Steelers PreSeason Preview����

 

The Pittsburgh Steelers, coming off a poor 6-10 season, enter the 2004 preseason with few additions, lots of subtractions, and lots of questions.�

 

OC Mike Mularkey and DC Tim Lewis are both gone, replaced by Ken Whisenhunt and former Stillers DC Dick LeBeau.�� Gone are longtime vets Mark Bruener, Brent "Burnt" Alexander, Jason GilDong, and DeWayne Washington, all of which can accurately be summed up as addition by subtraction. �Added to the mix are veteran free agents: RB Duce Staley, LB Adrian Ross, and DE Travis Kirschke.�

 

Key Positional Battles

 

RT:� This is the most critical battle that will take place, both in terms of importance as well as in terms of dearth of ability. �Coach Billy Cowher wants to return to greater emphasis in smashmouth football, but to do that he must get better play out of the RT spot, which was an fiasco for most of the '03 campaign.� Veteran incumbents Oliver Ross and Rodd Fordham have the inside edge, not due to any particular ability or talent, but more so due to the fact that Cowher loves veterans and there are few other vets on the roster to compete for this job.� Fordham started some at RT last year, and was utterly disgraceful.� The guy has the reach of an alligator and the blocking skills of a mannequin.� Bottom line on Fordham is that he has no business starting on an NFL team.� Ross fared little better; he is, at the very least, better suited to play tackle than guard, which is where he spent some time during the constant line-shuffling of 2003.� Rookie 3rd rounder Max Starks is a huge, talented prospect, but barring injuries to Ross/Fordham, Starks has very little chance at the job.�� Starks has 2 major strikes going against him:�

 

����������� a.� Billy Cowher loathes rookies and unproven 2nd-3rd-year players.� Sure, if he's painted into a corner by free agency and injury, Cowher will play a 1st or 2nd round rookie, but rarely has he ever allowed a 3rd round rookie any significant playing time.�

 

����������� b.� Starks is an oafish lunger.� On a team that has a cohesive, progressive pedagogical approach, Starks might actually have a chance to acquit himself with minimal embarrassment.� Problem is, he's on a team with no pedagogy whatsoever, leaving the big lunger to fend for himself.� Not good.� Remember, under Billy Cowher's supreme tutelage, this is a team that has never, in 12 years, developed a capable, effective, long-term starting offensive lineman whose pedigree was less than a 2nd round draftee.

 

The short-term fix could be 6th round rookie RT Bo Lacy from Arkansas, a tough, scrappy brawler who can at least get his paws on oncoming rushers without whiffing.� Problem with Lacy is that, in all likelihood, he'll never get the chance to show his stuff, due to Cowher's utter loathing of rookies.�

 

One dark horse could guard Keydrick Vincent, who has the size and brawn to be tried at tackle.� Problem is, Cowher isn't innovative enough to even consider this, and frankly is too stubborn to even try.�

 

RB:� This comes down to a 2-man race:� Duce Staley vs. Jerome Bettis.� Frankly, this ought not even be a "battle"; Staley should be awarded the job hands down.� Problem is, Bettis has been a favorite pacifier of Billy Cowher for 8 years now, and like a toddler, Cowher just can't bring himself to give up the pacifier.� Staley is more capable, more able to get to the corner, and far, far more of a weapon in the passing game.�� Bettis, on the other hand, is slow, fat, and literally useless in the passing game.� Should be a no-brainer, but bear in mind -- we're dealing with a coach with no brains.�

 

3rd-year man Verron Haynes could work his way into the mix, especially if Bettis or Staley miss PT due to injury.� Haynes is a nice-sized power back with good rushing and receiving skills.� His problem has been brittleness; both seasons in the NFL have been marred with one nagging injury after another.���

 

#4 WR:� The 1st 3 WRs spots are locked up, with Plex Burress, Hines Ward, and Antwain Randle El capably manning those spots.� The #4 WR spot is wide open, and in an offense that likes to use the 4-WR look on passing downs, this is a spot that is overlooked but fairly critical.� Last season, the Stillers got next to nothing from the #4 WR spot; clearly, they must get better production if they are to make the playoffs.

 

Leading the pack in the quest for this job are vets Chris Doering, Lee Mays, and Freddie Milons.�

 

Doering served as the #4 last season, with limited distinction.� Big and rangy, he's also slow.� Mays is a speed merchant, but has yet to show truly reliable hands.� Milons was acquired from Philly at the end of the '03 preseason, but was never allowed to dress in any of the 16 regular season games.�

 

Nickel Back:� Towsend and Scott are the starters, but highly touted but inexperienced youngsters Ike Taylor and Ricardo Coclough are vying for time as the nickel back.� Taylor was selected in the 4th round of 2003, and Coclough in the 2nd round of the '04 draft.� Both are speedy and athletic, but raw.� Let's face it, though -- "veteran savvy" in this secondary the past 3+ seasons was as useful as the screen door on a submarine.� Speed covers up for a multitude of sins, and these two need reps in order to force the issue, rather than the futile mode of playing "chase the WR with the ball".��

 

LOLB:� This job was essentially handed to 5th-year man Clark Haggans, who'd been forced to rot the past 4 seasons while Jason GilDong dogged it.� Haggans apparently felt guilty about being handed the job, so he literally broke a hand while weight-lifting just a couple weeks ago, and is out for 2 more weeks.�

 

This opened the door wide-open for 2nd-year OLB Alonzo Jackson, who, after being drafted in round 2 and playing spec teams the first 2 games of 2003, was unceremoniously forced to attend the following 14 games in street-clothes, courtesy of rookie-hater Billy Cowher.� Zo, however, had an achy back, which limited his work the first few days of camp, but he's back on the field and, for the time being, holding down the starting spot.

