Steelers Source

I am working my way up from the back of the defense and part 2 of my training camp series is on linebackers. The contestants (and there are plenty) in Latrobe this year are:

Last year when the Steelers cut down to their final 53 man roster, then kept 8 linebackers, so a fair number of players listed above are not going to see the regular season. The no brainers are James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley on the outside. The starters at inside linebacker is a little more interesting. I am hoping that this year is really the coming out party for Lawrence Timmons. At the other inside spot there were plenty of screams last season, your truly included, that James Farrior had lost too much speed and could not play on third down any longer. That has to also be on the mind of the Steelers and was in large part the reason for bringing Larry Foote back. I’m going to give Foote the starting nod, and while he’ll make the roster, I wouldn’t be stunned to see this as Farrior’s last year.

For those who are counting that is 5 of 8 spots on the roster filled. Considering their draft positions, it is pretty much a lock that Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson are going to make the team. I see the last spot as a competition between Keyaron Fox, Andre Frazier, and Stevenson Sylvester, with Fox getting the nod. A very real possibility is that the Steelers will put either Worilds or Gibson on the roster as a defensive end and thereby be able to keep Fox plus one.

There was an article on Ben Roethlisberger in the New York Times the other day that is certainly interesting reading. I goes back to his early years, high school, college, and time in Pittsburgh. Quick summary is once a jerk, always a jerk.

Today, former Dallas Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams signed a 2 year deal to come to Pittsburgh and play with the Steelers. Adams was a 5 time Pro Bowl tackle while in Big D and was released by the Cowboys to avoid paying him $6.5 million in salary for this season. Financial terms with the Steelers have not yet been disclosed, but Adams was seeking something in the neighborhood of $3.5 million per season.

The big question is where will Adams play. With Willie Colon out, the immidate need is at right tackle. However, Max Starks played on the right side during the last Super Bowl run and can’t be trusted to pass block on the blind side. My guess is that Starks moves to the right side and Adams gets plugged into the left tackle spot. You can see my last article begging for this day, so believe me when I say, great news!

This is the first of my posts breaking down this year’s positional battles during this year’s training camp. I figured that I would start with my personal favorite and get finished with the cornerbacks (or lack thereof) in Latrobe this year. Positions reflected are straight from the Steelers website, for example DB could reflect cornerback or safety as needed on the roster. Ok, here is what we are looking at:

I’ll start with the easier of the two first and talk about the safeties first. Baring injury, this position is set as reflected with the exception of Justin Thornton whose only chance would be to make the team on special teams. We can only hope that the return of Troy Polamalu will help cover Ryan Clark’s oft-exposed backside of last year.

No surprises at cornerback where the starters will be Bryant McFadden and Ike Taylor. Where things will get interesting is when the Steelers go into the nickle package. Odds on favorite at nickleback would be William Gay, but with his performance last year when given the opportunity to be a starter his position is nowhere near secure. If either Joe Burnett or Keenan Lewis have a decent camp, my bet is that the winner of that battle will take Gay’s job.

I love Anthony Madison (the straw that stirs the drink on special teams), and given the Steelers made a move to bring him back last year, he’s safe. I’ll give Crezdon Butler an outside chance at making the final roster, but he might get caught in a numbers game in the end. David Pitman and Tuff Harris will see the Turk before camp breaks.

2010 Training Camp Schedule

Training camp opens in Latrobe, PA on Friday (June 30th) of this week, with all players reporting to St. Vincent College. You can click on the image to the right and expand a full practice schedule from the Steelers website, or right click it to save to your computer. I will be writing a series of articles in the next few days previewing camp, and some of the roster battles that can be expected.

Show me the Money

For those that haven’t heard about it yet, Steelers 1st round draft pick, Maurkice Pouncey is being investigated by the NCAA over an allegation that he accepted $100,000 from an agent during last year’s college bowl season.  Full article for more background from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Personally, I couldn’t care less.  I was hoping that all of the big conferences in college realigning a month ago was going to lead them to a decision to ditch the NCAA all together. The NCAA has no interest in anything other than self-preservation of the status quo.  Four years to investigate USC?  Think the television revenue had anything to do with that?

Under the current rules players on scholarship are not even allowed to work for some spending money.  Meanwhile their efforts subsidize entire athletic departments, and in some cases make the school a significant profit.  Of these players almost none ever get a sniff of the NFL.  It allows schools like Alabama to pay Nick Saban $5 million a season, who by the way should just shut up on this topic.

So Maurkice, I hope you didn’t spend it all in one place.

Adrian Jones

Problem solved, yeah right. Today the Steelers signed offensive lineman Adrian Jones. Jones was a fourth round draft pick of the New York Jets back in 2004, where he started in 44 games. Lately he spent 2008 with the Kansas City Chiefs starting 10 games, and last season on the Houston Texas’ practice squad. He’s a big body at 6-4 and 330 pounds, but I’m not doing cartwheels given some of the bigger names that were unsigned free agents.