Something to take your mindoff the Super Bowl

Nail biting over Super Bowl XLIII has already begun here, so it was with some gratitude that we discovered that our friends at Pro Football Weekly have published a mock draft.

For those who prefer to receive a spoiler alert, this draft has the Steelers taking Max Unger (center from Oregon) with the 32nd pick ~ whatever else happens we hope they are correct about what spot Pittsburgh will choose from.

Meanwhile, Draft Expert Mel Kiper also has the Steelers selecting a PAC-10 center, Alex Mack from California (the complete first round projection is here, subscription required).

Getting Draft Ready: Nolan Nawrocki's Top 150

With the Steelers fighting tooth and nail to secure the best possible playoff position, it is easy to lose sight of what is really important. Which is why God invented Pro Football Weekly.

Nolan Nawrocki has come up with his list of the top 150 college prospects, and it is interesting to see an offensive tackle, Jamon Meredith of South Carolina, rated at the number 21 spot. We are the first to hope that the Steelers are picking at #32 (DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati), but we strive to be realistic (some might call it fatalistic, but we ignore those people) in all things.

Moreover, there are four offensive linemen (inclusive of Mr. Meredith) that are rated between numbers 21-32. So start working on your mock drafts now!

Steelers Ownership: Everyone Cares

Update: The commentary is now available, in its entirety, online.

Original Posting

As mentioned frequently, Pro Football Weekly is one of our favorite publications and one that we depend upon quite heavily for the few intelligent comments that we make. So it was with great interest that we read the commentary from publisher and editor Hub Arkush in the August issue.

[While a subscription is, for now, required to read the column in its entirety PFW has a tradition of eventually making a great deal of their content available on the open web, so we'll post a link once it becomes available.]

Mr. Arkush offers one of the most digestible explanations of exactly what is going on and why the situation is so complicated, and goes on to explain ~ to Steelers fans and non-Steelers fans alike ~ just why everyone should care. Here is what we consider to be the heart of the column:

"And now to the part of this saga that disturbs me the most . . . [a]s the National Football League approached by far the greatest challenge it has faced in its long a storied history -- the need to put a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place prior to allowing 2010 to become an 'uncapped season' -- there is no single NFL owner more accomplished or respected on league issues, and in particular on labor issues . . . than Dan Rooney."

News on the ownership front has been quiet following the hysteria that associated the initial announcement that the Rooney family was seeking an outside investor, but as Mr. Arkush advises, "[k]eep an eye on this story folks, because not only do Steelers fans desperately hope Dan Rooney will maintain ownership off their favorite club, the rest of us NFL fans need him even more."

You Always Hurt the Ones Who Love You

We've made no secret of our respect for, and reliance upon, the expertise of the fine folks at Pro Football Weekly, so it is with some sadness that we must report that it appears they are hell-bent on bursting the collective bubble of Steelers fans everywhere.

In their post -draft analysis PFW player personnel expert Nolan Nawrocki rips the Steelers for having chosen "injury-ridden OT Tony Hills" as their only selection along the offensive line; describes the decision to choose Bruce Davis (UCLA) as "a major reach in the third round;" and argues that knee injuries suffered by Dennis Dixon and Mike Humpal could keep each "from reaching their potential."

Finally, in what could arguably be described as journalistic piling on Mr. Nawrocki tells us both Rashard Mendenhall and Limas Sweed "were slow to develop in college and may not provide much in the way of immediate returns;" and that "Ryan Mundy could have been signed after the draft."

Mr, Nawrocki's final grade for the Steelers selections: C-

Ouch.

Getting Draft Ready: Gosden Cherilus Up Close

Nolan Nawrocki at Pro Football Weekly offers up his assessment on Boston College offensive tackle Gosden Cherilus.

Mr. Nawrocki sums up Mr. Cherilus thusly: "Has all the physical ability to play left tackle if he can figure it out but likely will be moved back to the right side as a rookie."

A project pick in the first round? We think not.

The Franchise Tag

Pro Football Weekly has come out with a list of all the players who will be contractually bound to their teams next season as the result of being designated as franchise players.

All three of them.

According to the article teams have until February 21, 2008 to designate a potential free agent as an "exclusive" free agent -- thereby purchasing their services for one season "by committing to a minimum offer of the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of the end of the restricted free-agent signing period on April 20, or a 20 percent increase over his 2007 salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season — whichever of the three is greater."

