Stapleton placed on IR, four others released

By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

The Steelers made five roster moves on Monday to get down to the mandatory 75-man roster.

“That is unfortunate, but that is football. I talked to Darnell today. He is ready to move forward and focus on getting well and others are going to focus on moving forward and filling that void.”

Trai Essex has taken Stapleton’s right guard position and Doug Legursky could emerge as a back-up along the line. Legursky, who originally signed with the Steelers as a rookie free agent out of Marshall in 2008 and spent part of last season on the practice squad, has made an impact by being able to play both guard and center.

“I have been pleased with what Doug Legursky has done,” said Tomlin. “He has taken advantage of an opportunity. He has shown position flexibility. He has played some center. He has played some guard.

“When you look at where he is in his career and what he is doing on our football team, it kind of mirrors the position Darnell was in a year ago. Darnell was a guy who was an undrafted second-year man in our program, he showed some interior offensive line position flexibility and that’s how he stuck and made it and on down the line he had an opportunity to get in the lineup. A year ago Darnell Stapleton was Doug Legursky.”
 
The team also released wide receivers Steven Black and Martin Nance, center Alex Stepanovich and safety Derrick Richardson.

Training Camp: Day 4-5

Well it happened, my being busy getting the new Pittsburgh Blitz Community Forums ready to go kept me from posting about day 4 of the Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp. So today I will post an update on day 4-5 together. Again since I can not be live at camp this article will focus on providing excerpts and links from around the net to those who can.

Day 4-5:

What Steelers Today had to say:

Today marked the fourth day of the Steelers 2009 training camp.  The crowd was blessed with great weather, and things are starting to get heated on the field.

The competition between the offense and the defense is starting to show, and several fights broke out today.  There was also some non-fight related contact that was harder than necessary.

A couple of players are starting to stand out to me.  They are:

Mike Wallace – This kid is a player.  He has caught passes along the sideline, made sliding catches, and beaten everybody deep (more than once).  Unless the sun explodes, he is going to make the team.  He may even shock the world and win the #3 receiver position…..

Read More…

Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

Steelers’ defense has one goal: Be better

Imagine, if you will, the Steelers’ offense failing in those final few minutes of Super Bowl XLIII and that Arizona actually had pulled out a 23-20 victory.

It would have ranked as the biggest collapse in any Super Bowl. The NFL’s No. 1 defense, a dominating force all season, would have been remembered as blowing a 13-point lead in the final 7 1/2 minutes to lose the Super Bowl.

The gloom would still hang over all of Steelerdom. Instead of playing host to the only six-time Super Bowl champions, Saint Vincent College’s training camp might resemble the old monastery’s cemetery behind Bonaventure Hall on a hill beyond the practice field. Instead of Sixburgh, there would be Sickburgh….

Read More…

Steelers Notebook: Tomlin offering little information about Stapleton

Offensive lineman Darnell Stapleton continues to watch practices and coach Mike Tomlin continues to shed little light about what is wrong with his second-year starter.

Stapleton has a left knee injury that has kept him from practicing since Sunday. He had at least one MRI (Monday), but Tomlin remains mum about what might be wrong with him.

“No new news with Stapleton,” Tomlin said, and, when asked about him a second time, said, “Again, when I’m ready to talk, we’ll talk about it.”

Stapleton, who started 15 games at right guard through the Super Bowl last season, opened training camp at center for injured Justin Hartwig. Veteran backup tackle/guard Trai Essex has been at right guard and is likely to stay there, no matter what happens with Stapleton.

Read More…

From Steelers.com:

Sweed making big strides

Steelers Offensive Line is the New Kordell?

By Jeffrey Burton (the artist formerly know as J.B. Steel)

The Steelers have a long history of enabling. Just as all people that have substance control problems know it always helps to have someone who is always there to lend support, tell you everything is OK and no matter how bad it gets they will always be there. This is a form of delusion that is destructive not only to the people that are screwed up, but the people that enable. There is always a lot of collateral damage as well.

