As we already know, players like Aaron Smith, James Farrior, Hines Ward, James Harrison, Mike Wallace and Keenan Lewis are no longer employed by the “Black & Gold.”  Plus, it doesn’t appear that Max Starks and Casey Hampton will be back this fall unless injuries or poor play strike at their specific positions either.

While some are inclined to think that the “worst” of the “roster purges” ended a couple of months ago, I believe that the Steelers could be in for an enormous “roster overhaul” when the spring of 2014 gets underway.

Don’t believe me?

Just keep the following in mind when the 2013 regular season ends.

Unrestricted Free Agents (2014)

Ziggy Hood

I for one wished that the Steelers would have tried to trade their 2009 1st Round pick at some point over the last year and a half.  Unfortunately, the time has passed for Pittsburgh to find a willing trade partner for Hood, because no team will want to trade for a player who is set to reach UFA status once the 2013 season ends.

I cannot say that I blame Ziggy fully for his struggles and inconsistent play since he became a full-time starter in 2011, especially because I maintain that he is playing out-of-position in the first place.

Hood’s ability to gap-shoot and play in a single-gap scheme makes him a better fit as a 3-technique in a 4-3 scheme, the position he played in college at the University of Missouri.  Ziggy is far less suited to succeed as a 2-gap defensive end in Pittsburgh’s 3-4, and he could be deemed expendable when his contract expires if he fails to show signs of improvement during the upcoming year.

Hood will likely need a monster performance during this year to warrant any sort of long-term deal next spring, and I do not believe that Colbert & Co. will want to offer him one if he plays at the level he has over the last few years.  Who knows though?  If Hood does not garner any lucrative offers from other teams on the open market next spring though, he might be worth bringing back on the cheap.  Plus, the Steelers could be hurting for depth at the defensive end position.

Brett Keisel

Whenever it happens, I will truly hate to see “The Beard’s” tenure in Pittsburgh come to a close.  But unless the Steelers and Keisel agree to a veteran minimum deal or none of the developmental prospects can show improvement during this season, 2013 might be Brett’s final season with the Steelers.

Keisel is one of a number of late-round success stories coached up by defensive line coach John Mitchell, and has been a lynch-pin along the Steelers’ defensive front since he assumed a starting gig back in 2006.  To his credit, Keisel performed well last year and logged 4.5 sacks to go along with 46 tackles.

Unfortunately, Keisel’s contract is set to expire next spring, and Pittsburgh’s brass might be unwilling to re-up the soon-to-be 35 year old to another deal if the team needs to save some cap-space to re-sign players like Maurkice Pouncey.  Granted, the Steelers could bring “The Beard” back for another go-around if they have zero faith in Ziggy Hood or Cameron Heyward.  But Keisel could very well retire or end up wearing a different uniform by the time the 2013 campaign begins.

Jason Worilds

Worilds has flashed potential during his three-year career (5.0 sacks last season), so maybe a full-time starting gig will allow him to “learn on the job” and entrench himself as the full-time solution at outside linebacker.  At this point in his career though, Jason is more of an “unknown entity” than a “known entity,” and it hasn’t helped his development that he rode the “pine pony” behind James Harrison and LaMarr “Stay Puft Marshmallow Man” Woodley either.

Jason however will finally receive his best chance to start on a regular basis this year with Harrison in Cincinnati.  Still, the team did select Jarvis Jones with their 1st round pick in last month’s draft.  And while I believe that Jones will likely be forced to rot on the bench by the coaching staff, I am sure that he will nevertheless be ready to compete for playing time with Worilds on the weak-side.

I for one am hopeful that Worilds can realize his potential this year and that the Steelers will ink him to a long-term deal.  Woodley has been nothing short of invisible since he signed his lucrative deal back in 2011, so the more depth at the position, the better.  The only depth behind Jason at the moment is Jones, 2011 5th round pick Chris Carter, and 2012 UDFA Adrian Robinson.  Plus, if Woodley goes down with a bum hamstring again or cannot keep his weight in check, Worilds might just be asked to step in on the strong-side next year.

Sadly, a strong performance by Worilds could put Pittsburgh’s brass in a bit of a “Catch-22″ come next spring though.  If the former Hokie performs well in his first extended audition though, then the Steelers might not be able to afford him when he hits the open market (i.e. Keenan Lewis) if offers begin to pour in for him to head elsewhere.

Ryan Clark

Clark’s current deal ends after the 2013 season. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Make no mistake, Ryan Clark has performed way beyond the expectations many placed upon him when he was signed as a free agent before the 2006 season.  Clark has been a model of stability on Pittsburgh’s back-end, earned a Pro Bowl berth after the 2011 season, and has been very solid compliment to Troy Polamalu over the last seven years.