Final Grades Have Been Posted

The great folks at Pro Football Weekly have released their grades for the respective performances of each of the NFL head coaches. In giving first year head man Mike Tomlin a B+ here's what they said:

"Tomlin is intelligent and well-organized; were he not coaching in the NFL, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were making a fortune on Wall Street. He had the unenviable task of taking over a veteran club that was accustomed to Bill Cowher and Cowher’s coaching staff. But Tomlin has fared well, for the most part. The Steelers reached the playoffs in spite of some late-season struggles, but they were eliminated in the wild-card round by Jacksonville — at Heinz Field. The defense allowed fewer yards than any other in the league. Tomlin and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau have meshed their philosophies relatively well, though you would have to expect some defensive personnel changes in the offseason now that the patient Tomlin has had a season to observe the “D.” The offense wasn’t overly impressive statistically but was still potent, thanks to a remarkable season by QB Ben Roethlisberger, who took a beating behind an offensive line that needs to be revamped. Overall, Tomlin’s first regular season in Pittsburgh went relatively well."

Lawrence Timmons Rated a Dud

Matt Sohn at Pro Football Weekly has made his assessments as to the best and worst of the first round picks in the 2007 NFL Draft, and Lawrence Timmons has made it on to the "Worst Picks" portion of the list. In his brief assessment, Mr. Sohn asserts Mr. Simmons been outplayed by LaMarr Woodley, and criticizes Mr. Timmons for primarily being "a special teams guy."

Great expectations are part of the territory for those players chosen high in the draft (Mr. Timmons was selected at #15), and it is undeniably true that Mr. Timmons has played almost exclusively on special teams. However, a look at some of the Steelers' other linebackers -- both current and former -- reveals that Mr. Timmons' first season in the NFL bears a striking similarity to some of his more well-regarded teammates (and one former Steelers linebacker).

Player	Games Played	Games Started	Tackles	Assists	Sacks
Larry Foote	14	3	13	7	0
Clark Haggans	2	0	0	0	0
James Harrison	1	0	0	0	0
Joey Porter	16	0	0	0	2
Lawrence Timmons	15	0	11	2	0

What we've done is look at a few of the linebackers who, like Mr. Timmons, grew up professionally in Dick LeBeau's defensive system, as way of giving his first season some context. And while he may not have had the immediate impact all fans of the Black & Gold hoped he would, Mr. Timmons appears to be serving an apprenticeship of sorts -- not to mention he's playing behind the team's Most Valuable Player, James Harrison.

The good folks out Pro Football Weekly have a right to their opinion, and we understand it, but this is one judgment that seems a little premature.

More Pub for Mike Tomlin

Last week's issue of Pro Football Weekly featured Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin on its cover, as well as a two page article that, like most of the articles that have appeared in other media outlets about the new head man in Pittsburgh, is very complimentary. The full-text of the article can now be accessed at ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) or the entire issue can be purchased for $4.99 in either print or electronic format at Pro Football Weekly.com.

With the commercials out of the way, here's a taste of
what the article offers:

"Just in case his head gets a little too big, either from becoming only the third Steelers head coach in the past 38 years or perhaps by doing so by the tender age of 34, Mike Tomlin knows that there are still people in Pittsburgh who need proof that he's ready take over one of sports' most hallowed jobs -- including some in his own house.

'My kids are totally and utterly unimpressed,' said Tomlin . . . 'I was getting ready to go to a function . . . and my five-year-old was flipping through the channels, and when my face came on the screen from one of my press conferences, he went straight past Dad and onto the Cartoon Network . . . Never even paused. You gotta love that.'

". . . [Bill] Cowher was 34 when he got the job. He had limited coordinator experience, too. So the idea of hiring Tomlin wasn't against what team officials like to call The Steelers' Way.

It just sent a message that things would be changing in 2007 . . . 'I think there was a need for change,' said a former Steeler who is on another team's roster this season. 'Not that (Cowher) had lost the team. I just think guys got a little too comfortable. We all did.

'We had just won the Super Bowl. You didn't notice it at first, but when we started out the way we did (2-6 to open the season), it was pretty obvious.'"

There's much more to the article, including a discussion of the varied responses by individual Steelers to the hiring of Mr. Tomlin.