Chuck Noll came to Pittsburgh with a hard-nosed attitude, telling most of the current players they would not be there next year. He then went on to ignore the fact that Joe Gilliam and Terry Hanratty would never be NFL Quarterbacks and benched Terry Bradshaw, who despite the fact he sucked at first, was clearly the Quarterback of the future. Eventually Bradshaw exploded as a great future Hall of Famer with 4 Super Bowl rings and is for my money the greatest Quarterback Ever to Play the Game. Yes, I said it. Screw Montana, Peyton and even the great Johnny Unitas, well maybe not Johnny , Tom Brady does not even factor in here. Not only is he not close to being the greatest Quarterback of all time, he is not the best Quarterback currently playing, but I digress.

Noll fought with Bradshaw his entire career. Noll actually said, when he was asked toward the end of Bradshaw’s career if he was concerned about the future. “The Quarterback is one 11^th of the offense.” Was his reply. He then went on to prove it by starting the worst Quarterbacks in recent Steeler history

Cliff Stoudt. A cold chill should be running through any Steeler fan old enough to remember that name. That is a horror show that deserves a rating, which prohibits it from this forum. Suffice it to say when I moved down to Florida, I was watching a Dolphins game and saw him in Dolphin sweats on the sideline, I went ‘Ayah!” and jumped out of my chair. I hadn’t even had a good look at him. I just knew it was him. The horror…The horror… Enabling project.

Mark Malone or Magnum P.U. as he was known in some circles due to his resemblance to Tom Selleck, was an incredible athlete. He could play wide receiver, run back kicks, do anything. He could throw the ball as well. He was the original Slash. What he wasn’t, was a NFL Quarterback and he loved taking his helmet off while he was running off the field so the women could bask in his beauty. Enabling project.

The years went by and David Woodley (talented but concussed), the spastic Bubby Brister and his mother and I don’t know who else made it clear that the quarterback was one eleventh of the Steelers offense or less.

Bill Cowher came in as Head Coach and Neil O’Donnell seemed to be the Steelers future, but he sentenced himself to Pallookaville after choking in the Super Bowl against the Cowgirls and going free agent to the place NFL player’s careers go to die, the Big Apple.

Then came Kordell Stewart, one of the most talented athletes ever to play professional football. This was a guy, that if he had remained Slash would have been the first person to get into the Hall of Fame playing multiple positions since I don’t know, Bronco Nagurski, Slingin’ Sammy Baugh and whoever else you can think of as a leather head. He insisted on being a quarterback and Cowher, enabled him. He was horrendous, and Cowher backed him year after year as all the fans and media shouted and waved their hands in slow motion Nooo! Nooooo!

So this leads to the latest Steelers enabling project, of our Non-Offensive line. If you’re offensive you need to be offensive, spit on the sidewalk, pinch a baby, be sarcastic to your sainted grandmother and BLOCK for your extremely tolerant 100 million dollar Quarterback. The fault is not entirely with their obvious lack of talent. It is the fact that Mike Tomlin, who I respect, Non-Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians who I don’t, and Line Coach and Vietnam Vet Larry Zierline who I like, but think is the wrong guy at the wrong time, won’t face facts. This group does not have sufficient talent to be a starting NFL Offensive Line. Utilizing numbers from Frank Trusic, “Is Bruce Arians using Fuzzy Math?” at SteelCityInsider.com that he gleaned from Jay Cooper at Fanhouse.com and Stats LLC I will interpret how the sacks are credited.

The sacks attributed to the Steelers line due to getting physically beaten or missing an assignment:

Left Tackle – 7 sacks – Max Starks is the most intimidating one on one player of this group. He is a mountain with tree trunk legs. He gets control of his guy and can usually engage him or drive him to the ground. He surrendered 4 sacks and almost all of them were for lack of getting so much as a hand on an OLB or DB rushing the edge while he was engaged with his primary blocking assignment. The former starter, talented Marvel Smith’s career with the Steelers has come to an end due to back injuries. He surrendered 3 sacks while he was starting.

