Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Player Personnel Kevin Colbert is really earning his money.  Hours after signing a five year extension himself, Colbert inked 2010 second rounder linebacker Jason Worilds to a four year deal.   Yesterday, he brought in Dallas Cowboys reject Flozell Adams to shore up an offensive line in shambles.   Adams signed a two year $7.5 million contract with no signing bonus and neither year is guaranteed which translates to “He was desperate to find a job.”   The Hotel is going to man the right tackle spot left vacant due to the season ending injury to Willie Colon.

The final piece of the O-line puzzle was put in place yesterday with the signing of first round pick Maurkice Pouncey to a five year deal.  Pouncey is one of the players I’m most excited about seeing this year.  A center/guard while at Florida, he’ll compete with Trai Essex for the starting right guard position.  Long term, the team expects him to be the next in a line of legendary Steelers centers.  I wouldn’t even rule that switch coming this season as Justin Hartwig was horrible last year and if he continues to struggle this year, I can foresee a fed-up Mike Tomlin inserting Essex at RG and moving Pouncey over to center.

After years of sufferring from poor offensive line play, it looks like change is finally upon us.   Whether it’ll be a change for the better remains to be seen.   Honestly, though, it cannot possibly be much worse.

Steeler Football lives!

In the grand tradition of legendary centers Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson, the Pittsburgh Steelers have finally addressed some of their offensive line issues by selecting University of Florida product Maurkice Pouncey with their first round draft pick.

Pouncey, 6’4 and 305 pounds, is a rare find.   A first round caliber lineman who projects as a center at the NFL level.  Pouncey is an excellent athlete who gets a strong push in the running game while also being nimble enough to pull out on trap plays.  He’s also good at keeping his leverage and getting off the blocks so he’ll be stout at the point of attack on passing attempts.   At least until good ‘ol #7 decides to hold the ball for a year and a half after dropping back.  MK was named 1st Team All-SEC and a 2nd Team All-American in 2009 while also being named Rimington Trophy winner as the nation’s top center.  He’s a well-rounded player with all the physical tools you’d look for and who faced top notch competition on a weekly basis as a three year starter for the Gators.

The only knocks on him are some durability concerns with an ankle injury in 2007 and a torn labrum which required surgery prior to the 2009 season.  The only other question is how he’ll adapt to a regular pro-set offense as Florida ran the spread offense where they operated out of the shotgun formation on almost every snap.

Luckily, he’ll have time to adjust.   The Steelers still have Justin Hartwig at center and he’ll probably stay put at least another season.  Pouncey has experience at guard which is where he’ll likely spend his rookie year while learning the nuances of the center position.  Considering the Steelers have two tackling dummies and an orange traffic cone at right guard, I would expect Pouncey to start for us immediately at that position.  However, in the long term, you’re looking at our center of the future.  Hopefully, he’ll be an anchor which solidifies a terrible offensive line for years to come.