Wallace Not Reporting.......Yet

WR Mike Wallace remains with the Pittsburgh Steelers now that Friday's Restricted Free Agent deadline passed without another team signing him to a contract.  However, that is not the end of the saga.  NFL.com is reporting that Wallace is refusing to sign the tender offered to him by the Pittsburgh Steelers, until it is absolutely necessary.  Both sides are interested in signing a long-term deal, but they are still far apart.  History has shown that holding out against the Steelers doesn't accomplish much.  They are of the impression that we'll win with or without you.  If you want to be a part of a championship team....great, if not.....oh well.  Let's hope that the Steelers and Wallace work this thing out.

Steelers' Prospect Visits, Throwbacks, and Schedule

Prospects in town

Tuesday and Wednesday were the last two days of potential draft pick visits.  The Steelers hosted a total of seven players on those days.  Included in those two days were likely first rounders Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill and Memphis DT Dontari Poe.  Also in attendance were California OT Mitchell Schwartz, Cincinnati TE Adrien Robinson, SMU G Kelvin Beachum, Arkansas WR Greg Childs, and Colorado WR Toney Clemons. 

Throw Back the Throwbacks

2012 Throwbacks to 1934: Picture courtesy of Yahoo Sports

The Steelers have a poor history when it comes to having throwbacks that don't make you want to hurl.  Are these the worst jerseys the Steelers will have worn?  Probably not.  The 1994 throwbacks were pretty nasty too.

1994 Throwbacks to 1933: Photo courtesy of http://www.complex.com/sports/2011/11/the-25-ugliest-uniforms-in-sports-history#14

Steelers 2012 Preseason Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time** (TV)
Week 1 (Thurs., Aug. 9)	at Philadelphia	7:30 p.m. (KDKA-TV)
Week 2 (Sun., Aug. 19)	Indianapolis	8:00 p.m. (NBC/WPXI-TV)
Week 3 (Sat., Aug. 25)	at Buffalo	7:00 p.m. (KDKA-TV)
Week 4 (Thurs., Aug. 30)	Carolina	7:30 p.m. (KDKA-TV)

Steelers 2012 Regular Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time** (TV)
Sun., Sept. 9	at Denver	8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Sun., Sept. 16	N.Y. Jets	4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Sept. 23	at Oakland	4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Sept. 30	BYE	---
Sun., Oct. 7	Philadelphia	1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Thurs., Oct. 11	at Tennessee	8:20 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sun., Oct. 21	at Cincinnati	8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Sun., Oct. 28	Washington	1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Sun., Nov. 4	at N.Y. Giants	4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Mon., Nov. 12	Kansas City	8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sun., Nov. 18>	Baltimore	8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Sun., Nov. 25	at Cleveland	1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Dec. 2	at Baltimore	4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Dec. 9	San Diego	1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Dec. 16	at Dallas	4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Dec. 23	Cincinnati	1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sun., Dec. 30	Cleveland	1:00 p.m. (CBS)

Schedule taken from: http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Steelers-2012-Regular-Season-Schedule/ebad8db2-3a7d-428f-838d-95bdc313a261

Steelers Bring Charlie Back

QB Charlie Batch has returned to Pittsburgh for another year.  The Steelers and Charlie Batch agreed to a one year deal.  This is a good signing for them since the only other QB's on the roster besides Big Ben had been Jerrod Johnson and Troy Smith.  They are not terrible as third stringers but would have been scary as the only back-ups.  Fans have kept thinking that each year will be Batch's last with the team, but he keeps proving them wrong.  He is an experienced veteran to have around, however.  He just completed his 14th season in the league.

The Steelers also met with four draft prospects today.  They have Clemson DE Andre Branch, Louisiana-Lafayette TE Ladarius Green, Michigan State WR Keshawn Martin, and Cincinnati DT John Hughes. 

A little about each prospect:

Branch
Would be an OLB with the Steelers.  He had been considered a late second round pick at best but has moved up to late first or early second with a good pro day.  Good pass rusher.  Has potential to be as good as any linebacker we currently have on the roster.

Green
I really like Ladarius Green.  He is a freak of nature.  He is 6'6", 238 lbs, 34 1/2" arms, and ran a 4.53 forty.  He wouldn't be great right away, but with some work think Jimmy Graham from the Saints.  Green is another player that is jumping up the boards.  When I originally saw Green, he was projected to be a 5th-6th round pick.  He is now probably a solid third rounder.