Left Guard – 7 sacks – Chris Kemoeatu, the teams best run blocker has a glaring flaw. In run blocking he explodes against his assignment, is great using his arms and body to knock his guy off the line and then down the field. The problem is he blocks this way when he’s pass blocking. He does not displace and defend and watch that nobody runs the gap as you are supposed to. This is an easy thing for Defensive Coordinators to spot and I can only think there was no coaching done to address it or Chris gets too caught up in what he’s doing and forgets.

Center – 5 sacks – Justin Hartwig, the line’s play caller has been a huge improvement over the hapless Sean Mahan. Early on there were some badly missed assignment call-outs that he should have caught, but the other linemen should have seen them as well. Justin will be a solid veteran center until the Steelers have his successor. He would probably make a good backup for a couple years after that provided he doesn’t drop an anvil on his toe. The Steelers think they’ve found their guy of the future with draft choice A. Q. Shipley and I hope he gets a chance to prove it in the preseason.

Right Guard – 4 sacks – Darnell Stapelton, was really bad in place of the solid Kendell Simmons whose career is probably over due to a torn Achilles tendon. Hopefully Kraig Urbik the 3^rd round draft choice this year can win the starting position and begin the revolution that has to happen on the Steelers offensive line.

Right Tackle – 6 sacks – Willie Colon, to return to a theme, I’m sure has spit on the sidewalk and pinched a baby. I’m staying way clear of the rest of my earlier comment because I fear him and know nothing of his family. If I did know I wouldn’t say anything for the same reason. Willie’s problem is he’s playing out of position. He doesn’t make adjustments well and causes one of my favorite Steelers, the most underrated Tight End in the NFL and should be Pro Bowl player, come on say it at home, Heattthhhh(!) stay at home to help way too much. Willie needs to move inside where if he can’t start, would be an outstanding back-up.

So this leaves us with 29 sacks attributed to the offense line either getting beaten physically or due to assignment. Now here’s the rub. There are another 13 sacks attributed to assignment once again or Ben holding on to the ball too long. I dismiss the Ben thing out of hand because as he’s matured, he usually makes a play or throws the ball out of bounds, so that puts it back on the O-Line and the Coaches.

There’s another 7 sacks attributed to the Running Backs, but that happens and it usually means someone on the front line got beat or the opposition was blitzing. This brings us up to a whopping 49 sacks. Yep that’s right 49 divided by 16 is 3 sacks a game. 3 times a game your 100 million dollar Quarterback is getting driven to the ground. This is acceptable for a Super Bowl quality team? Although to be fair, against the Eagles he was sacked 9 times. I remember yelling out load as time after time rushers lined up in the gap between our linemen wearing a cloak of invisibility as the Steelers O-line and Coaches seemed blind to their existence.

Now the downward end of our journey is not yet here. On top of the 49 sacks we have an inexcusable and staggering 89 hits Big Ben took. That is 138 contacts, 9 times a game if you average up your franchise is getting smacked, knocked down or slammed.  There is no accounting for the remaining QB hurries. It is simply impossible.

We are not done yet. This is the crux of this article. Arians actually had the brass to say words to the effect that they didn’t care how many times Ben got hit. They only cared if he got injured. If this is not the most classic example of enabling of abuse I don’t know what is. Arians and the other Coaches if they agree are enabling serial abuse of their franchise Quarterback. Enabling encourages abuse and it’s not only the Coaches that are at fault it is also Ben who is obviously suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and should be asking for a new O-line.

He has had multiple injuries as a result and was taken off the field with the back board and golf cart and the Thumps Up to prove he wasn’t paralyzed, in Mummy-Rap last season.

Effing Mummy-Rap.

Now the coaching of the O-line is very suspect. Most of the season I couldn’t tell you if they were in a zone or man to man blocking scheme. I don’t think they knew half the time or if they did whatever they were trying devolved so quickly they were operating out of desperation. This didn’t seem to confuse the defenses who exploited their incompetence all season long. Slight improvements happened in the second half of the season, but that’s like being a hundred miles from shore and saying ‘Hey, the boat’s not sinking as fast as before’‘

Okay, so I think I’ve beaten the problem enough. How about some solutions?

