http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlYnapQf0oc

I hope that one more vet like randle el will help straighten out sweed. I’m still on the limas bandwagon for one more year. I wonder with the addition of randle el, what the future holds for logan making the team. I know tomlin was pushing for him to get some time in the offense last year.

- I live in DC, and Randle El hasn’t looked like the player he once was. Hopefully that’s because he’s been flanker instead of in the slot, but I’m worried he doesn’t have the burst left.

- I’m not sure it spells the end of Sweed. Randle El could be back-up to Ward and more of an inside guy with Wallace and Tone on the outside.

- Too bad there may be no one to throw to them. We need to sign / draft a backup QB with starter capability. Brittle Batch and Pencil-legs Dixon aren’t gonna get it done.

- Between Ryan Clark and Will Allen, Willis McGahee has to be hoping he gets cut so he doesn’t have to face the Steelers.

- Ryan Clark, this is your chance to prove that last year you were injured or suffered without Troy, because you weren’t getting it done.

- For that reason, i hope the coaching staff creates a competition at safety, and doesn’t just hand it to Clark.

- I’m concerned we’re spending too much money and keeping folks around at the expense of roster spots and playing time for younger players. As happy as I am to see these two back, I actually preferred the days when we let our older, over-the-hill free agents walk.

- But I’m happy to see that the Steelers are, once again, pursuing a free agency strategy that allows them to draft the best athlete available without an immediate need.

may indicate that the steelers may want to trade up in the first round . . . though i’m not sure who they would be eyeballing . . .

What I still cannot understand is, why is a 28 year old multi millionaire hanging around small town college bars. You gotta question his maturity as much as anything else. He’s still innocent til proven guilty, but damn Ben, grow up.

I figured there was a slim shot of us resigning Clark, but I had no clue that we were even looking at Randle El. I was expecting us to give Sweed one last shot, but seeing as he’s been quite terrible so far, i shouldn’t have been surprised by us signing Randle El.
I see Randle El as a good #3 receiver behind Tone and Ward, and he should definitely bring back that trick play mindset that the Steelers used so well for so many years.

I like it. I, for one, like Clark. Yeah, Troy makes anyone look better, But I love how Clark hits, and now we have the luxury of developing a draft pick.

Hines and Santonio with Mike Wallace, Battle and Randle El pushing each other, hell yeah!

Now for some big (full) backs — Welcome Back Dan Krieder!!! I know, I know…

Holmes, Ward, Wallace, Randle-El, Battle, Sweed, Grisham… Logan

There’s not enough room for everyone. Possibly Sweed gets new scenery to pursue his career elsewhere. If not, there’s going to be a healthy competiton get on the roster, and to get ‘a hat’ on game days, particularly between Sweed, Battle, and Grisham, who I imagine after putting in work on the practice squad, would like to crack the lineup.

Ward’s hammy has been an issue for years. Last year we had a problem with depth after starters went down at other positions. Should Ward go down again, Randle-El should be able to “make plays” from the slot.

While Arians hasn’t drawn up as many effective wild n’ crazy plays as say Whiz or Mularkey or Gailey or Earhardt for that matter, I think not having Alan Faneca and top-end athletes like Slash Stewart, Dermonti / Jeff Hartings, and Randle-El could be large reasons why. Pretty much any offensive coordinator would appreciate a new playmaker.

The Clark signing seems like a good move, depending on how it’s structured.
Clark produced pretty well in ’06 until a groin injury, in ’07 before gall bladder, spleen, and sickle cell, and then on the Super Bowl #1 ranked D in ’08… but not so good in ’09.

We are banking on Polamalu making a full recovery. We recently added Will Smith who started just 26 games in 6 years and recorded 4 career INTs. We know what Tyrone Carter can and can’t do, and we hope Ryan Mundy takes big steps this year. Possibly Deshea or CB Lewis possibly could move to Safety. Are you satisfied? Provided the mentality is to take nothing for granted, are the pieces in place in this secondary?

Well dang it, problems of quality and depth in the secondary were exposed last year, or more plainly, we got toasted last year! Cutler on about his 2nd day with a new team and not many offensive weapons beyond a speedy rookie Knox, slung it around awhile and found enough for a W. Bruce Gradkowski tossed it up to a speedy rookie for yards and scores and yards and scores. The struggling Chiefs with/without an offensive coordinator had their way. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s very good offense seemed unstoppable., etc., etc. So Troy’s coming back… We good? Which brings me to…

Alex Marvez is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com at has this to say about a certain free agent safety:

Darren Sharper: He’s a savvy leader coming off the best season of his 13-year NFL career for a Super Bowl winner. But at age 34, Sharper isn’t going to land the kind of lucrative contract that his play warrants. As each day passes in free agency, New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis looks wiser and wiser for not using a $6 million franchise tag on Sharper. Barring an unexpected windfall from elsewhere, it looks like Loomis will have a chance to re-sign Sharper for a lot less.

I ask you this, how great would it be to have Ryan Clark backing up Darren Sharper and Troy Polamalu? “That’s crazy!”, you say? “We can’t afford it.” His game has been very good for years. This instinctive ball-hawking centerfielder who can also lay wood still has it, and would give Polamalu ultimate flexibility to do everything, making him, dare I say it, even more dangerous. LeBeau is someone who would maximize their abilities. Baltimore just acquired Boldin to go with Rice and Mason plus Stallworth, Heap, and Washington/Williams. Are we prepared to shut them down?

Think value. It’s what Steelers front office does. Apparently even after Sharper’s excellent Super year last year, he’s not fetching a ton of interest in the market. Thank goodness it was Porter who made that play in the Super Bowl and not Sharper- because now is our chance to talk with him, at reasonable fair value, weighting bonus money towards this uncapped year.

Eric Berry will not be availabe at #18, and if he were to unexpectedly fall to #10/11, it would require our second round pick and a willing partner in Jacksonville or Denver.

Yes, we have Holmes and Woodley and more guys due up. We must plan carefully. And I say Sharper is potentially a good value signing that won’t break long-range budgets. Let’s take advantage of the Packers’ decision to not franchise him; we wouldn’t lose picks. Let’s structure the bonus into this special uncapped year. He’s a guy that could make plays to save or steal games in a Division race and in the Playoffs. We want to make multiple Super Bowl runs the next few years. And this would be a continuation on that path. Think value.

Ahh. I was beginning to panic. The secondary was looking pretty thin there.
With Clark headed to free agency, our apparent starting free safety was Mundy. I like Mundy, but he needs work. And slim chance any rook FS can play center field for us right off the bat.

With an injury-prone Troy we were left with Ike as the only reliable starter in the whole secondary. As such, I still appreciate the move for the backup safety Allen. We have him signed for at least three years, so I suppose he’ll be the FS/SS backup we need.

Bottom line to this ramble: I’ll bet on an OL man at #18.