Martin
He gives me the impression of a slightly taller (6'0") Antonio Brown, albeit with arguably less talent.  He is quick and adept at gaining yards after the catch.  He will take some work and is not the lengthy receiver that the Steelers truly need.  Probably a fourth round pick.

Hughes
A run-only defensive tackle.  Steelers are probably looking at his as a possible developmental NT.  I would be surprised if he is taken before the 7th round.  I would not be surprised if he ends up being undrafted.

Steelers Roster by Position

Inside you will find the Pittsburgh Steelers roster.  It is organized by position, so that you can see the depth at each position.  Every player who is signed to a contract by the Steelers is listed.  On the roster, you will also find RFAs who have been tendered a contract, even if they have yet to sign it.  This will be updated as changes occur.

Steelers Re-sign Versatile O-Lineman

The Steelers re-signed Trai Essex today.  The importance of this may be overlooked as Essex is no world breaker at any position.  However, Essex is a capable back-up at center, guard, and tackle.  Pittsburgh also hosted ILB prospect Dont'a Hightower today.

Cotchery Re-signs with the Steelers

After testing the waters of free agency, WR Jerricho Cotchery has decided to re-sign with the Steelers according to an article from the National Football Post.  Pittsburgh beat out the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs for Cotchery's services.

Steelers sign TE Leonard Pope

The Steelers have signed their first free agent of the offseason.  They have agreed to a one year deal with TE Leonard Pope.

Steelers Forget to Show Up for Preseason Game

Someone forgot to tell the Steelers that they had a preseason game tonight against the Vikings. They played terribly. This game had so little action that I was struggling to stay awake. This is sad because I bleed black and gold and love football. Heck, I can still watch my old high school team and they've only won about 5 games in the past three years. The Steelers looked like they could have shared the field with them though during this game. "Big Ben" threw quite a few bad balls. They were thrown behind receivers and they were ducks (they weren't spiraling). When the most exciting thing that happened all game is Gus Frerotte performing well (he grew up about a half hour away from me, I gotta cheer for him), then you weren't watching one of the NFL's greatest games. The game ended up with Byron Leftwich captaining a game-winning drive. The score wound up 12-10, but it really isn't worth a game story. The only thing to mention is Rashard Mendenhall putting the pig skin on the turf a couple times. Mendenhall fumbling twice is really bad. Hopefully, he doesn't let it plague him all season though. Early fumbles can really mess with a rookie.

Let's hope the Steelers find their groove for their next game, their final preseason game, which will be against the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field on Thursday night. The game starts at 7:00, and can be seen locally on KDKA or FSN-Pittsburgh.

Farrior Inks New Deal

Steelers ILB James Farrior has signed a 5 year, $18.25 million contract. This contract means that Farrior, 33, will most certainly finish his career in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey.

My Opinion: I'm not really sure how to take this. Farrior has been a good to great LB for the Steelers for years now, but he's 33. His age is going to be a factor soon. If he can keep up this level of play then it of course is a good deal for the Steelers. However, his play is likely to slip. Also, does this mean the end of Larry Foote? My thoughts were that Timmons was battling Foote for a starters job this season, but that those two would take over the middle of the field when Farrior's contract ran up at the end of the season. Obviously, this is not the case anymore. So, has Foote been relegated to bench duty in the near future? You can never have too many good players, but the ILB position seems overloaded for the next couple years. All three of these players (Foote, Farrior, and Timmons) could be solid to very good starters in the league. I suppose it is a good problem to have.

Let's Get Caught Up

Apologies for the lack of posts for about the past week. It has been a really busy time for me.

Since I last posted, the Pirates have signed first round pick Pedro Alvarez to a deal for much less than I was expecting. They also passed on signing 2nd round pick Tanner Scheppers. Robbie Grossman, also signed which is good news because of his upside.

The Steelers lost to the Bills 24-21 and did not look very good throughout the game.

The Penguins will be missing Ryan Whitney for at least 3 months.

The Hill District will get $2 million in aid, $1 million each from the Penguins and the Urban Redevelopment Authority along with much more.

Also since the last post, the Pirates went 2-4, dropping 3 to the Mets and another to Cincinatti. They took one win from each team.

I hope to get back on track with a true post of tonights game.