I had three picks in my Mock Draft little Big Board last year going to the line, 1^st Round Max Unger C\OG\OT, 2^nd Round OT’s William Beatty, Eben Britton or Jamon Meredith and in later rounds Robert Brewster. There were free agents available the Steelers could have gone after. They added no free agents to compete on the Line with the exception of the undrafted OT Ramon Foster. They added Kraig Urbik RG\RT and A. Q. Shipley C, who I hope will pan out.

Next season I have three O-line picks again for the Draft (Yes, I’m so pathetic, I’ve already done a Mock for 2010, but cut me some slack, I’m getting the ricky-ticky’s from lack of football and have resorted to having the NFL Network on all the time. It’s sort of like Methadone for NFL junkies.) If the coaching staff think their starters are so good they should make them prove it with some competition. I think they will find that this ‘starting line’ is actually a bunch of good reserve linemen and have been all along.

The Steelers have been famous for the anonymity of the Offensive Line. The only players that were ever pointed out were the standouts, Mike Webster, Dermonti Dawson, Alan Faneca, Jeff Hartings. The rest did their job and nobody knew who they were. We now have a line that is mostly I’m sorry to say, infamous. We need that hard-nosed Chuck Noll attitude that I’ll paraphrase, I’ve looked at the film. I’ve seen you play. The problem is not that you have a bad attitude or don’t have a good work ethic. You are simply not good enough and a lot of you won’t be back here next year.”

This should have been addressed this year in the off-season in a major way. It wasn’t. If it continues this year Noll’s message from the past should extend not only to the Offensive Line, but to the Coaches as well.

Go Stillers!

Training Camp – Day 1

Miller, other Steelers nurse minor injuries

Friday, July 31, 2009
By Ed Bouchette Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin today revealed that tight end Heath Miller, who signed a six-year, $35.3 million contract this week, had surgery in June to repair a sports hernia and will be limited in practice at training camp for a while.

Tomlin, though, said the team is merely being cautious with Miller and he expects him to be fine for the regular season. Miller had surgery to repair a sports hernia after his senior season at Virginia and before the Steelers drafted him in the first round in 2005.

Also, Tomlin said several veterans will be limited in practices with various injuries: safety Troy Polamalu and cornerback Deshea Townsend with hamstring problems, center Justin Hartwig with a toe injury and guard/center Darnell Stapleton with swelling in his knee.

Running back Stefan Logan, signed from the Canadian League, will open camp on the physically unable to perform list with a mid-foot sprain.

Avoiding repeat of ‘06 nightmare is issue for Steelers

Friday, July 31, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sometime tonight, after the Steelers report to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, after coach Mike Tomlin puts them through their run test, after their first dinner of training camp together, a senior member of the roster will talk about being a Super Bowl champion.

He won’t talk much about Super Bowl XLIII, nor even so much about Super Bowl XLIV, but of what occurred in the aftermath of Super Bowl XL. No Steelers team ever fell so flat as reigning champion than did the 2006 edition, and many from that team hope there is a lesson there for this one.

“Coming back after that Super Bowl,” said one captain, Hines Ward, “I think we had that cockiness where [we thought] we could just walk in and walk over anybody.”

Instead, the Steelers turned into welcome mats, losing six of their first eight games. Despite a second-half surge, they finished 8-8 in 2006 and out of the playoffs. Coach Bill Cowher topped off one of their most unsatisfactory seasons when he resigned.

“That’s the most disappointing thing,” Ward said. “You win the Super Bowl and come out the next year and don’t even make the playoffs. A lot of guys are still on the team, and we reflect on that.”

The current 80-man roster includes 21 who experienced both a Super Bowl victory followed by an 8-8 season. That should be enough to recall the pitfalls and to point out different paths for them to follow this time.

