Steelers Source

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.

I’m going to save the draft preview/analysis until we get a bit closer to April.  So today I’m just going to restrict this posting to looking at where the needs are in terms of gaps in the current roster. I’m going to do two installments and start today with the Defense.

I think that here is where most of the needs are. The defense showed this year that they are getting a bit long in the tooth. So starting at the front line and working back:

1. Defensive Line – I think there are a couple of big ones here. At end, Brett Keisel has been more than serviceable but he’s not getting any younger. I wouldn’t call this a crisis, maybe Ziggy Hood will develop and be a major contributor this season. Then again maybe he won’t. I think everyone has heard enough about the Casey Hampton situation. All indicators are that the Steelers are going to franchise tag him. Hopefully the thought of freedom will motivate him for a good year.  No matter, we need to be planning an eventual replacement.
2. Linebacker – Sorry, James Farrior has been a warrior since arriving in Pittsburgh, but can’t cover anymore and is a gotsta go situation. A name from the past is Larry Foote who is a free agent up in Detroit. I know the Steelers are not very active in the free agent market but it might be worth a phone call to see if Mr. Foote has had enough of the Motor City and would give the Steelers a home town type discount.
3. Secondary – Alright here is why I went from the defensive front and worked back. Every time I think about that secondary it makes me want to throw up. At the safety positions the Steelers need to make resigning Ryan Clark a priority, since at the moment there are not any real options. Strong safety depth is also critical as we learned the hard way with Troy Polamalu’s Madden Curse season. Other than a good laugh, no comment necessary on Tyrone Carter. I have no answers at cornerback. Everyone on the current roster stank up Heinz Field this past year. Maybe Ike Taylor can pull it together again. We saw that last year’s draft picks (Trae Williams and Joe Burnett) and not ready and never may be.