IX- Finally, some light at the end of the tunnel? Steelers veteran Quarterback, Charlie Batch, seems to think the labor negotiations are going well at the moment. The owners and players spent 25 hours over the last 4 days with a mediation group trying to sort out the CBA. Charlie did not give away any details, but finally seeing some optimism from this entire fiasco is refreshing. Still, I remain pessimistic about the chances of anything being established by March 3rd, but at least we are making some sort of progress.
X- I have never heard of Tony DeFazio, but apparently he has worked very closely as a writer of Pittsburgh sports for some time now. Anyway, someone gave me a link of a nice interview he did discussing a few points with the Steelers. He touches on a few interesting topics that you would not normally hear detailed information about. The most interesting question he is asked about is the older players and their large salaries. He is asked if there is any players he believes should be cut. His thoughts touch right along with mine where he questions the worth of Antwaan Randle El, Larry Foote and a few other veterans.
XIII- Steelers Lounge has put together a nice comprehensive digestion of the Steelers draft needs and prospects. They break down their positions of need, which would be CB, OT, OG, DL, FS, and WR. They have some very accurate analysis and they pull no punches in their break down. Their ideal first four rounds ends up being OG Mike Pouncey, CB Brandon Burton, FS Deunta Willians, and NT Sione Fua. I would be very pleased with those 4 picks.
XIV- Occasionally, Bleacher Report will actually have an interesting story. Recently, a writer, Nick Signorelli, decided to answer the question, "Could Mike Wallace become the best receiver in the NFL?" Off the bat, I would say no because he does not have the height or size to be a redzone threat. However, Hines Ward made a career off shear toughness and was the best Steelers RZ target for years. The writer does not really do a great job explaining if he thinks Wallace can be, but he does put together a nice recap of Wallace's NFL career. Do you think Wallace can be the best?
XL- James Harrison finally under went his off season back surgery and Mike Tomlin called it a success. The surgery had been postponed previously when Harrison came down with a fever. Apparently, James had a herniated disc that bothered him the majority of the season. Seriously?!? This guy had a herniated disc and still tallied up 100 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 6 forced fumbles while gathering the 3rd most votes in the Defensive Player of the Year running? Unbelievable.
XLIII- Which team has the best stadium in the league? That is probably a question than can never be answered for sure, but this article has done a nice break down of the issue. Their idea was to take 5 criteria and rate each stadium on them. Those 5 criteria were architecture, history, weather, fans, and location. I enjoy that when they rated weather they had the opinion that "football is meant to be played outdoors, so the dome teams are going to take a slight hit in the rankings." Amen.
Heinz Field came in fourth place, which is very respectable. However, somehow the new Dallas Cowboys stadium ranked above them despite being indoors and having absolutely no history except for other teams winning the Superbowl there. Lambeau comes in first, which I would not disagree with. At third, between Cowboys Stadium and Heinz Field, is the Seahawks Qwest field, which I would also disagree with.