“A lot of guys on this team have experience winning a Super Bowl and seeing what happened the following season,” cornerback Deshea Townsend said. “With experience, it makes you better. I’m sure we’ll take that experience we have from the first time and try to make it better.”

And what did they learn?

“We definitely can’t walk into anybody’s stadium and think just because we’re champs we can go out and not practice and not put in the time and energy and go out and prepare ourselves like we’re going in for a battle,” Ward said.

Five times, the Steelers have entered a season as Super Bowl champions. Twice, they did not reach the postseason (1980, 2006) and once they lost in the AFC championship game (1976). Twice, they followed with a second consecutive Super Bowl victory (1975, ‘79).

Today, they report to training camp for the sixth time as reigning champions, and some might say they are due to make it again. Ward was outspoken all spring about how that 2006 team did not take its task seriously enough, and he promised things would be different this season.

“I just think the guys we have on this team — not to knock the guys we had on our other team, but there’s a purpose. The last time we went there, we really didn’t come out and do what we were supposed to do the following year, and I think a lot of guys remember that.”

Ward also thinks that keeping the Super Bowl team of last season mostly intact should help. The Steelers return 20 of 22 starters from the team that lined up against the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa Feb. 1.

The only ones missing are cornerback Bryant McFadden, who shared time with new starter William Gay, and linebacker Larry Foote, who likely would have given way to first-round 2007 draft choice, Lawrence Timmons, anyway.

They also lost No. 3 wide receiver Nate Washington, whose job may be the most difficult to fill. Among the candidates are Limas Sweed, their second-round draft choice in 2008, and a third-round pick from this year, Mike Wallace.

“Both of those guys are right in the mix, along with Dallas Baker and all those guys,” said Ward. “With the loss of Nate Washington, we don’t have the guy who has the experience to go out there and play if Santonio [Holmes] or I were to go down.”

Holmes and Ward are the only experienced wide receivers besides Shaun McDonald, signed in May as a free agent from the Detroit Lions. All looked good in the spring, but, starting this weekend, the playing field changes.

“It’s different when you put the pads on — going across the middle, getting hit, going one on one, it’s a totally different ballgame,” Ward noted. “We’ll see what type of talents and skills they have in training camp.”

Harrison, Steelers roll into camp

Jim Wexell SteelCityInsider.com
Posted Jul 31, 2009

No Ben Roethlisberger interviews at Rooney Hall, but Casey Hampton, Trai Essex and Willie Colon showed up in good shape. So did James Harrison, who rolled up in a two-seat Smart car and answered these questions:

Q: What are the benefits of driving that?

A: Not that much on gas. Other than that, there’s a lot of room, but not for the suitcases. It’s fast, too. It’ll go 90, 95.

A: I’m just happy to be here to get started and trying to duplicate what we did last year.

Q: Will that mean another big interception return?

A: If that’s what it takes, so be it. If not, so be it, too.

Q: Do you have any more perspective on that play with the time off?

A: Uh…

Q: How did it happen?

A: How did it happen? Well, everything kind of came together with a little bit of luck.

Q: Catch your breath yet?

A: Yeah. I caught my breath about two weeks after.

Q: You’d told reporters before the game you didn’t like the game plan because you would be dropping too much. Dropping kind of paid off there, didn’t it?

A: That was just a bunch of lies to tell you all, get you all writing something the other team might believe.

Q: So, it worked, right?

A: I actually wasn’t supposed to drop on that play.

Q: You weren’t supposed to drop?

A: I was supposed to blitz. I figured all night we were a step late, and we had an all-out blitz and I figured if I stepped I could hold my tackle and just drop out in case of a quick slant, in or out, and I just happened to be right there. I guess my height helped me that time.

Q: Do you have the freedom to do that?

A: You know, technique, opportunity and all that other stuff met, with a little bit of luck. Sometimes you feel that might be the play that will do it. Coach LeBeau didn’t mind it.

Q: Do you expect to see a lot of spread-the-field, quick-throw offenses this year?

