqib Talib CB Kansas – Last year, the Steelers were all set to draft Pitt CB Darrelle Revis with their first pick. They probably would’ve cut Ike Taylor, who played so poorly in 2006 that Coach Cowher benched him for several games. Then those tricky Jets swooped in, swung a trade with Carolina, and slipped ahead of us one spot in the draft so they could take Revis. Talib is another wild card as he is generally considered the best cover guy available but his 40 times have been astonishingly slow which raises all kinds of alarms with scouts. If teams go by college performance, he’ll be long gone by our pick. If they don’t, he might slip. Would the Steelers take him? Like I said, we were looking at CB last year. Also, Talib returned punts and even played a little WR at Kansas like a mini-Deon Sanders (“Not-Ready-For-Primetime?”) so he could also help us out in the return game. This would be a bold, interesting pick so I expect the Steelers not to make it if given the opportunity.

Gosder Cherilis OT Boston College – Huge 6’6” 315 monster. Doesn’t have the best form and needs coached up some. He played some left tackle as a senior and looked bad so probably would be a right tackle on the pro level. The Steelers aren’t really that hurting for right tackles (need interior lineman more) so Cherilis would be a safe but unspectacular pick. In fact, a lot of draftniks have him as a 2^nd rounder so taking him in the first might even be considered “reaching.” Probably not the worst pick they could make but not the most attractive option either.

Chilo Rachal OG USC – This is more a guy to look for in the 2^nd round if we go another direction in the 1^st. Not a spectacular college career but his measurables and potential are extremely high. Definitely seen as a future starter in the league, the only question is how soon and how capable. Will probably be gone by the Steelers second pick unless we trade up (or down) and pick up an early 2^nd rounder.

Matt Forte RB Tulane - If the Steelers are serious about going to a shared backfield, they definitely need to find a power back to compliment Fast Willie. Forte is a 6’1″ 217 short-yardage specialist. In fact, some teams think he’ll be a FB at the pro level but either way, I think the Steelers could use him. His measurables kinda sucked as he didn’t appear to be notably fast or notably strong, which is why most teams see him as a late 2^nd/3^rd rounder. But those kind of things are sometimes misleading which is why I wouldn’t mind seeing him in Black and Gold next year.

Ray Rice RB Rutgers – Yes, he had a big college career but that actually works against him with the scouts because they see him as having a lot of wear on the tires. Rice could very well fall to the Steelers late in round 2. Would they take him? The problem with Rice is he runs like a power back, very strong, very straight ahead…but at 5’8″ 199 he doesn’t have power back size. I can see him turning into a Mike Alstott-type pro although I do have to admit I’m not sure his tough running style will be able to hold up over an entire season. Still, this would be another intriguing pick.

Jeremy Zuttah OG Rutgers – Zuttah has been flying up draft boards in the past few weeks. He’s still seen as a 2^nd rounder but a month ago, he was a second dayer. Probably his best feature is he can play center, guard, or tackle and has played all three while in college. That kind of versatility is extremely rare and valuable. He also had a great Combine workout. Then again, so did Mike Mamula. Which is the big question on him: can his measurables translate to on-field ability? The Steelers were burned in this area before (Hello Jamain Stephens) but I’d take a flier on Zuttah if I was stuck picking at the ass end of the 2^nd round.

Mike Pollack C Arizona State & Kory Lichtensteiger C Bowling Green – Two more centers for this team which badly needs to find a guy to bend over and let Ben stick his hands between his legs for the next 5-6 years. I grouped these two together because they’re both late 2^nd/mid 3^rd round types so they are within reach. I also grouped them because they are similar centers in the Mike Webster mold of small, quick, smart guys. Lichensteiger also has a really cool last name which sounds like a tasty German beer. And a team located in Pittsburgh could always use a Pollack. I’d be happy with either of these picks.

Chad Rhinehart OG Northern Iowa - Get this, he’s 6’5″ 325 pounds. Clearly, he’s on the seafood diet…he eats everything he sees. Supposedly he’s pretty athletic and can be coached up. Plus, at that size, if his supposedly decent footwork is decent, he’ll be hard for linemen to deal with. Of course, the knock here is he’s from Northern Iowa. I think they played Robert Morris this year so he’s not exactly been tested against top notch competition. Still, for a late third round pick, he could be a sleeper.