Steelers Notes

As I wrote earlier today, the Steelers have signed Byron Leftwich to replace injured backup QB Charlie Batch. After being replaced by David Garrard, Leftwich was released by the Jaguars and then picked up by the Atlanta Falcons. He played in three games for the Falcons, throwing one TD and 2 INTS and racking up a 59.5 QB rating. Batch's QB rating for last season was 52.1.

P Mitch Berger was brought into to provide some competition for Paul Ernster. I did not think Ernster kicked that poorly on Friday night, but competition is beneficial most of the time. Berger has played in only five games since suffering some pretty serious injuries in training camp of '06. "I tore my groin, had my lower abdominal re-attached and had a separated pubic bone," Berger said. "I've been coming off that injury for basically the last year and a half. I'm healthy again. I've been healthy for the last eight, 10 months. I'm just trying to get back in now." YIKES! If healthy, Berger could be a steady, yet unspectacular punter. In 20 punts in 2007, he placed 6 inside the 20, and had only 2 touchbacks. The bad thing is that his average was 40.7 yards, almost three yards shy of his career average.

NT Casey Hampton was removed from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and practiced with the team Sunday afternoon. This is good news for the starting defense.

PSI reports that S Ryan Mundy, the Steelers 6th round draft pick this year, will miss the next couple preseason games. QB Charlie Batch was scheduled for surgery today.

Steelers Sign Leftwich

Byron Leftwich was signed to replace injured backup QB Charlie Batch. Batch broke his collarbone in the first preseason game and is likely to miss a 4-6 weeks. Leftwich came into the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but played for the Atlanta Falcons last season. He struggled in his final season in Jacksonville, eventually giving way to David Garrard taking over his starting position. In Atlanta he did not fare much better. He is an average starting QB, but should be a solid backup.

2 Pirates Game and a Steelers Game to Catch Up On

The Pirates and Phillies previous two games were pretty much what we could expect. Paul Maholm pitched another very solid game, going 7 innings. In those 7 innings, Maholm gave up 5 hits, 0 runs, 3 BB. 10 K. Sean Burnett, Denny Bautista, John Grabow, TJ Beam, and Craig Hansen combined with Maholm to shutout the Phillies. The Pirates were also shutout until the 12th inning. Doumit led off with a double and Steve Pearce's double drove him in. Pearce then scored on a Freddy Sanchez single. The game would end 2-0.

In game 2 of the series, Ian Snell started off poorly again, giving up 2 runs in the first inning. He would settle down and last six innings, yielding only one more run. McLouth was the only solid performer for the Bucs. He had two hits in four at bats, driving in a run and scoring a run. The Bucs would go down 4-2.

The Steelers game was a bit of a surprise. For one, the offensive line looked pretty solid, yielding only one sack the entire game. They also paved the way for 118 rushing yards. First round draft pick, Rashard Mendenhall played well. He ran 7 times averaging nearly five yards per carry to lead the Steelers rushing attack with 34 yards. Second round draft pick, Limas Sweed, led the receiving corps with 23 yards on 3 catches.

The first team offense started the preseason off strong. They marched 80 yards in 8 plays on a game opening touchdown drive. The score came from Roethlisberger throwing a quick hit to Santonio Holmes in the flat and Holmes outran everyone to the endzone.

The first team defense was not so lucky. They failed to stop the Eagles' first drive numerous times, resulting in a field goal. Many times the defense looked a step behind without starters Casey Hampton and Troy Polamalu.

Once the second team came in, the Steelers continued to play well. Unfortunately, partway through the second quarter, backup QB Charlie Batch went down with a broken collarbone. News reports now suggest that Batch will be out for 4-6 weeks. The Steelers are looking to sign either Byron Leftwich or Daunte Culpepper to fill the void.

The second, third, and fourth stringers had some pleasant surprises. QB Dennis Dixon played a solid game. He threw 9 passes and completed six of them for 30 yards. LB Keyaron Fox stood out in my eyes. He was all over the field. His speed was a surprise for me. He tied for the lead on the team with 4 tackles for the game. Other than that the game was far from exciting, each team scored a touchdown and the rest of the scoring came from FGs. Final Score Steelers 16 - Eagles 10.

Steelers News

PSI has some reports regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers. LG Chris Kemoeatu practiced for the first time this season after being removed from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Big Ben has said that he will play on Friday when the Steelers face the Philadelphia Eagles. Casey Hampton remains on the sidelines while trying to get in good enough shape for Coach Tomlin to give him the OK to play.