BTSC Daily Six Pack - Tag Deadline Approaching Edition
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 9:40 AM EST
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PrintTomorrow marks the deadline for franchise and transition tags.
IX- Well it looks like we might have ourselves an Hungry Hungry Hippo angry, angry Casey Hampton. News popped up yesterday that the Steelers are leaning toward franchise tagging Big Snack. Keep in mind this is the guy who had this to say about being tagged in an interview, "You say we're family and you'll take care of me, and I feel like that's a slap in my face if you franchise me." I don't expect Casey to get that mad because I am sure the Steelers are working out a long time deal with the buffet frequenter. When all is said and done, I think this is great news for our organization, considering we now have the anchor of our defense locked in. Keep in mind this report is still a rumor, but the Post Gazette does not go around spreading rumors.
UPDATE: It appears Casey is softening up to the idea of being franchised, realizing its just a process in working out a long term deal. It appears that Hampton will most likely retire a Steeler. (thanks to swmt40 for the update)
X- Speaking of tags, BTSC member theatrain broke the news that the Steelers may be considering using a transition tag on Jeffrey Reed. If all of this news is true, this off season and draft are going to be much less stressful for me. Removing two "needs" from our roster leaves two extra picks to shore up our problems in the secondary and roster depth. However, remember that the transition tag does not lock up Reed as a Steeler for 2010. Another team can offer Reed a contract over the transition value ($2.6 million) and the Steelers have a chance to match it. On the bright side, the issues with Reed's leg power will probably prevent that from happening.
XIII- It probably won't get as much coverage as LT parting ways with the Chargers, but Brian Westbrook was released from the Philadelphia Eagles today to save $7.5 million in salary next year. I believe that Westbrook has been the best all around RB (running, catching, and blocking) in the league over the last decade. Sadly, as most often happens with older RBs, injuries have severely limited his ability to produce. Anyway, I bring up Brian because, unless he retires, the FA pool for tailbacks just got larger and the possible opportunities for Willie Parker got smaller.
XIV- Since I mentioned our other two big FAs, I would feel remiss if I didn't bring up Ryan Clark 's name. In Ed Bouchette's Q&A on Monday someone asked him where the negotiations with Clark stood. He responded, "Not much other than they are not anywhere near close to getting a deal done." To read more of the transcript of the Q&A go here.
XL- Kent State has decided to honor James Harrison, their former player and current Steelers LB, by inducting him into their Varsity "K" Hall of Fame. I know Harrison has had some off field issues previously, but you have to appreciate his outlook on playing football. Here is what he had to say about the honor:
"It’s an honor whenever you get an award like that...I was just looking at another opportunity to do something that I enjoy doing. Any accolades that came along with it were just icing on the cake."
XLIII- All good things must come to an end, or so I have been told. We had a great run in the Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament. We advanced all the way to the final four and won our division with a few come from behind wins. Does it make it sting any less knowing the blog who beat us was also a SBNation blog? Probably not. If you want to vote in the finals go here.
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Thanks Johnny
Great post once again. I read this morning that Big Snack’s stance on the tag may be softening because he wants to remain a Steeler and is realizing it is just a business move while negotiations are going on. The article is in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Things can always be worse....
Thanks
I just went over there and read it. I liked the part where Overstreet (CH’s agent) says its a business and Hampton may get upset, but it is what it is.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 10:05 AM EST up reply actions
thoughts from me, you know the one with all the opinions.
1. hoping for long term deal with Hampton, I think it will be cheaper than the franchise and we need him. Use the tag, buy some time, make him stay in shape. Transitioning Reed good, I doubt someone is going to go crazy to sign him. (does Baltimore have a kicker yet?)
2. Ed Bouchette: A fullback? We’re getting a Fullback? It feels like Christmas, it’s just too good to be true. Ed doesn’t seem to realize that Redman is the future in Pittsburgh either. Silly mortals, Redman laughs at your goal line defenses.
3. Bucs Dugout vs WHYGAVS? Really? I thought no one cared about the Pirates. (goes to vote for Bucs Dugout again)
3
I think we went in as the favorite and got a bit cocky after 3 big wins. It inflated our ego and we forgot to vote in early and often.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
I could only vote once for each thingie....
"OOH! A piece of candy. OOH! A piece of candy."
-James Woods
by Steel Spike on Feb 24, 2010 10:50 AM EST up reply actions
I could vote twice cause of work/home
I think people just forgot to vote at all
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 11:20 AM EST up reply actions
Oh well, it's not like we would get an award or anything, right?
"OOH! A piece of candy. OOH! A piece of candy."
-James Woods
by Steel Spike on Feb 24, 2010 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
Honestly, I think that we all can agree
that we just didn’t get it done. Maybe we just weren’t hungry enough. Maybe we didn’t run our mouths enough. Blitz is giving an exclusive interview to the PG in which he is planning to explain his disappointment and announce some ass-whoopings around here. After all, the ONLY goal is to be #1…
"You learn more in failure than you do in success." - Mike Tomlin
by Rebecca Rollett on Feb 24, 2010 4:47 PM EST up reply actions
Uh oh
Is Blitz going to unleash hell here in February?
