http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2459285

And oh yah, distributing cocaine is no big deal.  The drug only KILLS people regularly.  

Considering the Steelers can only have 30 pre-draft visits, it's kind of surprising that so many late round running backs-fullbacks are on the list. Definitely not good news for Dookie. Torain, McAnderson, Caulcrick are all tough, strong runners who should be available in the fifth round or later or not even get drafted. Torain (6-1, 222) is interesting. He would have been a pretty high draft pick if he'd stayed healthy. Ran for more than 1,200 yards at ASU as a junior Juco transfer. Similar to Matt Forte as a tough, slashing inside runner with good hands.  But his injury (kind of a dislocated foot) is worrisome and he has not been able to do a full workout. Caulcrick looks like a natural fit as the short yardage, clock-killing runner a la Brandon Jacobs. I'll bet Tomlin still has nightmares about the freakingly stupid inside reverse run by Hines near the NE goal line.  That play alone might be enough for us to draft Caulcrick. ''Umm, Bruce ... let's not run that again, ok?'' ''Sure chief, just get me someone like Caulcrick or Schmidt next year and we'll ram the f___ ball up the f___ middle.''

In addition to the visits to Pittsburgh, Tomlin has also been to LSU to see Hester (among others) and the Steelers RB coach was at W. Virg. to see Schmidt. I'd love to see the Steelers go after Schmidt in the fourth round but there will be a few other teams picking ahead of us with the same idea. All these other guys are backup plans.

The only thing I would add about Caulcrick and the others is that it's important they be able to contribute on special teams. Schmidt would be great on ST and perhaps Hester as well. They both look like gamers.

Among the DL, my choice for the third-rounder would be Bryant. The guy is a beast (6-4, 318) and pretty quick. He could play DE right away, at least part time, play in four-man fronts and also be a candidate for NT in the future. Langford also seems to fit the bill but it won't be easy for a kid to jump from Hampton College to playing time in the NFL. He might need a year before he's ready to contribute.

Enjoy your sandwich and the extensive whine list they serve in Cleveland, berea. We're looking forward to more prime rib and (yet again) champagne for dessert.

Waiter, I think Berea will take that sandwich to go.

Specifically looking at goal line/short yardage I believe a shorter, more compact but still powerful and elusive RB (ie Barry Foster, Emmitt Smith, Terrell Davis, MJ Drew) are much more effective than a big lumbering RB.

Qualities such as being able to "find" small creases in the defense, ability to make yourself "small" and not letting the defense get a full hit (Emmitt was famous for this) on you, ability to spin off tackles and remaining elusive within tight confines plus being strong/powerful are what makes a RB hard to tackle in general but especially in short yardage/goal line.

This was painfully apparent to me when we played the Jags...is there anyway to stop M.Jones-Drew from getting 1 yard?  dam near impossible... unless he is surrounded by 3 guys 3 yards deep in the backfield...just thinking about us trying to tackle him gets me frustrated...

I know there aren't a lot of MJD backs out there but it just illustrates my point.  

I would rather see us have 5'8- 5'11, 210-225lb guys who are quick, powerful, elusive than the Big, lumering, just "move the pile" type backs.

Any thoughts on this guys...  

Two of the top RBs in the draft, Mendenhall and Stewart, are both 5-10 and powerfully built, 225 and 235 pounds respectively. Of the top 15 ranked RBs by NFL Draft Scout, 12 are under 6 feet. Ray Rice might be the best power type RB in the draft at 5-8, 200.  No one is talking about him as a great prospect but I think he compares very well to MJD and will be effective in the NFL as a complementary back for as long as he stays healthy, which might not be long. Same with MJD; he takes and delivers so much punishment I can't see him having a long career. Caulcrick weighs 255 but is only 6 feet tall so he might be just an overly large bowling ball type of power runner. There is no way he can ''make himself small'' as you describe it. Didn't matter in college but in the NFL hje might not be as effective in short yardage as a guy like Rice or perhaps even Hester, who is quick and smart along with pretty strong at 225. Schmidt is huge at 6-2 247 but he hits the line hard and I think he'll be a good short-yardage runner in the NFL as well as a good blocker and special teamer. McAnderson is 5-10 240 so perhaps he fits the mold you are talking about.

The problem with moving the pile in this era is that the pile is so freaking big because of the size of linemen. It's also more difficult for big backs to ''wear down defenses'' because defenses substitute so much. The only way you wear anyone down nowadays is to go no-huddle and keep the big fatties and old guys on defense on the field.

Big backs like Davenport and the overrated Jacobs don't have quick enough feet to take advantage of little seams and the only reason they get first downs in short yardage situations a lot of times is because they have the height and long arms to get a good spot. I guess it doesn't matter how you get the first down, but I'm with you in preferring guys of almost any size who are just good runners. The more we have, the better. Mewelde Moore is actually a pretty good short yardage guy because he has thick legs and makes quick cuts. He breaks a lot of tackles. Gary Russell was a good strong inside runner at Minnesota. Another strong runner with the ability to make a yard in key situations will give us a damn good backfield and take some of the pressure off FWP. The only way his carries will go down is if the supporting cast is better.

Lifer, what's your opinion of Justin Vincent.  I remember him coming out of LSU...5'10" 220LBs seems to be in the mold were talking about.  If he can step up and show some flashes we would have a nice, young, very talented RB group:

FWP, Moore, Russell, Vincent, Davis...add another one through draft and I'd be very happy with that group  (I'm hoping dookie gets let go...not a big fan)...

As has been said in another thread, there's always another wave of good young running backs ready to hit the beach. I don't think we'll draft one high this year but you never know. If all the top OL are off the board (as seems increasingly likely) and Jonathan Stewart somehow slips down because of his recent toe surgery, then he might be the best player available at No. 23. I'd rather we trade down in that scenario and I imagine we'd get the opportunity to do so, but there's nothing wrong with adding a potentially great RB who's six years younger than your starter and can also return KOs. Wouldn't be the worst move in the world. More likely, we will draft a RB or FB late and also sign one or two more as undrafted FAs.

Interesting, very interesting.  He could be really good for us...

I'm not in favor of using a high pick on a RB...too many good late round/free agent prospects.  If Ray Rice fell to the fourth round, that would be interesting to me and I know Owen Schmidt is a huge fan favorite as a 4th/5th rounder.

I agree it seems probable the top OL prospects will be gone...I believe Albert(Virginia) will be gone, too bad b/c I think he is the perfect pick for us.  The choice may come down to OT G. Cherilus (BC) or a guy like DT K. Balmer (NC).  
Is #23 too high for Cherilus? I don't know.  Instead of Balmer, I'd rather see us grab "Red" Bryant in the 3rd round.

I know Coach T. said "we need to get younger and bigger on the OL and DL"...we'll see who we get.

BTW, I'm not a big fan of a WR with a first or second round pick either ( although if they pulled the trigger on say WR Malcolmn Kelly from OK I'd be intrigued).  As always, the "trenches" are the key to a really good team.

Any LSU fans out there have anything on J.Vincent?