A: I’m not really too worried about what offenses are doing. As long as we play our defense the way it’s supposed to be played, we’ll be fine.

Q: Last Super Bowl team fell flat. How do you guard against that this year?

A: I feel like we guarded against that this year in preparation. I think last time we won the Super Bowl a lot of guys were real lax and took too much time off in getting back to what needed to be done. I feel this year everybody stayed focused and got back to it.

Q: Were you as maniacal in your training as you usually are?

A: Yeah.

Q: And did any more teammates join you in your workouts?

A: Not really. A few guys work out with the same trainer that I do, but everybody got their own things that help them.

Q: Did you bulk up?

A: Actually I lost a little weight. Do I look thick?

Q: Yes.

A: My legs got big. You should see my legs. Wait till we put the pads on.

Q: How much weight did you drop?

A: A few pounds to about 250.

Q: Do you feel that after last year people will be looking at you differently?

A: Yeah. I know they do. Look at these cameras. Other than that, I don’t really feel any different.

Q: Do you expect any more respect from the officials in regard to holding?

A: They really watched it in the Super Bowl, so hopefully that’s a start.

Q: Do you worry about your quarterback’s state of mind?

A: Nah.

Q: How’s your son?

A: He’s doing good, real good.

Q: Is he 100 percent, ready to go?

A: Hundred percent. He has a few scars, but he was back walking in like six days. He’s just got a few scars, but he’s fine.

Q: James, what do you do for an encore?

A: I do whatever it is I need to do to make the defense better. It’s not about me. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers, not James Harrison. My numbers may not be as good as last year’s, but as long as we get better as a total defense, I’m happy.

Q: You get that big contract and you buy a Smart car?

A: I didn’t buy the car. I got it on, let’s say lease or loan, something like that.

Q: The picture’s going to be everywhere. They accomplished their objective, didn’t they?

A: Maybe. We’ll see.

 

 

 

 

 

Steelers Getting Draft Picks Signed Early

We’re still a month away from training camp, but Pittsburgh is almost finished with signing all of their draft picks. Tight end David Johnson, the team’s seventh-round pick, signed on Friday, making him the seventh of the team’s nine picks to sign.

The only two rookies left unsigned are the two the Steelers most need in training camp. First-round pick Evander Hood, who is expected to be the team’s No. 3 defensive end, and third-round pick Kraig Urbik, who is expected to battle for a starting job at offensive guard, are still unsigned, although with a month to work out those deals, it shouldn’t be that hard to get the deals worked out.

Pittsburgh hasn’t had a first-round pick miss any of training camp since Ben Roethlisberger missed a couple of days in 2004, so it’s a pretty safe bet that Hood and Urbik will both be signed before camp starts this year.

Position Breakdown the Offensive Line

So far we have covered the quarter backs, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, now it is time to turn our attention to the most criticized position, the Offensive Line.  It’s hard to believe a defending Super Bowl champion with so many starters returning could have any weaknesses, but the Pittsburgh Steelers do. Without a question, the Steelers had the worst offensive line of any Super Bowl champion in history. Don’t believe us? Check out the stats.

Marvel Smith and Kendall Simmons were let go, and not one lineman was signed in free agency. The draft produced just two picks, Wisconsin guard, Kraig Urbik, was tabbed in the third round and Penn State center A.Q. Shipley was a seventh round selection. Only Urbik has a shot to earn a starting position as Shipley will need time to develop.

The line has size, center Justin Hartwig (6-4, 312), LG Chris Kemoeatu (6-3, 344), RG Darnell Stapleton (6-5, 305), LT Max Starks (6-8, 345), and RT Willie Colon (6-3, 315) all are 300-plus pounders who, at times, can be dominant run blockers. The problem they had was athleticism and pass protection.

Steelers Position Breakdown of the Offensive Line

The Starters:

LT – Max Starks – Starks is among the tallest NFL players, standing at 6′8″ and 340 pounds. He is probably never going to be a tackle in the image of Tunch Illkin or Leon Searcy, but he is a solid, versatile starter. Starks has bounced in and out of the starting line up the last few seasons but played well enough in 2008 to earn the franchise tag a second year in a row.