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 7:24 PM EST up reply actions
Good Job Johnny
You’re becoming sports answer to Matt Drudge!
- Glad they are going to franchise Snack. We aren’t going anywhere in 2010 without a solid capable anchor on our D. Let’s figure Casey has 2 more good ones left so get a mid round NT and groom baby groom.
- Knew Jeff Reed wasn’t going anywhere. If you remember, dude won the competition kicking in a November snow storm at Heinz against a bunch of college kickers looking for work. Talk about win or go home? He’s got ice water with the whiskey that runs through his veins. He needs to sober up and retire a Steeler.
- LT, Westbrook, FWP…it’s a smorgasboard of proven commodities on the FA market that a bunch of teams shopping for a run game will throw offers at. The Steelers will not be one of them. Hello Isaac Redmon!
- Surprised the Steelers haven’t come to terms with Clark as he seemed to infer he would give a discount to stay in Pittsburgh. Probably for the best. Always felt we were lucky in 08 with his health and play. Losing a spleen can’t be good for your football career. See Chris Simms. Could a USC Safety to partner with Troy be in our future? Just wonderin’
- Kent State. Linebacker U? 4 words. Jack Lambert. James Harrison.
When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen
The thought of losing Reed
makes me very nervous. I hope you’re wrong…
"You learn more in failure than you do in success." - Mike Tomlin
by Rebecca Rollett on Feb 24, 2010 4:49 PM EST up reply actions
me 2
it seems most ppl don’t agree with some of the assumptions i’m making so maybe i’m just out in left field
I don't think we will lose him
But its just an assumption
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 7:24 PM EST up reply actions
yeah well the Real Linebacker U had Jack Ham...
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
Fool me once...
At the risk of sounding like a negative nelly, I am very disappointed with the progression of Casey Hampton contract negotiations. I am a firm supporter of the old Steeler philosophy: we won’t sign old guys to long term contracts unless (fill in the blank). Basically, old guys did not get long term extensions unless there was a clear and compelling reason to make an exception.
See Faneca: Steelers decided not to overpay for an old OG who was still the best at his position. Now, Faneca is, at best, an above average OG who makes more than he is worth. The Steelers have that “Faneca money” spread around to young offensive playmakers like Heath Miller. They did the opposite with James Farrior and Aaron Smith (basically out of commission two of the past three years) on defense. Now the Steelers have an aging/fading defense.
My firm position: Hampton may be good for another two years, although his play is already declining. A contract for any longer than that is a bad contract because he will be paid at a rate far above his production. Remember, we have him for next year with the tag regardless, so his play next year has no bearing on whether an extension is a good idea. His play and pay two, three, and four years in the future is the determinative factor and I do not believe he will be worth it.
by CarlWeathersMustache on Feb 24, 2010 11:27 AM EST reply actions
This year is different than any other year
The CBA negotiations add a twist to the contracts that is not usually there. Basically, the Steelers could sign him to a 3 or 4 year contract, but not have to pay all those years, because there may not be football in 2011. So if we tag Hampton and sign him to a wealthy deal that spreads out the money, we essentially get to keep him and will probably end up paying less than contracted.
Additionally, the most interesting part of NFL contracts is the player only makes the guaranteed money. In two years, if we think Hampton is not worth what is on paper we can force him to renegotiate or cut him without having to pay that dough. It is kind of a slap in the face, but the NFL is a business, and if you don’t perform you shouldn’t get paid. So as long as the Steelers keep the guaranteed money reasonable, I have no hesitations about signing him to something long term.
The difference with Faneca and Hampton is that good/great NTs are extremely few and far between. There are maybe 7 in the league I can think of, whereas there are plenty of great OLs out there. I think they kept signed Farrior and Smith because they believe they still have a lot in the tank, which I agree with.
Anyway, the reason we don’t want to flat out FT him and leave it at that, is that it is a big hit to the salary cap(?) for one year, and a longer contract eases the money across a span of time.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 11:42 AM EST up reply actions
i completely agree
i think something like a 3 year/18 mil contract with 9-10 mil in signing bonuses would be great for hampton. we could cut him after 2 years (cuz he certainly has that left in the tank), be able to hand pick the replacement (instead of just the best person available in this draft, we would have 2 more drafts to pick from & 2 years of free agents). and then we’d only have a 3-3.33 mil cap hit in the 3rd year (year we’d no longer have hampton).
you can think of 7 great NTs in the NFL?
pats steelers 49ers are really the only ones that jump to my mind..
Really?
