I Knew It!

I knew Troy was hurt worse than the Steelers were letting on in the playoffs. Turns out, his Achillies was injured. This explains his being a non factor in the Super Bowl and the playoffs.


I read that the Steelers were out in force at Wisconsin's pro day and that Kugler worked out Carimi, Moffit and their center. Of course, the Steelers would be interested in Carimi, some of our mockers have mentioned him, but what about Moffit? Can anyone tell us about him and the possibility of the Steeelers selecting him in the later rounds?

Here's a question for all you big brained mock drafters: What about John Clay in the middle rounds? He slimmed down to 233 for his pro day (Down from 270 against TCU in the bowl game). We, as Steelers fans, are always looking for the large back in the mold of Jerome, could this guy be a candidate?

All this information came from the same piece at SI.com. In said piece, Don Banks also talked about the fact that the Hated Patriots won't draft a player represented by Tom Condonbecause he was Ben Watson's agent and he gave the Hated Patriots a hard time in negotiations. This goes with what I've always thought: You have to be a sucker to be a Patriot. They are always talking players into taking less than market value contracts, as do the Steelers, but the difference is, the Steelers still end up against the cap, the Hated Patriots are way under it. I think the Steelers do it to make sure all their players get a fair wage, I think the Hated Patriots do it to save money at the players expense. I don't think they care about their players anywhere like the Rooneys do. So anyway, if you have an agent who is going to get you a fair deal, the Hated Patriots don't want you.

I was reading James Walker the other day and he had a little article about the Bengals'quarterback busts, with Carson Palmer being the only exception as of late. I think it is time to label the organization a quarterback killer. Consider this, the steelers drafted Lawrence Timmons in the first round and he didn't start until his third year.  And now he is a beast. Would he have been considered a bust on other teams and given up on too early? I think one of the qualities I see in Tomlin is that he does not give up on potential unless he absolutely has to. The Steelersseem to understand that developing a player is a process and that some players seem to take longer to get going. I think the Bengals and other teams don't understand this as well as being poor at developing players past what they walk in the door with.

This leads me to Sean Kugler. What are his capabilities when it comes to developing offensive linemen? I've seen a lot of coments in mock drafts about drafting a lineman who needs finishing and letting Kugler "Coach him up". It is good to have a line coach we all have confidence in, but how good is Kugler? And, if he is really good, why not make Spaith (SP?) a tackle? And, if the Steelers were not able to get a great offensive lineman in the draft, what are the chances the line sees marked improvement in Kugler's second year using the same cast?

Then there's Carnell Lake, very intriguing. I think he has as much potential for bust as success. I mean, he really only has one year of coaching under his belt, albeit a good year. I am curious as to why he quit what seemed to be a good job? But I am excited to have him. He is like a first round draft pick on the coaching staff. Expectations are high, the future is unknown.

Also seen: Mike Tomlin at the University of Miami's pro day. Can you say Brandon Harris? How long has it been since we drafted a shutdown corner in the first? Or, how long has it been since a corner met expectation for the Steelers, excluding Ike? Anyone?

Here is a nice look at secondary prospects:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/story/14795835/draft-preview-primary-secondary-prospects

Interesting what is said about Dowling, who is ranked 9th overall. Interesting about Moore too.

Go here to see Walterfootball.com's multiple round mock draft, as well as their 2012 mock draft:

http://www.yardbarker.com/jump/41

 What, Seaton Hall and Steelers, no 2012 mock draft? Slacker.

Somebody is delusional if they think those two teams will be in the Super Bowl next year! Sure, at the beginning of the year, those two are going to be in the Super Bowl every year, but at the end of the year? Not! You would think the professional writers would catch on sometime.

Today is the last day of the extended CBA. I wonder if Vegas has odds on the NFLPA and the NFL getting a deal done? Or, extending the deadline yet again? I bet they can't get a deal done, but they extend the deadline. Pure guess.

At this point, I'm thoroughly confused as to who to be rooting for. The owners include the Rooneys and I should be rooting for them, but they also include Kraft and Jones and I don't want to root for them. The Players Union, kind of the same. But, further than that, is the eighteen game season just a bargaining chip? Are the owners really suffering (Relative term - they own football teams for Gods sake) under the burden of infrastructure debt? What do football teams really profit in a year? How does the business model apply to football? I learned, once upon a time, labor costs should be around 75% of costs. Is that true in the NFL, where the players were getting around 60% of income? How does this all work, does anyone know, or is this one of those life mysteries that can never be answered?

That's all fo today, I think.

GO STEELERS!