Clark’s current deal though, the same one he signed after the 2009 season, is set to expire at the end of this year.  And while Robert Golden (and possibly even Shamarko Thomas) is another year or two away from being an “every-down player,” it makes little to no sense to keep a soon to be 35 year-old safety with declining ball-skills and a liability regarding concussions and helmet-to-helmet hits.

Then again, Clark might be able to find a deal elsewhere on the open market like James Harrison did so the Steelers won’t have to go through the trouble of negotiating with him.  Regardless of what happens, I will definitely intrigued to see what Pittsburgh’s brass do with the veteran safety when the upcoming regular season ends.

Emmanuel Sanders & Jerricho Cotchery

I’m not banking on Emmanuel Sanders to sticking around past the 2013 season.  In fact, I believe that it was a bone-headed move to not let him walk to New England in the first place.  The team needed (and still need) draft picks and cap space, the idea that they will be renting an injury-prone receiver for one-year is ridiculous.

Now that Manny will be starting at split end, he is likely to receive as many chances as possible to shine this fall if he can stay healthy.  While numerous fans and analysts bagged on the Steelers for bringing Sanders back for the 2013 campaign, the former S.M.U. Mustang did manage to set career-highs in catches (44) and in receiving yards (626) last fall.

The Patriots were obviously interested in acquiring him this past offseason, and I am sure that the market for his services will increase if he can continue to improve.  So, unless Manny plays poorly, gets hurt, or actually gives the Steelers a “hometown discount,” then I do not believe that Pittsburgh’s cap-strapped front office will be able to afford to re-up him beyond this year to a long-term deal.

On the other hand, Jerricho Cotchery (and even Plaxico Buress) knew that it would be difficult for him to earn a new contract beyond the upcoming season when Colbert & Co. selected Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown in the 3rd and 6th rounds during last month’s draft.

When he has received the chance to contribute during his two-year stint with Pittsburgh, Cotchery has performed well in the slot as a pass-catcher and a blocker.  Overall, Jerricho has recorded 33 catches for 442 yards and 2 touchdowns, and his experience and leadership could pay huge dividends for some of the younger players at the position.

But as I alluded to before, the Steelers didn’t just draft Wheaton and Brown to simply ride the pine.  Thus, if the rookies do prove to be capable pass-catchers and the front office can somehow extend Emmanuel Sanders, then Cotchery will be looking for a new team next spring or even before the regular season begins.

Isaac Redman & Jonathan Dwyer

I lumped Dwyer and Redman together because I believe that one of these two might be able to stay on Pittsburgh’s roster past this season, but not both of them.  The selection of Le”Veon Bell basically guarantees that the Steelers are “all in” when it comes to Bell as a “3-down back,” and that one or both of the situational “battering rams” will be sent packing once the 2013 campaign comes to a close.

Last season, both Redman and Dwyer had prime chances to seize the starting running back role.  Sadly, neither player proved that they were anything more than “situational backs.”  Redman and Dwyer were unable to put up a string of consistent performances, and a battered offensive line did not help them gain any traction as well.  The two only combined to rush for 1,033 yards on 266 carries and only 4 touchdowns.  Worst of all, both backs rushed for less than 3.9 (3.88) yards per carry on the year!

I certainly would not blame Colbert & Co. if they allowed Redman and Dwyer to walk if neither player showed any improvement this year.  Plus, I have a hard time believing that the franchise will keep both backs beyond this year, especially because Dwyer and Redman possess such similar skill-sets.  So while depth at such an important position like running back is nice, don’t be surprised if neither “battering ram” is on the roster past the spring of 2014.

September 16, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau (center) talks to the Steelers defensive backs on the sideline against the New York Jets during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past several seasons, the Steelers defense has often been criticized for their old age. Yet each year they finish in the top 5 in overall defense. This offseason, the Steelers continued saying goodbye to their elder defenseman. Earlier on, they said goodbye to James Harrison, due to his large salary that they couldn’t afford. While they did not technically cut Casey Hampton, they sealed his fate when they signed Steve McLendon to a three-year deal a few weeks back.

The Steelers have been known to find young talent to supplant their elder defenseman, so here is the predicted Steelers defensive starters for the 2013 season.

August 30, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers strong safeties Troy Polamalu (43) and Ryan Clark (25) take the field to play the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark have been dominant safeties for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Both are in their early thirties and have been in the league over a decade.  That’s a long run for any player, let alone a defensive player.  No one can argue their strengths.

Troy Polamalu plays the game not just physically, but mentally.  He watches the quarterback and anticipates plays.  Polamalu gets inside the heads of quarterbacks because they always focus on where he is.  It makes him a double threat.  He has a quick sprint speed, when he is healthy, that no other safety really seems to copy.