Ngata (Bal)
Hampton
Rogers (CLE)
Pouha (NYJ)
Wilfork (NWE)
Franklin (SF)
Ok so I got 6, cause I had thought Peko was a NT.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 25, 2010 8:27 AM EST up reply actions
I wasn't completely sure that CLE/NYJ ran 3-4s but I was thinking of them.
also the guy from the chargers is pretty good, williams?
How come Milkshake doesn't do these anymore?
Nothing against your writing though Johnny.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Someone drank him all up
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
that maryland game
the other night almost made me wet my pants….
Steelers football is 60 mins.
by tannofsteel84 on Feb 24, 2010 12:06 PM EST up reply actions
Almost?
I regretted not wearing a diaper after that shot went in. Watch out for another thriller tonight at home. Gonna be wild.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Blowout
I will be there
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
Errm
125 about 4 rows up I believe
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 12:33 PM EST up reply actions
I sit in 113,114,115 every game, so I will be in that part of student section. I’ll scream Steelers suck during one of our free throws so you can find me. Lol.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
I’ll be wearing my “Joe Flacco Touches Little Boys” tshirt.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 12:43 PM EST up reply actions
Flacco is like Walmart
Little boys pants half off
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
by PixburghArn on Feb 24, 2010 12:44 PM EST up reply actions
I"ma
NC State fan but like good basketball so almost was appropriate lol
Steelers football is 60 mins.
by tannofsteel84 on Feb 24, 2010 2:46 PM EST up reply actions
That was some good basketball when Terps were at NC State wasn’t it? It’s funny that Tracey Smith gets a good amount of ACC praise, yet Jordan Williams (a freshman) owns him.
Remember this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq0rLPwE0zQ
The last bucket Grevis made was so sweet, just telling all the students to STFU. He said that was the worst student crowd he ever seen because of some of the things they yelled at him. He shut them up though.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
unfortunately
:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:( We need Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie in the worst way next year…. btw when will grevis graduate… jeezz enough already. He shuts a lot of people up, NC State’s fan are rambunctious but I’d prefer that over the wine and cheese crowd at UNC, I hear you can’t even talk while the team is taking free throws.
As for tracy smith he gets all the praise because he is the only consistent offensive treat on that team and with him having to have the ball fed to him, thats a tough job. They need outside shooters like no ones business. Its funny how we say that now after the whole Sendek era.
Steelers football is 60 mins.
by tannofsteel84 on Feb 24, 2010 4:42 PM EST up reply actions
Would it hurt if I told you that Leslie went into the Maryland locker room after that game at NC State? I think he was there on a trip to see the Wolfpack, but ended up in the Terps locker room after we came back and won.
Grevis is a senior this year and will be drafted, so you won’t have to worry about him next year. We are going to be a very young team next year, as we are losing 3 of our starters because of graduation.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
I believe that.....
KDKA morning sports reported that the Steelers HAD put the tags on both Hampton and Reed.
They would still need someone else to kick off…….
They did sign a guy
who was a kick off specialist in college, as I reported here:
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2010/2/9/1303399/steelers-add-kicking-depth
a while back. It’s possible that the FO is planning to have Reed handle the FGs while this new guy will do the kicking off. I don’t see another reason why they would bring both guys in, unless they just did it to make Reed keep a competitive edge.
IMO, we most likely lose a transition tagged to another team
hopefully, we end up signing either reed or hampton to a contract & can franchise the other to give the team more time to negotiate.
I don't think anyone is going to give big bucks to Reed
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, so that my critics can kiss my a**!"
-Bobby Knight
by John Stephens on Feb 24, 2010 1:53 PM EST up reply actions
i dunno
2.7mil/year isn’t big bucks in my book. and that combined with a poison pill is all it would take to sign reed away from us.
i was trying to figure it out last night, i think there are about 8 teams (not counting us) that maybe willing to invest in a veteran kicker. and reed’s probably in the top 5 or 6 kickers available. i’m just worried that by transition tagging reed, the steelers are taking away their opportunity to make a counter offer to what another team offers reed. if the steelers are willing to pay 2.6mil/year to reed, i actually think they have a better chance of keeping reed if they dont transition tag him.
CFL placekickers
I am not certain how well placekickers match up between the CFL and NFL. There are certainly differences in the size of the balls (larger balls in cfl) and the placement of the goalposts (goal line in cfl). Our local team’s pk had a decent season last year after struggling the year before. I do know there have been a lot of signings of CFL players to the NFL this year (although I think this guy resigned with the Bombers this year).
http://www.bluebombers.com/roster/show/id/1939
I may be old but I... oh d*mn, I forgot what I was going to say.
by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Feb 24, 2010 2:00 PM EST reply actions
Great six pack Johnny
I enjoyed each one.
Cheers!
"Our O-line is developing, they just don’t show it." From "Buc It" a Bucs fan.
Thanks Johnny...
Haven’t had the time to say thanks for the 6’s…but I am enjoying them and thanks for the nuggets.
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