At the very least, Starks will give their line some stability and franchising him buys Pittsburgh time to draft and develop other offensive lineman or to work out a long term contract with him. Starks is penciled in as the starting LT but will need to play well in camp to fend of Tony Hills and keep the job.

LG – Chris Kemoeatu – Chris Kemoeatu joined the Steelers in 2005 as a sixth round pick out of Utah. Listed at 6’3” and 344 pounds. Since being drafted he has captivated the imaginations of Steelers fans who are devotees of the team’s Smash Mouth identity. Though has yet to live up to the hype.

It’s unfair to single out Kemoeatu for blame, but the Steelers had a lot of difficulty punching at the goal line in the latter half of the year, and much of that difficulty was due to the run blocking from the interior lineman. While the Steelers definitely could do worse than Kemoeatu at guard, he is certainly not a player you break the bank for.

Center – Justin Hartwig - Signed to sure up the center position at the start of the 2008 season, Hartwig easily earned the starting job and allowed the Steelers to trade the undersized Sean Mahan to free up needed cap space. His play at the position was an upgrade but still not up to Steelers standards.

Hartwig enters the final season of his contract in 2009 and with Darnell Stapleton and the rookie A.Q. Shipley on the roster
will need to improve to get resigned by Pittsburgh. At 6′4 and 312 lbs., Hartwig has the size to play the position and hold up against the Sean Rogers of the NFL, but will need to improve his run blocking to earn his keep in 2009 or beyond.

RG – Darnell Stapleton - Originally was signed as an un-drafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 2007 season. After the trade of Sean Mahan, Darnell became the backup center for the 2008 season. Due to necessity, after starting guard Kendall Simmons was placed on Injured Reserve after a Monday Night game against the Baltimore Ravens, he became the starter for the rest of the 2008 season.

As a starter for the 2008 AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Darnell joins teammates Willie Parker and James Harrison on the list of impact non-drafted players in the Kevin Colbert era.

Our personally opinion here at Pittsburgh Blitz is that Darnell was an upgrade to Simmons and his play, though not perfect, helped to shore up the OL down the stretch and into the play-offs and Super Bowl. We are eager to see how he improves his second year as a starter. That is if he can hold off Kraig Urbik for the job this summer.

RT – Willie Colon -  Was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (131st overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft. He started the first two games of his career in Weeks 16 and 17 of the 2006 season, replacing an injured Max Starks, and in early 2007 team activities has replaced Starks as the 1st-team right tackle for the team.

There has been rumors the past few years that Willie Colon should move to guard as another tackle, such as Max Starks or Trai Essex could play right tackle. The rumors were founded mainly because of Colon’s unspectacular pass protection, as well as his size – 6′3″ is an ideal guard size, not a tackle size. However, Mike Tomlin and other members of the Steelers organization have often dispelled such rumors.

Technically the teams only offensive linemen listed on the roster at RT, Colon could get challenged for the job by Tony Hills this summer. We look for this to be one of the more interesting camp battles, as here at Pittsburgh Blitz we are not big Willie Colon fans, at least not with him at RT. A move to RG or LG would suit him better in our opinion.

Key Role Players:

LT – Jason Capizzi - At 6-9, 315 pounds, Jason Capizzi looks big, even by NFL standards, as he walks around the locker room of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has the size and pedigree to play a key back up role for the Steelers in 2009. Capizzi signed with the Steelers as an un-drafted free agent from IUP. The Gibsonia native, who started his college career at Pitt, has spent time last season on practice squad and was elevated to the 53 man roster when Marvel Smith was put on IR.

Here at Pittsburgh Blitz we like Capizzi’s potential and feel he could be a surprise for the team this year once camp opens. He already has the eye of the coaches but lacks the experience needed to crack the starting line-up. That won’t stop him from making the final cut and getting a job as a key back up for the Steelers though.