Ryan Clark also has impressive numbers and even with the sickle-cell trait issue, which cost him his spleen and gall bladder in 2007, he doesn’t back away from playing physically.  Ryan Clark has made some headlines because of comments over the years, but his work off the field with charities and as the NFLPA player rep for the Steelers has contributed to his value to the Steelers.

However, now that they have earned the “veteran” tag, the Steelers have to be wondering if Clark and Polamalu can stay healthy.  The Steelers may need to plan to use their expertise but perhaps not for every down.  Polamalu’s track record with injury makes sense when you look at his style of play.  It’s what is unique about him and makes him hard to plan for, but it can take a toll.

I don’t think the Steelers should get rid of either player, but can they still both be workhorses?  Will training camp be a good indicator?  Well, a lot of veterans don’t get the playing time in the camps because they don’t need it the same way that younger players need to learn and be evaluated.  Also, the Steelers won’t want to see them risk injury in the pre-season.  Clark and Polamalu’s injury risk is a concern.  Where’s the balance going to be?

Looking the Safeties on the roster, the Steelers have a mix of very experienced and very young.  The other two safeties on the roster are Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith and Robert Golden.  While I’m sure both have potential, it’s the lack of anyone in the middle on the experience level that concerns me, particularly with veteran players with an injury history.  Cromartie-Smith has been with the organization since 2011, mostly on the practice squad and played six regular season games over the last two seasons.  The Steelers re-signed him to the roster on Dec 26^th, 2012.  Golden played for the Steelers last year and was in 15 games and is credited with six solo tackles and two assists.  He didn’t start any games and I’m not sure exactly how many plays he was in for.

In the days of salary cap issues and contract negotiations that seem to go haywire, it is probably impossible to keep a depth chart on any one position that has a graduated level of experience.  Also, years in the league or even lack of years in the league guarantee nothing.  However, conventional wisdom suggests that the Steelers may not have the right mix for depth at the Safety position.  This isn’t a problem to fix in the draft and unfortunately there are a lot of other holes to fill first.   So, even though the Steelers should be concerned about their aging Safeties, it is not the biggest problem.  It looks like we just have to cross our fingers that neither Clark nor Polamalu become injured and Golden and Cromartie-Smith get some more experience.

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald live tweets during the 2012 Pro Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

I’m back on track this week with my list of things that are tarnishing our beloved game of football for those of us diehard fans who just can’t get enough of all things NFL.  This week brings me to the topic of social media.  How athletes use it, how fans interact with athletes and how the athletes interact back with fans, and how it affects the overall harmonious relationship between the two.  For me personally, I love social media.  I’ve been able to connect with Steeler fans all over the place, it’s allowed more people to read my silly ramblings about football, and it’s actually become quite a helpful news source for the most part.  Still, there are things I don’t like about social media, especially when it comes to the football season.

How an athlete uses their social media accounts, if they choose to have them, is more important than even they think sometimes.  Whether or not they will tweet or post status updates themselves or has a handler do it for them makes a huge difference in the whole fan interaction experience.  Also, how often they use their accounts plays a big role in their impact.  Are they updating their accounts with every detail of their lives or are they only logging in sporadically?  Then comes the topics they choose to discuss on their social media pages.  What I don’t think athletes always understand is that when they take to social media to express their opinion on any number of topics, they’re essentially giving a press conference.  Their tweets or status updates can be broadcasted to not just the thousands or millions of followers they may have, but millions more if it’s displayed on other athletes’ pages or gets displayed by ESPN or the NFL Network.  That’s a whole lot of people that can possibly take issue, or be offended by any and all interpretations of what was written.  An athlete’s tweet has on many occasions become the sole topic of discussion for sports television and radio talk shows. Not only athletes themselves, but their wives, siblings, and parents’ tweets or status updates can be used for fuel in a media firestorm if needed.  Just last week a “Twitter beef” between Seattle’s CB Richard Sherman and Jets CB Darrell Revis was all the talk on the networks.  I know feel a little dumber for having used the term “twitter beef”.

How an athlete interacts with their fans and followers can sometimes change your opinion of them.  If they argue back and forth with fans who heckle them and then spend the next few hours retweeting people who compliment them, in my opinion, looks a little tacky.  I absolutely have no idea what an athlete has to deal with on a daily basis when it comes to heckling, to be honest.  There are plenty of idiots and nut jobs that will tweet an athlete or celebrity all day and all night hateful insults, just in an attempt to get some attention for it.  I’ve seen racist remarks, ignorant and disgusting comments, personal attacks, and even death threats tweeted at athletes by various keyboard warriors.  I have no idea how it feels to deal with that and I give some athletes a ton of credit for being able to ignore it and move on.  The whole idea of being able to connect with your favorite athlete so directly and instantaneously should be a great thing, but just like everything good the idiots ruin it for the rest of us.