 

Rookie 5th-rounder Nathaniel Adibi from VA Tech could figure into the mix�.on any other team.� Again, unless painted into a corner by free agency &/or injury, Billy Cowher would rather crawl naked through chards of broken glass than start a rookie like Adibi.�

 

In fact, faced with the slim prospect of Haggans possibly being out longer than expected, and with the totally untested Zo Jackson manning the LOLB spot, Cowher and GM Kevin Colbert hungrily signed Bengal vet Adrian Ross to a 1-year deal just a few days ago.� Faced with the decision of playing an unproven youngster with enormous upside, or a mediocre veteran with no upside, Billy Cowher will always choose the latter.�

 

Unless Jackson dominates solid starting OTs in the preseason, the hope here is for Haggans to man the spot, with Jackson seeing about 15 snaps per game as a designated rusher.� As the season progresses, Jackson could possibly wrest the job from Haggans if Zo shows the ability to pressure the QB, something that has been sorely lacking from the LOLB spot ever since Kevin Green departed after the '95 season.�

 

TE:� Serving as a Steeler TE is like being a lonely Maytag repairman.� No NFL team has used its TE less in the passing game the past 9 (nine) seasons than the Pittsburgh Stillers.� "TE" essentially means "tackle eligible" in the Neanderthal offense promulgated by Billy Cowher since the 1995 season.� Still, by default, someone has to play this position, so a few men will vie for this fairly non-critical job.�

 

Jay "Hot Tub" Riemersma has the inside track, based on talent and contract.� Problem is, Hot Tub Jay spent most of last season in the tub, and has already started out this training camp with long interludes in the tub.�

 

Vets Jerame Tuman and Matt Cushing, along with rookies Matt Kranchick and Robert Blizzard, will vie for backup spots, and possibly a starting job if Riemersma remains hobbled.� Kranchick, at 6'-7" with decent speed, is an intriguing prospect, but unfortunately for him, he simply got drafted by the wrong team.�

 

Frankly, given the total disdain for using the TE in the passing game, this battle is of no real importance.�

 

Key Points to Observe

 

- Progress at Safety.�� Chris Hope and Troy Polamalu will start at FS and SS.� Hope, a former Academic All American at FSU, rotted the past 2 seasons because he "didn't understand the system".� Coaches were reluctant to replace Burnt Alexander last season, largely because "he knew where to line up and other players looked to him for guidance".  Yes, indeed�.Burnt Alexander knew "where to line up".� He didn't have the slightest clue as to what to do once the ball was snapped, but, what the heck, he knew where to line up.  He didn't make a play on a passed ball, nor lay a vicious hit, since the 1900's, but alas, HE KNEW WHERE TO LINE UP.� Pola and Hope add desperately needed speed, athleticism, and playmaking to this safety corps, and any kind of half-decent play by these two men is bound to significantly improve what has been a porous pass defense the past 3 seasons.�

 

- Backups on the D-line.� Frankly, there are none.� Sure, there's a barrelful of bodies on the roster and at camp, but any injury to starters Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, or Kimo von Oelhoffen spells an unmitigated disaster.� 4th-year man Chris Hoke is a complete joke as an NFL defensive lineman.� Ditto for 4th-year NT Kendrick Clancy, who doesn't have the size, brawn, toughness, or skill to play the critical NT spot.� DE Travis Kirschke, signed as a FA from the 49ers, is a mediocre, vanilla lineman with little skill.� 3rd-year man Brett Keisel possesses some nice measurables, but sat out all of 2003 and has yet to play even a full quarter of defensive line in the NFL.� Rookie NT Eric Taylor is a very promising prospect, although he's been hobbled by a hamstring early in camp.�

 

The 5-yard chuck rule.� The NFL, in NHL-like fashion, is "cracking down" on the 5-yard chuck rule.� The Stillers have spent what seems like the past decade playing their CBs 9, 10, even 12 yards off the line of scrimmage.� While it might be prudent to do so once in a while, the obvious fact remains that, at 12 yards off the ball, a CB will never touch a WR, especially in the "crack down" of the 5-yard rule.�� With a better tandem of safeties than they've had in years, it will be interesting to see how the Stillers approach the alignment of their CBs.�

 

QB play.�� Tommy Maddox is clearly the starter.� Rookie 1st rounder Ben Roethlisberger will sit and watch, unless injury or playoff elimination occur.� Key observation to look for: will Maddox be the decisive gunslinger that he was in 2002, or the indecisive, timid QB who, in large part because of his timidity, took a beating in 2003?�

 

Placekicking.� Jeff Reed had the magical season in 2002, coming out of the unemployment line to replace Todd Petersen in superb fashion.� Last season, Reed stunk.� The preseason isn't a complete litmus test for many positions and players, but kicking a FG in preseason is virtually the same in preseason as it is in the regular season.� Check out Reed's confidence and accuracy during the preseason.�

 

Coaching.� Billy Cowher, who's missed the playoffs 4 of the past 6 seasons and had 2 years remaining on his fat contract, was unbelievably given a contract extension just prior to the start of camp.� Cowher has the very best head-coaching job in the NFL -- the standards are low, expectations are low, mediocrity is rewarded, and anything that goes wrong is rationalized with brilliant excuse-making that always exonerates Billy Cowher from any blame whatsoever.� Bottom line, however, is this: winning an NFL title is difficult.� Winning an NFL title when your head coach is a choker and a complete buffoon is virtually impossible.� The road to perdition starts, and ends, with Billy Cowher.�

 

�(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- the only nationally read coverage on the Pittsburgh Stillers that has accurately predicted the how's and the why's of the past 3 Stiller playoff losses�.)