LT – Tony Hills - Fundamentally sound left tackle who is at his best as a pass-protector. Blocks with good pad level, sets with a wide base, and makes outstanding use of body positioning as well as blocking angles. Slides out off the edge, stays square, and nicely works his hands throughout the play. Shows the ability to adjust and jolts defenders with good hand-punch. Fights hard until the whistle blows.

Hills has one negative though, his history of staying healthy is not the best. Suffering numerous injuries in both high school and college. Once considered a potential first rounder, Hills slipped to the Fourth round and the Pittsburgh Steelers due to those set backs. His slide in the draft could be a blessing in disguise though as he has the potential to grow into a quality starter at LT or RT for the team and could be a dark horse in the camp battles this season.

RG – Kraig Urbik - Selected in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft, Urbik will get a chance to compete for Darnell Stapleton’s starting job at right guard. If he does not start, Urbik should become the top backup guard and dress for games along with Trai Essex as the two backup linemen on Sundays.

RG – Trai Essex - During the off-season Essex visited the Tennessee Titans but came back home to sign a 2-year deal worth $2 million. The fifth-year veteran out of Northwestern was given a signing bonus of $500,000 by the team. He can play four different positions and will likely start camp as the No. 2 left tackle behind Max Starks but could be involved in a camp battle with Kraig Urbik for that role on the team.

Practice Dummies:

A.Q. Shipley - A Penn State center who grew up in Moon Township, was one of their two seventh-round picks selected by the Steelers in the 2009 NFL draft. Shipley is a solid center, but has short arms, which may limit him from playing guard in the NFL. The Steelers staff seem very high on Shipley and he has the perfect attitude for the team. Look for Shipley to land on the practice squad for a year then crack the 53 man roster in 2010.

Jeremy Parquet – At 6-6, 321 lbs., Parquet has the tangibles to play in the NFL. Thus far in his career Jeremy has been nothing more then A practice squad member of the Chiefs, Rams and now the Steelers. We do not anticipate that changing this season and look for Parquet to continue to be a practice dummy in 2010.

Hope you got a day job list:

Doug Legursky – Signed as a rookie free agent by the Steelers on April 28, 2007 and made the practice squad that season. He has remained at that status since but could be cut this time around with the addition of A.Q. Shipley to the team. We so no need for two centers to be on the practice squad this season and neither will the Steelers.

Ramon Foster – Signed by the Steelers as an un-drafted free agent on April 27, 2008. Foster was a three-year starter who earned Freshman All-SEC honors in 2005 after stepping in at left guard and right tackle due to injuries. Primarily started at right tackle the past three seasons for Tennessee and was named to the ESPN Mark May’s 2007 “MayDay Team” after playing with a broken thumb throughout most of his junior season. Foster played in a career total of 44 games and was four-year letterman in college.

Foster has plenty of potential, but may be out in the cold due to the numbers game and lack of NFL experience. He could be a surprise and make the practice dummies, and here at Pittsburgh blitz we are rooting for him to due just that. Not sure it will happen though.

Training Camp Battles:

Starting Right Guard: Darnell Stapleton vs Kraig Urbik

Darnell Stapleton was the starter this previous season, but with issues consistently surrounding the Steelers offensive line he shouldn’t feel too comfortable. Urbik is a highly touted rookie who could very well end up winning this job.

Urbik was a tackle at Wisconsin, but he struggles in space so will get bumped inside. His size and the ability to be a mauler in the running game fits the mentality of the Steelers organization perfectly.

Many fans are already on Urbik’s side in this battle and as long as he continues to show the work ethic and intelligence that he had while he was a Badger, he should get the edge entering the season.

Look for a heated battle for this position but in the end, Stapleton will prove to be a NFL worthy guard and win the starter role for the Steelers.

Well that’s the lowdown on the offensive line, thanks for reading and your comments are always welcome. Let us know what you think.

*Check back soon for the 6th edition of this 9 part series. Next up we will begin the defensive breakdown and the Cornerbacks.