Speaking of ruining it for the rest of us, the whole “Catfishing” hoax that continues to surround Manti Te’o affects the social media interaction for all of us.  Not only are NFL GM’s and head coaches going to look more closely at social media, but athletes (the smart ones anyway) are going to be way more cautious to interact with fans online.  Now you can justifiably question the identity of almost anyone you come into contact with online.  How likely is say a Troy Polamalu going to be to respond to someone reaching out to him to contribute to their charity if he can’t be certain the person and/or charity they’re representing is legit?  It’s a doubled edged sword for the athletes though.  They want the fame, if they didn’t like it, they wouldn’t be playing in the NFL and they sure as hell wouldn’t have a social media account in which they collect thousands of followers.  They want those numbers to go up just like you and I like to log into Twitter and see that you’ve gained a few new followers.  It’s an ego boost, people want to hear what you have to say, they want to interact with you, and they want to connect with you.  But you have to take the bad with the good.  For every few followers that genuinely enjoy what you have to say and want to learn more about you, there are a few nut jobs that will threaten to set your pets on fire or try to find out where you live so they can dig through your garbage.

Take Ben Roethlisberger, for instance.  Ben doesn’t have his own Twitter or Facebook page.  What he has is a fan club page that is administered by a manager who tweets and gives status updates for him.  Sure Ben is missing out on the close fan-to-athlete contact he could have through social media by handling it this way but he’s also avoiding the constant heckling and being called a rapist by trollers all over social media that can clog the mentions and responses his actual fans might be trying to contact with him.  How many times a day do you think Ray Lewis gets called a murderer on Twitter?  How many times do you think someone mentions dogs to Michael Vick or marijuana to Ricky Williams?  Take yourself out of Twitter and you don’t have to deal with that, but take yourself out and you’re missing out on actual connections that can be made with genuine fans.

The other increasingly irritating facet of social media is fan to fan interaction.  During and especially following any given Steelers game there is what I like to refer to as “fan police” out and about Twitter and Facebook criticizing everyone who criticizes the Steelers for one reason or another.  People who constantly take the time to pledge their allegiance to the Black & Gold and act as if those who don’t pledge in the exact same way are somehow less of a fan.  First off, complaining about the Steelers is as inherited in Steeler Nation as loving the team itself.  We all learned how to scream “Aw come on!” at the television just the same as we learned to cheer a sack or a touchdown from our parents and grandparents.  Criticizing the team doesn’t make you less of a fan, and you shouldn’t have to justify yourself for it.  Those people who take the time to call out perfect strangers on social media and question their fandom based on what they might remark about a certain play, player, or game should just go ahead and apologize to their friends for being the biggest loser they know. There are also people who take offense to anything and everything a Steelers player might tweet with regards to another team, take it any which way to describe a betrayal of loyalty if a player doesn’t express hatred towards are rivals as much as we do.  People actually went after Steelers players on Twitter during the week of the Super Bowl if they expressed any kind of pick over who would win the game.  Either they were a traitor for wishing the 49ers would win and thereby tie the Steelers for the most Lombardi trophies or they were a traitor for picking the Ravens to win just because we’re all supposed to hate the Ravens with every fiber of our being.  The thing about Steeler fans in particular is that we don’t want to emulate or favorite athletes, we want them to be just like us instead.

Social media is only going to grow and expand in ways we haven’t even thought of yet so there’s no shutting it down or ignoring it.  How the NFL deals with it, on the other hand, is a different story.  Especially given how the Manti Te’o situation played out showing just how gullible or manipulated athletes can be on social media, NFL front offices are going to pay closer attention to their players’ social media accounts.  No one wants the kind of ridiculous embarrassment that Te’o has gone through.  There’s no telling if that particular incident will cause athletes to pull further away from fans either.  Most college teams already restrict their players’ access to Twitter during the season given how many times college age kids will tweet something completely ridiculous and then a 60 year old head coach has to have a press conference explaining it.  Pro athletes are another story.  It’s said that the NY Jets have a list of “do’s and don’ts” in their locker room regarding the players tweeting because, you know tweeting is their major problem.    Hopefully social media won’t actually ruin the NFL and can continue to allow genuine fans and athletes to connect with each other without all those idiots getting in the way.

Follow me on Twitter @Kimmy_KimKimM and follow all of NPC’s posts @NicePickCowherC and Like us on Facebook

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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